Wasteland

[Virid]

IC: Zavarix - the Wastes

 

Again... he thought, searching the barren landscape for whatever it was that he'd seen. The first time he'd seen movement he'd come to the conclusion that it was probably nothing, but seeing something twice was enough to put him on edge. He was tempted to return to Canus, both to inquire about the local wildlife and for protection, but thirst was far more likely to kill him than something that may not even be there. Then it suddenly occurred to him that whatever was out there could have something to do with how he'd got here, how they all got here. He tapped Jasisu on the shoulder and pointed in the direction the movement had come from, trying to indicate that he was going to go that way. He would have to head back soon and the idea of being out in the desert at night was not a pleasant one, but he couldn't let go of the idea that there was something waiting to be found out there. So he began to walk in the direction of what was most likely no more than a figment of his imagination.

 

 

IC: Keristary - the Wastes

 

Her fingers collided with something hard and smooth and she looked down in shock, a burst of colour flashing across her armour. She had not been paying attention to her digging, nor had she expected to find anything, so the sensation of something other than sand was unexpected, but her shock was instantly replaced with joy. Finally... she thought, digging at the sand around whatever it was she'd found, searching for its edge.

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Hanari

"Well, uh...lets see." She pulled her sword free of the mound of sand she had made at the dune's base, turning to observe the result of her efforts.

 

Seemed her instincts were on-point, multiple bits and pieces--what, she couldn't tell-- stuck out. With a smile, she nodded.

"Something, at least." She crawled up to the biggest one, scraping away the sand to unveil it.

[FallenCor]

IC Mina - The Wastes:

"Hopefully," she replied distractedly, then handed the metal spikes to Fulmen, who had volunteered to take them back up to the plateau. The Av-Matoran watched him leave, and continued to keep an eye on him until he was safely back in the village. The three of them would figure out what to do with the spikes later.

"Let's try over there," she said to Hekua, pointing with her staff to a small lump of a hill about half a kio to the East. There was also a figure over in that direction whom Mina was sure she recognized. Perhaps Aurelius? It would certainly be nice if she could introduce Hekua to one of Canus's more amiable villagers. Whoever it was, she offered a friendly wave.

[Nato G]

IC: Aurelius - The Wastes.

 

The glint of metal reflecting in the sunlight caught his eye, and Aurelius turned to see another pair of Matoran in the distance. He returned the wave, and began heading towards them. 

[Tarn]

IC: (Hekua)

​"Who's that?" she asked, waving back just to be nice.

[FallenCor]

IC Mina - The Wastes:

"That's Aurelius," she replied. "We've only spoken a few times, but he's really nice. I think you'll like him."

Mina turned to meet the Fe-Matoran and smiled. "Morning, Aurelius. How are things?"

[Nato G]

IC: Aurelius - The Wastes. 

 

"Haven't found anything yet," he answered, stopping before the duo, "Have you two had better luck?" 

[FallenCor]

IC Mina - The Wastes:

She shrugged. "A few small pieces of metal, but that's about it. Oh! and this is Hekua." Mina nodded to the Onu-Matoran. "She arrived here yesterday evening, so I'm showing her the ropes."

[Nato G]

IC: Aurelius - The Wastes.

 

"Ah, one of the new arrivals," he tried to keep the unbidden distaste from his voice, "Welcome to the wasteland." 

[Tarn]

IC: (Hekua)

​"Thanks, I appreciate it," she responded dryly.

[FallenCor]

IC Mina - The Wastes:

Glancing between Aurelius and Hekua for a rather awkward three seconds, Mina cleared her throat as nonchalantly as possible and continued, addressing the former, "Well, we don't want to keep you from your work. It was nice talking to you!" She smiled and gave a small, polite nod, then resumed her original course for the hill she had pointed out to Hekua. Inwardly she chided herself for her feeble attempt at small talk. Aurelius was clearly in no mood to interact with newcomers -- or perhaps she was reading too much into it. Either way, she didn't want to press her luck and spoil potential friendships for Hekua. The veterans would need time to adjust to the presence of the new arrivals.

[Nato G]

IC: Aurelius - The Wastes.

