Finale: All teams

[voidtreckermods]

Inside the System

The forest seems endless as the Voidtreckers move through it, soothing the red vines that constrict the trees as they go. But eventually they will start to come together, as though they are being funnelled towards a centre.

The trees end, the forest opening out into a large clearing. Vines carpet the floor and climb up the trees, curving to create a dome of red mesh that blocks out the sky. As everyone gathers in the clearing, vines weave past them to cover the entrances, closing them in. The red light does little to light up the gloomy dome, but as their eyes adjust they will see a huge gnarled and broken tree in the centre. It pulses with the same sickly red glow.

From the gloom creatures emerge, more of the mongoose. These ones are larger, teeth and claws are sharp as they circle the clearing, hissing and snarling.

The tree begins to move, its branches and roots are huge and they swing towards the gathering Voidtreckers with a speed that seems unlikely for their size, roots rise up to try and tangle around limbs.

The vines creating the dome can be soothed, but there are so many of them it will be a lengthy job and the mongooses patrol the edges, attacking anyone who is trying to clear the roots. Often they will give chase to anyone who tries to run, trying to hound them into the path of the tree roots or into the range of the attacking branches.

All the while more vines are growing from the tree, pulsing red strands that spread towards the walls of the dome and beyond.

Outside the System

For those that did not enter the system it has been a long vigil over their unconscious teammates. The sectors still have problems but these seem to lessen: there are fewer emergency alerts in Winter, the walls stop moving in Autumn, all seems calm in Spring and the weather calms in Summer.

But as Day Eleven of the month of Jelly begins there seems to be a shift: the sky darkens, going from the usual clear blue that is has been for days to a dark, burnt red.

The Helpmates have mostly calmed the last few days, but now there are more of them and they will attack on sight. The only place they will not enter is the inner sanctuaries of the Great-Seasons, where the bodies of those who have entered the system still lie.

A few times the ground ominously rumbles and for anyone still in the Spring sector there are certainly a few frightened alpaca-type creatures to calm.

Comments

Curufin | Team Orange & OTA

[so_dark_a_road]

Battle of the Vines and Mongooses:

Curufin comes to the center of the clearing, peering up at the canopy of red vines and at the great tree in the center that now glows with the same red light as the vines do. "What the hell?" he exclaims as the vines move to cover the forest tunnels that led all the Voidtreckers here. Now they are trapped.

And then the tree starts to move, attacking the Void Warriors with its branches and sending out roots to try to wrap around their ankles and jerk them off their feet. Because he was able to control his appearance earlier, Curufin still has his sword, though in fact it is a wooden club. He swings it ferociously and strikes at the oncoming branches and roots.

And then the mongooses scuttle out of the vines and the brush and jump at the Void Warriors, trying to drive them into the path of the branches and roots.

Curufin fights them all, trying to have the backs of all who are near him, whichever team. He tries to coordinate with them to fend off the tree and the animals. He has already discovered he has none of his own natural powers, but he does have two new powers, that of casting a freezing spell and that of flinging sharp ice-shards. These two work fairly well on all oncoming threats.

"Somebody should have told us that the Living Tree State Park was dangerous," he jokes, this being his style of dealing with adversity. "The vines are red snakes and the cute little animals have teeth and claws, and the tree has creepy-crawly roots and big beastly branches to whack us with, and it isn't afraid to use them!"