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)

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[51][27][10]

Postby crow » 10/28/2014 12:06 AM

"Get ahold of yourself," he muttered, gently slapping one stubbled cheek. He'd need to shave again soon, but that was neither here nor there. He held his flashlight up, scanning the depths of the forest for anything unusual. He was looking for lights, so theoretically he'd have an easier time if he turned off his own. He wasn't about to turn off his only source of light in the middle of a rainforest at night though. He was a city boy, through and through; if he did that, it'd be the end for him.
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[51][27][11]

Postby crow » 10/28/2014 12:06 AM

Animals could smell fear, or so he read in a magazine article once. Not that a crummy flashlight would save him if a Taigra really did come for him, if he really thought about it, but the light might scare them off... maybe.

At any rate though, he wasn't seeing anything. That was a sure sign that he ought to turn back and head for camp. The thought of that bedroll was awfully nice. He turned around one more time, peering suspiciously at the undergrowth. "Hey! Any witchlights hanging around here?" he asked. Of course, nothing replied to him but for the distant call of a bird. Or maybe it was a monkey? He couldn't tell.
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[51][27][12]

Postby crow » 10/28/2014 12:07 AM

No witchlights made any sudden appearances though, so Akala turned around and headed back to camp. The walk wasn't long; as it turned out, he hadn't gone very far. He hadn't intended to go very far, but it had felt as if he'd walked further than he really had. The fact that he had only gone a short way was a little disappointing, but now that he was back at camp, it wasn't as if he was going to go all the way out there again. He found his lodgings for the night and clambered into his own bedroll, not even bothering to undress. He was asleep almost before his head hit the pillow. Despite the fact that he didn't actually do much during the day, something about caravan travel was just so... tiring.
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[51][27][13]

Postby crow » 10/28/2014 1:16 AM

Akala wound up making another stumbling trip into the forest that night. It wasn't exploratory in the least, however; he had woken up with an urgent need for the latrine. Why they'd dug it so far from the rest of the camp, he had no idea. Alright, okay, it was most likely the smell, but still, it was a damned inconvenience. He made it without much incident, excepting when he fell down that one time and swore up a storm. Nobody was awake to hear him though, so it was fine. He relieved himself with a sigh, and was about to head back to camp when something caught his eye.
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[51][27][14]

Postby crow » 10/28/2014 1:16 AM

There was... a  light flashing out at him from the dark forest depths.

"Oy! The latrine's over here," he called out. When the light didn't move, he furrowed his brows. Pulling up his pants, he waved his arms, trying to get the attention of the other person. "Hey, you! Hurry up and get back to camp!" He took a few steps in their direction, but curiously, the person seemed to take just as many steps back. Puzzled, Akala stumbled out a little further. Then another thought struck him. "What are you doing here? You're not a thief are you?! Hey!"
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[51][27][15]

Postby crow » 10/28/2014 1:17 AM

He ran out, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. If this was some kid from the camp trying to screw with him, they had another think coming. If it was really a thief... well, he'd catch them first and decide later. He staggered through the foliage, tripping on vines and bushes but keeping up a surprisingly good pace for being half-asleep.

Eventually his luck deserted him, and he was sent sprawling by something beneath his feet. He rose with a groan, brushing mud and leaves from his clothes.
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[51][27][16]

Postby crow » 10/28/2014 1:19 AM

It was only then that he remembered what the woman had told him about witchlights. Nervously looking about, he found that he had no idea where he was. The lights of the camp were nowhere in sight, and he didn't recognize any landmarks. He half expected that damnable light to have disappeared too, but no, it was still there. Akala glared at it resentfully for a few moments, then shook his head. "Ugh, forget you. I'm not falling for that again." He could find his way back to camp, he was sure.
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[51][27][17]

Postby crow » 10/28/2014 1:19 AM

He was thankful for once that he wasn't a graceful runner, or much of a woodsman. He'd left a clear trail as he crashed through the forest. It was a little hard to make out his surroundings due to the dark, but he remembered his fragment. The light it gave off wasn't particularly bright, but with no other alternative, it was better than nothing, right? He took it out and felt immediately better. It really wasn't much light, but having it there was comforting. "Probably wasn't what they meant for people to do with this thing, but what the hell," he said, and started making his way back.
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[51][27][18]