 

"Good luck," he waved farewell, and turned back the way he'd come. He hadn't meant to come across as rude, but the conversation he'd had with Agonos yesterday still weighed heavily on his mind.

[Eyru]

IC

The Queen crossed her legs and stretched out one hand; a crude ring glittered from one finger, catching what little light shone from the torches ensconced at various points in the room. She sighed.

 

"Is that so, Matoran?"

 

She refused to look Elara in the eye, instead fixing her gaze on her ring. "Does anyone ever think, perhaps, that I grow tired of granting favours? Does anyone care about what I want?"

 

The Toa sniffed, then finally turned her gaze from her ring to look at Takava. "Taka. Go and tell those scavengers that our deal is off. No more water. No more favours. I think I'll retire. I'll watch the desert from my window and laugh at the terrible poetry of it all."

 

Takava nodded serenely, as though he had heard this speech more than once. "Yes, Your Highness. Although it would be a shame to gather no more artifacts from the sands, wouldn't it?"

 

The Queen fluttered her fingers. "A shame, yes, but no more. I have enough as it is."

 

"No more carvings," her henchman continued. "No more machinery. No more masks. If I'm not mistaken, that golden mask you wear was found in the Wastes..."

 

The room fell silent. The Queen's eyes widened, and she lowered her hand to grip the armrest of her throne. Her gaze fell upon Elara.

 

"Yes," she whispered. "The mask. The golden mask. Where is it?"

 

She laid her hand upon the cheek of her mask. "I have it. But where is the other one? Where did it fall? Do you have it, Matoran? Did you bring it to me?"

 

 

IC

Jasisu looked out over the desert in the direction of Kavarix's pointing finger, and frowned. "What are you pointing at?" she said. "I don't see anythi-"

 

Her words were cut short as something vast and strange erupted from the sand. The pair of Matoran could only stand on shock as an enormous worm plated in chitinous armour pulled itself from the sand with a screech that seemed to drive the warmth from their bones. The creature rose at least fifty feet above the ground before it began to dive back towards them head-first, its head pulling apart to reveal an immense mouth of spiked, bone-white teeth.

 

IC

As Keristary began to clear the sand from around the edges of the object she'd found, she was interrupted by a terrifying sound that echoed across the desert.

 

IC

Uri followed Hanari's example and began to help her to scrape away the sand. Within a few a minutes, they had amassed a small pile of metal scrap. As Uri turned to congratulate his companion on her find, he was cut short by a loud, unearthly scream.

 

 

OOC There is now an enormous worm-like creature in the Wastes. Hide, fight, or run and hope the monster can't scale the cliffs... it's up to you.

[Nato G]

IC: Elara - The Tower.

 

She stood there for a moment, blinking in surprise. "I...uh..." Had the Queen really just denied any further trade with Canus? Without water, the populace would likely die out within days. And the other villagers would probably blame Elara for it.

 

"Wait, a mask?" She dug the carving out and held it up for the Queen to see, "Like this?" 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

IC: Aurelius - The Wastes.

 

The Fe-Matoran had been in the process of scaling another dune when the worm's shriek had resounded across the sandy plains. He broke into a run, dashing for the top of the dune and searching for the source of the sound. 

 

From his vantage point, he could see something immense churning its way through the sand a kio or two away. He'd been in Canus for longer than some, but he'd never seen anything even remotely like this before. How could the inhospitable terrain of the Wastes even support a creature of this size?

 

Aurelius was no coward, but even at this distance, he knew there was little he could do against a monster of such magnitude. So he did what any sensible person would do - turned around and started running for home. 

[Tarn]

IC: (Hekua)

​As the two headed to their next location, Hekua gazed out over the sands. For a second, she wondered if she was just seeing things.
​"M-Mina...what is that?"
​She pointed at the giant worm-creature, as its horrible screech pierced the air.

[FallenCor]

IC Mina - The Wastes:

Mina stopped dead when a terrible screech tore the air, and looked to see what Hekua was pointing at. "Nothing good," she breathed in response, her shocked expression turning to horror. "Run!"

