<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class=ooc><tr><td>Private thread. Please do not join unless you've been invited. Who: http://shadowlack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=779Kakosenas</a> & http://shadowlack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1556Puanym</a>. What: Puanym's second initiation in the "swamps", happening after "http://shadowlack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1581&st=0Sink or swim</a>". Just a fun game of hot and cold with a bit of danger and magic thrown in. :] When: 36th of Dyo, 81378</td></tr></table> <h4>Janardan Dormitories - Outside Room 8420 - Early Morning</h4>Kakosenas thumbed a small clasp on one of her many pockets shut. In her taloned hands she now held a small folded piece of parchment. It had been quite a few nights since Okkie's watery initiation of several Shadowlack members. Kakos had regretted not being there to see the show. She had had other business to tend to that night… and considered her absence that evening as a show of trust for her partner. Okkie had relayed the happenings of that fateful event to her in colourful detail. It had all gone smoothly, save for one individual. The Teacher. Yet they could expose him just as easily as he could expose them. So for the time being, he didn’t concern Kakosenas. Besides. Perhaps with the right words, or bribes, he could be won over. She’d silence him forcefully if she had to. Kakos didn’t want to be flushed out of her Janardan basement dwelling just yet. There was still some work to do. Xestri and Puanym though…Kakosenas had listened avidly when Okkie had told her about them. She had liked the sound of Xestri right from the beginning. Seemingly sightless, gilled and with an affinity for water. The latter being a quality that Kakos herself held rather high. The Evil One had met with her earlier on and given the aquatically inclined pendragon her “seal of approval", after of course, she had passed her own second test. Now it was Puanym’s turn. Okkie had mentioned the young male’s fine-tuned shape shifting abilities and the rather “quick" way he had traveled through the beast-filled water. This test would not be as linear as the last with its goal so plain in view. There would be a few more twists and turns. Kakosenas unfolded the paper, silently reading her own hastily written English script. It read as follows: <blockquote><font face=Aleia,Mistral,Vivaldi size=4>Greetings, Puanym Congratulations on passing our first test. Now here is your second and final. I sincerely hope that you had no plans for today, as they shall have to be put on hold. Your task is to find me. I'm in the Manik Swamplands. Granted, they aren't as beautiful nor as deadly as the swamps in Bhim, but they have their perks. Follow the trader's path to the southwest entrance of Manik. You must arrive at the entrance before noon. Enter the swamp when the sun is directly overhead and you are standing on your own shadow. I'll leave you something there in order to aid you. Once inside the swamp, you may not fly. You must walk on foot. You will be timed. Do not lose this paper. Shadowlack</font> [Followed by Kakosenas‘ insignia]</blockquote> It seemed to include all of the important information, and even if she had forgotten something, some vital instruction, she could always add to it later. Thus was the power of her seal. Kakosenas smiled privately to herself as she refolded the short letter. Stooping over, she slipped the letter underneath the crack between the floor and the door of room 8420. Puanym's dwelling. With it, she sent a gust of lingering frigid wind, cold enough to freeze nostrils and rouse the heaviest of sleepers. With her message delivered, Kakosenas straightened herself up and headed quietly down the hallway. A few more preparations were in order. <h4>Manik Swamplands - Southwest Entrance - Almost High Noon</h4>
<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class=ooc><tr><td>Ack, sorry it took so long. Real life is evil.</td></tr></table> <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Janardan Dormitories - Inside Room 8420 - Early Morning </span> Puanym twitched. Tossed a bit. Wrinkled his nose. Sneezed. The latter was what finally dredged him up from the bowels of sleep, and he cracked his eyes open blearily. Damn, it was cold. One hand idly rose to wipe at his offending nose, finding it very chill. It was currently the later days of Dyo, which usually brought some warmth with it. Grumbling quietly to himself, for no apparent reason since he (still) had no roommate, the dark pendragon tossed his covers aside, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. Yep, the floor was cold too. Nice. Not one to be deterred, Puanym stood in all his nude glory, started for the bathroom--and froze. A slight frown creased his brow, and his head canted carefully to the side as he eyed the slight piece of material that marred his usually empty floor. He was by no means a slob, and kept his room almost spartanly empty. Though, a lack of any personal belongings might have something to do with that. The few items he did own were stowed safely in his chest of drawers. That included some rather illegal paraphernalia, and what remained of the gift Okkie had bestowed upon him at his little test. He found that particular herb to be quite superior to anything else he'd come across, and was savoring it for as long as he could. Now, he slowly made his way to the object in the floor, stooping to pick it up between two fingers; the index and middle. A note? Unfolding it, his solid eyes scanned the contents without appearing to have moved, and one eyebrow slowly crept upwards. Another test? In the Manik Swamplands. How nice. Had Okkie sent this? Puanym somehow doubted it. Twelve didn't strike him as the type of person to sneak such information to him in a letter, but rather tell him right out. Perhaps the Evil One she'd spoken of, then? Hmm...he'd just have to find out. Not bothering with clothes, he opened the door quietly and stepped into the hall. It was early enough for him to get out of the academy without being seen, and he planned on taking advantage of that fact. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Manik Swamplands - Southwest Entrance - Almost High Noon</span> Gray eyes cast a furtive glance up at the sun, noting its near-zenith position. It was almost time...but he had a problem. The letter specifically said to enter the swamps only when he was standing on his own shadow... But did that mean he was supposed to wait until it happened, or step into the swamp just before it did? A low grunt. Well, he could do it both ways, really. Puanym stared at his ever-shrinking shadow, waiting for that critical moment. Just as his shadow disappeared under his feet, he quickly stepped into the swamps. Hah. Still on his shadow. Perfect. Now, he looked around for that thing. What had she said she would leave him? A quick glance at the letter proved that, well, she hadn't said. Puanym glanced around, looking for anything unusual, glad for his lack of clothes in the muggy swamp.
