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 Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:02 pm
The splitting up of the two groups meant that Nyosh and Dinah, on the shorter route and moving faster, got well ahead of the group of riders.
Nyosh and Nyossk noticed the bodies first, most likely from experience and the recent, but not overpowering, smell of death. Several yards ahead of them, the still, bloody forms of several tunnel snakes lay sprawled across the hallway, a cracked open storeroom door suggesting where they had come from. The corpses looked as if they had been cut apart, almost ripped, by something very sharp. Obviously, a hard-fought battle had occurred here sometime earlier in the night, and the tunnel snakes had not slithered away victorious. As for their competition, however, there was no sign, except for the deep, fatal wounds on the snakes.
((The other group will, eventually, either come upon these remains or will be told about them by Nyosh. The groups have to meet back up eventually, after all. XD So nobody panic about missing an important clue or anything.))
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:43 pm
Nyosh gave her wher a moment to be as excited as the young green. A simple click called her back to the task at hand. They would never find anything just standing around gallivanting. Sending the wher ahead of them, she followed down the tunnel. The sounds had faded and left not a clue. Nyosh wondered if the whers would be able to pick anything up now. She still had to check. Down and down they went; the feeling that something wasn't right started to nag at her.
Nyossk was very pleased to have wher company. She gave a gentle head touch to Dinahsk. Then her handler reminded her of her job. With a chirp she turned her green snout in the correct direction. It was fun roaming the halls, then something pinged on her senses. She knew that smell. She experienced it every time she made a kill. Nyossk tossed her head back and churrruped at Nyosh to send the alert.
There was something off. Nyosh couldn't quite place her finger on it. A smell tickled her nose just as Nyossk sounded her alert. It was then, she realized that she was smelling blood. "Dinah, watch out. Be on alert there's something ahead." She warned her companion then moved closer. Her wher approached the tunnel snakes first to confirm their death. Satisfied she allowed Nyosh to approach.
"Tunnel snakes. Badly ripped into too. No sign of what might have caused it." Nyosh moved around to look for further clues. Had the fight been what they'd heard? What could have been small enough to fit into the halls and yet strong enough to take on several tunnel snakes? Had whatever it been been alone or in a group? She frowned as she considered these questions.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:54 pm
"Actually, I think it might be good for Dinahsk to have someone to follow - a good example, you know? If you and Nyossk don't mind," the younger handler had answered. Maybe that was what her growing wher needed, an example to follow...although by all appearances, Nyossk wasn't much for aggression, either. But she was a mining wher, wasn't she? Dinah tried to recall for sure as they headed through the tunnels.
Dinahsk was equally pleased, making a series of quiet, cheerful noises as she padded alongside her fellow wher and scented for clues. When Nyossk sensed something, she paused to consider and process the smell for herself, and when the other was allowed to approach, she looked to Dinah for permission to do the same. Once that had been given, she trotted over to investigate, too.
"...huh. Something sure doesn't like tunnelsnakes." The woman frowned. "Not that anybody likes tunnelsnakes. Any ideas what got them?" Could they tell from how they'd been killed?
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:13 pm
Nyosh nodded. It was fine with her if it helped them feel better. She thought Dinahsk was already a pretty sweet wher, but reenforcing it couldn't hurt.
Nyossk looked up as her fellow wher joined her. Lots of nasty snisks(snakes). Nyosh wanted to know who had done it. Did she smell anything besides the snisks? She also looked around for possible heat residues or sources. With the two of them, surely they could find anything that had been left.
The handler gave a soft laugh. "Neither do I or Nyossk. We could check the storage room where they came from too. Other than being in pieces, no not really." Nyosh reluctantly admitted. "I don't think I've ever seen wounds like these before. It is possible if you know what animal can cause what kind of wound." She smiled reassuringly at Dinah.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:39 am
“Ah, thank you Kindra,” F’itz nodded his thanks and accepted the glow, lifting it up to light the way ahead of the group and wishing that the wherhandlers had remained with them. As Brynja apologised he gave another small nod.
Brumath cut in once more, and then turned his mind back to the blue. If she was to be a leader one day she would need to learn strength... but now was not the time.
A short while later F’itz picked up the sound of voices up ahead, sounded as though the twists and turns of Benden’s halls had brought them up beside the wherhandlers again. F’itz lowered the glow and held it behind his back to save the wher’s eyes, quickening his pace as he saw that the pair were inspecting something on the ground.... Those were very dead tunnelsnakes. Very dead indeed.
