The fine white dirt of the Chalk Road stretches out before you, gleaming and dull in places as the sun peeks around the clouds that scud across the sky.  Thick jungle arises along both sides of the wide road, cleared back enough to give a clear view, but also something that must be constantly tamed and cut back.  The heat is the usual sultry humidity, with the hint of a charge in the air that warns of a storm earlier rather than later.

You are all on your way to Kelanio for the Wild Walk, a celebration of dinosaurs and humans working together.  Some of you have been working as roadknights, stumping for people to come to Kelanio, others as scouts-for-hire, some as traveling healers or storytellers, others searching for information or new discoveries, or just protecting the others.  The Wild Walk is one of the most interesting and amusing celebrations in Grevakc, and for anyone who loves their dinosaurs (and really, what Grevakcian worth their DNA doesn't?), it is not to be missed.

You're at least a week away from Kelanio, and even then you estimate you'll have several extra days at least before the totorix return to nest, which will signal the start of the festival.  That'll give you plenty of time in case of delays.  Storms, dangerously hungry or angry dinosaurs, or groups of bandits and ruffians are always a threat, along with the more unpredictable delays of a wash-out in the road, a time terror, or something else.

Last night you passed a large merchant's caravan, with large aptasauruses and brachiosauruses hauling their goods in panniers big enough to fit most of your party, dinosaurs included.  But the slower pace dictated by the size of the group meant you got a fair distance in front of them.  Today, you have the road completely to yourself so far.  Aside from watching for the usual dangers, all has been calm.

Mid-morning, the usual routine of travel is interrupted by two things: gathering stormclouds and wind have kicked up grit in the road and made things quite uncomfortable, and two, the jungle to the side of the road thrashes and cracks like a large dinosaur is moving in there.

Abruptly, a fully-grown tricertops breaks out of the heavy growth, shaking her head to rid her horns of trailing vines and broken foliage.  She sees you as she lifts her head, and she trumpets her discovery.  And it becomes clear this is no simple animal, because on her side, in foot-high letters in bright orange paint is written the word, "HELP".

Loric had been studying the gathering clouds for some time now. He was concerned if shelter wasn't found soon the road would be turned into a dust swirling funnel and it would be easy for people to get disoriented and lost in the dust storm.

He was just about to suggest to his fellow travelling companions they should make for shelter when the beast of a dinosaur broke cover from the jungle.

It wasn't the sudden appearance that got his attention, he lived in the wild all his life this was normal to him, it was the "help" sign on its side.

With a clicking sound deep in his throat the long brown grey collar that was wrapped round his shoulders suddenly raised its head, gave a yawn and stretched.

Leaning in close a series of sounds passed between then and the little mammal the size of a large domestic cat bubbly climbed down and raced off past the dinosaur.

Loric had instructed his little companion to track the trail the dinosaur had made in the jungle to see if Click could locate the creatures owner.

Meanwhile Loric moved slowly towards the agitated dinosaur, arms outstretched, head down. As he moved he kept an eye on it from under his fringe.

Ooc 08:18, Today: Loric Landel rolled 18 using 1d20.  Instruct Click .
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:17, Sun 11 Mar 2018.

The young female anzu looks back at the gray-haired man with a slightly reproachful look.

You stopped back-scratching me...

The man sighs, leaning forward slightly to hug her neck.

Now, now, my Pet.  Is it not my turn to rest a bit?  I already scratched you all the way up the last incline, did I not?

Her response is somewhat derailed by the neck hug, and she almost purrs as her neck snuggles into the embrace.

The peaceful moment lasts for several steps, before her head swivels alertly toward the jungle by the side of the road.

What is it, my Pet?  What do you sense there?

The man follows her gaze, just in time to see the jungle start thrashing... and the tricertops emerging.

His eyebrow rises as he sees the writing on her side, and he takes a deep breath, and concentrates...

RPoL Dice Roller:

23:50, Today: Oiktirmon rolled 1 using 1d20.  Mental Link Attempt, with Range Extension Effort.

Having signed up to guide a few people along the road, Roam waved them back.  Usually there were better ways of getting help than paint on the side of a dino, but

"Tarla, lets stop her!" He signaled his Raptor around the beast.  He noticed another guide putting his arms out and moving forward.  Roam mimic'd him to move in and remove the vines.

Roam put his arms out and strode toward the Triceratops.

"Hey sweetie, calm down.  We want to help."

The raptor moves in front to prevent the Triceratops from thrashing on and Roam moves to rub its sides.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 08:58, Fri 09 Mar 2018.

“Call Tarla off, Roam.  She's a pred.  You gotta think like an herbivore can’t just charge in.  Typical Karn.”  He strokes Arlo’s neck gently before placing his left hand on the metal filigree on the dinosaur's flank that he uses to control it instead of reins.

OOC:  05:07, Today: Rain rolled 19 using 1d20.  Control Dinosaur. To ride closer,trained.

Arlo begins mewling at his fellow ceratops making soothing noises as he bears Rain closer and,  strangely enough, Rain mimics similar noises as he looks the dinosaur over for wounds and occasionally mixes in soothing words.  “Steady there baby.  You're lost?  Your owner sent you?  We're here to help little one.”  It’s a display of compassion unlike anything anyone has ever seen out of the awkward and cold Rain and definitely a departure from what he just was saying to Roam.

“That’s a sweet baby.  Just calm down and we’ll help...”

OOC: Today: Rain rolled 16 using 1d20.  Soothe dinosaur, trained in calming Dino’s, level of effort intellect.

Esmul spent most of the time up the road so far, especially with the other caravan, telling fanciful stories and reading fortunes, always with a smile on her face and a tune hummed when she was busy with other things.

