[Log] West Haven

[thequestgiver]

Characters: All on the road to West Haven
Open? Yep
Where: Starting at the gate of Schwanheim, on the way to and in West Haven
When: The 5th of Rebirth's Height


It was a clear morning, a touch warmer than the previous days, a sign that Rebirth was progressing along. For the more superstitious of Schwanheim's residents, it seemed a good omen for the heroes' journey to the unfortunate town of West Haven. Of course with how the weather of Rebirth ran, it might be pouring rain by the time they left the gates but that was Rebirth for ya.

[[OoC: this log will be split into 3 parts/sub threads. You don't have to tag the preparations or travel threads to arrive at West Haven.]]

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[thequestgiver]

The view from above isn't much more illuminating than that from the ground. West Haven is a plain, dull village with nothing to recommend it. A rather sleepy town even before it was emptied, the wooded area around it is almost indistinguishable from the rest of the bland, generic country side the group had passed by to get to it. There didn't even seem to be any farms near by.

[sorcerous]

Loki sweeps over the town, checking for any signs of life, any suspicious sights or feelings. He has always been able to sense magic in the past, but he does not know how well it will function in this strained, light realm.

He banks and turns in the air, moving swift.

[thequestgiver]

While there is not detectable sense of magic, there is an utter sense of wrongness. There is a lack of any sort of life, past or present; no worn paths through the fields, no places were horses might have grazed, there isn't even a graveyard attached to the church.

[sorcerous]

And he darts closer, perches on house and window-sill. What is within these homes? Are there marks of tools or repair on the roofs? Rotting food within?

Did this town spring full-formed from the ground?

Was there ever anyone here?

[thequestgiver]

There are place settings, but no sign of any food ever having been there. The roofs are weather worn, a few shingles here and there in need to repair, but no sign that they ever had been tended.

[sorcerous]

He undoes the clasp of a shutter and flies in, wingbeats loud in the silence. He draws feathers over the table, checking for dust. And he goes to closets, to beds.

All of this adds up to something terribly eerie: that this place was made but never used. Almost as though a city could be sprung from the ground, but, as far as Loki knew, that was barely possible.

After this is done, after he finds as much as he can, he leaves and takes to the sky again. He calls for others, for birds, throaty and full. He is not one to truly speak an animal-tongue, but he knows something of behavior and tone from taking their forms so many times. He sees none of them, but if he finds any, a particularly courageous and reckless hatchling, perhaps, then he may be able to sense what has them so afraid.

[thequestgiver]

The closest is a crow, a decent distance from the outline of the town, cawing back a warning. The tone isn't so much afraid as disturbed, an older crow, wary and distrustful.

[sorcerous]

Loki flies in slow, lower than the crow, lights on a branch. He lets out a noise that is -- well, primarily fear, because now Loki has a terrible feeling about all of this. His feathers are ruffled, not laying down smooth, and he can't make himself fully fold his wings. His bird heart beats too quick.

The fear has an edge of curiosity, though. What he's trying to ask: how long. Was this here before. The sort of inflection that comes with questions of where is my nest.

[thequestgiver]

The return answer is annoyed confusion. The old crow doesn't know and he's pretty upset about it all. There's a tone of loss in the aggravation, as he shifts around, put even further on edge by the seemingly younger bird's own reaction.

[sorcerous]

Loki chirps a thank-you. A bob of his head, and he glides into the air again.

This is wrong. So very, very wrong, and he circles over the city, looking for the rest of the party.

[shiromadoushi]

The easiest member of the party to spot would be the one with the oversized pointy white hat and robes who's cautiously peering into the shutters that bird!Loki had left open, looking a touch puzzled.

[sorcerous]

Bakura, then, and -- yes, there is another by the well.

And Loki flutters down, landing on a ledge nearby. Makes a noise that's something like a squawk. (Hopefully, the white-hatted mage had seen him transform; Loki certainly had made no effort to hide it.)

[shiromadoushi]

Sadly, Bakura had been having a bit of trouble not being throw off the horse he and Fakir had shared and had been a bit preoccupied, and thus missed it. However, the fact that even was a bird suddenly in a place devoid of all life was odd enough that he quickly scanned the area. Aaa, as he'd guessed!

"That you, Loki-san?"

Always best to confirm before talking to an animal like it was someone you knew just in case said person you knew was actually walking up behind you and would see you being an idiot. ... not that that had ever happened since how often were there lions and rabbits around Hell Towers that weren't transformed friends?

[sorcerous]

A bob of the swift's head. He gave an awkward wing-gesture, attempting to indicate that Bakura should follow him.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura nodded, holding onto his hat as he did so. Really, it was so impractical... if he wasn't so enamored with it...

"Find something?"

[sorcerous]

He doesn't bother to answer, just takes wing, expecting Bakura to follow.

[shiromadoushi]

"Aa--" Bakura quickly hurries after, taking care not to trip over anything while following.

[[*slides over to the other thread~*]]