Open Chronicles Meat's back on the menu...

[Grigog Rogegror]

Grigog swallowed his disgust and listened to the others, slightly surprised that they were not affected by the grotesque decorations. The Half-breed was correct. Naturally the forest would be the best place to hide for now. They certainly couldn't stay here.

"And swim to where girl?" Grigog asked. "We have no idea where we are. Where the nearest islands are. But the idea of escaping this island can wait. You are correct...half-breed" Grigog realized this was the first time he called the half-breed by what he assumed he was.

"The forest can hide us for now. But these are also orcs. They may know this place better then you or I. I was hoping to find maybe some weapons. Perhaps my bag or my staff. But look..."

Grigog gestured towards the tents. "Do you see any place where our gear would be? I see none. Nor anything that would indicate gear from the wreckage. Do they keep them here? Or perhaps someplace else? I do not know. That troubles me greatly..."

Grigog stroked his beard a bit in thought, then shook his head. "I guess we will have to make do without..."

A screech pierced the air. Grigog flinched as an Orc-child, naked aside from the small cloth over his waist and his own mask, was pointing out the three directly to the group's left. It's exotic and high pitched noises began to alert the others, who were beginning to investigate. Three young males, no older then 15, were approaching spears in hand. Their blood-covered bodies indicated they had been harvesting corpses.

"Dragon's fire" Grigog cursed. "Run!"

And without another word, Grigog charged towards the nearest trees, hoping against hope to lose the savages in the wild underbrush.

Brok | Gaia

 

[Brock]

Half breed.

It was a moniker that he would get from both sides it seemed. In fact most of the humans had actually seen him as nothing but an orc, so perhaps it was better to accept the term than be seen as a complete outsider.

Any thoughts of fitting in with any culture were quickly dismissed at Grigog's warning. He was right, there wasn't much to search here. If the warriors of the tribe were close then they were be set upon soon. If they lived on this island, then they would know every inch of it.

Brock ran, but almost immediately pulled short as a spear sliced through the air in front of him. He stooped to pick it up. Better than nothing. Now they had two weapons.

At the rear of the group, Brock looked over his shoulder.

"They're following us!"

 

[Gaia]

“And swim to where girl? We have no idea where we are. Where the nearest islands are. But the idea of escaping this island can wait. You are correct...half-breed"

She frowned at his tone, but said nothing. Her temptation to remind him that while they DID not know where swimming would get them, they did know where not swimming would keep them. Here, on this island with the horrors that already lay here. She held her silence and simply followed them. They were more fighters and warriors than she was, so she would respect that the probably knew more and as they both seemed to be the same as the beasts around them, at least partially, they would likely know better when they were capable of, not that the horrors she’d witnessed didn’t give her a good enough idea as it was.

"The forest can hide us for now. But these are also orcs. They may know this place better then you or I. I was hoping to find maybe some weapons. Perhaps my bag or my staff. But look..."

Her eyes followed his gesture.

"Do you see any place where our gear would be? I see none. Nor anything that would indicate gear from the wreckage. Do they keep them here? Or perhaps someplace else? I do not know. That troubles me greatly..."

She turned her eyes to Grigog as he stroked his beard and shook his head. She folded her arms over her chest. She’d had nothing to be looking for, she did not see anything that appeared to be weapons either.

"I guess we will have to make do without..."

A shrill scream startled them all and Grigog turned, running quickly. She dug the balls of her feet into the ground, propelling herself after him quickly.

"Dragon's fire, Run!"

And with that they were on the run again. The orc who had the more human features took up behind her and Grigog ran ahead. She heard the thud of something hitting the mud behind her, but she knew it was not Brock and she just kept running, not wanting to stop and ask questions.

"They're following us!" came from behind her. This did not surprise her at all and to be honest, she doubted their chances of escape from this island of horrors.
Grigog Rogegror
Brock

 

[Grigog Rogegror]

"Just run! Just run!" Grigog shouted to the others, hearing how they were being followed. They had to put some distance between them and the village. The more distance, the more likely they could avoid being found by any hunters. They could either kill or lose their pursuers later, provided they didn't catch them first.

With each step, Grigog had to shove some leaves out of the way, or kick through a branch. Grigog was panting at this point. He wasn't sure how long he had been running. A few minutes? An hour? How long? Were the others behind him? Time always seemed to change when adrenaline was flowing though the veins. He just needed to keep going. He prayed to the spirits that the other two would be able to keep up. The half-breed would be able to easily but the girl? Grigog doubted she had the stamina of an orc.

