Forest

so what are our options, OP?

File: note.png (55KB, 303x200px) Image search: [Google]

55KB, 303x200px

>>882985
Well, you don't know what's written on the note, so that's a good place to start.

>>882999

Read the note

File: greyman.jpg (2KB, 208x157px) Image search: [Google]

2KB, 208x157px

>>883011
"The food and water are safe. Avoid the cenotes and the grey men. Keep moving, if you stay in one place you'll become impure. Keep running. Stay safe."

>>883016

Pick up all that stuff and try to get my bearings. What does this forest look like?

>>883020
You gather the materials and place them in a bag that hangs from your back. The forest is foggy and dark, and slants like you're on the side of a mountain. You're can't see far.

>>883025

Can I climb a tree to get a better look? If not, can I start hiking up the mountain?

>>883025
I use echolocation to detect for any nearby threats by squatting down close to the ground and viciously slapping my genitalia onto the bare earth.

But in all seriousness we should probably find a water source like a stream or river and move along it for a while to insure access to food and water until something runs us off.

Do we have any filtration devices or is it only what you have described?

>>883030
The trees are wet, it's rained recently. You can try, but it would require some effort.

>>883034
The note said the water is safe. No way to know but to try it. The only items on you are what's been described.

>>883034
>>883035

Well, lets start walking along the river we woke up by, axe in one hand. Probably should move cautiously, to avoid cenotes.

>>883038
The earth is damp, and filled with stone and roots. Do you follow the river upstream, towards the mountaintop, or downstream, to the base of the mountain?

>>883042

Lets go with upstream

>>883050
It doesn't take long before the air gets cold and nippy. The water is clear, but vicious. You travel for an hour before you come across a massive hole in the ground. On the far side, you see a small mass of wooden huts and shacks. Figures move in the mist.

>>883053

I want to hide in some bushes or something like that on my side of the hole, trying to observe the figures.

>>883061
Closer examination reveals they're carrying wood, rocks, animal carcasses. They're cooking food, stoking fires, and repairing structures. One man, dressed in red, bangs rocks together and howls. Another, dressed similarly, drop round stones into the large pit. It's more bustling than first impressions. Smoke hangs, heavy, over the little hamlet.

>>883068

Can I sneak closer? Also, what time of day is it about?

>>883079
You can, and it feels around evening. No idea how to tell, though; the mists and heavy clouds obscure the sun. A Sunstone would be useful.

>>883068
>>883079
I think we should fashion a crude spear if we are far enough away, just cut down a sturdy sapling and make the tip sharp with our axe, should only take a few swings once we have chopped it down.

Do this quietly and only if we are far away enough to avoid detection. We are going to want some more defense than just the axe, and the spear lets us hold things at bay instead of just being forced into frantic melee.

>>883088
The sapling gives way after one swing. The wood is soft. Careful use of the axe sharpens the sapling into a weapon. It's about your height, and bends.

>>883091
Doesn't drying the wood with fire makes it harder? We should wait out the night in the forest, burn our spear at daybreak (no during the knight for we would be seen from afar) and observe how they start their day, they could be dangerous

>>883095
Waiting, you gradually grow hungry and thirsty. From afar, the villagers meander about, seemingly ignoring eachother, doing various tasks. Eventually, night falls, and they stop what they're doing and climb into a single shack. Smoke leaves a makeshift chimney. A single window reveals light inside. You are quite cold. The light and heat are tempting.

>>883099

Eat my fish, drink my water, loot their camp

>>883128
The water is weirdly bitter, and the fish is sour. Doesn't make you feel bad, though, so it's up in the air if it'll kill you. Walking around the rim of the very large, perfectly circular hole, you eventually sneak into the perimeter of the camp. One person, totally naked unlike the others, stalks around holding an axe like yours.

>>883131

I hold a single finger up to my lips, signalling for him to be quiet.

>>883138
He hasn't seen you. He's clawing the dirt, looking for something.

>>883142
Question, are we also naked?
Maybe try to get the guys attention without spooking him, as long as he doesn't look like one of the villagers.

A pillaging buddy could be really fucking useful.

