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Author Topic: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction  (Read 14664 times)

~Neri

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #45 on: July 08, 2015, 06:11:51 pm »

"He's unconscious, we need to get him somewhere safe, doesn't seem like he has any broken bones, so should be find to carry without a brace, could I have some help moving him?"
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Lenglon

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #46 on: July 09, 2015, 12:40:30 am »

((I can't believe I didn't even notice this being put up. Darn. Waitlist?))
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((I don't think heating something that is right above us to a ridiculous degree is very smart. Worst case scenario we become +metal statues+. This is a finely crafted metal statue. It is encrusted with sharkmist and HMRC. On the item is an image of HMRC and Pancaek. Pancaek is laughing. The HMRC is melting. The artwork relates to the encasing of the HMRC in metal by Pancaek during the Mission of Many People.))

Harry Baldman

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #47 on: July 09, 2015, 03:46:25 am »

Outside Crawlinghome...

Martingold is the first to formulate a plan, moving somewhat out of view of the three conversing dwarves and spends a good amount of time shifting into a convincing dwarf corpse, complete with claw marks, rent flesh and other such things, while Viri observes from the shadows. After getting himself into order, he lets out a very convincing yell.

"HELP! OH GOD PLEASE HELP, I'M BEING ATTACKED!" he screams in what he imagines is a dwarf-like fashion, which ought to attract attention - and indeed it does, as two of the dwarves run on over in short order, followed immediately by the third who seems to have paused to grab a wood axe for defense. They take a quick look at Martingold, then at the surrounding area.

"Who's that?" asks a long-haired, yet short-bearded dwarf, pointing at the corpse. "Do any of you know him?"

"Nope," says another, clean shaven dwarf. "New arrival?"

"Keep an eye out. Something attacked him," says the dwarf with the axe, considerably older than the other two, keeping alert at her surroundings.

Just then, Viri springs out to help, jogging toward the group. The sight of a human around Crawlinghome is reasonably unusual, it seems, considering their reaction. "I am a healer. Let me help. If I can-" she begins to say as she runs, but the older dwarf steps forward and lifts her axe in preparation for a good strike, which Viri wisely takes as an indication to pause in her approach.

"Hold up!" she barks at Viri. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The other two dwarves appear to be checking the corpse, though their attention also squarely rests on Viri, with only the occasional glance in Martingold's direction.


At the gates of Crawlinghome...

Rev, having taken the shape of what, after finding Whiskers to be an unhelpful source on these matters (it having been several years or perhaps even decades by this point since he's seen a cat), really does look a lot more like a rather hairy wildcat, has by this time gotten to the main gates of the walled-off village, which, while currently closed, still appear to have enough space under them for a reasonably-sized cat to squeeze through, coming through on the other side, where he gets a good look at the village center.

The village, similarly to the outside of it, has a bunch of pyramidal buildings within it, with various things painted on their sides - looks like some sort of script, though not one that Rev himself could possibly read. A few dwarves seem to be walking around, some carrying things, some in a clear rush, and a few more seemingly going on an evening stroll. Most don't pay him more than a slight glance as he saunters into town, clearly underestimating the danger of stray cats, of which there appear to be several aside from Rev. Looking at them is somewhat informative, as it makes him feel a tad out of place, being a bit larger, chunkier and hairier than any of them.

The white thing, he discovers, turns out to be a giant, scaly puffball placed smack dab in the middle of the village, perhaps even built around it. He's never seen a puffball that size, truth be told. Might be some kind of dwarven crop? Can't really tell what it does aside from look unusual, but it does seem significant - after all, why else would it be here?

Anyway, there's no shortage of places to explore here, even if Rev has only the very vaguest of notions what any of these buildings might be.


In an inconspicuous location outside Crawlinghome...

Faer, not feeling very proactive at the moment, has instead camped out in a tree, getting a good look at the surrounding area. First off, he watches Rev saunter off toward the gates, and judging by the lack of commotion he appears to have got in just fine.

Judging by the distinct commotion in Martingold's area, though, it looks like his plan might be working to some degree as well, though the dwarves seem a bit suspicious of Viri. Interestingly, none of the other dwarves in the area (presumably still within their pyramidal farmhouses) appear to have responded to Martingold's cry for help. Perhaps they didn't quite hear it, or are indeed indifferent to the plight of their fellow dwarf. Or maybe they just know better than to respond from calls coming from the nearby woods.

Point is, this area doesn't seem terribly friendly.

Spoiler: GM Note (click to show/hide)
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~Neri

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #48 on: July 09, 2015, 10:28:05 am »

"I am Viri. A traveling surgeon and healer. Would you please let me help him before his life fades from his body? It is against my oaths to not heal the wounded."
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Harry Baldman

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #49 on: July 09, 2015, 11:24:25 am »

"I am Viri. A traveling surgeon and healer. Would you please let me help him before his life fades from his body? It is against my oaths to not heal the wounded."

