"You must have really good eyes. I can't see any doors." Eina keeps her sword drawn and the point low as she watches, or attempts to anyway, Wolf's and Nora's backs.
"No idea really." Nora replies with a shrug.
"There was a pretty noticeable green outline on that wall where a door should be, and what looked like a couple of recesses. Whatever was making that outline led to the ground and seems to lead this way." She adds.
really could you not see that?" Nora asks curiously.
"By forge and fire I swear that I couldn't." Eina says solemnly, just before breaking into a huge grin.
"That and one of the things I'm not known for is being observant."
"You may not be observant but my oh my you certainly are a gorgeous sight to observe." Nora flirts with a mischievous grin.
"Well shall we see where this goes? Maybe we'll get lucky and it leads to a giant pile of book filled with everything wolf wants to know, and then we can leave this place." She mentions with a chuckle.
The three of you follow the line, well Nora follows the line and the other two follow her. It keeps going down a cobblestone path. The vegetation grows close to the path but not on the strange green stones. No sounds of animals, any animals come from the trees or brush. It is eerie.
Every hundred feet or so there is a small obelisk made of the same green stone. A place for a lantern or torch resides on the side but there is none.
Soon enough the group gets to several run down buildings, looking inside the windows shows much more disrepair. Nothing of much value is left and possible would just turn to dust if touched.
Past the buildings leads to a large dune of sand which drops down to the sea line. The dune seems to go up nearly a hundred feet and is the only large dune on the beach. The rest of the beach is mostly level with the ocean and ground. The dune drops 150 feet down into the ocean.
There seems to be crabs that scuttle from one rare rock to another on the coast line. A nice change to the lack of creatures.
It had been walking for a long time in the cold pressing dark, it did not know where its journey had started nor did it know where its journey was taking it. The only thing it knew was that if it did not continue walking it would sink deeper into the shifting sands and be lost forever. So it walked, the magically treated wood of its body resisting the rot of the watery depths. It knew creatures approached from time to time as lights sometimes flitted past it in the darkness. It like the lights, it made it feel as though it were not alone.
It did not like when the lights revealed things out there in the dark. Sometimes there were large eyes, regarding it with passive curiosity. Sometimes carapaced creatures snapped at it in a display of dominance. It made little effort to avoid anything as they often backed down but it did not like them. On it trudged, mostly in darkness. Sometimes it would walk into an obstacle and if it could not climb, it would try to find a way around. It had no idea if it was even heading in the same direction it had started out in.
Eventually, it noticed a gradual upward slope under it. The darkness began to lighten over the course of long expanses of time. As it trudged, the darkness thinned entirely and the world filled with color. It looked up and realized it had been underwater the entire journey, or as much of the journey as it could remember. Aquatic life swam around it but mostly ignored it as it trudged onwards.
Finally the slope got sharper and sharper as the sand brought it up to the surface. It breached the surface for the first time in its memory. Trudging onto the shore, water spilled from the hollow places in its body and it took stock of itself. A few colonies of barnacles had opportunistically attached themselves onto the surface of its torso and it was trailing seaweed. Something had been obscuring its right eye and reaching up, it found a starfish clinging to its face. With care it peeled the creature loose and placed it back in the water.
Lacking any further initiative, it stood there in the tide for a moment. Although 'a moment' was a relative term for it. The light dimmed and brightened many times but never to the point of the pressing depths it had journeyed through for so long. Days, that is what they were called. It was having a hard time putting things in order and so it stood there as days passed trying to sort it out. Something might be wrong with it and the thought worried it. Should it even be able to worry? It did not know.
As the group passes beyond the trees, they begin to hear growls, and the knocking of wood as the forest seems to regain some of its life. At the very least, some beasts may have come out of hiding.
An unusually tall and hairy man(?) is making bestial sounds and throwing rocks at trees in a pitiful attempt to blend in with the seemingly non-existent wildlife.
He appears to be unarmed, but is wearing armor made of some kind of dark woven tree bark that covers his chest, and, to some degree his arms and legs(though it is difficult to distinguish from the color of his long beard and fur). He wears a hat that shades his eyes from the sun and most of his face from view.
