Starwatch Seige Start 07.26.2025
A Starwatch adventure
Directed by: Silverfall Ryen
Starring: Chuck, Etienne, Archimedes, and Ashton
Run: June, 26, 2025
The umbral landscape is shrouded in an eerie, perpetual mist that clings to the tall, foreboding mountain which rises sharply into the darkened sky. Its sparse trees claw upward like skeletal fingers. The distant cave entrance, a jagged, uneven hollow is carved into the mountain’s shadowed face. It beckons with a sense of unfathomable darkness, attempting to draw one closer if stared at too long.
Surrounding this haunted terrain are towering evergreens cloaked in mist or fleeting spiderwebs, their silent presence adding to the unsettling atmosphere. A small sluggish stream winds through the land, its waters dark and uninviting. Deep roots protrude from the ground, disturbed as if forcibly torn from the earth or water, refusing to quench their thirst, hinting at a restless unnatural energy lurking beneath the surface.
During the late hours of night or at dawn, a deep, haunting moan echoes from the mountain. It is a gut wrenching primal song that sounds like insatiable hunger, or the vibrations of something endlessly seeking. It fills the air with a sense of dread, and the feeling that something ancient and malevolent is watching from the shadows.
June 26, 1995 - Umbra - Hungry Mountain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6ylGHfLrdI
It's been a few days since Earthquake spoke and the land trembled and the Mountain bowed to its fury. Dozens of bodies lay broken and devastated across the landscape, only made more eerie from the mist that hangs close to the ground, like dew in the morning. It obscures some of the carnage, but not all of it. Occassionally a carrion eater disturbs a body and you think it's come alive again!
The smell could make a vulture gag. Rotting corpses in the dampness are as bad as rotting corpses in the sun, maybe worse. The giant head lays on its side, eyes still staring ahead as they were the moment it died.
Our fearless Alpha, Stormwatch has designated a small hillock to set up as base camp. It's mild elevation allows a vantage point over the slight valley and entrances to Hungry Mountain. Supplies have been gathered to build. Barricades were crafted by the Shop Dogs and left for others to bring along with them. Building materials to construct frame works for tents to be used as housing are also here.
Chuck leads the way through the portal, narrowed eyes peering around the landscape ahead of them as they enter the basecamp site-to-be. His nose wrinkles and he doesn't look happy with the sights or the smells. Still, it's his place to make sure the way is clear for those following, so smell or not, he does it.
Stepping up to the portal to the new world, Todd pauses to let Ashton land on his shoulder, and begins growing and beefing up as he gets into his crinos form. War form, but also has thumbs. Just in case. After the last excursion, it feels prudent to be prepared. ALSO on the way, he stops to pick up a heavyass death sculpture under either arm. He's gonna have to scoot through the portal sideways, but that's fine. He's helped move couches before. He knows how to pivot! Pivot! PIVOOOOOT!
And AH GOD THE SMELL WHY! He makes a very unfortunate sound on his first wiff of the place, but he cant even cover his snoot cause his hands are full! DAMN IT!
Ashton flies in to land on Todd's shoulder, preens a little, then takes off to circle up, up, up into the air to scout the area for any unseen dangers.
Etienne steps across, clearing the way for others. He takes a deep breath and takes on the war-skin, letting out a low growl as he pads forward to look down at rotting bodies below. << Those should be gathered, and burned,>> he growls. << Leaving bodies here is asking for trouble. We have already seen one shaman raising the dead. >>
Making his way, along with the others to the location of the base camp, Archimedes scans the area and sniffs a bit. "Damn. Smell reminds me of Ol' Uncle Scabby." says the Rat with a slight wrinkle of his nose. He takes stock of the situation, looking over the supplies and building material. "After we establish a secure camp maybe we should burn the bodies. Not sure what kind of diseases they will start spreading. Not that it will bother me. But it might some of you." The Engineer remains for now as often in his 'Ratman' form, the one similar to Glabro.
