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.