From among the beautifully haunting, alien calls that filled the air above the island, came another sound.

A deep, ear-splitting roar, one that bellowed out over the island and into the fog that covered the ocean. Almost at once the skies began to darken, a shiver of cool air twisting down from above. A dim light flashed above the summit--lightning..? It was strange, given how clear the 'sunny' skies had been only seconds ago.

Going back was a difficult option; the slide was still pouring water down its sluice. A good swimmer could perhaps strike out to sea (where a keen-enough-eyed Relic could spot a flashing Drinker slowly making its way). But ahead a single footprint filled with water: humanoid, huge, and further still, a twist of beige hair clung to a branch. Who was this, where had they gone, and why were the skies turning to thunder? More importantly: what was this place?

Those seeking to uncover these answers could press on--but they'd need to find a path through the dense jungle ahead, up the cliffs and to the summit.

---

Gembounds have discovered the island of Lacerta!

Those progressing forward may roll to explore. Successes can advance the group along the path and do not need to wait for a GM post, but failed rolls are likely to make notable discoveries too, which will be rolled for by GMs!

@Opie @Catalyst @Tsetse @Bayo @Aethril @Jinyi @Madhukar (Khavur, Kaimana) @Obieth (Nidhogg) @Relic

As their travel companions spat and hissed, the cub simply moved forward, eyes wide with wonder. "Woah." The island before them towered well above the group, shielded by foilage and mist. It beckoned to them. The sky rumbled like a wave hello, a flash of lightning illuminating another massive footprint. Their attention snapped back. They had a mission, and nothing should distract them from their quarry.

Sniffing around the print, a olfactory examination that'd put a bloodhound to shame, they'd reach for their magic to aid them in rediscovering the trail. This beast had brought them here, and they were certain it'd lead them where they needed to go.

It wasn't sure what it had been expecting the puzzle to reveal. But this definitely wasn't it.

A torrent of water crashed into it and swept it down a dark, dank tunnel. It's first reaction was surprise and instinctual fear, a sharp hiss escaping it only to be muffled by the rushing of water. As it adjusted to whatever was happening, however, it found a strange sort of enjoyment. Aside from the chipping of spines on the side of the tunnel, it was a thrilling rush of water, and noise, and it let itself be swept along and listened to the sounds of the rapids and panicked yells.

And then it was over.

It was deposited roughly onto grass, it's six eyes squinting against the new brightness. It stood up- quicker and less dazed and upset than the rest of the crowd. Stepping forward, it peered up at the strange flying things and then into the jungle, which reminded it somewhat of Leo.

It reached out with its magic (it had been using it's magic a lot lately, and it felt 'sore' in a weird way, like it was exercising a new muscle) and it would move where the footprint had appeared to be going, since that seemed like the right thing to do, at the moment.

Nidhogg's head snapped up, his eyes all first widening, then narrowing, at the distant roar. He hissed in response, toothed jaw agape.

Then he scurried off ahead, skittering into the underbrush along the trail, sniffing and searching much like the bloodhound Relic could be compared to.

Head low, a permanent semi-grin on his face, he poked his snout here and there as he scampered.

Obieth grimaced, lifting a paw and eyeing the mud that dripped from it. She'd recovered herself, if not her dignity, and--dripping and uttering a brief, low growl--she stepped from the water and up onto the trail. She flicked each paw as she reached at least somewhat dry land, then glanced up as a distant bellow reached them.

"I wonder if that's the beast we're tracking," she mused--and, taking her cue from the others, set off in search of its tracks.

Her eyes found Relic, and she wondered. Obieth hadn't ever really had anything resembling a maternal instinct, mostly because she'd never been around a youngster before. It was as though her brain was debating whether to have one at all, the faintest concern for Relic's well-being battling with her utter indifference. "Did you find something, cub?" she asked.

Then she glanced up again, tail-tip twitching, peering into the fog-shrouded jungle above. With a faint grunt she pressed her magic forth, using it to force a surge of (admittedly not that strong) air pressure through the grass and trees--hoping to reveal something helpful on the way.

"Well, that's not going to work,' he thought at the sting pulsated through his mind and eyes. The pain had him closing and opening and his eyes, shaking his head, looking into the distance for 20 seconds, all the tricks for refocusing the track of the mind. He didn't know if that reaction was normal or not — that magic had scarcely ever failed him, and he didn't know if pain was also amplified by the poison.

The roarings and croonings in the distance helped Kaimana immensely. Curiosity was her biggest kryptonite, especially now. She struck out on the path ahead, having a heck of a time resisting the urge to deviate. Kaimana would explore, this time with just her natural senses and sensibilities.

