"Oh, I assumed that since you were here for a while that you left before the world ended." Eric paused for a second, letting what the girl said sink in.
"Wait, what. Six weeks? We got here like half a day ago. I think the stress might be messing with your head, kid."
Eric thought for a moment, "Although, that would make more sense with the village and such. I kinda assumed you were some wierd creatures that lived here beforehand."
Yumiko gazed after the shimmering figure for a moment, wondering whether to pursue. But no, that was probably the least of her concerns at the moment. Peter had sat down in front of the beautiful biwa-playing woman, and Yumiko could faintly make out their conversation. Slowly, she crouched down to prepare her bow. If the woman dared do anything to hurt him, the archer would have an arrow aimed straight for...
...she noticed the smoking patch of grass, smelling the effect of the dangerous venom. Slowly, she raised her head and looked up at the treetops above...
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!"I'll... go get... them," panted Vasiliki. As the Inheritors of Vritra and Anansi ran off toward the forest, she made her way toward the barn, hopping and jumping. She arrived there pretty quickly. "Eric! Hugh!" she screeched; "Peter went off to th' forest, and Yumiko, Michael, Cat and Janice went after him! Please come, fast! They - we - need your help!"
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.Hugh turned as Vasiliki came over to them, straightening out Eric's dagger. "Not sure I'd be much help..." he said; the shepherd girl had obviously gotten to him. "I mean with this limp and all—you know?" He dunked the dagger in the water, sending up the normal cloud of steam. "Here, Eric, your dagger's almost done." Hugh took it out of the water, then started wrapping leather around the metal handle to form a hilt. The dagger was a straightforward one, a simple triangular blade about seven inches long, and extremely sharp and pointed. "You're needed, though; I'll have the sheathe when you're back."
Why couldn't he react?
Jack felt he should've, but no, he just couldn't have any thoughts about his situation right now, not even blind panic. Was this all just too much for him? Was that it? He wanted to be angry, if only to feel some sort of reaction. But he just couldn't move a muscle besides moving from one place to another.
Maybe some sleep would be nice. But he didn't feel tired at all since all of this, just a strange feeling of apathy all of a sudden. Maybe he can just walk this out, that could help. He didn't have a particular path, he just walked where there wasn't a obstacle in the way.
edited 16th Mar '12 7:53:24 AM by Runekn
For a moment, the beautiful woman seemed confused; her delicate brows turned upwards, and she glanced to the left and right as though she were trying to find this 'Mr. Enki' that Peter was evidently conversing with. Curiously, her eyes remained shut as she did this; at the same time, there came a rustling from the edges of the clearing once more, as though whatever lurked there just beyond the torchlight was also looking for the other half of this conversation.
After a few moments the noises stopped, and she turned her attention back to Peter. "I am afraid that you may be confused, young one," she said in an appologetic tone of voice. "Apart from you and I, there is no one else in my humble parlor...unless..."
Understanding seemed to dawn upon her then, and her lips peeled back in a smile that exposed rows of perfect, pearly white teeth. "I see now...then you are one of the blessed few, one chosen to bear an ancient and formidable power within your flesh. Perhaps fortune has seen fit to smile upon me at last..."
She began to lean forward slightly, but paused and picked up the instrument resting across her lap. "Forgive my inattentiveness, young master. My humble instrument is known as a biwa, a type of lute from my native land. Does it strike your fancy?"
The thing which stared down at Yumiko was hideous, to put it mildly; it was difficult to tell exactly what it was thanks to the dim light of the torches and the darkness of the forest itself, but judging from the number of limbs it seemed like some manner of spider. Clearly not an ordinary spider, of course, for no mundane arachnid could have hoped to match this grotesque thing in size; hunched up as it was on the overhanging branch, it seemed to be at least as large as a human child.
Soundlessly, this enormous arthropod tensed its multiple limbs and then launched itself at Yumiko, hurtling towards her at impressive speed in an attempt to tackled her down to the ground.
By this point, Janice, Cat and Michael had reached the edge of the forest; like Peter and Yumiko before them, they would find the way ahead incredibly dark save for the flickering light of a distant torch. Clearly, they still had a ways to go yet...
Janice paused a moment to catch her breath, slightly winded from the mad dash to the treeline; she placed a hand against the trunk of a nearby oak to steady herself, neither noticing nor caring as the bark withered and cracked loudly at her touch. The young woman eyed the distant fire, panting slightly. "Willing to bet...that's our...destination."
"No, we aren't," the shepard girl stated drily. "And it certainly took a lot more than half a day to build all these, I can tell you."
She might have said more, but at that moment Vasiliki came hopping and jumping over; the young woman's eyes went wide at the sight of the avian Inheritor, and she brought up her staff as though to whack this newcomer before she realized that Vasiliki was not attacking them.
"...Friend of yours?" she asked Eric, her words laced with uncertainty and some fear.
