Mountain of Dire Random Event #5

Random Event #5 — THE TRAP

As one of the largest mountains surrounding Relic Lore, it is no surprise that many have not yet explored the nooks and crannies of such a large landmark. The moon hung low to the horizon, glowing in a haunting shade of deep amber, almost as if it were orange. Stars dotted the clear night, though they seemed dimmer than the usual eye could capture. It was a quiet night on the Mountain of Dire, the only noise interrupting the wildlife was the small yowl of a coyote, or the hoot of an owl.

Deep in the treacherous hills rested a cave unlike many discovered so far. The scent was odious, while a malicious yet deep growl would emanate from the entrance as large spiders wove their intricate webs of destruction along the rock edges. It seemed this cave was taken.. and yet no one could explain the lack of prints leading to and from the entrance. In fact, the spookiest part of the cave was the dead rabbit that lay very near the den entrance.. as if set for a trap for any curious creature that passed.

This is an All Welcome thread in the spirit of Halloween fun. You may react to this however you think your character would.

(This post was last modified: Oct 29, 2010, 05:40 PM by Spirit of Wildwood.)

<i>((Hopefully it's not too late to reply....))</i>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Hawke was a self-proclaimed explorer. She considered herself a brave adventurer, always willing to go wherever her paws - or the wind, for that matter - took her. Tonight, her paws had taken her all the way to the bottom of the Mountain of DIre, and it was here that she stood, craning her neck to try to see the top. And then she made up her mind that standing on it would be a lot better than seeing it.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Thus began Hawke's adventure for the night. The brown she-wolf found herself walking back and forth in front of the Mountain before setting a paw on it, trying to see where the best place might be to start climbing. She usually perferred steeper paths, but she felt rather nervous for an odd reason and decided she would find the smallest slope.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>After a considerable amount of walking, Hawke started to lose her sense of direction. She was tired, but by now her mind refused to go inactive. She was just padding along, in a wild zig-zag pattern, when she picked up the scent of death. Her curiosity was sparked, and she gave up pacing and made her way to the source of the smell.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>What was now before Hawke should have scared her away. She now stood before a deep, menacing cave, completely dark so she could not see the inside. Spiders wove webs along the rocks. And Hawke was terrified. But, being the explorer she was, she summoned her courage and called out one word into the darkness: <span class='word'>"Hello?"</span></font>

<blockquote>
Mountain of Dire was open to her paws to explore. Might as well begin to explore as much as she could, for this was now her new dwelling region, and it was perhaps key for any member of Midnight Plateau to know the ins and outs of their territory bounds. Mountaineering was different for the Vielle female, however, as she grew up in a region where it was nothing but soft soils and flat ground. There was still much needed coordination and balance to practice before she would be just as good as those prancing big horn sheep that danced along the edges of cliffs fearlessly. They were her motivation, and if a mindless herbivore could do it, then so could she.

The Subordinate found herself wandering in the lower elevations of Mountain of Dire, her nose suddenly picking upon a peculiar scent carried in the breeze. <i>Death</i>. It was all too easy to scent, for anything that was decomposed or have died was an immediate attention grabber to every single carnivore that lived on Earth, and even found herself slightly salivating for the prospect it could have been a free carcass to dine upon, or some scraps to take back to the Plateau den to share with the rest of the pack.

Letting her nose lead the way to the destination, the Subordinate certainly wasn't planning to stumble upon another female wolf (which by her scent smelled of the wild, no association with the Plateau or a pack), and seemingly gazing into a dark void of a cave where the scent of death led to. Haughty in approaching, Elvira was not as timid to approach a female as she would a male, so there was no need to cower in a submissive pose. If anything, she carried her tail and neck tall, for she was a proud member of the Plateau and this region alone. <b>"What is it?"</b> Elvira asked, glancing at the female and at the mouth of the cave. </blockquote>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Hawke was startled by the other voice, and for a split second she thought that it might have been a reply from someone within the cave. Quickly she reasoned that the voice was no echoing so was likely coming from nearby. Turning around swiftly, she laid her eyes on a black female wolf. Dipping her head in greeting, she replied, <span class='word'>"This cave. Something's not right about it. I want to see if there's anyone inside of it."</span> She paused, taking another quick glance inside the cave's gaping darkness. Now that there was someone nearby, she felt reassured, and was no longer so afraid.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>It suddenly occured to Hawke that she had not yet met this wolf. <span class='word'>"So what's your name?"</span> she asked casually, not taking her eyes away from the cave as if she expected someone to come out. <span class='word'>"I'm Hawke LaRue."</span></font>

