In the Shadow of Man

So, here it is! In the Shadow of Man!

The signup thread.

A lush forest. A beautiful landscape, with the blue sky shining over it. Just the green grass, the trees, and the riverbank. The birds are whistling happily, and everything is as it should be. The sun casts a light over the entire forest.

A lizard walks up to the riverbank, sticking out its tongue as it needs to taste the composition of the air.

Me and gregnes signed up. Can we enter the game officially now?

Yes, enter.

Anybody else here?

A small, grey-haired mouse comes along, dawdling by on the riverbank. He wears a bright green oak leaf draped round his shoulders, and carries a satchel slung over his back and a small rapier of sorts, which he idly swings about with every step. His mind clearly elsewhere, he suddenly looks up from his lazy reverie to see the (comparatively) gargantuan creature before him. He is slightly taken aback, but then breathes a sudden sigh of relief. His face lights up with a smile. "Oh, it's you. Good morning, Mr. Arkady! Didn't expect to find you about these parts this time of day!"

Yay.

Arkady notices the tiny mammalian standing before him. "How weird," Arkady thought, "to see an animal with those tiny tools. Then again, I am a tegu lizard, after all."

"Greetings" Arkady said, sitting on the other side of the riverbank, "What a small, fragile mouse like you doing alone beside the riverbank?"

edited 19th Mar '16 6:07:18 AM by arcada188

His furry brows furrow in what looks to be an offended expression, and his tail raises up in reaction to the remark."I'm not small, or fragile! I'm the greatest and most courageous hero this village has ever seen!" He shows off with a few practiced swings of his sword."Only..."He looks down sheepishly."...nobody seems to ever take me seriously about it. Well, anyway, I was just going down to market to sell this here pound of strawberries,"he answers, presenting his bulging satchel,"and I just decided to follow the faster route, if you get my saying. Mama says that veering off into the woods can be dangerous for young mouse kin like me, but I'm not afraid of anything, even the foulest and most vile of beasts that might lurk here!" He raises his sword in another act of bravado."I hope you know I wasn't referring to you, Mr.Arkady. No insult intended."

edited 19th Mar '16 6:30:18 AM by cake1

Arkady smiles a bit.

"Oh, don't worry, Milowouslk," says the lizard, "I'm not a beast, I'm a lizard. Beasts have fur - I know a lot due to my interactions with h-"

Arkady stops, realizing what he just said.

"Yes." says Arkady, then walks up to the mouse, "We, the tegu lizards, have knowledge a crow would fly to thunder for!"

"...and you can call me simply Arkady," says the lizard again, "I'm not much older than you."

edited 19th Mar '16 6:32:24 AM by arcada188

Milo is surprised."Oh. I always thought you must have been very ancient, Mr...er, Arkady. After all, you look just like the age-old dragons I've seen in my tales. You're probably related to them somehow, right?"

edited 19th Mar '16 7:11:43 AM by cake1

Arkady was deeply amused. Those mythical creatures the mouse spoke of were very related to the stories of his previous mas- no. He must not remember them again.

"Milo!" spoke Arkady, "I might look like those mythical reptiles, but I am not of their kin, and I am not age-old. If you want to see an age-old reptile, you should look for a turtle - some of them can live for more than a century!"

"Oh, I know that. Mr. Nibbluns at the schoolhouse taught us all about the other residents of the glen. But turtles are slow, and boring. Dragons have wings the span of tree trunks," Milowouslk continues, spreading out his arms and almost dropping his satchel,"and they can breathe fire! Doesn't that sound like it would be a marvelous sight to behold in person?"

edited 19th Mar '16 7:19:56 AM by cake1

"Indeed," said Arkady, still puzzled at the fact that the mice teach their cubs these myths, "If the dragons existed, they would've been a marvelous - and dangerous sight. Sorry if I've upset you, I never seen a dragon at the forest or back where I lived."

Arkady, once again, realizes what has he just said.

"Say," asked Arkady, "How would your kinsmice react if I came over for a friendly visit? It would be an amazing sight for me to see a city of rodents."

"Oh, I think you would be welcome any time! The townsfolk are friendly enough-just don't come in looking like you have a meal on the brain, and you should be fine."

"Well," says Arkady, "that depends on how they view me. While I mostly feed on small insects and fruits, I may look like a carnivore to them - and carnivores are not well-liked, even if they need meat to survive."

Arkady thinks to himself. "Drat... and here I thought my furry friend would notice that I am not native to the forest."

"That may be true." He chuckles."I'm pretty sure old Ms.Huxley would have an absolute fit if she ever saw someone like you amble along her way!"

Milo turns his head to the sun to judge the time of day, before again facing the lizard."I'm afraid it's time for me to go. I got a long day ahead of me. It was nice talking' to ya, Arkady!" He waves one last time, before scurrying away along the river's path. A calm breeze blows, pushing several dry, dead leaves and other residue of the forest floor into the water, where they begin to float away.

edited 19th Mar '16 7:42:03 AM by cake1

Arkady looks at the mouse walking away and thinks. "I suspect something sinister. Even in this forest that is free from my masters, I think about them."

Arkady decides to walk with the mouse.

"Hey, Milo! Wait for me!"

He sees the lizard calling out."Huh? Oh, sure, buddy, you can come with me. But just try not to scare the folk, okay?"

"Thanks" says Arkady and strides along slowly, hoping to see the Town of Mice.

I think we maybe should wait for interest to build up/more people to join before we go any farther. What do you think?

Sure. But how do we get more people to join?

A gosh-diggity-dingus-darn-dang raccoon enters the scene as well.

"Huh. A mouse and a lizard. Doesn't exactly feel like normal, but I'll roll with it. Hey!"

Arkady, while striding slowly, notices the raccoon and calls up.

"Greetings! Who are you, stranger?"

"I'm Leonardo, a goddamn ninja. Who are you two?"

Arkady is somewhat appalled by the tone of the raccoon and the fact that he, apparently, knows of some deity.

"You said 'goddamn'," said Arkady, "What is your god? Are you a pet, or are you simply a wild animal? And... what is a ninja?"

He gestures towards himself."Well, my name is Milowouslk..."