She instinctively grabbed the Onu-Matoran's arm and pelted for the village... which probably wasn't a good idea, considering that the creature could very well follow them back to the others. Mina realized this and glanced about as she ran, trying desperately to find someplace the two of them could hide.

[Tarn]

IC: (Hekua)

​The Onu-Matoran glanced over her shoulder as Mina pulled her along, half-expecting the creature to rise out of the sand and engulf the two of them. She looked ahead of them. There wasn't really anywhere to hide in the wastes, and the village was so far.
What are we gonna do?

[Endless Sea (Alaki Nuva)]

IC: Kuur- Outskirts of Canus

 

When he heard the scream, Kuur was close enough to the village he could make out some of the Matoran just inside the gates.  The sound was distant, and to any other it would have been little more than a faint echo, but Kuur was De-Matoran, and the wasteland was empty, and so even something so quiet rattled his mind and arrested his journey.

 

He halted his approach and looked back at the sands he had left behind, his tracks still visible in the dust.  What in the world...?

Edited June 14, 2016 by Endless Sea (Alaki Nuva)

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Hanari

As if on reflex, Hanari drew her sword, her grip tight and the muscles in her arm ready to swing at any moment as she sat it against her shoulder.

"So, uh, I have the sword and you have two hands. If we want to book it home, I don't suppose you could carry the scrap?" She suggested, turning to face the source of the noise.

"Unless, uh, you think we can fight whatever that is."

[Virid]

IC: Zavarix - the Wastes

 

Zavarix grabbed Jasisu by the arm and began to run, hoping they could get out of the way of the mighty beast. They barely managed to avoid the worm and the sand thrown into the air by its impact made it impossible to see. They couldn't possibly outrun the creature and they had no idea where it would appear from next. Zavarix ran what little he knew about the creature through his mind over and over, trying to work something out. It burrowed underground and had somehow known exactly where they were. With that in mind, it probably relied on vibrations to track its prey, not sight. Zavarix stood absolutely still, motioning for Jasisu to do the same, and hoped that his racing pulse wouldn't be enough to bring the beast right to them.

 

 

IC: Keristary - the Wastes

 

Keristary had just uncovered the edge of her find when a terrifying screech filled the air, seeming to resonate through every bone in her body. Her armour flashed white with fear, then turned to match the colour of the sand, making her harder to spot. She grabbed the edge of the object she'd found and yanked it out of the ground, before turning and running back in the direction of Canus without even checking what it was.

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Toku:

 

Still mulling over what to do with the glass, Toku had come within sight of Canus, when a massive worm creature burst from the sands a ways off.

 

She blinked in surprise, but a grin soon cracked across her face. A creature that size probably had enough meat to feed Canus for months. Not to mention all the other body parts that she was sure could be used for......something.

 

That in mind, she hefted her trident, and started running. Not away, like many of the others, but toward the creature.

[Ghidora131]

IC Dessimus

 

Irritated that Kuur had not responded to him earlier, he was about to give the new Matoran the 'welcoming slap-in-the-face', when a whisper of a noise reached his ear. It was faint, fainter than faint, so much so that it could easily be mistaken for someone tripping in the pathetic shamble of shacks he called home. Yet the silent, calm whistle sprung a horrible twisted nightmare inside Dessimus' soul, because no Matoran was capable of making that noise.

 

So something had sprung up on the wastes... And Maru was right next to it.

 

"Hi, welcome to Canus and all" Dessimus thundered, giving Kuur's hand a good shake and turning towards the wastes. "Now RUN!!"

[Virid]

IC: Keristary - the Wastes

 

As she ran she spotted some Matoran running away from Canus, not towards it. Was whatever had made the noise between them and the settlement? Keristary skidded to a halt, unsure where to go. She turned on the spot, unsheathing her knife.

[Eyru]

IC

The Queen reached for Elara's stone, then snapped her hand back like it was a live snake. "No, you foolish thing! The mask! I need the mask. The mask..."

 

Her voice trailed off as she gazed at the stone, mouth hanging slightly open. A long moment of silence passed before she spoke again, more cordial this time.

 

"Where did you find this, Matoran?"

