abraxaslogs | [CLOSED] always a mystery, not what it seems to be

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[CLOSED] always a mystery, not what it seems to be

Who: Himeka, Link, & Emet-Selch
What: An investigation ensues after Himeka realizes she's forgotten her stay at a mysterious disappearing house in the woods
Where: Roads between Primary and Secondary Settlements
When: Late January
Warnings: TBD

[ When she isn't busying herself with errands in town, Himeka does like to take time to explore a bit as she moves between the different settlements. While she spends most of her energy in the Primary simply due to the fact the family she has thrown her lot in with is there, she finds it equally important to keep herself integrated on every front that she can. Besides, half of the fun is the journey and the open air in Solvunn is something she is ever grateful for, no matter some the reservations she has about their lot.

It is on one such journey along one of the dirt paths between settlements that Himeka starts to feel the telltale pangs of deja vu. Not entirely out of place given that she has this way once before, but what begin with inklings of familiarity become the telltale signs of something else.

The sharp pains of a sudden migraine hits her full on and Himeka falls to her knees, holding her head in her hands. Her vision blurs as the road beneath her turns dark, flashes of the are at night fly through her mind.

Her lantern is out, but there's another light--

--a house? In this area? With nothing else around--

--it's not a normal house, not with the thick and oppressive air she feels inside of it--

--there's a hand that she doesn't recognize--

--and she's on the road, alone in the early morning.

She gasps as her vision finally clears, like she's taking a breath for the first time in a good minute. Pangs of her headache will linger for sometime, but this--it was definitely the Echo, but not a normal vision. They usually play out as complete scenes in front of her, not disjointed fragments needing to be pieced together. It...it's troubling. Because while she doesn't remember, she knows what she saw--

Her own past.

Here. In Solvunn.

After a moment to collect herself, Himeka continues her way into town, expression less lofty and more serious than it usually is when she's enjoying her wanderings. Though she was meaning to find more work, she feels there is something else she needs to attend to first.

...And there is just the person to help her out with that. Himeka waves to the young ~~Elezen~~ Elf. ]

Link!

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[ Well. That's all Link needs to hear for his eyes to take on a more serious glint. He isn't always the most expressive of the offworlders, but it's always easy to tell from his squared-off stance when he's determined to put a stop to something, and preferably as quickly as possible. ]

Then we should go now. How long do you feel this has been going on?

If it is preying on people and claiming their memories, I suppose that's something worth looking into.

[Not that there isn't a sigh in his voice all the same. He's hardly about to leave, true. Not when the idea has piqued his interest, but well. He has his habits, and he's hardly about to admit to being genuinely interested.]

I don't suppose it would be too much to ask if you had some idea of where to start looking?

[ She knew she could count on Link--if there has been a call to adventure, no matter how minute, he always seems ready for it. Emet-Selch was the wild card, but it seems this mystery has piqued his interest enough to garner his assistance for the time being, something they will likely need given his magical prowess. ]

I'm not sure how long, but I remember the last time I was here wasn't long after the Solstice concluded.

[ Feeling satisfied with her little Light Party, she nods, placing her hands on her hips. ]

Which means the trail may be cold, so the sooner we can get on it, the better.

[ She starts off back towards the edge of town and motions for the pair to follow her. ]

It's down this road about a malm outside of town, where the path forks off towards the east. I'll show you!

[ Of course, it's his sheer dedication to keeping this place and these people - the only hope he has of reconnecting with Hyrule and Zelda - safe from harm that has Link rising to every need the Settlement has of him... but Himeka is right. A fellow adventurer, she has him pegged: he's excited to see and experience something new.

Perhaps there's a little bit of that left in Emet, too.

Hopefully there is, or else he'll simply end up playing begrudging immortal babysitter, won't he? Because this kid's face is all business, but anticipation buzzes just beneath the surface of his voice: ]

Lead the way.

[ ...he says, already on the move. ]

Cold indeed, assuming that was when the encounter took place.

[Not that there's anything to be done about it, much though he might wish otherwise. If they are to find this mysterious house, than far better they start at its last known location. Even if they can't say for certain whether or not it will have been there any more recently.]