As the Help-o-saurus burst from the foliage, the short young woman paused, her mouth gaping open. "Well isn't that the..."

Bumpy the ankylosaurus began to shuffle its feet happily, and Esmul quickly began giving it's neck a scritch.

"I know, I know! You want to say hi! But those words on the side mean 'let's see if it's scared or hurt or just wants to tell us something first'"

That's a lot of words for four letters!

Jesikah loves these trips across the Cretaceous landscape. They are unbelievably dangerous, of course, but fascinating in every way: scientific, instinctive, immersion in this most primeval frontier. And oh, the mornings over the Cretaceous! Sun filtering through viridian tangles, warmth filling the earth, a cool breeze a gift from Pangaean gods. All around life is at its strongest: the buzzing of insect wings, the rustle of small dinosaurs and mammals in the growth, the piercing cry of a distant pterosaur, the low rumble of a herd of sauropods. It is a heartbeat of the Earth itself, vast and interconnected and rich with blood and life.

An explorer at heart, a field scientist, Jesikah would love the Laramidian wilderness just for its savage purity. But there is something else, something deeper, an intimate connection to that primal pulse. For the creature with which she shares time and space, if truly that is their arrangement, it is home. Strangely Jesikah feels at home, as well, deep in her breast, a call of the wild.

Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen. Jesikah absently checks her chronometer, the special one she's rigged to tell her just exactly when she will change places with her counterpart. It is the first of many times that day she will do so out of habit.

Beside her, Blue rumbles a low warning growl, and then the triceratops bursts from the jungle. Jesikah's surprise is temporary, as she runs to help the beleaguered animal. "Blue, stay with the others! They might need your help!"

Click gives the agitated tricertops a wide berth, then vanishes unto the undergrowth, nose twitching away madly as she hunts for the trail with single-minded focus.




Oiktirmon focuses his empathic awareness on the trike, only to be inundated with what can only be described as emotional feedback, like from a poorly-wired sound system.  The grating "squeal" he can nearly feel in his teeth.  He hasn't done something like that since he had been first practicing with his heightened sensitivity as a boy.  Clearly he'd been tuning into the wrong aura...




The trike moves back nervously from the velociraptor and her flashing teeth and talons, inadvertently backing into Roam's soothing words and motions.  The trike still seems quite nervous, but allows Roam to get close.



With a fellow-species member, along with Arlo and Rain's coordinated effort, the trike does begin to calm more visibly, her breathing coming easier, her stamping settling down to sidling.



Bumpy looks at Esumel, then back at the trike everyone seems to be greeting, snuffles, and wanders closer to the new friend.  He sniffs her all over, bumping heads and getting in the smaller humans' way.




Blue actually pays attention, looking about at the road and other friends, seeing what else might pop out to enliven the day.

Jesikah finds the trike in the final stages of settling down, her breathing easing.


As everyone concentrates on the new arrival, they can spy on the side of her head, mostly hidden in one of her spikes, a small video/broadcast unit.  Those that didn't spy the device itself definitely notice something odd when a small voice, very human-sounding, begins to speak!

"Hello?  Oh thank you for stopping!  And thank you for not scaring Gaytha.  She's had a bad day already.  Can you help me?  Please?  I'm hurt and don't think I should move, and I'm too far from the road to really signal.  I- I need a favor, please, if you'd come and hear me out..."

Rain lets Arlo get close to the dinosaur whose name he now knows is Gaytha. “I don’t know if you can hear, but we are listening.”

While he waits Arlo begins to rub against Gaytha as he makes low mewling noises to further comfort her.

The older man immediately pulls the plug on his attempted mental link, rubbing his temple and looking somewhat dazed...

"Hello?  Oh ^{thank you _{for stopping!  And} thank you _{for not scaring Gaytha.  She's had a} bad _{day already.}  Can} you help me?  Please?  I'm hurt and don't think I should move, ^{and I'm too far from the road _{to really signal.  I- I need a favor,} please,} if you'd come and hear me out..."

He tries to make sense of the words over the ringing in his head, with partial success...

Roam continues to run his hands over the Trike, while listening to the message.  His eyes shift to Rain when he answers and waits for the reply.

His mind starts analyzing details...
How far from the road is he?
How long will it take to get to him?
Will the pilgrims be safe on the road while he goes to get him?
He mentioned not moving, will he need medical attention?


His lips pursed as a final thought occurred to him...  Was anyone using this as a trick to lure people off the road?

"I can hear you!  Please, you're some of the first that were willing to help Gaytha instead of trying to kill her or run her off.  I'm Mira and-."  The voice breaks off in a gasp of repressed pain before resuming. "I broke my leg, and was burned.  You can follow..." Mira's voice trails off again, but this time it sounds more like she was distracted.  "There's some clicking sound over here, I don't know... Please hurry!  Gaytha, come home girl!  Follow her, she'll lead you to me!"

Rain quickly unties a length of rope from his saddle and loops it over the triceratops horns and ties it off on one of Arlos, “Be a good girl and take us to Mira.”

He turns to the others, “Arlo and I will try to keep her from bolting too fast.  Let’s not run headlong into trouble.”

"Of course we will help you, Mira. We'll follow gaytha, but give us any information you can. How badly are you hurt?"

Jesikah whistles for Blue, who follows her with quick, pounding footsteps thudding like a heartbeat on the road. "Keep on your best alert, Blue. We have to help someone here."

Blue chirps a response, a surprising sound for such a powerful animal, and swings her big head this way and that, keen senses scanning the jungle for dangers. Certainly those dangers abound, but they're somewhat lessened, Jesikah muses, when you travel in the company of a tyrannosaur.

