Private - Witch Ops Initiation | Page 3

Witch Ops Initiation Trial Part 3: The Quest

Hidden: Interview Thread Rules and Notes

• Two posts, 600 words Maximum.
• There will be interval points where the post limit will be reset
• For the quest, there will be two lantern bearers and one navigator. The group will choose their two lantern bearers.
• Come up with your Witch Opp Codename

As each of the Witch Ops hopefuls shows off their skills, Majolica watched excitedly.

Hehehe, I did good! This is a good mix of people from different power levels but all with similar goals, to make Astorea better! Hehehehe!

Hidden: Bradwynne

It was then she noticed Bradwynne had entered the area.

Late? Hehe, well, that's a demerit... hehehe

Majolica turned to the two frogs currently helping her.

"Jojo, Bobo. Bring him over please?"

The two frogs nodded and waddle-walked over bringing Bradwynne back. Majolica looked over Bradwynne.

"You're late... hehehe."

Looked upwards to the sky making note of how the sun was beginning to set, Majolica continued.

"Hehehe, there's no time for questions or show and tell, so you'll have to tell on the road and show when you need to! Hehe..."

Majolica faced the other members.

"Hehehe! I, Grand Witch Majolica, am very pleased and impressed with everyone's abilities!"

Majolica looked at each member specifically.

"Haru, hehe your cool stag and nature powers will be very useful! Imagine if we're in a scenario where we're in a forest or jungle behind enemy lines?! Hehehe, you and Janet are going to be super valuable!

Turning to Janet, Majolica continued.

"Hehehe, I liked what you did with the vines! Plus, the berries! Very creative! Hehehe!"

Next was Ivan and Corvella.

"Hehehe, you can also do makes clones like Grand Witch Majolica! And hammer plus explosions! Hehehe very talented! You too, Corvella! Hehehe lots of clones and a fire monster! Hehehehe, with the two of you we could make our small group look like a massive one! Hehehehe a very nice tactic! I am impressed!"

Grinning at Nom Nom and Freja, Majolica continued her speech.

"Hehe, but don't think Witch Ops is only magic users! We also need physical strength! Hehehe! That's why I invited Freja! The best axe user I've ever seen! Hehe, and also..."

Majolica pointed at Nom Nom.

"The Beast! Hehe, which I guess is named Nom Nom? No mushrooms until you pass the trial... hehe. But, very nice combo attacks! Hehehe!"

Finally, Majolica faced the two final two members of the group.

"Hehehe and finally we have Emerath and Bradwynne! Emerath is one of the best tinkerers in the whole world! Hehehe, so we can count on him for amazing gadgets, potions, and scientific equipment! Hehehe, and last but not least, Bradwynne... who's abilities he can show you on the next portion of the trial! Hehehehe!”

Looking over the group one last time, Majolica finished her speech.

“To conclude the show and tell portion, hehe, I will say this! I invited everyone here for a reason! That reason being, because I believe each of you has power and potential! Hehehe, I believe that each of you is someone who can help me change the world for the better!"

Majolica pointed at the group.

"No matter if you consider yourself weak or strong, if you’ve mastered some abilities or are only beginning your journey, hehe, the only way to go is up! This is only a starting point! Hehehe! We will all strive to become not just masters, but the best! The best at all we can be! Hehehe, so if you’re worried about your level, or worried that someone else is better than you at something, hehehe, just work harder to you reach the strength level you want to! And then, hehehe, go further!"

Majolica waited a moment for her words than moved on to the next portion of the trial.

“The next and FINAL, hehe, portion of the challenge is a quest! To complete this quest, all of you as a group must…

Majolica paused for dramatic effect...

Hidden: The Quest

The Cawing Owl of Brisshal

"Find and speak with The Cawing Owl of Brisshal! Hehehe! Before you ask, yes! It is an owl, and yes it does Caw! Hehehe, I discovered the owl when I was wandering through the woods one night. The Owl caws, but you can understand what it’s saying for some reason. Hehe, it’s a wise owl, and since it’s an owl it comes out at night!"

Majolica once again looked to check the sun’s position. It was beginning to set.

"When you find the owl, each of you will take a turn to speak with it! Hehehe! The owl’s duty is to ask and record what your Witch Ops name will be! Hehe, each Witch Ops member will have a codename that we use on missions. The codename is yours to decide, hehe, but I would warn against choosing something dumb because then you’ll be stuck with the name forever! The name can be anything, a word, a saying, or even a number… hehehe, but I would advise it to be on the shorter side! ‘He who cuts stars across the sky in Autumn’ sounds very cool, hehehe, but it would be difficult to repeat in a mission scenario! The owl might say other stuff, but I don’t know what… hehe…"

Majolica pointed at the group grinning.