But yes, yes, lead the way.

[Dismissive though the comment might sound, he does indeed follow along all the same. Not without some amount of slouching, perhaps, but follow he does. Just as he had often done during Himeka's adventures on the First.]

Edited 2022-02-10 05:53 (UTC)

[ It doesn't take terribly long until they arrive at the designated location, maybe a little over half an hour at a decent pace of which Himeka is keen to take. (Sorry, Emet.)

It's a road, a dirt road as many are this far outside of town, showing some signs of travel in the recent days. Most are by foot, some by cart or by horse where needed, but it gives them a place to start. Himeka stands at the fork where the roads split off and looks about. ]

Divide and conquer? There may be something left to show for it.

[ She squints, gaze shifting off the main path towards a collection of bushes and trees. ]

It was over there that I woke up, I think.

[Truth be told, it's not any worse than some of the paces he'd set (or had been set for him) during his days with the Garlean military. But there's still a vague sense of displeasure hanging over the way he trails along behind, looking deeply unimpressed and like he might break into complaint if given so much as half a reason to do so.]

May be.

[By the tone of his voice he is not any more impressed by this than he had been with the pace that she had set along the way, and he holds that for a long moment, before finally offering an almost put-upon sigh.]

But I suppose if any remnant yet lingers it would be more likely to do so there than on the path itself.

[ Any grumble or complaints from Emet-Selch are expected. In some weird way they are a familiar comfort that he be upset at being beholden to the woes of the simple man in moving on foot.

But there is a particular reason she's glad that she managed to wrangle him into this without much effort on her part, and it's not for the comforts of befriending an adversary turned friend turned--no, not going through that again. ]

Can't you, like...magically conjure up clues or something?

[ That's not how it works, Himeka. ]

[For all that he is hardly about to admit to it - or, indeed, to stop complaining - Emet-Selch has missed this. To at least some degree, at any rate. Nor can he truly deny having been curious about the world itself, despite his frustrations about having been all but dragged along.]

That is hardly how it works. Even if I knew what to look for, any aether trails will have long since faded into illegibility.

[Still, he is not without other means of looking for clues. He may not particularly enjoy the idea - or so the sigh he offers suggests - but he hasn't outright refused to take part either.]

Still, I suppose we may as well see what we can find.

[He still can't be said to be moving at a pace that could be called anything but a slouch but he does make his way over to the area she'd indicated all the same, sharp eyes looking over what might otherwise seem like little more than any other collection of bushes and trees.]

[ That he assists despite all his grumbling is what speaks volumes. What doubts she may have still harbored about his presence have since faded and this, if anything, furthers cements that she is taking him at his word. Tired and easily annoyed that he may be, they may finally be able to move forward.

And that apparently means taking small steps to unraveling this mystery. It doesn't escape her that he is entirely taking her on her word.

Scouring the area isn't the most exciting business and Himeka isn't afraid to get down on her hands and knees to investigate further. A few minutes pass before she pulls up a tuft of hair that had been supposedly shed on some nearby brush. ]

Hm....what do you think this may have belonged to?

[ Yet as soon as she asks, she squints, looking just past Emet-Selch. ]

Is that more fur?

[Given that she is the one who had the vision, her word is the best they have, just at the moment. Which is, admittedly, rather less than he would like to have to go on, but he cannot force further visions. Nor is his ability to see aether anything that could be called useful, and so, he has simply resigned himself to making do with what they have.

Still, he turns from his own search at the sound of her voice, looking up... and then following her gaze to the patch of fur she's spotted.]

Yes. And here; the branches are broken. [He indicates a small tree near to the patch of lost fur.] Something must have come through in a hurry.

[ Yes, those definitely don't look like branches snapped by wind. Indicated of something moving through it, something weighty. ]

Hmm...

[ She stands up then, going to the disturbed brush. ]

Something large. Not that I've seen all these hills have to show us--

[ --and, curiously...rather than just fur, now there are feathers? ]

...Two animals?

[ One chasing after one another? ]

I don't remember an animal, though...

I know few creatures that would be possessed of fur and feathers both.