Carrying supplies to do the building, Ryen's brought his toolbelt. It was a gift from Coach Randall! He's got a pencil tucked behind one ear, one of those sharped by a pocket knife or razor blade. He's carrying some boards and when he clears the portal, he whines, "Aww maaannn ..." He shakes his head, "How about some of you start clean up and I'll start setting up the buildings?"
Pierces-the-Clouds unshoulders his rifle, opening the caps on the scope. He looks around for a good sized boulder or other local high point and perches himself up on it. "Y'all go ahead with all that, I'll keep a lookout. Lots of clouds that may need piercing here. Fog is just a cloud on the ground, after all."
Like a big fluffy brown stuffed animal, Todd, the wolf with the AMAZING conditioner commercial worth pelt, sets his works of lethal art down and slips back through the portal to grab two more. There's only six, so it's not a long chore, just one that involves a lot of scooting sideways through doors. Still, gonna take a sec!
It's still dark, the Assault having happened earlier in the evening. The Ragabash moon hides in the sky, visible to those sensative to the eyes of Luna's children. Some stars twinkle in the sky and shine through the clouds. There's a breeze that blows through, offering a little respite from the stench, but also blows in new scents.
The ground trembles and you hear the mountain moan with it, rocks and debris sliding down its sides to the valley below.
The Songkeeper growls agreement with his packmate. << I can do this. Perhaps someone can watch, and cover our backs while others work? I see well, but not as far and piercing as others can. >> He slings the fishing gaff across his back, and begins clearing stones and debris away from the hilltop to make room for Ryen's work.
Ashton flies overhead, looking for trouble. Trouble is sure to be on this mountain. He checks the holes he threw soup into--they're closed still.
Arching his brows, the Rat hears the suggestions made and observes as various woofers find perches. He snorts, pulling his backpack off to begin rummaging through it. Archimedes picks some items out and begins to assemble them. He mutters as he works, putting something together. It comes together into the general shape of a gun, but with a tank on it. When it is complete, he clicks the electric ignition and it comes to life with a small flame. When the vibrations come rumbling through he manages to stay on his feet.
Setting down the load of lumber he had in his arms, Ryen hops back through the portal to grab the other statues that Razzle Dazzle needed brought out. Before doing so, he sets a faerie light above the hillock, illuminating it in a soft light.
As he comes back up, the tremor causes him to lose his footing and he twists to save the fetishes, but finds himself flat of his back, cussing in Gaelic.
Pierces-the-Clouds drops a big clawed mitt down onto the boulder underneath him as the whole area gets some rolling in its rocks. His wolfy nostrils flare as it passes, having managed to stay on his feet for now. "How much are we expecting to see, at this point? All of these were what were outside the mountain when it was sealed, right?"
On his way back through the portal, Todd is caught completely off guard by going from perfectly still and normal ground to post-quake tremor ground. <<AH FUCK!>> I'm certain there's some kind of Garou equivilant to that, and if there's not, then it's just been invented. Todd goes down like a cheap date with a clang and a clatter from his steel weapon works, and totally skins his knee and bites his tongue! He's fine though, his pride is wounded and he has an elk antler in his armpit now, but whatever! <<Thankth man.>> he tells Ryen when he sees him with the last two statues. Getting up again as the ground stills, he starts moving these out to start surrounding their perimeter. <<This far?>> he calls at Chuck, and possibly also Ashton, since they've had their eyes on the edges of things.
Still Waters Rise lets out a startled growl as the tremor rolls in, swaying on his feet as he digs into the earth with his rear claws. He manages to remain on his feet, but just barely. He flicks his ears as he watches his packmates tumble. << Careful, brothers. You don't want to roll down the hill into the corpse piles.>> He tosses a large tree branch into a pile with several others, perfect for crafting sharpened stakes for added defense.
