Even Zevruu's frantic shaking couldn't seem to knock the rat off his leg. He could see a strange powder coming lose, and that only caused him to shake more. What the hell was that? Whatever it was, it had to stop. Eventually, when the gryphon used a spell on it, the rat let go and began clawing at its eyes. The sight caused the fur on his spine to raise, and he tensed.

Finally, it stopped, and the rat ran away, leaving smudges of the powder. He turned toward the direction it had gone before turning to Kin-kin as she began to sniff around. He sniffed a little himself, but could only smell blood. Perhaps he could try harder? There had to be something under the blood...

"Speech" l 'Thoughts'

Amras The tumbling gryphon managed to get footing just at the last moment, averting a near collision as the rat hurried away. Thank the winds! Apparently the combined attention of three larger gembound had been enough to scare it off. At least that was probably what had happened, right? The other two spoke not a word, but immediately went to investigate the scene. Doubtless they were as curious as he was as to what had happened. If there were more rats like that then surely that would cause problems for the younger and smaller gembound about. "I've never seen anything like that before.” Amras stated flatly as he folded his wings back and stood to his full height. He didn't have as keen of a sense of smell as the other two probably had, but perhaps he could visually identify a trail? "What do you think happened?" Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: @Kin-Kin @Zevruu notes: None

The three Gembounds began to search for a trail, any sign of where the red rat may have come from, or where it went. A bitter yet earthy scent will have tickled the nostrils of those using scent, although the wolf unfortunately would be unable to figure out its exact path.

The Gryphon, using sight, would be able to see smudges littering various rocks around them, occasional pawprints of that same strange powder littering dark slabs of stone. Many of them seemed to be coming to or leaving from the same general direction.

The scent and powder trail seemed to lead in the unmistakable direction of Tunnel I, where a cacaphony of pattering feet and the soft shrieks of dominance scuffles could be heard.

The red rat itself, after having fled deeper into Orion, left a trail of blood splatters from its self-inflicted wounds which would no-doubt be easy to follow. Will you press on to discover the sad fate of the Red, or will you follow the trail to Tunnel I to tackle the problem at its root?

Quest participants may now post their replies.
You may exit and follow the trail directly to Eridanus, or you may stay and look for the body of the Red Rat first.
@Kin-Kin @Zevruu @Amras

Carni had left Canis following a trail of sour dust and rat stench. Walking felt unnatural but the boy couldn't track from the air like his brother could. He'd only inherited his mother's nose, not his father's keen senses. The hybrid picked along the stone with concentrated effort, almost entirely missing the three gathered gembound as he crossed into their own trails. The change in scents and the feeling of life brought his attention up, though he'd have been easily noticed approaching in pure alabaster white.

He stood closest to Amras when he stopped, but eyes found Kin-Kin first for her pale glow. Finally, he regarded all three and blinked pearly eyes in thought.

"I'm tracking a sick rat." He stated simply. "It uh, came from this way." With that, he continued on towards Eridanus and the tunnel that led into it, briefly wondering if any of them, or Aeroth from before, would follow him.

(Literally Enter + Exit Carni for the sake of him passing through)

Amras The great blue gryphon leaned forward slightly as he managed to identify a trail. The rat they had just encountered was getting away but from all the dust scattered about it was obvious that it was not alone. Ears perked as another indicator could now be heard- not anywhere nearby but off in the distance were the telltale sounds of more fights occurring. What was going on here? Just as he was about to turn to the others to indicate his findings another gembound approached, spoke, and then ran past. Apparently they had been tracking the same thing they were. How far spread had this gotten to be? The creature seemed to be going in the right direction though, off toward Tunnel I and in turn either Polaris or Eridanus. Not wanting to lose the trail or lose track of allies in their investigation Amras dropped back down to four limbs and followed at speed. - Exit Amras - Pouch 1: Black talc stones x7 (medium) Pouch 2: Charcoal dust 50 in3 Pouch 3: Quartz sphere x1 (large, soft glow) Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium) Take hold of the power within "And shape the fabric of reality around you" tags: notes: None

A bitter, earthy scent came to Zevruu, and he tried his best to find the path. It seemed to lead directly to Tunnel I. He turned toward the others, noting Amras had found a trail as well, when someone else approaching. Startlingly white, he spoke and then moved on. He looked in the direct the other had went, almost immediately followed by Amras.

Zevruu was, however, a bit more hesitant. It was headed toward Tunnel I, and so possibly Eridanus. He didn't want to go back to Eridanus, but curiosity tugged at him. He looked longingly over his shoulder and at Orion, before licking his paw briefly to hopefully calm the pain and limped toward Tunnel I.

-exit Zevruu-

"Speech" l 'Thoughts'