[True, he's made no more of a study of the creatures that live in the hills than she has, but even so, it's not something that he would consider typical. Far more likely that it had been two creatures.

But if so... what.]

Perhaps they came through prior? A creature in flight might well leave behind such traces as these.

[Though that, too, only raises more questions.]

Yes, but--

[ She wants to reiterate she doesn't remember seeing any sort of animal, but she catches herself almost immediately. The vision, thinking back on it...

...the hand. Was it a hand? Maybe there were feathers in her peripheral? It...doesn't seem as off as it initially did. Himeka purses her lips as she reconsiders. ]

...Maybe there were chickens. Or something.

[ Or something indeed.

Himeka stands, looking at the area around them. Feathers and fur, odd but not too odd for whatever may be living in these woods and hills. Yet it's as she slowly scans the ground and the brush in a continuous line something occurs to her. ]

Wait.

[ She motions for Emet-Selch to step back as well. She points at the pattern that the broken leaves and branches make, as well as imprints on the grass itself. ]

This looks like one giant square, doesn't it? I'm not going crazy am I?

[There's a raised - and questioning - eyebrow at her first comment, and he's very nearly about to prompt further on that 'but' when she offers an answer of her own instead. One that she doesn't sound particularly certain of, admittedly, but it is an answer. If a wholly unsatisfying one.]

It was you who had the vision, not I.

[And though he might - in theory - be able to experience some of it, were she to make an effort to share it with him, he doesn't much care to mention how she might do so. Not while they are in the middle of an expedition, certainly, and possibly not ever. There are too many questions that could come of such a thing for him to bother, unless it should be strictly necessary.

Still, he does step back when she motions him to, and he can't deny that he's seeing much the same thing as she is.]

You can't possibly be suggesting that this unknown creature is shaped like a cube.

[And yet... there is the proof before them all the same.]

Edited 2022-03-15 05:55 (UTC)

What? No, of course not.

[ Which--actually now that she thinks on it... ]

...Why aren't the Cubus cube-shaped, by the way?

[ No, Himeka is getting distracted. She shakes her head and turns to face Emet-Selch fully as she implores him, gesturing with her hands at the same time. ]

I mean the creature may have been here when the house was! Most houses are shaped like cubes or squares or cube-esque, aren't they? I do remember a hand, and there was something...really off about it. Maybe that is the creature we're looking for.

Regardless of what else the term - and those descended from it - may have come to mean, the original term was simply meant to describe a mass of something.

[And the cubuses were certainly that, if nothing else, though by the sigh in his voice he's a little annoyed about the sidetrack, slight though it had been. Not surprised, no. But a little irritated all the same, and there's some part of him that's almost relieved when she manages to get herself back on track.]

Typically, yes. And if it were capable of movement besides, that could well explain how no one has found it. [A pause and this time he really does sigh.] Though it will, of course, make it that much more difficult to track down.

[Not impossible, certainly. But not a particularly trivial task, either.]

[ Himeka looks unconvinced by this logic, but doesn't argue it. Not this time. ]

They are very...mass-y.

[ Yeah, that. ]

Then let's not waste time tracking it down.

[ With that, Himeka plops down on the ground itself. Though it likely need not be said what her plan is, she says it anyway. ]

It's clearly been here more than once. We just need to wait for it to show up again.

[ She turns her gaze to the sky. ]

Until nightfall.

[ And wait they shall. Himeka seems content with "companionable" silence for the most part, but she quickly finds that sitting and waiting is actually the one thing she's very bad at. So she busies herself with practicing some of her magicks before trying to make a recreation of the strange house she'd seen out of sticks. It is, enough, to keep them occupied as the sky darkens... ]

[ The skies do indeed darken, perhaps a bit more quickly than normal so deep in the woods. Or it could be a trick of the mind and the light. There are plenty of noises to occupy that companionable silence between the crickets chirping and the occasional call of a bird or the rustle and dash of tall grass as a rabbit darts away. Soon, even the ambient noises found in the forest seem to be muted.

