ss_noanga | [MOD PLOT] Day of the Plants

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[MOD PLOT] Day of the Plants

Who: Dain, Ferlarys, Zero Two, Esmeryl, Aen’kae, Leo. Donnie and Day.
What: Rescue mission in the Jungle.
When: Sometime in April.
Warnings: Will be in the thread headers.

The bangles go off without warning: a high-pitched shrieking that soon manifests into a holographic map of the ship in all its ruined glory. But the crew aren’t given time to ponder on it as the map zooms in on two blinking red dots that suddenly cut out.

The location is the Jungle, and the dots are - were - Donnie and Day.

It’s a distress call, one that continues to go off as it shows their last known location. The Jungle is dangerous, yes, but it shouldn’t have any of the Dangerous Hazards, and the life support there is generally self-sustaining, given that the plants function as natural oxygen generators and CO2 scrubbers.

It doesn’t take long for a team to assemble and make its way into the Jungle. Thankfully, between them, the group manage to retrace Donnie and Day’s footsteps despite the Jungle’s best efforts to clear them away, with Aen’kae, Ferlarys, and SHELLDON leading the way.

Right up until they lose the footprints into the dense Jungle on one side of the flatish path they'd been following. It also looks like Leo can come with them in his chair with a tiny bit of effort.

(Group Wis: Pass)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As frantic as he might be about the situation, Leo can't really say he's surprised by it.

Donnie has always had a penchant for getting himself into trouble, and from what he's told Leo of his adventures on the other ship, that's never gone away. Not that Leo would ever say that to him (well, except maybe jokingly) because from what he can see Donnie certainly feels guilty about it, even if feeling guilty hasn't stopped him from sticking his nose in places it probably doesn't belong.

At least Day is with him, too. At least, Leo hopes they're together.

Of course he'd been one of the first to volunteer, chair be damned. He didn't have his command center here, didn't have his access to trackers, cameras, or communication devices, and that meant he was going to search. At least Day's work on the paths meant he could come part of the way pretty smoothly, but now he's looking out at the rough terrain ahead with some trepidation. But he's not backing down, so, following Shelldon's lead, he rolls out onto the forest floor, grimacing as he prays his wheels don't get stuck.

Maybe he should have asked Donnie for those off-road wheels while he had the chance...

Illex has been anxious, not particularly that it had been immediately aware of the situation. The noise however is one its well familiar with ever since Donnie had accidentally wandered into one of the compromised hallways and passed out.

With no Donnie around, that only leaves his turtle brother to bother, but it soon becomes aware that there is certainly something wrong here. It remembers the last time its turtle had been taken away.

In its weirdly adapted cat form with its all too many eyes and way too many sharp teeth (and two tails-?!), the mimic perches on the back of Leo's chair as they make way through the dense woods. At times it leaps down, prowling about, although remaining within the perimeter of the group before going back over by Leo again.

Zero Two had just told Day it didn't want to rescue people from the jungle, but here we were. The man seemed pretty comfortable there, so that likely means something serious happened. So its on alert and has left behind its jacket because trouble means arm guns are needed.

Its abomasnow causes snowfall when its let out, so Zero Two made sure to release him elsewhere. By the time they pair come to explore any snow or hail is long gone.

The distress call had caught Æn'kae off guard, but at the end of the day, what was there to do but respond? Even if Day hadn't been one of the people involved, he would have. And of course Day had vanished in the jungle. If there was anywhere he would end up in trouble, that was certainly the place. He was a bit more surprised Donnie had ended up involved since he'd spent most of his time around the tech instead of in the jungle.

Æn'kae had grabbed Roj and their gear, leaving Hwoinch to Loki's care before meeting with the group that had gathered to search. Sort of. More like he'd told the Flerken he was going to take him to play with Meor and the Flerken had vanished abruptly, no doubt to surprise pounce his friend. He'd have to apologize to Loki later for the surprise kitten chaos.

Retracing where Donnie and Day had gone into the jungle took a few of them working together, but they'd managed it. The problem was going to be keeping up with them once they left the clear path. And not falling into a trap themselves, for that matter. He chewed at his lip and looked to the others. "Suggestions?" Sure, he had his tricorder out, but he also didn't want to trample over signs over Day and Donnie's passage just because he was anxious to find them and ended up moving too fast without the forest tracking expertise to back the haste.

Roj for her part, moved behind him, snuffling to the side but she had picked up enough on his anxiety of getting ahead enough not to do so herself. (Which given the way she often ran heedlessly ahead was for the best.)

The bracelet suddenly making noise had startled and panicked Dain, who hadn't heard its warning noise before. It took him a little while to figure out what the warning was about- though not all that long, considering how new he was to everything on the ship. His relief at finding out that it didn't mean they were under attack was short lived when he worked out that it was over missing people- and the ones missing were two that he'd already grown attached to. Donnie, who helped him learn how to gather information and work so many of the strange devices, and Day, who immediately accepted him as a peer and friend.

He'd gone to the impromptu meeting and, when they started asking about who would join the search party, had hesitantly volunteered. At the time, he thought that he could find some way to be useful, that he had something nobody else could bring to the rescue.

Now, actually part of the group and in the jungle, he feels much less confident, and he wasn't all that confident to begin with. Everyone else has animal companions, impressive weapons, useful gear, or all of them. His dagger feels inadequate, even more so if they come up against humans, and he doesn't know enough about what's normal for the jungle for his skill in spotting things that are different to matter much.

He looks around, trying to see if there's anything odd. Other than the tracks disappearing. Automatically he looks up, in case there's any sign they jumped into the trees. (Or turned into something flying, as he might have done.)

"I think," he offers, voice very quiet, "we should stay together, and if we do split up, it should be in pairs at least." He looks back down at the pair of tracks they'd been following. "Preferably more, two wasn't enough to keep them safe from-" his voice chokes off.

She'd sent Arrow out to scout, but he'd come back with no news and a slightly bloodied beak. He may be an intelligent, well-trained hawk, but at the end of the day, he's still only a beast, and hunger had won over her request.

The trail was straightforward, and Ferlarys was confident in finding them in decent time. Especially since Day had bright plumage that might leave a much more noticeable trail if he dropped or damaged any feathers.

Until that trail...disappeared. If they were in danger, they would have disturbed the foliage much more obviously...

"Agreed. We stay together, and trust they are doing the same. We must find their trail again. Perhaps it's been magically obscured."

Whether that was from a spell like Pass Without Trace or some illusion to mask it, her Detect Magic would see it all the same.

She spoke an incantation, and her eyes glowed with the spell as she stared at the spot where the trail vanished.

It doesn't take much for Esmeryl to keep pace with the group, having reverted to her draconic-griffon beastmode. Not at first; but slowly she shrinks down until she's about 8ft at the shoulder. "Again?"

She's less than impressed, and it shows, but she's here all the same because her adopted son is missing. For all she is a Decepticon, she does value her people, and Donnie is very much hers. The last time he went missing, the fae were involved, and she wasn't part of the rescue group. Something she deeply resents.

Ferlarys's Detect Magic
Alas, all that lights up are around half the plants in the area; all magic of some kind, but it's hard to tell what, exactly, outside 'those are magical'. But, it's likely fae magics, or the natural magic of the Jungle itself.

Zero Two Spot the Danger (19)
There is a lot of danger around them, but as it looks up into the canopy, it spots the slow slither of vines. They look harmless enough - thin, scraggly looking things no bigger than a toddler's arm. But, it can tell they're coiled and ready to spring into action at any moment. That being caught by one would see the person hoisted into the air.

It cannot, however, pinpoint where they are coming from. Somewhere up in the canopy, probably.

Zero Two looks around slowly, then peers up into the trees. "Be careful. There is some sort of creature or trap in the trees." The source doesn't seem to stand out, so it flips through a few other filters before looking over the canopy with its infrared vision. "That may be why the tracks disappeared."

Ferlarys looks up from the trail at Zero Two. "I think you're right. There is no magic obscuring the tracks. Many of these plants hold innate magic, however. Perhaps they're animated?"

But she can't see what kind of magic it is. Not how the spell usually behaves. She calls--a near-perfect imitation of a hawk--and Arrow descends to land on her shoulder. Though they hadn't reacted to his scouting, they may respond differently now that they've been seen.

Dain chews the inside of his cheek. "Day has magic. Could you track that, somehow?"

He looks up at the branches and doesn't see anything strange. They haven't been disturbed recently- which probably means whatever happened to Donnie and Day, they hadn't fallen victim to the trap Zero Two sensed. He takes a look at the ground again- no fallen leaves.

"I don't think whatever you sensed is what made them disappear. Unless it could swallow them completely without disturbing the trees."

“I’m not sure if we can rule anything out yet,” says Leo, watching the canopy warily. “Not until we know more about this jungle.”

He twists in his chair to look at the others.

“For now, do we have anything that can block off attacks from above? It’s gonna be hard to watch the trees and the ground at the same time.”

Æn'kae looked up, considering the creeping vines and chewing on his lip before pointing his tricorder upwards to take readings. If there was something there now and he could isolate the reading, maybe he could set an alert if whatever it was got too close. Doing that would make it difficult to use the tricorder for the actual search. Not that he said so, he wanted to see if that was even possible before saying anything. Not that he said much at all, but that was besides the point.

"I have a shield, and I am willing to weather attacks should they come," Esmeryl says with a twitch of her wings as a roughly 5ft tall shield appears in the air before her.

"I am faster and tougher than I look."

Tricoder reading Aen'kae Int 23, Magery 14

While there are only the magical vines up there right now - and they seem more the tentacles of an actual creature than actual vines -, he does manage to pick up traces that at least two other humanoid creatures of some kind were once up there - Day and Donnie. Though, any hint of their trail is quickly lost.

It is also entirely possible to set the tricoder up to do what he wants, though the magic detection aspect of it will be spotty at best given how magical the forest seems to be in general.

But it is better than nothing.

Æn'kae looked over the readings a moment before focusing back on the others. "I think whatever is up there took Day and Donnie," he said quietly, brow furrowed. Either that or they both decided to climb the trees which frankly, seemed less likely. (Though he wouldn't have put it past Day.) He tapped through the readings again and shook his head with a sigh. Fvadt. "Can't tell where it took them though."

He considered Esmeryl's offer to shield, which certainly could help, but the tricorder might give her an extra moment to react and so he opted to make the offer. "But I think I can set this to alert us if those tentacles get too close. I uh, I just don't know how much magic will interfere."

Dain shivers. So the trap did swallow two people without disturbing the trees. If it actually is trees that they're surrounded with, and not more dangers.

The odd-looking mage's bird had gone out scouting and come back fine. Maybe it would be safe again? But before he says anything, he takes another look around. Are there any signs that other animals live under the tentacles or pass by safely? If there are, the bird might be fine. But if there aren't, he's ready to assume that no bird, beast, or person is safe from whatever seized their friends.

There are plenty of signs that other animals live under the tentacles - the forest itself is a thriving ecosystem, though none of the animals seem to be present right now.

It's either a bit odd, or Dain's simply not skilled enough to pick them out amongst all the foliage.

However, Dain knows that standing around looking for hidden animals probably won't help them find Donnie and Day.

"I do not have a shield, but I have ways to detect vines. I would suggest we not stand here deciding what to do for long, a timeline is very important when dealing with missing persons." Its never found missing humans not-eaten or fallen down a cliff before, hopefully this will be the first time.

The Abomasnow makes a rumbling noise and steps forward. He isn't afraid of plant-creatures, ice is strong against grass! He doesn't go any further without his trainer and the others moving, though.

Zero Two looks to Esme, "If you are able to keep that up or bring it back at a moment's notice I think you and I should go first. I can track the heat signatures of the vines--or whatever they are--and lead us towards their core."

Well. At least this area isn't lifeless, but the fact that the animals that normally frequent the place are in hiding isn't encouraging, either.

"The vines don't eat everything, or else all animals would avoid this place," he says, still quiet. "But they are hiding. It might be because they are afraid of our intrusion, or it might be because the vines have been- activated, by Day and Donnie, and will try to seize anything moving until they go dormant. I thought you," he nods at Ferlarys, "might be able to safely send your bird out again, that the vines might not take interest in it, but I think we should not count on it."

He looks between Zero Two and Esme. "I think either whoever has the shield should go first, or you should hold it over the heads of the group. Does anyone think they might be fast enough to dodge an attack?"

Arrow senses the concern and huddles a bit on his perch on Ferlarys's shoulder.

"It is quiet," she says, "but, as you implied, it may simply be that we are many and we are new."

She looks up at the vines again, reappraising them. Not necessarily a plant, not as she knows it. But, at the very least, relying on heat.

"I have faith in my footwork, or, failing that, my sword arm. If these vines are composed at all like plants, my ice breath may slow them if they catch someone."

All the while Illex has been looking around, all several pairs of eyes flicking up towards the uncertain canopy above now and then. Both tails flick about in agitation, disliking the quiet.

As the bipeds talk, the mimic skulks over to one of the trees, scaling the trunk with ease to sniff around. It bares teeth at the vines. How tempting it is to just go on this way, for the scent trail hasn't been on the ground to begin with. While it understands the size and travel issues, having been largely relegated to being carried for a good part of its brief life prior, it doesn't understand why the bipeds are standing around when it is quite clear where to keep going.

As it is, the mimic isn't sure what to gauge the plantlife here as. But perhaps it can move quickly enough along these snakelike things that stretch between the trees.

Leo is trying to pay attention to the conversation, keep up with who has what abilities. When things move fast, it can be difficult for him to keep track, but Shelldon keeps a running log for him, just in case.

He's distracted from his efforts, though, when he notices Illex on the move, climbing up one of the trees to get near the vines. Leo rolls his chair closer to the trunk.

"Illex, hey! Be careful!"

They don't need the mimic getting snatched, too.

Roj did not precisely have the build to climb trees, but that didn't stop her from taking the lead of the feline/not feline that was searching for it's person, running after it as best she could when bound to the ground. And she gave a loud hwoinch. Whether she was urging the people to follow or Illex to come down and away from whatever was up there was anyone's guess.

Æn'kae whistled to try and get Roj back, but she didn't stop chasing after it. "Elements, guess they picked a direction for us." He breathed, moving to follow Roj, albeit not quickly, since they really didn't need to split up, his scanner hooked to his belt and running in case the tentacles closed in. He didn't have the same sort of connection with Illex, but given the tentacles or whatever they were, he didn't like it being up there anymore than Leo did.

"Running off blindly is just as likely to doom us as save them!"

But their companions are bounding off, and what else are they going to do? They've got some information, at least, and that will have to do. Ferlarys whistles a go! command to Arrow, who obediently takes off and shadows Illex, swooping in a protective semicircle as Ferlarys hurries after, hand on her sword's handle.

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