<blockquote>
The agouti colored female seemed startled, which gave a little jolt in Elvira herself, but grinned in amusement afterward. Seems like there was something to generally spook the lone female about this particular cave, to which when she diverted her molten amber gave toward the gaping mouth of darkness, there was unease that wafted from the depths. Studying the darkness and the ambience about it that was without much detail, Elvira agreed with the female's words. <b>"Maybe we can hit a discovery on a mystical dragon."</b> Elvira commented jokingly, not sarcastically but with quirked eyebrows toward her, wondering if there was anything beyond their imaginations to find in a simple world like theirs.

The female who would introduce herself as Hawke LaRue, kept her yellow eyes wary upon the mouth of the cave. This caused Elvira to keep her gaze longingly upon it as well, as if sensing her anticipation of something to jump out at the two females, and to also prepare for what's to come. When introducing herself, her amber eyes flitted over to Hawke's with a small grin. <b>"Elvira Vielle, from Midnight Plateau."</b> Elvira decided to throw in the last detail of the Plateau, for it was in her Leader's prerogative to get the name of their pack out into the open. </blockquote>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Hawke nodded at the other wolf's joke, although she still wasn't turning around. The aoristic darkness intrigued her now, and what she really longed to do was go inside. She wouldn't know what she would encounter, but it was always worth a shot. She was about to take a few very daring pawsteps forward when the other wolf's words really sank in. <span class='word'>"Yes, a mystical dra-- wait, what?"</span> This made her tilt her head slightly, but she said nothing. She wasn't expecting a reply, either, which was fine with her; most of the time, she was more of a talker, not at all a listener.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Hawke acknowledged Elvira's introduction with a twitching eye, something that she usually did in cases of confusion. <span class='word'>"Run that by me again... Midnight Plateau?"</span> She had heard that name before, but usually just from eavesdropping on others' conversations. Otherwise, she knew only one thing about Midnight Plateu: wolves lived there. Not much else.</font>

Seeming like Hawke took Elvira literally for a moment, it only made her amused grin broaden across her midnight maw even more, perhaps giving her a touching look of slight madness. With an imagination as vivid and active like a puppy, there were all sorts of mystical creatures and monsters beginning to fill her mind. Her creativity was one thing that never really disappeared, even when she became a yearling. Or maybe big foot, a chupacabre, a leprechaun. Making verbal all of the fictional thoughts she was thinking, who knew what could have been lurking in this cave.

Hawke seemd to have a mental pause which was visible by the twitch of her eye at the mention of Midnight Plateau. Asking Elvira to clarify, her lustrous tail swayed behind her and her ears perked up and forward. Yes, Midnight Plateau. Alexander is our only Leader, though I'm not sure as to how long he has ruled in the name of the Plateau. We're only about four members deep as of lately. Elvira informed, falling silent then.

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Hawke decided to not bother asking about big feet, chupacabres, or leppe-whatevers. There were some things in life that she would never understand, including those three. Whatever they were, they sounded strange yet fascinating, and she wondered if they were inside the cave she was still staring into.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Explaining didn't do much good. Now Hawke had a few more questions. Wasn't the Plateu a place, not a pack? Or did a pack live there and they just called themselves Midnight Plateu? Why didn't they have many members? Were they just an evil pack, or were there not enough wolves to go around? Surely there were enough lone wolves willing to join packs to boost the member count? The flood of questions began to confuse her, so Hawke decided to say nothing about it.</font>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Instead, Hawke turned her attention back inside the cave. She wanted nothing more than to run in and see what was hidden within. <span class='word'>"Say, do you have any idea who or what is inside this thing?"</span> she asked, breifly glancing over her shoulder expectantly.</font>