Slightly deeper in the forest and performing a similar ritual is a large ape clad in armor as well, though not nearly as sophisticated as the man's. He appears to be making the sounds to communicate with the man, who seems almost small next to the to the ape.
The man, however, is largely ignoring the ape, as his attention seems focused on the group ahead.
Ibrox accepted the mission with his faithful companion wolf, Slopoke. He stays hidden as routine within the underbrush.
Intrigued by where the trail could be leading them Nora almost fails to notice the large man trying to kill a tree with it's thrown rocks.
I don't mean to alarm you, but we appear to not be alone. Big hairy man thing off in the forest there. Seems to be intelligent, and at least is reading as good."
Nora motions with her head toward where Decr is "hiding".
Nora faces where Decr is, and wills her demonic features to 'disappear', looking again like a gorgeous human and smile warmly at the large man.
ummm, I think you've won. Don't think those trees has much fight left in them. Please tell me you don't plan on eating me, or dissolving me, or something nefarious like that.
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Wolf chooses to stay in his hybrid form considering Eina, yes he might be bigger but nothing compared to those wings. He smiles and steps off to the side, not hiding just flipping through his book as he got a good view of this, bestial humanoid.
It takes him a half minute to figure out what the creature is with his book...
Ibrox fiddles with the magic ring and ensures that all his parts are intact. He meets Slopoke and checks him, too. "Well, it worked. We only have two days to find everyone. Let's see who we can stir up on this island." he says to his companion in his high-pitched voice. He looks at the position of the sun to calibrate his sense of time assuming time works the same in this plane of existence. "Try to keep up Slopoke."
Ibrox takes off running. His heavy ironshod boots making their distinctive clanging noise. Slopoke follows and tries to keep up. He starts singing at the top of his high-pitched lungs his made up song to an old redcap tune.
Where there's a wolf, there's a way. And lovely Nora's big beautiful wings. Ha ha. And very hot Eina can light your fire.
Quick little Ibrox is here with his Slopoke always chasing behind. And conversationalists Decr and Ptolmaeus much slower and bigger who come to save the day.
Decr steps out toward Nora and Wolf, his smile at Nora's joke showing his big teeth.
After taking a few steps toward the small group, he directs his thoughts back at the Succubus.
Hello, Nora. You look lovely, as always, but your first form is much better. Wolf sent me to speak to him; He said he'd be here about now.
Looking over to Wolf, he bows his head slightly. "You won't know it yet, but you sent for me. Can we find a place to sit and talk?"
"'Fraid you've got the wrong Eina then. A white dragon's blood runs in my veins."
Eina says to the strange, iron shod man.
The clanging of his iron-shod boots crescendos before Ibrox skids to a stop spraying beach sand and loose underbrush when he saw his past and future friends. "Eina! There you are!" Ibrox calls out in a loud, high-pitched voice waiting for his companion Slopoke to arrive.
"Wrong Eina? That's funny. My song was a play on words about your beauty and arctic heritage. Really, you can be so literal some times. Are Wolf and Nora around? We've a message from the future for you."
Ibrox stands a little over three feet tall with a twisted frame, pointed ears, and a long white beard. He has gleaming red eyes, and large teeth can be seen in his hungry smile. He wears a pointed blood red woolen hat, a soiled light blue tunic, and over-sized iron-shod boots. He shoulders a sheathed man-sized longsword and his sized heavy wooden shield.
Nora grins at Decr's reply, and rubs at her back, as her natural forms shimmers back into view.
"Well you know my name. I'm either already dead, or this island is doing some screwy, yet again." Nora replies with a grin, and a helpless sigh.
"Wolf, next time you ask me to go somewhere with you, I think I might just say no out of spite. What did you get us into?" She adds with a hopeless laugh.
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Wolf looks a little taken aback then relaxes, "There is nothing of use in the buildings, let us sit on the rocks over here and talk. I am sure you have much to tell me."
Then he responds to Nora in a playful manner, "It seems they may know more than us, I am still at a loss for this place and what the outsider wanted us to find out."
He takes a seat on one of the nearby rocks which are covered in lichen. He waits for the Sasquatch or Redcap to explain.
