Revision as of 23:27, 25 July 2013 (view source) RustBot (talk | contribs) (Auto update) ← Older edit		Latest revision as of 23:28, 25 July 2013 (view source) RustBot (talk | contribs) (Auto update)
(4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 11:		Line 11:
	25/7/476		25/7/476
	=Log=		=Log=
−	<div></div><br> <br>An early morning in Eastbank Forest, just after dawn. One would probably have expected to hear birdsong so early, but the air is deathly silent, thanks to a noticeable lack of animal life out and about. A black bear in a green, long-sleeved uniform and wide-brimmed hat lounges by the parth at the forest's periphery, awaiting the arrival of the group of Freeswords from Firmament.<br> <br>Shaytalis is first to arrive from Firmament, approaching the black bear and nodding to him.  Looking over his uniform, she asks, "Have you requested the assistant of the Freeswords?  My name is Shaytalis.  I understand that the earth has been trembling."<br> <br>Leian was wandering through the woods, playing her flute, when she felt the tremors and saw the animals fleeing. She had headed in the direction they came from with a curious look in her eyes as she looked about at those who were near by " Whats going on? I felt the ground quaking and saw animals fleeing. Is everything alright?"<br> <br>There is a birdlike screech from above as a shadow crosses over those gathered.  A Raven/Panther hybrid griffon has arrived, and it has a rider!  Seems these two have worked together like this in the past, for the flyer comes in for a gentle landing that has it prancing for a bit after coming down so as not to jostle the rider too much.  Yes, this means the bird has a harness complete with saddle, but it doesn't seem to mind it.<br> <br>Always in need of a little coin here and there to support his wonderful meat 'n' drink habbits, along with being fueld by his typical high amount of curioisty, a lion strolls in through the forest just shortly after the others. With a tuck at his coat, smoothing out any creases along the way, he ventures forth with a prideful smile to make contact with the bear. "'ello there lad," Dio waves. "I hear you've been 'avin' some strange problems as of late."<br> <br>Ictus looks down from the air as he rides the griffon and sighs, "I still don't know how you talked me into this..." he isn't afraid of heights at least, he looks around as he gets off of Mazurek once he is able and waves to the others, "So, ee're looking to see what caused the tremors I'm guessing?"<br> <br>Lidiya makes her way along, showing up a bit late mostly because she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be on the job or not, it's a lazy day. But, the chance at some extra coin and an excuse to goof off won out. At the sight of the gryphon, she glances around, making sure no one's taking a joke out, then shakes her head and continues on. She'd be muttering if it were possible. <br> <br>Selena makes her way to the forest on foot, unusual for the woman. Familiar faces are greeted with waves, though she does stiffen momentarily when she recognizes Leian. The moment passes quietly enough and soon she's back to her usual disposition when strange events are concerned; "I'm surprised there's a problem with tremors here, of all places." She comments, glancing around the forest before her eyes settle on the bear. "I doubt it's magic for something of that scale, but depending on how brash a group of beings could be..." She sighs, rubbing her forehead for a moment. "I suppose my question is, is it a natural earthquake? If not, what's the cause? I'm sure the wildlife would be grateful if there wasn't another, if not us for being told what's up."<br> <br>The bear eyes the group, then chews on a cigarette in his teeth. "You're the lot that came all the way from town? From the way Zarine was acting, I thought he was going to hire the entire Good King's army to come down here and sort things out. Well, well..." He draws on his cigarette a moment, then grinds out the stub under the sole of his boot. "I'm Ash. One of the forest wardens, in the name of the Good King and all. And yes, the earth has been shaking over the last couple of days - three or four, give or take. At first, we thought they were just flukes, folk messing around in the quarry, but Granite tells me they haven't done any blasting since the whole business with the Gallows. We have no idea if they're antural or not, no one's dared go check."<br> <br>"The little lady here -" he gives a nod to Leian - "has it somewhat right. Animals aren't hiding like they ought to be, 'least they make some noise when they're doing just that. They're running scared. To be frank, we're running scared, too - nothing quite like this has ever happened before. All sorts of folk wandering into the forest, looking for spirits, then there was that mysterious lightning bolt that came down outta nowhere, made me worried that we were going to have another forest fire - whatever it is, go in, find it, and put a stop to it. You, and only you, can do it - because I know by the Creators, no one around these parts is stepping into the forest like under these conditions. Not me, leastways. Questions?"<br> <br>Shaytalis nods, looking to the others, "Is anyone an expert regarding earth magic?  I am well practiced, but I am not in a soul that specializes in that study."  Looking into the woods, "I don't move very quietly in armor.  Is anyone planning to sneak ahead, or shall we all move as a unit?  I can fire from a range or fight in the front line, it does not matter."<br> <br>Leian tilts her head slightly as she watches the bear with a sway of her tail a moment " So your looking for someone to check? Why haven't you check yourselves? I'm curious whats going on, but I am no fighter. Maybe there is something else I can do, if need be, to help, if I can?" she tilts her head a bit, ears flicking softly<br> <br>The griffon hunkers down to give the Kitsune less distance to drop to the ground before rising to its feet again.  Another squawk, this time much more muted, is followed by actual speech, "I talked you into it by convincing you to make a saddle so the risk of falling off would be next to nil."  The obviously-male creature shakes himself a bit, only to fluff the feathers and begin preening, "I have some knowledge of Earth Math, but not quite enough to check on anything useful."<br> <br>With a few more people arriving, and finally noticing some familiar faces, Dio gives them a small wave and smile in his typical fashion and returns to listening to the rather aptly named smoking bear. "A lightnin' bolt you say," the lion comments, rubbing at his chin. "I'm guessin' the treamors started happenin' after the bolt of lightning?" He looks about at the others and smiles reassuringly. "Don't worry about it if yer not the fightin' type. I'll watch out for ya! And who's to say there's a frightenin' monster out there? Regardless, we should start investigatin'"<br> <br>Ictus stiffens at Shay's voice and growls a little, though he doesn't pay any attention to her as he addresses the griffon with a sigh, "Yeah... Yeah, I know." he looks to Dio and peers at the lion before he nods, "Yeah, I'll help too." he ponders a bit though as he looks around, "Though I don't know much about Earth Math myself..."<br> <br>Lidiya shrugs and raises her hand at the question of earth math. It's something she does well, though admittedly mostly she uses it to break things. She hefts her hammer up over her shoulder, draping it across both before hooking her arms over it and making her way over closer to the bear, still giving the... strange pair an odd look from time to time. Her ears begin to twitch at a familiar voice and she waves her over, Selena that is.	+	<div></div><br> <br>An early morning in Eastbank Forest, just after dawn. One would probably have expected to hear birdsong so early, but the air is deathly silent, thanks to a noticeable lack of animal life out and about. A black bear in a green, long-sleeved uniform and wide-brimmed hat lounges by the parth at the forest's periphery, awaiting the arrival of the group of Freeswords from Firmament.<br> <br>Shaytalis is first to arrive from Firmament, approaching the black bear and nodding to him.  Looking over his uniform, she asks, "Have you requested the assistant of the Freeswords?  My name is Shaytalis.  I understand that the earth has been trembling."<br> <br>Leian was wandering through the woods, playing her flute, when she felt the tremors and saw the animals fleeing. She had headed in the direction they came from with a curious look in her eyes as she looked about at those who were near by " Whats going on? I felt the ground quaking and saw animals fleeing. Is everything alright?"<br> <br>There is a birdlike screech from above as a shadow crosses over those gathered.  A Raven/Panther hybrid griffon has arrived, and it has a rider!  Seems these two have worked together like this in the past, for the flyer comes in for a gentle landing that has it prancing for a bit after coming down so as not to jostle the rider too much.  Yes, this means the bird has a harness complete with saddle, but it doesn't seem to mind it.<br> <br>Always in need of a little coin here and there to support his wonderful meat 'n' drink habbits, along with being fueld by his typical high amount of curioisty, a lion strolls in through the forest just shortly after the others. With a tuck at his coat, smoothing out any creases along the way, he ventures forth with a prideful smile to make contact with the bear. "'ello there lad," Dio waves. "I hear you've been 'avin' some strange problems as of late."<br> <br>Ictus looks down from the air as he rides the griffon and sighs, "I still don't know how you talked me into this..." he isn't afraid of heights at least, he looks around as he gets off of Mazurek once he is able and waves to the others, "So, ee're looking to see what caused the tremors I'm guessing?"<br> <br>Lidiya makes her way along, showing up a bit late mostly because she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be on the job or not, it's a lazy day. But, the chance at some extra coin and an excuse to goof off won out. At the sight of the gryphon, she glances around, making sure no one's taking a joke out, then shakes her head and continues on. She'd be muttering if it were possible. <br> <br>Selena makes her way to the forest on foot, unusual for the woman. Familiar faces are greeted with waves, though she does stiffen momentarily when she recognizes Leian. The moment passes quietly enough and soon she's back to her usual disposition when strange events are concerned; "I'm surprised there's a problem with tremors here, of all places." She comments, glancing around the forest before her eyes settle on the bear. "I doubt it's magic for something of that scale, but depending on how brash a group of beings could be..." She sighs, rubbing her forehead for a moment. "I suppose my question is, is it a natural earthquake? If not, what's the cause? I'm sure the wildlife would be grateful if there wasn't another, if not us for being told what's up."