Ashton flies northeast. He spots something that direction, up the mountain a bit. He flies up and up to get a better vantage.
"I'll start dragging the barricades that Shop Dogs made into place." Ryen says, as he also shifts to his warform. For better to carry things with. He busies himself doing the handyman thing and starting the beginnings of the perimeter defenses.
Pierces-the-Clouds raises a hand to Razzle in a pushing motion. <<A little further out, like ten more paces.>>
He looks around with another snarl. <<What a mess we've got here.>>
The Razzle of the Dazzle plants an elk, squints and does a little mental math, then readjusts it a bit closer, squints and math's again... Okay, that works. A bunca rocks get shoved onto the base. It's really really fucking heavy as is, but why not be MORE difficult to knock over? And on to the next! Second verse, same as the first! No lollygagin' around though, he's trying to be quick about things because next on to his to-do list is getting those god damned bodies away from here!
While the others are putting the tents and stuff togethers, whomever is doing that anyway, the Ratkin begins heading for the sea of bodies. He pulls the trigger to test his new device and a gout of flame erupts from it. "Perfect. Don't worry guys. I got clean up duty." he claims and snorts a bit. Archimedes begins to bathe the bodies in flame to set them alight. He begins to whistle a little tune to make the work go by better.
Still Waters Rise keeps at his clearing tasks, making quick work of it in war-form. << Is this enough space, or do we need more? >> he asks the others. << We'll need room to take other skins for battle, where defenses might be breached.>> He points at the pile of branches over yonder. << When I'm done with this, I'll work on stakes for more defense. Razzle Dazzle, what else do you need help with?>>
Time flies when you're having fun! The hours seem to pass by as the camp outter perimeter starts to take shape. There's a nice fire to work by with Archimedes' flamethrower starting to make life a little better. And it's marginal, now you get to add the smell of burning bodies to the mix! But it's slowly clearing the mists around it.
Ryen is putting the perimeter together as quickly as he can. There's a metal framework that has to go up first and then there's panels and other things to go in it. Having to come through the school building, there's lots of small pieces.
It's only then you realize that over the mountain, the faint touches of light can be seen. The sky is starting to lighten as dawn approaches.
Ashton flies further northeast, following moving shapes in the mist. He telepathically relays information to his pack--mainly Archimedes, as he's the only one here at the moment.
Tremors continue to happen. Sometimes you fall, sometimes you don't. Earthquake continues to make life interesting.
Pierces-the-Clouds takes a tumble off his rock this time, clutching his rifle into his chest to protect it. He's more worried about it getting smashed up than getting any bumps or scrapes himself. <<Dammit... Why is this still happening, anyway? Didn't big lord earthquake do his job and move on? Or is the whole mountain just falling apart naturally now?>>
Ashton spots about half a dozen...creatures. Shapes. They're dragging something. He flies a little closer while trying his best not to be spotted.
Through some tremors Todd has managed fiiiiiine. Through others, not so much! But they're just little fall overs. No big deal. The latest one that happens while he's leaving after placing the last statue is more profound. He's just walkin. Minding his own god damned business when suddenly the ground just jumps up and punches him in the face with all it's stupid flatness! He lays on the ground for a minute after that one, seeing stars, before shaking his head getting u- nope, nope. Sit back down. ... Okay, now get back up.
<> he complains to Chuck, before picking up all the crap he dropped when he fell down. <>
Still Waters Rise snarls as the next tremor knocks him off his feet. The panel he's picked up slips from his grasp and barks his shins, earning a growled curse from the Uktena. << Earthquake keeps rumbling to keep the exits covered, so the Zarak-Ur can't burrow out of the mountain,>> he tells his brothers. << They keep trying to escape, and he will not let them. >>
Weeeelllllll .... speaking of Bats. Ashton hears the squeak of the flying mouse before seeing it. It's about the size of a Raven, with teeth. It's flying after him, but doesn't quite get the drop on the Corax. But that's not all folks! The smoke and smell of burning bodies and the sounds of construction ring out in the night.
