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Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 9:53 pm
by Erratum
One notable thing about Ecith? The size.
Major Alua's map was sized the same as those on offer throughout Karnor, but the scale was deceptive. The area she'd indicated between the river and the Imperial March took up the width of a pinky finger on the paper, but Flopsy and Læbirius' spectral steed seemed to spend hours traversing a fraction of that fraction.
The outskirts of the March were gentle terrain, but that was relative to a land of vast forests and vaster mountains. The ghost horse was advantaged by its spiritual nature, allowing it to effortlessly traverse mud and outcropping with little diversion; Flopsy, on the other hand, simply barreled through brush, rocks, ponds and small trees alike, leaving destruction in its wake. Somehow, the big bewinged hippo did this with a surprisingly modicum of grace and quiet, too. It was uncanny.
Beyond the two uncanny steeds, little marked this day as different from the rest. The four scouts rode hard and steady, Hop calling only two midday stops- once to eat, and once to get their bearings. By the time gloaming fell over the land, they were far enough away from the flood hippos that none of the fires of the the caravan were visible to them.
The darkness of the wilderness of Ecith was different in kind from the darkness of more civilized lands. Although the stars and three moons rose as brightly over the lands as anywhere else, the great canopies of the jungle blocked out the argent nimbus entirely, leaving the shadow so thick on the ground that it felt like one could drown in it. Even the small campfire which Hop kindled (hidden in part beneath a carefully-laid canopy of wet leaves and sticks) seemed only to put out a puddle of light.
"Good time today!" the big ork said, enthusiastic, "The March proper is just over that ridge, we should be able to get a good look at it all tomorrow. Tonight, we'll get a good sleep and be quite prepared for anything!"
~~~
It was less than an hour after Hop had gone to sleep, leaving his other three scouts to decide who took first watch, and something was very wrong.
It began with light. It didn't pierce the deep darkness, but seemed to grow on the periphery of the ridge they had hunkered next to. It was colorless, and illuminated nothing, like the witchlights of the fens of Zaichaer, or the ball lightnings which sometimes met ships on the misty seas. At first, one could have mistaken it for hallucination, but it continued to build in strength until it was unmistakable. Eventually, it formed a halo over the ridge, like the aurora come to earth.
Next, there was sound. Clanking iron and creaking wood met the distant sounds of hoofbeats, and the restrained whinnying of trained horses. Like the false light, these sounds grew louder, but no less distant, as though they were being heard from another room.
Finally, an explosion. The distant sounds of battalions on the move were joined by the unmistakable pitch and tenor of cannonfire, echoing over the forest. A projectile whistled in the distance, ending its arc with a sickening thud.
At this point, the snoozing scout was awake again, eyes bright with concern. He listened to the eruption of cannons, craning his head to try to follow the arc described by their shots.
"That's what the train was hearing for sure." he whispered, his voice somewhat softer than the cannons- but only just, "Sounds like they're shooting to the south, towards Kythera. Could be ghosts, for sure..." he sounded less certain of that. No surprise; since when did ghosts have artillery?
"Truth fend us. What should we do? Get up on the ridge for a look...?"
The Ork's voice was not enthusiastic, and it wasn't hard to guess why- that would put them right in the line of fire for the unseen cannoneer. Still, they'd get nowhere simply lying there. What was to be done?
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2024 12:24 am
by Evandria
Once they made camp, Eva volunteered for the first watch. Her body still buzzed with nervous energy, which only intensified as the sky darkened. She knew she wouldn’t be getting any sleep soon, even if she tried. Besides, taking the first watch meant she could enjoy uninterrupted rest until sunrise.
As everyone settled down for the night, the young dragonborn dragged her belongings near the campfire—not too close, of course, lest the wind decided to play tricks on her and send her paper sketches into the flames. Drawing had always been a way to calm her nerves and escape reality. She borrowed Hop’s map from earlier, unfurled it before her, and anchored its corners with rocks.
Crouching beside a large stone, she used its surface as an impromptu desk. Her eyes scanned the surrounding jungle, mentally cataloging landmarks from the day’s journey: a jagged rock formation resembling a serrated blade, a cluster of ancient trees with trunks as wide as Flopsy. She marked each one carefully, her hand moving with practiced ease despite the fading light, using the original map as a reference.
