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◣ OPEN ◢ CATCH THAT THESSYX
WHO: anyone signed up for this player plot
WHAT: a band of merry hatchlings followed the thessyx as they left, in an attempt to find their city!
WHEN: august 1-5
WHERE: north of basecamp
NOTES/WARNINGS: animal mutilation; for other warnings, please utilize subject lines
WHAT: a band of merry hatchlings followed the thessyx as they left, in an attempt to find their city!
WHEN: august 1-5
WHERE: north of basecamp
NOTES/WARNINGS: animal mutilation; for other warnings, please utilize subject lines
preparation;
in the last days of july, whispers spread amongst the hatchlings of a planned excursion north of the city, following the trail laid by the thessyx who had left before the window closed. friends of alina starkov — or anyone with skills useful enough to keep her alive long enough to get to the thessyx's underground city — might have received a personal invitation via text or in person, but anyone else might have simply jumped on via word of mouth.
there are rain shields to wheedle out of remí, food to hoard wherever possible to support the excursion, and other preparations to be made. those heading out on this journey don't really know how long they'll be gone: better to be ready for anything. hopefully, those coming along have weapons. you never know what you'll find in the ethyraian wilderness.
there are rain shields to wheedle out of remí, food to hoard wherever possible to support the excursion, and other preparations to be made. those heading out on this journey don't really know how long they'll be gone: better to be ready for anything. hopefully, those coming along have weapons. you never know what you'll find in the ethyraian wilderness.
the journey out;
day one
to a skilled observer, the tracks left by the thessyx originally appear to meander without purpose across the desert-like landscape. the terrain is easy to traverse, dry and covered in scrub. serpentflies flutter around, glinting in the faint light that leaks through the threatening cloud cover. the tracks gradually veer over the course of the day to join what seems like a migration or herd route of some kind... almost like a well-trodden road.
the good news is that the road offers excellent visibility and makes it hard to sneak up on the group, though it is pocked by a variety of animal prints. amidst the prints of animals that use the path, the thessyx's prints run the risk of getting lost in the noise.
when they rest for the night, just off the edge of the trail, a male scorpiug plunges into the camp looking for offerings to attract a mate. the scorpiug will attack, its claws and teeth equipped with a toxin that can induce sleep and paralysis on the victim, leaving them defenseless for a female scorpiug to sniff out and come devour later. at 30 ft tall, the scorpiug proves difficult to combat, and trailblazers should team up to take out this tank!
to a skilled observer, the tracks left by the thessyx originally appear to meander without purpose across the desert-like landscape. the terrain is easy to traverse, dry and covered in scrub. serpentflies flutter around, glinting in the faint light that leaks through the threatening cloud cover. the tracks gradually veer over the course of the day to join what seems like a migration or herd route of some kind... almost like a well-trodden road.
the good news is that the road offers excellent visibility and makes it hard to sneak up on the group, though it is pocked by a variety of animal prints. amidst the prints of animals that use the path, the thessyx's prints run the risk of getting lost in the noise.
when they rest for the night, just off the edge of the trail, a male scorpiug plunges into the camp looking for offerings to attract a mate. the scorpiug will attack, its claws and teeth equipped with a toxin that can induce sleep and paralysis on the victim, leaving them defenseless for a female scorpiug to sniff out and come devour later. at 30 ft tall, the scorpiug proves difficult to combat, and trailblazers should team up to take out this tank!
day two
the next day, when everyone is tired from the interruption to their sleep, and once they've left the camp out of sight and out of mind, the journey takes a turn for the disturbing as they discover the next stretch of road is marked by animal carcasses. these don't look like they were merely hunted by the inhospitable wildlife of ethyraia either. mangled bat bones, discarded rat tentacles, and golden cliff viper heads have been left behind in disarray. they don't look like they were left there by the thessyx or the kind of animal that would have been hunting them in the wild...
a downpour starts in the early afternoon. light at first, but after half an hour of sleet, the mild flooding around their feet and the intensity of the rain prove too much for rain shields and shielding abilities to completely correct. they are going to need safe harbor. fortunately, in the nearby mountainous landscape there appear to be some caves, nestled amongst boulders on higher ground ...
