Graded [Frontier][Ciu'nan]Chapter 1: A distant grotto

[Pet Panda]

Liu sat in the soft earth, quietly surveying the group. Between the wildlife and the river, the sound of their words was lost. Three creatures stood across from his leafy companion, one was seemingly human but had strange manners, even for a child. None of them seemed to be belligerent or aggressive. Careful not to characterize creatures with the features of a herbivore as docile or weak, he was led to believe the deer-man was amiable nonetheless. It was difficult to read the mood of the yellow-orange ball creature. The eyes seemed to be present without eyebrows and without a visible mouth, he had to wonder how it spoke, if it did at all. The man was sitting still and looking over the river, able to see from his periphery. Of course, the hood was tilted just a little in their direction. Occasionally, he listened for the movement of the herd. Though he didn't doubt that Ciu'nan was correct about the terrain forcing them to slow, how could Liu ever be secure about his ability to move through the forest? He was half expecting to trip over any and every minor obstacle in his way.

At the approach of Ciu'nan the mound of cloth stood. Liu was tall enough for the motion to be conspicuous to the group further away. He made no move toward them, only the gaping void of his low hood turned in their direction briefly before sliding back toward the river. He stood inocuous but eerie, with his form covered head to toe in mismatched fabrics. His cowl turned back to her and he spoke, "they did not show any signs of aggression. A fine group of folks, I would say. I hope that they are well protected, this wilderness is capable of unkindness," he prayed crisply. He had no inkling that they were offered to accompany them. Liu stood still, showing no signs of hurry, waiting for Ciu'nan's response.

 

[LadyOfStars]

Haruki was thrilled to have met a fae person, it had been some time since the last time he crossed paths with one. He did his best to keep his tail from showing how happy he was, but it was hard to do that while also trying to think about what they should do next. Ciu'nan had invited them to accompany her and her companion to the road, but it was up to Wonton what they did. "I think that we should follow them." His opinion came with a soft stare as he turned his gaze downward to the small leader. "That figure with her is a bit...scary...but she seems trustworthy, plus..." He looked to Tia and smiled. "We have Tia." Haruki patted her on the head and then looked back to Wonton. While he had yet to learn the true nature of the girl, he knew that she had walked away from the Arborhaven fight without injury, which was rare for an unarmed person, especially a child.

Clyvelle Pet Panda Beetlebuggo EMIYAman

 

[Beetlebuggo]

Wonton Denver
-Haruki LadyOfStars , Ciu’Nan Clyvelle , Tia EMIYAman

- Leader’s statement

—

Wonton listened thoroughly to Haruki’s suggestion and Ciu’Nan’s offer to join her route with the herd and possibly reach Fumu-Kai, before going over and picking up his stuff.

First was the spear, which was laid about on the surface with its tip lightly tracing the water’s flow. Then was his blue bag, which he tied around beneath the spearhead.

Picking that up, and then holding his tomato bag in the other, He turned to Haruk and nodded.

“I agree. Lead the way Ms. Ciu’Nan.”

 

[Clyvelle]

Ciu'nan
|Fae|​

When the group had caught up to her and Fei Liu, Ciu'nan introduced everyone quickly.

"Everyone, this is Fei Liu, a mapmaker who decided to join me for a while. Fei Liu, this is Haruki, Tia, and Wonton Denver. They are heading somewhere called Fumu-Kai after running into some trouble in a town called Arborhaven." She said pleasantly. While everyone made their greetings to one another, Ciu'nan's ears perked up again. The herd's sound was markedly fainter now even having closed some distance. Were they moving that fast? "We'll need to move quickly. I can barely hear the herd. I thought they would be slowed by the terrain...."

Ciu'nan ran ahead of the group into the trees. The terrain was beginning to develop hills but the large roots of the surrounding trees were the real dilemma. Some tendrils of root stood as tall as a man, forcing those who couldn't jump or climb them to go around. Others just tangled through the ground making footing difficult. Ciu'nan could hop over most of this with ease. From her place in the lead, she would check back occasionally to make sure everyone was making it along alright, stopping to assist when necessary.

It was the most bizarre thing. Ciu'nan could hear the herd moving through the forest, but even after running ahead a little ways, could not make visual contact. All she could do was trust her ears as the trees continued one after another. Overhead, daylight was apparently shining down through the canopy now as the sun collected its strength and rose away from the horizon.

After dipping down into a valley, Ciu'nan climbed a low hill to make a shocking discovery: there lying next to some boulders was a lone deer. Seeing no other deer in sight, the fae ran to inspect it. This was one of the bucks. There was no sign of blood, yet the deer was not breathing. It apparently had simply collapsed of unknown causes.