“This quest will require all of you to work together as a team! Hehe, you will pass together or fail together! Don't forget, Witch Ops is a unit! A team! Hehehe and a team must be stronger than its individual members! Hehehe!”

Reaching into her pocket, Majolica pulled out a map and handed it to Bradwynne.

"Hehehe! Since Bradwynne is bad at directions he will be the navigator! Hehe, if you don't complete this trial, everyone fails! Hehehe."

As The Grand Witch spoke, two frogs approached with lanterns and held them out to the adventurers. Majolica pointed to the two lanterns.

“Two of you will be lantern holders, hehe. After the two holders are chosen, the team will follow your navigator’s directions! Hehehe, the navigator can show others the map, but he’s the only one that can hold if. If someone else takes the map, everyone fails! Hehehe, same thing with the lanterns. Only the two lantern bearers can hold the lanterns. Hehehe, no cheating because I will be watching...”

Majolica looked up again. The Frogs began lightning torches and lamps around the cottage area.

“Hehehe, it’s about time! Choose your lantern bearers. A warning though, be on your guard, hehehe, the forest can be dangerous at night! Hehehe, now get going!”

Majolica pointed to a path leading out of the clearing. Two torches were placed on either side of the path presumably to help the adventurers to find their way back.

After the group chose their lantern bearer’s they were ushered into the forest. The pathway stood before them and luckily, a full moon was rising helping illuminate the dense and dark woods. As the adventurers began the quest to find the owl, each of them could have sworn they heard a caw far off in the distance.

@Nom Nom @Janet Reilly @Emerath Katou @Iván Carl @Corvella @Freja Sitka @Haru @Bradwynne

 

Without really waiting for any sort of acknowledgement from the rest of the group, Emerath grabbed one of the lanterns. Before anyone could argue, he explained, "First of all, it's a pleasure to meet all of you properly. Second of all, I'm a Tinkerer, and this is a mechanical device. I regularly carry oil to use in my bombs, so I can refill this baby, and I have the know-how to get it working again if it breaks."

Emerath looked to Majolica, after she had explained the rules, "And since the lantern can't change hands, we should have one person holding it that is capable of fixing it again in the middle of... whatever happens." And as if the matter was decided, Emerath began to walk off towards the entrance way to the forest.

"Also, while I'm thinking of it, I'm incredibly directionally challenged, so me helping with the map will probably do little to no good. But I'm happy to lead the way if you point me in a direction," he explained as he walked, as he hooked the lantern onto his electric lute, before shifting the instrument to his back, keeping his hands free. "I can also provide mood music if you want, but I feel like that defeats the purpose of finding something that caws via sound."

"Speaking of the cawing, does anyone know an animal making a noise it wouldn't normally make sounds different from the animals that normally make that noise? I'm sure the crows will also be cawing. I wouldn't want to get them confused. But I'm no beast expert."

At the very least, Emerath tried his best to give the others ideas, while they figured out the other torchbearer. If they had to work like a team, Emerath figured he was the next best leader they could get without Majolica helping them. Hell, he figured he was better than Majolica, but this wasn't the time nor the place to argue with the witch any longer. He was in this now, for better or for worse.

 

Iván noted how the individual that came late seemed familiar to him, but made no attempts to find anything out. Arms crossed, he turned to the Grand Witch and noted more information about his fellow Witch Ops members. He was pleased with how Majolica viewed his talents. He was also pleased that there was another illusionist in the team. Although he’s been training with Alphabet Chocolate, a master illusionist in her own right, it wouldn’t be too bad to learn from another illusionist as well. The more knowledge, the merrier.

“I guess I’m the other lantern bearer then,” he said dryly, taking the other lantern for himself. Iván made sure to give @Emerath Katou a nod, finally recognizing the presence of his Lightning Ironworks’ boss directly. He had been to focused in satiating his curiosity that he had put that in the backburner. Nevertheless, it was better late than never. “I’m a Tinkerer, too, which means I can also fix a lantern, this lantern, on the fly. I’d be willing to take this role, which I’m qualified for, unless someone wants to argue for it?”

Emerath had made good points about the lantern bearer’s duties and responsibilities. It was also less suitable for their better warriors to be mucking about with lanterns when they could instead focus on defending their group should any problems arise. Compared to the likes of supportive nature magic and destructive axes to the face, Iván’s skills with illusion magic and his hammer wouldn’t be missed in battle. He’d be more useful as a Tinkerer in this scenario.

“Cawing?” he tilted his head, wondering if it was the same cawing they needed to get near to. How fortunate. He immediately turned to @Nom Nom without saying a word. Maybe she’d know more about beasts. The Grand Witch did refer to her as The Beast.

And then it dawned on him, “Wait, you’re making someone who’s bad at directions our navigator? Wouldn’t that be counterproductive?”

