Scientist's Buildings, Grounds and Labs - Start Here!

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((I apologise for the long delay in posting this. Health issues and other commitments have kept me preoccupied. Hopefully this isn’t too long. We can end it after you post and move her into the main Hoofed Tribe in the forest if you like.))



Riven stumbled and let out a surprised meep, almost toppling over when he was grabbed by the shoulders, “Th-that would be the laser exploding!” he gasped, woolly ears trembling, “Mendal said he wanted it gone…I thought they were just going to disable it!” Apparently this was not so. “I’m sorry miss centaur but we have to keep going. Otherwise they’ll catch us”

The explosion had given the hoofed tribe another window of opportunity. It was just enough time for those still standing to grab their fallen, resume their hold of the sliding sheet their centaur lady was resting upon and start running down the stairwell for the exit to freedom.

Three of the strongest and largest of the group stayed to try and hold back the lab’s monster, barring it from getting past the entry to the stairs. It was strong and would soon break through but they knew what they were fighting.
Speeding their escape, the leader of the troupe galloped to the front of the tarp and grabbed hold. With Mendal’s added speed and strength, they clattered down the stairs and broke through the damaged door out into the gardens, hurrying to get to the wall.

They had only just reached it when something shot past Bess’ side, scratching her as it did so. Crying out, she spun to see the tongue with hooked barbs on the end smash into the wall behind her with great force, causing cracks to form around the impact. A hissing, clicking roar emitted from the spider creature’s throat, alerting everyone to its presence. Its eight eyes bugged out madly. Stomping its feet in fury, it sent a beam of concentrated energy along the tongue in a reddish crackle, freeing itself from the wall with a small blast.

“Look out, it’s broken free! Aim for the eyes, it’s got to have a weak spot!” Bess shouted, her voice strained, as the group scattered, trying to dodge the monster’s attacks.

Screaming when a small knife embedded one bulbous eye, the monster whipped its tongue around wildly. Something strange was happening to the thick elastic coil…without warning, it split into twelve different tongues, each with a smaller barb on its end, and crackling with pulses of red energy.
“Everyone, get in front of the wall!” Mendal shouted, “Keep the girl away from it. We’re going to get it to break the through for us before reinforcements arrive. Just follow what I do”

The monster, angered beyond belief, worked to their advantage. It attacked wily-nily, stabbing tongues this way and that. Screams of pain were heard from those unable to dodge in time, yet the plan appeared to be working. Tongues that missed embedded in the wall near the original blast, making the hole bigger every time it freed them.

The sounds of human footsteps were heard as a flash from a bazooka rent the air, rending the wall even more. The back-up had arrived, led by the guard in the black visor, who was angrier than a hornet after almost being blown to bits. “Shoot them all, take them down! Don’t let them escape!” he bellowed.

“Too late for that,” Bess laughed, helping the others to escape with Misty into the forest beyond the wall. They were soon running amongst dark trees and thick undergrowth, able to evade their pursuers far better in their natural environment. Unfortunately the guard from before was hot on their trail, firing on them as he ran. “Oh no you’re not getting away this time”
Mendal leapt in front of a shot from the guard, protecting Misty from the bullet.

Riven stopped in his tracks, falling onto the tarp with Misty, “Mendal!”
The centaur snorted, stumbling from the wound in his flank “Help her escape, I’ll deal with this one”  

[WritingTime]

Misty had stayed hidden beneath her the tarp, she could not run, she could not fight, she could doing nothing on her new legs and yet she had become like the hoofed creatures around her. Why had her world ended up this way?

She heard and saw the explosion behind her, a massive ball of fire that lit up the sky, but even then she stayed silent. Commenting on such things would slow them down or distract them. To her, it was amazing they had made it this far, especially when Mendal came in front of the tarp and lifted it with his own power to help move her helpless body along.

His kindness did not last long though for the spider from earlier was still chasing them and not only got down the stairs of the lab, but out into the courtyard. The sound of its roar frightened Misty and the beam of energy it shot out baffled her. Spiders were not capable of doing that, yet here she was a 100% percent viewable centaur. Someone had thrown a knife at it whilst she walled herself up in her own thoughts and it let out a scream of pain. Long tongues from the creature whizzed by her and the others as it protested its injuries and sought to kill those who had hurt it. It instead got around to only smashing the wall in front of them thanks to Mendel's quick thinking.

