Abscondi Grove [Inactive]

Alice and Richard finally walked into the main square, the same place that they had been welcomed into town not too long ago. The fountains cascading waters shimmered gold in the sunset(s), and more of the four-winged birds were splashing around and bathing in it. They cooed quietly as they did so, sounding like a mix of a tree frog and a pigeon. They did not fly away as the two approached, but they did scooch a little farther towards the opposite end of the fountains basin.


There were a few other villagers in the plaza, but it was otherwise empty. Most of the merchants others that may have been displaying their wares in the plaza earlier had headed home for the day.


A couple of leaves idly bounced across the cobblestones in an evening zephyr.
 
She sat down on the edge of the fountain. "It's so calming here." She noted, She looked at the sunset(s). Wow, I love it here.
 
Richard listened to Alice's problem.


An abusive father...lovely.


He also noted that the abuse ran deeper than that. If just talking about it had her unconsciously touching the places she'd been attacked. Hopefully the abuse didn't go too far. It rarely ever did but it happens from time to time. She rolled up her sleeves to show a few bruises and scars that ran along each arm, no doubt each bruise or scar had a story behind it. He wasn't about to press her on a story regarding a world far away from them.


The scenery began looking familiar to Richard now. It was the same square that they were welcomed in when they arrived. It looked different in the sunset. For one, it looked as though the buildings were painted gold by the light of the twin suns setting over the horizon. He wondered what kind of lighting Abscondi had for their evenings, candles? Magic? Nothing? He'd see for himself soon enough.


Alice took a seat by the fountain in the square and he took his place beside her. He placed his hand over hers, a sign to show that he was there.


"Well, I'm pretty sure life will get better for all of us. So are we just taking a break before we explore some more or are we going to head back to the cabin now?"
 
"It's up to you." She looked at his hand. "I don't care where we go as long as I'm not alone anymore." She smiled shyly. This was the first person who hadn't asked about her scars and bruises, could she call him a friend? She couldn't tell yet, but she hoped too. "Where do you wanna go?"
 
Avery stopped looking at her combat boots. She room bored and wanted to look around, she didn't really have anybody to talk to, but she was used to that kind of stuff. She hoped she could at least make one friend. She doubt that a guy will like her, she always had low self esteem. She laughed, in a hushed whisper. "Hrmm.." she murmurs while she watches Vex to into the boys room. She walks into the girls room and sits on the bed. "Nice.its better than what I had at home.." she says and looks around. The girls dorm was quite roomy and dozy. She smiles and sits on the couch, finally falling asleep.
 
"Let's just go back, Alice. It's getting dark and all, plus we don't know this neighborhood so yeah we gotta be careful and all."


Richard stood up from his spot beside Alice. He waited for the girl to stand up and walk with him back to the cabin. As beautiful as this place was, as safe as it seems, as warm and welcoming as it felt, there was still something that felt out of place. Maybe it was just Richard being too cautious, but no one could ever be too cautious, the night still brings risk no matter where you are. There were significantly less people in the main plaza now that the suns had finished setting. He wanted to both of them to be gone from here as well and back with the others in the cabin.
 
As the two walked side by side, they were able to watch the second sun finally follow the first and drop below the horizon, and the sky darkened. The whole city almost turned pitch-black, but several lights blinked on, one after another, until the streets were filled with small, glowing, insectlike creatures that were strikingly similar to fairies.


The lights themselves were pretty, but they cast shadows over the corners and buildings that unsettled the two humans. Something didn't feel quite right...there was a sense of foreboding and suspense in the air, as if something was just on the verge of happening.


Then, they heard it. A low, rasping breath, and a faint "ssssshhhhhhhh" sound, like waster rushing high-speed downriver, or perhaps a gas rushing out through an air vent. The sounds slowly got louder and louder, and an oddly-shaped shadow was visible trudging slowly around the nearest corner. Richard and Alice could feel their hearts ready to explode out of their chests. As the shadow crept closer, they both thought the same thing.


RUN, IDIOT!
 
The sky had blackened as the last sun set. By then, Richard had pulled Alice up and led them the two of them back to the cabin. It was unsettling to the streets already devoid of people so early in the evening. Something just didn't seem right although Richard had no idea what it was.