<br> <br>The bear eyes the group, then chews on a cigarette in his teeth. "You're the lot that came all the way from town? From the way Zarine was acting, I thought he was going to hire the entire Good King's army to come down here and sort things out. Well, well..." He draws on his cigarette a moment, then grinds out the stub under the sole of his boot. "I'm Ash. One of the forest wardens, in the name of the Good King and all. And yes, the earth has been shaking over the last couple of days - three or four, give or take. At first, we thought they were just flukes, folk messing around in the quarry, but Granite tells me they haven't done any blasting since the whole business with the Gallows. We have no idea if they're antural or not, no one's dared go check."<br> <br>"The little lady here -" he gives a nod to Leian - "has it somewhat right. Animals aren't hiding like they ought to be, 'least they make some noise when they're doing just that. They're running scared. To be frank, we're running scared, too - nothing quite like this has ever happened before. All sorts of folk wandering into the forest, looking for spirits, then there was that mysterious lightning bolt that came down outta nowhere, made me worried that we were going to have another forest fire - whatever it is, go in, find it, and put a stop to it. You, and only you, can do it - because I know by the Creators, no one around these parts is stepping into the forest like under these conditions. Not me, leastways. Questions?"<br> <br>Shaytalis nods, looking to the others, "Is anyone an expert regarding earth magic?  I am well practiced, but I am not in a soul that specializes in that study."  Looking into the woods, "I don't move very quietly in armor.  Is anyone planning to sneak ahead, or shall we all move as a unit?  I can fire from a range or fight in the front line, it does not matter."<br> <br>Leian tilts her head slightly as she watches the bear with a sway of her tail a moment " So your looking for someone to check? Why haven't you check yourselves? I'm curious whats going on, but I am no fighter. Maybe there is something else I can do, if need be, to help, if I can?" she tilts her head a bit, ears flicking softly<br> <br>The griffon hunkers down to give the Kitsune less distance to drop to the ground before rising to its feet again.  Another squawk, this time much more muted, is followed by actual speech, "I talked you into it by convincing you to make a saddle so the risk of falling off would be next to nil."  The obviously-male creature shakes himself a bit, only to fluff the feathers and begin preening, "I have some knowledge of Earth Math, but not quite enough to check on anything useful."<br> <br>With a few more people arriving, and finally noticing some familiar faces, Dio gives them a small wave and smile in his typical fashion and returns to listening to the rather aptly named smoking bear. "A lightnin' bolt you say," the lion comments, rubbing at his chin. "I'm guessin' the treamors started happenin' after the bolt of lightning?" He looks about at the others and smiles reassuringly. "Don't worry about it if yer not the fightin' type. I'll watch out for ya! And who's to say there's a frightenin' monster out there? Regardless, we should start investigatin'"<br> <br>Ictus stiffens at Shay's voice and growls a little, though he doesn't pay any attention to her as he addresses the griffon with a sigh, "Yeah... Yeah, I know." he looks to Dio and peers at the lion before he nods, "Yeah, I'll help too." he ponders a bit though as he looks around, "Though I don't know much about Earth Math myself..."<br> <br>Lidiya shrugs and raises her hand at the question of earth math. It's something she does well, though admittedly mostly she uses it to break things. She hefts her hammer up over her shoulder, draping it across both before hooking her arms over it and making her way over closer to the bear, still giving the... strange pair an odd look from time to time. Her ears begin to twitch at a familiar voice and she waves her over, Selena that is.<br> <br>Selena raises a hand. "Yes. Do you have any idea where the epicenter was?" She asks simply. "If not the quarry, then it's somewhere in the forest. if we've got a guide to go on, it'd be easier than trying to digure it out ourselves now the quakes have passed. There would definitely be marks left from the quake, but it's certainly not the usual branch of earth magic I work with. As for why beings aren't running in to check, not everyone is terribly fond of unexplained occurances in a region that's recently been re-occupied by Thunderhooves and had a bandit attack causing a cave-in not even a week ago in the general vicinity." Lidiya's given a wave back as she approaches the jackal. "Lidiya and I both know our share of earth magic if need be, to reiterate."<br> <br>Ash rolls his eyes at Leian's question and gives Selena a nod. "As I said, no one dares go in there alone. There're only a handful of us wardens, and most folk around these parts are hunters, herb pickers, old grannies collecting firewood, you know the drill. That's why we hired this lot, to do the job we won't. I take it you want to go in with them? Suit yourself." And to Dio, "nah, that lightning was some time ago, week or two ago. Can't rightly say they would be connected, but can't say they aren't, either. But if the wolf lass there thinks the source is magical, then doubly so no one's going in. Good thing you're prepared, then."<br> <br>"There is something I've got you can go on, though," he says after thinking a bit in response to Selena's question. "Granite and his boys at the quarry are pretty sure the tremors are strongest near the lake. You know, the one with the odd totem that's been around forever, near the heart of the woods. I guess you could start looking there - this trail will eventually take you to it, if you're so minded."<br> <br>Indeed, the dirt trail stretches ahead of the group, long and inviting - or it would have been, if not for the silence. Shafts of sunlight pierce through the canopy, and the undergrowth is thin - for now. Certainly nothing could go wrong, would it?<br> <br>Shaytalis asks, "Do you have an idea of how far-reaching the quakes have been?  How large of an area?  We could use that information to determine a likely epicenter by the truth of Pi."<br> <br>Leian's tail sways behind her and she frowns a bit at the rolling eyes a moment " I did not mean it that way! I meant, maybe send a scout to take a quick peek so as to learn what to possibly expect.. Didn't think about doing such?"<br> <br>Mazurek smirks, somehow managing it with a beak, "If a scout is needed, I can easily do that.  I can fly around and report back as needed.  If someone wants to join me, I can accomodate a rider.  Maybe have some fire support if things get ugly."<br> <br>"Hmmm..." Dio took a long, hard look at the mentioned dirt path. He had to admit, it certainly did look very inviting and indeed, there was nothing that could go wrong on such. Nothing at all. "I'm gonna head down 'n' see that totem," the lion says with near palpable excitement. At first, he begins a minor jog in his place, and then starts taking off down the path! Perhaps it would've saved him some time if he'd taken the offer for a ride, but there are too many exciting things to focus on!<br> <br>Ictus nods as he looks to Selena and hmms a bit, "True." he waves to Lidiya as well before looking to Ash, "Well, the lightning was caused by a spirit if I'm not mistaken..." he looks to the others and shrugs, "The lake seems like the place to start then."<br> <br>Lidiya stretches her arms out, one at a time so she doesn't have to drop the hammer. She also returns the wave to Ictus of course, once she stops laughing at the realization that he rode in on someone. Silently, but her shoulders are shaking at least. She pads over to Selena and tilts her head curiously.<br> <br>Selena nods appreciatively as the bear gives his answer. "Thank you for the tip off. And Leian - Bandit attacks, Thunder hooves, cave-ins, unexplained earthquakes, spooked wildlife and we're not all soulless. It's not hard to guess." She lists with a sigh. "And even we're not immortal. I say we check the lake first. It's our only lead, and better to start checking for the cause there. Besides; it takes two points to find the center of a quake." she comments, then looks back to Lidiya and taps the jackal on the shoulder as she queries; "That's an odd look. What's the occasion? What I said is true unless you've not used earth magic those few times." Her voice raises a little as she walks a short distance along the trail; "Well, the sooner we get this done the better."<br> <br>"We certainly thought about it," Ash says as he lights up another cigarette. "Been thinking really long and hard about it, three nights in a row in my bunk. Actually getting around doing it...well, that's another matter, lass. As for how far the quakes reach, just walk in and you'll start feeling them. Never had that much of a head for math of any sort myself, that's why I'm a forest warden. No math, see? Now please..." he extends a large paw towards the inviting trail, then points at Dio, already in the fore. "I don't think I have much more to say. Do get about the job we hired you to do, yes? Fly, jog, run, whatever."<br> <br>Carefully, cautiously, the group advances along the path Dio's set for them. Hey, when there's danger, nothing better than having someone willingly be bai- take charge and be in the lead, right? Nothing happens for a good fifteen minutes, and suddenly, the group feels the first of the tremors. This one's nothing powerful, certainly not enough to throw anyone off balance, but a sudden scuttling from the forest undergrowth prompt's everyone's attention, especially Dio, who is in the lead. The lion manages to leap out of the way as a small swarm of skrith pour out from their now-collapsed nest, which had just taken the last straw in its beating over the previous handful of days. The insects don't seem particularly angry or vicious, but seem to just want out as quickly and expidently as possible - which means coming down the path straight at the group.<br> <br>Shaytalis holds out her hands towards the swarm, "Wolves.  Let me assist you in forming a barrier.  I can assist you."