Misty heard the wall crack and then the sounds of human foot steps coming towards them. The shouts to shoot them down registered in Misty's mind. They were doomed despite the wall being cracked open enough for them to exit.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed towards Misty and before she could think on how to escape Mendal jumped in front of her and blocked it. "NO!!!" she cried. Not only in protest to Mendal's actions, but to what Mendal wanted to do. He was going to sacrifice himself.

Misty tried to stand, but her body was still not accustomed to her new weight. She fell forward on her knees the moment she tried to stand and walk over to Mendal. "Riven," she whispered to the satyr, "Do as he says I don't want him to die, but I can't help him. We, we, can't help him." She knew if she stayed here with Mendal then all three of them would die. Misty intended to live now that she was free. But she already understood now that with this freedom came risks.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((I’ve just realised that this scene is set a bit further in the future from the time when Midnight was rescued and welcomed into the hoofed tribe.

So, when we start role playing in the Hoofed Tribe thread, I’ll skip it forwards about a week for everyone. That gives my characters time to go on this rescue and return with injuries and so on…and gives Misty time to be introduced to Midnight at a later point.))

“Nooo!” Riven screamed, desperately tried to scramble off the moving plastic blanket, only succeeding in getting himself tangled in Misty’s equine legs. He fell over with a bleat, landing on his back against her side. All he could see was dark forest rushing by, while ghastly sounds of the escape echoed between the trees. Struggling to get free, he rolled over and sat up, crawling to the end of the tarp but it was too late to see anything but a faint glow from flames in the distance.

Mendal’s last words rang in his ears. He slipped at the sudden shift of weight as the female centaur tried to stand, afaid he was going to be stomped on. She fell heavily to her knees, proving how innocent a target she was she should be left on her own. Riven quickly scrubbed the back of his wrist over stinging eyes, turning towards her, catching the soft spoken words.

“I can help him! But I have to help you first!” he declared with determination, despite sniffing from a runny nose. “He isn’t going to die!” This probably didn’t make much sense however a blazing light shone in the normally meek boy’s eyes. He would help Miss Misty to safety if it cost him his life. “Hang on Miss Misty, we’ll be there soon” he ripped strips of material off his clothing, pressing them to one of her wounds.

***

As the victorious party travelled further into the tangle of the black forest, they ran through patches of mist-shrouded ground, its cold, clammy fingers brushing their skin.

Occasionally, someone would appear through the trees to take over from others pulling the tarp, while those who had been tugging it towards their home would break away and head off into the trees.

Aid was being sent from their base village.

A few guards fell into step beside the runners. Others remained hidden in the surrounding trees, while still others monitored the traps laid all through the territory circling the way leading into their lands.

After what seemed like several hours, they arrived at what seemed to be a wall of vines growing between two giant trees. One of the runners at the front of the tarp tapped out a passcode on whatever surface lay behind the vines covering the tall gate.

With a creaking of its wooden hinges, the gate made of sturdy tree logs slowly swung open, allowing them to finally enter the village.

Revealed behind the gates were medics and clerics waiting to help those who were injured. The rest of them continued on down a pleasant path lined with moss covered stones and scattered with leaves, past a small pond with a waterfall playing a tinkling melody.

Lights in the form of lanterns and torches lit the peaceful beauty of the flowering green glades and houses. Riven, who had gotten up to drag Misty along with the others some time ago, smiled down at her shakily, “I told ya we’d make it!”

He may have seemed a little too happy to be back. But who could blame someone after what they'd just came through?

"At last...now I can faint" Bess gasped. The injured boar let out a deep sigh and swayed, starting to fall to the ground. She was caught by one of the fellow tribe members and taken away to the healer's. Several laughs could be heard from the puffing and panting hoofed ones.

"Home sweet home!" they chuckled.

((Okay, time to move it to the hoofed tribe thread----> wink )