chloe 003 - forest and miscreant behavior

[ghostly_stutter]

I heard a group of you went into the forest and discovered something there. Something I may be able to help with. Please contact me here, or arrange for a meeting place so we can talk. I would like to know more.

Also, Jack? Alex? I heard you went into the tunnels too. Did you both make it out in one piece?

Did you find anything?

Comments

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[heroinwait]

[It's this girl. She'd mentioned the tunnels before, as well.]

What do you know about the forest? Or the tunnels, for that matter.

[Commentlog!]

[heroinwait]

[At the sound of Chloe's voice, Riku turns. He nods to her, though--sorry!--no smiles yet.]

Yeah.

Thanks for coming.

[Commentlog!]

[ghostly_stutter]

[Chloe nods a greeting, a small smile on her lips.]

No problem.

[She closes the distance between them, looking out at the lake.] Odd place, huh?

[Commentlog!]

[heroinwait]

Yeah.

[Riku turns too, looking out over the lake. Truth be told, it's not the strangest place he's been--heck, after some of the places he's been, this feels a bit like a cakewalk. That doesn't mean he's too eager to stay here, though.]

There's a lot more to this place than meets the eye.

[Commentlog!]

[ghostly_stutter]

[Chloe tilts her head to look up at Riku, wondering how he felt about this place. Where he came from.]

So you wanted to know more about the forest and tunnels, right? I've learned there are plants that move and attack you in the forest. Deer with fangs. And stone golems to be wary about. [She makes a displeased expression at that.] I don't know how anyone here can defend against that, so hopefully not many will cross our paths.

As for both the tunnels and the forest, be very careful. The paths...change. if you are with a group of people, and chance one glance behind you, when you turn back around the area before you will change. Those you travel with willbe gone. No one should be alone down there--or in the forest.

[Commentlog!] if you want to keep going |D;;

[heroinwait]

[Riku listens silently while she speaks, taking her words in.]

I can see why you'd say the forest is dangerous, then.

[It reminds him of an old story about someone in a maze, and how they'd been able to keep from getting hopelessly lost by tying string to the front of the maze and unwinding it as they made their way through. Would the same thing work here?]

What about the tunnels? What was down there?

[Commentlog!] Definitely up for continuing! 8DDD

[ghostly_stutter]

[Chloe looks serious when she turns to look at him.] Good. The more people know to be wary of it, the better off they will be. You may want to warn others, too.

Down there? Well, my friend was attacked by stone crocodiles. They--they came to life, but remained stone. Apparently part of the tunnels has water. I've never been to that part, though. [Thankfully.]

When I went down there, the Keep's guard, Duran, found the group I was traveling with. [She casts a sidelong glance up at Riku] Have you met him, yet?

[Commentlog!] Whoo-hoo! \o/

[heroinwait]

[Riku casts his mind back over all the people he's met so far. The name Duran isn't a familiar one.]

I can't say that I have.

How did he find you?

[Commentlog!] 8DDDDD

[ghostly_stutter]

I--I don't know. He's... I don't trust him. He doesn't seem the sort who will ask questions first, attack later. He seems like he itches for a fight. He--He can take wolf form. I-It's like a spirit wolf. No... that's not it. A shadow wolf, maybe. Made of dark. It's hard to explain.

[Commentlog!]

[heroinwait]

[Chloe may not know it, but saying that makes Riku take even more note. It sounds different, but if he's using the darkness to help him, Riku wants to keep tabs on that.]

So it sounds like he might've been tracking you the whole time.

Re: [Commentlog!]

[ghostly_stutter]

[Shuddering, Chloe brings both hands up to rub the goosebumps that raises along the flesh of her arms.]

I hope not! God, I hope not. That is not something I want to worry about.

[Pushing thoughts of Duran away, Chloe considers her tale of the tunnels once again.]

We found a room by traveling through a door Duran created in the wall of the tunnels. The thing is--the door took us above ground--by the bell tower. And there was a grave there. The name Holloway was written on a plaque by the cairn. [Her expression is concerned by this.] Holloway.

[Commentlog!]

[heroinwait]

The keep's namesake.

[It makes Riku realize how little they know about the history of the keep. It's all well and good to know the keep's layout, but there could be an important clue to it in its past.]

So you think the original Holloway is there.

[Commentlog!]

[ghostly_stutter]

I do. Or I did.

I thought Holloway might have been the original owner of this place. When I asked Nieta about the owner of the Keep, she said it had always been Lord Deior.

[Chloe frowns. She thought she had finally gotten somewhere, too.]

[Commentlog!]

[heroinwait]

That doesn't necessarily mean much. She could've come here after Deior took over.

Did you get a chance to look at the grave while you were up there?

[It might be worth checking out. Maybe there was something up there that was missed?]

[Commentlog!]

[ghostly_stutter]

I looked. There was a coat of arms, the cairn, an elevator that didn't work while we were up there, and what seemed like some kind of alter.

[She also tried to summon the spirit, and wished with everything in her it had worked. She desperately wanted answers. What better way than from the dead?]

[Commentlog!]

[heroinwait]

An altar?

[That's it, he needs to check this out for himself. He needs to see it with his own eyes.]

You said it was by the bell tower?