Routine 1.3 The Terror Bird
You had a rough map of the area, but that mattered little for navigating on the scale you intended. The stars would be your guide, at least to get a sense of direction, and you had a few landmarks you knew existed. You would find either Allenburg or your Squad, whichever you came upon first.
Before setting out you gave the bike's engine a chance to cool off from the chase. You only realized you were holding your breath when it returned to a low and easy hum. Nothing was damaged this time.
The next few hours passed at a crawl. There was no point driving quickly over such rough terrain. You risked a serious crash and the distance would work your engine hard enough as is. Further, you couldn't see enough of the terrain around you to distract yourself. There was only the dark and the ever present risk you were being watched.
Two hours into the journey, after you had passed your first landmark, you stopped suddenly to avoid driving into a pit. Your breath hitched as you began to make out its shape, a vast three-pronged footprint with a rear claw. The print was easily a quarter of a meter deep and at least as long as your bike from heel to claw-tip.
You had heard stories of titanic animals, creatures of fae unreality, which walked the deepest wilds of the world. This was only a few hours away from your home commune, in an area remote yes, but fairly close to other human settlements. You knew there was occasional foot traffic from parties sent by your own home. This wasn't deep wild and it shouldn't be happening. And yet, the footprint remained.
You licked your now dry lips and looked around. Not a single print like this was in sight, although it wasn't as if you had amazing visibility at the moment. You also couldn't detect any movement around you. It was as if the night itself was holding its breath.
You briefly toyed with the idea of trying to find a new path, but you knew the likelihood of becoming hopelessly lost would only grow. Besides, the angle of the print was nearly perpendicular to your route. There was no chance you would run into whatever made this.
You kept driving and a few more hours passed uneventfully. The silence persisted. No animals or insects disturbed the heavy air and no wind shook the pine needles around you. It made the sound of your engine stand out even more and it took all of your discipline to keep moving forward.
Eventually you could hear the engines of your squad again and you knew you were close to linking up. You hadn't really meant to look to your side, but when you did, you saw an enormous bird's head.
It had the curved beak of a raptor, but thicker and more square, much like the descriptions you had heard of Struth. Its eyes were golden and stared vacantly to either side. Its body was long and sinuous, like a serpent, and there was no distinction between neck, torso, or tail. It walked on six impossibly long legs that allowed it to tower above the treetops, each ending in a chicken-like taloned foot. Its whole body was covered in majestic white feathers with black splotchy patterns spiraling across its body.
It was less than twenty meters away from you. How could it possibly have gotten so close? Staring at it now, you could feel the earth shake beneath its every step. Until you had looked at it there was not even a hint of its presence. One eye began to focus on you and its head tilted slightly down toward you.
Choose one below or write in your answer.
[ ] Scream.
[ ] Attempt to warn your Squad.
[ ] Flee. (Combat Dash)
[ ] Observe it quietly.
[ ] Attempt to communicate with it. (Parley with the Strange)
Before setting out you gave the bike's engine a chance to cool off from the chase. You only realized you were holding your breath when it returned to a low and easy hum. Nothing was damaged this time.
The next few hours passed at a crawl. There was no point driving quickly over such rough terrain. You risked a serious crash and the distance would work your engine hard enough as is. Further, you couldn't see enough of the terrain around you to distract yourself. There was only the dark and the ever present risk you were being watched.
Two hours into the journey, after you had passed your first landmark, you stopped suddenly to avoid driving into a pit. Your breath hitched as you began to make out its shape, a vast three-pronged footprint with a rear claw. The print was easily a quarter of a meter deep and at least as long as your bike from heel to claw-tip.
You had heard stories of titanic animals, creatures of fae unreality, which walked the deepest wilds of the world. This was only a few hours away from your home commune, in an area remote yes, but fairly close to other human settlements. You knew there was occasional foot traffic from parties sent by your own home. This wasn't deep wild and it shouldn't be happening. And yet, the footprint remained.
You licked your now dry lips and looked around. Not a single print like this was in sight, although it wasn't as if you had amazing visibility at the moment. You also couldn't detect any movement around you. It was as if the night itself was holding its breath.
You briefly toyed with the idea of trying to find a new path, but you knew the likelihood of becoming hopelessly lost would only grow. Besides, the angle of the print was nearly perpendicular to your route. There was no chance you would run into whatever made this.
You kept driving and a few more hours passed uneventfully. The silence persisted. No animals or insects disturbed the heavy air and no wind shook the pine needles around you. It made the sound of your engine stand out even more and it took all of your discipline to keep moving forward.
Eventually you could hear the engines of your squad again and you knew you were close to linking up. You hadn't really meant to look to your side, but when you did, you saw an enormous bird's head.
It had the curved beak of a raptor, but thicker and more square, much like the descriptions you had heard of Struth. Its eyes were golden and stared vacantly to either side. Its body was long and sinuous, like a serpent, and there was no distinction between neck, torso, or tail. It walked on six impossibly long legs that allowed it to tower above the treetops, each ending in a chicken-like taloned foot. Its whole body was covered in majestic white feathers with black splotchy patterns spiraling across its body.
It was less than twenty meters away from you. How could it possibly have gotten so close? Staring at it now, you could feel the earth shake beneath its every step. Until you had looked at it there was not even a hint of its presence. One eye began to focus on you and its head tilted slightly down toward you.
Choose one below or write in your answer.
[ ] Scream.
[ ] Attempt to warn your Squad.
[ ] Flee. (Combat Dash)
[ ] Observe it quietly.
[ ] Attempt to communicate with it. (Parley with the Strange)