"What could have happened to him?" Ciu'nan pondered out loud. Her ears twitched this way and that as she stood. Ciu'nan turned her head as her ears continued to search out her quarry. "I...I don't hear the herd anymore...."

((Ignore humanoids in pic. Just scenery.))

 

[Pet Panda]

Liu could do little more beyond follow Ciu'nan. He was mostly closed off in disposition, beside a gentle nod offered in the direction of the newcomers. Among them, any with extraordinary senses would have to detect something off about him. Even among the stunning variety of creatures in this world, most of them had a certain type of lively stink, which he lacked, or at least his was a little weird and quite subtle. Furthermore, the noises he makes are strange. Too quiet in rest, too dry and smooth in motion. His fae friend introduced them so abruptly that he had trouble gathering his better nature to greet them kindly, let alone eloquently. The mysterious figure had to leverage his superior speed to keep up, winding through the roots without a modicum of skill but with great haste. Luckily he could not be winded, the trip was longer for him than probably anyone else in the party, a city slicker he was. His eyes were trained on Ciu'nan chiefly; the herd was something enigmatic to him. So many deer, not evidently the color of trees, but in movement and under the cover of a canopy, their forms were ghostly and he kept losing track of them. Ciu'nan, though probably far more camoflauged, was quite a bit closer. When she slowed to a stop, so did he.

He approached her slowly, breaking out of his run to inspect the dead animal from a couple of feet behind her. Utterly unfamiliar with wildlife though he was, he has seen his fair share of injury, and more death than injury. It must have been something. There are little indications on corpses, whether or not the eyes were open, the position of the tongue, things that betrayed the feelings of the creature at the time that it died, and he began looking closely for those before abruptly, he turned his eyes upward and around to look around. What could he see that a hunter would not? He put his gaze to better use making sure nothing was going to run up and accost them while she figured out what was going on. He began pacing in a slow circle around her and the corpse and boulder, casting his gaze around for danger, but he said nothing yet.

 

[LadyOfStars]

Haruki​

A mapmaker. Haruki had never met someone with such a role before, but even now knowing what the man did, he still felt uneasy around the stranger. His movements sounded...different than what normal humans sounded like when they shuffled about on their two legs, but perhaps the figure behind the cloak was not human, but another fae. Either way it wasn't his business and to pry would be disrespectful, so Haruki kept his curiosity contained and distracted himself with the path ahead,.

It seemed they were all following behind Ciu'nan, who moved with the swiftness expected of a fae. While Haruki wasn't one of those magical beings, he was accustomed to moving through the forest and navigating its tricky terrain. His hooves stomped on the ground with every root that he leapt over. He moved like a natural deer and kept his eyes on their somewhat distant guide.

She had lead them in the direction of the herd, but to their surprise they found only one deer and the poor thing had lost its life. Haruki's grip tightened on his spear, tense and anxious as he looked around. "I have a bad feeling." The young cervitaur expressed as he stepped closer to a nearby tree.

Beetlebuggo Clyvelle Pet Panda EMIYAman

 

[EMIYAman]

Tia
Interactions Clyvelle Pet Panda LadyOfStars Beetlebuggo
​

Tia followed closely beside Haru her initial wariness hadn't fully abated, but she refrained from showing any obvious agression. Though as a side effect the appearance of something new had made her somewhat forget her sadness. Haru seemed to be excited in the presence of another who was similar to him. Tia wondered if there was anyone like her, as the creatures of the forests and the wood and stone structures were very different from her. They followed the antler female Ciu'nan as she was engaging in what she could only assume to be a hunt. Based off the words she was able to understand and the smell coming from her.

Soon after they came across another animal though this was was completely covered in the fur and hide their kind liked to wear. At first she hadn't reacted to it as her nose could smell nothing on it save for the smell for the forest, she had mistaken it for an object as dead animals had a smell. Then the hide covered thing moved and she almost attacked it then and there, but her instincts told her to keep within the bounds of her human form. So instead she bristled and glared at it. The being spoke to them and the antlered female spoke back. It seemed they knew each other, they were probably hunting together. Picking up on a recognizable group of words she was able to deduce that the thing was called "Fei Liu" Tia pondered the name. It was very different from any she had heard so far and didn't fit with any of the sounds she knew in it's intonation. She pouted, as she thought she was finally close to cracking the meaning of all the sounds only to find it was a lot harder than she thought. Though Haru patting her on the head helped assuage her feelings.