Maybe that was the point. Maybe the Grand Witch wanted them to get lost, to see how they adapt in such a predicament. Maybe. Iván sighed and stood his ground. He wouldn’t be the first to move. He’d wait for the others to decide. The more, the merrier.

 

Unique powers were displayed one by one, and Majolica looked content with all of them. "Now what are we going to do?" she asked, and the question was answered shortly as Majolica announced the final part of the trial. Are they going to be sent to fight a dangerous creature? Or is it an espionage mission?

"Find and speak with The Cawing Owl of Brisshal!"

Nah, we get to find and speak with a Cawing Owl instead. Yaaaay.

Corvella could feel her excitement died down as quick as it builds. "Cawing Owl of Brisshal?" she questioned in disbelief. Does a wise, talking owl that also caws, resides particularly in Brisshal even exist? An earlier thought came back to hit her in the head. Of course, everything is weird with Majolica. The blonde pretended to understand and proceeded to listen to the rest of the instruction of the trial. Codenames? This is straight out of a cartoon, both exciting and embarrassing. She certainly wouldn't want to reveal her codename- if she did choose one - first among the group. It would still be interesting to see what other people have in mind regarding their codename. Codename should either perfectly describes a person, or the ultimate opposite of them.

The two tinkerers, Emerath and the Masked Illusionist offered themselves to carry the lanterns, a reasonable choice since they would have probably handled lanterns much more than the others. "I've got no objections. The question though, is anyone able to white magic? We might need some emergency light in case something put the lanterns out of service and they need time to be repaired." Other problem would be that Majolica handed the map to directionally-challenged Bradwynne and appointed him as the navigator, locking the map to him only. Guess they'll need to rely heavily on Brad.

"Nature Magic users might be able to sense anything through this forest, even a bit would help. Alternative solution would be Bradwynne keeping the investigation mode up while guiding us, but that would drain his stamina faster." She paused and looked at Majolica, quoting about 'the dangerous things in the forest' "We don't know what dangerous things wait in the forest, it's better to have some people standby on analyzing. I will either be in the foremost position or close to a lantern bearer. Sounds good to you guys?"

 

As each participant stepped up to their dummy and worked their wonders on it, Janet felt her brief sense of accomplishment fading. At least the gratitude from each of those who received a blackberry felt real. Janet hung onto at least that faint victory as the initiates viewed illusory clones, axe-fighting—the absolutely shocking carrot-wielding from the little girl— the variety of talents went on and on. It’s almost like the circus ring all over again… Janet lifted her head, realizing it was exactly like what she’d seen from her competitors at the tournament of skill. She even recognized some of them now, both women, in fact. Was the Grand Witch there? Is that how she scouted us—scouted me?

As the Grand Witch made her speech, Janet felt her spirits lifting. Maybe she was fit to join this battalion after all. "I believe each of you has power and potential… each of you is someone who can help me change the world for the better." That was it. That was what Janet—some part of her, anyway—had been waiting for someone to say to her. Someone to believe in her, the way nobody ever had when she was young. She clasped her hands in front of her as if in prayer and inhaled, trying to control her giddiness as Majolica gave directions for the final quest. The… Cawing Owl? Janet deflated, feeling rather baffled by the instructions. It sounded more like something out of Winnie the Pooh than Harry Potter.

Well, either way, the Commander had been very clear: they had to work together. And that meant a group meeting, effective organization, and willing volunteers. She couldn’t have been more grateful when two people immediately stepped up to bear the lanterns, and under such reasonable terms! Her brows furrowed and lips thinned when @Iván Carl pointed out the extremely tardy latecomer was the one navigating them, however. That was hardly fair! “I agree, Ivan! But I expect you’ll work hard to make up for your tardiness,” she informed @Bradwynne sharply. Against her will, her eyes were drawn away slightly to watch the bipedal frogs, then they returned to the blond boy.

It was @Corvella, the blonde woman guilty of breaking and entering (but who’d also kindly introduced herself before) who began mentioning things Janet felt more experienced with. She stepped forward, raising her hand. “Yes. Ahem. I’m Janet, everyone,” she said, steeling herself with false confidence and lifting her chin. “I have a White Magic, if that’s helpful.” Which she had never used, but surely she could blossom under pressure and produce some light if the lanterns did go out. As for nature magic… to be frank, Janet was still exhausted from her earlier display. She faltered. “I… well… I don’t really know how to s... sense animals.” The brunette’s cheeks colored a little as she wondered what she could even do to try something like that. Her gaze moved pleadingly to @Haru for help. “Um... do you know how to do that?” Her first mentor in Nature Magic was the obvious person to turn to, especially considering the beast he seemed to have tamed.