Somewhere along the way, even Archimedes feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
While you can't see it, you can feel it ... something wicked, this way comes.
Ashton flies back immediately when he spots the bat after him, and sounds out a loud Police-Siren noise to get everyone's attention as he flies overhead. Man that bird can project.
From somewhere near the Mountain, you can hear the Moaning Song.
Pierces-the-Clouds pushes himself back up to the boulder, bracing on it rather than perching on it as strange sounds are carried on the air of the valley and the pistol in his holster writhes with the anticipation of violence. Too bad for it for the moment though, Pierces-the-Clouds still has his rifle out and is looking for targets for it rather than going to his handgun yet. <<Drop your tools and grab your sharper tools, something ain't right here...>>
And right on cue, they will hear the first awful, horrendous sound coming from deep within the mountain, but its muffled with the exits all buried and closed.. It reverbrates out of the ground from what lies beneath them. and in the mountain up ahead of them. This is the sound that occures each dawn, when the creatures awaken.
Feeling something, hearing a siren, and then the voice of his packmate in his head, Archimedes stops. He peers upward to Ashton and stares for a moment. "A bat?" he questions, looking around here and there for a moment. "A bat?" The Rat hmms, curious what this might mean. Brows furrow a bit and he slips away into shadows just before the awful howls begin.
Not familiar with the sound of the Hangry Sawng, Razzle Dazzle's ears prick up sharply and swivel around, picking up that, and... <<Did someone call the cops on us??>> he asks before remembering OH, right, the bird! He drops the parts that are in his clawed hands onto the ground with a clatter and steps around some big canvas tent that went up during our camp setting montage to see the mountain and look down the hill. <<Holy shit.>> Sacred dung indeed.
Still Waters Rise drops the panel and whips the gaff off his back. << The Enemy approaches, we meet them in battle! >> he howls, his unnaturally loud voice booming out like thunder. << Strike hard and fast, and let them meet death in jaws, for the glory of Mother Gaia! >>
It's not long before you see the swirls in the mists. They avoid the fires and apparently miss Archi in his Moktar Stealth Haze. They are charging towards the hillock, spreading out as they approach. The bat is hot on Ashton's feathers, trying to overtake him.
Razzle Dazzle takes those inspirational words from Etienne to heart, hiking up his wolf balls to meet the enemy and say mean things to it! He picks up a bigass rock while moving forward near the Galliard and Ragabash. He makes the first pitch of the game, winds up, leans back, and OOOH IT'S IN THERE! The rock smashes directly into a dude and he goes down, and stays down. His foot's still twitching but that's mainly due to brain and nerve damage.
The blades of the ornate dancing peacocks start spinning, almost making that nice zone for Ashton, but there's an audible *SMEK!* sound as the sharp, colorful blades do little more than shove the bat to one side in the air. Fuck you, bad-bat!
Still Waters Rise snarls as the enemy closes on the camp. He snatches up a huge bough to throw at the charging creatures, but one closes the distance and snaps at the Uktena. The Songkeeper darts backward, and keeps going back to create some distance, before -hurling- the bough directly at his foe. It strikes the creature with the resounding 'crack' of splintered bone.
Pierces-the-Clouds aims his rifle up into the sky, and drops the hammer with a BANG. Damn, stupid bat, only winged it. Doesn't it need its wings? Apparently not that badly, since it's still going after Ashton. And then one of the gribblies is on him, claws out. He twists to take the hit on his side, duster flaring into the way to lessen the blow. Which doesn't hurt, amazingly. But he can't let that pass unanswered. So he lets go of the rifle with his right hand to reach into his holster and give the big angry revolver the release it's been asking for. BANG! This time, a solid hit on the gribbly, center mass, the .44 magnum hollow point carrying a big spray of blood and bits out the back of the monstrosity. Just like Mr. Samuel Colt would have wanted.