Khavur could not have foreseen the water slide. There was little space to squish into, and little time to react, so Khavur would simply have to allow whatever damage it would cause as it went, one 6-foot-tall 23-feet-long obstacle barreling towards the island.

Once it reoriented itself and the dizziness cleared, Khavur would find itself struck to its core with amazement, wonder, novelty. The first thing that came to mind was flight, but it recognized it probably would get much air beneath its wings from down here. The summit ahead would be a much better lookout, a better place to start. From there they could all see better where it was they were supposed to go, where their culprit had gone. Khavur could likely fly around looking if that helped.

The labradorite was not forgotten, however. Tumbling right on after the shock came the worry, the overbearing concern. Khavur would try to find its sibling and check for wounds or damages before continuing into the foreign terrain. It would ask: "Are you hurt?" and not wait for an answer, invasive in its inspection with its eyes and occasional attempts at prodding at at the skin, looking for clues underneath layers of its sibling's oil. Once satisfied, it would turn towards the path and begin the expedition for the summit.

@V-Labradorite-One (interaction)

Madhukar's day had been filled with regret, starting from the moment she had spotted Tsetse in the crowd. The leeches, the poison darts, the water slide, her many-times-foiled disguise, they all made that regret worse and worse. She hid, using the glowing lights on her flanks to guide her in darkness as best they could, altogether trying to keep the flashiness down and the sound off. She'd become a frightful mouse meandering amongst giants, a recalcitrant grade schooler on a miserable field trip. By the time she hit the island, there was little room left for positivity, wonder and the like.

That was until the storm came.

The battering thunder pulled her awake. It was a marvel she could even notice the presence of a storm anymore, but here it was perhaps the one familiar, safe thing she had access to. The sound of it, the song of it, the power it automatically gave her, knowing she was in a position to control it at a moment's notice. It gave her the strength to look around on her own, perhaps hoping for something else to hide her face with or a path to go where Tsetse could not follow. She wanted this quest to be over, wished she could use her various means to essentially speedrun it. She could jump into the air and go looking for clues right now, but he'd notice. The chains on her wrists and ankles. At least with evidence of a storm, Madhukar knew she could break that chain if she needed to. And if they locked this place off, wherever it was, leaving his chrysalis here? Well... good riddance.

Catalyst shook the water from her hide as she left the tunnel, though she could still feel the telltale latch of foreign creatures on her scales, along with various cuts she picked up on the way. Catalyst couldn't help but to frown. She was relieved the torment of that cave was long and gone, and she didn't explicitly mind new family for Mother attached to her, but she was soaked, her hides weighing heavily on her.

A nagging worry chewed at her thoughts, a fear that at some point a clump of Mother may have torn free. Her disgruntled sigh was overshadowed by the great thunder, and a flash of lightning somewhere distant. She stiffened, only relaxing once everyone else set off ahead. Cautious now, Catalyst sighed, following the group. She continued ahead, eyes peeled for anything off. Tentatively she reached out to Mother, asking a brief question, one which was half to herself. "What Is this place?"

Though all of them began to search, it would be Catalyst--lagging a little behind--who would find the path. It wasn't through any help of Mother's--Mother lingered in her mind, in fact, as though she'd been waiting with bated breath for Catalyst to get a moment to speak with her. "I do not know," came the simple answer, but it came with a rush of eagerness. This might be a place that could turn out to be useful. It might be a place in which Catalyst could find something for the Hive. Mother urged Catalyst to keep her eyes open--and then gently pointed out a path that wound, switchback-style, back and forth up the steep cliffs ahead.

Even as the others searched, more booming roars and flashes of lightning were emitted from near the tip of the mountain above--or was that a volcano?--beckoning them onward.

---

Relic, in her sniffing search, would pick up a strange odor--but a new one, a different one. Though her magic may have failed her, she would--once lifting her gaze from the scent--find its source: a small herd of massive beasts on a meadow along the hill-side, their camouflaging plates at first blending them perfectly with the grass. They were somewhat distant, but each beast was fully nine feet tall, nearly thirty feet long and covered in spines and plates. They grazed as they went, slowly ambling through the field and toward the jungle. What were they?!


Relic has discovered a new Lesser Gembound: the Ogler!

