The North Sea

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Nogard slowed, letting the people behind him catch up. Through the treetops he could see the birds lift off from the island, going to fight the incoming storm.

Quote

There shouldn't be any lightning... this is a normal(ish) hurricane, only smaller.

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by Ookla the Phoenix

[Archer he/him]

Quote

17 minutes ago, Ookla the Phoenix said:

There shouldn't be any lightning... this is a normal hurricane, only smaller.

Fixed. 

Klo stumbled to a stop beside Nogard, leaning against a tree as he caught his breath.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Ookla the Paragon

[CitCat he/him]

As Warwick looked around he saw people running toward the middle of the island. He started following them.

~~~

As he got closer to the middle, he noticed a girl slumped outside of a cave. He approched them.

[+Sorana she/her]

11 hours ago, Ookla the Dragon Reborn said:

Araha lay in the cave, panting. She'd hit her head, and had crawled in here, near the center. Then she'd blacked out. Now that she was awake, she crawled out, towards where she could see others. "Damaya! What's happening?"

@Ookla the Clueless

Damaya caught up to the others and leaned forward, hands resting on her knees, panting. Her side hurt, and she tried to get as much air in her lungs as possible. Only when her breathing calmed down, did she solwly straighten up again, looked at the incoming storm. Then she shot the strangers a hesitating look and, throwing her parents lessons about propriety aside, grabbed her knife and shortened her dress a bit, displaying her boots. She would need to seam it later, but for now, it would work. Better than to stumble around, falling down every few minutes.

Then she heard Araha's voice. Turning around, she saw her friend back at the cave, with another stranger. Waving she gestured for her to come over, to hurry.

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Nogard looked out to sea. Far away he could see an approaching speck.

Kodeka? he thought. Is that you?

In response, he felt Investiture fill him. He smiled.

[Gancho Libre he/him]

George breathed heavily as the winds picked up. He knew... he knew when the end was near. The birds didn't land to peck at him. They had all flown away.

They were smart. They could fly from the storm. George could not.

Beavers couldn't fly.

George sighed, the wind spraying his seeping blood back all over his snout (?).

It was time... to go. George had done well. Many beavers eaten, many trees saved...

"Hey, little guy," a confused sounding human voice said from beyond George's field of vision. "What's going on here?"

George let out a half-hearted bark.

"Well," the voice continued, "I'd love to help you, but, you see, I don't have any arms,"

At this, George twisted over to looked at the man who spoke.

He was a tall, thin man, who looked more thin by, yes, a lack of arms.

The man smiled at George. "So, is that a hurricane or what? We all gonna die or what?"

George let his tongue go limp inside his mouth. Yup. Every beaver had to die at some point.

"I suppose," the man said, "That since we're going to die anyway, you wouldn't mind if I bit you?"

[+Ark1002]

Araha followed Damaya, making sure to keep up. She didn't know what was happening, but she trusted her.

[Gancho Libre he/him]

Fred dragged the beaver, George across the rocky landscape. Fred had no arms, so he used what he had.

In this case, it meant his mouth.

Fred had gently bit down on the beaver’s tail, then used Pewter to drag him away. Inland. Towards the center of the island.

Fred was feeling a little confused as too how he had gotten there. A man in beige light had exploded into Fred's room in the Thievery place, touched Fred’s forehead, and they had teleported.

Not to this place, of course. The teleportation had been two days ago.

No, the first place Fred had ended up was… a strange place with long, tall grass. The grass was beige, of course. It seemed to be the teleporter’s thang.

There, Fred had met a creature with a neck longer than its legs.

And they fought by swinging their faces around like… maces.

‘Wow,’ Fred thought. ‘I should really become a DJ. I'm a master rhymer,’

Then, Fred had traveled alone for several days, journeying into a place with tall towers of metal.

Something seemed to be wrong about the place. Everyone seemed… sad. There were a lot of empty rooms he could stay in.

Then, suddenly, the teleported had appeared again and taken Fred here.

What was going on? O fall of his adventures, the one where he dragged a dying beaver across an island with his mouth clamped around its tail during a hurricane while the island was slowly sinking, but was still inhabited by lions who fought strange blackbirds was by far the most interesting.

What a life.

~~~~~

George looked up at the stranger who dragged him. There was something familiar about the man, but George couldn’t think right now…

The hurricane came closer. Geroge attempted another bark, but it turned into a wheeze.

~~~~~

Fred dragged the beaver into a small cave as the winds grew around them. He had never seen the Alleycane in person but had known it existed.

Fred knelt next to the dying beaver. He didn’t know why he wanted to save it, but… something was off about this beaver. Something was strange.

Something worth saving.

Only, Fred didn’t have arms. So he couldn’t do anything about the blood that slowly seeped out of the beaver’s body.

~~~~~

George felt his life ebbing away. George was not sad. George had accomplished a lot. Eaten a lot of beavers, helped the stick people, chomp chomp chomp…

George looked up at the stranger and saw only hopelessness on his face. Why the sad expression? Surely George’s wound wasn’t that bad…

George wanted to bark. To run around, to eat a beaver. But… something held him back. It wasn’t the cut, of course. George had been cut before. This was laughable. He… was just tired. He just wanted to sleep.

George closed his eyes and breathed his last.

~~~~~

Fred watched the beaver die, helpless to save it. Fred had no arms. Fred wasn’t some Surgebinder, who could heal himself. No, Fred had only Pewter.

Dang. The first thing Fred did once he left the Thievery place was let an animal die.

Fred stood up. He walked out of the cave, into the harsh winds. He bowed, flaring Pewter so he could keep his balance. He walked toward the shore. The water lapped up against the beach in a frenzy.

Fred stepped into the water. Immediately, a current threatened to pull him down.

Fred took a sip of his waterskin, which he had tied against his chest so that he could drink without arms. Well, someone else had tied it, of course. But it was the water that was important.

It was full of Pewter flakes.

Fred flared the Pewter harder now, then submerged into the waves. The undercurrent was so strong, the waves threatened to drown him-

He pushed off the coast with his feet, then began swimming.

He had no arms, but Pewter and a very special make of foot more than counted over than. He zoomed away from the island, taking only sparse breaths as he swam, kicking his feet like a motorized boat.

Fred couldn’t get the image of the dying beaver out of his mind.

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Nogard turned to face the group. Under his feet, he felt the island begin to move.

"This," he gestured around, "is an Alleycane. The eyewall hasn't reached us yet, but when it does, you don't wan't to be out in the open. Our best bet is probably the jungle: these islands get a lot of these, so they're well prepared."

Edited December 5, 2018 by Ookla the Phoenix

[CitCat he/him]

Warwick saw the girl outside of the cave stand up and run toward another girl in the distance. He followed ran toward them.

[old man moomba he/him]

A man grew out of the ground nearby the little group, and smiled. 

"Ahhhh, it's good to be back....." Rick looked at the storm above "Wait, what is that?"

[CitCat he/him]

Suddenly, a gust of wind hit Warwick and knocked him off his balance. 

[xinoehp512 he/him]

The stranger- who's name was Rotcennoc- pushed aside a clump of hanging vines that guarded a cave. He smiled. Excellent.

[CitCat he/him]

"Squeak squeak squeak!!! (Full speed ahead!!!)" Hammond squeaked. Hammond pointed the slowly growing island ahead as his viking like long boat sped ahead. "Squeak squeak squeak squeak? (Can we please rest my lord?)" a gerbil rights protester member asked. "Squeak! (Never!)" squeaked Hammond. 

~~~

As Hammond's boat approached the island he could see a hurricane approaching the island. "Squeak squeak squeak squeak! (Row faster!)" He yelled. 

~~~ 

Finally, they reached the island and Hammond jumped off the boat with his sack of teddy bears and his sign. "Squeak squeak squeak! (Have a safe trip back!)" Hammond yelled to the rest of his protester group as they rowed back from where they came from. Hammond turned around and looked at everything around him. The island was empty so he decided to go toward's the center of the island to see if there were any inhabitants.