Grigog reached forward to push a branch out of the way when suddenly his arm felt resistance in the air. Large strings of white filled the air around his arm. Grigog eye's widened in fear at the realization of what they had stumbled into.

"Webs!" Grigog growled as he pulled his hand back. Sure enough, further forward, where the sun peaked through the foliage, light glinted off of sticky white webbings, large enough to indicate that it's maker was bigger then usual.

Grigog turned around and faced his other comrades. Either into the spider infested area, or face their pursuers. For once, he didn't know which was worse. He could see the others start to catch up, as well as three or four masked orcs as well, eager to recapture their meal by any means necessary.

Would they follow them into the spider lair? Grigog doubted it. If they knew nature as much as Grigog did, they wouldn't be foolish enough to give chase without more of the males. But Grigog doubted whether or not the three would survive long either...

"Come on! Keep going!" Grigog commanded as he charged into the webbed area. It was a risk they would have to take. But already he could hear the savages slow down in their pursuit, realizing what was ahead.

Grigog ran for a little longer, slower. His breathing got deeper and deeper. He was having to use more energy to clear a path for the other two to follow. But he couldn't risk them getting caught in the webs. Once he was satisfied, he stopped in what was a small clearing. The sun still beamed down on them, but the thick foilage certainly gave plenty of shade.

Grigog placed his hands on his knees, gasping a bit. "There...we lost them....for now..." Grigog looked around, a bit nervous. Still, they had put some distance from the village. "Rest...for a bit. Then we move on..." Grigog sat on the ground and looked at the others.

Brok | Gaia

 

[Brock]

Brock nodded. He didn't have enough breath left in his burning lungs left to speak. With his hands on his hips he turned to look back through the undergrowth.

It was possible the young orcs had lost their nerve, but equally likely their shorter strides had dropped behind. The older orc had been remarkably agile rushing through the trees.

Brock hadn't noticed the pale strands of broken webs catching the wind behind them. He didn't realise that some of those broken strands had sent vibrations hundreds of meters through the woods to the oversized spiders. Even now the arachnids were plucking at strands of silk to understand the extent of the damage done by the way they vibrated.

"They must have boats," Brock said, still gasping. "Or they could just live on this one island?"

 

[Gaia]

"Just run! Just run!"

They ran, she ran as fast as she could but she was wearing out quickly and she was tempted to just turn around and go back to the dangerous ones, at least she would be a distraction and these two could get away. As they stopped she panted, dropping her hands to her knees to catch her breath.

"Webs!" Grigog yelled. She groaned, going back sounded better than going forward now… Die instantly, or get webbed and paralyzed and have your blood sucked out of you slowly.

"Come on! Keep going!" She took a second to kick herself back into gear. She really needed to shift. Anything was better than this human form and she knew that. She moved her hand to her collar for the thousandth time in her life, there was no way she could break it, but one of these two maybe able to. She would suggest it maybe… maybe not. She wasn’t sure she wanted to rely on them just yet. But, they both were saving her now, so maybe. She needed to get away from her default of trust no one and trust them.

They ran to a small clearing, the sun was uncomfortable, but the trees and such surrounding them gave them shade.

As Grigog put his hands on his knees, panting she dropped to her knees and sitting back on her heels, panting, dizzy with lack of air.

"There...we lost them....for now… Rest...for a bit. Then we move on..." Grigog said in between pants. She nodded softly, turning her eyes towards Brock for a moment as he spoke before looking to her hands in her lap.

"They must have boats, or they could just live on this one island?" She shrugged, she knew little of their kind, she’d only heard of them and seen them once or twice. She brought her hand up to the collar again before looking between the two.

“Either of you think you could get this off me by chance?” she asked quietly before standing and walking towards Brock first, lifting her chin so he could inspect the collar and see if he’d be able to break it. It was thick leather with no apparent lock on it. Magically sealed around her throat, more magic imbedded within it kept her from shifting. She stood silently, waiting on his verdict.
Grigog Rogegror
Brock

 

[Grigog Rogegror]

"It's possible..." Grigog mentioned, thinking about the possibility of boats. If the natives did, they would have a much better chance of escaping. But they had no idea where in the world the island they were on was, or heck, even if this was an island or some tip of a continent.

The girl spoke, asking for help with her coller. As she moved towards the half-breed, Grigog nodded to him, indicating for him to try.

"What kind of people tie straps around other people's necks? What do they have that requires others to be bounded up like pets?"