<br> <br>Leian yelps in surprise at the sight of the large swarm a moment, before pulling her flute up to her muzzle and immediately beginning to play from it. A wind begins to kick up around the area a bit more strongly than mere moments before, dropping and falling rapidly with her tune as she plays, her tail swaying behind her rapidly.<br> <br>With nobody accepting the offer for a ride, the Griffon takes flight to soar through the sky above the group, watching out for anything out of the ordinary.  Well, out of the ordinary being something other than the swarm of Skrith that appears on the path.  The Griffon beats his wings swiftly to hover in place and watch what the group is doing.  Thankfully he has some training in the magics of Earth Maths and focuses on directing it to assist the others.  He has the height advantage here and can see where the magic needs to form for the insects to travel safely around the group.<br> <br>The lion was happily jogging about on the dirt path, almost assured that nearly nothing could wrong as per his first deduction. With a whistle and a skip, he nearly collides into a nasty mess of gigantic skirth, causing him to leap and tumble out of the way onto the floor. Hearing a bit of magic popping off behind him, Dio decides, with his very little knowledge of such subjects, to head out of the way and assist only if necessary.<br> <br>Ictus hmms? at the swarm and winces as he steps to the side, towards a tree, grabbing a branch he pulls himself up a little so he isn't on the ground and watches the proceedings, "Well, that should've been expected..."<br> <br>Lidiya cracks her knuckles as the swarm starts to approach. She was going to try to squish them, but realizing if she messed up, not everyone would be as... resilient, she went with plan B which involved slamming her foot into the ground like she were kicking something up, sending a quick shudder through the immediate area followed by the earth being forced into an adhoc barrier, trying to layer it so it's harder to climb for the critters, preferably with looser dirt on the outter part. <br> <br>Selena sighs a little exasparatedly at the sudden exodus of insects, quickly making some calculations in her head - though seeing Lidiya's actions the spell is discarded and quickly replaced with a violent tremor to accelerate the jackal's own math.<br> <br>Success! Lidiya's earth magic creates a huge arc of dirt across the path, some clods of hardened earth landing at the head of the swarm and crushing a few skrith in th e process. Barrier is thick and sturdy, and although a terrible stink rises from the crushed Skriths' carcasses, the rest of their hive is too focused on escape to take much notice of it. Like water parting about an obstacle, they flow about the earthen barrier, creating a tear-shaped spot of empty space those on the ground can hunker down in, the few skrith that attempt to climb the barrier slipping on the loose dirt and giving up to rejoin the rest of the swarm as the swarm passes. Which it does, eventually disappearing into the distance - one can only imagine what a certain curmudgeon of a bear will think when it hits him. That, and when the time comes to clear the trail of this new obstruction...but that's another job for later.<br> <br>Shaytalis watches with interest while the insects pour around the barrier, waiting for it to crack and for the swarm to pool forth through it.  But it manages to hold, and everyone appears safe as the last of them pass by.  She looks to the air and nods to the avian,  turning to the two wolves, "Thank you.  You are both quite skilled."  Looking ahead, "If there is any further need for math, I have about the same level of skill with earth as I do the other elements.  So, I can assist with anything, or take the lead if there are no experts.  Just announce your intentions and you can trust I will support you."<br> <br>Leian i's tail sways behind her as she watches the barrier form, holding her playing off as she removes the flute from her muzzle, watching the creatures run around the group, with her ears lowered " That was quite.. Well.. Would have been interesting if it didn't work, that is certain, anyway.."<br> <br>Mazurek acknowledge the gesture made up to him with a nod accompanied by the same call he made twice already.  He then swoops forward to proceed to scout out the path the others will be taking, stopping every so often to check on their progress.  He won't be feeling any quakes, but can see or hear the effects easily.<br> <br>Dio looks back at the newly constructed barrier and the various large creatures struggling to go above it, failing, and then heading around it. With a sigh of relief, the lion dusts off his coat and pants with a few minor pats and soon returns to the path. "That was a good show," he comments before immediately taking off down the path once more, clearly haven't had learned his lesson from his previous adventure.<br> <br>Ictus hops off the tree once the horde has passed and glances at Shay for the first time with a roll of his eyes, he looks up at Maz at his call and shrugs before looking to the others, "Well, we seem to be ok. Onward then?"<br> <br>Lidiya watches the swarm go by. She doesn't seem too worried about the barrier collapsing. She made it after all. Though as the swarm clears out and the stink gets a bit too much, she uses some math to at least collapse part of the barrier onto the bodies to cover the stench. She'll clear the barrier when they're not doing something vaguely time restricted. Or someone else can if she forgets. Either way, she steps around the other side and begins to follow along with the others.<br> <br>Selena dusts herself off in the wake of the torrent of stone that passed for a barrier, muttering something to herelf before stretching out. "Well, that was certainly impressive, Lidiya." She compliments, smiling over to the jackal. "And on the upside, the Skrith running out like that means the quake probably originated from further ahead; they wouldn't run towards it."<br> <br>Pushing past the newly-formed barrier, the group follows the trail down to the lake, the absence of animal life becoming more and more conspicuous along with the increasing frequency and intensity of the tremors. They're coming at regular intervals now, perhaps half a minute apart now as the trail widens and opens out into the lake clearing. Suddenly, there's a huge thump, followed by a quake of considerable strength - the surface of the lake ripples considerably, and those on the ground may or may not be knocked clean off their feet!<br> <br>For those who are still upright, though, it looks like the place is pretty clear, although there're signs of habitation. Someone's pitched a large tent on the lakeshore, and pretty recently too - or at least, it doesn't look like it's been abandoned, and a few large wooden boxes of preserves in jars lie nearby. In fact, the ashes in a nearby firepit are still warm, a few embers still glowing near the bottom. Yet the tremors still continue, albeit not as powerful...thump...thump...thump...<br> <br>Shaytalis tries to steady herself from the tremors, placing a paw on the ground and concentrating, but she finds she has to keep herself still for now--unable to immediately press forward while it continues.  While she keeps herself low to the ground, she senses something about the quakes, calling out, "This is definately coming from the undergrowth about the lake... close to the raven totem..."  She points, indicating a direction to those who are able to keep their balance.<br> <br>Leian yelps a bit as she falls back from the trembling, landing on her back with a grunt, hitting her head on a small rock with a cry " Yeouch!... Oh, thats going to.. Ngh.. Sting for a while.." she sits up, rubbing her head with a wince. Her fur had stained a bit red atop her head a bit " Alot..." she frowns deeply<br> <br>Mazurek caught the shout from above.  Thank you Avian-hearing!  Still, he circles the encampment a couple of times to visually inspect the camp before banking toward where the totem is supposed to be.  He's never seen it, but it shouldn't be that hard to notice, right?<br> <br>Dio sprints down the path and ceases his rapid movements once he reaches the lake. Tremor bellowing beneath his feet, the lion wobbles about and steels himself to the best of his abilities, just barely managing to capture his balance from an awfully embarrassing tumble. "Now who would go campin' in a place like this," he mutters under his breath, approaching the tent with intense curious. The totem would have to wait for now, as he soon finds himself at the firepit, looking about for any sign of life within the tent. "Anyone there," he shouts, not really expecting any sort of answer.<br> <br>Ictus grunts once the tremors hit and winces as he nearly falls over, though he doesn't thankfully. He looks over the camp for any traps before looking to the others, "You guys alright?" he winces at Leian and sighs at Dio, "Good question."<br> <br>Lidiya raises an eyebrow at the tremor, spreading her stance and... more or less just rolling with it. When one spends as much time causing them, you get decent at not falling over from tremors. She brushes herself off after it passes and looks around, seeing if everyone's alright while she begins following along, trying to find the epicenter, or the direction at least.<br> <br>Selena makes her way along the path until the tremors start again, looking about ready to be knocked off balance before she rights herself about a foot off the ground with a puff of air magic. "Damned tremors." She grumbles, floating over to the perimeter of the camp. "Hm. It's evidently not explosives, then. If there was a thunderhoof around, I'm fairly certain we'd have seen it by now. If a hill wurm's out here then we have other problems entirely an I think the miners would've noticed. If someone's making that kind of tremor with math... I'd want to know where they managed to get the energy from. The tent probably has some clues if that's the case." She sighs, remaining comparatively close to Lidiya. "Your thoughts?" She prompts.<br> <br>Indeed, no one answers Dio, for the tent is empty. There're a couple of large bedrolls present, though, about the size to comfortably fit a heavy-clanned being, and creases in the fabric that suggest they've been recently slept in, but no one in sight. There aren't any traps to be found, so naturally, Ictus manages to find none. The camp is truly empty, but definitely recently so. Whoever set up camp here can't have gone far. The tremors continue emnating from near the totem at steady intervals - now that everyone's so close, it's clearly coming from the undergrowth a little to the left of the totem, on the far side of the small lake opposite from the camp.