travelagency: (Default)
Blackstaff Travel ([personal profile] travelagency) wrote in [community profile] the_last_resort2015-02-12 02:12 pm

The Witches Huts

Who: Various
What: Swamp Hunting
When: M11 D27 - M11 D29 (Feb 17 - Feb 25) IMPORTANT NOTE days have been changed to make the plot more accommodating.
Where: Three different swamps far from the Village
Notes & Warnings: See the plot post for further details. You are allowed to go to more than one swamp. There's plenty of time, to. Plotting Links: The Marsh of Sorrow | The Offending Swamp | The Witch's Den. Participation is encouraged so that we can make later plots around expanded world access, or so that characters can use potions or cauldrons they didn't turn in themselves. The Slip 'n' Slide log is still open for tagging.



The Marsh of Sorrow

Foggy and murkey, sparse trees jut out of the bog like gnarled fingers reaching to an unseen sky. There's a light mist in the air- raining again in some form or fashion as every explorer who has returned has reported. Not all have returned, though, and caution is very much encouraged. There are more wild hounds than one would expect for somewhere that apparently doesn't have free grazing livestock. They seem to be waiting around for something.

It becomes obvious when a sheep becomes mired in the mud near the border. Easy prey. Luckily the hounds have never shown any interest in people.

The good sign is that that there are few skeletons and creepers. While one might assume that they're hidden by the fog, they're generally extremely sparse. Off in the distant fog there are lit spots, areas where old huts are, glowing mysteriously. Those are the places that the museum wants to be investigated. It just requires wading through the muck to reach them.

What the museum doesn't know is when the marsh is active, emotions play a role in whether someone can make it across. Unfortunately it's the only time that the huts can be located through the fog. People that are entering the swamp with grim feelings in mind will find themselves sinking. Perseverence, ambition, joy, curiosity? Those will help people strive through, and hopefully pull others to the surface.


The Offending Swamp

The museum doesn't tell people why it provides them with face masks, but oh, they will know when they hit the border of the swamp. It's a terrible smell, not quite like being near a sewer but not far off. That unfortunate paper-mill smell. The mask given to them will allow people to speak freely and unmuffled, but it only blocks out about 90% of the stench. This is one of the situations where someone might hope that the rewards are worth it.

The ground is far more solid than in the Marsh of Sorrow, with plenty of firm areas to roam. It makes the stench more irritatingly mysterious. There are few animals, too. But the answer to that becomes obvious when bursts of flame pop out of small holes in the ground. Apparently getting through will require great care.

The museum did not provide fireproofed clothes. But when the hut is found, luckily alongside its cauldron will be an abundence of fireproofing potions. Their purpose isn't obvious so it would depend on the curious or the adventurous to figure it out. That will at least make getting back out easier.


The Witch's Den

When entered, this swamp seems the more relaxing one. The temperature is moderate, the air isn't deplorably foul, the boggy areas are not as difficult to navigate. Once someone is within its limits, making their way to the hut, the more unsettling aspects of the swamp make themselves known.

Voices of people lost or left behind speak to people over their shoulders, soft and sometimes pleading, or accusing. They mutter secrets, things about their past, fears that people don't say aloud. Sometimes they're just whispers, and sometimes they're loud enough for the next person over to hear. Often they will tell people to go a certain way, toward another object or in another direction.

If they follow, it will put them back at the edge of the swamp.

There is a single hut in this one, far towards the center. As with the ones in the Marsh of Sorrow, it will glow as the swamp's abilities are active. It lies past the remnants of dilapidated houses and landmarks, a village likely abandoned long before any of the other ruins were formed. It is best found as the sky grows dark. Unlike the Marsh of Sorrow, though, enemies will crawl out of the dark.
thumbsdown: (how did you know?)

[personal profile] thumbsdown 2015-03-09 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[Boone grabs her when she starts to go down, swearing under his breath. Now he's glad he chose to stick close to her.]

Hold onto me!

