Solo The Case of the Gibbat Dogs

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An undead citadel created before the cataclysm, Sahova is devoted to all kinds of magical research. The living may visit the island, if they are willing to obey its rules. [Lore]

The Case of the Gibbat Dogs

Postby Sayana on February 25th, 2017, 2:46 pm

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Winter 21, 516 - Testing Grounds

“There aren’t many, ‘pulsers’, on Sahova right?” Sayana asked still finding herself unused to the word referring to the living.

“No. In fact, it tends to be more common that pulsers are just visitors. Few stay long, and I’m sure you understand why.” The prairie warden replied.

Riyanna and Sayana walked through the plains of the testing grounds, with Stardust at Sayana’s side. The white mare occasionally sought out plantlife to eat, but much of it was too dry or too coarse to bother with.

“Are there many wardens like you?” The Eypharian questioned.

“No. There might be half a dozen to a dozen of us, full-fledged wardens, at any given time. Sometimes there are more warden initiates, like you, but we go through them quickly. It is not an easy task to maintain this place.”

“And what about--”

Sayana broke off her words suddenly as a loud growl and yapping noise interrupted. In ticks, she had her daggers drawn in her high and mid hands and was scanning the grasses for the source of the loud and almost high pitched yipping. Her horse pawed the ground uncomfortably and even reared up as the tiny dog-like creature emerged from the grass.

It was small, tiny, and soon Stardust managed to calm somewhat. Yet there was something strange about the face. It was grotesque and had too many eyes and too many… teeth? Then it jumped up at her with surprising height and instinctively Sayana blocked with a pair of crossed daggers. Teeth nipped her arm and the tiny dog made another move to bite her leg. She side-stepped and it made another jump at her. At this point she could finally tell what had looked so odd about it. There were random sets of teeth sticking out of the sides of its face with partially formed jaws to bite with.

Riyanna was smiling at the scene, on the verge of laughing, as Sayana was unsure whether to restrain the pesky creature or just to kill it out right. But one more bite was the deciding factor. The Eypharian made a slash at its face. When it whimpered and fell, she grabbed its body with one hand and plunged a second dagger deep into its body to be sure she had finished it off.

“Oh come now, you didn’t have to kill it.”

“But it had four eyes and three sets of teeth!” Sayana protested.

Riyanna paused and looked at the remains. “It’s one of those… I saw one before, but I thought it was a one-off. Gibbat dogs are supposed to have four eyes but the teeth... Those aren’t right. Someone or something has been tampering with them. If this is the second, then it might be time to seek out the cause. It looks like some direct or indirect form of morphing. Can I trust you to investigate? I still have to make the rounds.”

“So long as you won’t frown on me for killing them in self-defence. Any idea where to start?”

“Try to keep them alive if possible. I rather like seeing the little critters running about. And try the ‘Pit’. Just be careful not to go inside. You’re not ready for it.” Riyanna answered and pointed in the direction of the landmark, far across the prairie and currently not visible to the eye.
Last edited by Sayana on March 17th, 2017, 12:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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The Case of the Gibbat Dogs

Postby Sayana on March 16th, 2017, 3:04 am

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In the next couple of chimes, the Prairie Warden had morphed and taken flight as an eagle to survey the lands. Despite the elegance and freedom of flight, Sayana couldn’t help but recall the intrusive feeling of being forcibly morphed by someone else. Be it the strange prickling of her skin or her apparent loss of a limb.

She shook her head briefly before mounting up on Stardust and kicking into a trot. Leaning forwards, she moved into a canter and crossed the dry prairies at an easy gait. Syna shone harshly from above despite the knowledge that it should be winter. Sayana kept her course for the ‘Pit’ which Riyanna had directed her towards.

As Sayana rode with pounding of hooves upon the scorched land, she couldn’t help but wonder if flying could exhibit the same feeling. Of course, she had flipped and fallen from heights, and managed to land upon her feet. Intentionally. But how did that compare to actually taking flight and flying upwards against the pull of the ground?