 

As Bradwynne saw the two frogs move toward him walking like humans, he remembered the green thing that he thought he saw. Maybe it was those frogs that he saw before. He then thought about what kind of power that this Grand Witch had. Did she make ordinary frogs walk bipedally? Or she just cursed some people and turn them into frogs? Anyway, either of the two happened, he knew that this witch was never to be screwed with. As he had faced the Grand Witch, which admonished him for being late, just said, his finger scratching the hair near his ear, "Sorry about that, just a blunder on my part for not reading the letter again." After saying that he had a show and tell to perform later, she then moved to address the other members of what she had conceptualized as the Witch Ops. Of all the people in this room, he had only known one: Emerath the tinker. And so as the Grand Witch introduced everyone, he took note of their abilities. Haru who can control all aspects of nature. Janet a Naturamancer. Bludgeon wielding Ivan who could also make illusions, and also had tinkering skills. Corvella also with her illusions and fire. Freja the axe-woman. Nom-Nom who was quick on her feet. Well Bradwynne had not shown what he could do yet, and so at this point in time he should be considered to be a wild card until he had shown his abilities to its full extent. He was fine with that. Well maybe they should not expect that much, since his abilities could be considered as just tame.

So he had arrived in time for the third trial, which was finding the cawing owl, and he was quite pissed as he was handed the map by the Grand Witch because she presumed he was bad at directions. Well it only happened once that he had reversed the coordinates for the location of the cabin, and besides that, he was quite good at directions. But since first impressions last, he had to prove to everyone that he was not bad at directions, and it was all a misunderstanding. Noting in what direction the sun had set, which should be always west, he then examined the map that was given. So the cawing owl that the Grand Witch asked them to find was northwest of the cabin, which should be easy given that the direction where the sun sets was given and they would travel mostly that way.

As the lantern-bearers had volunteered, Bradwynne strove to remove the misunderstandings that the Grand Witch had created about hom being directionally challenged. He said, "Well never have I thought that one single blunder could create a huge misunderstanding. For the record, it was only just because I had never read again the letter after I had read it once that I reversed the coordinates. But well, you will never believe me anyway." He then pointed with his left hand at the direction where he noticed the sun had set, in a very exact manner. "Well I saw the sun set in that direction, so it should be west. So, where I face as I place my left arm sideways should be north." He then unfurled the map with his right hand. "So the direction of the last sighting of the cawing owl should be northwest of here. Well as we are given the destination although the path is not direct, I would just do something so that I could point to the direct direction where the last sighting was." He then moved towards the door while maintaining his north and west, and then took out his rosary. He then placed the center of the cross of the rosary at the door, pointed the long part of the cross towards the x- mark where the sighting of the owl was recorded, and then started to chant. The long part of the cross then generated a white light that pointed towards the presumed direction of the owl. "Not exact, but should be quite near."

 

Strange objective names aside (weren’t owls supposed to hoot or screech?), Freja nodded along to the instructions as they were handed out. Now this was more along the lines of what she expected of a trial: delve into places unknown with a group of people, of which only one she knew, and work together, lest the whole ship sink. Come out in one piece, and you earn a (hopefully) cool nickname along with the membership. She’d have to start thinking of one for herself while they were looking for this owl.

Wherever the hell it was.

Freja listened to Bradwynne give his input on the directions, which, for being someone “directionally challenged,” still oriented himself better than she could. He even had magic in the shape of a rosary to point the way. Impressive.

Taking into consideration everyone else's suggestions on how to find the owl, she added, “Well, I can’t use magic or sense animals, so I’ll only be good for swatting away whatever comes at us. But I remember our grand cap’n saying that, even though it caws, we’ll still understand what it’s saying. I think that will help us tell it apart from any crows or ravens or other imitators out there. Hell, maybe it’ll turn out the ‘cawing’ is really just it cussing us out off in the distance.” She stretched her arms forward, using her axe like a barbell. “That, or even if it’s just straight up cawing, that alone should stick out. I mean, I’m no ornithologist, but has anyone here even heard of a cawing owl? Sounds weird, right?”

(OOC: It's a rushed post, sorry! Been a busy week)​

 

Witch Ops Initiation Trial Part 3.5: This Was Never Going to Be Easy

Hidden: 3.5 Thread Rules and Notes

• Two posts, 600 words Maximum.
• Post limits are now reset.
• You, the player, should probably come up with your Witch Opp Codename.
• Things will begin happening a little quicker now.

As the group set out in the direction Bradwaynne had pointed towards, the moon, large and silvery, began to rise. Night was quickly falling on Brisshal and with it a sort of serenity. As the day's sun fell, beams of silvery moonlight permeated the forest simultaneously illuminating the forest and lengthening the growing shadows.

Looking upwards, one could see a lone cloud fluttering through the sky. Slowly and gently it swept across the moon as the stars began to show in first the hundreds, then the thousands. With a touch of cool, clear starlight, white flowers cascading from nearby trees unfurled releasing a honeyed scent. Apparently, The Grand Witch had formulated the final stage of the trial to be a gentle stroll through Brisshal, as opposed to some hellish obstacle course. Perhaps this portion of the trial was simply to remind the hopefuls that this was what they were striving to protect? Yes, they would protect Astorea, but beyond that, they also had a duty to protect this world, after all, if it weren't for the world none of these people would have ever met.