OOC
• 14:21, Today: Jesikah rolled 15 using 1d20.  Command Blue (perception).

Jesikah gains an asset on all perception-related tasks when Blue helps her here.

As the ringing in his head subsides, the older man is able to focus upon Mira's response.

After Jesikah's query, he adds in a reassuring voice, "I'm a doctor, Mira.  Help is on the way."

Roam looked back at the people on the road and the group all pulling together to go help this woman.  "I'm  a tracker, but I can't abandon these people here."

He walked over toward Gaytha and asked "Mira, how far approximately are you?"

There's a pause from the transmitter, and then a faint.  "Thank you, thank you so much.  I'm... I'm not sure how far I am away.  Gaytha had to take some detours, and my distance positioner is on the fritz.  Just follow her; she always comes back to me."

There's a faint pop and a click, then Gaytha turns and heads abruptly back into the bush.  Following along in the very large and obvious path of the trike, you walk for close to thirty minutes before you come across a tight copse of thick trees.  In the half-fallen shade of one, a slim hand reaches out and nudges aside what you realize is a camouflage blanket.  It's a woman, perhaps mid-twenties, with an ashy hue under her dark complexion, her hair once tightly braided, but now loosening.  The state of her clothes and hair implies she's been through some ordeal, as she's dirty, disheveled, and scratched all over.  Her dark eyes are huge in her thin face, and her hand shakes.  Her leg is strapped between two sticks and tied with sections of vine very crudely.  A pack at her back allows her to stay sitting up, because it's clear that otherwise she might be flat out.

In the branches above her head, Click is lounging, tail slowly curling and uncurling, the alphadon looking downright smug.

"Storm," she says shortly in explanation. "Time terror.  Caught the edge of it.  I'd very much like to pass out now?"

Jesikah is, perhaps more than most, very concerned over the cause of Mira's distress. She hurries over to the woman and presses a hand to her forehead, then curls an arm beneath Mira's head. "Here, take some water. Just a bit at a time." She retrieves her flask from her pack and offers a few sips to Mira.

"I've been there. Right through the heart of one. Just relax, and let us make sure you are okay. We have a doctor here." Even as she speaks, though, Jes feels Mira's wrist for a pulse, checks her breathing. She knows better than almost anyone what horrors a time terror can wreak on the unprepared.

"No passing out. You'll be okay. Trust me, you can get through it. But we need to get you checked out."

Roam watched as the woman tended to the injured lady.  He pulled his laser rifle and started searching the immediate area around Mira.  If there was a time terror, he needed to make sure it was not a threat.

Roam's eyes scanned the trees.  He started moving in a tight orbit around the group.

The older man hastens to the injured woman with Jesikah, and activates his autodoc as Jesikah settles in with her.

"Hi, Mira.  I'm a doctor.  Stay with us just a bit longer.  What hurts, and how much, on a scale of one to ten?"

He looks empathicly at the injured woman, literally feeling her pain, and starts processing the information from the autodoc...

Leaving the two ceratops tied together, Rain slides down the side of his mount, “Wait, Arlo.  Make nice with your new friend, ok?”

Arlo trumpets in response while Rain goes to help Oiktirmon and Mira in turn,“If you can get her ready to travel I’ll see what I can put together to let her ride out on Arlo or Gaytha. His attention shifts to the wounded woman, “I’ll pack your things.  Is there anything I should know about in them?”

Cascade had been following along with the group but his attention had been devoted to studying the intricacies of a chunk of crystal he had found along the road. After the figuring out what the disturbance was Cascade followed the others as the rushed off into the jungle to aid someone in distress.

After the triceratops lead them to the injured lady Cascade moved forward and quickly scanned the young woman and the surrounding area as he patted Nosy's head.

Following Bumpy at a quick pace, Esuml stops with the group as her companion snuffles at the wounded human.

"Bumpy, give gramps some space!" She chides gently, giving her dino friend a firm scritch on the neck and ears. "Sorry, he gets enthusiastic!"

Her smile doesn't wain a tick as she sees Oiktirmon go to work. "He's kind-of the best. He'll make you right as rain. Hm... Time thing, you said? Hmmmm..."

Almost unconsciously, Esuml pulls a pack of cards from her pouch and cuts and shuffles them with one hand as she turns about slowly, her eyes losing focus.

"Lemme see what I can see..."

"I know, I know, but it hurts and..." her face crumples and she seems quite distressed.  Even so, Mira tries to sip the water, knowing that with Grevakc's heat and her injury, dehydration would kill her as swiftly as an angry dinosaur.






"Leg mostly, and the only reason I'm not screaming is because I had a roll of dupe on me."  Dupe, you all know, is a mild hallucinogenic and euphoric made from an herb that's rolled up and smoked.  "It was the only thing I had-." She cuts herself off and winces.

Oiktirmon, you can see she fractured her tibia, an open fracture, and there's some debris in the site.  Likely it was hit by a flying piece of wood during the storm.  From the state of her clothes, her story of being caught on the edge of the time terror seems plausible.  Also, it looks like she drug herself away and hid herself before tending much to her wound.



Mira has to concentrate on breathing for a few minutes before answering.  "Just the packs I'm up against. Just keep them shut and try not to drop them?" she gasps out.



Cascade activates his optic scanner implants as Nosy sticks his nose into all and sundry.  Click gives some clicks of annoyance as the fellow alphadon snuffles everything thoroughly. 



The alphadons complain as Bumpy tries to stick his snout in, and it takes Esuml a few tries to get him out of the way before he bangs into Oiktirmon.  Finally Bumpy goes to make friends with Gaytha again.

Esuml lets her eyes focus on what she can see.  T

Roam kneeled at the vehicle tracks and scanned about where they crossed through where the time terror was.  He scraped his fingers through the dirt feeling how compacted it was.  Slowly he stood and walked in the same direction as the tracks, his laser rifle cradled in his arms.
Careful not to step directly on the tracks of the vehicles or the argoraptors, he followed them for 20 yards.  Roam turned around and walked back to the group around Mira.  It was obvious she was in a state of discomfort, but he needed to check if this was trouble or not.
"Ma'am, what vehicles were here?  It appears they came through after the time terror.  This is the same terror you were caught in?  Do you remember this?"

RPoL Dice Roller:

15:00, Today: Oiktirmon rolled 8 using 1d6+3.
15:00, Today: Oiktirmon rolled 9 using 1d20.  Mira healing attempt DT2 with extra healing effort .

The older man nods empathicly as he scritches Bumpy for a moment.

"Yes, dragging yourself around with an open fracture of your tibia was probably not very pleasant... but you should be feeling better in just a bit."

He sets to work calmly, first easing her pain, then cleaning the wound, then setting the bone, then healing the damage.  He focuses intently as he interfaces with the autodoc, looking slightly paler as he works from the effort...
This message was last edited by the player at 23:49, Wed 14 Mar 2018.

Esuml looks briefly at her cards, almost absently, and the normal smile tinges with a little bit of sorrow. The cards get quickly placed back in her pouch, and she walks over to watch the medical attention (and to play a little with Bumpy).

Rain does what he can to prepare Arlos harness for her equipment while leaving the backpacks that are propping her up in place.

Mira's face smooths out as Oiktirmon works, finally relaxing into profound relief as the combination of drugs and microsurgery, with the osteon's skill, make her leg whole again.

"Thank you, thank you so much.  Please, what's your name?  Are you with SATI?"



Mira cranes her head over a little, winces, and nods.  "We- there was a- I saw a bambiraptor, blue and yellow."  She stops as Rain uses the packs to keep her upright so she can talk.  Even with the healing, it's clear Mira has been through an ordeal, and also clear she's becoming very nervous.

"I...  Are any of you with SATI?"

"No, I am not affiliated with SATI." Jes shakes her head firmly. She knows better than to fall in with them — as one of few survivors of a time terror, and irrevocably changed by the experience, she would be worth quite a bit in their labs. "And believe it or not, I can understand what you're going through." Jesikah offers a hand to Mira. "More than most people on this wonderfully wild planet. Come, let us help you. We can figure out what those tracks belong to...."

"I am Oktirmon.  'Peace be unto you.'  I am not from SATI."



The older man feels Mira's increasing nervousness, and gives her a reassuring and meaningful glance.

"Sometimes my patients need more than just healing.  Are you in need of any other help, friend Mira?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:02, Fri 16 Mar 2018.

Something about Mira's answer to Roam felt vague and evasive.  Especially that she started to answer with a "We".

Roam watched the others continue to work and bit his lip for a second.  Maybe she meant Gaytha, but....
He moved over to look at Gaytha and Mira's tracks near the time terrors location and back tracked them for a bit.  Were they alone when they got near it?  Which direction did they come from?  What was she hiding?

Rain listens to the conversation before interjecting his thoughts, “Mira, none of us are opposed to SATI...  Just not members.  They’re pretty exclusive about membership, but that does lead me to a question.  Mira, for completeness sake do you know what year it is?”

While the others dealt with the girl Loric moved off into the jungle and walked a circuit round the group to make sure there were no predictors in the area drawn by the smell of a wounded prey.

As he did this click dropped down onto his shoulder and snuggled against his neck.

Once he was satisfied the group was not in any immediate danger he worked his way back to them, entering the little clearing as introductions were being made " Loric Landel at your service and this little one is click she apologies for frightening you earlier with her clicking she was trying to signal me your location" he said "and no I'm not with SATI either" he added

Mira listens to the reassurances, clenching on hand in her shirt, before finally nodding.  "I- yes, please, I didn't come out here alone," she said in a rush.  "My brother, Quill, came with me.  We were coming out here because there was supposed to be a time anomaly nearby.  Jase and Gaytha sense something wasn't right first, and they ran, right before the time terror broke."  Mira's face crumples and she chokes back a sob.  "I got caught on the edge of it, but Quill was inside of it. Jase, Quill's bambiraptor tried to get to him, but the storm threw him back, and he ran off, screaming.  That's when I passed out."

Mira closes her eyes for a second, then opens them again, wiping at them with her sleeve.  "When I came to, I was covered in leaves and branches.  And I could hear a groundcar.  I looked up, and I could see Quill on the ground, and I could see a SATI car with a crew of four, and their argoraptors.  And Quill... he was alive!.  Didn't even look like he'd been hurt!  The SATI officers piled out of their car, grabbed him, put him in some kind of medical pod, and took off to the west.  It took me a while to get myself free, and longer to recall Gaytha.  And then... I tried to see if anyone could help."  Mira bites her sleeve to muffle a sob, then drops her head, shoulders shaking with emotion.

Esuml's lower lip quivered, just a bit, at the story. She quietly walked through the grass to Oiktirmon's side and subtly showed him the card she'd pulled from her deck. It showed someone being grabbed from in the dark, a gloved hand put over their nose and mouth. Scrawled writing on the bottom had the single word. 'Waylay'. She nodded at the woman's story.

"Lost family" She said quietly, her smile almost completely faded. "We need to see to that."

The older man glances at Esumi with an understanding nod, and turns back to Mira, gently taking her hand with an empathetic expression.  He can feel the emotions behind those sobs... and it shows.

"We came to help, dear daughter... and it sounds like help is still needed.  How strong are you now?  Are you up to a bit of... westward travel?"