Zith did it. Kelvics did too, if they were bird kelvics. They even morphed back and forth from their human form. Yet still a shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the changing of her flesh before her eyes. It had been far more ‘real’ feeling than the illusion that had been put upon her, so many season ago. A year ago, in fact. Time… where had it flown by?

A whinny of uncertainty alerted Sayana, and she realized that the two of them had crossed most of the flat plains. The Pit was close. She could feel it. Almost as if she were drawn to it. Stardust also seemed to be headed towards darkened sands that Sayana was sure was the source. Yet there was caution in the mare’s slow gait. Only then did the Eypharian realize there were more of those little dogs. The Gibbat dogs.
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The Case of the Gibbat Dogs

Postby Sayana on March 17th, 2017, 12:29 am

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At first there were growls and then a few yips. Yet despite the aggressive behaviour of the quirky dogs, Sayana felt an instinctive urge to see the ‘Pit’ for herself. She dismounted and kept the reins of her horse held tight and drew a couple of her blades before proceeding. If she could just reach the Pit and understand what it was…

A loud bark made her pause in her step. Why was it so important to reach the Pit? She’d hardly even given the Gibbat Dogs a second glance, and only now did she realize that there were other strange mutations on them. Some had extra legs, while others were missing them. They all had these strange long ears like rabbits but some had wings in bizarre places. But she needed to reach the Pit… didn’t she?

It was only in that moment that Sayana caught sight of strange markings in the sand. Some were merely indents, traced out with a stick most likely, but others looked to be inscribed with paint. But she wanted, needed to reach the Pit, and jump in, and…

Suddenly the Eypharian took several steps back and pulled her horse around. In moments she had remounted and forced herself away from the immediate vicinity. Yips and barks followed her, which encouraged Stardust into a faster trot. There was one thing for certain. There was something magical about that place. She couldn’t tell whether it was the Pit itself, having not actually seen it, or whether it was the markings surrounding it. But something was definitely messing with her mind.

After gaining some distance from the area surrounding the Pit, she did a couple of long loops riding at a canter to clear her head. It was better now that she wasn’t so close, and she could distinctly realize that whatever the magic was, it had been influencing her to get close to the Pit and even jump in. It hadn’t just been Riyanna’s advice, though for a moment Sayana questioned the Warden’s trustworthiness. However, the Warden had actually advised against entering the Pit, whereas this unknown magic drew her towards it. It may have even drawn all the Gibbat Dogs to the area too.

As Sayana pondered the situation and also Riyanna’s preference to keep the Gibbat Dogs alive, she concluded that if there was any chance there was glyphing in those markings, it would be a good idea to get rid of that magical influence. If that was the source of the mental suggestions and the strange morphing of the dogs, then if she cleared that out, then dogs should revert to how they were ‘normally’ supposed to look.

With her new goal in mind, she planned her return.
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The Case of the Gibbat Dogs

Postby Sayana on March 26th, 2017, 3:31 pm

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With a sharp kick, Sayana plunged into a gallop towards the Pit. As she charged into the vicinity, many of the gibbat dogs scattered, their basic instinct telling them not to mess with a charging horse. Sayana pulled Stardust into a harsh turn to the right to avoid the Pit itself, while at the same time tearing and disrupting the sands, and the lines that had been drawn or painted upon them.

Doubling back and wanting to make sure the glyphs were no more, Sayana yanked at both the reins causing the mare to rear up. With so much momentum in the maneuver, Sayana nearly lost her balance right then and there, but managed to cling on by leaning forwards into her horse.

It was hard to tell for certain, but it seemed that most of the lines and paint upon the ground was ruined or at least damaged in some way or another. However, in the next tick she felt a sudden surge of aggression and moments later half a dozen of the dogs were lunging at her and Stardust.

Despite the forced mental emotions, she fought to meet Riyanna’s request. Not only out of respect for the Warden but also for the safety of her horse. Summoning a rush of djed to her lips, she cried out, “Stop!” The command was laced with both the intense thought to cease all action and also with the brute force strength of one emotion: fear.