[He's not going down this time, and he's not sure why. Really, it's the fact that he's determined to save Linda keeping him from going down with her. He wraps his arms around her, pulling backwards with a grunt. Maybe they should've grabbed that stick Linda used before, but this tactic seems to be working too. He just hopes he doesn't start sinking, too. If he does, they're both screwed.]
vengeance_driven: game, car (►►bitching)

And you two can take it from here.

[personal profile] vengeance_driven 2015-03-10 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
[The burns across his face from the creeper are healing, too, and as they get further away they'll start to hear shots. One two three. One two three. He's not wasting bullets- he's being frugal with them. But he's obviously shooting at different things.]

[Eventually it does grow quiet. It may be ominous, but he'll be fine. He's tucked himself into a safe, hidden place until morning.]
ewestmarch: (darkness)

<3

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-10 10:28 am (UTC)(link)
[A noise wrenches out of Emilia's abomination - plaintive and low, like an injured animal.

It's clear she isn't physically holding it back by its sheer size, but she tethers it anyway by her grip on its arm as it strains towards the direction Niko disappeared into.]


Galehaut! We're going. Leave it.

[It whines again but follows her when she nods to Jade sharply and starts running for the light again.]
ratkicker: (heroic)

[personal profile] ratkicker 2015-03-10 05:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[Jade smacks a hanging vine out of her way, then pauses to check on Emilia and her golem.] Let's go! [It's not really aimed at either of them, but she tries to get them motivated to keep running.]

Head this way! [She climbs onto a log to wait for the other two and scout ahead.]
domesheriff: (Horrified)

[personal profile] domesheriff 2015-03-14 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
Don't get pulled in too!

[but despite her words, she follows his instructions, wrapping her arms around him as well and holding on for dear life. at first her fear of him going down works against her, but when she realizes that he isn't, she starts to feel hope again--and that allows him to pull her out of the mud before it even reaches her waist]

[once she's free, she's breathing hard, afraid to let go of Boone. her voice is shaky as she says:]
Y-you did it...
thumbsdown: (get outta here)

[personal profile] thumbsdown 2015-03-14 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah.

[He sounds a little surprised, but mostly relieved. This would usually be where he'd let go of Linda awkwardly, but she seems reluctant to let go right now and he doesn't want her to sink again. He squints through the mist, but it still seems like it's just the two of them and the camera.]

Gotta be a better way to do this.

[Without knowing what they're looking for, though? It'll be difficult.]
ewestmarch: (sly)

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-15 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[Emilia is after her, skirts hiked up to climb. After a moment, the golem comes too, barreling through branches.]

Wonder if the witch is home.
ratkicker: (disgusted)

[personal profile] ratkicker 2015-03-16 04:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Who knows. [She steps aside for the golem as he comes crashing through.] But she might tell that we're coming. We'll have to prepare for a fight.
ewestmarch: (hmmm)

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-16 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't think we have time for subtlety anyway.

[She uses her golem's elbow as a step and climbs to perch on its shoulder. Keeps it moving, towards the light.]

What firepower do you have?
domesheriff: (Confusion)

[personal profile] domesheriff 2015-03-17 12:52 am (UTC)(link)
[Linda, on the other hand, is too busy looking at Boone--specifically, his feet] How did you get this close without getting pulled in too?

[confused but feeling safe enough to test this while still holding onto him, she lifts her feet, testing the ground around her. between her relief and her curiosity, she isn't sinking now. she taps a boot at the wet ground, letting go of him at last] This doesn't make sense...
thumbsdown: (not out here for nature walks)

[personal profile] thumbsdown 2015-03-17 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
I dunno.

[It was probably a stupid thing to do, to go in and just grab her like that. He didn't know what else to do though, and it was either that or watch her sink. He'll take a reckless decision over watching someone die when he could have done something to help. When Linda lets go of him he takes a step back, and pokes at the mud with the toe of his boot.]

Huh.

[He's not sinking for pretty much the same reasons as Linda, though he's still wary. He doesn't trust the ground not to try swallowing them again, but now that it seems firmer he's not as worried as he was when he couldn't lift his feet. He grunts, then looks around them again with a disapproving frown.]

If it wasn't a goddamn swamp, I'd say someone was messing with us.