Though the scenery was quite lovely, if any adventurer was more cautious they would have noticed that something was scuttling extremely quickly between the forest branches above them. From the sound, it could be insinuated that the creature was large, but there was no aura of hostility. Seemingly, the creature was simply curiously observing them. After a few moments, the scuttling stopped, then like a cheap surprise thrill...

"CAWWW! CAW! CaaaWwWWW! CaAwWwwWWw. Caw. Caw. CAWWWWW. CAww. Ca-caw! Cawwwcaw! CAW. cAW. CaW. CAWWW! CAW! CaaaWwWWW! CaAwWwwWWw. Caw. Caw. CAWWWWW. CAwww. Ca-caw! Cawwwcaw! CAW. cAW. CaW. CAWWW! CAW! CaaaWwWWW! CaAwWwwWWw. Caw. Caw. CAWWWWW. CAw. Ca-caw! Cawwwcaw! CAW. cAW. CaW. CAWWW! CAW! CaaaWwWWW! CaAwWwwWWw. Caw. Caw. CAWWWWW. CAww. Ca-caw! Cawwwcaw! CAW. cAW. CaW. CAWWW! CAW! CaaaWwWWW! CaAwWwwWWw. Caw. Caw. CAWWWWW. CAwww. Ca-caw! Cawcaw! CAW. cAW. CaW.CAW! CAW! CaaaWwWW! CaAwWwWWw. Caw. Caw. CAWWWWW. CAwww. Ca-caw! Cawwwcaw! CAW. cAW. CaW. CAW! CAW! CaaaWwWWW! CaAwWwwWWw. Caw. Caw. CAWWWWW. CAww. Ca-caw! Cawwcaw! CAW. cAW. CaW. caw. cawcaw."

From somewhere above the adventurers, the shrill cawing cut through through the forest. Though surprising, there still seemed to be no ill intent. Out of annoyance or surprise, one of the adventurer's may have struck out with an ability, weapon, or rock. Strangely enough, even if a spell or a projectile was thrown dead center at where the sound was coming from, the cawing would not have stopped. It would have seemed as if the projectile had struck only air. Even stranger still, each adventurer could understand the cawing....

"So, the witch has sent her whelps to find me? Very well, you've found me? Now what? Have you brought me a mouse? Seed? Come to make an offering? It doesn't look like it, have you no idea who I am? And now what? So you've found me you think the trial is finished? Hogwash you bunch of ninnys. The witch and I have a bargain, and I'm allowed to test you to my heart's delight! Hoo Hoo Hoot! Now see here..."

As the Cawing Owl in a very pompous British, "go back home you savages" tone, a slight breeze began to pick up in the forest.

"Cawwwwwwwwww. Caw ca-caw. CaWwwWWWww. Caw-caw-cawww-caw. CAwwww. CaWwW. Cawww. Caw. Caw. Caw caw. Caw caw cawww cawwwww ca-caw. Cawwwwwwwwww. Caw ca-caw. CaWwwWWWww. Caw-caw-cawww-caw. Caw. CaWwW. Cawww. Caw. Caw. Caw caw. Caw caw caw cawwwwww ca-caw. Cawwwwwww. Caw ca-caw. CaWwWWWw. Caw-caw-caww-caw. CAwwwww. CaWwW. Cawww. Caw. Caw. Caw-caw. Caw-caw cawww cawwwwwww ca-caw. Cawwwwwwwwww. Caw ca-caw. CaWwwWWWww. Caw-caw-cawwww-caw. CAww. CaWwW. Cawww. Caw. Caw. Caw caw. Caw caw cawww cawwwwww ca-caw. Cawwwwwww. Caw ca-caw. CaWwwWWWww. Caw-caw-cawww-caw. CAwwww. CaWwW. Cawww. Caw. Caw. Caw caw. Caw caw cawww cawwwww ca-caw. Cawww. Caw ca-caw. CaWwwWWWww. Caw-caw-cawww-caw. CAwwww. CaWwW. Cawww. Caw. Caw. Caw. Caw-Ca-caw cawwww cawww ca-caw. Cawwwwwwwwwwww. Caw ca-caw. CaWwwWWWww. Caw-caw-cawww-caw. CAwwww. CaWwW. Cawww. Caw. Caw. Caw caw. Caw caw-caw caww cawwwwwww ca-caw. Cawwwwwwwwww. Caw ca-caw. CaWwwWWWww. Caw-caw-cawww-caw. CAwwww. CaWwW. Cawww. Caw. Caw. Caw caw. Caw caw cawwww cawwwwww ca-caw."