Growing bold she slowly inched closer and closer to the thing called Fei Liu. Trying to catch a scent of a living creature and finding none. As she chewed on her inability to understand Fei Liu the group went deeper into the forest climbing over large roots and traversing trees whose size would have baffled Tia if she hadn't already seen the Big Tree in the other place. They eventually came upon an open spot in which only a dead animal lay. Ciu'nan was apparently alarmed by this, maybe she had wanted to kill it? The group went up to the animal examining. Tia noticed it resembled Haru a bit but more animaly and less peoplely. They began to inspect it with Fei Liu in particular circling the animal and looking around. Tia letting her curiosity get the better of her went up to it sniffing to try and find a clue as to what had killed the creature.

 

[Beetlebuggo]

Wonton Denver - EMIYAman LadyOfStars Pet Panda Clyvelle
- Oh Deer.. Poor thing..

---

Wonton followed the last of the group, not because he was slowed down from the terrain, but rather to make sure that Haruki and Tia didn't lose track. Occasionally hopping around over roots or bumps on the road ahead, he kept his wet bandanna tight around his head and the contents of his blue bag rattling around.

Once he caught up to where they stopped by, he noticed the deer, and under the others' words, he could only walk up to the unconscious deer and lightly pat its head in slight sadness. He wasn't much of a fan when it came to hurting wildlife, and would only do so out of self defense. But this, he wasn't too sure, but a small part of him within felt that something or someone had done this on purpose.

"..There could possibly be something or someone nearby that could've caused this deer to end up in this state.. But I'm not too sure.. "

He mused uncertainly, before glancing at Tia to check on her, then walking over to Haruki to check on him as well.

 

[Clyvelle]

Ciu'nan
|Fae|​

Ciu'nan stepped away from the deer, peering at their surroundings, as Fei approached and looked over the deer's body. There was no sign of injury to the body's exterior. No blood leaking from any orifice. The eyes were closed, but if they were manually opened, the eyes would appear very fresh and untainted by early onset signs of death. Due to how the head landed, the mouth was closed. Without getting too close, one could see that the nose was still wet. Overall, the body's features still appeared very fresh.

Ciu'nan's gaze fell on Haruki as he shuffled timidly over to a tree, his knuckles growing white as he gripped his spear. Wonton's warning about the killer potentially being near caused the fae to look to him as he went over Haruki. Ciu'nan's ears had not stopped flicking about, trying to detect a sound. Finally her ears relaxed into their neutral position as she glanced to Tia's and Fei's inconclusive search of the deer then to Wonton and Haruki.

"If the killer is nearby, I don't hear anything. Actually, this area is bizarrely quiet...especially for a forest in the early morning. Can anyone else sense anything?" Ciu'nan asked as her gaze drifted back towards Haruki cowering by the tree. She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw that both Wonton and Haruki used spears as well. No one would be able to sense anything small or great in the immediate vicinity.

She sighed as she turned back in the direction they had been heading. "Well, the deer's death is definitely strange, but my mission is to see where the herd goes, and you three need that road to the east. We should keep moving. There's no way we lost them so easily, so something is afoot here. All we can do is keep moving."

Making sure everyone gathered up first, Ciu'nan began moving. Her pace was noticeably slower this time. The uncertainty around the deer's assailant had no doubt caused a few to be on edge. A slower pace would be reasonable until they had gained some distance between them and the area. As they went, Ciu'nan smiled at Haruki and Wonton.

"I just noticed we all use spears. What are the odds?" she said with a small laugh.

Lightening the mood seemed to be something Ciu'nan excelled at. Even if it didn't work, she definitely wasn't afraid to try. After all, things go more smoothly when people aren't weighed down with their concerns.

So the group went a good pace. Their path rose and fell and snaked side to side with the roots and hills of the forest. By now the deer had been left far behind. With a hop, skip, and a jump, Ciu'nan landed atop the latest hill they had to climb. When she stood and gazed on the other side, however, her smile, which had been growing more giddy the more they walked, suddenly left her face. Before them was the same rocky depression they had just left some time ago. Lying there next to the boulder was the deer in the same position.

((Ignore humanoids in pic. Just scenery. Also no buildings. Just forest and boulders.))

 

[Pet Panda]

If he had a chest it would have had a strange twinge in it. The sinking feeling was certainly there. Sure he had been awake in this world for a few months now and seen many things, he even had fireballs tossed at him. This was the first time he was stuck in some kind of misleading trap of illusion. The sinking feeling disappeared as his mind began dissecting the situation, his initial response to this kind of assault on his wellbeing. Whose domain is this? Who would most likely set this kind of trap? The deer seemed to be the bait. What is the nature of the owners of the domain? Is it a test or a trap, or is it a lock? If the herd was traveling normally. For a few moments he stared, unmoving and silent. Slowly he turned in 360 degrees, surveying the surroundings. The herd should have moved through this area. What is different about them? Liu paused for a moment, glancing down at his hands. Could he have been the cause of this? Taking his weird self-focus as sign that he was moving too deeply into "the sauce," he spoke out loud and tried to get the strategizing moving. He can't starve to death, they can.

