A dense jungle full of surprises and new places to explore! Scientists are still trying to document species found here, while travelers flock here for a sense of adventure. Be sure to make lots of preparations though, as it can be quite dangerous! (+3 Precision, +2 Offense)

Moderator: Retired Staff

Return to Tengel Rainforest

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/08/2014 7:21 AM

If his ancestors really were watching over their successors, they'd probably have found something by now, and his grandfather wouldn't have gone insane. He'd stopped believing in those tales ages ago.

And yet, as he closed his eyes and waited for his inevitable death to overtake him... nothing did. There was no pain, no flash of blinding lights, no sensation of his soul being ripped out of his body, not even the hot breath of a monster panting down the back of his neck. If this was death, then it was awfully subtle. He cracked open one eye, half fearing that he would find his doom waiting right in front of him after all, but there was nothing.

51, 27, 25
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/08/2014 7:21 AM

Well, not exactly nothing. There was something, but it wasn't at all what he would have expected. There was a light, which had somehow escaped his notice before. It was faint enough on the backs of the branches next to him, but it was definitely there. Turning, he could just make out a large pane of brightness not too far off. It wasn't the lanterns from camp, that much was certain, but other than that, he had no idea what it could be. Perhaps the vehicle of some explorer, or another camp entirely? He didn't know, but it gave him new hope, for there was a warm quality about the light which made him feel at ease. He stumbled toward it with renewed energy, as a man dying of thirst in the desert scrambled towards an oasis.

51, 27, 26
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/09/2014 6:21 PM

Fortunately for whatever scraps remained of Akala's sanity, this light stayed where it was. It grew nearer, like a real object would, as he stumbled in its direction. At length, he drew near enough to discern a little of its form: not a pure pane of light, but a series of large windows, set into a one-storey building. He was relieved, at first, to see something he recognized, rather than a strange phantasm. But then the thought struck him that there shouldn't have been such a well-made, modern building in the middle of the rainforest depths. A cabin or a lodge, he might have been able to understand, but this structure looked as if it belonged in the city with its crisp clean paint job and its pristine sign. If it had been here for any amount of time, it would surely have shown some tarnish; and of course one could not move or construct a building overnight.

51, 27, 27
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/09/2014 6:37 PM

He knew that what he had found was bizarre enough, but he was too exhausted. Even if this building--- the sign named it as a cafe--- was indeed the thing that he had been fleeing this whole time, there was clearly no use in attempting to evade it any longer. He took the three steps up to the glass doors and pushed them open, stepping inside. The interior was pleasantly warm after the damp chill of the rainforest at night, the smell of coffee and baked goods wafting out from behind the counter. There were a few small tables and chairs near the window, as well as some cosier arrangements further in. The light, which had seemed so bright to him as he made his way through the forest, was in fact quite dim. Akala realized that it was not even bright enough for comfortable reading, except in the places where it was brightest, these being mostly near the counter itself.

51, 27, 28
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:05 AM

At first it seemed as if he was alone, which both made sense and didn't. He wouldn't have expected a cafe to be out here in the first place, and in that sense it made more sense for it to be abandoned. However, if that were the case, then it was more odd that the building should have been in its current pristine condition. On the other hand, if there was someone there, it might at least justify the unmolested appearance of the place, though he would be just as baffled as ever as to how it came to be there.

As for which was creepier, he really couldn't say. An abandoned and perfectly pristine, perfectly egregious cafe had never made an appearance in a horror novel, but there was something unsettling about the sheer bizarreness of it. If it came with an owner, then all the strangeness of the situation would be transferred to that individual instead, and mark them as someone to be wary of--- almost certainly not human, or at least not mundane.

51, 27, 29
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:06 AM

They might yet have been a fellow victim, but that would only have suggested a much larger force at work, and Akala wasn't sure that that was any more promising. All in all, the only conclusion he could draw was that he didn't want to be here in the first place.

Unfortunately, it was all speculation. The fact was that there was no one there.

“I trust you've had a pleasant evening?” said a voice from the counter. Akala very nearly leaped out of his own skin right there and then. He didn't, but it had been a close thing.

52, 27, 30
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:07 AM

There was, standing at the counter, a very pale man. Perhaps that had been why Akala had missed him the first time: against the backdrop of the wall, he blended in surprisingly well. Akala had been sure that he'd looked fairly carefully, but the man was standing right there, calmly, as if he had always been there. It was easy, looking at him then, to believe that he had been there since the beginning of time.

Besides his paleness, he had plenty of other features to mark him as strange. His movements--- for all that it was merely the turn of his head, his hands polishing a mug--- had an alien grace to them. His eyes were a sharp blue beneath his lashes, a more brilliant hue than should have been possible.