What starts as the far-away sound of something in the brush turns into a flurry of noise and motion as whatever it is gets closer. A large shape can be seen shambling closer on uneven legs- or perhaps legs each with a different gait. It settles down onto the ground as if it had never been moving to begin with, a warm light illuminating the tiny windows of a cottage and an aromatic smoke floating out of the chimney.

When the weary travelers get closer, the door swings open and a very elderly woman glides out the front with a broom to tidy her entryway, feet seeming to never touch the ground. When she spots the party, her eyes twinkle in delight and she smiles, curling a gnarled finger toward the house. When her mouth opens, an aged voice calls out. ]

D̷͈͔̱͉̞̎̓ŏ̴̡̡̭̰̉̉ṉ̶̨̪͓̱͑̽͠ͅ'̶̢̡̯͎̤̈́̚t̴̡̡̙̺̭͉̭̘̃̋̚ ̷̩̺̤͔̆͐̓͗̕̕͝͝b̵̨̨̖̺͔̩̉͊̚ę̸̟̝̰̬͈̄̀͑ ̵͇̺̠͇̍̊̉̉͜͝͝ͅs̵̘̖̣̖͋̆̏͌̉͜͝͝h̴̘̱̠͐͆y̸̧̧̼̞̰̺͛̄͐̐͋̽͑,̴̢̖̞̪̺͍̰̜̓͌̀̀͊̕͘͝ ̶̛̛̘̬̮̗̥̤̪͉́̀̈́̚y̵͍̽͂ọ̸͍̯̰̮͓̰̲͐͗͗̅̽͝u̷̩̥̝̲̐̑̓̎̎̀͘ ̸̡͐̓̈́́͌̚̚m̴̢̧̛̂̌́̕u̷͙͊s̷̡̪͗t̵̲̾́̇̏͂͝ ̵̭̳̉̇͆b̷̹̙͔̈̀ĕ̶̹̱̜͇͚͔͂ͅ ̸̘̋͛̍̽̓̈́͝t̸̤͋̋̉̏̿ị̴̢̫̫̈́̉̅̕r̵̮̦̘̼̟̹̞͍̽e̴͈̣̼̗̲͕̋̈́͗͝d̷̥̠͒͌̆͂.̸͕͚̩̜̣̪̠͗

[Emet-Selch does, if nothing else, have the advantage in being able to tolerate waiting. One of the advantages of having lived for as long as he has - what are a few hours, compared to even the turn of a century and never mind millennia? Admittedly, his usual inclination would be to nap, but given that would risk missing the arrival of whatever it is they happen to be waiting for. Instead, he settles for simply watching Himeka as she finds ways to fill the time - and occasionally offering pointers, as he deems necessary.

The sudden flurry of noise and motion, however, has him standing up from where he'd been half-leaning against a tree. And once the shape draws close enough to be visible, he has to admit it's not anything like what he'd expected - though a house capable of shambling along legs does explain some of how it gets around. And perhaps also some of why the brush and smaller trees had been in the state of disarray they'd been in.

Still, he casts a half-suspicious gaze over it, as it settles down, and one that only seems to deepen once an old woman comes all but gliding out; rather than directly answer the question - or the beckoning finger - he turns instead to Himeka. The search is hers, and for now he will follow her lead.]

[ Patience is a virtue or something, isn't it? And waiting, in this case, bares some substantial fruit. Himeka also stands when she hears it, at first, wondering if they are going to need to fight off some larger beast during their vigil. Yet instead she's rewarded with a house--

--a house on legs.

The edges of her memory start to fill in, small details--the siding of the house, yes that's right. The feathers--it's the legs! They come from the legs, there weren't chickens or wolves...it was the house itself.

She isn't crazy!

But...at what cost? What excitement she has is quickly overwritten with concern. Everything about this feels wrong. Even the quaint smoke from the chimney and warm light from the windows. The voice, garbled and hitting strange notes that vibrate in her horns, and the hand all ring alarm bells.

She trades a glance with Emet-Selch.

And steps forward.

The only way to unravel this mystery is to meet it, isn't it? ]

Not quite...not yet.

[ Tired, that is. The woman...she can't recall the face, but it feels familiar none the less. ]

We've met before, haven't we? I stayed here once.