Brumath predicated with an uneasy hum.
F’itz admonished with a shudder, It was very unlikely that there was some kind of crazed killer lurking in the storeroom no matter what Brumath said. Brumath was always full of crazy theories, after all.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:28 am
K'en had to admit, he was rather relieved when the older brownrider showed up to join the group. It was far less of a risk to be wandering around with someone older and more experience than simply on their own like this.
Stromath, meanwhile, had been calmly listening to Tyeth's reply when the older rider had shown up. The fool; capability was not the sole factor related to safety. Surely their previous Weyrwoman had been quite capable, but look at what had become of her. The brownrider's presence is most welcome, however, I'll still have to disagree with your prior points. Nevertheless, the issue is now passed. The bronze had no real preference now as to whether they stayed or returned to their room and left the decision up to his bonded.
After a moment of consideration, K'en decided that it may be best for them to see this through to the end. He'd never hear the end of it from his brother if he didn't, and as it was the other was already going to be upset with him for not having woken him up to bring him along. He and Stromath joined in the defensive ring around Kindra at the older rider's suggestion, and together they all cautiously pressed onward.
The joke of the knife being dragged along the wall really was in poor taste, and neither the Weyrling nor the dragonet approved. K'en blinked however at the question from N'mol. "Ah, no, not at the moment." Though he still didn't care for the moans even the slightest. It couldn't be a sign of anything good.
... There is death up ahead, Stromath said quietly to His as their group came closer to some voices, just shortly before F'itz's glow shed light on the situation.
K'ens eyes widened in shock. What?!? Who-- oh, tunnel snakes. K'en let out a very soft sigh of relief. Please be more specific next time. I thought you meant a person.
My apologies. I will keep that in mind.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:37 am
If Kindra was inclined to shriek like a frightened girl, she'd not shown it yet, she would have been highly indignant if she'd heard the exchange between Brumath and Larth. As they walked she'd loosened her tight grip on N'mol, her arm only loosely entwined with his once more, the hand holding the knife was white at the knuckles though. She pointedly ignored Brynja, determined not to let the girl's tall tales make her more nervous than she already was.
She almost groaned as she realised they'd caught up with the wherhandlers.... that was until her eyes moved down to what they'd stopped for and were looking at "Tunnelsnakes?" she said with a disgusted tone, "Did your Whers do that?" she asked. She looked up at the older rider just in time to catch his shudder and she wondered just what he and his dragon were talking about.
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Rhiannon Chandra rolled 1 100-sided dice:
9
Total: 9 (1-100)
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:05 am
"Whatever it was, we missed it," N'mol commented to K'en as he looked over the ripped up tunnel snakes. At least the bodies were all still in one piece, even if some rather nasty stuff was spilling out of one of them. He checked Kindra's face to make sure she was holding up all right, but her words soothed that concern. Not that it had ever particularly been a concern, but it was... a thought.
"I don't think it was their whers," N'mol replied to Kindra. "They aren't bloody and they haven't been here that long." He met Dinah's eyes. "Right?"
((Errybody rooooooooolllllll!))
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:05 am
Larth pointed out grumpily. He had conceded! Told his rider to quiet down and she had apologised. Why was the other dragon bringing it up again when it was over and done with? The blue disliked the implicit criticism of his rider and himself, and was immediately put on the defensive by it. He wasn't particularly impressed with the way Dezima spent a moment clinging to him (why him?!), which made Brynja feel rather guilty - even if she didn't care for Kindra, she didn't want to scare her friend completely. not squeaking and clinging over shadows and jokes>
Brynja snapped, with a worried glance at F'itz. He was going to get them into trouble, arguing with a grown-up like that. please be quiet>
Larth said, irritation practically seeping out of him. Reaching out for Brumath again, he added another sulky (although somewhat more apologetic, if only barely)
"Oh! Oh, eew!" Brynja exclaimed as they came back upon the wherhandlers. Where'd the tunnelsnakes come from, anyway? Didn't they keep firelizards or something to get rid of creatures like that? "Did your whers take care of them?" she echoed Kindra, not entirely intentionally. "They're huge!" She was going to start off on some sort of tangent about enormous tunnelsnakes that ate people whole, and had to be appeased and made docile with milk to stop them preying on innocent cotholds before remembering and cutting herself off before she could get a word out.