 

 

IC

Uri obeyed Hanari's suggestion without question, doing his best to hold on to his spade while gathering their meagre load of scrap in his arms.

 

"No," he said as he turned and began to run. "Can't fight. Don't try."

 

IC

A sword glittered in Keristary's hand as she ran -at least, it had once been a sword. Now it was just a hilt with half a foot of jagged, rusty metal sticking out.

 

IC

As Matoran ran to and fro, Maru was doing his best to establish order.

 

"Go," Maru yelled at one of the nearby villagers. "Drop yer scrap! Run!" The Matoran obeyed, leaving his small heap of metal on the sand as he ran for the cliffs. 

 

Maru pulled his spear off his back. The idea of fighting the worm made him sick, and he was pretty sure the battle would end with him dead, but he would sooner give his breath to the sands than give one of his people to this thing.

 

IC

Perhaps Zavarix was right about the worm's senses -but Jasisu either didn't hear him or was too scared to listen. The Matoran ran wildly for the cliffs, hoping to make it up and out before the worm surfaced again, but her escape was cut short as the sand began to tremble. She fought to stay on her feet, but then the sand erupted and she fell, with a short, piercing shriek, into the creature's maw. The worm soared over Zavarix before diving back into the desert, sprinkling the Matoran with sand and drops of his friend's blood.

 

 

OOC Jasisu is dead.

[Nato G]

IC: Elara - Throne Room.

 

"The Wastes, out beyond where the other villagers usually look," she answered carefully, "I could probably guide you back to the spot, if you want?"

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

IC: Aurelius - The Wastes.

 

Reaching the plateau, he slung his sword and shield across his back alongside what meagre loot he'd already managed to gather, and began to climb. Hopefully the creature wasn't able to scale the cliffs... 

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Toku:

 

The Po-Matoran skidded to a stop in shock. Now closer, she had a much better idea of the creature's size. Able to swallow a Matoran whole.

 

 

 

 

 

Forget a few months, properly preserved, a creature like that could feed Canus for at least a year.

 

 

Not to mention it could very well destroy the settlement.

 

She stuck her trident in the sand. She was still a ways off. She pulled the glass from her pocket, and held it to her face, pulling it away slightly to magnify the scene. She wanted a better look at the creature, come up with a plan.

[Virid]

IC: Zavarix - the Wastes

 

Zavarix stood still, petrified. He looked down at his hand, now covered in droplets of blood, and began to shake uncontrollably. Thankfully his stomach was already empty. Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice told him he needed to move. The worm was underground once more, but it could resurface at anytime and probably already knew where he was. Forcing his legs to obey him, he began to run.

 

 

IC: Keristary - the Wastes

 

Slightly calmer now that she had stopped to think, Keristary finally examined the object in her hand. It was a sword, or part of one at least. With the sword in one hand and her knife in the other, she felt confident enough to return her armour to its original colour.

[Endless Sea (Alaki Nuva)]

IC: Kuur- Outskirts of Canis

 

shouting

 

why is there shouting

 

there is a person here why is there a person here where did he come from why is he shouting it hurts my ears it HURTS

 

why is he shouting please go awaPHYSICAL CONTACT GET AWAY GET AWAY GET AWAY

 

Recoiling, frightened, Kuur wrenched his arm out of his attacker's grip and lashed out with a solid punch.

 

OOC: Most people get angry when they get shouted at and grabbed without warning.  Kuur's reactions... tend to be a bit more drastic.

 

EDIT: Since apparently it wasn't clear, Kuur tried to punch Dessimus the very moment Dessimus tried to grab his arm.  Kuur's not the kind of guy to just let that happen, even for a moment.

Edited June 16, 2016 by Endless Sea (Alaki Nuva)

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Hanari

The worm resurfaced, off in the distance.

 

And a Matoran vanished.

 

"Yeah, uh, I can agree with that thought." She nodded, following behind, keeping a tight grip on her sword.

Woe betide anyone who thought to fight that thing.

 

"Quick question, how is Canus safer than here? Wouldn't the mass of people draw it to the village?"

