Coca follows.
The group heads East in the gloom. Billy Ray points out the trail leading down to the distant Deerf River. The path is basically a washed-out draw with loose rocks. The group begins their descent, Chiro scouting ahead from the air.
Rolling 1d20 + 3
( 17 ) + 3 = 20
The party makes its way down to the Deerf River. The loose scree shifts underfoot, and Roach has a few moments where it feels like he going to pitch over, but he manages to keep his balance.
The darkness is thick, and the air is filled with the sound of rushing water. The Deerf River is narrow and swift, but there are small areas where eddies form slower pools. Chiro soars overhead, chirruping his echolocation.
Eva scans the river bed and out towards the hrizon she uses her thrmal imaging to enhance her search, she looks for this so called Boogey man and wonders what will turn up.
"Y'know", Roach mutters, "if the Twitchy Man is real, he prolly walks real strange. He should look and sound pretty unusual."
As the group spreads out to look around Coca spots something odd by the riverside. There seems to be several piles of clothing left abandoned in a pile by one of the deeper eddy pools. There look to be a large assortment of prints in the area.
I will search from the air toward the direction I saw "Twitchy Man" starting at the site of the clothes. I hope they are not dead :(
Billy-Ray looks to E.V.A. for clues on what to do. Being Bait he can do, investigating is harder.
"Perhaps the Twitchy Man turns his victims into nudists? Spoooooooky!"
Keep your focus Billy, maybe you can search that big old pile of clothes, it does not make sense to have a bunch of clothing left in the open
Larcifer:
An investigation of the clothing reveals that most of it is stained and faded farm-type wear, about par for the course in refugees. There seems to be five sets here: four children and one female adult. Chiro remembers the group washing he saw from the air and if he remembers correctly this is where they were. The clothes are also sprinkled with some greenish substance, almost like the consistency of pollen.
Chiro flys off to investigate from the air.
Chiro
The group at the river discover a trail of footprints moving upriver. Two sets wear adult-sized boots, one is adult bare feet and four separate smaller barefoot tracks can be discerned.
I will fly in that direction, trying to keep my backup in "sight".
Any clue as to where they are headed? House, woods, cave, A cliff?
Eva analyses the green pollen
Eva looks curious. "It seems we may be facing some sort of Bombus terrestris or Bombus lucorum, the green pollen is a rairity". Eva scans the surroundings looking at the flora. She suggests "the green in the pollen can come form several things for instace, in the flower segments of this H. aulicum a very dark, almost black, banding is sandwiched between a blue-green throat and the dark brownish-red segments. The pollen is greenish." Eva states while holding an orange flower with a bright green centre and purple sprigs. Or...It can come from common syrups found in what is referred to as cotton candy"
Eva looks at Billy Ray realizing he does not understand what she just stated. "Bees Billy-Ray Giant mind controlling Bees that produce green honey from this green pollen, that's what science suggests, Maybe the twitchy man gets his name due to the appearence of twitching that is created by his beating gossamer wings...Oh Billy Ray did I lose you again when I said Honey, yes you can eat some." Eva looks a bit frustrated and gives up
I will fly in that direction, trying to keep my backup in "sight".
Any clue as to where they are headed? House, woods, cave, A cliff?
Coca spots the trail headed upriver. He notices that the pattern of steps looks awful disjointed, as if everyone was drunk and staggering.
Will head back to group and let them know they are headed up the valley.
"Anyone want to try and circle around and get a look from above? Aside from me of course. There might be a way to overlook the place, I will check it out and keep an eye on the vict...bait...um...the family."
"So, the Twitchers are really people being kidnapped by insects? This is getting curiouser and curiouser."
Coca follows. Steel at the ready.
Will head back to group and let them know they are headed up the valley.
"Anyone want to try and circle around and get a look from above? Aside from me of course. There might be a way to overlook the place, I will check it out and keep an eye on the vict...bait...um...the family."
Going to keep them in view from altitude, if they go under cover I will return to my buds then close in.
The crirruping Chiro flys tirelessly back and forth, leading his friends towards the distant walkers. They travel along the Deerf River, then they come to a side channel with a sluggish stream that feeds the main flow. The trees get thick here, and there seems to be a lot of decay and fungus on the wood. The water in the stream smells off, like it was tainted with something. Chiro loses the walkers as they head deeper into the narrow valley.
Eva scans her surroundings
Spot.
"Huh. Smells funny here." Roach double-checks that the AK is loaded. "Where the hell do you shoot a plant?
"Huh. Smells funny here." Roach double-checks that the AK is loaded. "Where the hell do you shoot a plant?
Roach notices a bit of twisted up iron. Looks like a piece of Golden Times wreckage. It's buried in the sandy gravel leading into the fungusy woods.
Spot +8
HHmmmm is that a bug, looks tasty! "bite" "chew" HHHmmmm good. Oh wait was I supposed to be looking for something?
Coca's sharp eyes devour the clues.
Coca's time as a scavenger comes in handy as he sizes up the scene. The area has gone wild quite a bit, but bits and pieces of junk and the way the ground is shaped under all the vegetation speaks to Coca that there was some sort of mass transit that once moved through here. Could be a train, could be a maglev, something that needed a fixed track. Coca can still see the faint outlines of where the track would have been laid.
Coca has also smelled this kind of smell before. There was a huge fungal growth in the upper sewers of Nu Ork that smelled this kind of rotty nasty. It was also if he remebered rightly, quite poisonous.
"Don't move. Poison fungus."
Eva hears Cocaman and her gears grind to a halt, looking a bit nervous she wonders if she can start to back away very slowly.
Roach has never seen these types of fungi before, but one looks to be some sort of mutation of Ganoderma applanatum, or bracket fungus. It has a much more albino, squishy look than standard bracket fungus, of which many are excellent trail rations. These versions thickly cover the tree trunks here.
There are also mutated examples of the Amanita muscaria 'toadstool' mushrooms sprouting about, these ones having vivid sickly hues of violet and chartreuse. There are also sheets of whitish blue Spanish-moss looking strands hanging off the surrounding higher branches of the trees. None of the group has ever seen anything remotely like it.
All the trees here look rather sickly. The smell of rot and decay is thick here.
looks to EVA as the brains of the duo
Chiro will fly up the valley as far as possible, looking for any shelter or further signs. Smoke, buildings, road, or such?
Coca looks for options.
If not he will sneak through, admonishing everyone to walk like a cat through this stuff. Disturb nothing. Step on nothing but clear ground. Move slow.[/ooc]
The narrow valley branch is thickly forested. Chiro knows he saw the people move into this area before losing them in the forest cover. He flies up, but the area becomes more and more impenetrable as he ventures up the vale. He doesn't get a bead on the people again.
Coca Man looks around, but in the dark it is hard to see any other way in or out. The valley walls are sheer and gnarly pines stud the stony sides. Travelling around would be difficult.
E.V.A stands stock still, then turns to the others.
"I have computed the best option is to have me advance ahead as I am synthethic, and if there are harmful biological agents I should be immune. Perhaps Billy Ray can follow closely in case of a physical danger as his constitution is excellent."
E.V.A. awaits your replies
"Uh, sure, why not? Just start screamin' when the s*%@ hits the fan, and we'll be right with ya." Roach turns to Coca-Cola. "Do you know where we should aim when shooting at plants?"
E.V.A. awaits your replies
"Let'z do it!"
A frustrated Chiro will return to the group, and land when he sees them preparing to enter the cover of the trees.
"Hi guys, no air cover for this. Got my Ak-Ak though :)"
Readies his AK-47