"So... we are back. This is clearly magical. The herd traveled through here but they are not stuck and we are. Whose domain is this? Who is capable of this kind of trick?" he asked out loud, standing still and waiting for some initial responses. He was hoping this world was like magical adventure stories where these traps were constructed with some kind of way out in mind. Fei saw firsthand the presence of magic. He imagined that if a magical being wished to trap him in this manner with no magical dance and shimmy to pop out, it would have been just as good as welding him into a steel box for he has not even so much as touched magic, even if magic touched him.

 

[LadyOfStars]

Haruki​

The sight of his friends brought Haruki a small degree of comfort, but even then he was still anxious and scared of the unknown danger which lurked in the forest. For the deer to be lifeless yet appear to be untouched by death...that was not normal and Haruki and little to no experience with the ways of magic. But even worse, perhaps this was not magic and instead the work of some monster, capable of concealing itself and stealing the souls of its prey. The thought sent chills down the young cervitaur's spine as as he multiplied his fears and worries.

It was only the sudden movement of their guide that brought him from his pit of despair. As she had stated, there were no sounds that Haruki could hear within the forest, even as they started to travel again. "Tia, Mr. Wonton." Haruki called sheepishly called, hoping not to reveal just how scared the situation had made him. Without further word he closed the space between himself and the other two and continued to follow behind CIu'nan.

Her comment on their use of polearms did manage to bring a smile to his face, reassuring him in his choice of weapons. His happiness was short live however when they happened upon the same unsettling deer corpse. "W-What's happening?" He murmured as he climbed the hill and looked down upon the all too familiar scene.

The shady figure was right; this had to be magic, but Haruki knew very little of magic and even less about the people who used it. Now his heart raced with the speed of a thousand cervitaurs and he hugged his spear tight to his chest. "How do we get out of here?" He inquired of their fae guide.

Clyvelle Pet Panda Beetlebuggo EMIYAman

 

[EMIYAman]

Tia
Interactions: LadyOfStars Pet Panda
​

Her nose aloft she did her best to find the trail, but came up with nothing. Tia went back to the corpse staring down at it a pout of befuddlement on her face. She crouched down with her knees bent forward staring. There was something there her keen sense of smell told her that, but she couldn't tell what it was or where it came from it was more a feeling than a smell as it was incredibly unique to her.

Tia perked up as Ciu'nan spoke and looked back to the group, seeing that they were going to move on she hopped up taking one last look at the corpse, somewhat hungrily. As they walked Ciu'nan had an active conversation with the rest of the group, curious as she was Tia did her best to pick up on meanings but many were still beyond her, and she had yet to grasp the concept of a joke. But her species was a stubborn sort when it came to learning so she listened either way. As they continued upon their winding forested path, a familiar smell then tickled her nose. She looked out from behind her taller not pack mates. Only to find the same corpse and she had seen before, even the smell was exactly the same. Confused Tia looked around she hadn't really been paying too much attention to their route but even she knew they didn't double back. Something strange was going on. She turned to regard her pack mates and was met with a palpable sense of fear. Tia was somewhat surprised by the fear she smelt on Haru; as the alpha of the pack she'd have to protect Haru. She went up to him deliberating on how to calm him down, until she settled on the thing which had made her feel better. She patted Haru on the head gently and with a smile on her face. "Haru, ok." She spoke out in her soft voice.

When she was satisfied with his emotional state, she turned over to the nothing which was shaped like a person. Fei Liu. She steadily approached him, he seemed just as confused as the rest of them. She tugged on his cloak bringing his attention down to her smaller form. "Fei Liu, Tia tree find trick." Her expression was serious and focused. She pointed to one of the large trees that surrounded them intent on climbing it and seeing what could keep them in here or who was doing it. Tia didn't really understand what magic, was but she could tell this situation was abnormal. She had come across a few animals and monsters who could manifest strange effects so she reasoned this was similar. With that she ran up to one of the trunks and morphed the tips of her fingers into bone and began to climb up to gain a vantage point. Maybe she would find an exit.

​

 

[Clyvelle]

Ciu'nan
|Fae|​

Ciu'nan frowned as an arm crossed her torso to support the elbow of the opposite arm, whose fist propped itself under her chin while she thought. Her foot kicked the ground a few times as she pondered. Fei broke the silence first. Magic seemed like a logical conclusion. As far as domain or who had the power to conjure something like, however, Ciu'nan was at a complete loss.