Also, the shack they are all sleeping in, is there any way to peer into it, like large cracks or openings between wooden slats? Are any of these large enough for us to stick a spear through and maybe injure or cripple one of the villagers, because you know, fuck other people and shit. We belong to the Naked Axe Tribe!

>>883168
You're wearing a t-shirt, sweatpants, ankle socks, and running shoes. The shack is relatively poorly made, lots of holes and cracks. Flinging the spear would require precision, given your distance.

>>883174
Ask the naked man about the grey men

>>883180
"Hey, do you, uh, know about the grey men?" The man turns towards you, and freezes. "Nix gor nalbog himmer sil!" he says, and begins to back away.

>>883195

Crouch down and extend my hand, palm up. Avoid eye contact. Try to signal friend as best as I can.

>>883195
>Nix gor nalbog himmer sil
Well that is a no go, I vote we look around to steal something and then before we leave we sneak up to the main hut and stab one of the fucks with our spear through a gap, but try not to lose it.

If we are lucky they will blame chucklefuck here and his crew.

>>883212
>>883216
You crouch, hand up, and he immediately bolts, dragging his axe behind him. The axe is wet with blood.
Looking around, you find a few buildings that appear to be storage for food, water, wood, stone, bones, etc. Except for one shack that's full of axes, notes, backpacks, fish bones, and flasks. The notes all read similarly to yours.

>>883216
>Nix gor nalbog himmer sil
that sounds like a throat-heavy tongue of the darkly inclined no doubt.
but his nakedness may suggest he was some kind of test subject or guinea pig

>>883221
Throaty indeed, but his skin was pale-ish and of questionable ethnicity; he almost looks albino.

>>883220

Is this stuff leftovers from supplies similar to ours? Did people in a similar situation die and then their stuff ended up here?

>>883220
>>883221
>>883225
Lets sneak up to the shack and see if the people in there are wearing clothes, maybe see if we can catch any parts of a conversation.

These people might be killing all the people sent here like us and stealing their shit or they might have been sent here too and started a village.

>>883229
>>883239
The supplies is similar if not identical to what you're carrying. The people in the shack are wearing layers of shredded clothing; it looks like yours but much older and brutally torn apart.

>>883220
Take a backpack and fill it with food and water.

Read all the notes, see if any of them add anything ours doesn't.

>>883246
Different notes describe them differently, but generally, Giant Hole, Abyss, etc. and Grey men, Naked men, and pale men are to be avoided. Also, there are deer in the woods and fish in the streams, according to the pile of notes.

The meet is dry and sour, and the water is bitter, like coffee, but it's clear.

>>883255
Okay, so we avoid the naked dudes. Do we want to make our presence known to these fuckers in the morning? They aren't naked, they don't look grey, or at least that was not described to us. So these guys seem safe.

>>883261
Not grey or pale, but definitely sickly.

>>883261

Agreed. If their clothes and supplies are similar to ours, they probs got here the same way we did.

Let's talk to them once they up.

>>883261
>>883265
Sleep in a shack or the woods?

>>883276

I don't like that creepy grey man being out there, but I don't want to spook the villagers. Can we find a place to hide and sleep in the woods?

>>883280
Lots of bushes, and a cave nearby.

>>883285

If I could see in the dark, I would probably check out the cave. But I probably can't, can I OP?

I think I'm gonna try to cover my skin with wet dirt to mask my scent and go to sleep in some bushes.

>>883296
Your eyes would need to adjust, but you could see a little. Covering yourself in mud is not, considering the temperature, but you get the job done. You hunker down in a bush and drift off, surprisingly tired.

>>883296
Yeah I am good with that too.

The cave is probably were that dude fled to since it says beware the abyss.

My question though is why do they keep the notes too? Maybe it is for comparisons sake or to prove to new arrivals that they are all in the same boat and that these guys didnt bring them here.

>>883307
Early in the morning, before the sun comes up, you're awoken by a loud crash.

>>883320

First, where's my axe? Gotta find it.
Second, where did the crash come from?

>>883330
Crash came from near the village, axe in your pack.