"You come into the forest... hoot... MY forest! And think I'll let you have the run of the places do you? DOO You? Hoot, well I won't have it. Not from a bunch of children who can't even appreciate their elders. You, with the red hair? When was the last time you spoke to your mummy, hmm? And you, child in the white? Isn't it passed your bedtime? Fufuhoot! And you think you have what it takes to pass the trial of ME, the very SPIRIT of the forest? The Cawing Owl of Brissahl! Fufuhoot! Why, I do believe it's time for all of you little children to return home! Fuhooot! But, that is not my place to say! I have made a pact and if you wish to participate then I suppose you may run towards your own demise! So I say to thee, follow the path to my tree home, or leave and never return. Hootfu! I care not either way! Fuhoot! But, reeegardless I will say this. Ahead lies danger, hofootu! Obbbbbviously... and the map which you hold, child, will be the ooooonly way to discover the path. I'll be waiting in my warm commmmmmfortable tree! Hoohoooot! Whether you make it or die on the path and consumed by boars and rats is of little significance to me!"

With that, you hear wings flapping off into the distance. As the owl leaves, something unexplainable occurs. The forest, trees, grasses, and bushes seeem to dizzyingly shift around the adventurers. The easily traversable path that had led them forward now vanished in front of them. Where the clear path once weaved easily through the woods, there was now only the green of foliage and the darkness of the long shadows... except, the way from which they had come. It was almost as if the forest was telling the adventurer's to leave and never return.

However, something interesting happened when the map neared the foliage. if the adventurer holding the map happened to bring the map close to any of the forest plants, the plants would part before them to once again show a path, though this path would only reveal a few feet of itself at a time.

As the adventurers faced toward the way the map revealed, they would have felt that the area was somehow different than where they currently stood. The serenity of the woods behind them was gone. Now, an uneasiness permeated the way forward like an unexplainable sixth sense imploring each adventurer to leave.

The dreadful quiet of the area only added to this feeling of forewarning. Like the witch's cabin before, the area was quiet, but unlike the cabin one sound continued to creep through the woods. It was soft, almost inaudible like a snake, gently and smoothly carving its way through the forest bed. If either of the lantern holders shone their light searching for whatever it was making the sound, they would find nothing of interest.

As the Grand Witch had earlier said, this trial was to be overcome as a team. So what would the adventurers do? Turn back? Set up a formation? Or simply wander in aimlessly hoping for the best? With each step forward the danger would surely grow, and unfortunately, it seemed that the map was leading straight toward whatever it was that had made this area of the forest its home.


@Nom Nom @Janet Reilly @Emerath Katou @Iván Carl @Corvella @Freja Sitka @Haru @Bradwynne

 

It was all Emerath had in him not to jump ten feet into the air when the owl suddenly started cawing at them like a maniac. What was this creature and why was it- but as Emerath looked up to the thing, he realized it was the owl. The cawing owl of Brisshal. Emerath sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He understood everything it was saying. Why did he understand it? All of this witchy nonsense was starting to offend Emerath on a very scientific level.

Then the owl started getting uppity with them. Calling them children, and telling Emerath he should talk to his mom. What was this owl? His dad? He blew it off. Though it did make him realize that he hadn't talked to his mom in a while. Stupid owl. He would have argued with the bird if it hadn't been entirely pointless to do so. He felt like he was dealing with this world's version of the Cheshire Cat. Knowing Majolica, that probably wasn't even that far off.

Emerath rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned to Bradwynne, "So, you have the map, and the map is supposed to point us to where we need to go. Does the map have any special path on it or anything? Maybe it requires a magic phrase, like this wizard movie I saw when I was a kid." Emerath held his hand up to the map, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Nothing happened of course, but Emerath shrugged. "I think that was how it went. What do you guys think? Cause I have no idea where to go," Emerath admitted.

 

"Huh. Well, that just happened," Iván remarked dryly before fixing his dark-tinted goggles.

Evening fell fast upon them, though to Iván, it did not matter as much. Things just got a bit darker, but with those goggles, it's always dark. It's not the beauty of things that sparks his interest, too. It's mostly the strange, the weird, the things that no one else notices first, the same things people are quick to ignore whether out of fear or pure disinterest. Case in point, whatever it was that was scurrying fast between the branches above the party. Before he could point that out though, mostly because he was hesitating if anyone else would believe him and at the same time overthinking the succeeding scenarios, the owl that the Grand Witch had mentioned earlier appeared in front of them.

At first, the cawing annoyed Iván, but he quickly realized it wasn't just mere cawing. He actually understood what the avian creature was saying and in perfect British English. It sounded unimpressed and somewhat offended just by their mere presence. It started talking about old people, respect, Emerath not talking to his mother, children and bed times, and some warning about its tree. As soon as it was, it wasn't. And so was the path before them. Iván wondered if it was the very same magic the Grand Witch had lying around her place. Considering she had formed some sort of pact, bond, with the owl, it probably was.