The lights had begun to illuminate the surroundings, casting shadows over anything obscuring its field of view. The lights had taken his attention but it was the shadows that took it even more. It was as if they were dark pits rather than shadows. It was just too dark for them to see anything in the shadows, even just a faint outline or sign that something was in it.


It wasn't long after that he heard breathing coming from some far off direction, it was faint but it was there. More to the point, it was growing louder with every passing second. Right there, underneath the breathing he could something likened to rushing water, a rapids that didn't seem to have an end at all. The some..thing, rounded a poorly lit corner. It was an oddly shaped silhouette that Richard could make out within the shadows. It looked as though it was the source of the noise.


Without any shred of hesitation, he grabbed Alice's hand and bolted toward the Cabin. Had it just been himself he would have stayed to see just what the thing was....most likely be the first one die if horror movie logic was followed in Abscondi. He didn't want to risk collateral damage and just pulled Alice along to the Cabin.
 
She was totally unaware of what, was happening, she felt Ric pulling her to the cabin. "What's going on Ric?" she wanted to stop but then she felt it too. "What is that?" She asked gripping his hand.
 
As the two bolted away from the initial source of the noise, they were horrified to discover that it was too late to escape. As they turned their back to the first unknown figure, a second one stepped out into the street from within an alleyway and cut off their escape route. The figure behind them had finally emerged into the street, and now that they were in full view, their features could be examined in more detail.


They were tall, but not quite as tall as the hooded, mysterious folks that made up a small demographic of the citizenship of Abscondi. They carried themselves in a slouching position, and their arms dangled like a zombie's. However, unlike a zombie, the figures had long claws that scraped along the ground as they walked, and the majority of their torsos and legs were obscured by rushing clouds of dark smoke that wafted around their bodies, which proved to be the source of the rushing noise. The creatures also had large, sharp rows of fangs, some of which rested outside of the mouth when the jaw was closed. Their piercing blood-red eyes shone through the inky mist that blanketed their form, and their jaws slowly opened and closed, as if the beasts were already imagining how Richard and Alice's flesh would taste.


The two nightmares inched closer and closer, blocking Richard and Alice off on both ends of the street. The only other way to escape would be to enter one of the buildings that were located on either side of the street, but the doors were most likely locked for the night.


The creatures, both realizing that their prey was truly trapped, took one more step towards the humans, then stopped, raised their faces towards the night sky, and let out a shattering scream that echoed through the streets and caused the fairylike insects floating around to scatter away from the source of the noise.


~


Vex was sitting in his bunk in the cabin, thinking about various topics to himself. He had nearly fallen asleep when he heard the scream, falling out of his bunk and almost losing his breath as he landed on the wood floor. The cabin itself rattled, the windows barely remained intact, and Vex's eardrums nearly burst. He ran out into the hallway, not bothering to check it anyone else had heard it, or was even awake. If they weren't awake before, they sure as hell would be now.


"Oh God...Richard and Alice are out there...c'mon guys, we've gotta go help them!"


Vex was trying to be brave, but he felt nothing but pure, abject terror as he left the cabin and ran towards the faintly-illuminated depths of the town.
 
She felt her blood go cold. "Ric stay behind me!" She took out her pocket knife, didn't think it would hold it off. Hopefully the people they came with, herd the scream. "We just have to stall."
 
Damien looked out the window and saw two of the creepiest looking things he had ever seen. And they had Ric and Alice surrounded. As he watched, a third one came out from an alley to block them in from all sides. Damien wasn't big on bullies, and downright hated when the odds were stacked against someone. So of course, evening the odds always helped.


Quietly, so as not to alert the creatures, he grabbed a poker from the nearby fireplace, then opened the window and slipped out, walking up as slowly and as quietly as he could, and positioned himself directly behind the closest creature. Taking care not to inhale the weird gas that surrounded it, he brough the poker up and jabbed downward, straight at the creature's back.
 
She was almost in tears, when the boy had taken one out. She felt her knees buckle, she hit the ground with a thud. She was frozen by fear this wasn't the first time it had happened, she felt weak, useless, meaningless.


Paralyzed by fear. Dammit! What am I going to do? She was curious as to what the creature was but she was too afraid to do anything, plus she was on the on the ground.
 