still day two
on the interior walls of the cave are ancient-looking paintings, wall art depicting dragons drawn to massive scale, taking up much of the wall and some of the ceiling! around them are also creatures that look quite like the thessyx themselves... and there are other drawings that don't seem to match them? taller figures with flatter heads and broader limbs. the art depicts all the featured creatures in harmony.
as night falls and people find places to settle, eivor wanders deeper into the very extensive cave. the number of tunnels and depth of the cave may be surprising or discouraging to other wanderers, but as eivor persists, she comes across an ancient, feeble, malnourished thessyx curled up in a corner.
provided she communicates with them, the thessyx explains telepathically that all elderly thessyx leave their subterranean city to go and 'join the ocean' on a final journey. however, this Thessyx does not think it will make it, and seems to lament this fact.
the next day, when everyone is tired from the interruption to their sleep, and once they've left the camp out of sight and out of mind, the journey takes a turn for the disturbing as they discover the next stretch of road is marked by animal carcasses. these don't look like they were merely hunted by the inhospitable wildlife of ethyraia either. mangled bat bones, discarded rat tentacles, and golden cliff viper heads have been left behind in disarray. they don't look like they were left there by the thessyx or the kind of animal that would have been hunting them in the wild...
a downpour starts in the early afternoon. light at first, but after half an hour of sleet, the mild flooding around their feet and the intensity of the rain prove too much for rain shields and shielding abilities to completely correct. they are going to need safe harbor. fortunately, in the nearby mountainous landscape there appear to be some caves, nestled amongst boulders on higher ground ...
the cave;
still day two
on the interior walls of the cave are ancient-looking paintings, wall art depicting dragons drawn to massive scale, taking up much of the wall and some of the ceiling! around them are also creatures that look quite like the thessyx themselves... and there are other drawings that don't seem to match them? taller figures with flatter heads and broader limbs. the art depicts all the featured creatures in harmony.
as night falls and people find places to settle, eivor wanders deeper into the very extensive cave. the number of tunnels and depth of the cave may be surprising or discouraging to other wanderers, but as eivor persists, she comes across an ancient, feeble, malnourished thessyx curled up in a corner.
provided she communicates with them, the thessyx explains telepathically that all elderly thessyx leave their subterranean city to go and 'join the ocean' on a final journey. however, this Thessyx does not think it will make it, and seems to lament this fact.
what they found didn't find;
day three
the next day, as the group gets ready to go, there are decisions to be made: what to do with the thessyx, and whether to turn back themselves in the face of the weather. after some debate between bringing them along and returning them to basecamp, the group settles on the latter, sending a few of their number (sam, balthier, and natasha have volunteered) back with them.
those who opt to remain continue after the trail left by the thessyx, but it goes cold later that day at the side of the mountain, as if the entire envoy simply vanished or teleported. low on food and other supplies, and threatened by rain and monsters, the group will have to decide whether to continue blindly or to turn back as well.
the next day, as the group gets ready to go, there are decisions to be made: what to do with the thessyx, and whether to turn back themselves in the face of the weather. after some debate between bringing them along and returning them to basecamp, the group settles on the latter, sending a few of their number (sam, balthier, and natasha have volunteered) back with them.
those who opt to remain continue after the trail left by the thessyx, but it goes cold later that day at the side of the mountain, as if the entire envoy simply vanished or teleported. low on food and other supplies, and threatened by rain and monsters, the group will have to decide whether to continue blindly or to turn back as well.
Day 2
[ Sam approaches quietly, eyes on the cavern entrance. He's still in his flight suit, but he's pulled the goggles off his face for now, rubbing at his eyes a little.
Easy to tell Alina's not happy with them having to take shelter, and he gets it. That drive to keep pushing, keep looking, especially when you're forced to be more cautious than you wanted to. ]
I can send Redwing out ahead for a bit, try and get a read on the trail in the rain. Enough to get us an idea in case some of it's washed away by tomorrow.