"I'm most familiar with the countryside around Ryken. The foothills here and those who might guard them are foreign to me. What I can say is that magic of this caliber is...advanced to say the least." Ciu'nan said thoughtfully.

Haruki was worried, but Ciu'nan had no immediate answer for him. She broke her thinking stance to turn to him with a smile.

"This must be pretty scary, huh? Well, I haven't given up on getting us out of here so don't you give up on me, ok? We have a lot of area to explore here. The solution is probably right under our noses, and we don't even realize it." she said encouragingly. "What's more, you have your friends here beside you. We're all going to work together to figure this out."

Tia had similar thoughts it seemed, as she also tried to comfort Haruki. Then she approached Fei, expressing some incoherent statement about trees and tricks. Ciu'nan watched curiously as the small child ran over to a tree, morphed her body, and began climbing it with the ease of a squirrel.

What in the world is she...? pondered Ciu'nan both shocked and impressed by the girl's ability.

Tia would find that she could scale the tree up to the bottom of the canopy overhead if she wished. Going any further would be met with resistance as the branches spontaneously grew and wove themselves together, blocking passage to the treetop. Destroying the limbs caused them to violently regrow in seconds, threatening to skewer anything that tried to slip through.

((Ignore humanoids in pic. Just scenery. Also no buildings. Just forest and boulders.))

 

[LadyOfStars]

Haruki​

Haruki wasn't sure how the others weren't losing their heads over being prisoner to some unknown threat, but it did help that Tia and the others tried to keep him from losing his own. Ciu'nan was right and Haruki knew that he needed to pull himself together and do his part in their herd to look out for his friends.

Taking a deep breath, the young cervitaur finally rejoined the group and started by looking around to really assess their surroundings. It reminded him a little of the home that he had lost and as those memories played back in his mind, he became a little less afraid.

"Perhaps there is a clue we can get from the deer?" He proposed as he moved towards where the carcass was. "If this one deer managed to get stuck, maybe it was ensnared by something that it did, an action similar to one that we all took, activating this...prison?" Inhaling deeply, Haruki looked to the path that they traveled when they were following the deer. He slowly started to head back down the path, but keeping his eyes on his surroundings to see if he spotted anything on his way back to the 'entrance' of the clearing.

Clyvelle Pet Panda EMIYAman Beetlebuggo

 

[Pet Panda]

Fei stood stunned for a moment at the little girl showing initiative. He could remember vividly seeing grown men hesitate to scrub a floor. The hooded figure nodded its solemn approval at the little creature. Peering around, it was a peaceful enough area to be trapped for the rest of his life. It is these little peaceful spots that he found himself drawn to lately, to sit and soak in the time passing him by. The old religions were silly and the wild people held function where he came from; dipping into a bit of a daydream in spite of himself, the vivid colors and details crept into his mind and settled like tea steeps or a cat claims a spot to nap. A shame they weren't being allowed to leave freely, he could see now what the old sages were on about with their spindly ink drawings. The lady fey had a point, he was only looking along the road and around it with his own eyes. With a mild adjustment of his collar, he turned toward the opposite direction that the little girl was headed in and began walking. At the very least, he reasoned, he could pace around the edge of the enclosed area and then make his way inward over time.

"I will find the edge in this direction," he stated simply. Some unidentified threat holds them, perhaps it is a trap for a subtle beast to return and eat them at its leisure, or perhaps just a playful spirit -- no direct harm has befallen them so far even if the dead deer was a poor signpost if this contraption means no harm. Liu began casting his eyes around, up and down, looking for contraptions or totems or even oddly stacked stones. In his time the tribal arts were domesticated into clean rituals with musical instruments, structured ceremonies honoring the dead, and paper with fanciful characters. He hadn't the civic or historical knowledge, nor the cultural intuition to imagine what beings manipulating cosmic energy through pure instinct could erect to their aid, if this cage is anchored in any way by a physical construction. For all he knew, it could be a stone turned over that would unlock this snare and let them pass on their way.

 

[EMIYAman]

Tia
Interactions: Clyvelle Pet Panda LadyOfStars
​

When Tia climbed the tree she found she could reach near the top without trouble. The moment she made to crest the canopy however, she was accosted by the limbs of the tree which grew faster than she had ever seen and moved directly into her way growing so thick as to deny passing through. She narrowed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows and tried to hack at the branches with her claws only to have her arm skewered by the rapidly reconstituting branches. With a frown she rips her arm out from the branches freeing it, the branches quickly filling up the space it left. She looked to the tree limb impaled into her arm, the organic matter that constituted her arm broke and ate away at the wood until it faded away into her. Defeated she slid back down to the ground using her bone claws like a cats and cutting through the bark as she fell to the ground.