53, 27, 31
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:07 AM

Though the strange man didn't meet his gaze, Akala could make out a subtle shift in their color. It was all little details like that, and examined individually, they shouldn't have added up to much. It was merely a slightly unusual-looking man. Yet there was a quality to the whole of him that betrayed him, making him both beautiful and frightening all at once.

Akala had registered his question, but could not find it in himself to speak. He opened his mouth and reached for words, but none would answer. The man waited, and turned those awful eyes to him expectantly. Akala swallowed hard and tried again, but to no avail.

54, 27, 32
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:08 AM

At length, he seemed to realize that Akala wasn't going to answer, and put the mug down with a sigh. It made a clink against the counter; for some reason, that little sound gave him an increment of relief.

“I suppose if I were you,” the man said--- his voice, that was another thing--- “I would reply that no, I have not had a pleasant evening. Ah, but that would be an understatement, I think.” It should, by all means, have been a pleasant voice. It was light and lilting, its words pleasantly formed. It made Akala's blood run cold.

55, 27, 33
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:21 AM

He didn't understand it on a conscious level himself. It was a gut reaction, kind of like what he'd felt out there, being chased by ancestors-know-what. The thought occurred to him, creeping up like the chill that crept up his spine, that this man might have been that very one--- the one from which he'd been fleeing. If that was the case, then coming here was tantamount to walking right into the jaws of the beast. Not that he could have done anything else though, given the circumstances.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the pale man said. If Akala had had the full command of his body right then, he might have cringed. “I am Alain; it is what people call me, if they wish.”

56, 27, 34
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:22 AM

Here he looked slightly amused--- that is, Akala thought he might have. His lips thinned, the corners tucking upward in what might have been a smile. “Most creatures lay claim to a great many more options, but alas, this is the only one I can offer for myself.” He was advancing, moving from behind the counter, slowly closing the distance between them. There was nowhere to run, Akala reminded himself.

“What---” he said. His own voice sounded strange to his ears, horrible and rasping. It was all the worse in comparison to that of the pale man; Akala did not remember having sounded so feeble. “What do you want with me?”

57, 27, 35
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:22 AM

He ought to have tried for bravado. He sounded terrified. He was terrified. It was something of a miracle that he got the words out at all. As soon as he spoke the words, he realized that he might not have wanted to know the answer, whatever it was going to be.

“Ah,” said the pale man--- said Alain. The corners of his mouth pressed more sharply into his cheeks. “So you can speak. I was afraid I had robbed you of your voice. Does the air here not agree with you?” Akala swallowed again, wondering if Alain was capable of just that. He liked his voice perfectly well, thanks, and would trouble him not to do away with it--- that would have been a witty comeback. If he said it, he figured he'd be turned into a frog on the spot.

58, 27, 36
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/11/2014 5:33 AM

Thankfully, he was relieved from the temptation of testing that theory; Alain continued. "As for what I want to do with you--- that is the question. I find I'm not sure, myself. I don't suppose you have any suggestions?"

"L-Let me go," Akala blurted out, before he could think better of it. That earned him a laugh, which he deeply, deeply regretted. The sound--- how did he describe the sound?

"I'm afraid I can't do that. It isn't the way, even among humans, to release a thief and murderer, as far as I understand. It certainly isn't the way with me." His lyre-and-bells voice took a steely edge now, and his eyes went sharp like a hawk zeroing in on its prey. Softly, he said, "I'm afraid you'll have to suggest something else, but please, do try again."

59, 27, 37
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/12/2014 2:16 AM

Akala was scared very nearly out of his wits, but not quite. He was still in possession of enough of his facilities to notice the strangeness of what the pale man had said: a thief and a murderer? Alain meant him, of course, but Akala had never killed anyone in his life, as far as he was aware. As for stealing, well... He wasn't entirely innocent on that account. Depending on whether one viewed the discovery of artifacts in long-abandoned places as 'stealing', he might have been more guilty or less so. It would have made sense--- he would have accepted the whole, if he had only been accused of stealing. It hadn't been one or the other either; Alain had said both. It was enough to give him a little hope, if he could only manage to clear his name of the latter.

60, 27, 38
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/12/2014 2:17 AM

“I-I'm... You've got the wrong man,” he said. His voice still shook but he tried to strengthen it with all the resolve he could muster, and indeed, it did sound more stable. While he wasn't sure he'd survive the night, he was certain that he had never killed anyone. He was still working on the whole proof part, but in the meantime he could stall for time, at least. Rather, there was some use to trying to do so now, whereas before, he had been ready to accept his inevitable doom.

Alain's lips thinned, the smile disappearing altogether. His eyes narrowed as he regarded Akala, as if he could strip away falsehoods or perhaps a man's skin with the mere force of his glare.

61, 27, 39
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

PreviousNext

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests