Rumia (cross_grave)

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Waking up, Rumia noted it was still dark. She must have fallen asleep and stayed inside longer than she intended - she actually wanted to go and check up on the battlefield again before the day was out. That was undoubtedly annoying, in her opinion. Still, she might be able to learn something about how the battle went if she tried. The girl opted to set out, avoiding the predators as she stood to gain little from fighting them now, instead opting to check back on the area where the Yuan-ti and the treants fought earlier. Depending on what she found, she'd perhaps be able to figure out what the outcome was.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia would light a small flame as she set out. Wanting to see how the skirmish between the Yuan-ti and Treants was progressing, Rumia would head in that direction. The outcome seemed to be decided already as there was no longer a battle at all. There were corpses aplenty where the battle had taken place previously.

A new battle was starting to form between the Crocodiles and Ocelots as they tried to scavenge off of the battlefield what they could for food. Not directly engaging each other however, there were a few small skirmishes where they would get too close to each other. This was looking to be a dangerous place even at night when the battle had seemingly resolved itself. As the animals became aware of Rumia's presence, they were not entirely interested in her. The flame emitting light seemed to keep them away as they had the easier targets in the Yuan-ti corpses for food.

By what Rumia could presently see, and it was certainly limited at best, there were 3 Ocelots and a Crocodile that she could make out. Knowing full well there were more of them as she could more so hear them than currently see them.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia watched the battlefield, noting with a bit of unhappiness she missed the conclusion. There was no point in approaching it up close, getting between predators was a stupid move. She'd try to count the corpses, but that was likely a fool's errand by night. Instead, she opted to turn back to the cave and go to sleep. She'd check up on both the Yuan-ti camp and the forest tomorrow. Perhaps by observing their conditions she'd be able to divine what the outcome was. Though considering no one apparently moved the bodies, she assumed it ended in the favor of the treants.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia would promptly realize that examining the battle would be a fool's errand. Between who knows what kind of predators and scavengers it was a recipe for disaster waiting to happen. Corpses were being dragged off in every direction it would seem and Rumia decided that sticking around was not exactly the best idea.

Attempting to retreat back to her cave, Rumia would find that the ability to sleep was seemingly lost to her at this point. She would put her head down and ten minutes later start tossing and turning about. She felt that she needed to do something, and her curiosity needed to be sated. Just how much of the Yuan-ti camp was taken out by the Treants? Looking up to see where the moon was, it was very close to midnight as the moon was directly overhead.

At least her knowledge of the area would help her avoid the traps that were in the area between her cave and the encampment. As it was night, Rumia would not easily be able to see or be seen by anything. What she did notice however was a small funeral pyre on the east side of the encampment. She could probably sneak about the camp while their ritual was ongoing.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia sighed as she failed to fall asleep. Shit like that really annoyed her. Still, at least it was some motivation to go back out and explore again. Which was why she was skulking around Yuan-ti territory again, poking around to see what was happening. And that led her to discovering what looked like some kind of funeral pyre burning nearby. The middle of a ceremony was probably a good time to sneak into the camp and check it out... But it'd be a foolish move to go in without confirming how many snakemen were attending to the flame. Plus, she was curious. The mage decided to watch what the creatures were doing with the fire, observing their ritual with interest.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia would get restless during the night and explore nearby the Yuan-ti camp. As she got near the camp this time, there was a significant fire on the far side of the camp. Investigating further it would look to be a funeral pyre for the Yuan-ti that had been defeated in battle earlier in the day. Looking around she would notice that it was a very sacred ritual. Most of the Yuan-ti seemed to be in attendance either as deceased carcasses on the pyre or praying and chanting around the fire itself.

The Yuan-ti were reciting a chant or incantation of some kind. A prayer for the deceased was the likely assumption given the circumstance around her. Rumia would scan around the scene and notice that the pyre was the central focus, A line of Yuan-ti would circle the pyre in one direction while another just outside of them were travelling in the opposite direction. Making movements that were similar to a dance all the while. The rest of the Yuan-ti would be laying prone on the ground, rising up at seemingly random intervals and raising their arms to the air. The Yuan-ti were focused solely on the ritual from the looks of it, though there would be no guarantee how long the ritual would last.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia watched the ritual in silence, quietly memorizing the details. Two sets of dancers forming rings around the massive pyre containing the corpses. The rest seemed to be praying, laying on the ground only to rise every few moments, hands up in the air. They were chanting something, too. The mage could understand little of it herself, but she kept watching. She'd maintain her silent vigil until the ritual ended or she got sleepy, whichever happened first, then go back to her cave and rest until morning. Once the sun got up, she'd risk an expedition to the northern forests - if the Yuan-ti managed to recover their fallen, it was likely they beat the treants back.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia would be in a somewhat safe spot for the time being. The Yuan-ti conducting their ritual and no other traps nor predators seemed to be interested in the area for the time being. There did not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the ritual that Rumia could see. It was simply more of the same that would happen for about another hour. Once the ritual had completed, the fire died out, and all of the Yuan-ti laid prone on the ground in what may have been a moment of silence to honor the fallen.

Rumia would witness the Yuan-ti on the ground and needed to make a decision as to what she was going to do now. It was closer to roughly 2am now than midnight, and Rumia seemed to feel fine. Not having to exert herself much would keep her feeling okay for the time being. She was not tired, but not entirely a bundle of energy either. She could just as easily try to force herself to at least rest until the daybreak came or start to get a head start of sorts in trying to explore an area.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia was starting to feel a little bored. The ritual seemed to have no other special parts to it, it was just the same thing being repeated again and again. Eventually the fire just burned out and the Yuan-ti simply remained where they were, lying down. Figuring that the festivities were over, the mage decided to bail and go take a look at the northern forest now. Sure, it was still dark, but maybe she'd be able to do some preliminary scouting at least to get a feel of the land. It could end up helping her plan a longer expedition out there if need be, or maybe provide her with an opportunity to find something interesting.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Knowing that there were a few remains scattered about the previous battlefield, Rumia would start to head north. Trying to keep away from where she knew the battle to have taken place. With the lighting available to her by way of being able to control fire, Rumia would set out. Though she would find out rather quickly why the Yuan-ti were coming from the southern side of the camp as she seemed to walk into a mine field of traps. Avoiding a few, there was one that she were unable to avoid.

Animated vines would spring up from the ground without warning. Binding both her hands and feet, Rumia was trapped on the ground. As she would struggle to get herself free her ass would come up off the ground a little. The vines themselves did not seem to be animated in any intelligent way aside from trapping her arms and legs. Unable to get herself free at least for the time being, it was more likely just a matter of time before something took advantage of the situation.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia cursed as she struggled against the vines. Looks like the whole area was booby-trapped with an absurd number of hazards, including living ones. Thankfully, this one seemed to only pin her down, but there were many creatures around that could take advantage of her current position skulking around. She didn't want to wait long enough to meet one. Instead, the girl opted to try and burn the vines with her fire, hoping to get herself free before something ran into her.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia would be able to concentrate after she made one more attempt to thrash about and get herself free. Simply getting herself pissed off, she would burn her way out after starting to concentrate herself a little better. The whole ordeal lasted for maybe 15 minutes and nothing thankfully seemed to become aware of her presence.

Rumia would start to explore about to the north now, and what she would see was surprisingly more jungle though it was far more sparse as she would move further from the river. Was it the Treants being eradicated by the Yuan-ti? Nothing seemed to be sentient where Rumia was, so it was likely that she had either gotten on the other side of them or they simply ignored her for the time being.

As Rumia started to look about and explore a little more she would start to feel the very earth around her start to shake. It was not an earthquake by any means but something was burrowing about nearby possibly? Was that the cause of the trees being so spread out in the area?

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia felt her anger literally burn the vines, fueling her magic as it slowly but surely chewed through the trap binding her. It took a while, but soon enough she was free and none worse for wear. Nothing found her while she was helpless, too, which was a bonus. With that, she would continue her exploration, noting how sparse the jungle seemed to be. Was it because the treants moved? Or was there some other reason? Her musings were interrupted by an unexpected tremor. Something seemed to be moving underground, burrowing through the earth. The girl quickly decided to try and climb onto one of the trees, reasoning that whatever this burrower was it probably wasn't friendly.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia would feel the tremors in time, It would seem something was burrowing about and destroying the roots of the trees in the process. Maybe this was what was forcing the Treants into Yuan-ti territory? With the dawn of a new day maybe an hour away, Rumia chose to wait it out until she could see better by way of crawling up a tree.

The tree was thankfully not a Treant or it likely may have taken offense and attacked her. Having more time to look about, there was an area to the northeast of her that was being almost devoured by the burrowing creature. From the little that she could see, there seemed to be a set of antennae that were guiding the creature around as it burrowed through the ground.

Rumia could do a few things, though most would likely take her from the frying pan and into the fire as it were. Simply waiting it out in the relative safety of the tree might well be her best bet while waiting for the sun to rise on the start of what would be the third day of this contest.

Re: Rumia (cross_grave)

Rumia frowned as she watched the creature rampage around the area. Judging by the damage it was causing and the large missing areas of the forest, this had to be some kind of super-herbivore, maybe omnivore. Probably the latter. Either way, not something the mage wanted to tangle with. It'd probably be wise to stay out of the creature's way and wait until it disappeared. She could retreat later, once it was gone. Or wait till morning. If it went away, then maybe she'd be able to continue exploring her surroundings. Having made up her mind, the mage settled down on the tree and watched the creature, observing it from a distance.