Jack's aimless walking took him out towards the pasture, where a few yaks were still grazing; the shepard girl had not yet finished herding all of the enormous bovines into the barn—which wasn't particularly surprising, given how current events were conspiring to distract her from this task. But that was neither here nor there, as far as the horned young man was likely concerned. Most of them ignored him, but one turned to face him and let out a protracted low as it stared at the horn protruding from his forehead; this particular yak, who was likely a bull or a steer, snorted as it began pawing at the ground with one hoof. The Danse Macabre Codex
"I... am... no... enemy..." breathed Vasiliki. "No need to boff my head." She shot the shepherdess a look. "I'd love... to stay and chat, but... Peter's in danger, dammit."
To Eric and Hugh: "Come as fast as you can. I doubt it'll be a problem to find us."
With that, she whirled around and rushed away, hopping and jumping toward the forest, seeking the shortest way toward the rest of the group.
Yumiko stood like paralysed, shocked by the appearance of this terrifying creature. Instinctively, she raised her arms to cover her face-
No!
Stop. Look. Blade. Iai.
Suddenly, images flooded her mind as Hachiman transferred experiences and memories into her mind. Her arms moved on their own as she acted upon his impulses. Her hand went to her sword and in one sweeping motion, she brought the sharp blade up to slash at the incoming creature.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!Eric was deep in thought when Vasiliki came hopping up, calling out that Peter was in trouble. He snapped out of it, losing his train of thought.
"Uh, yeah. Vasiliki's a friend, don't hit her."
Eric looked at Vasiliki as she spoke, the fear and worry clear on her face. Eric hoped that it wasn't his fault Peter had run off, he hadn't been very nice to him. Though he was sure the giant could take care of himself.
"We'll finish this conversation later, something about this seems suspicious and I'll need you to tell me everything about what has happened."
Eric limped his way over to Hugh, taking the dagger from his as Hugh grabbed a hammer. "Ok, we're probs going to be a little slower than everyone else but, hey, lets do this."
Eric limped off alongside Hugh. "So, do you know how old Peter is? He seems a little immature."
— Terrance looked down on the scrambling godlings, somewhat bewildered at all the hustle and bustle headed towards the forest.
You Heard What The Old One Said. Someone Is Being Short-sighted.
Wait, you mean another god?
Or Intelligent Beast.
The Basque hissed without a hint of irony.
O.K. I guess they can deal with—
No. We Fly.
Not again...
Terrance leapt from the roof of the barn, an invisible force slowing his descent until he touched the ground with an almost inaudible thud. The reptilian godling ran towards the forest, the long legs helping as before, then bounded into the canopy once he reached the forest's edge, springing from tree to tree in the direction of that music. —
"He could not know it. For it was not all a joke."As they reached the edge of the forest, Michale stopped and took a few deep, ragged breaths before slumping against a nearby tree. He hadn't expected being a demigod to involve this much running. With any luck, this would be the last time he'd have to exert himself so much. But luck hadn't exactly been on his side so far. He could see a fire in the distance, flickering and jumping in place like some luminescent music box ballerina.
Her turned to look at Janice, though he didn't say anything for quite a while. Too out of breath for something like that. Apparently, increased endurance wasn't one of the powers he'd gained. He probably looked weird, staring at her like that all silent and panting. Not that e didn't look weird enough already, but still. In time, he spoke, his voice hoarse. "Looks like. You think we're too late?"
"You have more than enough potential. So tell me what is the one wish that would make your soul gem shine." -Mitt Romney, probably"Indeed." Hugh said, again concisely. He took a hard breath, hefting the hammer a bit. It was a lot heavier than he had anticipated, and was already starting to wear on him. "I'm—already starting to think we should have stayed behind. But hey—maybe the thing—burns. Or is—sympathetic to fellow intellectuals. Or something. Your thoughts?"
"Well, the blind guy said something about a spider-woman, so obviously she is the problem. Whether he meant literally or just as an insult is debatable, but it's likely literal with the way this place is." Eric shivered, the idea of a giant spider-thing set him on edge. "And in old mythology singing was used by a lot of creatures to lure prey, and judging by the man's reaction that is exactly what it was. So, she'll probably set a trap for anyone who enters the forest, and she'll use the trees to do it."
Eric grunted as he adjusted his braces mid-step, they had started to chafe badly.
"Which means, we most likely have a hostile spider-thing with an affinity for ambushes. Luckily spiders are vulnerable to fire, should fry them right up. I don't think we want to light the forest on fire, though. And, I'll be of little use in under tree cover. You look like you could use that hammer for some good though, provided you can, uh, avoid any danger in time."
edited 21st Mar '12 2:34:35 PM by Alleydodger
"Squishing spiders and all. Since hammers are made for pounding stuff flat right?" Hugh laughed hoarsely. "Like—I can burn the webs she'll inevitably use, and maybe we're immune to the lures. Daedalus had a son—probably married then—and Hephaestus..." Hugh noticed Hephaestus had gone silent recently. "I will not be seduced by such a harlot again. The 'fair charms' of women will do nothing to me. Probably. No, definitely. We will see."
