Waves Of The South

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Raknar (Dajon)Raknar, meanwhile, leaned against a non-burning tree and scanned the vicinity for anything that could be creating an omnipresent flame, determined to keep his thoughts collected, calm, and, most importantly, untouched.-Teezy

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

[GM]DajonThe burning crate Song grabbed onto rose into the air. It appeared to be made of solid protodermis, something most people would consider non-flammable. It wasn't burning fast - only a small amount was gone - but there it was. On fire. The flames did not remain on the ground, but continued burning exactly as they were on the ground. No, wait... they were moving now, moving to encompass the bottom of the floating crate as well, and to burn away at it.In fact, it appeared only metal things were still burning. Crates, boxes, pieces of equipment, the skeletons of Matoran and a few Rahi...OOC: One of those is not like the others.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[ObfuscatedCubeEntity]

OOC: I'll add my response after this question is answered. Did or didn't Aclaraung pick up Myr ?

[otter]

OOC: If nobody minds, I'm just going to bunny those three over to the rest of the group by having Aclaraung carry them...If they do care, they can P.M. me and I'll edit it out. EDIT: @Myr: Welp, I've answered ye, heheh.IC-Aclaraung:Soon enough, Aclaraung had grabbed the other four, Myr, Arkrak, Doriana, and Fenrir*, bringing them back over by Song and Raknar as well, just in time to see the flames converge upon the crate again, and his reptillian eyes narrowed, air flowing quickly through his nostrils as he attempted to catch a scent other than the smokey scent of a fire, and the reek of burnt bodies."Search everything," he growled out. "I don't care how squeamish it might make you, search everything here. Leave no stone unturned." He himself proceeded to concentrate upon another crate, sending the top of it flying off and lifting any contents out, though there was nothing useful there.Again, his scent was drawn to the bodies, a couple of them near to him. He growled to himself, resolving to check them in a moment.OOC: *Seeing as I forgot about him at first.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Kal Grochi

[Krayzikk]

IC: SongSong telekinetically grabbed a piece of driftwood, long dried by the sun, and tossed it into the flames, Just metal. So what about wood?

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

[GM]DajonThe driftwood hit the metal, but did not burn.Judging by the ashes, and the lack of anything left that wasn't metal, it was more likely the entire camp was burned. Everything other than the metal had already burned down, leaving only the metal and other hardy materials.Mata-Nui, what could have caused this? None of them had ever met a Toa of Fire with this much raw power at their disposal, or this much control. And why would anybody want to kill a camp of researchers?The only thing that hinted at anything was another path at the other end of the camp.OOC: Maybe they didn't pay the rent? Or they found the Neconomicon? Or they listened to Justin Bieber CDs whilst watching Twilight and reading the second best seller on Amazon and committed ritual suicide instead of living with it?-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Krayzikk]

OOC: The second best seller involves the number fifty, doesn't it?IC: SongSong frowned, and looked back at Raknar. "There isn't much here. When the others get here, we'll check what's left of the camp, but we'll need to press on soon."She was cut off by the arrival of the others. "Speak of the devil."

Edited August 20, 2012 by Krayzikk Champion of RPGs

[otter]

IC-Aclaraung:"We've been here, Song," Aclaraung growled. "And I would not recommend you leave until you search every minute trace of evidence within this place."

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Fenrir)Fenrir, not wanting to be eaten, had allowed himself to be bullied into coming along with the other three. His curiosity quickly overcame any lingering fears he might have had. "Interesting. A targeted burn. Very rare. Whatever did this is very...very powerful. This level of elemental control is almost unheard of. We are dealing with powerful forces here. I believe phenomena like this were discussed in Raichvon's "Elements of Order". He was a bit puritanical, but his data was normally accurate...." Fenrir trailed off. The full implication of what he was saying hitting him. "Oh dear."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Raknar (Dajon)Raknar wasn't listening; he had been folding up a small piece of paper into an airplane shape, examining it for any design flaws. When he found none, he took a deep breath and tossed it into the flame.-Teezy

[Krayzikk]

IC: Song"Alright. Let's search the camp, as much as I doubt we'll find much." Song said, starting to sift through burning piles with her powers. "Assuming we don't find anything, we'll continue on."

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

OOC: Yes. And thank the lord it's only the second best. The Zelda Fans completely whooped it, putting a Zelda history book as the #1. Heh. Gamers are the best.[GM]DajonFenrir, being a scholar (OOC: He succeeded on his Knowledge [Elemental Powers] check), was more versed than his more combative companions on subjects such as applications of elemental power, based on numerous historical texts describing such abilities. Being a Toa of Fire would probably help a great deal, but their lack of having one made that more difficult.The flames were displaying numerous traits. One, they were stable. Something was keeping them going despite nobody being nearby to do so. Two, they were focused. They weren't spreading any further. Three, they were powerful. Flames able to turn metal to ash, but not melt it, were something out of a storybook.A few stories told of Toa doing things like this, but only one or two examples had not been disproved or shown as works of pure fiction from the start. Nothing that fit all of these details, though.Such musings were cut short by a paper airplane zipping through the fires. Such heat should have vaporized it, but somehow the airplane just zipped through with no harm done to it.Oh, yeah. That brought up one other thing. Flames hot enough to do this should be forcing them to stand about 10 Bio back from where they were. From a scientific stand point, this was completely impossible. Really, really impossible.The researchers in the camp were less lucky. Based on a few of the bodies being further from the camps outside, it seemed that some had tried to run. They trail of ashes... they had been running. And burning.That was a troubling thought Song was forced to put away as she began sifting through stuff. At one point, a crates lid opened, and a small amount of fine ash poured out. The interior contents were already destroyed. Everything was destroyed.OOC: Really really really really really really really really really really really impossible. I checked.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[otter]