She came back to the group an angry pout upon her face. "Tree bite Tia!" She informed the group of this very important detail. Her irritated expression more than enough to inform them of how her attempt to escape from this seemingly arcane trap went. She looked to Fei Liu a ways away examining the edge of the clearing and Haruki moving to examine the corpse. She considered going with Haruki but seeing Fei Liu alone presented Tia with an opportunity to satisfy the curiosity that she couldn't shake. She sidled over to him being as discreet as possible. Once she got close, she whispered to him. "Fei Liue alive? Tia no smell, Tia never no smell." She peered at him with curious eyes. To her something not having a smell meant it wasn't alive, whether that be an object or a picked clean corpse when only bone remained and even that had the lingering of the animals and plants that consumed it.

 

[Beetlebuggo]

Wonton Denver - EMIYAman Clyvelle Pet Panda LadyOfStars
-Think, Think..


As was everyone else trying to figure out what was keeping them trapped, Wonton went to investigate nearby bushes and stuff of the sort.

Ciu’nan’s remark on the spears got a chuckle from the lil guy.

“Huh.. That’s kinda neat, say, if any of you are near a bush or something of the sort, try searching through those. Never know if something could be hidden..”

 

[Clyvelle]

Ciu'nan
|Fae|​

Ciu'nan continued to watch Tia as she disappeared into the upper limits of the tree she climbed. Unable to see her, Ciu'nan looked to the others as they split up to investigate in their own ways. Giving another quick glance up to Tia's last known location, Ciu'nan approached the deer again. Haruki had spared it a glance before tracing their steps back to the beginning of the area.

So strange... thought Ciu'nan, kneeling beside the deer.

As her mind ran in circles trying to process what could have happened, she absently petted the deer. There was still a slight warmth that was quickly fading. The fur was still silky beneath Ciu'nan's fingers as they glided across the deer's body.

A sudden jingling behind her caused Ciu'nan to turn around, but there was nothing there. She did see Tia returning from her apparently unsuccessful climb however. The girl wore a sour look as she approached and proclaimed her defeat. Ciu'nan had to hide a laugh. This girl was incredibly cute when she wasn't even trying. Tia stalked off in Fei's direction without another word.

Haruki
The cervitaur would notice in glancing at the deer its location. Boulders of varying size were positioned irregularly around the area where the deer fell. Based on its position, it might be assumed it was facing the boulder next to it when it collapsed. The terrain sunk somewhat into the midst of the boulders and the deer lay in this depression.

In retracing their steps, Haruki would see intermittent patches of earth with hoof prints as well as their own feet prints. Branches had been broken in places on shorter trees and shrubs. The path was fairly unremarkable otherwise. Haruki would crest the hill Ciu'nan had skipped up moments prior to see himself enter the same area from the opposite end of where he had started.

Fei Liu
The group had passed through the area initially in a west to east direction. Fei would head north to find the boundary there. This would begin with a slight climb as the boulders were next to a shelf slightly taller than a man. Mounting this obstacle, Fei would see much the same thing: large trees and massive roots. Just before hitting the boundary, however, Fei would notice two fledgling trees only a few decades old, their lower halves nearly consumed with shelf fungi. The pair grow away from each other in a vague V-pattern.

Wonton
The orange dandelion did not stray far from the scene of the crime. In searching the forest floor, he uncovered a small batch of odd mushrooms.

((Ignore humanoids in pic. Just scenery. Also no buildings. Just forest and boulders.))

 

[LadyOfStars]

Haruki​

There was a fair bit of information to take in as Haruki actually focused more on their surroundings rather than letting himself be worked up by his fears. First the positioning of the deer and the terrain around it did strike him as very odd. He'd never seen such a formation in nature before, not organically anyway. That supported the idea that they were at the mercy of some unseen entity.

He followed their trail back to the 'entrance' only to see that there was nothing remarkable to see. Some broken branches and such. When he looked up from his investigating, he noticed that he stood across the field, on the opposite side where he had just been. "H-How?" Quickly he looked behind him, but saw only trees. He wasn't sure what this meant, but before his mind got out of control with ideas, the young cervitaur quickly tried to relax himself and focus. He wouldn't be of any use if he broke down...again.

"Perhaps we should move the deer?" He was reluctant to move a corpse, but it was the only thing that he could think of. "It seems to be the center of this...prison and maybe it is the source of it as well?" He made a slow approach to Ciu'nan, looking to the more seasoned fae with inquisitive eyes.