~~~ 
As Hammond walked, he noticed. A man (Warwick) slumped on the grass. He ran toward to see what happened. 

~~~

Hammond reached the man (Warwick) as he started to get up. 

~~~

"What is a gerbil doing here?" Warwick inquired. "Well, whatever, free food for me I guess." 

~~~

Then, abruptly, Hammond smacked him in the head with is sign.

[old man moomba he/him]

Rick noticed his snakes slowly moving towards the gerbil man, and a smile slowly spread across his face. He followed the snakes, walking slowly behind the outriders, with some of the larger snakes slitger around him. He strode up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Excuse me, but my snakes are ready to partake in some gerbil." He said as snakes began to surround the gerbil man.

[+Sorana she/her]

11 hours ago, Ookla the Dragon Reborn said:

Araha followed Damaya, making sure to keep up. She didn't know what was happening, but she trusted her.

Damaya smiled at her when her friend caught up. Then she turned to Nogard:

"The jungles. So I guess we better hurry? What is this Alleycane? Apart from a storm, I mean."

Edited December 6, 2018 by Ookla the Clueless

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Nogard turned to the woman. "It's a combination of the Alleystorm and a hurricane. This one," he gestured upwards, "is probably nonsapient, which is good- those aren't as powerful. In a few minutes, the rain will reach us." He gestured towards the horizon, where a sheet of rain could be seen approaching. "It's wet, and the winds are going to be even stronger, but that's not what we have to worry about." He started jogging deeper into the jungle. "What we have to worry about is the eyewall."

@Ookla the Clueless

[Karnatheon he/him]

The man continued to follow the stranger that was leading them toward the center of the island. He listened as things were explained to them.

[+Sorana she/her]

4 hours ago, Ookla the Phoenix said:

"What we have to worry about is the eyewall."

"The eyewall?"

She asked.

"And does it grant investiture like the Alleystorm does?"

[Archer he/him]

Klasten wished he could talk. We're all going to die! he thought to himself as he hobbled along. And my feet feel like lead blocks that gained sentience, then decided to spend their existence torturing me. 

He shook his invisible fist. I hate you all for making me run so much! He tried to frown, but he could only muster the energy to smile. Huh. I guess my mother was right about that, he reflected. 

In short, Klasten was having communication problems. Outwardly he was unperturbed, but inwardly he was screaming in pain and out of fear that the eyewall would kill them all. Whatever that is. 

But still he kept running. Others were slowing down, but he was determined to get to shelter as soon as possible. 

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Nogard nodded. "Yes. In fact-"

He cut off as the wall of rain hit the island, so powerful that the group could feel it even under the trees. Suddenly, all the spheres on Nogard's jacket burst alight.

He kept running, however. The eyewall was getting closer, and it would be a lot worse than the rain barrier.

 

[+Sorana she/her]

Damaya folled him and ran as fast as she could. Running, she decided she hated running. And then she breathed in. Stormlight floated her veins and lessened her aches, healed the wounds she got from her crash. It renewed her energy and suddenly she was able to keep up easily. Laughing she spread her arms and felt the cold rain on her arms, soaking her dress, so that it hugged her body, improperly hugged her body, but she didn't care. She felt good, at this moment she simply felt good.

Edited December 8, 2018 by Ookla the Clueless

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Nogard felt the Investiture flow through him, sustaining him. He'd gotten used to it by now, although it was nice not having to eat so often.

Up ahead the trees opened up, revealing a sheer cliff face covered with vines. Nogard slowed to a stop, letting the others catch up.

Edited December 8, 2018 by Ookla the Phoenix

[+Ark1002]

Araha, another Radiant, felt energy flow into her, and lashed herself toward the walls top. Smiling, she cancelled the lashing, landing on top. "You coming?"

[+Sorana she/her]

Damaya slowed and came to a stop next to Nogard, looking up at Araha. She waved at her and then turned towards Nogard.
"Where should we go now?"

Edited December 9, 2018 by Sorana