Puanym’s shadow began to dim slightly as he stood still, surveying the area for this “thing" Kakosenas had intended to leave him. It didn’t take too long for this “something" to show itself to him. Between Puanym’s very own feet, this "something" was slowly materializing. At first it was just small, roughly the size of a pin head. But as the seconds increased, it grew larger, longer, and brighter. It appeared to be “seeping" right out of Puanym’s very own shadow. As it solidified however, it took the seeker’s shadow with it. Underneath Puanym’s now shadowless form there lay a long cylindrical object, roughly 10 inches in length and an inch in diameter. It closely resembled a flashlight. One could easily call it that, as it was emitting a bright beam of light. Yet it was much more ornate than any flashlight created for “practical" use. For one thing, it appeared to be rather expensive. Its body was made up of a shiny golden substance, and various other parts of it were outlined in an untarnished silver. Ghostly patterns, outlined in silver, were etched along its sides, creating deep groves that must have taken the manufacturer ages to create. The handle though appeared to be made out of the hide of some sort of creature, as it was black and leather-like in appearance. Also, unlike a flashlight, it had no buttons or clever switches. In short, there seemed to be no conceivable way in order to turn off the stupid blinding beam. Along the top though in small, square, silver writing were the cryptic words: The more there is, the less you see. On Puanym’s letter, scrawled just underneath Kakosenas’s sigil, appeared the following words: <blockquote><font face=Aleia,Mistral,Vivaldi size=4>PS, The less you see, the closer you are - to me. Your shadow shall be waiting for you as well. Try not to dawdle. You've got the Navigator now. You have, of course, until sun down to reach your destination. - KS</font></blockquote> <span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class=ooc><tr><td>Okay, ah. Let me try to explain this one. :] The "Navigator's" beam of light will grow weaker as Puanym heads in the right direction. So the more "darkness" there is (the weaker the Navigator's beam), the "closer" he is to his destination. I hope that makes sense. I'm just making all of this stuff up. He'll probably have to travel at least fifty feet before he notices and faint 'dimming', so he's got a ways to go. You can just pick any direction for him to go in, aside from back out of the swamp naturally, and take off. I've got a few more little tricksy things written up. You could probably even pass an hour or two if you want with him just trying to figure how how to follow the stupid thing. ^^'</td></tr></table>
Dull orbs blinked slowly, one brow arching so that the left eye appeared larger than the right. His head fell slightly to the side as he watched this thing appear, watched it suck up his shadow like a spaghetti noodle. He almost expected to feel some kind of pain, though he felt nothing at all. Puanym watched the strange item a few moments longer before bending down to pick it up. He hefted it in one hand; fairly heavy for a flashlight. Must run off of one hell of a battery pack. Twirling it in his grip, he read the inscription on the side, and frowned. Just what the hell was that supposed to mean? Shrugging, the naked 'dragon pointed the blaringly bright beam of light out into the gloom of the swamp. Well, it would come in handy, for certain. Heaving a sigh, Puanym eyed the few paths that led into the swamp. Few was an understatement; there were three, though who had been crazy enough to make them escaped his knowledge. The first of said paths was off to his immediate left. It seemed to enter the swamp only a short distance before semi-circling out again. So, that one was out. Path number two was the one he currently occupied. It led deeper into the swamps, vanishing around a tree. It was fairly well traveled, being the main route through the dangerous swamps. A good path to choose if he wanted to make good time. The navy pendragon somehow doubted that was the one he wished to take, though. This Evil One didn't seem the type to play an easy rond of hide-and-go-seek. The third path was somewhat of a conglomerate of the first two; it led off to his right, following a twisty, turny, somewhat rough trail into the swamp. It didn't appear to have been traveled recently, but the squishy muck that made up the ground could have covered up footprints. He didn't take long to make up his mind. Clutching the still folded note in his left hand, the flashlight in his right, Puanym set off down the third path. The much was thick, and seemed to suck at his feet, trying to pull them under. A slight pause and a matter of will fixed that problem; his feet widened out, displacing his weight more evenly across the ground, complete with a thick webbing between the toes. Traveling was much easier afterwards. An hour later... Puanym hissed through his teeth, lips drawn back in an irate snarl as he resisted the urge to shout a few choice curses at the person who had demanded his presence in this bug-infested pit of a swamp. The path he was on had turned out to be something of a dead end; there wasn't anything blocking his path, the path just kind of stopped. That had been a half an hour ago, and he'd simply waded into the knee deep murkwater. Which was a mistake. The first bit of unpleasantness had come with the small, fish-like creatures that had