<br> <br>Shaytalis will start towards the raven totem to see if there is anything unseemly about it, or nearby it. She glances towards the tent, but seeing as n one responds to the hails of the others, assumes it is abandoned.  She moves slowly, trying to follow the pattern of the tremors and avoid tripping up.<br> <br>Leian unsteadily stands back up with a grunt, still wincing as she holds her head a moment, moving her paw in front of her " Oh dear.. Will have to get that looked at later, it would seem." she frowns as she carefully walks forward to the others, wiping her paw off as she sighs, looking around a moment at the surroundings, before heading slowly to the totem, tilting her head curiously at it<br> <br>Mazurek hovers over the totem that resides at the lake and decides to take a slight advantage over what might be hiding in that undergrowth.  He does this by using some wind maths to blow against the plant matter in an attempt to reveal what is within or behind it for all to see.<br> <br>Dio looks around a bit more, satisfied that no other beings were probably in the direct vicinity of the tent. He crouches down upon the floor, looking for any sort of indication of where this camper might've went off to. "Oh lad, look," he says to Ictus, pointing towards the ground. "There's some tracks here leading... There." With a gesture to follow, he begins following the trail, which in turn leads up to the now uncovered undergrowth.<br> <br>Ictus looks around a little more but doesn't find any traps and shrugs a little, "Well, nothing odd... Other than the obvious of course..." he looks over to the totem and ponders before Dio points out the track, "Oh? Let's see where they lead then." he chuckles a little as he follows the lion<br> <br>Lidiya turns to look towards the path Dio offered. She holds her hands up and follows a short distance behind them, making sure she doesn't stomp on anything resembling a track which is about as subtle as the jackal gets. At Selena's question, she turns her head back, shrugs and points ahead. She's got no solid ideas it seems. <br> <br>Selena shrugs and sighs, moving forward. "I'd at least like a hint about what's down there, but I suppose this is one of those times." She replies, dropping back down to the ground and approaching the cleared scrub. "Depending on what exactly it is, we've got options." She adds, picking up a piece of  the cleared wood. and looking it over while she waits for further actions or the nature of the highly-toted 'thing'.<br> <br>As the thick undergrowth near the totem is blown away by Mazurek's mathemagic, though, what is revealed is neither a monster nor a grim gathering of sorcerers, but a couple of heavy-clanned elephants, a male and a female. Both of them are soul gifted, wearing pendants bearing Earthshaker soul gems. Both of them appear to be recently lifebonded, if the remnants of string tied about their wrists are any indication of that. And perhaps most embarrassingly, both of them are in their undergarments, having been caught by the party in a fairly...intimate moment.<br> <br>The pair look up in alarm as the party bursts into view and quickly separate, as one who is interrupted during such moments is bound to do, especially when suddenly confronted with strangers bristling with weapons. "W-who are you?" the male demands, putting on a brave front as he moves to place himself between the party and his lifebonded. "What are your intentions?"<br> <br>Shaytalis nods, putting her crossbow away, stating, "Your activities have been the source of many unnatural tremors in the woods.  Enough that the local populous was fearful to enter the region, and hired the Freeswords to come handle the issue.  It is regretable that we have disturbed you on this eventful occassion, but should this activity continue I am certain others may come to investigate.  You may wish to find increasingly more private quarters."<br> <br>Leian blinks in surprise, her ears turning dark red on the inside in embarassment, before she turns her head away " Oh my.. This is.. Quite.. Uhm..." she seems unable to say much else, being utterly embarassed by the moment of what she sees. And possibly due to the blow to her head from the rock in part as well. It's difficult to tell. " How embarassing..." she steps back slowly<br> <br>The sight of the two...making out causes the Griffon to miss a few wingbeats and just drop to the ground with his beak wide open.  The sight of the activity they are doing is more than enough to...well...cause a similar reaction to the quadruped that others might experience.  The only problem with this is that...well, being a quadruped there really isn't anything to hide stuff like this.  ''Oh, dear'' might not even begin to cover it.<br> <br>Finally reaching the undergrowth, Dio turns his short leonine muzzle up towards the display and holds his tongue for a few short moments. Staring. Silence. And then, laughter, laughter and clapping from the silly lion. "Oh my," he chuckles, just now barely calming down from his laughing fit. Things have been getting a little silly as of late it would seem. "If ya wanted secret romance in the undergrowth, perhaps ya shouldn't be shakin' the entire planet with each kiss."<br> <br>Ictus blinks as he takes his paw off his daggers when the two are revealed and shakes his head with a laugh, "Oh dear, our apologies..." he can't help but chuckle a bit more as he backs off, "So sorry..." he shake his head more as he backs off a little<br> <br>Lidiya cracks her knuckles and just shrugs. She gives Selena a look, shrugs and makes a rude gesture before gesturing to the pair and turning to walk away. She doesn't need to see sorts in their skivvies and she's wondering if they'll actually be paid for this or not now. The couple's given a rude gesture too, over her shoulder. <br> <br>Selena tosses the wood aside and sighs. "You two are among the most irresponsible beings I've ever seen using magic." She states flatly, tapping a foot on the ground and keeping her gaze off of the pair. "And I've seen a lot of irresponsible beings. What possessed you to be so utterly childish, so nearsighted that you'd disrupt an entire region for laughs? ...Put on some clothes and go home before you make the situation worse." The wolfess grumbles, turning back back on the pair as well, quirking a brow at the mute after the gesture's made, though she doesn't eem to care too much.<br> <br>"Local populace?" the male elephant scratches his head, and turns to his lifebonded. "But...my colleagues at the academy said the lake was a secluded spot, perfect for our honeymoon. Isn't that right, Daphne?"<br> <br>"That's right," the female chimes in. "We haven't seen a single soul in the three days since we set up camp and started practicing our earth mathemagic. It does help things along, but sometimes my lifebonded doesn't quite know his own strength."<br> <br>The male's voice sinks just a little lower as he tries to address the party more discreetly. "We met at the Academy. She's got a kink for shaking things up, I do it very well, and as you can see, one thing led to another. Well then, I can only assume you're telling the truth, otherwise they wouldn't go to all the trouble to send you good folk here to warn us off. Mistakes were made, in that case. I suppose that's an alternative explanation for us not seeing a soul, as opposed to the so-called reliable information I had from my colleagues - I'm not the kind to go camping often, but you can't very well go about causing tremors in town. If you'll give us a moment alone, we'll dress up, strike camp, and be on our way posthaste." He turns to his lifebonded. "Hey, Daphne. Guess we're going out to that green valley out west after all. That should be secluded enough for the likes of these good beings here. No one lives out there, right?"<br> <br>Shaytalis looks to the west, "The Green Valley to the west is a very dangerous region.  It is quite secluded, but you should not travel there without an escort if you plan to be rather distracted during the camping trip."  Looking back slightly, then back to the west, "They will expect us to explain what happened...  Perhaps you prefer to do that yourself, once you are composed?"<br> <br>Leian's tail flicks behind her as she nods rapidly " Oh yes, uhm.. Getting dressed again would.. Be for the best.." she inched away slowly, still looking away from the pair, ears till red. Her white fur also still stained red on the back of her head.<br> <br>The Griffon somehow manages to get his mind under control enough to keep himself from having a major embarrassment of his own.  This is accomplished by trotting to the water and plopping himself down to hide everything important.  He speaks to the elephants after a moment, "Just because you don't encounter any sentients does not mean there's no life here.  You've been frightening not only tourists but the local wildlife.  Research your honeymoons more carefully and go to spots you know won't have things that will merely eat you while having your happy-fun-times."<br> <br>"Right then," Dio claps, only once. "That's a mission complete if I ever 'eard one. Suppose we'll head on back to the guild 'n' explain things an' collect our due." The poor, immature lion couldn't help but to laugh once more, but with a cough, he steels himself and stands at attention. "Yes! Right! Off we go then. And then afterwards, a drink perhaps. Maybe two."<br> <br>Ictus looks to Maz and shakes his head as he calms down a bit, "Anyway... The others are right, you should be more careful." as he shrugs a bit, "The valley should be fine." he peers at Dio as he attempts to drag him away from the two to give them privacy, "Yes, likely."<br> <br>Lidiya just shakes her head and continues heading back for the one that sent them in the first place.<br> <br>Selena shoots over her shoulder; "Maybe you should remember there's a Quarry right nearby before you start causing earthquakes again." Though her path remains unaltered in much the same way as Lidiya's. "I'm disappointed, you know. You'd think beings would be a little more careful." She comments to the jackal.<br> <br>The elephant draws himself up to face the party and squares his shoulders. "Yes, this is on me. If there's someone who needs explaining to, I'll do it personally. And when we stop by Firmament on our way out to other parts, I'll be having a stern word -" his tone suggests more than a stern word, though - "with my colleagues and question them on just how well they purported that valley to be, too. I apologise for causing everyone so much trouble, and now, if you would allow us to get dressed..."[[Category:RPLogs]]

