[Quest] Eyes In The Shadow

[Rage]

Eyes In The Shadows Date: 35th of Fall, 510 AV Location: Falyndar Wilds (near the Kandukta Basin) Questors: Corvo, Sheika, Zarriiph, Zuzana They had traveled for five days straight, forging a path from the city gates, their destination the immediate area where the reported disappearances had occurred. By word of their guide, Gamal, they were nearing the place. A quick sniff of the air would prove his words as true; one could tell by the scent of water that they were within the vicinity of the Kandukta Basin. From the onset of the expedition, Gamal had pressed them on at a rushed pace, covering a distance that would usually have taken them seven days. The man had seemed restless and very eager at the start, but now he appeared very guarded and more watchful of their surroundings. No doubt the man was thinking now what had befallen his previous party: everyone of them became victim to the disappearances until only Gamal was left. Scout Leader Heda of the Creeping Vines, the one who arranged their mission, felt she knew the man's current state of mind; the scout wanted very much so to avenge the loss of his partymates that the Scout Leader worried the man's judgment might be affected by it. Thus she had declared that the Gamal follow the orders of everyone in his new party, not committing any single action if it was not their instruction. The man would serve as guide and support, nothing more. Everyone could be the leader of the party but him. It was nearing midday now and everyone was nearing exhaustion. They had left their previous campsite before daybreak and their grumbling stomachs now demanded they stopped to sup a meal before continuing. A small clearing where the ground had already dried up from the previous season's deluge presented itself as a viable camping area. Thick trees framed it on the sides, crowded close enough to deter any large beast from lurking in the shadows and ambushing them, while the two other ends were relatively free of vegetation that they could see any intruder coming in from either entry points. It was defensible enough place, perfect for a brief meal and a short rest. “I could hunt if you like,” Gamal offered, pulling out his blowdart. The cat claws he used as ammunition for the long hollow tube were coated with a strong paralyzing poison; there would be no doubt he could bring down game easily and prepare the meal if everyone was willing to wait. However, the party was already within the area were the disappearances had occurred, so it would be dangerous to go out and hunt alone. There was safety in numbers; another could accompany Gamal in the hunt as long as they both watched each other's backs. Alternatively, two others could go out and hunt while Gamal stayed with the rest of the party to prepare the campsite. A climb up one of the taller trees would tell them an idea of their general location as well as orient them of their position in relation to the Basin. Gamal unslung his pack and dropped it to the ground. “Unless you like the taste of the cornbread we've been eating for the last few days,” he chided the group as he pulled out a pack of his travel rations. Storyteller Notes: : I'll leave the posting order to you guys. Let's try to get at least one post up in a week to keep the pace steady and so the others will not lose interest. If you have questions you can PM them to me; I may or may not answer them depending on the content.

[Sheika]

Sheika had lost track of time, only being reminded by the hushed occasional whispers from the others in the group. He knew it had been days since they left, how many, that was the mysterious number engulfed somewhere in that deep dark void of confusion of his head. Sheika hadn't exactly been acting normally, not even for himself, since he had left home. His shifting eyes, rather than being prepared and guarded, almost looked frightened, panicky, like he was expecting something unnatural to occur. And to be honest, that was exactly it. Sheika had spoken with a ghost only days before the trip began, and the things he heard were so strange to him that he just couldn't manage to keep himself pulled together. Sheika's twitchy haunted behavior wasn't assisted by his distrust in the sole survivor, that scout, Gamal. Sheika had reason to believe he was strong and skilled, but the thought that he alone survived and made the five day (at the rushed pace they were moving) trek back to Taloba, seemed too unrealistic, unreasonable, maybe even impossible. Sheika found himself torn between his suspicions and the fears that he was being followed by a haunting spirit, making him prone to noise, more than usual, failed detection of his surroundings, yet pushed him severely introverted. Finally, a place to stop and rest, Sheika felt himself breathe a deep gulp of air, as if for the past several days he had held his breath in anticipation. Nevertheless, Sheika didn't hesitate to drop to one knee, a severely more comfortable position than constantly walking. Sheika's gaze turned to Gamal as the Myrian spoke. Hunting, unwise, whatever was out there, which the considerable count of missing Myrians was evidence enough that something was here, dangerous, and probably able to kill a lone man with ease, meant it was an unnecessary danger. Sheika didn't trust Gamal anyway. He shook his head, the small beads hanging from his mother's skull rattling faintly as he did so. Sheika would speak first, the rest of the fang could agree or argue with him if they so chose. He was worried more about survival, a delicious meaty meal, though mouth watering, could be lived without. "Sheika does not find that a good idea." It wasn't until Sheika spoke that he realized a fresh carcass would have bones, while they rested, he could make something useful, perhaps even to enhance chances to survive this journey. "But I've never had a taste for cornbread." Sheika felt a need to watch Gamal closely. If he went to hunt, Sheika would follow, if it was better decided for another to hunt, Sheika would remain behind to watch the scout.