[ The old woman's smile broadens, giving off the impression that there may be too many teeth to logically fit in her mouth. She taps on her own nose and points that gnarled finger back at Himeka. ]

Ç̴̩͇͔͎̍̓ͅl̶̨̛̙̹̜̭̱̟͎̹̥͙̰̏̒̓͗̇͘͝͝͝ë̶͍͓̰͕͇̪̲̗̩́̅͛̒̀͑́͠v̷̫͉̓̎͒̇̄̕͘͝ẹ̶̛̘̯̭̰̄̑̌͛̎̓̏̋̍͝r̵̡̢̲̜̱̜̘̯̜͔̮̔͐̆̐͑͒̈̍̈͆̔̅̓̚̕͜,̴͇̬͈͕̔̆̽͒̎̊̉̓͛̃̑͛̀̀̃ ̴̢̧͙̺͔͓̼̆̓̔̍̃͋̉̓̀́̔́̈́̅̋k̶̰̦̟̰͛͐̓̓̏̆̿ĭ̴̦̮̠̝̘͈̝͒n̸͙̰̤̂̉̂̓̇̈̒͗̑͝͝d̸̪̼̘̳̻̭̞̙̖͇̣́̈́̿̐͌̀̐͘̚ ̵̨̝͈̱̳͇̋̐͐̒̈͋̈͘͘g̵̢̩͓̦̜͉͍͖̖͉̪̹̦͓̑͊͝į̷̳̘̘͚͆̈́̋̈́̿͊͊̽̓̀̚͠͝ŗ̴̠̝̺̦̟̼͈̤̤͗͋͠l̷̡̧̜̱̖̼̟̙͇̤͔̘̤̦̅͌̃͗̈͐͌̊̎̔͂͝.̶̡̛̟̝̼͌̈́̅̓͌̓͆̃̌͛̂̄̎͘ ̸͓͚̘͍͚̭̙̮̘̓̇͌̃̊͜͝C̸̫͂̐͒͆̌̈́̆͐̏̔̓̊̿͘͘ǫ̴̛̯̪̳̰͕͖͙̗̦̝̂́̇͑͋͘m̴̡̛̞̯̟̪̤̣̟̮̯̜̽̾͗̿͜ͅě̴͕͙͇̖͔̘̘͓̙̻̱̭͉̝͑̈́̆̚͠,̷̻̖̪̼͎̱͉͖̟̒́̀̈́͗̋͜ ̸̛̰̮̻̟̥̙͕̩̰̏́͌̈̀͗̒͌͗b̶̘̮̺͙̰͕̯͇̞̪̪̠̆̓̈́̕͠e̶̩̣̲̻̦̯͔̖̘̝̖͕̭̓̀̂̔̍̍̿̋̎̀̕͝f̶͙͖͓̃́̕ŏ̶̮̯̟̘͔̤͌̐r̵̡̨̮̳͍̹͚̦͙̦̥̬̺̾̋̈̔̌ę̶̣̝̰͖̜͋̈́́ ̴̢̩̜̦̞͖̣͙̩̣̟̂̓t̵̢̢̧̛̹͍̳̥̤̺͉̽̎͋̽͑̈́͆͗͠h̵̜͓̓ì̶͎̫̩͕͋͑͛́͗́̈́͂̽̂͆̐̚͝n̷̨͇̩͖͍̑̓͋̃̍͛͊͑g̸̞͇̖͔̬̺̜͋͂́̄̑͒̈́̊͋̉s̷̼̗̼͓̖̯̖̞̈́̓͆̋͘͜ ̶̨̹͚̫͕͓̦͎͖̞̤͍́̇́̓̃͋̅͋͋̈́̊̌̌̋͠w̸͓̱̤̹̳̏̌ͅì̷̢̹̭͚̮̥̺̼̰̠̅̈̓͋t̵̜̯̟̜̩̠̠̤̳͉̓͒̈̂̾̄͗͑̉̒̓̑̊͝ḧ̸̨̧̜͔̦̯̣̟͈̹̞̬̯̈́̿̓̍́͐̃̕͠ ̷̡͔̪̞̪͉̩̫̟̻̫͙̠͆̇͋̇͒͊͂́̾̾̎̚b̷̼͊̾̾͋̚ī̶̛͓̳̘͚͎̯̑̒̍̀͠g̷̝̥͌̓g̶̟̈́͋̔̊͘͝ę̷̛̛͓̼̙̞̱̳͎͎̭̲͇̹̘̀̄͆͐͐̈́̅̈͛̕͝r̸̨͈͉̟̳̓́͋̾ ̸̧̳̭̘͍͉̭̟̞̟̠̫̅̂̓͗͋͐͛͛̕͠t̸̨̻́̋̈͐̋̇͋̽̒͝e̸̯̦̯̖͇͈̭͕̿͒̐̋̔͐̇̉̐̆̈́͝͝ͅe̴̛̩̦͕̙̪̺͈̗̙̩̗͔͚̭̋̈́̈́̒͘ͅt̴̬̥̓̀͊̇̾̿͛̾̕h̸̙͖͓̞͙͚̥̼̠̠͗̈́̄͌̈́̈́͘͜ ̷̱̺̫͓̫͔͎̹͓̱̗̱̠̏́̍̿̆̌̂́̏̋͘ŝ̸̡̬͚̱̤̩̳̞͚̹̑͌ţ̵̧̭͇̳̪̤̜̗̗̱̏́́̃̚͜į̶̢̛͕̺̰͚͍̻̩̲͉́̈́̆̅̃̅̇̄͘r̵̡͖̥̲̫͉͓͍̜̳̘̲̱̘͚̃͑̽̌̀̀̃̅̌̄͠ ̸̡̧͈̝̤̣̱̞̪̯́ą̵̖̜̱͙̪̜̩́͋͊̈͗͛͠ẁ̷̰̰̰̻̝a̵̝̞̹͚̦̹̩͕̘̥̝̩̅̀ͅk̷̨̥͚̫̭͚͎̠̗͔̺̦̰̾͝e̶̲̞̝͔͌̐͗̈̾͊͆̍͘̚͜,̵̡̛̭̝͙͙͙͎̭̳̎͌̐͑͗̋̉̕͝͠ ̷͐̈́̉̆͂͂̇̐͌̿̈́̄͋̚͘͜h̷̩͙̼̩̺̦̉̕m̵̻̞̤͉̳̪̬͓͚̓̈́̾͂̎͆̆̅̍̅͂m̸̟͍͎̒̑̍͑͑̽́̿͐̏̈̽͑̕̕?̵͙͖̤̫̳̟̩̜͎̖̩̽͝

