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Demon in the Woods (Blarg)


SilentSilth

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The creatures lurking in the forest, just beyond the cozy confines of the village, were known to all; but there were foul beings, hiding in the deep confines of the forest, where the light from the sun above rarely pierced the trees above. There were rumors of these horrendous monsters, and their ferocious capabilities - but no evidence of their existence... except for the account of Burhalvena.

One of the tribe's few half-orcs, Burhalvena was the self-proclaimed Ranger for the village. No one knew where she plucked the word from; and those who bothered to ask the demon-child were quickly threatened to have their head ground against her "rock-hard abs" (another phrase that she picked up from somewhere). Still, she was an expert in tracking, hunting, and tathering; knew her way around the forest; and had been further into the southern swamps than any hunting party dared to go. She knew too well the dangers that came with exploring the darker parts of the forest.

While adventuring near a part of the Southwest forest, Burhalvena was surprised by a large canine, it's shoulders easily the same height as her abdomen. It wasn't a furless krute hound, a known menace to the village, but a large wolf, old and grizzled, it's white fur criss-crossed with scars and eyes full of menace. Usually, most creatures would leave her alone - but this creature was different. It attacked, without warning, and the half-orc quickly found herself fighting for her life. Their battle quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse, the role of hunter and hunted ever changing, as Burhalvena tried desperately to get back to the village without dying in the jaws of the wolf. The two collapsed, not far from the village, covered in blood. The last thing Burhalvena saw was the great white wolf, lying on the ground, blood oozing from it's snout as it glared at her with bright red eyes... When the half-orc awoke, she was lying on a bed mat, the rare linens that the village created wrapped about her wounds. She had trouble moving from her wounds; but thankfully, she had someone watching over her.

[Lisa the Farmer]

Lisa didn't believe Burhalvena was an evil spirit, like almost everyone else in the village believed; she just though the woman had lovely orange eyes. When she found the half-orc, half alive in one of the tuber fields, she brought the Descendant back to her home; when questioned about the wolf, however, Lisa said she hadn't seen anything like that in the field. That didn't matter to the half-orc, though; she knew it lived, and would be after her.

Over the next few weeks, Burhalvena was forced to stay in bed, hearing stories from Lisa of odd happenings around the village. Animals gone missing, odd tracks found in the outskirts (and on pathways)... and there were a few nights she awoke, with Lisa curled up next to her on the bed mat, and could swear she saw something just outside the tiny hut... but it would run away, almost immediately as soon as she awoke.

After her few weeks of healing were up, Burhalvena left Lisa's hut, and returned to her own. There, she found her few possessions misplaced or moved about, and a tuft of white fur sticking out of the frame. The tracks around and in the village were canine, probably from the wolf too. It had been stalking her, and probably wouldn't give up.

The village was in dire straits, and calling for the Descendants, but Burhalvena had her own troubles to worry about - and worrying about what sort of horror she had inadvertently brought on the village... and Lisa. The woman had saved the half-orc; maybe the young Descendant could do the same?
 

GargantuaBlarg

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Re: Demon in the Woods (Blarg)

Taking the fur left behind caught in something in her hut, Burhalvena brought it up to her nose. She wasn't a bloodhound, by any means... but maybe it held that wolf's scent?

Damn that monster. She was sure she'd cut it up to the brink of death... how the hell had it managed to keep from bleeding to death? It was just an animal - a vicious, cunning, and big animal, sure, but it undoubtedly would've lacked the help of someone else to bandage it up and nurse it back to health, like she'd had. How could it have recovered quickly enough to start haunting her weeks before she herself could get back to her feet? Not only did she have the healing practices of the tribe, she was a descendant of the gods!


...She'd seemed to have gotten lucky, though. After all, most of the villagers probably would have left her there - it was sheer luck that Lisa, the only one that didn't think she was some sort of near-monster, had found her in time to save her. And now, because of how long she'd spent there, that thing was inevitably going to stalk her, as well...

Burhalvena wasn't sure how to protect her. Should she keep her distance, and hope that white demon ignored her? She was practically the only villager that would have anything to do with her that wouldn't begrudge it, though... she didn't know about the other Descendants, either. With this whole business, they were probably going to be off, out and about more often than not...

But if she went to watch over her or spend time with Lisa, though, the creature would think her important to her, and might attack her. Her recovery had proven she couldn't keep on guard against the beast all the time...


Snorting, lips pursed in a tight line of frustration, Burhalvena strapped on her armor and grabbed her knife, and went off to find the freshest signs of the monster's presence in the village. Maybe she could track it from there...?

With all the animals it had killed, too, her trips out to find food in the woods was undoubtedly going to become all the more important. She wasn't sure if her little knife would be enough to keep the white wolf and the other hazards of the forest at bay, now... perhaps she should look into getting another... perhaps pull a stout branch off a tree, to use as backup?

What's it gonna take to get another knife and/or club? <_>
 
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SilentSilth

SilentSilth

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Re: Demon in the Woods (Blarg)

One of the problems with living in this village was the almost lack of real weapons. While the stone swords, axes and spears were popular, daggers were considered second-class; usually, it was just a shard of stone thrown into a split on a stick. Still, there was one person in the village who had experience with turning their meager weapons into something much more deadly: Herald, the hunt leader.

Growing up, Burhalvena remembered how hard it was to even find the old man; when he didn't want to be located, it was nearly impossible to do so. Thankfully, since becoming a Hunter Advisor to the Elder, he wasn't able to disappear - a good thing for the half-orc, since Herald had never really appreciated her willingness to become a hunter, forcing her to learn skills on her own, or from other, less qualified, villagers.

Herald's hut was on the other end of the village, but didn't take too long to get to. She came across the graying man outside his home, sitting on a log near his cooking fire, staring into the glowing embers. Without looking up, he speaks in his stunted way:

"Heard about injuries. Seem alright. Need something?"
 

GargantuaBlarg

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Re: Demon in the Woods (Blarg)

Burly sighed. She didn't even know how the rest of the warriors here even made swords out of rocks... all those things were so cumbersome and clumsy! You could get a knife riiiiiiiiiiight where you wanted it to go, and you could get it there fast, over and over again, if you were doing it right.

Hers, personally, was just a piece of flint, knapped sharp, with a cloth wrapped around the part you could hold. She didn't understand why other people would bother to put it on a stick, either...


Thinking to talk with Herald regarding getting another weapon, she stopped by his hut. He was as unfriendly as ever...

"Mmm. Gonna try and find the wolf that did this to me. Need another knife. Don't suppose you've got one to spare?"

<_> So Burly's sheet has a wooden club on it, even though I was like -sure- I'd sold that back and put the points into more stats or something. Can I still do that, or should I just leave it since threadstart already? <_>
 
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