Ootlunds RPG

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

The group's progress was agonizingly slow. With no clear indication as to where, exactly, the Jahoyt took residence, every shallow patch of murk they came across was a possibility. Given the size of the animal in question, though, it was easy enough to find out if they were wasting their time. But movement was slow, and visibility was poor; they needed to slog through mud and muck and vegetation just to get close enough to find that, once again, they had failed. And with failure after failure greeting them at every opportunity, their job was looking more hopeless by the second.

"When they said the swamp was deserted," Warren said, yanking his leg from a particularly stubborn puddle of mud, "they weren't kidding." Beyond a few insects and birds, they hadn't seen very much life at all. "A silver lining at last," the Hunter mused to himself.

[C S]

"Don't be so sure," Taleun said, standing a few feet ahead, looking up into the drooping branches above the trio. He had one hand held off to his side, palm facing the others as a gesture for them to stop moving while he pointed upwards with the other. There, almost completely obscured by the sunlight shining down and sprawling in between each gap of timber were yellowish, silky fibers, each strand as thick as a leaf vine. The strange web did not have any definite shape. It was a blanket that stretched across the branches overhead with tiny holes interspersed throughout. Dangling from the silk were tiny bone fragments of birds and other small, tree dwelling creatures.

[The Kingpin]

Krogmar grunted lowly, hands wrapped firmly around the hilts of his secondary blades, eyes scanning the surroundings for other signs of the web-weaving beast that undoubtedly was not too far. He noted claw marks on the trunks of nearby waterlogged trees, hinting that either this thing wasn't all its webs implied, or that a struggle had happened here. The gashes looked fresh however, and judging by the angle, were not random. It was a territorial mark...but for what? He gestured towards it, bringing it to the attention of the two hunters...

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

"This just keeps getting better and better..." Warren muttered, mostly to himself. The man's hands were poised above his weapons, knowing - from experience - it was only a matter of time before they found out what had made both.

[C S]

Taleun studied the markings in the trees, glancing up to the webbing every other second or so as he formulated a plan that was least likely to get anyone killed. The signs around the group told of a strange creature, one with sharp claws and the ability to lay traps with the strange silk it was privy to. Whether or not it preferred to stay on the ground or lurk in the trees was something that the three had yet to determine. The thought that the claw marks and the webs could have been made by two different animals crossed his mind shortly, but he dismissed it, for what creature would possibly lay claim to territory inhabited by a threat or rival?

With a grunt, Taleun pointed the others to the swamp brush around them and swiftly made his way to take cover in the closest bunch of vegetation. "Surviving in unfamiliar territory, step one: stay out of sight..."

[The Kingpin]

Krogmar didn't need to be asked twice. Before the warning was given, he was already ducking into the nearest bit of foliage big enough to hide his sizeable frame. Now thoroughly covered by the overhanging bush, he took a moment to look more carefully at the environment, looking up into the canopy of the serpentine tree branches above, trying to identify a source for the strange clues they had thusfar collected...It didn't take a veteran hunter to figure out something big called this place home...Something big, cunning, and decidedly deadly...

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

Warren followed in a less-than-graceful hobble. The man remained on edge, his eyes darting in every direction to make certain he was not caught off guard. This proved significantly more difficult when the brush was involved, but their new cover did little to ease the man's woes.

[C S]

As the minutes ticked on by, Taleun became more convinced that the group had not alerted whatever creature called this part of the swamp its home. The surrounding vegetation was still. There were no alarming sounds. Just the strange emptiness in the thick, crowded marsh, only disturbed by the buzzing of small bugs zipping through the air. His concern returned to the mission at large when he was sure there was no monster laying in ambush.

"The coast's clear... gotta make up for lost time, now..."

Taleun raised a hand over his cover of plants, his fingers spread. He then pointed in the general direction of their previous heading and then advanced onwards in a crouched stance, parting the greenery as he went with cautious steps.

[The Kingpin]

As the trio began to depart from their hiding places, a pair of grey-brown, muddy looking objects sank beneath the surface, the apparent mudfish seemingly startled by the movement as waves washed over where they had been in the hunters' wake...


"This is gonna be a long day" grumbled Krogmar irritably as he straightened, his legs cracking from being locked in position for several minutes...

[C S]

Nightfall over the swamp came without herald. The sky turned gray throughout the day and stayed that way for the many hours until sundown. The gray sky became bright then with the dying sun over limp trees and flooded land.

Then it was dim and dark. The swamp, misty and mysterious, was still. Droning noises emanated from its heart. Low calls of creatures that did not slumber with the onset of darkness. Those that would witness the clash of gods.

The trees of innumerable age, gigantic and sprawling things, were forced apart with shattered bark and water spray. Leaves fell and broken branches dangled from vines leading up into the canopy.

The creature wallowing in the mud, an enormous saurian with a shell-back riddled with barbs and quills, kicked out its stout legs and clawed at the ground with long, grooved digging talons on its hands. It found purchase after its frenzied scrambling and pushed itself off the ground with its long and powerful arms. Standing up in a hunched stance, the gray and brown behemoth spun around to face where it was thrown from, it's clubbed tail pounding the surface of the floodwater threateningly.

It did not deter its opponent. The ground shook with its approach, ripples across the murk ensuing after every movement it made. From a tangle of roots and branches, the monster appeared, an ape with coarse fur and a matted mane around its neck. It snorted and sent twin jets of vapor from its nostrils, then swung its massive arms up and grappled the trees around it.

The saurian stepped from side to side, turning its blunt head upwards to look for the black ape that matched it in size. The trees rustled and shivered with it jumping and swinging in between them. Any glimpse the saurian had of it was a blur of movement.

The ape, with a guttural bellow, shot out of the trees from behind. It lunged just off to the side of the great saurian, one withered hand outstretched. It grabbed onto the back of the shell-back's head, avoiding the shield of spikes, but suffering the clubbed tail, which slammed into the side of the ape's chest with a resonating thump.

The ape fell away, its hold on the saurian broken instantly. It was thrashing in the water, gripping at its torso, the club's damage evident by the ape's agony. The shell-back thudded its way over to its fallen enemy, arms held apart in a bid to make it look even bigger, more dominant, this titan whose head rose high into the trees, shoulders brushing against the high branches.

It roared, a deep and haunting noise, almost shrill nearing the sound's end. Its maw was beaked, and pronounced cheeks with large rounded scales and blunt bony ridges made it look vaguely similar to some kind of snapping turtle, a strong resemblance to the head of an alligator snapping turtle.

Its tail tipped with that wicked bone club had sharp fin-like spines running down it, an almost draconic feature. It continued to smash the ground with it as it waded towards the stricken ape, making brief vocalizations of high and low pitch.

The ape could only watch and struggle in vain to resist its armored enemy. The quaking impacts and splashing water spelled out doom. When the saurian was standing over the ape, it turned its back on it and brought its tail down on its face.

A primal god of the wild outlands was fallen by time the sun rose again next dawn. A trail of devastation carved through the marsh, the warpath of two giants, ending with the body of the ape, its skull caved in.

It was already heavily scavenged by ravenous creatures over the course of the night, smaller they were but no less bestial and monstrous. Bones and stripped flesh were all that remained of the mighty ape. The shell-back returned to parts unknown, a denizen of the deceptive swamp. So still it was from a distance, hazy and unassuming The night brought out the rage of the true rulers of the world.