The older dwarf nods her head at the body.

"Something ruined that guy's day. You see what it was?" she asks suspiciously. "Is he still alive, boys?" she asks of the other two dwarves.

"Doesn't seem like he's breathing, nah," says the long-haired dwarf after a long look at the body.

"Or has any blood left to lose," the clean-shaven one adds after giving the faux-corpse a few good slaps in the face. "This guy's dead as a doornail."
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~Neri

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #50 on: July 09, 2015, 11:52:07 am »

"However his spirit has yet to leave, post mortam, the heart can be repaired and restarted within an hour after death, magic can provide temporary blood, which the body will absorb and replace upon acquiring nutrients. Provided the soul has not left for the other side or been consumed by whatever assaulted him, it will grab hold of the spark of life offered, although the body may not wake for hours or days depending on how far from the body the soul has run. Lungs are relatively simple to get working again, the main issue is if fluids have leaked into them or if bones punctured the membrane. "

"As for me, no, I do not know what did this to him, I was traveling towards your settlement and heard the screaming."

"I am not certain I can stabilize him, but I will do my best if I am allowed. May I?"
« Last Edit: July 09, 2015, 04:35:20 pm by Kevak »
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monk12

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #51 on: July 09, 2015, 12:11:54 pm »

Rev knew a thing or two about puffballs. In the Lands Untamed he had sometimes found them as large as two feet wide, and there was always amusement to be had in popping them and watching them spew their spores (especially if he could arrange for someone else to be near the epicenter when the time came.) There was nothing even close to the puffball before him now, however. Rev truly wanted to see the mess created when this puffball let loose, but no suitably subtle method was available, and Rev had a purpose in this town beyond fungal hijinks.

No dwarf had remarked on Rev's disguise, but he could tell from the other local cats that he would not hold up under closer inspection. He takes the time to find a private alley or corner to moderate his cat form, something average for the local species. That done, he wanders into a larger building that might be a tavern or meeting hall of some sort; perhaps a building where the slower, less purposeful dwarves are heading.

heydude6

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #52 on: July 09, 2015, 12:31:40 pm »

Ok Martingold calm down, you can figure this out...

there... much better.

Oh dear, he's bringing suspicion towards himself. This can't end well
Quite sad, cause I thought of a purpose for him that's just swell
I realized that disguising as a corpse wasn't the best plan
Especially if I hope to talk to them like a living man

Perhaps Viri can fix my small mistake
And make a dead man... awake!



If Viri is allowed to try and help, then repair my wounds but don't show any other signs of life except for breathing and a pulse.
« Last Edit: July 13, 2015, 05:41:14 pm by heydude6 »
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Lets use the ancient naval art of training war parrots. No one will realize they have been boarded by space war parrots until it is to late!
You can fake being able to run on water. You can't fake looking cool when you break your foot on a door and hit your head on the floor.

FallacyofUrist

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Re: Outfoxed, a Kitsune RTD (signups open)
« Reply #53 on: July 09, 2015, 04:11:49 pm »

"Hm... odd."

Shapeshift into a common wildbird from around this general area. See if I can get a closer look at the dwarven happenings via flight.
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FoU has some twisted role ideas. Screw second-guessing this mechanical garbage spaghetti, I'm basing everything on reads and visible daytime behaviour.

Would you like to play a game of Mafia? The subforum is always open to new players.

ATHATH

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #54 on: July 10, 2015, 01:23:28 am »

Action pm'd.
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Seriously, ATHATH, we need to have an intervention about your death mug problem.
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*slow clap* Well ATHATH congratulations. You managed to give the MC a mental breakdown before we even finished the first arc.
I didn't even read it first, I just saw it was ATHATH and noped it. Now that I read it x3 to noping

Harry Baldman

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #55 on: July 10, 2015, 05:40:49 am »

In the company of three dwarves...

Viri tries to convince the dwarves to trust her at least a little bit while Martingold continues his best impression of a dead dwarf.

"However his spirit has yet to leave, post mortem, the heart can be repaired and restarted within an hour after death, magic can provide temporary blood, which the body will absorb and replace upon acquiring nutrients. Provided the soul has not left for the other side or been consumed by whatever assaulted him, it will grab hold of the spark of life offered, although the body may not wake for hours or days depending on how far from the body the soul has run. Lungs are relatively simple to get working again, the main issue is if fluids have leaked into them or if bones punctured the membrane," she explains to them. "As for me, no, I do not know what did this to him, I was traveling towards your settlement and heard the screaming. I am not certain I can stabilize him, but I will do my best if I am allowed. May I?"

The older dwarf tilts her head, thinking for a second before speaking. "An hour, eh? Plenty of time. Boys, grab the corpse and keep an eye out. Lady, you come with us. We're going to the village," she says with an enterprising smile, pointing at the walled-off group of buildings in the distance. "Ain't safe out here, you know? Whoever killed this guy might still be out there."