---

Latest revision as of 23:28, 25 July 2013

Participants

• Dio
• Ictus
• Leian
• Lidiya
• Mazurek
• Selena
• Shaytalis
• Sveta

Date

25/7/476

Log

An early morning in Eastbank Forest, just after dawn. One would probably have expected to hear birdsong so early, but the air is deathly silent, thanks to a noticeable lack of animal life out and about. A black bear in a green, long-sleeved uniform and wide-brimmed hat lounges by the parth at the forest's periphery, awaiting the arrival of the group of Freeswords from Firmament.

Shaytalis is first to arrive from Firmament, approaching the black bear and nodding to him. Looking over his uniform, she asks, "Have you requested the assistant of the Freeswords? My name is Shaytalis. I understand that the earth has been trembling."

Leian was wandering through the woods, playing her flute, when she felt the tremors and saw the animals fleeing. She had headed in the direction they came from with a curious look in her eyes as she looked about at those who were near by " Whats going on? I felt the ground quaking and saw animals fleeing. Is everything alright?"

There is a birdlike screech from above as a shadow crosses over those gathered. A Raven/Panther hybrid griffon has arrived, and it has a rider! Seems these two have worked together like this in the past, for the flyer comes in for a gentle landing that has it prancing for a bit after coming down so as not to jostle the rider too much. Yes, this means the bird has a harness complete with saddle, but it doesn't seem to mind it.

Always in need of a little coin here and there to support his wonderful meat 'n' drink habbits, along with being fueld by his typical high amount of curioisty, a lion strolls in through the forest just shortly after the others. With a tuck at his coat, smoothing out any creases along the way, he ventures forth with a prideful smile to make contact with the bear. "'ello there lad," Dio waves. "I hear you've been 'avin' some strange problems as of late."

Ictus looks down from the air as he rides the griffon and sighs, "I still don't know how you talked me into this..." he isn't afraid of heights at least, he looks around as he gets off of Mazurek once he is able and waves to the others, "So, ee're looking to see what caused the tremors I'm guessing?"

Lidiya makes her way along, showing up a bit late mostly because she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be on the job or not, it's a lazy day. But, the chance at some extra coin and an excuse to goof off won out. At the sight of the gryphon, she glances around, making sure no one's taking a joke out, then shakes her head and continues on. She'd be muttering if it were possible.

Selena makes her way to the forest on foot, unusual for the woman. Familiar faces are greeted with waves, though she does stiffen momentarily when she recognizes Leian. The moment passes quietly enough and soon she's back to her usual disposition when strange events are concerned; "I'm surprised there's a problem with tremors here, of all places." She comments, glancing around the forest before her eyes settle on the bear. "I doubt it's magic for something of that scale, but depending on how brash a group of beings could be..." She sighs, rubbing her forehead for a moment. "I suppose my question is, is it a natural earthquake? If not, what's the cause? I'm sure the wildlife would be grateful if there wasn't another, if not us for being told what's up."

The bear eyes the group, then chews on a cigarette in his teeth. "You're the lot that came all the way from town? From the way Zarine was acting, I thought he was going to hire the entire Good King's army to come down here and sort things out. Well, well..." He draws on his cigarette a moment, then grinds out the stub under the sole of his boot. "I'm Ash. One of the forest wardens, in the name of the Good King and all. And yes, the earth has been shaking over the last couple of days - three or four, give or take. At first, we thought they were just flukes, folk messing around in the quarry, but Granite tells me they haven't done any blasting since the whole business with the Gallows. We have no idea if they're antural or not, no one's dared go check."

"The little lady here -" he gives a nod to Leian - "has it somewhat right. Animals aren't hiding like they ought to be, 'least they make some noise when they're doing just that. They're running scared. To be frank, we're running scared, too - nothing quite like this has ever happened before. All sorts of folk wandering into the forest, looking for spirits, then there was that mysterious lightning bolt that came down outta nowhere, made me worried that we were going to have another forest fire - whatever it is, go in, find it, and put a stop to it. You, and only you, can do it - because I know by the Creators, no one around these parts is stepping into the forest like under these conditions. Not me, leastways. Questions?"

Shaytalis nods, looking to the others, "Is anyone an expert regarding earth magic? I am well practiced, but I am not in a soul that specializes in that study." Looking into the woods, "I don't move very quietly in armor. Is anyone planning to sneak ahead, or shall we all move as a unit? I can fire from a range or fight in the front line, it does not matter."