[ The door opens wider of its own volition, the scent of fresh bread and rosemary wafting into the night. The Haggard glides aside, gesturing with a wide sweep of her arm. She abandons the broom, which continues to sweep on its own. ]

[The wafting scent of fresh bread is... not any less suspicious to be perfectly honest. The broom sweeping of its own volition, on the other hand, is almost normal - he knows more than one spell that could manage that much and most of them are trivial enough to perform that they've seen some use on the Source and her shards.

(On the other hand, the implication that there are nastier things lurking in the darkness does fit reasonably well with some of the things he's heard out of Solvunn, assuming it's not something offered simply for the sake of getting them inside.)]

I presume you have some ability to keep people safe, then? Or will these 'things with bigger teeth' not seek those inside a building?

[That said, unless Himeka indicates that she wishes to head inside, neither will he.]

[ The Haggard, in many ways, looks almost like an ordinary person, but the small differences are enough to be just on the edge unsettling. She isn't sure if the answer to Emet-Selch's question is one they can trust, but curiosity is enough to beckon her forward.

She nods in his direction before accepting the invitation and stepping inside, soaking in the warm glow and the smells that would otherwise indicate a welcome reception. ]

...This house doesn't have teeth, does it?

[ Not the sort of thing to ask after you've already entered, but it has legs of all things. ]

Whatever you're baking smells lovely.

[ Too lovely. The sort of delicious that makes her stomach growl despite herself. Himeka places her hands at her belly. ]

...I remember this. Were you cooking last time?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[CLOSED] always a mystery, not what it seems to be

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