Clyvelle

 

[Beetlebuggo]

Wonton Denver - Clyvelle LadyOfStars Pet Panda EMIYAman

- Shrooms = Sus

*Rustle Rustle* These sounds were the only things that Wonton's hearing focused on as he searched through the nearby shrubbery.

“Hm.. Not much here, how about here..?” *rustle rustle..*

“Nope.. Nothing… Maybe… Here?”

This had gone on for quite a few minutes, but Wonton did not relent.

Then he found something of interest, it was a group of mushrooms, but not like any other he had seen before..

It was white, and looked puffy to that of a chewed marshmallow.. but it was also coated in red and black gooey spots.. It was kinda unsettling, even for this dandelion.

“Uhh.. Guys? Found something here..” He called to the group.

 

[Pet Panda]

Liu would report that he has very little in the way of magical intuition, tilted his head at the sight of this formation. It was out of place but not unnatural; trees die, trees grow together, fungus grows on trees -- nothing to be concerned about. However, casting his gaze about, there was naught but green and brown of healthy wood and there was nothing else nearly as striking as this image jutting out of the ground before him. So he may as well, he reasoned, take a look. Cautiously, he walked around the formation, probing slowly with only his eyes from top to bottom, left to right, looking for intelligible signs that it was tampered with or contrived. Perhaps it was the mystical totem he imagined initially and he looked for formations and regularities in the surface of the fungus or the trees. He was, however, keeping a distance he deemed safe, inspecting as well as he could from a few feet away. He was already in one trap and there seemed to be plenty of room for another one.

From behind he could hear grass and leaves crunching rapidly. He turned and the small girl was already in his face whispering and he put his hands up gasping audibly and flinching at the sudden approach and placing a thin hand over his empty chest. An eidolon of a past habit was what she was greeted with and then the unearthly stillness that he would only be able to manage nowadays followed. For a moment he didn't say anything, and this is usually where his heart would be pounding out of his chest. Children have such a way of striking to the heart of things, unburdened by "probably" this and "usually" that. Liu turned his head to the side to look nervously at a random bush and then a thought occured to him. He said out loud in a tone of one who has just solved a problem, "well," he started, "of course I'm alive. I'm moving, I'm speaking, I feel the mild temperature, the sun on my cloak, I can smell the air, and I'm looking for a way out of this... place... I'm just a little lighter than average," he shrugged aloud, relief slipping into his voice in the form of a faint chuckle punctuating the conclusion. He added lightly, "I even found this," and gestured to the v-shaped fungus pile with the back a lazy hand. From far off he could hear one of his compatriots calling for a discovery of some kind. He looked in their direction for a moment but sensed that she would be the one who decides when this conversation is over, and so he stood and waited for her to reply, inadvertantly tipping his hand a little by hesitating.

 

[EMIYAman]

Tia
Interactions: Clyvelle Pet Panda LadyOfStars Beetlebuggo

​

On the edge of the boundary away from the rest Tia regarded Fei Liu and his words. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she contemplated what he said. She scrutinized him gazing intently at where his face would be, yet it was shielded even from her enhanced eyesight by the shadows. "Fei Liu weird, no like daddy." Her eyes grew deeply pained. Luckily for him she had yet to even grasp the concept of lying, that offense which sapient creatures are so fond of employing. "That ok, Tia weird to." With that she drew back from him and crouched upon the ground. Seemingly lost in thought about something else.

At Fei Liu's behest she looked to the bizarre fungal growth growing deeply fascinated by its visage almost forgetting her sadness entirely. In the way children do whenever something new and interesting catches their eye. She got close to it and investigated it closely from every angle she could. Noting the strange way in which it grew. Tia was no stranger to natural formations, and the shape in which these grew reminded her more of the orderly structures of the stone and shiny bone place than a forest. Then almost mechanically she picked one up and ate it.

 

[Clyvelle]

Ciu'nan
|Fae|​

The activities of the group converged in one simultaneous sequence of events. Ciu'nan remained by the deer as Haruki approached from his fruitless search with an almost desperate suggestion that they try moving the deer. Tia and Fei had more or less concluded their brief exchange as the former became intrigued by the fungal formation on the pair of trees discovered by the latter. As the creature with a child's face began sniffing about the shrooms, Wanton was rummaging through bushes and undergrowth on the side opposite to Tia and Fei. When the orange dandy discovered his own patch of shrooms, Tia's curiosity got the better of her. Wanton's call to the others came right as Tia was sampling the forbidden fruit. The taste was bitter but the meat spongy. Were it not for Tia's unnatural constitution, the shroom may have made her sick.