Yumiko's strike had been executed flawlessly, and the spider let out a barely-audible hiss as the blade of her sword traced a shallow cut across the underside of its thorax and abdomen. Its pounce thrown off by this injury, the enormous arachnid hit the ground next to the Inheritor of Hachiman with a soft thump and lay there for an instant in a jumble of hairy limbs, but while she had clearly wounded the unnatural arthropod, it was not finished just yet. In the blink of an eye it had sprung back into an upright position, and now it faced her, raising its four front front legs at Yumiko in a distinctively spidery threat display.
Now that it was on the ground, the firelight from the clearing beyond the spider would allow Yumiko to get a slightly better look at her adversary. The enormous arthropod seemed like some peculiar combination of several different spider species, further reinforcing its decidedly unnatural nature; its legs were thick and hairy like those of a tarantula, and the flickering light of the torches played across the back of its abdomen to reveal the distinctive red hourglass marking of a black widow. Its body was predominantly black, but here and there could be seen chaotic patches of acid green and neon yellow, colours which Yumiko would almost certainly recognize...
The beast rubbed its two pairs of front legs together, producing a hiss that was positively full of menace; then it rose up on its hind legs, bringing its body clear off the forest floor so that it could swing its abdomen beneath itself. The ultimate result of this bizarre movement was that the spider's spinnerets were pointed squarely at Yumiko, and no sooner were they in position than twin strands of grey, viscous silk spat forth at the young woman with a faint thwip!
Janice glanced at Michael, still panting somewhat herself. "I hope not," she said, straightening up as she caught her breath; the singing and music had both stopped a few moments earlier, and in the young woman's opinion this did not bode well. "Come on—we should keep moving."
She began offering her hand to the chitinous Inheritor, seeing just how winded he was after their frantic dash to the forest; halfway through the motion, however, the white-haired young woman realized what she was doing and yanked her hand away from him. A faint grimace spread across her face as she did so, though this was not directed towards Michael; on the contrary, Janice was disgusted by herself. Is it always going to be like this? she wondered despondently.
She shook herself then, hoping to clear those thoughts out; she could worry about such things later—right now, Peter was still in danger.
"Let's move," she said again, turning towards the light and setting off once more; she moved quickly, the ground hissing faintly in her wake with each footfall. Even if Michael and Cat were not quite up to following her just yet, they were in no danger of losing her; whether by coincidence or design, the young woman's footprints seemed to glow softly in the darkness, leaving a trail for them to follow.
In the branches overhead, Terrance, like Peter before him, would find his travel through the treetops becoming impeded as he drew closer to the flickering firelight in the distance; in short order, the reptilian Inheritor came upon sheets of a thin, silken material—and were he unfortunate enough to touch or run into one*, he would find that it clung tenaciously to his scaly flesh like flypaper or the strands of a spider's web.
By this point, Vasiliki would have just reached the edge of the forest, with Hugh and Eric trailing along a short distance behind.
"I can," the woman replied with a coy smile, "but first I would like to know more about you, young master. Please, tell me—what is your name, o blessed one? Where have you come from, and what have you seen and overcome in your time here?"
Gently, she placed the biwa on the ground next to her and leaned forward slightly. "You seem young, vigorous and strong to my eyes, young master...surely you must have interesting tales to tell?"
edited 21st Mar '12 4:22:08 PM by SullenFrog
The Danse Macabre Codex"Heh yeah. I think your hammer is gunna be effective. About Daedalus having a wife, not sure about that. Did you Daedalus?"
Daedalus' answer was gruff and aggressive. " That is none of your business child!"
"Geez, take it easy you old coot. I was just trying to not get us killed, so if we get drained by a spider, I'm kicking your ass in the afterlife."
Daedalus refused to acknowledge the comment and only grunted in answer.
"Alright, anyway I just hope my dagger is any help. I guess if it comes to it I could just kick her, these things weigh a ton."
As Eric indicated to his braces,he noticed they were at the edge of the forest.
"Vasiliki! Wait a sec for us, there could be an ambush."
edited 21st Mar '12 7:32:23 PM by Alleydodger
Vasiliki stopped. "An... an ambush?" she said. "Oh, Crap!. Oh, Crap!. Oh, Crap!."
Obviously, the teenager did not like the way things were forming. God above, she was a silly teenager who liked to dance and hang out with people; not some great big warrior rushing to battle.
You are not a normal person any more, Vasiliki, Khonsu told her. In fact, you stopped being normal the moment my essence was instilled in you... And now that we are in the Cube, you can't afford to be normal. You simply can't.
She blinked. It seemed to her that Khonsu was right, even though she did not like what the god said. Och, this was really bad.
"We should, um, proceed more slowly then?" she asked Eric sheepishly. "Thataway we've a better chance of noticing an ambush... But, on the other hand, it might mean we'll be too late to be of any use..." she would have said more, but then she noticed something on the ground.
"Look! See how those footprints glow?"

-Though Peter fails to see the slight clues, his essence does not. Peter sits down, earth shaking slightly as he thumps down.-
Thank you ma'am. What's that instrument? Quiet, Mr. Enki! I can't hear!