[But swamps can't actively mess with people. At least, he doesn't think they can.]
ratkicker: (disgusted)

[personal profile] ratkicker 2015-03-17 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
Just my staff. But I've fought hundreds of aliens before. I think I can handle one witch.
ewestmarch: (hmmm)

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-19 07:42 am (UTC)(link)
Mage?

[A mage would be ideal. Otherwise a staff is just a stick.]

Besides the witch. The creepers could catch up when they're done eating Niko.
ratkicker: (serious talking)

[personal profile] ratkicker 2015-03-19 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Me? No, those don't exist where I'm from. But I'm fast and good at avoiding hits. Most of the time I hide and crawl through places and only fight when I have to. But that's why I always go with a heavy-hitter.

[With the golem, they might just be covered.]

What can you do?
ewestmarch: (darkness)

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-19 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a mage.

[It's not quite true - she was never licensed, but no one here has the resources to check. "Hedge wizard" isn't a term she likes.

The geometric lines of a building can be seen ahead in the gloom, and Emilia narrows her eyes.]


There. Do you see that, or is it an illusion?
ratkicker: (serious talking)

[personal profile] ratkicker 2015-03-20 02:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh, good. Emilia can actually do decent long-range attacks.

Jade slows her pace to get a steadier view up ahead.
]

Looks real to me. Let's stay hidden incase someone is really in there.
ewestmarch: (hmmm)

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-20 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[Emilia shoots a look over her shoulder at the golem. She could cast invisibility on him or...

She looks back at Jade.]


How quietly can you move? ...Whatever your name is.
domesheriff: (Holding Back)

[personal profile] domesheriff 2015-03-21 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
[it was, but since it worked, she's not going to complain. she frowns at his words, though] Yeah... [she pauses] You don't think...there could be something in the swamp?

[it's the best she can think of for an explanation without giving sentience to a swamp. she eyes the mud again, and as her fear rises, her boots start to slip into that mud just a little bit. she takes a few hurried--but wet--steps backward, but it doesn't help] Boone! It's changing again!
thumbsdown: (you don't wanna do that)

[personal profile] thumbsdown 2015-03-21 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
In the swamp?

[He's not sure what Linda means. He doesn't get too long to think about it though before Linda is sinking again. He's still okay as far as he knows, so he takes her arm and starts to hurry her over towards a dead tree.]

Here, hold onto this.

[The branches are thick and sturdy, even if the tree has been dead for some time. It should keep them from sinking too much.]
ratkicker: (serious talking)

[personal profile] ratkicker 2015-03-21 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Jade. [She shoots Emilia a quick, unimpressed look.]

I sneaked into three military bases back home and got out safe. Think that's enough?
ewestmarch: (light)

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-21 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Better hope so.

[She rolls a spell between her hands - clear blue light, smooth, with no sparks or crackles.]

This will give you thirty seconds of invisibility. Can you get in closer and look in the window?
ratkicker: (heroic)

[personal profile] ratkicker 2015-03-22 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Now? [She turns to the house and makes a dash for the sole window in the hut. In one easy movement, Jade jumps over a final log, rolls, and ends up crouched next to the window. It takes a second for her to remember that she's invisible, so it's safe to look straight inside.

The place is empty inside, apart from the mess of chairs, herbs, and bottles. There's no one to be seen, though, and Jade takes her time to go back to the rest of the group.
]

I didn't see anyone in there. But there's a ton of stuff inside. Think we should head in anyway?
ewestmarch: (stare)

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-22 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Not until - shit!

[Jade takes off, and Emilia launches the spell after her - it seems to consume Jade, but the telltale footfalls make her possible to track if not exactly easy.]

I don't know that we've got other options. Where's the door?
ratkicker: (serious talking)

[personal profile] ratkicker 2015-03-23 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Jade nods. Actual sneaking is something she does well.] I think it's on the other side. There might be someone out there, so we still have to be careful.
ewestmarch: (stare)

[personal profile] ewestmarch 2015-03-24 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
I can't hide all three of us.

[She glances back at the abomination, who is still craning his neck back towards where they left Niko.]

Go in with swords drawn? Figuratively.

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