The creature was apparently not unaware that there was someone standing right behind it, and it deftly side-stepped Damien's stabbing attack. It turned around and slashed out towards the fireplace poker, knocking it far from the reach of any of the humans. It gave a small shriek at Damien, then turned back around to face Alice and Richard. A third creature leapt from the shadows, its target obviously Damien, and it ran on all fours until it was about ten feet away from him. Its features started to warp and shift, the creature taking the form of Damien's deepest and worst fear as it slowly trudged in his direction.


Vex had tried to stop Damien from leaving, but it seemed the kid was too determined and left before Vex could try to convince him to not charge headlong into a fight against mystical nightmare creatures from another world. He followed Damien, but instead of running towards Richard and Alice, Vex hid himself behind one of the buildings on the far east edge of town. He wanted to help, but he wasn't so sure that running in there was the best idea. For all he knew, there could be a fourth creature waiting for him to do just that. Maybe he could try waking up some of the other villagers?


Before he could figure out what to do, there was noise to the north, loud shouting voices and commotion. Torch lights began to grow closer and closer, until an entire brigade of villagers in armor arrived on the street. There were knights of all four races wielding weapons such as blades, axes, polearms, bows, etc. The creature closest to Richard had its back turned in the direction of the knights, and a Kentakin with a crossbow stepped forth and released a volley of bolts into the creature's back, and the rest of the knights let loose fierce battle cries and ran forwards. One of the foxlike people, a large, muscular fellow with an axe, bellowed orders as they all charged forth, and the team of knights split into three small teams, one team for each creature. A few of the knights ran towards the three humans and herded them away from the creatures as the knights took care of them.


The knights' strategy was to surround each creature; those with melee-ranged weapons stood near the creatures, but not close enough to inhale the dangerous gases. They brandished their weapons fiercely and kept the creatures trapped within the circles of knights that surrounded them while those with bows, crossbows, and javelins let loose form a distance. The creatures, apparently realizing that their normal 1-on-1 hunting tactic was not going to work, decided instead to defend themselves with their razor-sharp claws.


After a few ranged shots landed, the creatures would shriek, wail, and then the gases surrounding their bodies would dissipate. The creatures' bodies were humanoid in shape, black and inky, and they had small holes all over their skin where the gases were most likely expelled from. Once the creatures no longer had their gas clouds to protect them, the melee fighters would move in and finish them off. Soon, all three of the creatures was reduced to a small puddle of black goop that the knights went out of their way to avoid.


The foxlike commander fellow approached the humans, and Vex joined them from his hiding spot.


"You kids got lucky tonight. It's a good thing that one of our knights heard the screech. You're the new citizens, aren't 'cha? 'Round here, it's not a good idea to be out and about after sunset. Those creatures are called Gloombringers, and they live in groves deep within the Unnamed Mountains off to the north. They don't pop up every single night, but they don't follow a pattern either, except that they always tend to make an appearance soon after new villagers arrive in town. We've never had Gloombringers appear the NIGHT OF the arrival of new villagers before, though...an attack so soon after an arrival is unheard of."


"Do they ONLY arrive when new people arrive in town?" asked Vex nervously. If his arrival and the arrival of the other humans had brought misfortune to this place, then he didn't think he was going to be able to live with knowing that the human race managed to screw things up in another world as well as their own.


"No, no, sometimes we go without new villagers for months or even a year at a time, and the Gloombringers will still show every now and again. In any case, I've got to report this to the Mayor, as well as take care of other business. You folks would best be getting along indoors."


The fox-general gave a small nod and headed off, giving a whistle and waving his hand. The other knights finished cleaning up the Gloombringer-goop and started to walk back north where they had arrived from.


"C'mon, Richard, Alice, we should probably be getting back to the cabin. And Damien, I admire your bravery, but perhaps next time you might want to consider bringing along a more fearsome weapon," Vex said, smirking as he picked up the fireplace poker and handed it to Damien.
 
Alice slowly got up, She hung her head. "Yeah your probably right Vex." She walked ahead of the 3. I shouldn't be so useless next time. She walked into the cabin and sat in a corner, and went into deep thought.
 
This role play has been marked "inactive". Inactive role plays are defined as "role plays showing 0 activity within a 30 day period".


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