"Thare yer wolf. Awright, nora. Decr', Ptolomaeus, Tbblbitz, we're ower 'ere." The redcap shouts in his high-pitched voice while he finds a seat on a rise, so everyone can see him. Slopoke, his wolf, lays down behind him to provide a reclining furry cushion.
After EVERYONE CAN HEAR HIM, Ibrox continues in his normal voice, "A'richt, th' four o' us wur sent by ye wolf fae five years in th' future. At that time, we a' wirk th'gither. We ilk hae a magic ring that if taken aff returns us tae oor time 'n' plane shifts us back tae 'wolf inc.' hq in th' mirk forest. Efter twa days th' effect wull happen na maiter whit. Oor mission is tae alert ye that th' ember toon wull be th' foremaist target o' thae ether creatures in th' material plane. Git it sae far?"
He pauses but doesn't give anyone a chance to speak and continues, "Something mingin' happens tae ye 'n' yer starting troupe ur oan this island causing ye tae lea earlie. Wolf fae th' future dreems that wi' sending us back ye wull hae mair time tae bade oan th' island 'n' learn mair. We ken whaur oor bygane selves ur, bit we shouldn't see thaim. Otherwise ill hings wull happen. Bit yi''ll need tae collect us quickly.
Future wolf dreems we kin gain th' power wantit tae push back th' muckle great wave o' th' ether beasts or stoap it afore it starts. Th' creatures ur fae deep ether, future wolf kens wee aboot thaim 'n' wants tae mak' sure tae learn a maiter o maybee aye tae best prepare th' group fur th' invasion. Richt, clear?
A'm ibrox, a reformed redcap as ye cuid jalouse by mah bunnet. That's decr' a sasquatch druid. That's ptolomaeus, a golem that doesn't ken muckle aboot his-sel, 'n' we cannae git rid o' him. 'n' littler tbblbitz, she's an atomie aroond 'ere somewhere.
Tae sum up, we're 'ere fur twa days tae hulp ye survive th' initial invasion 'n' investigate th' island langer than ye wid hae wi'oot us. Then, whin ye return tae yer original time 'n' plane, yi''ll need tae collect oor bygane selves quickly. Git it?"
We play the game of tell me something that no one knows about me, which surprises and satisfies any doubt of who we are.
"There you are Wolf. Hey, Nora. Decr', Ptolomaeus, Tbblbitz, we're over here."
"Alright, the four of us were sent by you Wolf from five years in the future. At that time, we all work together. We each have a magic ring that if taken off returns us to our time and plane shifts us back to 'Wolf Inc.' HQ in the Dark Forest. After two days the effect will happen no matter what. Our mission is to alert you that the Ember city will be the first target of these Ether creatures in the material plane. Got it so far?"
"Something horrible happens to you and your starting troupe are on this island causing you to leave early. Wolf from the future hopes that with sending us back you will have more time to stay on the island and learn more. We know where our past selves are, but we shouldn't see them. Otherwise bad things will happen. But you need to collect us quickly.
Future Wolf hopes we can gain the power needed to push back the massive wave of the Ether beasts or stop it before it starts. The creatures are from deep Ether, Future Wolf knows little about them and wants to make sure to learn as much as possible to best prepare the group for the invasion. Right, clear?
I'm Ibrox, a reformed redcap as you could guess by my hat. That's Decr' a Sasquatch druid. That's Ptolomaeus, a golem that doesn't know much about himself, and we can't get rid of him. And littler Tbblbitz, she's an atomie around here somewhere.
To sum up, we're here for two days to help you survive the initial invasion and investigate the island longer than you would have without us. Then, when you return to your original time and plane, you need to collect our past selves quickly. Got it?"
Eina squeezes her eyes shut, trying to decipher Ibrox's speech before giving a long suffering sigh and turning to the others.
"Don't suppose any of ye know what the little fey is sayin'."
Ibrox smiles and replies, "Eina, yer aye funny."
"Eina, you are always funny."
With the booming, and generally unintelligible speech from Ibrox, Tbblbitz lets out a yawn and slowly stretches.
Ibrox, it's too early. Let me sleep.
When there is no response from the generally hot headed redcap, the tiny green woman stretches again and sits up from her napping place, which just happened to be in Ibrox's backpack. Looking around, she sees her old friends and completely forgetting that they likely have no clue who she is, the diminutive, not more than 6 inches tall green woman, flies up into the air, still stretching.
