Log:Foxfire in Amber (Part 1 - Scouting)

Foxfire in Amber (Part 1 - Scouting)
What Light Brings to the Surface
Participants Uschi, Seven, Shelley as ST	June 1st, 2018 Two wild changelings go exploring after Foxfire explodes from the old Mischance Mine. Part of the Foxfire in Amber plot.
Location MN01
The Mischance Mines (MN01) The open cavern may once have been natural, but now that is true only in a geological sense, stalagmites long since broken off to level the inner ground. The outer edges of the cave mouth show signs of deliberate chiseling and shaping, supported here and there by rough timbers, curves squared off. A few of the largest columns, stalactites which have joined with their stalagmite counterparts, have been left as more natural support for the roof of the cave some twenty feet at its highest. Metal rails, rusty but intact, chase curved trails through the space before disappearing down the tunnel at the back and slightly to the side which follows a faint green vein within the rock, very little left of it to see, heaps of waste rock piled up against the walls as added support where it doesn't impact the tracks. The mine carts are still here, and from the beer cans and occasional litter tossed inside of them, not everyone avoids the place. Today is a heavy 85 degrees (29 C) and the clouds are frequent in otherwise blue skies. A breeze comes out of the north, giving a nice cool reprieve to the only middling humidity. The front of the mine is scarred from the recent fire that exploded from within. Black soot mars the ground, leaving trails that extend a good fifty feet in multiple directions from the entrance. The ceiling of the entrance and the rockface outside up the embarkment is blackened as well. Whatever caused the fire seemed to burn out without spreading - nothing outside the three foot wide, 50 feet long scorch marks is burned. Happenchance that you happen to be here at the same time, but here you are - a forbidding mine in the middle of the day, the shadows inside drawn longer than usual to eyes that have been in the light trudging up to this point. The darkness seems ... potent... the further in one looks into the mine, and there is a certain malevolence in the air. -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 1 Success < 4 5 6 6 6 7 7 9 > ===============================-> >> Wyrd + Dexterity No Flags << <- -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 3 Successes < 4 4 5 7 7 7 8 8 10 > ================-> >> Dexterity + Stealth.Outdoors + 1 9-Again << <- -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 2 Successes < 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 7 8 8 > ================================-> >> Wits + Composure 8-Again << <- Uschi is just some drifter, hiking in the woods - out of the woods - up the mountain - towards the mine. The half-feral Ogress treads lightly on the ground; what little marks she leaves are often swept away by the wind. Difficult to follow. Thus is the life of a barefoot Farwalker - her dead arm tucked up in the straps of her survivalists mountaineering bag; today she's got that ratty punk battle vest on, leather covered in a dizzing array of patches, tassles, bits of old bottle caps and bone. None of it shines. Hardly anything on the Moon Ogress shines, except the occasional glimpse of eye-gleam or glint of light from a crooked cuspid, as the shadows of her Mantle shift across her expression. But here Uschi is; standing in the mouth of Mischance, sticking to the shadows of stones; lurking around, /observing/. -> >> Seven to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 6 Successes for an exceptional success. < 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 8 8 9 9 10 10 > ============================-> >> Wits + Composure + 3 8-Again << <- -> >> Seven to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 2 Successes < 1 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 10 > ====================-> >> Dexterity + Stealth + 3 + 1 No Flags << <- As fate would have it, another wild person arrives - Seven - trying to stay out of sight. Though in daylight, even he has problems sneaking about - and entering a mine there's only that many places one can enter. But, he comes upon the place simultaneously as Uschi and does his own lurking about on the other side of that mouth. Peering into it, taking note of the scorch marks and glowering at it just because. He might see Uschi, or not - but he sits there for now. Also observing. There is a Darkness within the mine. It is... -dark- Darker than expected. Light really doesn't make it past 20 feet into the mine mouth. It stops, a sudden wall of darkness that aborbs everything ahead of it, every that comes from the entrance just suddenly ends in that all consuming darkness. Seven's keen Senses however, might notice that the light is being quite literally 'consumed' Something has crawled up from the depths and while this is as far as it dares go up the mine, it is gorging itself on the daylight that manages to peek into the tunnel. That something looks like an impossibly large worm, strung from the ceiling on silken threads. -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 5 Successes for an exceptional success. < 2 4 4 4 5 6 7 7 9 9 9 10 10 > ================================-> >> Wits + Composure 8-Again << <- Uschi's wandered perhaps 15 feet into the mine; standing in the shadow of some stalagmite - or is that stalactite - the Ogress peers off into the shadow of the unnatural darkness above them, and... She just watches. That's all. Does she sense Seven? Possibly. But she doesn't make a move for anything quite yet -- she just