When the fire started to flicker, Eva fed more aether into it, coaxing the flames to grow brighter. It was probably just her imagination, but she couldn’t shake the skin-crawling sensation of being watched. A part of her wanted to turn and check, but she was too scared of what might greet her. Instead, she focused on the flames, drawing their warmth closer. It was nothing—just paranoia, she told herself.
Through sheer stubbornness, the cartographer slowly let the familiar rhythm of charcoal against paper pull her into a trance. Before long, her surroundings faded away, leaving only the maps in front of her. She didn’t even notice the odd light until it was too late. The first real warning came from the noise—too loud to dismiss as her imagination. The creaking sound made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she immediately leaped to her feet.
A loud boom soon followed. If they hadn’t been expecting it, Eva would have thought an army was charging toward them. Oddly, despite the volume, the noise still sounded distant. As her companions began to stir, Eva hastily gathered her belongings and shoved them into her pack.
It seemed there would be no rest for the remainder of the night.
Hop suggested they investigate the disturbance, and despite the risk, the uncertainty of whether the sounds came from ghosts or people made her feel vulnerable. “I might be able to reach the ridge unseen,” Eva offered hesitantly. “With a bit of magic, I can blend with the earth and try to hide. I have a spyglass we can use.”
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2024 10:24 pm
by Læbirius
☠ Læbirius ride through the Ecithian wildlands was much easier than he thought, having a spectral steed and all. It was also a good way to see the lush forests and grasslands for himself. He didnt think it would be this beautiful, but then again most things left untouched by mortal hands were. The journey was easy as they seemed to make good ground, getting as far from the rest of the expedition caravan as possible. They had been clearing the gap between them and the Imperial March with record speed and little to no hinderances.
Once camped their Ork guide congratulated them on the day and settled in for some shuteye. "I can take the first watch if you need me to. he offered, settling in himself and pulling out his journal, turning to the part of it that held his notes on ghosts and things of that nature. Not too soon into his reading his hands and feet began to glow, his eyes shifting from their usual golden amber to a luminescent eerie ghostly green. His breath could be seen which caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. Seems they wouldn't be sleeping tonight.
The pale light echoed with the sounds of movement, then the booming chorus of artillery fire. Hop determined that the shots were aimed south of Kythera. When asked what to do, one of the women decided to get a closer look, using whatever magic at her disposal that could aid in concealing her. Lae on the other hand had something else in mind. "I'm going to try something." he noted, heading up to the ridge. Once over the ridge the necromancer bit his finger, drawing blood, and placed it on the vanta black gem of his bracelet.
The cartographer would have seen him vanish into thin air, but in reality, he was now a ghost. He would approach the hoard of spectral entities with a calm caution, but always alert and aware of them. ☠
"Common Speech"
"Vastian Speech"
"Vallenor Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2024 12:13 pm
by Erratum
"What are you-" Hop's question was cut off with Laebirus' sudden disappearance, for the scout had no way to know where he'd gone. After a moment of floundering, he returned his attention to the dragonborn mapmaker. Eva could see the wheels spinning in Hop's mind as his eyes darted about the clearing, lingering on patches of supernal illumination. Finally, begrudgingly, he responded to her.
"Go up to the ridge, then, but be careful. I don't know where he's gotten to, and the last thing we need is a captive situation. I'll take in the camp and get Flopsy ready to run, if need be."
With that, the scout began to rapidly disassemble bedrolls and packs, rousing the bewinged hippo with soft urging and a couple of surprisingly hard slaps- blows which would have bruised an ork barely registered to the big creature, so presumably it didn't much mind.
~~~
On the other side of the ridge, a shocking scene awaited both scouts. The Imperial Marches lay before them, a vast and blasted wasteland, now overgrown with ferns and fronds. In the day, it had looked unappealing and solemn enough, nothing but brush growing around piles of rusted metal and the few blasted craters too deep for plantlife to yet reclaim. As an uninhabited waste, it was dreary and foreboding, but nothing more.
Now, though, the waste was not uninhabited.