[Timageness]

IC: Dastad - Canus

 

Upon hearing the screech and the cries of villagers in the distance, Dastad quickly placed the lid back onto his canteen and ventured outside to get an idea of just what exactly was going on.

Stopping at the edge of the cliff and looking down, he was confronted by the sight of Matoran scrambling madly back up towards the village, desperately fleeing from some yet unseen threat. Directing his gaze back out towards the Wastes and squinting his eyes due to the sun, it wasn't long for him to realise precisely what they were running from, despite the distance rendering him unable to determine it's exact size, though if he had to hazard a guess, the creature was unlikely to simply let it's prey escape it's territory without giving chase.

And unfortunately, it's new source of food was heading directly towards Canus.

So much for my day off...

While initially tempted to gather up as much as he could to start throwing over the side in an effort to knock them all back down, leaving them all to the mercy of the beast in the hope that it would be too preoccupied to even notice the ramshackle settlement, he knew that the backlash he could potentially face in the aftermath of such an incident was nowhere near worth the risk, and would likely jeopardise his relative safety within the village... provided that there was still a village left to live in afterwards, that is. Instead, he fixed his eyes on a certain point in the distance, readying himself to move should the creature reemerge in the distance between it and the bottom of the plateau.

Whether or not it could climb it's way up, however, he wasn't going to simply leave to chance; by the time it arrived, he planned on being long gone, having rushed back to his abode and dug up his stash of scrap before leaving the area entirely. During one of his visits to the Queen's Tower, he had stumbled across the entrance to a small enclosed cave, and, after checking whether or not anything happened to be living inside it, proceeded to barricade the entrance with rocks with the intention of using it as a fallback shelter in the event that his current arrangements in Canus took a turn for the worse. He hadn't told anyone of its existence, of course, as that would've defeated the purpose of having it in the first place, nor did he intend to, as charity just wasn't in his nature. His main goal, after all, was to always look out for himself above any other, and he had no reason to go passing out invitations to a potential sanctuary that was barely large enough for him to reside in anyway.

His only concern was that something else had moved in on him since his last visit, but considering the current situation, it was a relatively minor one, and he was simply too wrapped up watching the scene play itself out at the moment to truly care.

I'm not going to be your meal, Slag-Breath. Come on... pass that rock. I dare you.

[Ghidora131]

IC Dessimus

 

By the time Kuur had hit him, Dessimus had his back turned and was thoroughly distracted in taking off running to care. Better as well, for Dessimus might have decided to cleave his hand off for it.

 

Unable to run in the deep sand, Dessimus resorted to a heavy tread, trying to ignore the sand splashing against his knees.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Ghidora131

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

IC: Rihka [Canus]

Rihka rolled over lazily, she'd had another dreamless night, ominous, for she was usually so vivid in sleep. She stretched her bony arms and legs before rising to her feet, through the slits and cracks in her wall, she could see beams of sunlight pouring from the wasteland outside...

 

wait, sun?

 

Rihka shrieked in frustration,

 

"ya shoulda woke me up on time!" the s###### matoran snapped to the thin air, where three to four metallic insects lazily hummed in circles, seemingly ignoring her.

 

"now I gotta work extra hard, and I hope yer all happy about that!" she huffed, and she stepped out into Canus, Rihka lived in one of the far corners of the small settlement, a decently secluded and forgettable place unless you were looking for it, and people of that description were far and few,

 

"stupid~" she continued hissing at either her parasites or herself, as she neared the town's gate, it was a decent way from sunrise, so she knew she'd have to really hustle if she wanted to get anything from the wastes today,

 

at that point, she heard a shriek, not the scream of a matoran in trouble, but the monstrous screeching of some abominable horror,

 

Rihka whipped in the direction of the sound, "What in the name of the Mother is going on??"

 

OOC: (first post so pardon my rust, Rihka is Open to Interact and also inquiring)

[Virid]

IC: Zavarix - the Wastes

 

Zavarix didn't know where the monster was now, but he couldn't return to Canus due to the risk of it following him. Of course it was possible that it would be unable to make it up the cliff, but once it knew where they were it was unlikely to give up. So he ran parallel to the cliff, selfishly hoping that the worm had gone after someone else, or better yet had already returned to wherever it came from.