Sneaky Rat slinks right into the mist and waits for all of the nasties to pass him by before he opens fire (literally) on the last one in the group. Archimedes cackles as he unleashes a gout of flame and it's a direct hit! WOOOOOOSH! Fire covers the Trogg, but damn it doesn't seem to do much of anything. The Trogg just brushes it off and Archi gets a claw for his trouble! Ouch that kinda hurts!
Ashton barrel rolls right past the peacock, leading the bat chasing him into a trap. Meanwhile a little spirit bat is also following him in the umbra. There are good bats and bad bats. He's swift of wing and dodges the bat's bite, and when the bat takes a face of metal blades, he laughs, loudly, in a mocking sort of way. Ha ha ha ha.
Walks Like A Whisper has his whip out and takes a snapshot at the Bat as he and Ashton fly by! The attack is marred by a Haruk taking a bit out of the Ragabash. He howls in pain as those teeth sink in!
After taking a claw to the chest, Archimedes isn't playing anymore. With a sneer, the Ratkin shifts into his crinos rat-monster form. He doesn't get any bigger, but he is lean and agile as HELL! His naked tail whips back and worth, providing extra balance as the Engineer pulls out a sticky bomb. He ducks down, sliding between the Trogg's legs and deftly avoiding those claws again as he slaps the creature right in the nut sack - WITH A STICKY BOMB! On all four feet, he scampers away to get some distance before that thing goes off as he shouts, "Hope you like your nuts extra roasted, asshole!"
A few seconds later...BOOM! Nothing but blood and ass everywhere.
Razzle Dazzle turns on the bad man goin' after his pack brother. Lit by the flickering white-blue glow of electricity trying and failing to sizzle the bat, Todd's claws spark with the golden light of mother fuckin' JUSTICE! He takes a swing at the creature, but his claws only rake its back, tough hide taking no significant damage at all. That's a tough bitch!
But he's not gonna let a little thing like failure to werewolf stop him, he takes another swipe with his other hand, givin it the ol' one-two, and connects real good this time. Flesh is rended, blood sprays wildly, dramatic slow mo' roars happen as a large chunk of bad guy disappears!
Ashton shifts to Crinos form in the air, wings still carrying him as he flies out of reach to ready himself for an attack.
Pierces-the-Clouds raises his revolver to the sky again, trying to provide some covering anti-aircraft fire to help out our crow-friend. Damn, but bats are small and nimble targets! Even so, he clips it and makes it much less happy. Dropping his gaze and aim back to ground level, the barrel of his Anaconda bears down on the beastie boy (not the good kind) harrassing Etienne. And the bullet races forth with a whooping Uktena war cry as it slams into the monster. The sound is probably familiar to the cajun as his path is cleared, the Hakur getting obliterated by spirit anger mixed with hot fast lead.
Still Waters Rise dodges back as the Hakur takes a swing at him, growling annoyance at its refusal to die. But die it finally does, when Pierces-the-Clouds blows the thing's head clean off. He lets out a roar of pure rage as he spots another Hakur attacking his two packmates, and drives his gaff through the top of its head in a shower of gore.
Ashton, in crinos form, has some nasty claws. He flies over, rakes the bat with his claws, then RIPS it apart into 2 even pieces, letting it drop before catching himself and flying back up.
Again, Walks Like A Whisper dodges the Hakur. He spins around, bringing his whip to bear on the foul beast. It lands, but doesn't seem to leave a mark, sadly.
Ashton shifts back to raven form, easily, and then...Well he goes back up into the sky to scout more. Just because they handled that danger doesn't mean there isn't more he needs to be aware of.
Razzle Dazzle's claws-and-teeth continue to spark and shine with little bits of JUSTICE!, and yes, that power is meant to be in all caps with an exclaimation point, damn it! He shakes out his fur and does what werewolves do when they murder dudes, he victory howls, heeeeeell yeah! <<Everybody okay??>> he asks, looking around real quick, caring more about his peeps and loved ones than about body policing.
