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Post by Stage on Dec 23, 2018 16:54:52 GMT
"Sound? Like a bat?" Red hair swayed as Maria twisted her head to look at Sya's. "But you're ears aren't big at all."
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 24, 2018 2:09:28 GMT
"As I said, Sya is a unique specimen, with abilities that work beyond the comprehension of most humans." Laeptus was the one who responded to Maria this time.
A low, haunting howl echoed off in the distance. "Yeah, let's continue this session of fifty questions in a safer location, rather than out in the open."asphagel said.
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Post by Stage on Dec 24, 2018 2:11:54 GMT
Maria flittered closer to Aspahgel. "Um... if the trees are this big... is... is everything else so big too?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Dec 24, 2018 2:18:30 GMT
Asphagel nodded. "Yes. The creatures in this jungle get very big, to the point we'd be like ants to them..."
The ground shook. It was a soft vibration, but then another one followed. Then a third, even stronger vibration...
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Post by KayKay on Sept 9, 2019 2:41:04 GMT
Past the colorful coral-like undergrowth, a lupine shape bounded out of the fog and over the massive roots. The creature seemed small compared to its surroundings, but its long barrel-like body, held atop four stubby legs, stood four times as tall as a house. A hairless, dog-like snout quivered as it sniffed the air around it, and a pair of sharp canines slipped out from behind its upper lips.
The ground shook again, and a second creature joined the first, perching on the tree root next to it. It sniffed the air alongside its companion, and long quills on its back stood on end as it picked up a scent...
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Post by Stage on Sept 9, 2019 22:24:06 GMT
Maria withdrew from the giant, dog-like beasts, hiding from their line of sight behind Asphagel.
"Um," she whined shrilly in fear, "a- are they friendly?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Sept 9, 2019 23:09:25 GMT
"No, they aren't." Asphagel muttered as he pressed low against the roots. Laeptus and Sya followed suit, the latter dragged Maria with her. Though her hand was very hot to the touch, it was just cool enough to not cause any real pain. "Predators, more than happy to have one of us as a snack."
Though it was clear Laeptus wanted to say something, no doubt in Asphagel's mind about how impractical morsels as small as them would be seen as appetizing to such large creatures, he nonetheless remained silent, in the hopes these creatures passed by.
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Post by KayKay on Oct 7, 2019 1:14:43 GMT
The lead creature's elongated jaws parted, displaying its curved, prominate canines like the fangs of a viper. It barked: a shrill whooping call that rattled the eardrums of the tiny beings below and echoed across the gargantuan landscape. The call was answered by its partner, then by a third unseen individual hidden behind the wall of roots. A fourth, then a fifth answered, their voices ringing though the primeval forest.
Then the leader leaped off the root with speed that defied its massive bulk. The ground shuddered as it raced past the hiding place of the smaller creatures, a long lizard-like tail whipping through the fallen leaves behind it. The leader was followed by its partner, then by the three other members of its pack as they tore across the forest floor after them.
They payed the smaller creatures no notice – their focus was on the trail their leader had picked up...
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Post by Stage on Oct 7, 2019 1:19:02 GMT
"W- What are they doing?" Maria asked, holding Sya's warm hand tight. Hopefully, she asked, "Leaving?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Oct 7, 2019 3:17:58 GMT
"Hunting." Asphagel responded. "For larger game than us. A whole pack would need a large prey item to eat."
"Beneficial for us." Laeptus waited as the creatures moved on. Sya remained silent, keeping her grasp on Maria firm yet not painful.
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Post by KayKay on Oct 17, 2019 12:27:58 GMT
"They won't eat you."
The voice came from a massive root high above their heads and to their left. A man stood atop it, but from this distance it was difficult to make out his features. His skin was brown, and he wore clothing that seemed to be fashioned out of strips from the massive leaves of nearby ferns. A hood made of soft plant matter rested over the man's head and kept his face hidden in shadows. He was armed – a long spear with a blade of scrap-metal held loosely in his right hand.