[Zarriiph]

The Crimson Fang They were finally allowed to rest.... Zarriiph was admittedly quite tired, but he was also bored. He had volunteered to come on this expedition to continue his familial legacy. He wanted to actually do something. In his mind this entire week had been useless. They had found nothing, fought nothing, and had been eating shit. On top of this Zarriiph thought of Gamal as a tool. One that needed to be watched carefully. But there was no order in the group, so it was impossible for efficiency to be met Looking at the people in the group, Zarriiph saw himself as natural leader. Whether or not the other people in the party thought so didn’t concern him. While the tensed march had annoyed Zarriiph he hadn’t taken it to heart. He refused to acknowledge fear. Thinking of it as weak, he refused to allow his emotion to overcome his mind. His will was iron, and fear could not bend it. Itching for action, made him restless. So instead of resting like he should have he paced the camp. As he paced Gamal spoke.... He wanted to hunt! Quickly over-viewing the option Zarriiph listened as Sheika spoke. “I find this statement wise.... but wisdom is not always the best course of action.” “We cannot fight upon bread alone . A warrior must have meat, and blood to give him strength.” “We have several hunters, we need not send Gamal. We could even split the party in two for a few hours.” He looked around, scanning faces for reactions. “Also before we go any farther we must have a fang leader. Without a leader we are a headless mob, without the ability to do anything. I will take the position, unless a better leader is chosen. “

[Zuzana]

Zuzana had not minded their travel; she much enjoyed the change of scenery. What the small group was going for was of little concern to the Kelvic, Sheika was going, and therefore she was going. In her cat form, she slinked along, her large pads hitting the ground with a soft noise as her golden eyes scanned the area around them. She had no intention of being caught off guard.

The large woman was glad for the group she was with, each of them she had already met, and fought, she knew their abilities, and in a way, she trusted them, not the same way as a human would trust another human, more in a way that a person would trust a horse not to keel over and die. She trusted that each of these men would not just throw up their hands and give up they were not cowards.

The group reached a resting point while the sun was still high, Zuzana would have continued going even with her loudly grumbling stomach. The Kelvic was hungry and wanted food, now, Corvo was beginning to look more and more appetizing as her stomach grew louder. Luckily for the Myrian, Gamal had them stop to set up camp for the time being. The trees were close together and Zuzana found she felt cramped in the small camping area.

A dull growl emanated from the Tigers throat at the mention of cornbread, Zuzana did not enjoy corn, and the idea of corn being turned into bread made her all but lose her appetite, perhaps she would have to eat Corvo after all. Her sharp gold eyes shifted from Gamal to Sheika, looking to see what he would say. The Kelvic would have no issue going out to hunt, even catching a few birds would be better than cornbread, hell, dirt would be better than cornbread.

“Sheika does not find that to be a good idea.” Zuzana’s tail fell to the ground her ears fell back, disappointment. Her golden eyes flashed to Corvo, Sheika could use his bones for something, after all, Zuzana knew he liked to collect bones, she could tell just by what he carried and wore.