>>883336
Cool
I sneak over to see what's up

>>883346
You see a handful of villagers chopping a felled tree with their axes.

>>883348

I approach openly, calling "Hello!" from about 30 meters/yards/a fair distance away.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

Dig a hole in the ground for metal.

Nat one and a Balrog is unleashed.

>>883355
A handful look at you, and a tall one says "Oh, shit."

>>883364
"Well thank God for English, atleast you aren't all 'Nix Gobn ma fling dunk" like that naked fucker who snuck into your village was last night. I saw that he had an axe like me, so I thought he was in the same boat. but I get the distinct feeling I was wrong on that one."

>>883373
They turn and look at each other.
"Uh, wait here."
The tall one runs into the village.

>>883376
The man returns, holding a revolver, and bringing a man wearing deep red scraps of cloth over his normal clothing.

>>883388
Be humble. Try not to get shot or some shit

>>883389

This*100.

Also, "What's going on, guys? How did we all get here?"

>>883392
The man in red, clearly elderly, holds up his hand to silence you.
"Quiet. Speak little. It is listening."
The man gestures for you to follow you.

>>883396

I think we better do what he says, don't you?

>>883396
>>883402
I guess there's naught to do but follow ourselves

>>883402
>>883404
The man leads you past the village, lit with torches, and brings you to the edge. Off in the distance, on the side of the hole where you arrived, the river trickles, lightly, into the hole. The old man points into the depths, obscured by mist, and says one word.

"Cenote."

>>883411

I nod once, slowly, saying nothing

>>883415
The man puts up his hand, as if to gesture "Stay." He walks back to the village, and grabs a pale body, slightly decayed. He struggles to drag it, but when get gets it to the edge, he pushes it into the pit.

"Appease."

>>883415
A Cenote is just a hole in the surface of the ground that leads to a reservoir of fresh water inside of a limestone cavern, essentially the ceiling eroded and collapsed. Just in case you didn't know, because I didnt until I started playing this.

So in character I guess we wait and see if he expands on this more before we risk talking again.

>>883422

I nod again. I want to watch the body fall into the cenote. Can I hear it hit the bottom?

>>883425
The Aztecs (or Mayans, I can't remember which) believed they were holes to the world of the dead.

>>883425
The man gestures to the misty pit.
"Mouth of God."
>>883429
He walk away, and after waiting for a few minutes, you hear a distant splash.

>>883435

Let's try to not get sacrificed to the giant pit.

I think we should follow him back.

>>883450
Following the man back into the village, you see villagers toiling away, carving stone and wood, building structures, walls, and traps. There are less than a dozen villagers, and several dogs, all mangy and underfed. A single cat hunts for mice and rats in the food storage. The old man carves stones, and another man in red carves wood. They seem to be making runes. Off in the distance, howls and screams echo off the mountainside.

>>883463

Approaching the other man in red "Are those howls the grey men?"

>>883487
The man presses his finger against his lips.
"Sssssh."

>>883500

I nod. "What is your name?"

>>883514
"Jacob."

>>883537

"Jacob? I'm Anon. I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did I get here? How did any of us get here?"

>>883556
"Uh, well... I don't remember. I've been carving sticks into spikes to make traps for like... a month now. I've helped make a few dozen traps..."

>>883565

"Are those traps for... unwanted guests? Because one may have dropped by this camp last night..."

>>883581
"They... don't always work."

>>883600

"What do our pale friends want with us?"

>>883603
"They..." He coughs. He starts to whisper. "They eat people."

>>883606
Why dont we eat them back? I know it is sick, but all of you guys are starting to look pretty sickly, food must be scarce.

>>883614
"Their bodies are poison. George, the guy in red, says so many died early on because they tried to eat the natives. A single drop of blood can make you puke your guts up."

>>883621

"Fair enough. How do we stop them? Maybe you could show me around?"

>>883621
One that snuck in last night was patting and scratching in the ground like it was looking for something, does that mean anything to you?

>>883644
"The little ones are easy to take apart, they're like cookie dough. The bigs ones? They're hard as wood. Talk to George, he'll show you around."

>>883656
"Well... whisper."

