Methodical waves, crashing against the shore at the base of Moontouched Cliffs, are intermittently broken up by something... unusual. Something large stirs beneath the water, sending massive waves cascading violently toward land.

Something monstrous begins to slowly surface from its depths, a dark shape swelling beneath the surface, water spilling over its head in a wide fountain as it rises.

A nightmare, dredged from the bottom of the sea, rises. Its head, smooth and thick like a beetle's exoskeleton, is encrusted with ancient barnacles. The smooth purple-blue surface of the creature's head reflects the moonlight in a shimmering array of colors. Thick, tangled strands of kelp and algae dangle from its antennae, some sliding down into the water as it continues to rise, towering as tall as any tree near the cliffside.

Its two beady eyes glisten with interest as its gaze finds land. Its gaze reveals a mindless hunger- it seems drawn toward the shore, and it moves with mindless impulse toward the shallows, unaffected by the waves that crash against its slick body.

With it comes a stench that can only be described as putrid. The reek of brine and rot fills the air, the nauseating scent of decomposing fish and seaweed rolling off its body in waves with each movement. Sludgy algae breaks free from its every crevice, worsening the already-pungent aroma as it draws closer to land.

Its spindly legs twitching and grasp blindly at the air, searching for something- anything- to grasp onto.

Danger is imminent! Posting in this thread can cause minor or moderate injuries, up to minor/moderate maims, or other bad, temporary effects to characters. Only one character per player; characters involved in the other worm fight threads cannot attend.

There'd been talk of worms. Everyone seemed to be afraid, but why? Senua knew worms. She knew how to get rid of worms. Everyone should know how to get rid of worms. Didn't their mothers teach them anything? Who knew how many days ago Senua had heard of worms. Could have been two days. Could have been a month. Who had told her anyway? Not me. Not you. Someone. Somewhere. The sillies were frightened. Scaredy kittens running from squirmy wigglers. Well, she could fix that.

It took some traveling and pilfering and sneaky sneaky business, but Senua crafted a nice little gifty for the raw and wriggling wormies. Into a cloth bag Senua stuffed her rather eclectic mashup of items. There were pumpkin seeds, thyme, mint, turmeric, chamomile, coconut fibers and more. The crafty little minx had the bundle soaking in apple cider vinegar. Tied up nice and tight, she meandered off in the direction that she thought one might find a worm.

A steady stream of creatures were moving in both directions like traffic. Some were obviously fleeing while others were making a beeline towards some place in the distance. With a little chortle, the wiry little wolf picked up the pace, her back paws not exactly paying attention to the rhythm of her front paws, thus making her movements look more like she was doing a jig than running. Up up up the cliffs she goes!

Having neared the scene, Senua's eyes went wide and she released a little cackle. "Ohhhh, it's a big one!" Shufflefooting up to the worm, she waited until it was distracted by some other creature and had its mouth opened wide. "Here ye go, wormus. A snack for ye!" Pulling the cloth sack of goodies out of the pot of apple cider, Senua chucked it with all of her might into the mouth of the warm, cindery wormy. With that done, she kicked the pot into the lava just to watch it melt, then cackled again and did a little shamble to take herself out of the worms reach. Only then did she sit down, pale eyes narrowed, and stare at the beast as though waiting for her magic to work.

Worms were... new.

Fireflies still interested him from time to time. Always a question at the back of his mind if the figure in the cloak will reveal himself. Thankfully he had yet to come across another stature. Ghoul wished to never see another one another day in his life. Never again. But worms? Giant, buggy, monstrous, putrid looking worms? Definitely new.

His bold ruby gaze stares at the thing with a wrinkle to his nose. The way it stares listlessly around it, searching, seeking for its next meal. Drool and goop dripping from its mandibles as if its hunger could not be satiated. Slowly, he walked toward it. Through the field of dying wildflowers, it all felt so surreal. Blood red sky, no moon drifting upward from the horizon, and that beast rising from the shore. Was this truly reality or merely a nightmare?

The pixie wolf that appeared nearby nearly spooked him, making him realize that this indeed was real. Frozen, watching, unable to look away, Ghoul sees the sachet of herbs sail through the air toward the worm's mouth. A brow raised, head turning toward the witch. Did she truly think that something such as plants would kill the worm? He nearly laughs.

It clearly wants to snatch one of them and eat it. That much is obvious. But how could he rid the world of this beast without killing many? It was a conundrum. A thoughtful hum lifts through his throat as he watches it for a moment longer. Perhaps... if he could get the worm back into the water, it would leave the land alone. Could it even go onto land or was it restricted to the water? Question after question.