"Something's not right," the words crawled out of Iván's mouth before he could stop them, flowing out of his consciousness like water being tipped out of a vase. Almost instinctively, Iván shone his lantern's light to the direction where he could swear he heard something. Everything else was quiet except for this one thing. Iván couldn't quite describe it, even to himself, but it sounded like something slithering across the ground, through foliage, gently, carefully. Unfortunately, his lantern's light showed him nothing but more foliage. Perhaps the work of the owl's magic? Does it even have magic?

As Emerath spoke, Iván simply listened. He had nothing else to add. He, too, had no idea where they needed to go. One man had the map. He didn't want to spoil the broth by adding himself as yet another cook. Wherever the majority would choose to go, Iván would follow. He was confident this party would be able to handle any kind of danger that would befall them. At the very least, Emerath would have an answer for it. He looked around him and grinned. They weren't going to be mere pushovers. They were going to survive this trial.

 

The search went well, too well for their standard if any. The supposedly last trial went smoothly like a walk in the park. Knowing Majolica, this means something is really really off. And her instinct was right. "What the-" The sound of cawing caught her by surprise when she wasn't ready. Corvella swore if she find this owl, she would choke it slowly to death. That was the initial plan, before their surroundings suddenly morphed into a cheap horror movie forest.

"Paths are closed, except where we came from." The knight noted. Not only the surroundings morphed, it suddenly felt like a whole different place. It's too eerily quiet, like someone's watching them and waiting for something. This kind of thing reminded her of school trip to the forest hill back in the high school where some of her classmates would hide in the dark and jumpscare the hell out of her. She did not like that at all, apparently the slapmarks in their faces were the proofs. "I swear if anything jumps out of nowhere..."

Ivan remarked that something is not right, and he's right. "You know, everything's never right with Majolica." Chuckling, she tried to lighten the atmosphere with a little joke. Still, run towards your own demise? Is the owl serious about the danger in the forest? "You guys heard the owl's threat, right? We better form up and be ready in case of an attack. Can't afford to lose the lanterns and the map, and also the bearers, of course." Her shield was ready on her right hand, spell ring already glowing on her left hand.

But they still don't know where to go yet "Any progress with the map?" Corvella asked as Emerath performed an incantation ripped off straight from an old movie. She never saw the series since the movies are getting reboots next year. Apparently the magic phrase does nothing, but she did see something moves behind Bradwynne. Upon closer inspection, the plants near him slowly moves away, like opening path for them. Wait, so the magic map phrase from the movie does work? "Check it out, plants near Bradwynne seems to react. The map might have something to do with it." As the group moves to inspect, Corvella took the position on the back to keep watch of the path they came from.

 

The group had traversed the path specified, with the help of the rosary. The light from the rosary had been guiding them for a good amount of distance, and Bradwynne was pleased that he had managed to point out the direction to where they should go. And it seemed that they had hit the jackpot when he heard the cawing. But as he was trying to find the direction from where the cawing originated, he was seeing nothing but the stars in the sky. What was odd was that he could only hear cawing, but somehow he was hearing some other voice, and oddly enough, that voice corresponded to the cawing. And wait, was that owl insulting him, saying that it was past his bedtime, as if he was a little child, even though he was quite tall? Damn that owl, if it was not a friend of the Grand Witch he would stick a spit through it and roast it on a fire. The owl then specified about its home, and that the map that he held... damn that freakish owl called him a child again, would lead them to it. After some more pompous words, the owl then left, as he heard the flapping of wings in a distance.

"That was one insulting owl," he then remarked as the owl possibly had left the area, although he had not even seen it. He then planned to discuss with the whole party what tricks to do with the owl if they had finally encountered it. But, as he was just about to continue, the forest around them started to change. The path they were about to traverse was blocked, and so were all other paths, except from where they came. This should be a problem. If they could not pass through the forest then just how they would reach the house of that damned owl? Well the owl had mentioned the map would lead them to the place. So was Emerath, when he tried to do some nonsensical incantation on the map from an old wizard movie as if it would work. Softly laughing at the hilarity of this absurdity, he then said, "As if that would work," before moving towards the direction that they should have gone based on the rosary. He then touched the plants with his left hand holding the rosary, unknowingly moving the map towards the plants. As the map touched the plants, the plants seemed to have opened the path before them as they receded from the map. As he looked at the map, he then said incredulously, "Did THAT actually work?!" before looking at Emerath. He then said, "Come here near me. I don't quite remember what incantation you had said, but it worked." As he said those words, he then heard something slithering from their back. The other person who held the lamp tried to see what that was, but he saw nothing. But Bradwynne was feeling uneasy, and so he said, "We need to be careful here on out. Maybe there were monsters near us. The problem is, between the map on my right hand and the rosary on my left, I could not draw the katana that was sheathed on my belt. I could only do support duties right now, so please cover me."