>>883656

I go whisper-ask George if he can show me the camp.
I also want to ask what language our pale friends speak.

>>883679
I continue to stand around doing nothing, not talking to George and watching you whisper

>>883732
"Walk with me. Into the woods."
He walks you into the woods, following a trail where the trees have been cut. He leads you to a clearing, with a single, humongous tree.
"We can speak without scrutiny here. The pale ones do not speak any language we know, they do not say the same things twice."

>>883739
There is only 1 PC.

>>883759

"Jeez, I thought they couldn't get any creepier. Do they come in groups ever? Or is it just one at a time?"

>>883770
"Every time a new person arrives, they come in force. Within a week, we can expect a few hundred."

>>883777

"Oh shit... Where the hell are they coming from? And what the fuck are we gonna do with hundreds of them?"

>>883790
"We spend all day making traps. Keeps them at bay, most times. More come every time someone arrives. They come from the mountaintop, we assume..."

>>883825

"Can't we move farther down the mountain away from them?"

>>883858
"They don't like going near the mouth. They're sinners, the damned. It's a pure place. Keeps them from making daily raids."

>>883884

"So nobody ever ventures far from the mouth? Where the hell are we??"

>>883935
The old man shrugs. "No way to know without endangering yourself."

>>883935

"So that's it, huh? We just get dropped off in the middle of butt-fuck-egypt, just waiting to get mauled by hundreds of bat-shit crazy naked dudes? No, I'm not gonna just die standing still. We gotta figure out what these pale assholes are all about"

>>883957
"You wouldn't be the first, or the last, I suppose. You'll feed them with your corpse."

>>883967

"Well, we gotta do something! Or maybe we could learn something about who put us here...
How did you get here? Where did you wake up?"

>>883978
"I woke about an hour downstream, and was chased down by the pale men. They wouldn't get close to the mouth, though. I figured it would keep me safe, and it did."

>>883988

"Did hundreds come when you first arrived? Is the mouth going to be enough to keep hundreds of them at bay? I feel like I'm just biding time before I die in this sick nightmare"

>>883999
"We're all biding our time. It's all we can do. And yes, many did come, but much less than normal. They're gradually ramping up pressure."

>>884028

"My note... it said cenotes... Like, plural... Do you know of any more mouths like that?

>>884046
"There are a few. They ring around the island. Eyes and mouths of God..."

>>884054
He scratches his chin.
"Eyes and mouths of god."

>>884054
>>884061

"Island??? shit... Are there any others? Or just us?"

>>884070
"Yes, quite a few factions. They hunt eachother, wax and wane. The Cenote protects us. They're not too different from the pale men..."

>>884077

"Thanks for the help... I guess"
I want to see the Cenote again.

>>884093
Traveling back to the Cenote, it begins to rain. The mud on your skin begins to run. Your clothes are filthy. The mists are high in the Cenote, you can only see around 100 feet down. You feel like you're being watched.

>>884112

I pull out my axe and look around to see if I can spot someone watching me.

>>884117
The village is practically deserted, actually.

>>884127

"Where the hell is everyone...", I mutter to myself.
I turn back to the cenote and kick a rock into it.

>>884169
The rock tumbles downwards. It takes several minutes for it to hit water.

>>884185

Could I scale the wall?

>>884191

of the cenote. I wanna climb down into it.

>>884191
>>884197
It's 90 degrees, all the way down. It would be foolish, but not impossible.

>>884225

Is there anything in the camp I can use to dig into a rock face? A couple of picks or something?

>>884249
No, just axes.

>>884258

Damn... lemme go grab some food or something, see if anyone is back at camp.

>>884264
You have meat and water in your pack.

>>884279

Is anyone in camp? I wanna ask where the nearest other cenote is.

>>884296
Looking around, they seem to have vacated...

>>884303

Where else is there to go? Can I climb up on the shack/hut to look around?

>>884331
Sure. They're sturdy enough. You can see around half a mile in every direction, a sea of trees and a few clearings.

>>884342

Anyone alive out there?

>>884359
You see some movement, but nothing you can tell is human for sure.