Spectral figures roamed through the jungles, silhouettes of soldiers. There was little detail on most of them, but the outline of the gear they wore suggested (unsurprisingly) the provenance of Gelerand. Many bore ghostly guns, though it wasn't clear if a spectral rifle could fire real caster shells, and they trudged through the mists with a grim determination belied by their state. Although their intangible forms did not so much as rustle the bushes they passed through, both Laebirus and Eva could hear the suggestion of boots tramping on packed earth, an echo of the march which had concluded in disaster decades prior.
KRAKOW!
A great noise rolled through the marches as some unseen mortar lobbed another ghostly round at an unseen target, visible only as an orange flash on the misty horizon. None of the ghost soldiers reacted, or spoke- save one.
"Weiter!" screamed a voice in Gelerian, "Wir müssen die Front übernehmen!"
Only a few hundred meters down from the ridge, one of the specters strode, his steps marked with unusual vigor and determination for a member of the army of shades. A much more distinct spirit, he was clad in an officer's uniform, wearing only a helmet (necessary in an active artillery zone), and carrying a briefcase-sized box which Laebirus could likely identify as an old Zaichaeran radio. This man practically glowed with the unearthly power in him, and both scouts noticed that two holes marred his spectral form, both leaking purplish aether. It was as if something enormous had bitten him.
"Kann mich jemand lesen? Wir rücken auf Kythera vor, aber da stimmt etwas nicht. Die Pflanzen, die Pflanzen sind falsch!"
The officer's ghostly radio relayed only static, and the man sighed. "Damnable trickery. Some witchcraft of the Dawnmartyrs, no doubt."
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2024 3:19 pm
by Læbirius
☠ He seemed to go unnoticed by the specters that now permeated the place. He watched them, taking in the scene with a scrutinizing eye. They were speaking in a language he hadn't encountered before, but could only assume it was Gelerian. He also took note of the wound of the radioman, the strange leakage of aether caught his attention, causing him to approach for a closer look. The looks on the faces of the ghostly soldiers suggested that they had been marching for a while. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew something had to be done.
It seemed that they were worried about something, given the exclamation made by the one in charge. It was times like these Lae wished he knew other languages, but sadly this was his first encounter with Gelerian, and old Gelerian at that. He would remain with the ghosts until it was proven to take on his corporeal form again. The more time he spent with these ghosts the more his necromantic mind was turning the wheels trying to figure out the best way to deal with them. These ghosts were intelligent, but not so in a way that they knew he was there. It was more so like they were stuck in that moment in which they died.
The question now that he was mentally asking himself, was what was on the otherside that they were attacking. He knew as much as he had been hearing from stories and reading the many books and codexes about the war and fall of Ailos. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, however, opting to remain close to the ghosts if only to see how the loop played out. ☠
"Common Speech"
"Vastian Speech"
"Vallenor Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 7:32 am
by Evandria
After Laebirius announced he wanted to try something, he offered no further explanation and vanished into thin air after fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist. The dragonborn turned to Hop with wide eyes, uncertain and uneasy. Separating without any means of contact seemed like a terrible idea.
Though Eva wasn’t a climber, her skills as an elementalist offered some assistance. She fed her own aether into the ridge, urging it to guide her up the steep incline in the safest way possible. It wasn’t quick—her pack added weight and slowed her down—but it was quiet, and it felt secure enough.
Once she reached the top, Eva carefully crawled on her stomach, searching for any cover she could find. If there was nothing feasible to conceal her from view, she would coax the ground beneath her to sink gradually, creating a shallow trench in which to lie as she took in the scene.
Seeing the ghostly army with her own eyes was a different experience entirely, far beyond the mere idea of it. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt an almost overwhelming urge to flee. The ghosts—phantasmic figures armed with weapons and conversing amongst themselves—were surreal. The language they spoke was vaguely familiar; her time in Gel’Grandal had given her some exposure, but not enough to understand. It was little more than an echo of recognition, tantalizing but ultimately useless.
As she scanned the otherworldly tableau before her, her gaze settled on one specter in particular. He seemed... more solid, less prone to fading into the surroundings as the others did. A closer look revealed a bite mark on his flesh. Ghosts shouldn’t have bleeding injuries—should they? But what did she know about them? Practically nothing.