For several ticks she felt frozen herself yet her targets felt the full force of the paralyzing fear sweep over the scene. The small dogs stood motionless, while others cowered. A few had gashes in their fur, and Sayana could only guess that in the midst of the chaos she had fought using her daggers out of protection of herself and her mount. There was just one that she seemed to have missed and was growling at her with teeth barred. But then the paint of an untouched glyph finally crumbled away and the last dog lost its aggression as the scene turned calm.

By now, some of the dogs were whimpering and trying to back away. The instilled fear was still clearly strong but the thought to stay motionless was soon being overcome. At the point, Sayana didn’t mind though, and she didn’t attempt to reassert her hypnotism if the gibbat dogs were no longer attempting to attack. However, what perplexed her was that the creatures still looked as abnormal as ever. She was quite sure that the glyphs had been destroyed now but the mutations hadn’t changed in the slightest.

The Eypharian dismounted and just to be sure, she perused all the sandy landscape around the pit and scuffed any visible lines with her boots so she could rule out any active glyphs at work. She didn’t particularly want the small dogs disappearing on her, with the cause of the mutations unsolved, so gently she harnessed her djed once more and gazed at each dog in turn while washing a warm calm of emotion into them. Her mind felt a little fuzzy from the use of magic and she could feel a small headache emerging, but she would have to ignore it until she figured out the root of this puzzle.
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The Case of the Gibbat Dogs

Postby Sayana on March 26th, 2017, 7:22 pm

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Now that the Eypharian was quite sure that the glyphs weren’t responsible for the mutations in the dogs, she started to look for other sources. The sands around the pit were not very remarkable and she took a closer inspection of some of the plants. Most were just dried grasses or cactus-like shrubs with thistles and thorns.

Crouching down, Sayana took a moment to collect herself and gather her djed. This time instead preparing for hypnotism, she traced small circles on the palm of her hand and focused her djed there. She willed herself to feel and to know more. With her eyes closed she pictured a vast emptiness to aid in her concentration, then gradually she began to sense something with her hand.

The aura of the plant felt hard and rough, but pulsing gently as if alive. It was a hardy plant like those back in Eyktol but she didn’t sense anything strange about it. The aura was relatively small and she nearly pricked herself on the thorns trying to sense the aura. She changed her concentration to the ground and the sands upon it. Slowly moving her hand where she focused her djed, she attempted to feel the aura of the ground for anything usual. It felt dull and bland, cold and dead, like there was no life to the sands, which she would assume was rather accurate. Surprisingly she couldn’t detect special anything around the ruined glyphs and the aura remained small and insignificant.

However, as she began to move her hand, and thus her concentration, towards the Pit the aura began to change. The rocks that formed the outer ring of the pit appeared to be just normal rocks, but the overall aura felt much larger compared to the surrounding sand. Even though she couldn’t identify what made the aura different or why it was so big, she could certainly feel it pressing strong against her hand.

After letting go of her concentration, she found that her hand still prickled from the recent use of magic. Nevertheless, she looked from the rocks to the sand, trying to determine what made them different. Usually larger auras were attributed to beings of sentience or at least living things. But from what she could tell, the rocks had no more life or sentience than the sand around them. Which of course led to her next conclusion, that the rocks or the entire pit itself had magic instilled within it.

Cautiously, she peered over the edge to gaze into the dark depths. It was impossible to see the bottom but maybe there were nooks and crannies that were not quite so far down. Sayana glanced over to where the dogs were, or those that remained. Could this Pit have really been the source of these strange mutations? There was one way to find out.

She only hesitated for a moment before picking a dog to coax towards her. This one already had additional sets of legs so she didn’t feel bad about subjecting it to the magic of the Pit again. With gentle handling and a bit of hypnotism, she encouraged it to climb down the less steep areas. A few chimes after losing it to the darkness, she heard a few agitated barks followed by a painful long whine.

For several long moments, she waited in anticipation without a sound coming from the dark depths. Then with a sudden rush of wings and flapping, the dog rose up from the bowels of the Pit, soaring high in the air. Sayana only had a moment to see the changed form, but she could distinctly see the bat-like wings and the further mutilated shape of the dog. Soon the dog was flying high above the prairies only to turn into a small speck in the sky.