Leian tilts her head slightly as she watches the bear with a sway of her tail a moment " So your looking for someone to check? Why haven't you check yourselves? I'm curious whats going on, but I am no fighter. Maybe there is something else I can do, if need be, to help, if I can?" she tilts her head a bit, ears flicking softly

The griffon hunkers down to give the Kitsune less distance to drop to the ground before rising to its feet again. Another squawk, this time much more muted, is followed by actual speech, "I talked you into it by convincing you to make a saddle so the risk of falling off would be next to nil." The obviously-male creature shakes himself a bit, only to fluff the feathers and begin preening, "I have some knowledge of Earth Math, but not quite enough to check on anything useful."

With a few more people arriving, and finally noticing some familiar faces, Dio gives them a small wave and smile in his typical fashion and returns to listening to the rather aptly named smoking bear. "A lightnin' bolt you say," the lion comments, rubbing at his chin. "I'm guessin' the treamors started happenin' after the bolt of lightning?" He looks about at the others and smiles reassuringly. "Don't worry about it if yer not the fightin' type. I'll watch out for ya! And who's to say there's a frightenin' monster out there? Regardless, we should start investigatin'"

Ictus stiffens at Shay's voice and growls a little, though he doesn't pay any attention to her as he addresses the griffon with a sigh, "Yeah... Yeah, I know." he looks to Dio and peers at the lion before he nods, "Yeah, I'll help too." he ponders a bit though as he looks around, "Though I don't know much about Earth Math myself..."

Lidiya shrugs and raises her hand at the question of earth math. It's something she does well, though admittedly mostly she uses it to break things. She hefts her hammer up over her shoulder, draping it across both before hooking her arms over it and making her way over closer to the bear, still giving the... strange pair an odd look from time to time. Her ears begin to twitch at a familiar voice and she waves her over, Selena that is.

Selena raises a hand. "Yes. Do you have any idea where the epicenter was?" She asks simply. "If not the quarry, then it's somewhere in the forest. if we've got a guide to go on, it'd be easier than trying to digure it out ourselves now the quakes have passed. There would definitely be marks left from the quake, but it's certainly not the usual branch of earth magic I work with. As for why beings aren't running in to check, not everyone is terribly fond of unexplained occurances in a region that's recently been re-occupied by Thunderhooves and had a bandit attack causing a cave-in not even a week ago in the general vicinity." Lidiya's given a wave back as she approaches the jackal. "Lidiya and I both know our share of earth magic if need be, to reiterate."

Ash rolls his eyes at Leian's question and gives Selena a nod. "As I said, no one dares go in there alone. There're only a handful of us wardens, and most folk around these parts are hunters, herb pickers, old grannies collecting firewood, you know the drill. That's why we hired this lot, to do the job we won't. I take it you want to go in with them? Suit yourself." And to Dio, "nah, that lightning was some time ago, week or two ago. Can't rightly say they would be connected, but can't say they aren't, either. But if the wolf lass there thinks the source is magical, then doubly so no one's going in. Good thing you're prepared, then."

"There is something I've got you can go on, though," he says after thinking a bit in response to Selena's question. "Granite and his boys at the quarry are pretty sure the tremors are strongest near the lake. You know, the one with the odd totem that's been around forever, near the heart of the woods. I guess you could start looking there - this trail will eventually take you to it, if you're so minded."

Indeed, the dirt trail stretches ahead of the group, long and inviting - or it would have been, if not for the silence. Shafts of sunlight pierce through the canopy, and the undergrowth is thin - for now. Certainly nothing could go wrong, would it?

Shaytalis asks, "Do you have an idea of how far-reaching the quakes have been? How large of an area? We could use that information to determine a likely epicenter by the truth of Pi."

Leian's tail sways behind her and she frowns a bit at the rolling eyes a moment " I did not mean it that way! I meant, maybe send a scout to take a quick peek so as to learn what to possibly expect.. Didn't think about doing such?"

Mazurek smirks, somehow managing it with a beak, "If a scout is needed, I can easily do that. I can fly around and report back as needed. If someone wants to join me, I can accomodate a rider. Maybe have some fire support if things get ugly."

"Hmmm..." Dio took a long, hard look at the mentioned dirt path. He had to admit, it certainly did look very inviting and indeed, there was nothing that could go wrong on such. Nothing at all. "I'm gonna head down 'n' see that totem," the lion says with near palpable excitement. At first, he begins a minor jog in his place, and then starts taking off down the path! Perhaps it would've saved him some time if he'd taken the offer for a ride, but there are too many exciting things to focus on!

Ictus nods as he looks to Selena and hmms a bit, "True." he waves to Lidiya as well before looking to Ash, "Well, the lightning was caused by a spirit if I'm not mistaken..." he looks to the others and shrugs, "The lake seems like the place to start then."

Lidiya stretches her arms out, one at a time so she doesn't have to drop the hammer. She also returns the wave to Ictus of course, once she stops laughing at the realization that he rode in on someone. Silently, but her shoulders are shaking at least. She pads over to Selena and tilts her head curiously.

Selena nods appreciatively as the bear gives his answer. "Thank you for the tip off. And Leian - Bandit attacks, Thunder hooves, cave-ins, unexplained earthquakes, spooked wildlife and we're not all soulless. It's not hard to guess." She lists with a sigh. "And even we're not immortal. I say we check the lake first. It's our only lead, and better to start checking for the cause there. Besides; it takes two points to find the center of a quake." she comments, then looks back to Lidiya and taps the jackal on the shoulder as she queries; "That's an odd look. What's the occasion? What I said is true unless you've not used earth magic those few times." Her voice raises a little as she walks a short distance along the trail; "Well, the sooner we get this done the better."

"We certainly thought about it," Ash says as he lights up another cigarette. "Been thinking really long and hard about it, three nights in a row in my bunk. Actually getting around doing it...well, that's another matter, lass. As for how far the quakes reach, just walk in and you'll start feeling them. Never had that much of a head for math of any sort myself, that's why I'm a forest warden. No math, see? Now please..." he extends a large paw towards the inviting trail, then points at Dio, already in the fore. "I don't think I have much more to say. Do get about the job we hired you to do, yes? Fly, jog, run, whatever."

Carefully, cautiously, the group advances along the path Dio's set for them. Hey, when there's danger, nothing better than having someone willingly be bai- take charge and be in the lead, right? Nothing happens for a good fifteen minutes, and suddenly, the group feels the first of the tremors. This one's nothing powerful, certainly not enough to throw anyone off balance, but a sudden scuttling from the forest undergrowth prompt's everyone's attention, especially Dio, who is in the lead. The lion manages to leap out of the way as a small swarm of skrith pour out from their now-collapsed nest, which had just taken the last straw in its beating over the previous handful of days. The insects don't seem particularly angry or vicious, but seem to just want out as quickly and expidently as possible - which means coming down the path straight at the group.

Shaytalis holds out her hands towards the swarm, "Wolves. Let me assist you in forming a barrier. I can assist you."

Leian yelps in surprise at the sight of the large swarm a moment, before pulling her flute up to her muzzle and immediately beginning to play from it. A wind begins to kick up around the area a bit more strongly than mere moments before, dropping and falling rapidly with her tune as she plays, her tail swaying behind her rapidly.

With nobody accepting the offer for a ride, the Griffon takes flight to soar through the sky above the group, watching out for anything out of the ordinary. Well, out of the ordinary being something other than the swarm of Skrith that appears on the path. The Griffon beats his wings swiftly to hover in place and watch what the group is doing. Thankfully he has some training in the magics of Earth Maths and focuses on directing it to assist the others. He has the height advantage here and can see where the magic needs to form for the insects to travel safely around the group.

The lion was happily jogging about on the dirt path, almost assured that nearly nothing could wrong as per his first deduction. With a whistle and a skip, he nearly collides into a nasty mess of gigantic skirth, causing him to leap and tumble out of the way onto the floor. Hearing a bit of magic popping off behind him, Dio decides, with his very little knowledge of such subjects, to head out of the way and assist only if necessary.