crouches low, fingers of her ruddy right hand idly drifting across the mine floor, fingers on their own scouting mission to get, uh.. Something? Feel for rocks, or dust, bits of old mine track, worm droppings, who knows. No other movement is made. The patient Ogress merely... Observes the dark. No hasty actions, not for now. What's she waiting for? Action? Change? More worms? Nothing? Impossible to tell. Perhaps she is just very slow. Seven is also patient and might enjoy being a loner for the most part - but he's a soldier, and soldiers fight together. So, he leaves his hiding place and wanders up alongisde Uschi; he says nothing. He just gives her a curt nod, then stares into the Darkness himself, studying the worm-like creature with a hard squint. He does take a few steps more towards it however, slow and quiet. For such a large man, he moves almost slinkingly along. Now Uschi can clearly see the creature she might have sensed by its presence as chance shows a better Perception for her. It is the only one within the entrance, but ... maybe... about fifty feet (15 meters) behind it are other blobs of unnatural darkness. It is impossible from the entrance to see what those blobs are but they are -much- smaller than the one near the entrance. It is gorging itself on light, and growing because of it. The ones behind it are about the size of bread boxes, still large but they are nowhere near the same size as the first. They all hang from the ceiling on silken gossamer webs, cords of silk that are as thick as your fingers. The creature has no reaction as Seven approaches, it simply sits there undulating in place, supported by cobweb cords that are as thick as a 2x4 plank of wood, and seem as strong. -> >> Seven to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 3 Successes < 1 2 4 5 5 5 8 9 9 > ===============================-> >> Dexterity + Wyrd No Flags << <- Uschi doesn't react when Seven crosses her path -- well that's not entirely true; she sniffs the air, and it could be that those shadowed eyes follow the Beasts movements, but she doesn't react in any sort of sociable manner. Either she missed that upnod, or her focus is on an entirely different matter at hand: the light eating grubs, who're colonising the upper level of Mischance Mine. If the Ogress is bothered, she makes no overt displays of her discontent. She just squats there in the shadow, the fingers of her working hand tracing abstract patterns in the dust by her feet as she stares out into the dark. Seven's movements are not mimicked - although she could be watching him, too. -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 3 Successes < 1 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 8 9 > ==========================-> >> Wits + Occult.Folklore 9-Again << <- The Beast prepares for more trouble - his skin suddenly hardenes and turn wooden, thorns grow out from the top of his hands and on his arms. He crouches, glances back at Uschi with some curiosity, then picks up a small pebble and throws it to the side, just to make a little bit of noise. To see what happens - will the worms react, at all? He's ready to spring into action if it looks like they would do something, but he stays a safe enough distance for now. Knowledge is a fickle thing, but this time something can be dredged up. Information is found within Uschi's mind of experiences and folklore past. These things look (what you can see, being they absorb light makes them hard to observe) like the Lightsippers of the EverDark. The place in the hedge where the Mischance Mind connects. Why they are so big? That is a function of natural growth. They literally are gorging on light. Possibly, if they were to take in too much at once they would actually -explode- from consuming to much, but this one in the front seems to have pushed away its neighbors or just barely managed to find the perfect spot to eat its fill of light. Just far enough up the tunnel that it gets a lot, not far enough that it gets too much. As to why its here... That... that is a very interesting question, and the answer is not readily apparent. -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 1 Success < 1 4 7 7 10 > ===============================-> >> Wits + Perception 8-Again << <- -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 7 Successes for an exceptional success. < 2 3 3 3 5 6 7 7 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 > ================================-> >> Wits + Composure 8-Again << <- Uschi remains crouched by that stalagmite/stalactite, same as before - if she catches Seven's glance back to her, the Ogress does not curry the Beast with her favour. She remains like a stone statue, her head tilted in the direction of where the worms hang and dine upon the light. Whatever internal gears are grinding together, Uschi is taking her sweet, sweet time in processing her thoughts. Maybe they're gummed up. She sniffs the air, as Seven tosses a stone and it pinks across the cavern. After a moment, she raises a grimy hand and wipes at the tip of her nose with her thumb -- a very observant person might note that the pinky of her working right hand moves, pointing out into the dark. Where the gross worms are? Or from where they hang? No further action is taken. -> >> Seven to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 8 Successes for an exceptional success. < 1 1 2 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 10 10 > ========================-> >> Wits + Composure + 2 + 1 8-Again << <- Seven gives Uschi a bit of a glare, as if to silently say 'Whatcha pointing at'. But he huffs quietly, languidly rises up and stalks towards the darker