Eina, Wolfie, demon girl. How ya doing. What's for breakfast? I am starved.
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"I got it but I know most languages. Simply to say they are here to help and we will get to know them soon in the future. Deep Ether beasts are what we are dealing with. Ibrox, who is Ptolomaeus and Tbblbitz?" Wolf states simply to Eina and questions Ibrox.
He quickly flips open his book looking for references on Ether and Ether beasts.
"I am going to assume the Atomie is Tbblbitz." Wolf says a bit confused about the whole thing but sure about it.
The tiny creature seemed to know where it was going so the golem followed. Humanoids would be able to give it orders, it thought orders might help the clutter it was experiencing. The golem followed but the creature outpaced him quickly, when it found the creature again it came to a stop and listened to the language being used and adapted its remaining language slot to the local tongue.
The golem was large, its wooden skin pockmarked and waterlogged. Barnacles clung to the broad and vaguely humanoid chest while the featureless face was dominated by a single glass lens that served as an eye.
"Enter designation..." the golem rumbled to the assembled humanoids. The voice was a deep basso that seemed to come from the golem's chest.
Eina tries to put on a smile for the newcomers, but she'd run into fey before, and she didn't enjoy the experience. They didn't hurt her, but the pranks were humiliating, especially the ones where they hid her clothes.
Before she can say anything to wolf, however, her heart nearly stops before going on to thunder in her chest at the sight and sound of the golem.
"Wolf? Why does that thing make me so uneasy?" she asks, a barely heard quaver in her voice the only sign of the fear that was in her heart.
Tbblbitz looks down at Ibrox from where she fluttered next to his rod hat.
Ibrox, why don't they recognize us? Did I sleep through the meeting about us all forgetting each other?
After saying this, she flutters up to a low hanging branch and sits in it where her green form and clothes make her almost invisible.
Suddenly she notices the golem and begins to giggle.
What is that? Strange walking piece of wood? Looks like someone tried to use him as a boat anchor, for years.
Nora surveys the gathering crowd in front of her.
"umm... well.. hi? Am I supposed to know any of you?" Nora replies, terribly confused.
"If you're from the future why am I following this path to who knows where. Didn't wolf tell you where we need to do go? Did he give you any hints?" Nora adds in frustration.
She puts up her hands in an exasperated sigh before slumping her shoulder. "This is just perfect. Stuck on a horrible island with people who apparently know me, sigh, this is going to end up with me back in the midnight isles isn't it?"
"I'm sure Wolf knew what he was doing. He just told us to find him here and tell you to find us while he studies something. So, you don't know us yet."
"We're supposed go stop an attack on a village by some ether beasts or something. Sorry, but I don't have the best memory. Though he's not the easiest to understand, Ibrox is better at this sort of thing."
Ibrox replies to Wolf first, "Richt, th' atomie is Tbblbitz. She wirks wi' us. A bawherr flighty." He smiles and dodges some friendly dagger eyes from the tiny fey and says, "We're five years in th' bygane, Tbblbitz."
Back to Wolf, "We actually git tae name th' golem noo. Ah cannae mind if we gaed wi' barney fur barnacle, or woody. It wirks wi' us, bit we dinnae ken muckle aboot it. Dae ye hae a naming preference, gaffer?"
Then, he turns to Nora, "Na, Nora, we're fae th' future. Aye, wolf tellt us tae keep ye aroond th' island 'n' investigate awhile mair. We've git twa days wi' ye. "
Right, the Atomie is Tbblbitz. She works with us. A little flighty.
We're five years in the past, Tbblbitz.
We actually get to name the golem now. I can't remember if we went with Barney for Barnacle, or Woody. It works with us, but we don't know much about it. Do you have a naming preference, boss?
No, Nora, we're from the future. Yes, Wolf told us to keep you around the island and investigate awhile more. We've got two days with you.
Tbblbitz begins hoping up on the tiny branch and waving her arms about wildly:
Let me choose, let me choose. Ooh, we can name him. How about Grpldmgrtx. That means Golden Man of Wooden Power in the fey tongue. Or Knghbbflfltb - that's Mighty Log Knight.