"I would suggest we travel for only a while, until dark then make camp. But we need to be away from here before the pack hunters surface to feed. No disrespect," he said gently to the girl, "but the smell of a potential wounded meal will attract them."

He moved over to the tire marks and woke Click up. There seemed to be a heated conversation going on between them before Loric finally sighed and dug into a pouch, bringing out a dead beetle the size of his hand. "That's the only one you hear me or you'll get so fat I'll have to bounce you around like a ball. Now quickly finish that disgusting thing and go follow the tracks."

With that he turned and shrugged. "Sorry about that she gets touchy when she's woken up." As he moved back to the group the sound of crunching shell and slurping could be heard behind him


Ooc 12:30, Today: Loric Landel rolled 12 using 1d20.  Loric instructing click roll.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:18, Tue 20 Mar 2018.

"Yes!  I would have gone after him myself if I could have," Mira says, and slowly, carefully, gets up with Gaytha to support her.  She checks a chronometer on her wrist, and nods, wincing a bit.  "I think there's going to be a couple time anomalies around here soon.  I'm actually a little surprised they didn't leave some SATI people behind to get the benefits.  Anything we can use to rescue Quill..."



Click slinks off into the brush, and comes back soon enough, nose twitching, pointing back with her tail.  The path left by the vehicle is clear and trending west-northwest.  Until they get another deluge, the tracks will be fairly easy to follow.

Roam walked back toward the others.  The tracks he found mostly corroborated the story Mira had told them.  He looked at the sky.  How long until it started to rain again and wipe away the evidence?

"Hey, if we want to follow these tracks I need to get going quick.  If any of those anomalies are imminent we can wait, but not too long."

Bastion stepped out of the undergrowth to join the others around the injured woman. He ran a clawed hand through his hair as he studied the scene before them.
"Loric is right. Not long before others come searching for easy prey. We should move." Argh joined Bastion's side with a not so gentle body check forcing him to stumble slightly so as not to fall over completely. Bastion gave the young Utahraptor a side glance, and shoved him back. "Not now," he growled. It was clear there was no master/servant relationship here. Bastion and Argh were partners and there was a constant competition for dominance.
"Need to cover the scent of blood. And SATI may return"

Mira's prediction about the time anomaly wasn't wrong; they tend to cluster after the arrival of a time terror, and in less than a minute there's a fluctuation in temperature, a warping of the air just beyond the destruction of the time terror's passing, and a few glowing balls of electricity that float within the confines of the anomaly.

OOC: Anyone who wants to go in and get some cyphers coded into their DNA, please give ma a DT 2 Speed Defense roll to avoid getting hit with some electricity.  It will be 3 points of damage if you fail.  Everyone can absorb their maximum amount of cyphers in the cluster of time anomalies, with a level of 3 or 4 (which I will roll randomly for you).

Mira takes a deep breath, pats Gayth, and steps in adroitly.  She's out in moments, catching her breath and shaking her head to get rid of the weird feeling.  Those going in can feel the time anomaly around them, an eerie feeling of age and raw newness, of ancient dust and fresh rain, old blood and new tears, dinosaur feathers and a whiff of acrid ozone of electronics.  There's a feeling of fulfillment as something settles into your DNA, a whisper of knowledge along your nerve paths about what it is you've been gifted with.

After the brief absorption of the past, and possibly the future as well, you can follow the karns and Loric as they track the SATI vehicle.  Click calls out the turns of the path, which aren't too difficult to follow, until the vehicle hits drier dirt and firmer ground.  Now you have to follow the scratches of argoraptor claws in the dust.  Click follows it even so, and eventually into a thick grove of trees.  Through the grove, in a tangle of thick vegetation, you can see a vine-covered, barred-gate set in a wall of expanded ferrofoam plastered and painted to blend in with the jungle.  The wall is twenty feet high and you can see a green-and-blue piski (a small, flying dinosaur about a foot long, not including the tail) sitting on top of one of the tall gateposts.

Bastion puffed out his chest, nervously ran his hand through his hair and stepped into the anomaly. "I hate this part..."

OOC: 08:34, Today: Bastion rolled 6 using 1d20. Speed Defense (T) roll to dodge electricity.

Cascade stood for a moment studying the anomalies, scanning there energy discharge and behavior before stepping forward through the anomaly.


09:17, Today: Cascade Ming rolled 8 using 1d20.  Speed Defense.

Roam slung his laser rifle and walked.  Mindful of where he stepped, to keep off any tracks, he walked toward the sparkly, zappy, distortion.  There was always a little charge that moved though him entering one of these.  Without hesitation he walked straight in.

The older man nods as he sees the nearby air warping, and steps in.

Rather than stepping quickly out again, he regards the warped air with a look of focused concentration...

RPoL Dice Roller:

22:53, Today: Oiktirmon rolled 12 using 1d20.  Speed Defense DT2.
22:54, Today: Oiktirmon rolled 15 using 1d20.  Time Tap DT3.

Rain watches the others leaping to their possible doom before giving a chuckle and hopping in himself.

OOC:  speed Defense - 06:04, Today: Rain rolled 3 using 1d20 ((3)).

With a bit of a breathtaking shock, and an actual shock for some, you let the time anomaly wash over you and impart its changes to your DNA.  As you feel yourself reach your limit, you can step out.

Roam and Bastion, as you leave the anomaly, you feel something odd by your foot and can pick it up if you wish.  Occasionally things from the past (or future, technically) seem to get swept up in anomalies and deposited during their manifestations.  Roam, you find what looks like a bright blue and yellow fish about three inches long, made of soft plastic, that squeaks when you squeeze it.  Bastion, you find a handful of small colorful bricks that fit together.

