Road to Blackshire
A faded wooden sign nailed to a gnarled and nearly dead old tree reads: 'Whispering Wood - Beware of Monsters'. The trees seem monstrous themselves, strangely gnarled and twisted, rising from the earth and standing on their roots, rather than having trunks securely fastened to the ground. All too often, out of the corner of one's eye, a tree appears to take on the look of a withered face of indeterminate species, as if a manifestation of some ancient forest spirit spoken of in fairy tales or in hushed ghost stories shared around a campfire. The trees are quite alive, despite it all, and their thick leaves form a dense canopy that all but shuts out any light that might get in - sunlight or Procession - beyond the relatively clear area that defines what passes for a road in these parts. Broken tiles and stones attest to what must have once been a monumental effort to make proper roads to network even such a backwater place as this in Sylvania but those efforts have since been prov

The map called this place the 'Forest of Fluffy Doom' or similar. But it was a bit out of date. The Rath'ani brothers are already making their way back to Bog Bend, leaving the Stonebarrow group (plus ghost) on the shore. It's still morning at least - no need to travel the wood road at night, unless they fall asleep along the way.

Lin reaches into her pack and pulls out a chunk of salted fish. "We kin eat an walk, can't we?" She asks, slinging the bag back over her shoulder. "We've still gotta get past this 'Fluffy Doom' stuff."

"Having food will attract animals," Aviri says. "Having it out might increase the odds of them coming, but ... I'd rather not go through here without rations." He looks around suspiciously at the local flora. "I wouldn't trust this stuff to be edible."

Trilup compromises by stuffing her cheeks full of her own jerky, then packing the rest away.

"I've got about three days worth o' food still if I need it." Lin chirps and bites off about half of the fish chunk.

Aviri keeps his food--some mostly stale bread and incredibly stale variations of tac--in his bag as he walks, half-abandoning his efforts to identify the plants in the area.

The light soon grows dim within the canopy, and the noises of the wildlife become more noisy. Chirps and squeals and rustles in the underbrush. Parts of the broken road are seriously overgrown as well, requiring some effort to get over or around. Something lands on a tree branch ahead of them, and flicks its head about to study them. It's not a creen, but a bird. It's got blue feathers, and it sings something before flapping off again.

Aviri opens his mouth to say something like, "And that is why is like plants more than animals" when he remembers they had been almost eaten by a tree. He shuts his mouth and continues, now having to look out for dangerous plants as well as creatures. "Thanks, freaky bird-thing," he mutters.

The path begins to become clearer of debris now. Some of the old paving stones are even visible. A white rabbit hops across the road, then stops in the middle and watches the trio approach, it's nose twitching madly.

"That looks like one of the bunnies you raise on the Chalk," Trilup points out to Aviri. Mainly because a white rabbit wouldn't be very natural for the woods.

".... Yeah," Aviri says, tilting his head away and looking at it sideways. "Maybe it ... doesn't walk around in the open very often?" He takes a tentative step toward it, not wanting to get close but also wanting to get out of the forest of death.

Lin looks back and forth betqween Aviri and the rabbibt. "It's sure... Fluffy..." She takes a half step back. "Could it be a doom bunny?"

Aviri looks over his shoulder at Lin, making sure to keep an eye on the bunny. "I ... doubt it's a doom-bunny," he says, turning back to face it. "Er ... go on," he tells the creature, making vague shooing gestures, the necklace wrapped around one hand clearly visible against his fur.

"Yeah. Just wait fer it ta sprout fangs an try'n eat us." Lin mutters while pushing a low hanging branch out of the path. "The map said Fluffy Doom. Let's just keep a weather eye out fer anythin' suspiscious."

The bunny takes a cautious hop towards them at the shooing motion, then sits up again.

Aviri steps back, keeping a regular distance between them. "No, no aggravating the wildlife!" he says quickly to Lin. "Try to ... go around, I guess," he says, indicating they step to the side.

Lin gives Trilup a look. "It's just a bunny. We're not throwin' rocks at it. That's mean." She admonishes.

Trying to go around the bunny.. causes the bunny to approach them again. There's more rustling behind them on the path now.

Aviri whips around to track the rustling. "I'll approach," he says, wielding the talisman as if it would do anything against a not-undead creature. "Anything happens, you two run as fast as you can, got it?"

Lin nods and gets ready to take off, the fur on the back of her neck is already standing straight up.

There's a white stag on the road behind them now, with some random vines and such stuck in its horns. It also watches the group with curiosity.

Aviri takes a tentative step toward the bunny, the necklace pinched tight between his fingers like it were a silver garlic-encrusted cross and his adversary a vampire.

Lin starts easing away slowly then breaks into a full out sprint. "C'mon Tril!" She hisses.