Postby crow » 10/31/2014 12:46 AM

Something in the atmosphere... shifted when he did that. Akala had no better word for it, even though that wasn't terribly descriptive. He didn't know how he knew, but whatever primal part of him that had identified the change told him that it was dangerous. He quickened his pace, stumbling through the underbrush with a markedly different mood than when he had been going out toward the witchlight. He knew that it was fear tangling his feet, but it seemed as if the earth itself was bucking and heaving beneath him. Funny, he didn't remember having drunk before going to bed. He almost wanted for a little alcohol now, to steady him, but of course there was none to be had.
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[51][27][19]

Postby crow » 10/31/2014 12:47 AM

His first mistake had been walking out to the light in the first place, and letting it lead him so far afield. He committed a second now, as he looked behind him. It had been a foolish notion, but he had thought it harmless. A witchlight should only be able to lead travellers astray, and the legends never tell of their being able to do any more than that. But rather than having diminished with distance, or even remaining the same apparent distance from him, it now seemed closer than it had before. Akala swallowed hard, and had to force himself not to run, for fear that whatever the light belonged to would take it as a cue to give chase. Was there even a precedent for this kind of thing, some sort of method to follow in trying to survive it? He didn't know.
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[51][27][20]

Postby crow » 10/31/2014 12:47 AM

If there was, he had certainly never heard of it. He was operating mostly on gut feeling by this point, intercut with suggestions from a part of his brain that might have something, vaguely, to do with logic. His gut, as it was, was telling him to run.

The forest's passing was agonizingly slow now. The distance that he had covered so obliviously, in what he had thought so short a time, now seemed to stretch forever. He couldn't make out the camp at all, no matter how hard he walked. It was a test of his will not to look back either, at the witchlight, or at where he had been. To do so, he felt, would be to invite the presence of which he was so wary.
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[51][27][21]

Postby crow » 10/31/2014 12:49 AM

He was also afraid, for he thought he might find the thing just behind him, rather than whatever distance he believed it to be. His world narrowed to his feet and the brush around him, for he couldn't see anything more in the distance through the foliage and the dark. The glowing fragment was a pinprick of light in the midst of it all, and even its comfort was a paltry one now.

It might have been a trick of his mind, but even the scenery appeared to be repeating. He was certain that he had passed that rocky outcropping before, for one. When it came into view a third time, he shuddered, but he dared not stop. Still, he cast about for some way to mark his passing, so that he might be sure of whether what he suspected was true.
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Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/08/2014 7:14 AM

He had no blade with which to mark the trees, and nothing on him that he could leave as a trail behind him. At least, he didn't think so. Hurriedly, Akala patted his pockets, to make sure. These being his sleeping clothes, they didn't contain the usual things that he had on him while he was travelling during the day. However, he did manage to come up with his package of floss. It was no skein of thread, but it would have to do. He stopped, his heart pounding in his ears as he quickly tied a knot onto a nearby branch. His hands trembled, which didn't make the process any easier, but panic lent him a fervent sort of speed. As soon as the knot was tied, he broke off into his fast-walk again.

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Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/08/2014 7:15 AM

The floss unwound itself behind him, marking his passage. At first, it gave him some comfort, for he didn't encounter it for quite some time. He was just beginning to allow himself to be relieved in the assurance that he wasn't walking in circles when the thread made its reappearance at last. He looked at it, and felt a keen despair, stunned for a moment into stillness. All the exhaustion of having kept his pace for so long now crashed down on him, rooting his feet to the ground and robbing him of his breath. He had no idea anymore where the camp was from here. He couldn't see its lights, and even the glow of his fragment offered little comfort anymore.

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Re: Waylaid [Self]

Postby crow » 11/08/2014 7:15 AM

Worst of all, as he looked around in vain for any sign of the camp, he caught sight of more white thread wound around the trees--- this way, that way. All around him, the trees seemed to be tangled in floss. Whatever it was that was hunting him, he no longer felt himself capable of escaping it. With a weary sigh, he sank to the ground where he was. His legs felt spent of all their use, as if he could not take another step with them even if he had the will to try.

“Sorry, dad. Gramps. I guess this is the end of our line, hey? Pretty damn pathetic, but I did my best.” If his ancestors cared for him or his journey at all, they'd intervene now and save him, but he wasn't counting on anything like that.

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