“But, I’ve never had a taste for cornbread.” Zuzana perked back up, that meant she could hunt, and not just hunt, but also have fresh meat. The Myrian Tiger, purred dully. She was content with Sheika’s words.

The woman’s gaze shifted from the shortest man to the tallest, Zarriph began to speak, he also endorsed the hunt, Zuzana began to pace, growing impatient with talk, she wanted to hunt! To Kill! And, of course, to eat.

Zarriph’s second statement caused the tiger’s lips to pull back over her teeth, exposing sharp canines, her whiskers bristled forward as well. Zuzana would not follow Zarriph, simply because she did not trust him with her life, that was Shieka’s territory. The Tiger stopped pacing and watched Zarriph closely. Zuzana trusted Zarriph with fighting, but she did not know how his leading capabilities stacked against the rest of the group. The Kelvic would follow Sheika, if he agreed to follow Zarriph, she would mirror him.

The large Tiger shifted, striped fur quickly being replaced with tanned skinned, and long, wild brown hair. The woman stood bare, continuing to glare down Zarriph. She stood near Sheika, her golden eyes glancing to him for a moment before returning to Zarriph. “I will not follow you,” Her eye glanced back to Shieka. “Unless he does.” A soft growling noise seemed to accompany her words.

[Corvo]

Corvo's feet had started to grow sore over the long journey, but it was something he could deal with. It wasn't as if it was life threatening. Corvo could deal with most things that weren't life threatening. Except for a lack of fruit. That was one of the few things in his mind that would have to be remedied almost immediately. The scenery was nice enough, it was also distracting to some degree, Corvo had always had a wandering eye. Always scanning the jungle for the slightest disturbance, but that didn't seem to matter all that much at the moment. They were stopping to set up camp. About damn time. His set his pack on the ground at gently as possible. He felt it best to avoid to much noise in the jungle. Corvo glanced from person to person. He had met everyone here at least once in the past, excluding their guide. He had kept his eyes on his throughout most of the trip. It was obvious he was angry and wanted a bit of payback. Corvo could understand that. He was just hoping it wouldn't cloud his ability to think properly, he was one of the most capable fighters here after all. That was what Corvo thought at least. The others were capable as well and he didn't had any major problems with them. Hopefully the trip would stay this pleasant. He knew it wouldn't though. They were trying to hunt things that had taken down a whole fang after all. Corvo listened as everyone spoke. He didn't particularly like the idea of Zarriph being a leader. He was obviously a very capable fighter but it took far more than that to make a half decent later and there was only one person that came to mind...despite how eccentric he happened to be. He also had saved his hide at one point earning him some points. Corvo reached down into his pack, digging towards the very bottom only to pull out a papaya. He also kept a few pieces of fruit on him. They made tasty snacks when all you had was bland cornbread. He took a large bite while contemplating his words. "Hmm..." He mumbled with his mouth still half full. After a few more seconds of chewing followed by a loud gulp he finally spoke. "Personally I agree with the naked lady. I believe if we must have a leader it should be the witch doctor. While he may not be the best fighter he has a level head. Something we will surely need. We are hunting things that took down a fang after all. As for hunting...I think we would be fine if we didn't hunt..." He paused for a moment. Taking another large bite out of the papaya. "...But if you all feel we absolutely must I say Zuzana and our guide should go hunting. They seem like they would be the most capable people to do such a task."

[Sheika]