IC-Aclaraung:"Do not only search that which is inorganic in nature," Aclaraung said. "The bodies, as well. I know none of you may like desecrating a dead body, but we must search everything for this to be considered proper."OOC: EDIT: Lev, if you're saying we should be standing a ways back, don't forget that you did allow Aclaraung the ability to dispel heat.If that's not what you're saying, meh. I hope you like your impossibilities.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Kal Grochi

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Raknar (Dajon)The paper airplane spun like a midair boomerang and landed gently in Raknar's hands, and as the Dricigil unfolded his letter and pocketed it, he cursed in frustration."Didn't think it'd be that easy..."-Teezy

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Fenrir)"A dead body is merely a deactivated machine. Nothing special about it, the mind is gone. I'll examine the bodies." Fenrir crouched down to do just that. He continued to speak, with a small note of hysteria in his voice. "Incidentally. According to the laws of reality, all of this should be impossible. The heat from the flames should have harmed us. That paper should have burned and these boxes shouldn't be turning into ash! Why, the only explanation one could draw from this is: 'the researchers found a wizard. And then he killed them.' Fancy that. And here I thought science had the answers..."

Edited August 20, 2012 by Basilisk

[Krayzikk]

IC: Song"Absolutely joyful." Song said, checking another of the corpses, having abandoned the boxes. "A wizard. Absolutely joyful."

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

OOC: That's not what I mean @ Grochi. What I'm saying is that being so close to the flames should be impossible. But somehow you're able to. They're not giving off any heat.You haven't tried touching the boxes or anything, though. Bet that will burn you but good. Observe[GM]DajonAs Fenrir observed the bodies, he made contact with the metal skeletal frame of the Matoran. As he did so, he was hit with great pain. As if he had stuck his hand in the molten lava of the Six Lights.That hurt a lot. At least he wasn't on fire.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[otter]

IC-Aclaraung:Aclaraung noticed what had happened to Fenrir, making a quick mental observation."It may seem that way to you, my good Fenrir," he said, lifting up one of the larger Rahi bodies with his mind and turning it about to examine it, "But somebody as well read as you should know that there will always be one body different from the rest...in that it really isn't a body, but it's what caused the destruction.""That is how it works, right?" He asked Song, mentally.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Fenrir)Fenrir clutched his hand and stumbled back. He also swore in roughly ten different languages, seven of them dead and one of them an obscure Zyglak dialect. The resulting mixture of curses was creative to say the least. "The bodies remain hot and...somehow, unlike the flame, they can effect objects around them." Fenrir swore again, this time in a language spoken by an old cult based off of Metru Nui. Well they had been, before they'd been destroyed.Fenrir looked at the Dragon. "Yes. That seems likely."

Edited August 20, 2012 by Basilisk

[Krayzikk]

IC: SongUsually. Song replied, her hand once more moving to Fury's handle.

[otter]

IC-Aclaraung:As Fenrir swore, Aclaraung also noticed a few of the curses from his dead languages, and furrowed his scaly brow, turning to Fenrir."...Don't say that word," Aclaraung cautioned, speaking of the last curse from the original string. "Not even a Dragon that just had its wings clipped in battle would have said that."

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Fenrir)Fenrir shrugged, his fear of being eaten or 'given a tour' of the island while held in the dragons talons vanished for a moment. "The last time I checked, I am allowed to speak as I will. There is no harm done, no one else here even knows what I said." Fenrir paused. "Though I am curious about your knowledge regarding the ceremonial language of the Tribe of the Old Depths. Only a few tablets penned in that dialect still exist. Most of them in private collections."

Edited August 20, 2012 by Basilisk

[otter]

IC-Aclaraung:"I used to know their high priest," Aclaraung said. "Or, well, I think he was the high priest. He certainly liked to command the other priests around, and they would generally listen. I managed to get a working knowledge of the language from his mind-he was a rather helpful being." Aclaraung shrugged."Maybe he was just the mayor of a small village, though. Not sure. All I do know is that he liked being in charge, and he pretty much always was."

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Fenrir)Fenrir, some time ago, would have been surprised by that. After traveling with Aclaraung however, he'd almost come to expect this. "Well, then I offer my condolences for the loss of your friend. As I understand it, the tribe they fell to, the Blood Waters, were brutal even by Zyglak standards."