Now what? Eva glanced around, hoping to spot Laebirius, but there was no sign of him. Feeling increasingly exposed lying atop the open ridge, she quickly pulled out her spyglass without getting up from her position, trying to see what the orange flash on the horizon was.
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2024 1:25 am
by Erratum
Although Laebirius had observed that the ghosts hardly seemed to notice him, it turned out that the rule was not absolute. As he closed in on the ghosts, the specter with the strange bite-mark seemed to recognize him. The spirit had just enough definition that the necromancer could observe its face as its eyes widened. It pointed towards him, screaming words in Gelerian, and several of the other ghosts paused. After a few more shouted words, they drew transparent swords and leveled transparent guns (antiques, even if they weren't insubstantial) at him.
"Spy!" the man shouted in Common, though he stumbled over the word somewhat, "Identify yourself at once!"
One of the specters moved to prod Laebirius with a bayonet to elicit some response; but he felt nothing. Whatever force had given these ghosts such unusual purpose and definition, it seemed that it had not in fact imbued them with substance. They were nothing more than images and sounds after all.
The commander, strangely, seemed to realize this, though he betrayed no understanding of why. "Devilry..." he hissed, eyes scanning the necromancer's body for whatever Rune was protecting him. "Do not interfere, or His Majesty's kathar will do for you, demon. Kythera must be destroyed before the entire continent falls!"
~~~
From Evandria's position, she could make out most of the ghost army- although 'make out' was something of an inappropriate phrase. The ghosts were only selectively distinct. In a bubble around the commander with the bite mark, they were detailed, individually observable, and moved with legible purpose. As one began to move away from him, however, they became foggier and less independent. The range seemed to be about five hundred feet before they were too foggy to be individually observed.
The exception to this was the artillery. Though the vehicles in the train were hazy and indistinct (though Evandria fancied she could make out tanks, both tread-borne and spider-legged varieties) there was a ghostly emplacement on the far hills, mortar tubes attached to mechanized platforms and cannonades both. These were aimed south towards the river, and were occasionally breaking the silence of the night with loud reports, explosions echoing off the mountains surrounding the Imperial March.
Although the artillery was quite distant, Evandria's eyes were keen, and her spyglass was quality. A few minutes of careful tracing allowed her to discern the aim of the munitions- the outer edges of the forest surrounding Kythera. The explosions limned the trees, and while they did not seem to be blasting holes in the distant landscape, they were starting fires, or so it looked, for the jungle around there was inflamed by orange light.
It was altogether curious. If the ghosts had been empowered by some force, as the Marshal had suspected, then they were especially charged with attacking that forest, for it seemed that only their weapons aimed there actually did anything at all. This was good news for the Flood Hippos, for it seemed to confirm the safety of their route, but raised only more questions about what could have done this... and why?
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2024 3:18 pm
by Læbirius
☠ It was apparent now that the jig was up for him. He watched them carefully, his hands held up so they would know he was no threat, or at least he tried anyway. When poked by the weapon of one of the soldiers, Lae realized that they couldn't really do any harm to him, which was a good sign for the expedition as this was merely phantom residuals. Putting his hands down he approached the commanding officer, pointing at his chest. "I'm here to help you, you are caught in a loop, none of this is real. The war is over, but because of what happened here, the area is saturated with the residual energy from that moment."
Walking away he looked over in the direction in which their artillery had fired. "Sure you have realized this. Have you not noticed that nothing seems to change whenever you try to advance on the city? And why does Kythera need to be destroyed, what has the Imperium so frightened?" he opened his palms to them to show he was still no threat to them, and that he indeed wanted to help. "If you allow me, I will do my best to aid you, to help you find rest, but only if you allow me to." he pleaded taking a few steps back as he wasn't sure how they would react. The realization that they were in fact dead could cause their mental tether to degrade.