"You should be more concerned about being stepped on," the strange man told them from his perch, his voice carrying well over the distance between them.
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Post by Stage on Oct 17, 2019 17:50:04 GMT
"Who's that?" Maria whispered to Sya before realizing, seemingly with a flush of embarrassment, that she would not know.
Raising her voice and hoping it would carry as well up as the stranger's did down, she asked more directly, "Who are you?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Oct 17, 2019 22:39:23 GMT
"A native, I presume, or someone as equally trapped in this strange land..." Laeptus mused.
Sya let go of Maria, and moved out of their hiding spot, since she assumed it was now safe to do so. Asphagel remained silent as well...
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Post by KayKay on Oct 19, 2019 14:15:20 GMT
"I was about to ask you the same question." The glint of eyes beneath the man's leafy cowl suggested he was staring at Asphagel and Laeptus as he said this.
With speed that suggested the man was well practiced at moving through the terrain of the forest floor, the man knelt down, his spear in one hand, and effortlessly climbed down the side of the root until he reached the soil below. He slowly approached the group, and his features beneath the cowl became more easily visible. He was an older man, approaching his sixties if not already there. His brown skin contrasted against a beard of silver-tinged hair – and his eyes, twinkling as he offered Maria a welcoming smile – were silver as well.
"I am Tarik," the man finally answered. "The Great Mother tells me you people are not a threat. I will trust her judgement."
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Post by Stage on Oct 20, 2019 2:30:09 GMT
"Hi," greeted the girl shyly from behind the much taller, slimmer redhead. "I'm Maria. Um... how did your mom know we're here?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Oct 20, 2019 4:38:11 GMT
"I believe he is referring to the forest itself. Many believe places like these have powerful spirits within." Asphagel explained, before addressing the man himself. "My name is Asphagel. I live on the edge of this forest."
"And I am Laeptus, a scientist from a far land. I have been stuck here with Sya, one of my creations, for an unknown length of time."
Sya nodded in response. "It was rough at first, but we made due. My creator's armor, however, has not." She lowly hissed. Her right eye glanced over to the rusting, cracked hull that was visible beneath Laeptus's tattered cloak.
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Post by KayKay on Oct 21, 2019 2:50:51 GMT
The older man studied Asphagel and Laeptus carefully.
"Those who came here years before told us about the changes of the outside world. They told us that non-human races existed in abundance, but I had never seen one until now..."
His inquisitive silver eyes fell on Maria. "How long have you been trapped in here?"
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Post by Stage on Oct 21, 2019 2:53:52 GMT
The teenage girl took a few steps away from Sya. The aged man's gentle way of speaking had put her more at ease.
"Um... I just got here. I want to go home. I... I want my mom..."
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Post by Executus Gira on Oct 21, 2019 3:05:44 GMT
"So it is true... this place is one where time flows unnaturally." Laeptus mumbled to himself.
"Once we're out of here, we'll find a way to get you back home. I promise." Asphagel told the girl, but deep down, he didn't know just how likely that really was. Of all the things he had heard while being in this world, a way out was not one of those with actual concrete evidence, and all he had to go off of were rumors and legends from various nomads who passed near his home.
But at the same time, if there was anyone who had the technical expertise to construct a way out of this world with the right materials, it would be Laeptus. The scientist's work was well known in underground circles even before Persephone had taken the throne, from biomechanical spiders that could survive for up to a month even as just a head to transforming the bodies of the disabled and weak into hulking metallic abominations. He had even heard before he had ended up in this world that the scientist had reverse engineered long dormant Celestial technology and had been in the early stages of bringing back a long extinct alpha predator.
It was a long shot, and Asphagel still felt knots in his stomach about working with Laeptus once again, but it was their best chance...
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Post by KayKay on Jan 14, 2020 5:17:04 GMT
The old man's eyes did not meet Maria's.
"I'm afraid there is no way out of this forest, unless things have changed in recent years," he said softly. "The Seed of Tartarus folds space around the forest edge like paper. Once inside all paths lead further into the forest."
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