[ It's not gonna save the whole trail if the rain doesn't let up - it's more an offer to give her something to hold onto in terms of hope. ]
no subject
but then he mentions the trail, and the frost chips off her disposition. she loosens up, straightens. ]
He can do that? [ it assuages all at once every fear she had, sitting here. they won't lose anything but time and food — and they have the kind of people in their company who can work out food. it's tracking that's irreplaceable.
and, just a little bit, it's because the need for tracking at all has reminded her of mal. ]
no subject
To an extent. He's not specifically designed for wilderness tracking in conditions like this, so don't expect any miracles here. But he can get some visuals and do some basic tracking, so he should be able to give us at least some pointers and starting points. Aint't that right, buddy?
[ The last comment directed at Redwing, as if the small metal thing were a pet or in any way, shape or form able to respond. A moment later, at some input on Sam's wrist panel, the drone shoots off into the heavy rain. The acid hisses slightly on contact, and Sam knows that it's likely he's sacrificing most of the red, silver and blue paintjob on the drone to help Alina out here, but that's fine. Paint is a small sacrifice. ]
You wanna see what he's seeing?
no subject
so she nods her head a little, redirecting her gaze from where redwing vanishes into the downpour to sam's wrist panel. she points. ]
He reports it back here? [ like the watches. ]
no subject
[ Sam throws her a small smile, then holds up his goggles with a small flourish. The red lenses look just like that at the moment. Sam presses something on his wrist controls, and something glowing flickers across the goggles instead. ]
I can watch along if I want, or just get the data to read on here.
[ She's young, but he's not gonna treat her like less because of that. She put together this excursion, and he won't do her the disservice of scoffing at that and pretending like he knows better.
Well, not unless she does something that would be a collossal fuck-up for the entire group. He might carefully intervene then. But hey, not like he hasn't been there - young black man in a notoriously white special ops group? He'd felt the need to prove a lot, too, and been glad for every person who didn't require him to work twice as hard for half the respect. ]
You wanna take a look?
no subject
[ she looks from the goggles to sam's face, a smile slowly spreading across her face. it's the first she's mustered all day. her muscles don't seem to quite remember what they're doing.
she holds out her hand to take the goggles, then. ]
Do I need to do anything?
no subject
I mean, who wouldn't love me?
[ Yeah he has no idea what Materialki are. Sam nudges with his shoulder though, companionable and relaxed, tapping something on his arm controls. ]
Nah, just look through. I can control what you see on here. It's gonna look weird at first, 'cause you'll see everything you're seeing now, and then what Redwing see will layer over it.
[ Can't make the overlay completely opaque, or else Sam would constantly risk crashing into things while flying at high speeds through the air. ]
no subject
for a moment, though, her eyes cross, trying to refocus on the HUD inside the goggles. ]
I see it.
[ the words come out in a sort of awed hush, like this is a kind of magic she's never encountered before. ]
no subject
Alright. I'm gonna show you a little more now.
[ The HUD should now show Redwing's tracking as the drone circles closer to the ground, and the HUD fills with some more details, small red lines tracing the shape of what might be tracks, analyzing them, trying to find patterns as Redwing moves, searching for what Sam taught the drone are thessyx tracks specifically. whenever it finds them, a small confirmation alert chimes on the HUD and Redwing slowly builds a virtual image of what tracks it can find, or what tracks seem the best matches. It'll allow them to be aware of the location and direction of at least partial tracks in the morning, even if the tracks wash away. It's slow going though - the rain means low visibility even for this small electronic wonder. Occasionally Redwing's camera pans behind to give a status report, showing a path of red highlighted tracks in the mud. It's not a perfect tool - but as Sam said, it should at least give them a good starting point and direction the next day. ]
no subject
[ alina's quiet for a moment, studying the slow crawl of the drone. willing the thessyx back into view. if they could just catch up, then —
but the tracks are still just tracks, and the rain continues to lightly erode even that. ]
How far can he go?