Despite the horrific morphing of the dogs, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at the flight of this final dog. Clearly someone had known about the Pit and some of its properties, because they had set some sort of lure to draw animals towards it. Be it an experiment or a prank, Sayana wasn’t sure, but she felt justified in disassembling the hypnotic lure since any magic of that sort ought to go through Riyanna if it was going to be conducted in the prairies.
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The Case of the Gibbat Dogs

Postby Sayana on March 26th, 2017, 7:23 pm

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The dogs were all gone now, but she was certain there wouldn’t be more coming to the Pit nor would they have unnatural bouts of aggression. Sayana recalled the strange flight of the last dog and was reminded that it was not her first time that day that she had marvelled at the concept of flight.

As the Eypharian swung her leg into the saddle and set off at a trot to find Riyanna and to report her findings and outcome, she wondered what it would be like to fly and truly have the freedom of an airborne creature. What if she could somehow get past the gruesome shifting of flesh and understand the beauty it could contain?

The wind whipped through her hair as she cantered across the plains. Riding had grown all too natural and same for hypnotism for that matter. What if she could become anything she desired and more? After scouring the prairies for a bell or so, she at last found the Warden who resided there. This time Riyanna appeared mostly human but with the fur and striking colours of a tiger.

“I found what was causing the strange and aggressive behaviour of the gibbat dogs,” Sayana announced. “There were hypnotism glyphs surrounding the Pit which evoked the desire to entire the Pit as well as aggressive behaviour. And when the dogs were lured into the Pit, it caused the strange mutations.”

“Yes, the Pit is not known for its mercy.” Riyanna answered with hardly a blink.

“So you knew about it?” Sayana asked in surprise.

“I was the one who discovered it.”

The Eypharian was quiet for a few moments as she let the information digest. Then she continued her report. “I destroyed the glyphs in the surrounding area so there shouldn’t be more gibbat dogs entering the Pit. I’d suggest you make it clear to the nuit researchers to check with you before tampering with the wildlife.”

Riyanna simply smiled at the comment. “It is neither here nor there. Us Wardens, we simply look after the island and clean up the bigger messes.” There was a pause from the Warden then she asked, “Is that all Sayana?”

“I would like to begin morphing lessons.” Sayana spoke, almost a little too quickly as if afraid she wouldn’t speak if she had waited.

“Very well. Come find me when you have fasted and meditated for at least ten days.”
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The Case of the Gibbat Dogs

Postby Languish on April 28th, 2017, 5:00 pm

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Your grades have been summoned
________________

Sayana
■ Logic + 1
■ Riding: Horse + 2
■ Acrobatics + 1
■ Investigation + 4
■ Hypnotism + 1
■ Animal Husbandry + 2
■ Auristics + 1
■ Planning + 1
■ Dual Wield + 1
■ Botany + 1


Lores
Lore of Sahovan Fauna: Gibbat Dogs
Lore of Gibbat Dogs: Four Eyes and Long Ears
Lore of Riyanna: Fond of Wildlife
Lore of Sahova Location: The Pit
Lore of Acrobatics: Maneuvering a Skid on Horseback
Lore of Riding: Lean Forward to Counter Rearing
Lore of The Pit: A Large, Alluring Aura
Lore of Self: Could I Enjoy Flying?
Lore of Botany: Dry Environments Lead to Hardy Plants


Additional Information
This was already approved for a job thread. No consequences or rewards IC.
________________

Comments:
This thread felt a little short, perhaps because it was divided up into such small chunks, but it was cute nonetheless. I like the way you write Riyanna's personality as so simple and kind, and I really enjoyed the interactions with the Gibbat Dogs (So cute!).

I'm excited to learn more about Sayana's attitude toward the plants and animals of the Prairie. I think they'll start to grow on her with Riyanna's guidance, even though right now she seems almost indifferent. Maybe Morphing will help her feel closer to them too. I guess I'll just have to wait and see... ;)

Don't forget to delete your post in the grading queue. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me about your grade.

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