constantly harassed him. Their main point of attack, unfortunately, had been his unprotected groin. It had taken some creative thinking to figure out how to stop them; in the end, he'd simply given himself some more reptilian attributes. Then came the szjimit swarm. He'd heard them coming, but hadn't immediately recognized the danger. It took only two or three bites by the annoying insects to prompt him to protect himself. The solution to this was much easier. Puanym had shifted his fur into a thick, scaled hide. The szjimit couldn't penetrate it, so they went for his eyes. Again, an easy solution; a nictitating membrane. He could see out, and they couldn't get in. Still, the swarm had ultimately made his mind up for him. He'd turned around and waded back to the path, using a quick jolt of his elemental sorcery to dissuade the bugs from following him. As he'd changed his fur back, though, he'd come across the problem that was currently making him grit his teeth. Leeches. Apparently, they'd started attacking him the moment he'd stepped in the water, and when he'd changed his fur, the'd been trapped between it and his skin. No less than twenty of the four-inch bloodsuckers had adhered to his legs, and he'd been spending the past fifteen minutes pulling them off. Puanym glared out at the swamp, flicking the last of the leeches back out into the water. He was tempted to do the same with his flashlight; the damn thing had brightened constantly since he'd set foot down this path. Now, even pointed away from him, the light was almost bright enough to hurt. Muttering to himself, he turned and trekked quickly back down the path. As he walked, Puanym suddenly noticed that it seemed to be getting darker. Surely he hadn't spent that much time...? Yet another frown creasing his brow, the winged pendragon glared down at the flashlight. Nope, he wasn't seeing things; it was getting darker, because the light was dimming out as he approached his original starting point. Dammit all, he cursed in his mind. What a time for the battery-- Puanym froze. Stared at the light. Looked down at the crossroad between the three paths. Looked down the path he'd just returned from. Then, he proceeded to let out a somewhat shrill, unpleasant giggle. The more there is, the less you see... A sudden thought hit him, and he stuck the light under one arm so he could open up the letter. Gray eyes skimmed the message quickly before halting at the bottom; there was text there, text that he was certain hadn't been there before. Oh well. This Shadowlack business seemed crazy, so why not? At any rate, it seemed to confirm his suspicions; something would lessen as he got closer to the Evil One. But what? The flashlight? Would it just disappear and his shadow come back? Or...no, wait! The light! The light would get dimmer the closer he got. It had brightened when he'd used the other path, which must have meant he was pretty far away. Feeling somewhat cunning and stupid all at the same time, Puanym turned his attentions down the main path. It seemed way too easy...but the other two paths certainly weren't right. Sighing, he shook his head and began a quick pace down the path. It was smooth travelling, and he hoped it would allow for him to make up lost time. Sure enough, as he moved along, the light faded-however slightly. So intent was he on the light that he almost missed the sign. Puanym ground to a halt, staring. Of course, why not? Off on the side of the main path, there were little more than reeds, mud, and water. However, at one point, there was a break in the tall stand of grass; someone had passed this way. Heaving another sigh, mostly in regrets to having to re-enter the not-so-nice interior of the swamp, Puanym shifted. Back were the webbed feet and thick skin; he was going to be prepared this time. Taking a deep breath, he plunged through the reeds and into the swamp. <span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class=ooc><tr><td>Hurray! Sorry it took so long. I had to go and buy a new set of lungs on eBay, first. :huh: </td></tr></table>
<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class=ooc><tr><td>Still not done. ^^; I've got a few paragraphs or so to add. I'm sorry for being so slow. x_x</td></tr></table> Manik, out of all the swamps to be found on Ramath-lehi, really wasnÂ’t the worst. The one that held vice-like to that title were the swamplands in Bhim, the Calamarha, and KakosenasÂ’ homeland so to speak. Despite not being the first most dangerous swamp on the planet, Manik did have itÂ’s fair and plentiful share of nasties. Large water snakes wove underneath the waterÂ’s surface where it was deep enough for them to be concealed. Sluggish streams and stagnate pools were homes to various sorts of reptilian and amphibious beasts and also served as the spawning grounds for vast multitudes of insects. Oftentimes the air would suddenly begin to roar with the tiny beatings of miniscule wings as they lurched from the pools by the batch full. KakosenasÂ’ trail was more or less quite linear, although her passage was ghostlike. Her dark and brooding aura had been enough to keep most of the creatures at bay - but not all. SheÂ’d been snapped at by a few hungry jaws now as sheÂ’d made her way through a section of the swamp with long grasses. SheÂ’d responded by giving her assailants an icy chill to keep them at bay. SheÂ’d never kill another creature of the swamp. Unless of course she had to, or else if it had something that she wanted.