 

 

IC: Keristary - the Wastes

 

Fairly confident that the beast was not between her and Canus, she made a beeline for the cliff, planning on getting back alive and with her prize. The sword she'd found should be worth enough water to keep her alive until whatever had appeared in the wastes had disappeared again, though how much water she received was entirely dependant on the Blue Queen's mood...

[Eyru]

IC

The Queen's lip wrinkled in distaste at Elara's suggestion. "No. I do not venture into the desert." The last word twisted itself out of her mouth, carrying the weight of all her regal pride. "I will remain. You will return, Matoran, and bring what you find."

 

She extended a hand. "Give it to me."

 

IC

Toku's glass wasn't perfect, but it acted as a sort of telescope, allowing her to get a better look at the creature as it sailed over the sand. It was covered in segmented scales of chitinous armour, each piece locked tight to the next. Its mouth gaped open, revealing long spikes of bone that could easily rip through flesh and bone. It screamed once more as it entered the ground, sending up a spout of sand as it burrowed out of sight.

 

IC

As the worm vanished underground, Zavarix began to run. Each footstep seemed to echo louder and longer than it should have; his fear magnified his vulnerability. But the worm did not reappear... yet.

 

IC 

Uri and Hanari reached the cliffs and began to climb the steep path.

 

"The plateau," he gasped as he climbed. "Not sand. Don't think. It can dig."

 

IC 

Maru watched the worm vanish beneath the sand, his spear at the ready. At the very least, he hoped to buy enough time for his people to escape.

[Nato G]

IC: Elara - The Tower.

 

"This?" She held out the stone tablet once more, "Take it," she paused for a moment, then decided to tack on a hasty, "Your majesty." 

[Ghidora131]

IC Dessimus

 

Panting heavily, Dessimus nearly crawled towards the edge of the vast wastes and peered down. The sand was sucking under, meaning something had just gone down, possibly a Matoran. But he didn't care. He scanned until he saw Maru trying to get people to leave.

 

"EVERYBODY OUT!!"

 

He thundered as hard as he could towards the desolate canyon, hoping his voice didn't die from lack of air in his lungs in case he needed to holler again. The chance that someone would hear him far off was limited, but it was worth a shot.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Ghidora131

[Virid]

IC: Zavarix - the Wastes

 

No sign of the worm. Zavarix wasn't sure whether to be joyous of the fact that it no longer seemed to be chasing him, or worried about why it was no longer chasing him. Either way, if the worm wasn't following him, then it should be safe for him to return to Canus. He doubted he'd be able to run any further, he needed water. Zavarix turned back in the direction of the settlement and began to walk, hoping someone would be kind enough to lend him some water considering he'd lost everything he'd found...

 

 

IC: Keristary - the Wastes

 

Keristary sheathed her knife, as she neared the cliff, and clutched the broken sword with both hands. Several other Matoran were making their way up the cliff already and before them stood Maru, staring into the wastes as if his spear would be enough to kill the beast. She didn't need telling twice to start making her way up, but now that safety was within reach she couldn't help picturing the monster bursting out of the sand and swallowing them all. She hoped that that wouldn't happen and that it wouldn't be able to reach Canus. And, though she would never admit it, she hoped the beast would go for someone else first.

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Hanari

"I...I suppose." Hanari would've punched herself, if her one hand wasn't clinging to the side of the cliff.

 

Unsure of her actions, Hanari followed.

[Endless Sea (Alaki Nuva)]

IC: Kuur- Outskirts of Canis

 

Kuur huddled on the ground, emitting soft, vaguely distressed-sounding noises and frantically rubbing his arm into the sand to drown out the feeling of being grabbed, alternating between hoping and fearing someone would notice him.

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Toku:

 

No obvious weakspots, save for maybe inside it's gaping maw. Toku wasn't too keen to test that theory though.

 

Still, she had to do something.

 

Pocketing the glass once more, she snatched up her trident and slid down the dune, running parallel to where the worm had gone under. 

 

And hopefully drawing it away from Canus.