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Concinnity Blaise rolled 1 100-sided dice:
47
Total: 47 (1-100)
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:06 am
[oops, posted at the same time XD *rolls*]
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Meepfur rolled 1 100-sided dice:
61
Total: 61 (1-100)
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:43 am
Dinahsk was just about mouth one of the pieces of tunnelsnake when the sound of voices reached her. She spun to face them, alerting her handler with excitement. The other people were back! But Dinah was anything but enthused to see them again, or at least the goldrider. Too bad she hadn't gotten lost yet. There was another one, after all....
Her lips twitched as she tried to control her expression, and she looked at the young bronzerider to answer him rather than Kindra. "Right. They were like this when we got here, Dinahsk and Nyossk didn't touch them."
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Revel1984 rolled 1 100-sided dice:
87
Total: 87 (1-100)
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:56 am
Kindra drew her lips tighter when N'mol told her it wasn't the whers "What could it have been then? another wherhandler pair?" she offered. Her stomach turned a little at the sight of the Tunnelsnakes insides... on their outsides but she'd been feeding Suunath large bloody chunks of meat so much lately, she'd forced herself to cope with the less...pleasant side of things.
She glanced at Brynja when the girl seemed to be a little discomorted by the sight and she realised that the girl was quite a few turns younger than herself, despite her annoyance at her Kindra felt a little sorry for her, it wasn't every day you came across torn up bodies of very large tunnelsnakes.
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Kyrieko rolled 1 100-sided dice:
34
Total: 34 (1-100)
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:44 am
"I'm sorry." Dezima whispered to Brynja when she had herself under slightly more control. She hadn't meant to cling to Larth and Microth like so. But...the story...the girl shuddered and kept close to her dragon, though the two did move in to form the circle around Kindra. Dezima wasn't sure how she felt about this currently, but did understand the importance of the goldrider. Even if she wasn't doing a good job at holding her tongue when it came to snapping at people. But at least the bronzerider had to deal with her the most.
Mine, there seems to be something up ahead. Microth informed Hers in the sweet, soft tones of hers. She didn't know what it was, but the brownrider was picking up his pace to quickly go investigate. And the wher pairs were just up ahead. At least she thought that's who it was. The green sent Larth a friendly sort of feeling to try and cheer him up.
Dezimine! There are dead things. Tunnelsnakes.
What?! "Eeeew!" She echoed after Brynja when she got a look at what everyone else was seeing. That was an icky mess. And they were saying it hadn't been the wher's? Oh shardit! Then...what had it been? Dezima shivered and leaned against Microth - both in an attempt to get away from the dead tunnelsnakes and for comfort.
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elfgurl1234 rolled 1 100-sided dice:
76
Total: 76 (1-100)
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:51 am
"So it would seem," K'en replied to N'mol's remark, though once again he wasn't entirely sure that he wish to know what 'it' was. Perhaps it'd been injured in the battle with the tunnel snakes, hence the current mysterious moans? Seemed entirely possible. He remained silent as the other spoke with the wherhandlers and speculated on what it might have been. They'd likely be finding out the truth soon enough.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:52 am
Be careful, N'molmine. This situation requires delicacy, Tyeth advised, having been keeping sharp track of the events since it was too late for him to accompany his rider now, although everyone else had brought their lifepartners. No matter. Suunath had also not attended, so it wasn't as if staying comfortably in the weyr had impeded him in any way but seeing the sights first-hand. He readjusted his head to rest it on his forelegs, like a rather large canine, though he likely wouldn't have approved of such a comparison.
I know, N'mol replied to his lifepartner before returning his attention to Kindra.
"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted to Kindra. "Whatever it was has moved on, but I'm guessing that it's still alive, since it doesn't seem as if these tunnel snakes killed each other."
"Maybe we should keep moving." He looked up at F'itz. "If whatever killed these is hostile in general, it could be something we need to find sooner rather than later."
After the expected short debate, the group would eventually decide to move on. As the group proceeded down the tunnel, Dezima suddenly had an idea of what Kindra might have heard earlier. The sound of scraping, much louder now, drifted back to the group from somewhere close, although it seemed that Dezima was the first to hear it. The cause of the sound sounded big, whatever it was. Suddenly, Brynja's story about a giant man-eating tunnel snake wouldn't seem so far-fetched.
((You're welcome to rp out the argument, or just rp them moving along until Dezima tells them about the sound, or makes them all listen for it or what have you, I just needed to get the clue in there. wink
Edit: You guys got posts in while I was typing! Lol I figured no one else was coming. Edited to reflect the change in roll-winner.))
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