The two other dwarves start to lift the corpse up, and are a bit surprised when it proves incredibly light. "Whoah!" says the clean-shaven one. "Didn't expect that."

"What?" the older dwarf asks.

"Light as a feather, this one," the long-haired guy says. The clean-shaven one lets go of the corpse's shoulders, and the long-haired dwarf lifts the entire body up by the foot, dangling it up in one arm, though with a bit of difficulty. "See?"

"Well," the woman says. "Ain't that something. Better get them to the village quick-like. Come along now," she beckons Viri to follow as the long-haired dwarf puts the corpse over his shoulder and starts to leave, the clean-shaven one following a bit more slowly, glancing between him and the older dwarf, who still keeps her eyes on the healer.


In the village of Crawlinghome...

Rev discreetly wanders into an alley and takes a moment to become smaller, slimmer and less hairy, which doesn't take very long at all. Having made himself less conspicuous, he is about to head out of the alley when he notices several cats high on the pyramids, seemingly observing his every move in their typical unreadably cattish manner. As he moves along, he is aware of the cats in question continuing to follow him from pyramid to pyramid, splitting up and rejoining into one group every now and then.

Seeking a less conspicuous place to be in, Rev follows a sauntering, carefree dwarf carrying a small basket into a somewhat large pyramid past an entrance with a lightly armored swordsdwarf standing next to it. The swordsdwarf does not appear to object to the cat following the dwarf, or even the sauntering dwarf himself, acknowledging his presence with the slightest of grunts.

Inside it becomes abundantly clear that this must be some kind of barracks, given that he counts no less than five armed dwarves hanging out in the foyer and adjoining barracks (which could no doubt accommodate at least two dozen dwarves in total), all either conversing or playing dice. The sauntering dwarf, however, seems to be heading toward a different corridor, one that leads deeper into the pyramid. The armed dwarves in here glance at the new arrival, but pay him no further mind. Must be a usual thing, him walking in here like that.


In a tree outside Crawlinghome...

Faer starts to shift into a local wild bird, in this case a starling, and attempts to fly. He notes that his limbs move sluggishly, he feels rather bloated and that, most importantly, he still seems to weigh as much as he did when he was a fox, which is of course about twice as much as the average wandering albatross, a creature with a three-meter wingspan.

He could, of course, take a more exotic shape, say, some sort of roc. That could presumably get him flying and give those dwarves something to think about, though of course it'd hardly be inconspicuous or conducive to information gathering.
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~Neri

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #56 on: July 10, 2015, 05:47:14 am »

Viri follows.

"..I do not believe it is normal for a corpse to be so light. Are there any local beasts or ailments that could cause that?"
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heydude6

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #57 on: July 10, 2015, 06:53:18 am »

((The lack of weight could be through the complete absence of blood, Ha Ha.))

Just keep waiting
« Last Edit: July 10, 2015, 06:57:58 am by heydude6 »
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Lets use the ancient naval art of training war parrots. No one will realize they have been boarded by space war parrots until it is to late!
You can fake being able to run on water. You can't fake looking cool when you break your foot on a door and hit your head on the floor.

monk12

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #58 on: July 10, 2015, 01:00:29 pm »

Rev is wary of the stray cats outside. He knows the wildcats of the forest to be solitary creatures; this group action seems strange and unnatural to him, though perhaps that is just the way of domestic cats. More problematic is the way they are focusing on him; perhaps he has failed to replicate some scent which would let him fit in. Well, mere cats are no threat to Rev personally, and they cannot readily betray him to the dwarves. It is something to keep an eye on, but nothing to deter his mission.

Inside the barracks, Rev considers his next course of action carefully. Though his primary objective is to find a cure for the Sacred Lands, he doubts he will find one in a frontier dwarf village. Still, it would be good to learn a thing or two about the bizarre mushrooms in this place, and to gain some information on the surrounding area. Common soldiers seem unlikely to have information on the former, but it could be that their gossip could yield some information on the latter.

Rev approaches the conversing dwarves, using his Insight to find one who likes (or at least tolerates) cats. Taking position near his adopted dwarf, he eavesdrops on their conversations.

FallacyofUrist

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Re: Outfoxed - Chapter 1: A Sense of Direction
« Reply #59 on: July 10, 2015, 03:55:30 pm »

"Most of the time my shapeshifting works. Unfortunately not this time."

... blast it. A roc? Best not. But something larger. Eagle? Ostrich? Something to think about. Faer shifts into a snow leopard and gets closer. Hopefully not very close. They shouldn't be able to see him. Then again... be sure to use the natural growth to hide. I don't want to be spotted. Blast. Pun.

((I'm assuming I have enough mass for a somewhat light snow leopard.))
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FoU has some twisted role ideas. Screw second-guessing this mechanical garbage spaghetti, I'm basing everything on reads and visible daytime behaviour.

Would you like to play a game of Mafia? The subforum is always open to new players.
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