She suddenly realizes that they others are looking at her as though she is insane.
Hmm, I suppose those names might be tough to pronounce in your tongues. How about Bob. That is easy enough, and it is what wood does in a lake. Or Art, perhaps it likes to paint. Or, um, yeh . . . no, that won't work. Hmmm, how about Sir Cutter because he is cut from wood?
"Golem? As in moves using magic and made by wizards, golem?!" Eina's eyes grow as wide as saucers as she catches that one word out of Ibrox's explanation.
Apparently, paladins are not as immune to fear as believed.
"Sigh. The golem is going to make things difficult." Nora mutters, looking over at Eina protectively.
"Wolf you really are trying to kill us aren't you? First this island. Now bunch of unknown people, and an arcane construct no less?!? May want to get checked for memory loss when we get back, cause your future self has clearly lost it." Nora adds, only semi-jokingly.
"Alright, well yay. New friends from the future. New friends who couldn't have brought additional info on what were supposed to do. Guess it's back to following this pretty green line!" She cries in frustration.
Nora looks down at the line she was originally following, and starts trudging along it, trying desperately not to succumb to her more demonic urges.
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"Eina, it is alright, it sounds like it is a friend, I will go check on it once we have figured out what our next step is going to be." Wolf says trying to reassure Eina.
Then in response to Nora he says a bit defensively, "Its not me, at least I sent help, I guess it is me." He looks frustrated too and just flips through his book some more.
Then to the group as a whole, "Decr would you mind accompanying me over to the golem and we can sort that out as the rest of you look into the green line and where it takes you."
As Nora leads out of the town, she follows the green line to the dune. The sand is over the path and the line does not travel up on the sand.
Decr nods and goes with Wolf reluctantly. Along the way he tosses a stone at a tree a ways off, and a large ape comes out to join him.
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"Is that your animal companion Decr'? Is there something special about throwing rocks?" He asks as they go around the dune to find the golem.
Once at the golem he starts inspecting it "Golem, tell us your state of being."
Then he asks Decr' his more pressing question, "Now tell me what I need to know and don't hold back anything."
Flitting above the others, her butterflyish wings fluttering away, Tbblbitz flies up to see if the strange green line continues past the dune.
Where does this strange line go anyway? I like green, but it is usually not a line on the ground.
Ibrox follows Nora. Well, sort of follows. He effectively walks in circles around her. On one side fast, then waits on the other side, and repeats. "Aye Nora, whit she asked? "
Yeah Nora, what she asked?
"Yes, this is my friend Ouaora - he chose his own name..."
At the golem, Decr tries his best to explain more of when from and why he had been sent, including any words Wolf might have had for himself.
He also tells him of the attack to come on Ember City, of the coming Ether Beasts, and of the need to find his future allies. He tells him as close as he was told as possible, but something seems to stab at his mind.
"I don't know about time travel. I do not know if this will change where I go back to, but I hope it will."
The green line does not come out on the otherside, then again it is all sand and just a beach on the other side of the dune. Digging will likely be in your future.
To the green line crowd, Ibrox circles the end of the line, "Nora, whaur did yer green line gang?"
"It's th' end o' th' line." He says with a slight tune.
"Noo whit?"
Nora, where did your green line go?
It is the end of the line.
Now what?
Tbblbitz continues to buzz around investigating the area and making sure that there is noting untoward to be found.
So Wolfy, where to next? Whats your plan?
I hope we don't have to dig into there. Perhaps there are some nice animals about to help us.
She looks over at Decr':
Gorilla man, can you make friends with any animals around here? If so, I can chat with them and might be able to get them to help.
Nora looks down with disgust at the prospect of having to dig. "Of course. why not. Damn line leads under the giant mound of sand."
That's it.
she crosses her hands in front of her, changes into a small girl, and gives wolf a massive pouting face. "You're not really going to make me dig are you?"
Only crabs can be seen as the only animal in the area and they are far and few in between on the beach.
"Designations assigned, would you care to assign this unit a task or baseline behavioral parameters?" The golem asked, raising its arms as its new handler set about providing some of the superficial repairs it needed.
Tbblbitz continues to watch the sasquatch for some response as to whether he can call on any of the local wildlife to help with the digging.