[otter]

IC-Aclaraung:"Oh, he was long dead by then," Aclaraung said, waving off the condolence. "And when you reach my age, death will be an accepted phenomenon to you-It'll take somebody truly special to make you grieve." He blinked once, before slamming the body he held into a large tree at the end of the clearing in frustration, a large crack signifying that the spine hadn't just broken, but shattered due to the force as Aclaraung turned away in disgust."I'll allow you to finish with the last few bodies," he said, bending his head down to observe the flames.

[25K Now!]

IC: [Arkrak]"You know, I'd have preferred doing the Order's dirty work than deal with magic," muttered Arkrak as he crouched down, taking out his staff and prodding a dead Rahi. "I like things to be simple."

[ObfuscatedCubeEntity]

IC(Dajon): "Shall I move them as we search them?" Myr activated his mask of reanimation, and one of the bodies rose to it's feet.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

[GM]DajonThe flames danced before Aclaraung. While not vulnerable to heat, his sensitivity as a creature of fire was enough to note the metal's temperature. Something that hot should be molten, or even a gas. Instead, small pieces of the metal were flaking off. Strange. A being with this much power could have simply vaporized it all, left nothing... but they had left ash and smoke instead. They could easily have let the blaze continue and burnt down parts of the jungle if they wanted to cover everything up. Instead, they did this. Why?Myr initially found himself met with trouble, more than he would have expected. He knew enough about the masks to function to know that it required some amount of decaying life energy present for proper animation. Otherwise, you could just raise a boulder. While the flaming skeleton eventually stood, it was a harder bond to hold onto. They weren't merely dead and burning - their very life essence had been burned away.OOC: The life essence has yet to be proven by science!I wish to note that metal can, in fact, catch fire. Magnesium, for example. Bright, white fire. Metal burning is not the strange thing here, it's the fact that it's turning into ash. Since ash is mainly carbon compounds, and there isn't carbon in solid protodermis, it doesn't work. Thus, this fire is chemically changing the atoms into completely different atoms. And you guys are fighting something that can do that. Luckily, science isn't that advanced as of yet, so your characters ignorance to that is keeping them safe.Why do I keeping doing this? Because it's fun to write, for one. Also, if I just said it was magic but didn't explain what it was doing, then I would be failing my own sick and twisted mind. It has to make sense even when it doesn't.ALSO: Hurry down that path already and do cool stuff. I am now officially done explaining the pretty lights.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[ObfuscatedCubeEntity]

IC(Dajon): Myr grimaced, and released his mask's hold on the body. "Something's amiss. The bodies are more difficult to animate than they should be." Myr scowled. "What deviltry be this? It's as if the decaying life energy has been burned away."

[Krayzikk]

IC: Song"Well, I think we've ruled out finding anything here." Song said, looking toward the second path. "Which leaves one option."

[ObfuscatedCubeEntity]

IC(Dajon): "We continue down the path..."

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Fenrir)"I suppose this would be a bad time point out that whatever did this to those researchers..." Fenrir gestured to the burning skeleton. "Could quite easily do this to us? And no we're going to try to find it? Am I the only one who see's the problem with that logic?"

[ObfuscatedCubeEntity]

IC(Dajon): "You read too much. People will sometimes exaggerate the severity of a danger, either in their own mind, or in their writing. And in case you haven't noticed, most of us are warriors, not scholars, like the scientists."

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Fenrir)"Somehow I think a sword will be of little use against something that can light you on fire." Fenrir stared at Myr, that being had just seriously stated that one could read to much. Fenrir's mind immediately shifted him into the 'how does he even breath? His mind shouldn't be able to handle the stress of automatic action' category.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Basilisk

[Krayzikk]

IC: FuryWhere warriors fall, gods prevail. Fury pointed out to Fenrir.

[ObfuscatedCubeEntity]

IC(Dajon): Myr chuckled. "Scholar, you need to learn to live a little. Reading is a great source of knowledge, I'll admit, but focusing on the experience of others won't get you anywhere but behind a desk in some stuffy office. Too much reading brings worry like a thick fog at sea that never clears. There is no breeze to take you in new directions if you lock yourself into a room, mental or physical."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC: Raknar (Dajon)"Very poetic of you, Your Majesty," Raknar said, cocking his guns and advancing towards the path.-Teezy

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Fenrir)"So babbling something and pretending it's wisdom is better? Fenrir bit back that remark regarding Myr, though he couldn't hide it from Fury. 'Fury. I begin to understand your attitude. Thousands of years putting up with people like this would turn a saint into a psychopath. I admire your restraint.' Fenrir made no indication he had even heard Myr and instead spoke to Song. "Captain, while some may think we are equipped to face a creature or force that can do this with very little evident effort....well, I feel there are flaws in that logic."

[Krayzikk]

IC: Song"That's why we won't engage in outright combat. If things get rough, well fall back. But we can't just leave."I was already like this. Fury replied.

[ObfuscatedCubeEntity]

IC(Dajon): Myr shook his head and muttered a few curses. All that was immediately intelligible was "...scholar...". He looked back to the scholar, and cleared his throat. "I do see your point, however. We may not be equipped to deal with the beast, man, or force that is responsible for the current state of the camp. On the off chance you devise another insult, don't hold it back, I've dealt with enough like you to know what that silence means."