 

[Brock]

Brock gently prised away one edge of the leather. There was no buckle. It had to have been stretched to wrap around her neck like this.

He held out the spear towards the orc. Better to spread the weapons around and he needed the knife to try and remove the collar.

"Turn around please," Brock asked, drawing the knife. It was made of bone. "I'll try and saw it off."

The leather was tight, it was hard to get the blade beneath it and it seemed safer to have it against the nape of her neck than the throat.

"Should we be worried about these webs?" he asked. He had barely thought about them during the chase.

 

[Gaia]

"What kind of people tie straps around other people's necks? What do they have that requires others to be bounded up like pets?"

She lifted her head as she looked to Grigog quietly and smiled weakly. “I am a slave, so, those who collared me owned me as if I were a pet.” Her eyes fell on Brock, her chin rose so he had access to the collar. He pried the edge away from her neck slightly before he handed the spear to Grigog.

"Turn around please, I'll try and saw it off."

She nodded, uncomfortable with the idea of having him behind her, but knowing she needed the collar off and she could never remove it herself, the magic which bound her with the collar prevented her from removing it. She turned her back to him, tilting her head down as she moved her long blond hair to the side to give him access to the collar clinging to her neck. She closed her eyes as she waited.

She felt the cool of the blade against her skin, soft goosebumps bestowed her pale skin as he began sawing at the collar

"Should we be worried about these webs?"

Brock asked as he worked and within a few minutes he was halfway through the collar which in itself was not that strong, only the magic that bound her was strong. She felt the magic stinging her neck in protest but she said nothing about the pain.

“I have to tell you both… I am a shifter… but I have never been allowed to shift, the collar kept that contained. I do not know what I am, or how I am when shifted. I have been human so long, I should be ok, if not, if I attack, kill me without remorse.”

She swallowed dryly, waiting for the collar to come completely loose.

Grigog Rogegror
Brock

 

[Grigog Rogegror]

Brock | Gaia

Grigog took the spear gladly, happy to have a weapon similar to his old staff.

At the word about the webs, Grigog looked around. The sticky white strings going from branch to branch were unnerving enough. Every time he looked, he felt like he saw the webs twanged slightly with movement. Even with the sun beaming down through the branches, it felt like Grigog was still trapped in the cave.

Grigog didn't mention how he could see a few large sacks spun up in the air, no doubt filled with animals and other things.

"We should worry, but not drastically. Keep our inner spirits in check. The spiders haven't descended..."

yet Grigog finished silently.

"A.... shifter?" Grigog asked. "What do you mean? Like a beastman, or a werewolf? Ah, how I envy you if you are telling the truth. To be so close with nature that you are of nature itself..."

 

[Brock]

He tried to be as careful as possible. However, he was not particularly well made for dexterous manoeuvres. The collar would tighten around her neck as he made some space for the blade. It went back and forth a few times against the leather, lightly nicking her skin before it came free.

Heeding her warning, the moment it fell away from her Brock pack-pedalled away. He stood beside Grigor with knife in hand, waiting to see what would happen.

 

[Gaia]

"A.... shifter?" Grigog asked. "What do you mean? Like a beastman, or a werewolf? Ah, how I envy you if you are telling the truth. To be so close with nature that you are of nature itself..."

“I am not sure” She said softly. “I have only been told I am a shifter, and that the collar prevented me for shifting, held me in that form so I have no clue. It could have been a lie for all I know.”

The collar tightened as Brock started cutting the collar, she felt the nick against her flesh but did not move with the exception of clenching her jaw. As the collar fell away she felt the tearing of muscle and flesh, pain ripping through her as her muscles thickened, swelling as fur tore through her flesh. Her clothing was destroyed as she shifted to her Anthro form for a few fleeting moments, instinctually trying to hold on to her human form, but failing and instead shifting to a form closer to her pure feline form before her instinctual hold broke and she shifted to her pure feline form.

She stood there, panting as she looked to them through silver blue eyes, looking around. She tried to talk, but a growl only escaped her throat. She didn’t have an urge to attack, that made her happy and she lifted a grey paw to look to it, unsheathing sharp claws before turning her head to look to the rest of her body. She looked to Brock… thinking .oO(“Thank you”) unsure if she could talk to him through her thoughts or not. She lowered her haunches to the ground, her muscles twitching as the pain of the shift drifted away in her memories.

She looked to them quietly... .oO("Well...") she thought as she looked to them... still unsure if they would "hear" her .oO("I guess at least this is some what better...)
Grigog Rogegror
Brock