It could go south and he had to be ready to escape at a moment's notice, as familiar as he was with ghosts, he wasn't truly prepared to fight them like this or in this state, he wasn't even sure he could. ☠
"Common Speech"
"Vastian Speech"
"Vallenor Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2024 7:12 pm
by Evandria
It took her a bit before she could truly work out what might be going on. It seemed to her that phantoms closest to the bitten ghost were the most solid. Eva watched them meander about for a while, noting how they seemed to fade away if they went further.
That particular ghost was certainly special and perhaps to be avoided. Eva wondered if the more solid ones would actually be able to touch her or have contact with the physical world. Not that she was in any rush to find out. All that mattered was that it seemed she wasn’t spotted and she would like to keep it that way.
Now, further away, they were shooting at where Kythera was supposed to be, the outskirts at least. If they were simply ghostly conjurations, nothing should have happened. Yet, through her spyglass, it was clear that the forest was on fire. Even if the things they shot out were not real, there must be something or someone there actually making everything go up in flames. There was no way to
Well, it would seem like she did have the answers to some of their questions. Their route should be fine, but she could not help but wonder what the ghosts were shooting at and why. Now, that would no doubt need them to head where that odd encampment was. Eva wasn’t entirely sure if that was what they should do or should they just retreat with what information they had gotten.
She would rather speak to Hop about this and decide.
In one last try, Eva scanned the scene with her naked eyes and spyglass, trying to spot Laebirius, however, if she did not see him, then it would seem there was nothing else she could do. So, the dragonborn began making her way down to find Hop.
Re: Disquiet Dead (Open Thread)
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 1:59 pm
by Erratum
The shadow-bitten officer ghost eyed Laebirius, distrust writ plain upon his distorted face.
"That cannot be." the shade protested, "We have received word not two nights ago, that the devils plan to unleash some weapon, some terrible, awful weapon."
Even this was probably more than the officer would have given an unknown man encountered in the midst of hostile territory when he was alive. But Laebirius knew full well that ghosts, apart from lacking in flesh and substance, were also shades of themselves mentally. Whatever energy had revitalized this spirit, it could only strengthen the imprints of the psyche which actually remained, and not those torn to tatters by time.
The ghost paused, uncertain, at Laebirius' urging that it understand its own condition- and then moved on, resolute. Sadly, this was the way of many ghosts. Fresh spirits, they could sometimes be made to realize what they were. If a necromancer caught them aright, or if the shade was particularly strong, it could have enough autonomy to come to that realization. But this ghost was old, battered and broken. It could no longer accommodate new concepts- it was stuck in the past.
"Our orders are clear." the officer's shade muttered, mumbling a bit, "We must hold... we must hold the line, keep the green devils' armies occupied until Ailos falls and we've taken..." The ghost trailed off, evidently unsure what it was they were trying to take in Ailos. The Imperium's assault on the Dawnmartyrs had ostensibly been for the purpose of seizing a rebel princess, but it seemed the officer could not even remember her name.
Clarity returned to the ghost. "A scout... three days past, a scout returned from Kythera. He said the Orks have raised some sort of plant demon, that we must shell the jungle, suppress it until His Majesty authorizes the dispatch of siege machines." The shadowy wound on the ghost flared, and pallor and strength seemed to return to him. "We must suppress their beast! Burn the jungle!"
| ! | Message from: Erratum |
| This, at least, Laebirius recognizes- necromancy. This 'scout' was no scout at all, but a necromancer who has performed some kind of ritual to revitalize these ghosts and convince them to shell the jungle- though the why is not clear. After all, the Queen's been in Kythera for decades now. |
~~~
Eva's spyglass located Laebirius readily enough, but he was too far away for her to do more than see that a conversation was happening. Still, it was a good sign- presumably, he would learn something about this bizarre ghostly invasion. She watched as one of the ghosts took a couple of helpless swipes through the scout's body, ghostly bayonet passing harmlessly through her compatriot.
There was some strange business- if the ghosts couldn't touch Laebirius with their guns, how was the cannonfire doing real damage?
"Eva!" Hopp's voice hissed out of the jungle at the cartographer, joined momentarily by the ork himself, crawling on his belly. She could only hope that Flopsy wasn't trying to sneak around behind him.
"What's the situation? I can hear the artillery, but that's all. What are they? What are they shooting at?"