As the sun crests over the Mountain, the ground trembles again and the song continues to vibrate through the valley. The mists begin to burn away, leaving the carnage more visible.
A new day dawns for the Sept of the Holly King. There is still much work to be done, but the Haruk went ungently into that good night. The camp has earned a reprieve for the time being.
Pierces-the-Clouds scans the area in a quick and furtive motion, only starting to give a semblance of relaxation once the coast appears to actually be clear. Then he looks around at the others, starting with his brothers in Solidarity. <<Everyone ok? If anyone's dead, speak up now!>>
Chuffing at his small joke, he takes the moment to reload. And it only looks like he's stroking his handgun, honest.
Base Camp
The Base Camp at Hungry Mountain looks like something straight out of Immortan Joe's wildest fantasies. This is a survival camp by every means to lay claim outside the mountain to become a defensive vantage point to await the Siege time for the Mountain to become more viable for cracking open and entering without getting overrun.
The Camp is in its early stages of being built, where perimeter outer walls up on a cliff side offer a significant advantage to watch over the mountain activity. The priority is the defense perimeter to keep bad things out. The barricade wall is covered in spikes with shooting holes every few meters, just big enough for someone to stabilize a gun or weapon, and fire on approaching enemies. The main gate is a steel reinforced mesh topped with razor wire, and held shut by a 3 inch thick, 10 foot long steel bar. Getting THAT thing through the closet portal door, must have been a bitch to carry.
Tower frames have basic framework, but are not solidly built as of yet. The platforms above are still not hammered down. The towers are placed though at the corners of the four sides of the walls to allow for lookouts to keep an eye on the area, allowing Gaians a place to rest, eat, and plan where the elements can't reach them.
Off to one side, a circle has been marked out for ritual use, and another area has several camp showers for those in need of a quick, but cold shower. One military tent with camouflage netting holds siege supplies. Across from the showers are several outhouses for people not used to being an animal pooping in the woods. The camp is lit by a number of oil powered tiki torches at night. Everything has been marked with runes to identify that this camp belongs to and is defended by the Children of Gaia.
Still Waters Rise grunts as he pins the dead Hakur down with his foot, and tugs his gaff free from his skull. He looks pleased to see that its held up in battle against a true Enemy. He growls laughter at Pierces-the-Clouds words. << No death-songs will be sung this day! Let the Enemy tremble before our might and cunning! >> Because let's face it, that explosion was pretty baller (haha!).
Maybe Ash should helpm set up base camp, but honestly? It really makes sense to have an eye in the sky. So Ash keeps flying around, making sure there won't be another surprise attack. He also seems to be mimickking a victory fanfare sound.
Once the danger is over, Walks Like A Whisper looks around and then down at his Whip. He kisses it and then coils it to lash it to his hip. <<Just a scratch.>> he says to the others. He looks around, <<Defenses are much needed.>> Then goes back to working on building the barricade.
"All good!" responds the Rat in a light growl. Meanwhile the claw marks are knitting themselves together until entirely gone. Archimedes scans over the place and wrinkles his nose. "Now that is over we should get this done." he chitters. He nods to what is said by Ryen, "I'll get started on that. I have a few tricks up my sleeve."
Razzle Dazzle, AKA Ashton's pet work horse, is gonna double check them owies on Ryen, just make sure they're actively regenerating, and the same for Archie if he'll let him! Granted, he has no healing powers yet, but WHATEVER. Worried wolf is worried. But everybody's okay, and so building the IKEA base is a go. AND, this is extremely important, he makes sure the flag gets hoisted. It's blue, and embroidered with were creatures with machine guns and pointy sticks and a lot of RAR! faces, and declares this place Fort Kickass. This was supposed to be for the fort he was gonna make in the forest, but this works.