area, fingers flexing in preparation. He skirts along the wall, fingertips brushing against the stone surface and his gaze never leaves the worm that he's moving towards, watching it for any signs of it moving, or noticing him, or doing anything threatening. He has no knife, but if he reaches one of the threads without it doing anything - he will try to cut into it with his claws. The thread parts easily. The worm is so huge that its weight was only just being supported. The rest of the threads snap one after another, and the creature falls to the ground suddenly, splattering under its weight. It oozes light.. and something else. Essence? Weakness just comes over Seven, a feeling of power being drawn out. Soreness replaces it, left behind in the wake of whatever the creature was absorbing beyond just light. Its own size has killed it as it hit the ground, it was never meant to be this big. Something is going on here that caused it to move to a source of light in such abundance that it became too big to move, literally dying if it had to. Game: Seven takes 1 Bashing damage. -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 1 Success < 2 3 5 5 6 6 8 > ====================================-> >> Clarity + 2 No Flags << <- -> >> Uschi to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 4 Successes < 1 1 4 5 5 7 8 8 8 9 > ==========================-> >> Wits + Occult.Folklore 9-Again << <- -> >> Seven to Here << <-============================================= Rolled 3 Successes < 3 7 7 8 9 10 > ========================================-> >> Clarity No Flags << <- The creatures are known often by two names. Lightsippers... and sometimes /Life/Sippers. Whatever this thing was gorging itself on was more than just light. It had a meal beyond the light and it made sure it ate its fill. Uschi makes no move to clarify what it is she was pointing out - she merely lowers her hand, moving to brush against the soil again. She watches as Seven moves towards the creature, cuts the thread, gets covered in disgusting grub juice. That's gotta sting. The ground is glanced at, as if Uschi could see the grub goo better There is a wet sucking sound - like the Ogress was cleaning her teeth with her tongue; surely she isn't hungry, right? She turns, and looks back into the depths of the mine. Uschi is silent -- and either very, very contemplative or very, very slow. The wave of essence hitting him makes Seven stumble back and shudder noticeably - he makes a grunt, and shakes his head, shoulders sagging momentarily and his gaze hinting at some unpleasant but not unbearable pain. "You cunt," he rasps quietly at the now collapsed grub, glowering murderously further into the cave where others of the same are hanging. Least now he knows what'll happen if he 'kills' one. "These buggers, they eat sunshine. Let's make it dark," he suggests, now all chatty suddenly, stalking back towards Uschi. "What do you think?" His accent contradicts his looks; it's very, very British. And though his voice is coarse and raspy, it's still quite pleasant. Uschi's stillness persists; there is a shift in her focus, probably, when Seven begins to curse the corpse of the Lightsipper. She is not moved to smile or frown - the Ogress is immobile as the rock she lingers near. When the foul mouthed and chatty Brit pipes up in her direction, there is a slow turn of her head track his approach. Surprising nobody in the universe, Uschi takes her time to reply. It involved looking away from Seven, while slooowly moving to stand - dead arm snug against the straps of her bag, weight distributed evenly as she grinds the calloused sole of her foot into the mine dirt. Her ruddy right hand reaches to idly scratch at her stomach, the gaudy tassels on her vest swaying in the breeze as she looks down deeper in the mine. "No." ... Oh please, is that all Uschi is--- the Ogress opens her mouth again; "They live inna dark, most their lives. Dark ain't gonna do nothin' but feel like home. You been watching the skies 'round here these past nights, or been buried inna hole?" A look back to Seven. No smile. It's question time. Oddly, or perhaps not at all oddly, this reaction doesn't seem to perturb Seven at all. Like he finds this perfectly normal behaviour. While he waits for a reply, he brushes off some of that slime from himself, muttering British and archaic curses meanwhile. "I don't know what you mean." Seven's response is a blank face. He's a Beast - he's not the smartest tool in the toolbox on any given day. "How do we make them go away then?" He crouches down and lets his arms hang, claws scraping against the rock surface, a yellow-eyed squint her way. Uschi says nothing, when Seven admits he doesn't understand. She just stares at him -- the Beast may be bigger, but that doesn't seem to be bothering her at the moment. Flakes of skin peel of her very dead arm and disintegrate into dust on the air currents. Ruddy fingers of her right hand cease in scratching at her stomach and instead rest near her hip. After he crouches down in front of her, Seven is stared at for a long while. "Where are they supposed to be?" Uschi asks finally, then turns - without another word - and moves to walk out towards the outside world once again. Man. Feral Ogress'. They're so... Themselves. "Hell if I know, but they're proper cunts, if you ask me. Should be somewhere else that isn't here," the Beast responds, scratching his scruffy beard in thoughtfulness. Finding this conversation about as good as any, he grunts, stands up and also walks out, with one last baleful warning glare back at the worms - not that they'd care - and he heads off in another direction from Uschi.