As Tia came to her own conclusions regarding the shelf mushroom, a groan suddenly creaked up the core of the tree from which she had taken her sample. In plain sight to the pair standing there, the fungus currently consuming the tree actively sprouted and spread up the tree a few inches, before snapping sounds caused puffs of sawdust to spew out in places along the compromised bark. Suddenly, the core of the trunk gave out as the top half of the tree collapsed to the ground.

Back in the center of the magical space, Ciu'nan was assisting Haruki in beginning to move the deer when she suddenly stopped. Releasing the deer suddenly, she grabbed Haruki and pulled him away from the deer's location as the ground beneath them began trembling. Jets of dust were ejected into the air as debris settled into newly opened pockets below. The duff around the boulders eroded and sifted away revealing that the boulders went further down. The depression the deer's body had been in gave way, and the carcass began sinking down into a developing hollow amidst the boulders, which suddenly quivered and closed in around deer. Then a good portion of the shelf that Fei and Tia had climbed up on began to raise and fracture as an enormous figure partially erupted out of the ground.







Various fungi could be seen sprouting all over the creature's body. Its head and back were covered by giant layered mushroom caps, resembling a carapace of sorts. The boulders shattered slightly as more distinctive finger shapes became visible, the hands currently cradling the form of the deer. Under the mushroom hood in the shadowed recesses where its face presumably was, two large yellow slits opened.

The head lowered as it stared at the carcass in its hands. As it looked at the deer, the latter's form began to quiver before erupting in a beautiful, yet unsettling, display of colorful fungi. Once the deer's form was completely consumed, the mushrooms melded into the hands, which laid on the ground in front of the creature.

Only then did the eyes raise and for the first time seemingly acknowledge that there were creatures in the area. The eyes widened slightly as a low rumble echoed through the area. At first, all that is heard is the all-encompassing dull roar, but gradually, words began to come to the listeners as the sound is somehow translated into speech within the minds of all.

"Not...deer...? How...strange...."

 

[Pet Panda]

Tia's words were a little mysterious. That she would compare him, a faceless featureless figure in more ways than one, to her father is a little weird. On second thought, not really all that strange for a child. He wondered idly what the child was doing out here anyway, in all of this danger. Although she showed initiative beyond her years, did she have strength as well? A difficult question. Fei himself did not choose to concern himself with her wellbeing. If she were a runaway, this is what she would sow. If she were fleeing a bad family, may as well be here than back home. This train of thought distracted him momentarily and he couldn't react in time to stop her from eating a piece of mushroom. He called out, "ah!" but his stern warning was promptly swallowed by a deep rumbling. He cast his arms out to his side and stepped out to lower his center of gravity while the ground under him buckled and shifted. He allowed himself to fall away, tumbling over backward lithely, and those nearby might see his form bend unnaturally as he hit the back of his shoulders after the ground reared up, and rolled backward onto his feet without missing a beat.

Liu counted himself lucky that all kinds of biological systems weren't around to feed back, else the appearance of the creature might have stirred panic in him. Instead there was all that room for wonder instead. It presented itself grandly, a massive creature, and Liu began walking backward, creating distance between himself and the creature pointedly. Unfortunately, among the scars of war, self preservation sometimes stifled a good time with its cicatrices. Having just seen what the creature did to that deer, the hooded figure stepped back several time and was soon quite a ways away from the creature, at least twenty feet. Luckily its tremendous and hirrient voice reverberated impossibly far, he wouldn't have to lean in to understand it. In fact, directly into his empty skull, the creature's husky voice filled the space like cotton for a few moments. Liu had no words at the time, he had no wish to approach either, only survey the situation while his ghostly nerves, subtle now that they are detached from any flesh or bone, settled on their own. What a sight.

 

[LadyOfStars]

Haruki​

Haruki audibly gasped and quickly fled from where the deer had been, rushing away from the shifting, changing terrain. He could see all around the area that the forest was undergoing some sort of transformation, but he couldn't fathom what it would be turning into. Instead his mind was on surviving. He stayed close to Ciu'nan, grateful that she managed to save him from whatever fate would have awaited him had he stayed so near the corpse.

Once they were clear of the danger zone, Haruki was wowed by the sight that remained. A creature of the forest, made of mushrooms. While it was sad to see the deer be consumed, Haruki's was more focused on the creature tat had appeared. Was this entity the reason that they were stuck here? Would it attempt to consume them next?

When the voice invaded their minds, Haruki looked around in a panicked state, but found no one nearby. To make matters worse, it seemed that the voice might have been interested in him for being part deer. "Ciu'nan...what is that thing?" Haruki whispered to the fae.

Clyvelle