Closed [The Warfields]Around every corner[Abstract]

[Ssafirsotibones]

58 Summer 513(Night) Usually Bones slept well enough at night. Even when traveling, he unrolled his bedroll, laid back, and was out soon enough, if not deeply. For rarely could he sleep deeply, unless he felt truly safe. A rare occurrence for Bones. Of late, Bones had been sleeping in the room that Ximal had allowed him to use, as he was a teacher at the humans school... But it still felt a bit odd to him. Not quite right. As always, he was surrounded by humans wherever he went. It was even more so in the city. If they knew what he was, they would surely turn on him... Bones found himself oddly drawn to this place, on this night. The spot in which he had first met Ximal. He had been climbing walls, and had jumped down in Bones path, to face the Dhani. Bones has been doing it the proper way, walking along the ground. He supposed if he had to, he could climb... But that just felt wrong somehow. It would also make it impossible for him to use his Dhani form... He would wait on transforming though, for fear of making someone to see him beleive some monster was crawling through the War fields. He entered the maze of stone, dressed more or less as always. His cotton shirt and pants, with his cotton robes over it, and his pair of sandals on his feet. On his back, strapped across it in an X, was his two gladius. The one on a left hand draw, was his fathers, with a bone hilt. The one on his right hand draw, was the one he had specially forged in Alvadas, made of isurian steel, and izentor crafted. Though he only vaguely knew what that meant. Just that it never dulled, was always honed, was lighter than a normal gladius, and had so far proved impregnable. Both were able to cleave off limbs or heads in a single swipe.

[Abstract]

It was quite an amazement that Bones had gotten to the Warfields at night, without a hitch. Still, he succeeded, and nothing approached him in the slightest.

The area around was quiet, peaceful, without a soul in sight. Which was logical, since no sensible person (other than the monks) would be wandering around at this time of day. Especially in the Warfields.

Suddenly, a small screech sounded, and something dropped from the walls, right onto Bone's head. If he could get a good look at it, it was small, fuzzy, and grey, with a long pointed snout and intelligent eyes. It's four arms were long and nimble, and the front ones had a stretch of skin across, for the use of gliding. Once in it's position, it clung to the Dhani's head for dear life, and would refuse to let go.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones had been minding his own business, walking through the tight walls of the maze, Leth shining down from above, when he suddenly heard a screech. Before he could recall that things could drop from the sky, and were apt to, something fell from said sky right onto Bones head. "Serxesnas!!!" Bones said, instantly grabbing onto the thing on his skull. He gave it a good tug, but it did not come loose. He tugged again, but it still did not dislodge. "Get off my ssskull, you furry ssing!" He had not been expecting to be attacked by this thing, if you could even call latching to ones head as an attack. But for the moment it did not seem to be doing anything, no nails or teeth digging in, just a feeling of warmth and fur exuding from the things body. Bones stopped walking, and let out a sigh. He then spoke to it, trying to keep his voice calm and even, even though he was annoyed at the creature. "Will you pleassse remove yourssself from my head, or be nice enough to explain why you have taken up occupancy there?" He was being nice for now, but if he felt a stab of tooth or claw, he would give it a good punch to its spine... Or whereabouts he figured its spine was. A full force punch from him, would likely break its spine in one blow. speech : "Serxesnas!" "Get off my skull, you furry thing!" "Will you please remove yourself from my head, or be nice enough to explain why you have taken up occupancy there?"

[Abstract]

The little creature squeaked as Bones attempted to pull it off, and it clung harder than ever. When he asked politely, however, it responded with another little squeak, and let go, dropping straight into the Dhani's hands. From there, it looked up at the man with adorable eyes, and seemed to ask "Can I staaaayy?"

Though it spoke, it's mouth couldn't be seen to move, and it sounded more as if the animal was speaking into Bone's head, rather than out loud. Without waiting for an answer, it hopped back onto the Dhani's head, with a small flap of it's 'wings'.

Bones wasn't given much time to consider this, as just as the creature returned to it's place, a growling could be heard from around the next corner. After a few moments, the monster emerged. A giant Marrow Bone Dog, twice the size of any normal hound, shoved its way into the passage, teeth bared. Spotting the prey before it, it lunged at the pair, mouth wide.

OOCFeel free to murder it however you wish

[Ssafirsotibones]

As Bones asked the creature nicely, it dropped from his head, into his open hands, and looked up at Bones beseechingly. Or what appeared to him as such. He had simply spoken in the calming tone, expecting that to calm the creature down, and for it to cooperate possibly. He had not expected to receive a answer in turn. Bones froze as he heard the words spoken in his mind. He knew it had not been spoken out loud, it had been to crisp and unaffected by the things of their environment, like wind and the sound bouncing off the walls. Those things had not affected the words. Clearly to Bones, this meant some kind of magic was at work, or some special ability that was akin to magic that the creature possessed. Before he could say anything, the creature hopped back onto its perch on his skull. Bones moved one hand up, and was about to try to pull it off with his right hand, when he hard something coming from in front of him. This growl was different than the creatures on his heads squeak. It also suddenly occurred to him that perhaps the reason the creature had taken refuge with Bones, was because he was seeking safety from others, such as the owner of the growl. As this thought occurred to Bones, he reached for his gladius instead of the creature, drawing out his right hand gladius with the slick of leather on metal. He held the weapon before him, as a shadow moved, and formed into a beast. It looked almost like a dog, but not quite. It was wrong, like some shrunken sickly beast that had lost its hair, but grown all the more vicious. And it was huge, compared to a normal dog. As it lunged at Bones, he made the simplest move, a slash aimed right for its mouth and teeth and muzzle, dropping the blade downward vertically at the source of the growl. If the blow struck, it would likely cleave right through the beast like a warm knife through butter. The blade was light in his hand, and sharp as the day it had been forged, back in Alvadas. Whether the strike landed or not, Bones would take a hopping step back to get clear of the beast, and then step into range and make a thrust aimed right at the things chest, with the razor sharp tip of the blade, made equally well for this thrust as it was for his earlier slash. If that did not kill it, as he hoped it would, he would make another slash coming in on the beasts left side, Bones right side, attempting to cut its head clean off. Each of these blows would be made with his full Dhani strength, holding nothing back, nearly as strong as two and a half full grown strong humans.

[Abstract]

All of Bone's strikes hit squarely, as the monstrous dog had barely any space to move. Within moments, it crashed to the ground, twitching slightly, before stilling. The creature squeaked with excitement, and leaped from its perch, gliding down towards the corpse. There, it snatched a few mouthfuls of the meat before swooping back to Bone's head.

"Yummy" it squeaked, again through some kind of mental form. "Where you going?" it asked curiously, hopping slightly. It seemed to want to stick to the Dhani, probably for the protection he provided. The monster seemed to block off one of the three available paths to Bones, leaving only two open.

If Bones went down the right path, he'd soon encounter a pair of Marrow Bone dogs fighting in one of the few open areas. These would be the size of regular dogs, and if he would wait a few chimes, unnoticed, one would kill the other and turn on the waiting Dhani.

If he traveled down the left path, several chimes of walking straight, with no other deviations available, would take him to a monk. The monk, wielding a slightly awkward greatsword, would have a crazed look in his eyes, and immediately charge at Bones.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones attacks were more successful than he had expected, and the beast soon lay dead before him. Bones watched as his new companion, through no choice of his own though, swooped down and ate some of the meat from the freshly killed creature, whatever it was. Bones took the time to examine the beast, and think on things. It would not do badly as a malediction item, and so he bent down and cut off the flesh around one of its large top fangs with his gladius, and then yanked the tooth right out. He would think on what purpose it might suit later. For now, there was no time to be maledicting. In the meantime, he stored the tooth away for later, making sure it would not poke or stab him when moving. That done, Bones looked about, trying to decide which way to go. After a moment, he decided to go right, on his gladius side, and headed down that path. He had considered stopping to eat some of the beast also, but did not want to fill up now while he still had a ways to go, even if the raw still warm and bloody flesh brought a craving to his belly... He wiped his blade clean on the beasts back, at least the best he could, and headed off. This time though, he was going to be a bit more careful, and slowly crept around the pathway. Placing one foot in front of the other, watching were he went, stopping to gaze around a corner before going around it... He was not so bad at stealth when the occasion called for it. He stopped though, as he once more sensed something, saw and heard movement and motion before him. He paused, keeping close to the wall, and keeping his blade out. What he saw was two more of the beast he had met prior, though not as big, who were fighting one another. Which seemed odd in his mind, what kind of beast turned on its own? He waited silently, carefully breathing in his mouth, and out his nose, keeping his breaths muffled and quiet. He watched as the two dived at each other, biting, jumping, until one finally sunk its fangs into the others throat, and ripped it out. As it began to feed though, it perked up, and looked right at Bones, noticing him. Bones saw it coming, and moved into the open space, gladius held out on his right side, ready for motion, filled with deadly intent. As it came at him, Bones made a stabbing thrust, aimed right at the beasts mouth, trying to shove the long blade right down its throat and out the back of its head, killing it instantly if it worked by obliterating the spot were its spine moved into its head and brain. Bones would look up at the thing on his head, unsure if he needed to speak, or if it could hear his thoughts. "You don't happen to know what ssessse ssingsss are, or are called do you?..." As he said this, he realized he did not know this things name. "I am Bonesss. Do you have a name?" However Bones did not let down his guard. If these things were in the War Fields this night, he had a feeling much worse things would be to. He let out a breath, knowing things would only get worse, not better, before he got out of this. He had been lucky so far, a few wild monsters, one on one fights. With his skill, they were not to hard to dispatch... But his luck was not good enough for that to go on. speech : "You don't happen to know what these things are, or are called do you?..." "I am Bones. Do you have a name?"

[Abstract]

OOCSorry for the delay

The dog died easily, flopping to the ground motionless. Once again the creature hopped from Bone's head and nibble a bit, before returning. It listened to the questions, before answering "They're Marrow Bone dogs. They can get pretty big, as you saw." it told the Dhani politely, before continuing "I don't really have a name... call me what you want!" At first it had seemed a little more mature, though its childish tone quickly returned afterwards.

The next options were clear. Three paths stood before Bones, one forward, one to the left, another to the right. The front one continued far forward onto darkness, whereas the left and right continued a while, before turning abruptly. For all of them, the ends were out of sight.

OOC :

Ok. So stuff is going to get a little more complicated here. Basically, I have a map drawn out, with everything on it, and you need to make your way around. There is a finish, there is a start (here), and there will be stuff in between. Because of the map, I'm going to be proposing every turn to you, which might take a while. If another turn is within sight, I'll tell you, but other than that... you aren't going to know what's in the rooms before you get there.

Also, if you like, I can draw up a map, with Bone's routes, and the paths he has seen. If you want this, your PC will be able to ask the creature for the path, who will provide a mental image

Have fun!

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones stabbing thrust pierced into the dog easily. It more or less skewered itself on its own forward momentum, running at him, along the length of his blade. He used his foot to hold the beast in place, as he slid the blade back out of the beasts head. He attempted to rub some of the blood off on its back, but its leathery skin was not very good for it, meaning he had to clean it off using his own clothes, this time one of his pants legs. Bones did not pause, and moved onward, looking about the paths of the maze, trying to get his bearings and to decide were to go next. He did however pause to hear the creatures answers. It was good to have a name for the beast, marrow dogs, though their name did little to assuage him. He also told him he did not have a name. Bones thought on that for a moment, and nodded, which shook him about. "Alright. I will call you Fer. Nice to meet you Fer." This was more referring to the word fur, which the creature had. However, Bones felt that spelling of the word seemed more right, for a name. Plus, his common was not the best, so perhaps part was simply him mispronouncing it, or misspelling. His native tongue after all was snake-tongue. Bones came to another split, this time in 3 ways. Bones paused for a moment, chose the right most path, and began to walk down it, blade out and ready. OOC : You can do that if you want to, I do not mind really either way. But if you want to take the time to do so, feel free. I am equally happy being surprised, or knowing. Though projecting mental images of pathways taken, I would imagine this creature is good at navigating, and does not get lost to often. How did he end up lost in here, being chased by beasts and needing Bones saving him? Hmmmm...

[Abstract]

The creature seemed to like the name and nodded, its motion possible to feel from its place atop Bone's head. "Ferrrr" it muttered quietly to itself, before resuming silence.

This path continued for a bit, before turning left, and quickly landing Bones into another 'room' thing, in which resided another furry thing. It appeared to be a blue weasel, and immediately darted towards the Dhani, a cute look in its eyes. If Bones was stupid enough to pick it up, he would eventually fall into a hypnotic sleep, where the creature would attempt to devour him, before being stopped by Fer. It would take several chimes of the flying creature liking the man before he woke up.

If bones decided to avoid, or kill the blue thing, it would occur easily, and it would be completely harmless as long as the Dhani didn't touch the thing. From there, two paths would be present. One to the left, which would sharply turn right within a meter, and another to the right which continued far into the blackness.