 

Haru wonders why he felt the need to be so quiet ever since the start of this trial. After informing @Janet Reilly that he was regrettably unable to sense anything involving nature other than whether something was nature, he had set off on a wandering path along with his supposed allies around the forest, idly wandering with his feet while the others gave him bodies to follow.

They'd found the owl sooner than he'd expected, though. It didn't just caw, either, but quite a lot more than that. Instructing him, was it? That was fine. He had a lot of time to burn through tonight, and it was good to use it for something productive, like earning his servitude under the great and tiny master of witchcraft by following an owl around dark, oppressive undergrowth where he would surely be ambushed.
...This wasn't productive at all...

Haru takes a look at his surroundings, nodding to himself and speaking aloud to everyone else. "Well if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that the only way we aren't going is back where we came. Is everyone ready?" Because he certainly was. The only thing he had left to do was prepare himself for what would absolutely come, knowing that witch.

 

Witch Ops Initiation Trial Part 3.5.1: Keep Walking

Hidden: 3.5 Thread Rules and Notes

• Two posts, 600 words Maximum.
• Post limits are now reset.
• You, the player, should probably come up with your Witch Opp Codename.
• Things will begin happening a little quicker now.

And so, bravely, the party struck out into the unknown of the dark woods.

With each step, the crunch of fallen leaves sounded under the group. In response, the slow slithering of whatever it was grew louder... but not necessarily in front of them. Now, the sound was all around them, encircling them in a ring while moving with them. Like a noose, the encircling creature or creatures was closing in on the party.

If any of the lantern-wielders shined a light in the direction of a rustling, they may have seen the quick movement as whatever it was quickly darted out of the light. It appeared that whatever it was, was actively avoiding the beams of light. Whether the light damaged, or simply startled the creature was anyone's guess, though it did appear that whatever it was, was at least partially burying itself under the dense layer of leaves on the floor. If a member of the party had a good eye, they would have noticed black goo where the creature had just been. As the black goo settled, a bit of smoke seemed to rise from the debris and leaves under it. It was almost as if the debris was being broken down by an acid, or maybe even digested...

In the areas where the lantern-wielders shined their lights, the monster or monsters moved away, but where there was darkness, the monster was creeping towards the group. Unlike before, the slithering was getting faster.


@Nom Nom @Janet Reilly @Emerath Katou @Iván Carl @Corvella @Freja Sitka @Haru @Bradwynne[/QUOTE]

 

The owl's sudden cawing frightened Janet half to death, the sheer volume battering her senses. She covered her ears, looking around with wide, frightened eyes that quickly narrowed with irritation. “Where is it?” she demanded, hardly able to hear anyone or anything else over the clamor. She was so shocked and annoyed by the noise that she failed to listen carefully. The creature’s words did not reach Janet, and the true meaning of its caws fell upon deaf ears. All Janet heard was an obnoxious bird, and even if it could be understood, she ignored it the same way a person tuned out loud music from the other room. Perhaps a couple words lingered in her mind after the squawking stopped and they were finally given reprieve, but without context, it meant nothing.

Naturally, she was quite confused. “What a racket. Did it get away?” Janet asked, lowering her hands from her ears and turning towards the others. They seemed equally puzzled. She turned back and saw with shock that the path ahead now looked like it needed a machete to get through. The pleasant, idyllic walk they’d enjoyed before now (albeit knowing there were strange frogs walking around on two legs out there in the dark) looked to be at an end, stopped by a seemingly impenetrable mass of greenery. Uncertainty filled Janet, but listening to the others, they seemed to dismiss it as yet another aspect of the trial ahead of them (and Majolica’s strangeness, by extent.)

They proceeded, the warriors among them ready for attack, the lantern and map-bearers clinging to the posts they’d been assigned. Janet found herself trailing helplessly after them in the very middle. Of course. She had no… sword, or axe, or anything else to fight with. Only her slowly-replenishing magic. She had really been less than helpful thus far, but it seemed if they just kept going… Maybe it’s an exercise in faith, Janet thought stubbornly, to trust our Commander.

She began to have second thoughts as noises came from the dark. Janet straightened her back and walked faster, looking over her shoulder out of the corner of her eye like a woman walking home alone at night. She saw something for a moment and let out a little squeak. “Did you see that? Anyone?” The teenager bit her lip to hide her rising panic—she could hear something. Was it just her imagination playing tricks on her? She was no little girl afraid of the outdoors, and she and Haru had walked through these woods before. But... “@Iván Carl! Shine the light over there, I saw something!” Janet tapped the man on the shoulder and pointed, feeling like a hysterical girl overreacting to nothing. “Wait, over there!” She pointed again.