Ictus hmms? at the swarm and winces as he steps to the side, towards a tree, grabbing a branch he pulls himself up a little so he isn't on the ground and watches the proceedings, "Well, that should've been expected..."

Lidiya cracks her knuckles as the swarm starts to approach. She was going to try to squish them, but realizing if she messed up, not everyone would be as... resilient, she went with plan B which involved slamming her foot into the ground like she were kicking something up, sending a quick shudder through the immediate area followed by the earth being forced into an adhoc barrier, trying to layer it so it's harder to climb for the critters, preferably with looser dirt on the outter part.

Selena sighs a little exasparatedly at the sudden exodus of insects, quickly making some calculations in her head - though seeing Lidiya's actions the spell is discarded and quickly replaced with a violent tremor to accelerate the jackal's own math.

Success! Lidiya's earth magic creates a huge arc of dirt across the path, some clods of hardened earth landing at the head of the swarm and crushing a few skrith in th e process. Barrier is thick and sturdy, and although a terrible stink rises from the crushed Skriths' carcasses, the rest of their hive is too focused on escape to take much notice of it. Like water parting about an obstacle, they flow about the earthen barrier, creating a tear-shaped spot of empty space those on the ground can hunker down in, the few skrith that attempt to climb the barrier slipping on the loose dirt and giving up to rejoin the rest of the swarm as the swarm passes. Which it does, eventually disappearing into the distance - one can only imagine what a certain curmudgeon of a bear will think when it hits him. That, and when the time comes to clear the trail of this new obstruction...but that's another job for later.

Shaytalis watches with interest while the insects pour around the barrier, waiting for it to crack and for the swarm to pool forth through it. But it manages to hold, and everyone appears safe as the last of them pass by. She looks to the air and nods to the avian, turning to the two wolves, "Thank you. You are both quite skilled." Looking ahead, "If there is any further need for math, I have about the same level of skill with earth as I do the other elements. So, I can assist with anything, or take the lead if there are no experts. Just announce your intentions and you can trust I will support you."

Leian i's tail sways behind her as she watches the barrier form, holding her playing off as she removes the flute from her muzzle, watching the creatures run around the group, with her ears lowered " That was quite.. Well.. Would have been interesting if it didn't work, that is certain, anyway.."

Mazurek acknowledge the gesture made up to him with a nod accompanied by the same call he made twice already. He then swoops forward to proceed to scout out the path the others will be taking, stopping every so often to check on their progress. He won't be feeling any quakes, but can see or hear the effects easily.

Dio looks back at the newly constructed barrier and the various large creatures struggling to go above it, failing, and then heading around it. With a sigh of relief, the lion dusts off his coat and pants with a few minor pats and soon returns to the path. "That was a good show," he comments before immediately taking off down the path once more, clearly haven't had learned his lesson from his previous adventure.

Ictus hops off the tree once the horde has passed and glances at Shay for the first time with a roll of his eyes, he looks up at Maz at his call and shrugs before looking to the others, "Well, we seem to be ok. Onward then?"

Lidiya watches the swarm go by. She doesn't seem too worried about the barrier collapsing. She made it after all. Though as the swarm clears out and the stink gets a bit too much, she uses some math to at least collapse part of the barrier onto the bodies to cover the stench. She'll clear the barrier when they're not doing something vaguely time restricted. Or someone else can if she forgets. Either way, she steps around the other side and begins to follow along with the others.

Selena dusts herself off in the wake of the torrent of stone that passed for a barrier, muttering something to herelf before stretching out. "Well, that was certainly impressive, Lidiya." She compliments, smiling over to the jackal. "And on the upside, the Skrith running out like that means the quake probably originated from further ahead; they wouldn't run towards it."

Pushing past the newly-formed barrier, the group follows the trail down to the lake, the absence of animal life becoming more and more conspicuous along with the increasing frequency and intensity of the tremors. They're coming at regular intervals now, perhaps half a minute apart now as the trail widens and opens out into the lake clearing. Suddenly, there's a huge thump, followed by a quake of considerable strength - the surface of the lake ripples considerably, and those on the ground may or may not be knocked clean off their feet!

For those who are still upright, though, it looks like the place is pretty clear, although there're signs of habitation. Someone's pitched a large tent on the lakeshore, and pretty recently too - or at least, it doesn't look like it's been abandoned, and a few large wooden boxes of preserves in jars lie nearby. In fact, the ashes in a nearby firepit are still warm, a few embers still glowing near the bottom. Yet the tremors still continue, albeit not as powerful...thump...thump...thump...

Shaytalis tries to steady herself from the tremors, placing a paw on the ground and concentrating, but she finds she has to keep herself still for now--unable to immediately press forward while it continues. While she keeps herself low to the ground, she senses something about the quakes, calling out, "This is definately coming from the undergrowth about the lake... close to the raven totem..." She points, indicating a direction to those who are able to keep their balance.

Leian yelps a bit as she falls back from the trembling, landing on her back with a grunt, hitting her head on a small rock with a cry " Yeouch!... Oh, thats going to.. Ngh.. Sting for a while.." she sits up, rubbing her head with a wince. Her fur had stained a bit red atop her head a bit " Alot..." she frowns deeply

Mazurek caught the shout from above. Thank you Avian-hearing! Still, he circles the encampment a couple of times to visually inspect the camp before banking toward where the totem is supposed to be. He's never seen it, but it shouldn't be that hard to notice, right?

Dio sprints down the path and ceases his rapid movements once he reaches the lake. Tremor bellowing beneath his feet, the lion wobbles about and steels himself to the best of his abilities, just barely managing to capture his balance from an awfully embarrassing tumble. "Now who would go campin' in a place like this," he mutters under his breath, approaching the tent with intense curious. The totem would have to wait for now, as he soon finds himself at the firepit, looking about for any sign of life within the tent. "Anyone there," he shouts, not really expecting any sort of answer.

Ictus grunts once the tremors hit and winces as he nearly falls over, though he doesn't thankfully. He looks over the camp for any traps before looking to the others, "You guys alright?" he winces at Leian and sighs at Dio, "Good question."

Lidiya raises an eyebrow at the tremor, spreading her stance and... more or less just rolling with it. When one spends as much time causing them, you get decent at not falling over from tremors. She brushes herself off after it passes and looks around, seeing if everyone's alright while she begins following along, trying to find the epicenter, or the direction at least.

Selena makes her way along the path until the tremors start again, looking about ready to be knocked off balance before she rights herself about a foot off the ground with a puff of air magic. "Damned tremors." She grumbles, floating over to the perimeter of the camp. "Hm. It's evidently not explosives, then. If there was a thunderhoof around, I'm fairly certain we'd have seen it by now. If a hill wurm's out here then we have other problems entirely an I think the miners would've noticed. If someone's making that kind of tremor with math... I'd want to know where they managed to get the energy from. The tent probably has some clues if that's the case." She sighs, remaining comparatively close to Lidiya. "Your thoughts?" She prompts.

Indeed, no one answers Dio, for the tent is empty. There're a couple of large bedrolls present, though, about the size to comfortably fit a heavy-clanned being, and creases in the fabric that suggest they've been recently slept in, but no one in sight. There aren't any traps to be found, so naturally, Ictus manages to find none. The camp is truly empty, but definitely recently so. Whoever set up camp here can't have gone far. The tremors continue emnating from near the totem at steady intervals - now that everyone's so close, it's clearly coming from the undergrowth a little to the left of the totem, on the far side of the small lake opposite from the camp.

Shaytalis will start towards the raven totem to see if there is anything unseemly about it, or nearby it. She glances towards the tent, but seeing as n one responds to the hails of the others, assumes it is abandoned. She moves slowly, trying to follow the pattern of the tremors and avoid tripping up.