--

Cyphers garnered, you can now face where the tracks lead - the vine-covered compound hidden in the jungle...

Esuml's hair stands a bit on end for a moment, and her eyes go wide. Afterward, however, she looks at the fallen bounty, and her grin widens.

"Roam! You've been blessed with the squeaky skyfish! An excellent good omen!"

Her grin may make it difficult to tell if she's being joyfully honest, or just poking a joke.

Roam looks at Esuml.

With reverence he kneels and places his laser rifle beside his leg.  Both hands clasp in front of him and his head bobs in a bow.
"Thank you, oh lords of Time, for gifting me with a 'squeaky skyfish'.  It will be cherished always!"

Roam takes the squeaky fish delicately in both hands and raises it in praise.  Finally with both hands bringing it to his heart, then opening a pocket on his jacket and dropping it in.

With just as much reverence he takes his rifle in his hands and stands.

A quick wink to Esuml, he presses the pocket from the outside eliciting a loud squeak!

Mira staggers out from the time anomaly, shaking her head.  "Still not sure I'm ever going to get used to that," she mutters.  Putting her hand on Gaytha's harness, she goes to follow the group as they track the SATI people who had taken her brother.

--

Now, in front of the camouflaged walls and barred gate, Mira stays to the back of the group and keeps quiet, having clambered atop Gaytha's back to try to get a better look through the thick vegetation.

The lone piski lounging on the top of the gates abruptly stirs, then dives off the wall back over the gate.  You can hear his clear cry as he does, alerting whoever is in there of your presence.

Roam watches the others as they meander with indecision.
He looks down at the ground and can see obvious signs of the vehicle going in, but wanted to check for any indication of numbers or other dinos passing through.

Roam stepped up to the gate and glanced about for a signal.  Then just made a fist and wrapped on the gate three times.  The noise hopefully enough to bring someone to talk to.

With a smile, Esuml stood her ground. If this was going to be as straightforward as talking to people... Well, she -liked- talking to people!

Cascade and Nosy kept to the back of the group. Watching and waiting to see what response came from inside.

Scratching Nosy between the ears he spoke softly, "I don't like this place little guy, it is not very inviting. You stay close."


22:23, Today: Cascade Ming rolled 10 using 1d20 with rolls of 10.  Convince Nosy to stay close.

The older man leans forward to give Pet a hug, and turns to his companions, speaking softly, yet projecting enough to be heard by them all.

"We need to stay alert, friends."

"When we interacted with those time anomalies, I pondered the following query: 'How may we best approach freeing Mira's brother?' "

"And the answer that I received was:  'Warm welcomes above hide hollow hearts below.'..."

Astride his mount, Rain smiles at Oiktiron, “And I’ve a blaster if that doesn’t work.”

He taps his mechanical arm and gives the older man a wink and a big smile.

As the echoes from Rain's knock die away, there's a few moments of silence, a couple of grunts, and then someone poking what looks like the top of a helmeted head barely above the top of the wall.

"Who might you be?  Don't get a lot of visitors out this way."  The voice sounds older, female, and authoritative.

"Come, come now, don't tell me you've gone and knocked and ran away?  Raptor got your tongue?  Speak up!" the voice calls out with a hint of impatience.

Esuml steps forward, her hands behind her back, bopping up and down on the balls of her feet, causing her anklet to jingle. "I'm Esuml. Esuml Starshine. You may've heard of the Starshine Carnival and Circus? Uhm... This isn't them, but I'm -part- of them. Who are you?"

Roam smiled at Esuml.  Her innocent outlook was sweet.  He kept close to the gate, hoping those inside wouldn't look over.

Roam took deep breathes.  He hoped this wouldn't come to a fight.  They took Mira's brother, but would they give him up easily?  There must have been a reason.  It wouldn't be to just heal him up and send him on his way.  How to do this without relying on havoc....

There's a pause, and then the head raises above the ramparts.  The woman in the helmet is older, with lots of gray hair showing, and her weathered face lined and wrinkled.  Her green eyes stand out as she smiles down at the party.

"I've heard of the Starshine Circus, yes I have.  I'm Helen, and this place is Haven.  Jolly lot of you if this isn't the Circus itself.  Who are all of you and what are you doing out here?  We're well off the beaten path," she says, standing up.  She's carrying what looks like a good spear with a bone tip, but there's also a hollow tube, likely a blowgun, hanging around her neck from a leather strap.

“I’m called Roam. A tracker. This woman over here set her Ceratops off to find help. Her and her brother had been caught in a terror. We found her and gave aid. We followed the tracks here to find the boy.”
Roam staged everything matter-of-factly.
He smiled over the rampart at Helen, trying to be open and honest.

"Caught in a terror?!"  Helen sounds both alarmed and surprised, perfectly normal reaction to the possibility of someone being caught in the deadly phenomenon.  "And the boy walked away?  He must be tough as an anklysaur!  I haven't seen a boy around here, but we'll do what we can to help"

Her head disappears, and you hear some grunting, a few thuds, and then the gate open slowly.  Helen appears in the gateway and waves you inside.  "We'll do what we can for you, and see if your brother can be found.  Come in, come in!"

Inside, Haven is a small village.  The roads are dirt, with occasional attempts at graveling and cobblestones to keep them from turning into a morass in the rainstorms.  The houses and buildings are a combination of trees and the sides of SATI cargo containers, strapped together with vines and packing film.  Living trees are used as supports and shade both.  Like most Grevakc communities, the roads are wide enough for largo dinos to pass.