Sheika was satisfied to find that Zuzana and Corvo both saw him as the more capable leader, though this ironically caused him to question himself. Should he make a mistake, it would of course be his fault. Sheika's mother was a leader though, she held the leadership of a fang, perhaps it was Sheika's turn to do so. He turned his head to glance at Zuzana. He knew what she wanted before he even added his opinions to the idea of hunting. She was a hunter, a fierce predator of the wilderness, strong, powerful, agile, beautiful, lethal. Gamal might know how to hunt, but Sheika could not risk him going alone, or even in the smaller of two parties. If Gamal was the secret threat, he'd be leading his allies into a trap, to their deaths. Gamal would stay, Sheika would stay and watch him. Besides, even if Gamal wasn't the threat, which wasn't even likely to begin with, they couldn't risk his death. He was the one, the guide, the Myrian with the knowledge of where and when and how. If he was lost, they were stranded and could not complete their quest. Again, a result he could not allow. "Gamal will stay here with Sheika. Zuzana is a huntress by nature and at heart, she will lead a hunting party. Corvo, you and..." Sheika pointed at Zarriiph here, realizing now that he had not caught this Myrian's name. He grinned lightly and shrugged. "You two can join Zazuna or stay and guard Gamal. He is our key to solving this heinous crime, we cannot risk him." Sheika broke his gaze from Zarriiph to glance at Gamal, expected to him him undignified at Sheika's concern on keeping him safe like a helpless child. "But if if anyone feels that this is not an appropriate action to take..." He looked to Zarriiph again, to confirm his stance on the whole situation. "Then we can discuss. Personally, I've thrived off of worse than bread, I can do so again." Whether it was the bond between him and Zuzana, or just his common sense talking, he could tell what she thought. She liked the idea of the hunt, Sheika couldn't assume she'd be concerned leading it, participating in it, or even going solo (though now that he thought about it, that was probably more her style). She wanted blood, meat, flesh, and he was worried what she would get like if she didn't have what she wanted. He imagined something like Corvo, fruitless, with claws and fire spewing from his nostrils, multiplied by three. That was probably close to Zuzana's Tigeresque anger.

[Zuzana]

A small growl murmured in the back of Zuzana's throat as Corvo spoke, his way of addressing the Kelvic was found offensive and childish, both ideals Zuzana did not enjoy. If Corvo had gone against Sheika, it would not be a stretch to see Zuzana lash out at the fruit-loving man. Corvo was smart, he went for the Witch Doctor, seeing him as the best likely leader.

Golden eyes narrowed, on Corvo as he spoke of hunting, he paused to take a bite of his papaya before he continued to speak. If he had no desire to have hunting occur, than Zuzana would happily eat his share of the meat. The tall woman made a small snort, her attention returning to her band mate as he spoke up again.

Zuzana found her companion's words almost more distressing than the idea of not having meat for dinner. "Alone with Gamal?" Golden eyes flashed to the sole survivor of the previous fang. Could she trust him? No, of course not. Her trust barely extended fully to Zarriph and Corvo. The Kelvic continued to stare down the stranger, thinking silently to herself. "He had offered to go hunt, why not let him? He survived the attacks before, what made him more likely to die to it now?" Her lips curled up, baring her teeth towards Gamal, she couldn't trust him.

"I will not leave you here alone with him." Zuzana growled, glancing to Sheika for a short moment before continuing to watch Gamal. "I do not know him, therefore I do not trust him with your well being." Zuzana slowly crouched down beside Sheika, her right hand touching the ground slightly. "Corvo will stay with you, he is too loud and stinks of that damned... Thing." Golden eyes moved from Sheika to Corvo to the offending fruit. "Zarriph can come on the hunt if he likes."

Her words ended and her body shifted, twisting and contorting as skin turned into fur, her teeth growing thick and lengthening. Zuzana would have normally jumped off into the forest, but she felt the need to wait, to assure that Corvo would stay and Sheika would at least slightly approve. The Kelvic feared little of what was in the forest, but if Zarriph were to accompany her, she would try to stay near him, no sense in getting him hurt before the fun really began.