---

V-Labradorite-One would find numerous lifeforms blinking up in its red vision throughout the island. Large and small, airborne and hidden in the jungle--shapes that were those of lurking predators and fleeting prey, or massive beasts lumbering along in herds. Though they were too far for most of their shapes to be made out, one very fat beast close at hand was visible with a critical eye. Some six feet tall, the creature was extremely... round, and if Labradorite squinted through the leaves it would make out a squat head suddenly extending up and out to a ridiculous length as the creature slowly began to browse on a bush.


V-Labradorite-One has discovered a new Lesser Gembound: the Benjamin!

---

As Nidhogg scurried through the brush, he would encounter an even stranger creature: something like a spined, green squirrel, but almost lizardlike and three feet tall. Three of them dashed across his path and into the underbrush, though if he were quick enough perhaps he could capture one. It might not be wise, though: the spines looked dangerous, and the splashes of pink across the fur seemed like a warning...


Nidhogg has discovered a new Lesser Gembound: the Prickleback!

---

As Obieth parted the trees with her magic, a graceful sight was visible in the sky overhead. Gray and white, bird-like creatures with eight-foot wingspans and brightly-colored crests, but featherless, dove and soared along the warm currents high above. Some of the more high-pitched, fluting calls were coming from them as they cried out, chasing one another through the air before diving down along the cliffs, skimming the surface of the sea.


Obieth has discovered a new Lesser Gembound: the Skimmer!

---

Kaimana's search along the jungle trail would shortly confront her with a quiet chattering and squeaking up ahead. Something was very vocal, but before she'd have much chance to wonder, the sounds turned into screeches and hisses. Along the trail ahead, briefly visible, were several small lizard-like creatures snapping at each other over an enormous bone. This single bone held just a scrap of meat still attached, but the two-to-three-feet-tall creatures hopped and snapped in competition as they picked it clean. As Kaimana arrived, however, large glowing eyes snapped to her, and with squeaks of alarm the creatures dashed into the brush--unless, of course, Kaimana tried to stop them.


Kaimana has discovered a new Lesser Gembound: the Skrungler!

---

Khavur--trudging up toward the summit--would find a rather terrifying beast ahead. It had been browsing the bushes, picking fruit from a higher tree, which was made to seem easy given its eight foot height. The creature, despite eating fruit, seemed to be made for killing: long hind legs would grant it great speed; a snapping beak at its jaw was covered in hooks and pointed, bark-like teeth; and most importantly, the long claws tipping its muscular forelimbs were some two feet long and sharply curved. Six blue eyes snapped to narrow at Khavur, and the beast let out a sharp hiss; blue light, like iridescence but glowing, shimmered along its teal feathers. For a moment it seemed inclined to attack Khavur, but then common sense prevailed, the beast attempting to simply back away and vanish into the underbrush.


Khavur has discovered a new Lesser Gembound: the Ripclaw!

---

Madhukar, pushing off in her attempts to avoid Tsetse, would soon stumble on another beast in this living island. It was some distance off, in a clearing, but its head snapped to her nonetheless, large eyes blinking at the sight of her. It froze, seemingly uncertain whether she were dangerous, or something to be ignored. For a moment, she would have time to examine it: the creature was long-bodied, some four feet tall, with long hook-clawed hind legs and a hide pebbled black and white. White-tipped red bristles ran along its back, and red-tipped horns arched around its beaked face. A muscular tail was tipped with a spined club, and as it stood on its hind legs watching her, it seemed to come to a decision. The sudden scream it let out was a horrible, discordant, deafening cry: harsh and hellish, perhaps a warning or an alarm call. It then tried to back away, beak clacking, to retreat--the echoes of its screech still ringing.


Madhukar has discovered a new Lesser Gembound: the Devilbeak!

---

Catalyst will be able to lead the rest up along the path, twining further up the mountainside, should they choose to follow.

The path, however, is narrow and dangerous, a switchback that curves right along the cliffs before doubling back left a little higher, then plunging into the thick and misty jungle as it approaches the island's peak.

Gembound should roll to traverse the trail safely, if they wish to continue on. A failure will result in a fall or injury, though hopefully minor; the Gembound may continue up the trail afterward regardless. A critical fail may mean a broken bone. Successful rolls may proceed, and will possibly include the discovery of even more strange creatures as the group progresses.

Should the group choose to continue, they will--after a long and gruelling climb--reach the mountain's peak next round.

Players may choose to double-post if they want their characters to roll to interact with the Lessers, for example to attempt a catch or kill, as well as proceeding afterward.

@Opie @Catalyst @Tsetse @Bayo @Aethril @Jinyi @Madhukar (Khavur, Kaimana) @Obieth (Nidhogg) @Relic

and

@Rex @Andromeda