Leian unsteadily stands back up with a grunt, still wincing as she holds her head a moment, moving her paw in front of her " Oh dear.. Will have to get that looked at later, it would seem." she frowns as she carefully walks forward to the others, wiping her paw off as she sighs, looking around a moment at the surroundings, before heading slowly to the totem, tilting her head curiously at it

Mazurek hovers over the totem that resides at the lake and decides to take a slight advantage over what might be hiding in that undergrowth. He does this by using some wind maths to blow against the plant matter in an attempt to reveal what is within or behind it for all to see.

Dio looks around a bit more, satisfied that no other beings were probably in the direct vicinity of the tent. He crouches down upon the floor, looking for any sort of indication of where this camper might've went off to. "Oh lad, look," he says to Ictus, pointing towards the ground. "There's some tracks here leading... There." With a gesture to follow, he begins following the trail, which in turn leads up to the now uncovered undergrowth.

Ictus looks around a little more but doesn't find any traps and shrugs a little, "Well, nothing odd... Other than the obvious of course..." he looks over to the totem and ponders before Dio points out the track, "Oh? Let's see where they lead then." he chuckles a little as he follows the lion

Lidiya turns to look towards the path Dio offered. She holds her hands up and follows a short distance behind them, making sure she doesn't stomp on anything resembling a track which is about as subtle as the jackal gets. At Selena's question, she turns her head back, shrugs and points ahead. She's got no solid ideas it seems.

Selena shrugs and sighs, moving forward. "I'd at least like a hint about what's down there, but I suppose this is one of those times." She replies, dropping back down to the ground and approaching the cleared scrub. "Depending on what exactly it is, we've got options." She adds, picking up a piece of the cleared wood. and looking it over while she waits for further actions or the nature of the highly-toted 'thing'.

As the thick undergrowth near the totem is blown away by Mazurek's mathemagic, though, what is revealed is neither a monster nor a grim gathering of sorcerers, but a couple of heavy-clanned elephants, a male and a female. Both of them are soul gifted, wearing pendants bearing Earthshaker soul gems. Both of them appear to be recently lifebonded, if the remnants of string tied about their wrists are any indication of that. And perhaps most embarrassingly, both of them are in their undergarments, having been caught by the party in a fairly...intimate moment.

The pair look up in alarm as the party bursts into view and quickly separate, as one who is interrupted during such moments is bound to do, especially when suddenly confronted with strangers bristling with weapons. "W-who are you?" the male demands, putting on a brave front as he moves to place himself between the party and his lifebonded. "What are your intentions?"

Shaytalis nods, putting her crossbow away, stating, "Your activities have been the source of many unnatural tremors in the woods. Enough that the local populous was fearful to enter the region, and hired the Freeswords to come handle the issue. It is regretable that we have disturbed you on this eventful occassion, but should this activity continue I am certain others may come to investigate. You may wish to find increasingly more private quarters."

Leian blinks in surprise, her ears turning dark red on the inside in embarassment, before she turns her head away " Oh my.. This is.. Quite.. Uhm..." she seems unable to say much else, being utterly embarassed by the moment of what she sees. And possibly due to the blow to her head from the rock in part as well. It's difficult to tell. " How embarassing..." she steps back slowly

The sight of the two...making out causes the Griffon to miss a few wingbeats and just drop to the ground with his beak wide open. The sight of the activity they are doing is more than enough to...well...cause a similar reaction to the quadruped that others might experience. The only problem with this is that...well, being a quadruped there really isn't anything to hide stuff like this. Oh, dear might not even begin to cover it.

Finally reaching the undergrowth, Dio turns his short leonine muzzle up towards the display and holds his tongue for a few short moments. Staring. Silence. And then, laughter, laughter and clapping from the silly lion. "Oh my," he chuckles, just now barely calming down from his laughing fit. Things have been getting a little silly as of late it would seem. "If ya wanted secret romance in the undergrowth, perhaps ya shouldn't be shakin' the entire planet with each kiss."

Ictus blinks as he takes his paw off his daggers when the two are revealed and shakes his head with a laugh, "Oh dear, our apologies..." he can't help but chuckle a bit more as he backs off, "So sorry..." he shake his head more as he backs off a little

Lidiya cracks her knuckles and just shrugs. She gives Selena a look, shrugs and makes a rude gesture before gesturing to the pair and turning to walk away. She doesn't need to see sorts in their skivvies and she's wondering if they'll actually be paid for this or not now. The couple's given a rude gesture too, over her shoulder.

Selena tosses the wood aside and sighs. "You two are among the most irresponsible beings I've ever seen using magic." She states flatly, tapping a foot on the ground and keeping her gaze off of the pair. "And I've seen a lot of irresponsible beings. What possessed you to be so utterly childish, so nearsighted that you'd disrupt an entire region for laughs? ...Put on some clothes and go home before you make the situation worse." The wolfess grumbles, turning back back on the pair as well, quirking a brow at the mute after the gesture's made, though she doesn't eem to care too much.

"Local populace?" the male elephant scratches his head, and turns to his lifebonded. "But...my colleagues at the academy said the lake was a secluded spot, perfect for our honeymoon. Isn't that right, Daphne?"

"That's right," the female chimes in. "We haven't seen a single soul in the three days since we set up camp and started practicing our earth mathemagic. It does help things along, but sometimes my lifebonded doesn't quite know his own strength."

The male's voice sinks just a little lower as he tries to address the party more discreetly. "We met at the Academy. She's got a kink for shaking things up, I do it very well, and as you can see, one thing led to another. Well then, I can only assume you're telling the truth, otherwise they wouldn't go to all the trouble to send you good folk here to warn us off. Mistakes were made, in that case. I suppose that's an alternative explanation for us not seeing a soul, as opposed to the so-called reliable information I had from my colleagues - I'm not the kind to go camping often, but you can't very well go about causing tremors in town. If you'll give us a moment alone, we'll dress up, strike camp, and be on our way posthaste." He turns to his lifebonded. "Hey, Daphne. Guess we're going out to that green valley out west after all. That should be secluded enough for the likes of these good beings here. No one lives out there, right?"

Shaytalis looks to the west, "The Green Valley to the west is a very dangerous region. It is quite secluded, but you should not travel there without an escort if you plan to be rather distracted during the camping trip." Looking back slightly, then back to the west, "They will expect us to explain what happened... Perhaps you prefer to do that yourself, once you are composed?"

Leian's tail flicks behind her as she nods rapidly " Oh yes, uhm.. Getting dressed again would.. Be for the best.." she inched away slowly, still looking away from the pair, ears till red. Her white fur also still stained red on the back of her head.

The Griffon somehow manages to get his mind under control enough to keep himself from having a major embarrassment of his own. This is accomplished by trotting to the water and plopping himself down to hide everything important. He speaks to the elephants after a moment, "Just because you don't encounter any sentients does not mean there's no life here. You've been frightening not only tourists but the local wildlife. Research your honeymoons more carefully and go to spots you know won't have things that will merely eat you while having your happy-fun-times."

"Right then," Dio claps, only once. "That's a mission complete if I ever 'eard one. Suppose we'll head on back to the guild 'n' explain things an' collect our due." The poor, immature lion couldn't help but to laugh once more, but with a cough, he steels himself and stands at attention. "Yes! Right! Off we go then. And then afterwards, a drink perhaps. Maybe two."

Ictus looks to Maz and shakes his head as he calms down a bit, "Anyway... The others are right, you should be more careful." as he shrugs a bit, "The valley should be fine." he peers at Dio as he attempts to drag him away from the two to give them privacy, "Yes, likely."

Lidiya just shakes her head and continues heading back for the one that sent them in the first place.

Selena shoots over her shoulder; "Maybe you should remember there's a Quarry right nearby before you start causing earthquakes again." Though her path remains unaltered in much the same way as Lidiya's. "I'm disappointed, you know. You'd think beings would be a little more careful." She comments to the jackal.

The elephant draws himself up to face the party and squares his shoulders. "Yes, this is on me. If there's someone who needs explaining to, I'll do it personally. And when we stop by Firmament on our way out to other parts, I'll be having a stern word -" his tone suggests more than a stern word, though - "with my colleagues and question them on just how well they purported that valley to be, too. I apologise for causing everyone so much trouble, and now, if you would allow us to get dressed..."