As soon as the girls start to move, the rabbit's eyes turn red. It opens its mouth.. and keeps opening it! It splits the cheeks, then the neck and even the upper part of the chest, dropping down to form a lower jaw filled with sharp, jagged teeth. It hisses at them.

Aviri jumps backward, his hand shaking as it points his weapon at the ... thing, stumbling down the path before breaking into a run away from it, following the girls.

"Swampy damn it!" Lin shouts in exasperation when she glances over her shoulder. "Just once could could it be something that doesn't want to eat us?" She holds a branch aside for trilup and glances back again to see how Aviri's doing.

The stag is chasing now as well, gradually turning more monstrous as it closes. Soon it's covered in quills and sporting very large fangs. The rabbit is right on Aviri's heels, but at least closed its mouth to run.

Aviri starts sprinting away from it, slowing as he approaches the otters, not wanting to leave either of them behind. "Lin did you get a rock?" he asks quickly between breaths.

"Pack, top pocket. Sling and stones." She says between breaths. "Your aim any good?"

A fork in the path is just ahead, and there's a sign pointing down the left one that reads: Safetree.

Aviri clumsily fumbles with the straps on Lin's pack a moment, but their respective motions makes him quickly give up. He jogs along behind them, looking over his shoulder at the creature and thus doesn't see the sign.

"Hey, Viri!" Lin barks, "How trustin' are we of conveniant signs in a forrest full of crazy animals tryin' ta eat us? It says ta go left."

"Then go left!" Aviri cries out, frustrated. He apparently doesn't think this is the time to dance around the point.

Lin grabs Trilup's hand and heads down the left path. "I don't have a good feelin' about this." She calls back to Aviri.

"If you can talk, run faster!" Aviri orders, glancing forward to ensure he doesn't miss the turn before returning to track the thing following them.

The path winds deeper into the woods, and is much newer looking than the main one. But it leads to a small clearing with a very large tree - nearly as large as one of the Kadie giant chestnut trees. There's another sign, pointing up, with several knotted ropes dangling down from an upper branch next to it.

That's an invitation Lin isn't inclined to turn down. That aquavi is up those ropes as fast as she can grab them. She pulls her sling and stone pouch out sa soon as she's on a fairly high branch and winds up to cover Aviri.

Trilup is slower up the ropes, but Aviri reaches one before the monsters reach the edge of the clearing.

Aviri leaps into the ropes and begins climbing, no longer having to worry about staying behind the otters as they seem faster climbers than he.

The stag grabs onto the end of Aviri's rope and shakes it, but it isn't enough to dislodge the Lapi, not when he's practically to the branch already.

Aviri grabs at the branch, disassociating himself with the shaking rope as quickly as he can and enjoying the stability of the branch.

Lin lets fly at the stag, the stone goes wide and smacks into the ground a fair ways off. "It's been a while since I've used this." She shrugs apologetically to the others.

Aviri clambors the rest of the way onto the branch and begins checking himself, ensuring he still has all his stuff. He glares at Lin. "Were you going for a jog?" he accuses, seeing her able to speak calmly after the chase.

The stag continues to shake the rope for a bit, then gets bored and wanders into the woods. But there's no telling how far it went. The rabbit just circles around the bottom of the tree.

Lin pats her tummy. "I'm in good shape." She beams at Aviri, "We get around a lot in the Scouts."

The younger otter is draped over the branch.. and throwing up (well, choking and losing the food she stashed in her cheeks). The rabbit doesn't seem interested in damp jerky though.

Aviri takes a deep breath; the speed at which Trilup had been wprinting had been a jog, albeit a quick one, for him. "Then," he says to Lin, patting Trilup encouragingly, "next time that happens, I'll grab her and sprint. You take your sling and follow as best you can. If you can still talk, you're not going fast enough."

Linyala starts breathing a lot heavier and her noze and paws drip. "Alright, I'm not that good." She pants. "The run just had ta catch up. My folks said that has somethin ta do with getting really excited an' not noticin how hard yer workin'."

Down below, the bunny stares up at them. It looks like a normal bunny again, and even scratches at an ear with a hind leg.

Aviri sighs, shaking his head. "It's easier if you start breathing before you feel the need," he explains with calm frustration. He rubs Trilup's back, ensuring she doesn't fall off the log.

Lin takes a swig from her canteen. "I'll remember that fer next time." She chirps. "I'm gonna take a shot at that rabbit. Thiks it's all cute an' fluffy. It lies." She puts another stone in her sling and takes the time to line up her shot.

The stone shoots out.. and hits the branch instead, bouncing upwards to ricochet off another higher branch.. and eventually come back to strike Lin right at the base of her tail. It still had enough oomph to hurt too!