Slowly approaching toward the edge of the cliff, Ghoul remains quiet. His steps are near silent as the wind rustles the grass around him. He nears the edge, staring at the worm who is practically as tall as the cliff. Looking into those beady eyes, he feels both terror and adrenaline surging through him. Nothing left to lose, nothing left to live for. "If you are hungry, take me," he growls loudly, shifting into a defensive position, ears folding back and fur bristling. If the worm takes the bait, he'll aim to leap and do something drastic.

GHOUL

table coding by bunni ♥

for clarity sake: ghoul and senua are at the TOP of the cliff - nyx has confirmed in discord the worm is roughly as tall as the cliff but the bottom of the worm is at the base of the cliff in the water.

Empousa headed in the direction of the cliffs, her memories her had been made rather fond as she thought of the sweet looking brown woman she had met last time here. Who was quick to warm up to her and how they had made their way to the island across the way, a small smile appeared on her lips. One that quickly faltered as her eyes locked onto the beast before her and the two wolves that had already engaged it. Empousa was usually keen to sit back and wait to see if it was worth advancing on something so dangerous. But tonight she threw caution to the wind, (just slightly) as she approached the pair and the rather odd-looking worm before them. She had heard passing whispers of strange things happening here, but this was the first thing she had really seen; that was actually worrisome anyway. Her ears pinned to her skull as she waited for the worm show any sign of descending upon any of them, staying a little further back then the rest. Trying to find a sign of any weakness, or blind spots it may have. "Speach"

Strange happenings continued throughout the world. When he'd finished setting up his latest experiment he gathered his things to do some exploring. It had been awhile since he'd explored the shimmering shore and he couldn't help but wonder if other areas along the ocean were experiencing the same phenomena, particularly in Boreas. Samiri clung to his back while Aster flew overhead, suddenly calling out to him as he arrived at the Moontouched Cliffs.

A massive, stinking creature, rose up out of the water. It as huge and seemed to be a type of invertebrate. The worm like creature had huge glistening eyes and algae clung to its frame. He'd never seen such a beast. He'd heard of the large and impressive creatures that dwelled in the ocean but this one he could not place. There were a few other wolves present and he approached cautiously, defenses set just in case.

He stopped near the earthen, marbled woman, his head tilting just slightly to the sighed as he eyed the creature before yelling out. "Greetings! Do you speak the common tongue?"

The small woman couldn’t help hanging around the cliffs where the unnamed man had perished since she has felt responsible for his death. Which means that Seere isn’t too far from them when the waves change as something underneath them disturbs their natural rhythm. Following the wolves who are already making their way up to the cliffs, she watches in silent horror as a strange head appears over the grass, its shiny beetle like exoskeleton reflecting the moonlight in a beautiful array of colors.

It is striking and terrifying, horror and beauty wrapped together in one massive body and, above it all, the putrid smell of death greets them. For a moment, Seere wonders if this the revenge of that man that had been condemned to death underneath the waves and she remembers how she wished for the gods to damn that entire group. Mismatched eyes watch as the different wolves approach it and throw things, offer themselves up, or just simply try to speak with it… and she knows what she has to do.

Small form is moving before she has time to talk herself down, slipping past the other wolves with easy as she moves up close to the edge, some distance away from the others since her words are not for their ears. Skidding to a halt, Seere looks up at the creature as its horrid aroma brings water to her eyes yet her voice soft and gentle as she says, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you but this is not the answer. Please, please don’t do this. I cannot allow you to hurt anyone.”

With her piece said, she waits since she has connected this angry beast with the dead wolf in her own mind. Maybe this was the punishment of gods or maybe, it was just one doomed soul’s final curse on the land. Either way, the small monochrome woman is here to stop it.


"Seere Klein-Destruction"

Hala was always hearing about strange happenings taking place in Boreas and Auster. Although the woman rarely visited Auster, Boreas was her home. She had watched others gather and venture towards the cliffs. She decided why the hell not. What was going on to make everyone act strange. Some alliances being formed even if unspoken. Firey eyes dancing from face to face as she drew closer to the group. Her hair rising as words slipped out a little louder than she meant them too. "What the fuck...." The woman's ears laced back, as the females attention was trained on this what ever the hell you'd want to call it. Maybe her past was coming to haunt her but not in the way that she wanted it too? Who the hell known. Moving closer she seen the gigantic size of the creature who was just as tall as the cliff. Attention turning from wolf to wolf then the creature before them all.

"Hala Indigo"