[Zarriiph]

The Crimson Fang Almost everyone seemed to agree that a hunt was preferable to corn-bread. This was good... Zarriiph hated to go without fresh meat for extended periods of time. So he was highly in favor of hunting. However his proposition of leadership was turned down vehemently by Zuzana, which he had expected but it still didn’t please him. Corvo’s response was more methodical, but came to the same conclusion. Zarriiph was used to getting his way. He was strong willed, and also a strong fighter. The rejection annoyed him, but the others were in agreement, and he was not about to let a petty thing like this get in his way. Nodding slowly he acknowledge his consent, but refused to give his agreement. Although Shieka’s orders were far from arrogant Zarriiph bridled at them. He managed to keep himself moderately under control, and answered Sheika’s query. “I find that hunting is far preferable then eating this shite” Once again Zuzana was predictable, she acted just like a bonded tiger. Loyal, defensive, and pushing for action. Zarriiph’s anger was beginning to lower as he started to see the logic in the others statements. Sheika was used to using his mind, and not his brawn. With a hint of remorse he saw the opposite in himself. Although he wasn’t an idiot Zarriiph often chose to strike before he thought. “I will go wherever I am most necessary. If this involves hunting so be it, if it involves staying here and guarding this one” he motioned towards Gamal. “Again so be it”

[Corvo]

A puckish grin slid across Corvo's face as Zuzana spoke. He was fine with guard duty, but it wasn't as if he could do much against Gamal if he pulled something. But that wasn't very likely in Corvo's mind. Maybe was to trusting or maybe he was a good judge of character. Either way he doubted anything eventful would happen while the duo were out hunting. "For your information Zuzana I can be quiet if I wish to...and with large amounts of effort and this thing is a papaya and it is amazingly delicious." He took another large bite of the papaya to get his point across about its deliciousness. "And as to the other thing...I'll happily take up guard duty, though I don't see why we need to guard him. It isn't as if he killed his fang." He glanced at Sheika as he said the last few words. Hopefully he would get the point. That or he'd call Corvo naive and continue on with his day. He was fine with either result. At least he said what was on his mind. With those few words Corvo retreated back to the silence of his thoughts.

OOC :

Sorry for such a short post. Have family over this weekend. Not much time to post and the fact that I can't think of much doesn't help either.

[Rage]

Gamal’s eyes never left Sheika, his gaze only flickering to another when they spoke. The shaman was highly suspicious of him, though he could not imagine why. Silly man, this shaman. They were out here on a mission, he should be focusing on what they needed to accomplish rather than allowing himself to be distracted by his paranoia. Still, Gamal did not speak out about it. Without a word, he listened as the others discussed about leadership and their next course of action. The scout found it amusing that the men had to bicker over who gets to be the top tiger in the jungle, as the saying went. Had a Myrian woman been part of the party, she would automatically be granted that distinction. The Kelvic Zuzana, despite being female and regardless of her impressive animal form, was exempted from such a title. Just the same as Gamal himself, having been ordered by Heda to only obey orders given by any of the others. When the others seemed to have finally made their decision, the scout stood up, loading a poisoned dart into his blowpipe. This he raised and gestured to Zarriiph. “We set up the hunt, you and I. Tiger girl can prowl ahead and find us a beastie, lead it to us, yes? Two, three darts, sleeping time for it, meal time for us.” To Corvo and Sheika, he suggested, “A fire might be good to have when we come back to cook what we can't finish so the meat don't go bad. Though with your kitty, I don't think we'll have leftovers. Might need two beasties if she has big appetite.” He finished with a doubtful look at Zuzana. In her human form, her hunger might easily be sated but a tiger had the appetite of ten men, nevermind a Myrian tiger which was almost four times as big. A boar might just be a light snack for the Kelvic in her animal form. “I keep your girl safe, eh?” Gamal winked at Sheika, his tone neither sincere nor malicious, the comment a mere bait he used to try and make the man reveal the reason why he was suspicious of him. “Or maybe she keeps us safe from whatever is out there killing our people.” The man's eyes twinkled darkly then, a brooding expression flashing across his features for a moment. He shook his head to clear it and met the shaman's eyes, speaking in a serious tone. “I hope we don't come back with one of you gone. Better watch each other's back, there be new eyes in the shadows hereabouts.” With that he followed the Kelvic and Zarriiph into the thick foliage, leaving Sheika and Corvo to prepare their campsite. The last image the latter two saw of the others of their group was Gamal throwing his arm casually around his fellow Myrian and asking the man what he wanted for a meal. Zuzana, already in her animal form, had gone on ahead to find prey.