Helen will wave you in to the village square.  Larger buildings make each of the four sides, while a wellhouse holds pride of place in the center.  There looks to be a dino stables, a town hall, a garage of some sort (there are a lot of vehicle tracks going into and out of the doorway, and vehicles visible inside), and a tavern called the Downed Dragonfly.  Some of the enormous dragonflies, with wingspans of six feet, buzz by in the hot noon sunshine.  A few people are getting water from the well, in the garage a small man is tinkering with a wheel on a vehicle that's up on bone supports, and several more people visible in the large opening of the tavern, sipping drinks in the dim coolness inside.

"Well now, what are the rest of your names, and who are we looking for?  What's the boy's name?  What's he look like?" Helen asks.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:50, Tue 10 Apr 2018.

Cascade looked over the sight of the village now that the gate was open. Nodding to the woman as he stepped through the gate, "Ah, Cascade Ming and this is Nosy." as he rubbed the alphadons chin. He then stepped aside so the others could enter.

"What a little fuzzy thing!" Helen says, reaching out slowly for Nosy to smell her hand, going for a scratch if he seemed amenable. "Well then, Cascade, Esumal, Roam, and-."

"I'm Mira, this is Gaytha," Mira adds shyly.  "My brother's name is Quill..."

"Right.  Well, we had some hunters out earlier in the day in that direction, so maybe they saw something.  Most of them are in the Downed Dragonfly, but I think Vell and Gus are in the garage," Helen says.  The blue-and-green piski you saw earlier swoops down and lands on Helen's shoulder, preening her hair a bit before settling down.

The older man gives a friendly nod as he steers his companion by her, stretching out his empathic senses toward her as he does so.

"I am Oiktirmon, and this is Peteinos.  'Peace be unto you.'"

Sliding off of his mount, Rain speaks, “Rain.” He makes a gesture approaching a wave with his right hand.

He pats his Anchiceratops on the flank before walking with the group, “Garage you say?  What kind of vehicles do you run?”

"Well, that's very nice of you Oiktirmon," Helen says, and pats Peteinos. 



"Oh, solar-cell four-wheeler, bio-fuel cell scooter, big old methane-cell dirt-growler if the mud gets bad," Helen says, nodding at the easily-seen vehicles.  The four-wheeler is a jeep-type vehicle (the one up on blocks), the scooter a three-wheel used for quick forays, and the mud-growler a heavy armored truck used for transport through all terrains.  The last is a bit unusual to still be working after all this time.  Most people just use dinos.

Roam smiled at the lady but kept quiet.  He waved to Tarla to have her follow him in.  Once he was inside the gate and facing the others he spoke:  "The dragonfly sounds like it might be the best place to find the brother and information.  The garage though, I can verify the vehicle that was there.  That took him.  Maybe find out who was driving it."

Obviously somewhat excited by the prospect of an adventure-mystery, Esuml bounced a bit on the balls of her feet.

"Do we split up? Stay together? Garage and Dragonfly? I call going with grandpa!" She said, striding quickly over to Oiktirmon's side.

Roam peers over at the garage with interest.

Mira asks Helen if she could pay to stable Gaytha at their dino-stables for a while, "At least I need to pay to feed her.  We've been on the run all day, and she can't exactly ask the hunters what they've seen," she says, looking shy and sad.  Helen smiles and gives the girl a pat, waving them to the stables.

"Nonsense!  We can spare a bit of fodder while you look for your kin.  Now, you go talk to those fellows in the Dragonfly before they get too far into their cups, and tell them Helen said for them to talk straight!" Helen says.  Mira quickly sees Gaytha to the stables, then comes back to enter the tavern.  As she passes, she whispers something to Oiktirmon.  "There's no argoraptors in the stables."

Helen remains in the stables while Mira passes inside the dimness of the drinking establishment.  Those close can see the place is like much of Grevakc, a mixture of the old future and the new past.  Panels from shipping containers make up some walls, along with slabs of wood, stone, large bones garnered from the bends of rivers after floods, and even living trees.  The lighting is a few solar lights in the living ceiling, combined with the occasional fish-oil lamp, along with whatever sunlight dares filter inside.

Tables and chairs of bone and wood are scattered around with four lounging drinkers, the bar a mosaic of dino-bones with polished stones in them lined with bentwood bar stools which hold two more.  A dartboard with hand-made darts with feather flights has seen some heavy use on one wall, and a raised platform against another is likely where some kind of entertainment would sit.  In the sultry afternoon, no one holds center stage.  The bar holds one tap, and a wealth of bottles in a rainbow of shades.

The lounging drinkers are a mixture of men and women, most of them in their second or third decade, with weathered complexions and a few scars that testify to their profession.  They're wearing coveralls, stained but clean, in various dark shades.  One woman has her hair elaborately braided with small dinosaur feathers, one man is missing half an ear with a scar following along towards the back of his head.  The one who seems the youngest, a young man, is telling some story to the other guy seated at the bar, something that seems to require a lot of gestures.

In the garage across the way, anyone close by can see the one man working on the wheel is a powerfully-built man in his forties, with a face which had met several fists at different angles throughout his life.  A woman is further back in the garage, putting things away in a cabinet.  Her head is shaved, and she wears a well-stocked toolbelt around her sturdy middle.  She is not an attractive woman, with small eyes, upturned nose, and a mouth that seems to be set in a sneer, but she also looks very busy.

Roam walked toward the garage, kicking a rock out of his way as he meandered.  Roam made a scooting noise to Tarla suggesting she stay back a bit.

He walked up next to the jeep and looked inside.  He looks at the wheel and the large man fixing it.  Roam checked the size of the other wheels and turned back to the man.
"Hello sir.  This is an impressive vehicle.  Maintenance routine, or did something big and scary bite through that wheel?"

Roam continued circling the vehicle.  "I'm called Roam, and you?"