Lin yelps and grabs her rump. "Something got me! Something got me! The birds an' bugs are in on it!" Tears well in her eyes and she rocks back and forth on the branch.

Aviri rolls his eyes. "You got you," he explains. "I think you're done with the sling for now."

Lin hands the sling and pouch over to Aviri. "Don't know what I was thinkin' when I packed it. Don't even like weapons." She mumbles.

"Should have asked for one of Gunther's murder-bows," Trilup says, miming holding up something like a crossbow and going 'ratatatata' as she shakes.

Aviri puts the sling into a pocket in his shirt (of course his shirt has pockets!). "Everyone okay?" he asks, now that it seems nobody's gonna fall off the branch.

"I've seen the target dummies, or what's left of them, after he's fired that thing." Lin wilts, "It scares me."

"I'm okay, just.. queasy," Trilup says, looking a bit woozy. "I don't think I like heights very much."

Aviri nods. "Don't look down," he advises. "And get up against the trunk so the branch doesn't sway so much. Then ... just imagine you're on a knobbly rock." He grins.

Lin siddles to another branch to make room for the others. "Anyone see any signs?" She asks.

There don't appear to be any more instructions about. Some of the other branches also have rope-ladders dangling from them though. The idea seems to just be waiting out the creatures.

Aviri sits on the branch, gripping it with his legs and hugging his pack, looking down at the rabbit. "Didn't see any signs," he says.

"So." Lin says hesitantly, "We're just s'posed to wait fer it to go away?" She takes another swig from her canteen and puts it away.

"I'm here," Silv whispers, a bit more whispery than usual. Despite being full of monsters, this may be a place where spirits themselves are 'thinner'.

Aviri nods, everyone accounted for. "Then, i guess we wait until that thing goes away," he says.

Linyala shudders and rubs her hands on her vest. "This place is just wrong." She says and takes a good look around to make sure the coast is clear. "Should we give it another minute or try'n go but be quiet about it?"

The forest is still noisy. There are constant rustling sounds, chirps, croaks and other animal noises.

Trilup points up, and suggests, "Maybe one of you could climb to the top and see how much farther we have to go?"

Aviri nods and begins sliding off the branch, legs grappling the rope. "I'm the fastest," he explains. "I'll go down, and give 'em a chase if it's a trap." He pauses, then nods. "Stay here and ... don't ... fall off."

"I'll go check out the top." Lin chirps and makes her way up through the ropes and branches. "I really hope it isn't too far, caves an ruins an peoples' houses. Not things tryin' ta eat me."

The lapi nods and begins carefully working his way down the rope, looking around the clearing frequently to ensure he's not about to get ambushed.

The tree is tall, and climbing down is not as fast as climbing up was, given the lack of extra incentive. Aviri reaches the bottom.. and nothing leaps out to attack him. Lin reaches the top, and sees.. smoke? It's further along in the direction they were going, maybe two miles away. But it's moving, and seems to puff out in a rhythm.

Lin makes a note of the smoke's direction in relation to the sun and looks farther out, trying to see where the forest ends.

Aviri carefully walks around the clearing, spiraling outward closer and closer to the foliage, ready to leap into action at the drop of a pin.

There's more rustling, and some birds fly out of a bush Aviri gets close too.. but they just keep flying off. The tree isn't quiet high enough to see the end of the woods, but the billowing steam does stop moving, and there's a loud steam-whistle sound from that location.

Aviri jumps, dashing back to the ropes. He's a few meters up before he realizes the whistle wasn't the sound of a creature but of a machine. Still ... he continues up toward the branches in case his flight triggered some chase reaction from the possible stalkers in the foliage.

Lin slides down to meet him. "There's some kinda firey smokey poofey thing movin around where we're headin. It was breathin out big puffs of smoke then made this creepy loud noise." She chatters, "It stopped an' then made the noise. Didja hear it?"

The forest actually goes quiet for a moment after the whistle sounds, then the noises start up again.

"I've never heard a creature make that kind of noise," Aviri says, though considering how everything they've come across has defied his previous preconceptions on how things should be, that might not hold much weight. "The area seems clear enough, if you're ready to continue."

"It could be." Lin chirps, "But it didn't sound like what the stories say they're like. Wasn't roarey so much as hootey. Fire breathing owls?"

Aviri adjusts the bag's setting on his shoulder. "I could carry you," he says to Trilup. "Then we could jog. Get out of here sooner."

"I can watch our backs if I'm being carried," Trilup says, agreeing to the plan.

Aviri starts back down the ropes. "Okay. We'll be out of here before lunch," he claims.

"Or we'll be lunch." Lin adds, cheerfully. She slides down and cautiously follows Aviri. "That way. Also that way to whatever made that smoke. Same direction."