The man underneath the truck grunted in response, continued to tinker with something, grunted again, and came sliding out from underneath, chucking away a sturdy fragment of wood.  "Tree bit the tire.  Was about to go anyway," he says, and slides back underneath.  "Name's Gus.  What'd Helen let you in for?"

"Hey Gus, I'm Roam.  Who decides to drive over a tree?"  Roam picked up a socketwrench and hands it to the man.

Kneeling down by the truck, Roam's eyes slide out toward the Drowned Dragonfly and watch the little blue and yellow bambiraptor race off.  His eyes narrow watching it.  "Yeah, Helen was sweet.  Just looking for my friends brother."

Gus grunts again, though whether that is in reaction to your comment or to whatever maintenance he's doing is up for debate.  "You're the first new people to walk in here, so can't tell you anything about someone's brother," he says.  Then he bellows out, "Vell, you see anything?"

The woman turns from what she was doing at a workbench and looks over at Roam with a very irritated expression.  "No," she says with finality.  "Doesn't sound like anyone I know."

"Ok, Gus and Vell.  Would you please let me know if you spot him?  His sister is quite worried."
Roam stands from his crouch near Gus and takes a serious look into the jeep.  He quickly stretches his arms up and pops his back.

With a "Thanks" to Vell, he gives her a wave and turns to walk back to the Downed Dragonfly.  Out of habit Roam moves immediately next to the tracks of the little bambiraptor and follows hoping for a drink.

Gus rolled out from underneath the vehicle again and gives Roam a hard look.  "Ya looking to buy this thing or what?  You're staring like you're going to have to draw it from memory later."  He looks over at Vell, and she adds:

"You think this kid was on a truck like this?"

The older man gives her a fondly amused grin, and looks at the others.

"All right, it will be the Dragonfly for us then.  Is anyone else coming?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:49, Sat 05 May 2018.

"Wasn't a kid.  Teen or older.  But a brother, picked up outside and brought in today.  I'll be at the Dragonfly.  Please let me know if you hear anything.  I appreciate it guys."

Roam wandered over to the Drowned Dragonfly, following the path Oiktirmon had taken before.  With a gentle push Roam pushed the door to the tavern open and stepped inside.

Esuml had already said she was with Oiktirmon, and Mira has already passed into the Dragonfly.

Inside, you can see Mira has gone to speak to the barkeeper, a man old enough to have been part of the Last Commute, small and neat, his very dark skin in deep wrinkles and smile-lines, his curly, close-cropped hair snow white.  She is clutching a bone cup without sipping as she relates her story.  The two people sitting the bar, the younger man who was telling some enthusiastic story to a skinny fellow with a shaved head and tattooed scalp, have seemed to dim their own conversation out of respect for a stranger.

The barkeep looks sympathetic, but shakes his head slowly, patting her hand.




The Downed Dragonfly's "door" is more of a pair of swinging slats of wood that barely touch, with huge open windows so low you could step over the sills without much of a stretch.

Inside, most of the drinkers glance up at him, Oiktirmon, and Esmul with an acknowledging glance, then go back to their own relaxation.  The woman with the feathers in her hair smiles more warmly and waves at them all to join her table.

"New people!  What washed you off the Road that brought you out here?" she asks.

Roam came across the street and looked up at the sign for the Drowned Dragonfly.  He could feel a tug at his lips and a lightness in his chest.  He liked the name.  It sounded good to him and the hope of a good place brought him hope.
Roam looked at the slatted 'door' and pushed his way in, to follow his companions.  He spotted several of his companions in the tavern already.  Esuml was pretty cute and definitely easy to pick out in this crowd.  Maybe he should ask her out...
Roam watched Mira, but the searching expression on her face indicated her brother wasn't in sight.

The woman with feathers in her hair chirped and No one else seemed interested in answering her.  "We're actually here looking for someone.  My friend back here, her brother was picked up after an encounter with a time storm earlier.  The tire tracks led right to your gate.  Easy enough for a Brachiasaurus to follow."
Roam paced as he was talking, moving about the room.  Not fast, but steady.  His sole purpose was to keep that tiny raptor in the edge of his sight.  His stomach started to knot as it dawned on him they might be trying to find the same person.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:08, Thu 30 July 2020.

The woman looks curiously at Roam.  "I'm Mega, and I read the bones around here.  The boys went out hunting earlier, so if we had a storm, no doubt we'd have tracks...  Keesh, Thelis, you see anyone out there earlier?  Or your argos pick up anything?"

Two of the men one table over shake their heads slightly and take drinks out of their tankards, though a third one is looking at Roam walking around the room.  Staring almost.

"Guess not," she says, furrowing her brow.  Mira looks visibly upset, and Mega gestures her over.  "I'm sure he must be somewhere."  Mega gets the attention of the half-dozen men sitting at the tables.  "Boys, go see if you can find this girl's brother.  Little brother I guess, right?  You look pretty worried," she says, addressing the last to Mira.  The men at the tables get up, some reluctantly, and file out of the tavern, scattering through the streets of the village.  That leaves the two people at the bar, and the bartender.  "They'll do what they can for you.  Now, why were you out there?"

Mira hesitates, but then starts to tell a story of how she was caught in a terrible storm, and was separated from Quill.  She was hurt, and by the time she'd woken up, he had been taken and there were tracks.

She did not, the group notes, say anything about the time terror.

Mega purses her lips and nods.  "That's a sad, sad thing.  Let me send up a signal to one of the other little places around here; it's possible someone else saw something."  She waves to the man with the shaved head, and tells him to go to the signal tower.

Mega continues to speak with Mira in a low voice.  But as she does so, the young man at the bar, and the elderly barkeep, keep looking out the door or down at something behind the bar, respectively.