RP:Critter Island

This is a Mage's Guild RP.

In this adventure, Lanlan and Odhranos investigate a "disturbance" in Rynvale's eternal forest, they enter into a section of wood hidden with a big illusion, and are instantly transformed into animals.

The Eternal Forest

Lanlan arrives to the edge of the forest accompanied by one a hardened looking Larketian-human ranger. He was sent to investigate the appearance of a mysterious lake in the eternal forest. "There is no lake with that description." The ranger said with confidence, but Lanlan could feel an otherworldly presence already while he stood at the treeline. He gave the ranger the general direction. The ranger shrugged and led on, at interval, he would have Lanlan cease all action other than listening, and quietly Lanlan would prepare for an assault from some wild thing, visceral evidence of the haunting ambience, but there never was any. After a time, they came to a wooden checkpoint, a cottage designed for such journeys, and they entered. There were a few people, similarly rough looking like this ranger. "We'll rest here for a bit," said Lanlan, and he took measure of every other person in there one at a time.

Odhranos looks up at the door as the grey-haired elf shoulders into the way-house and casts a quick eye over the new arrival. He returns his gaze to his glass of cloudy water, but extends his senses outward from himself. Tables, chairs, men, elves, even a dwarf, Odhranos' senses sweep past and settle upon the new arrivals. A ranger and a magic-user. Illusionist from the feel of it. Odhranos sips the rank-tasting water and sits back into the creaking back of his chair.

Lanlan had gray hair too. Not that it conferred his age, he was a "gray elf", and his skin was gray too, a slight shade darker than his hair. And he was dressed in comfortable clothes as he always is when on business from the Mage's Guild as he is now. But the mission could become dangerous, and so he had various accessories secretly kept on his person. He similarly became aware to Odhranos, and sat near him. One thing that was inevitably noticeable on Lanlan's face was his pair of arcing eyebrows. They extended far beyond his temples and bounced whimsically about has he moved. Once they were likened to the legs of a tarantula, and so it is. "I didn't expect to meet someone like you here," he says to Odhranos, "you're not from Xalious...?"

Odhranos smiles, "A little further afield, I herald from the island state of Oileán" He nods towards the staff leaning against the table next to him, the top of which pops alight in white-grey flame. "I have heard of the Mage's Guild of Xalious though, I've visited your tower too. A most impressive building, I spent almost a day lost in your library to tell the truth" he smiles. Leaning across the scarred table-top, he extends a slender hand. "My name is Odhranos, and you are?" The wandering mage inquires.

Lanlan nodded, "I've never heard of such a place. Oilean?" He nods again, and essentially dismisses any regard for it for the time being. At the staff he grows curious, it wasn't just that he hadn't ever seen a flame that color, but was it meant to be impressive? Lanlan made a point never to be impressed openly, and so he glances at the staff, and glances back at the mage. "It is an impressive library, especially at the beginning of the journey." He extends his hand, "Lanlan's my name. Since you are so close already, perhaps you would like to accompany me in my expedition? Some reports suggest an anomaly of some kind in this forest. Perhaps that's what drew you here in the first place? If so then we should certainly collaborate." The ranger has found his own friend to commune with, indubitably conferring what an easy job it is to lead an elf nowhere and back. He would change his tune soon, though.

Odhranos 's slate-grey eyes twinkle darkly. He gets the impression that this elf is none too impressed with him, not that it was the intention. The grey flame wisps out and Odhranos places his hand upon the gnarled pommell, the other taking that of the elf. "I did sense a magical signature in the woods but I had dismissed it upon the basis of the fact that something always seems to be giving off some magical signature or other in these woods. Or so I have been told. Anyway, I would be glad to accompany an esteemed member of the mages guild" he adds, the corner of his mouth tweaking up in slight humour. An attempt to guage the reaction of the elf.

Lanlan narrowed his red eyes to slits in wonderment. Is the wanderer was being sarcastic? Did he somehow know that Lanlan was only an apprentice (even though this was a travesty by his own measurement!) at the guild? "Yes... I think most would have dismissed it..." He turned his head but his gaze lingered for a moment as he weakly shook Odhrano's hand. His was in a glove but out of habit he wiped it on his cloak. "If you're ready to go, then let's. Otherwise just take a moment and finish up whatever it is you're doing here." With that, Lanlan gathered up his employee and waited by the door. "Should've got a cuppa coffee," he mutters to himself.

Odhranos grins as the elf turns his back. Checkmate, this elf was a proud one, and the handshake and subtle wipe of the gloved hand indicated a disdain for humans at least. Whether this extended to other races was yet to be seen. The grey robed mage stood and picked up his staff, striding after the elf and ranger with steady measured strides. "The irony that the gray-elf and the grey mage are at such odds, quite amusing" he thinks, then reconsiders; Odhranos had merely adopted grey, a disguise to hide the opulence of a discarded past, while this elf was gray through and through, perhaps he was subconsciously offended by this assumer of the grey. "This warrants further thought" he decided, as he followed the pair out the creaking wooden door and into the silent ominous wood.

Lanlan resumes his journey into the woods, and just as before, the ranger stops them after only a short walk. 'Listen,' he says. 'Shut up,' he says. And they wait for minutes at a time. Remembering that this guy gets paid by the hour as well as the journey, Lanlan abruptly bursts into chanting and touches each of his compadres and then himself. They turn invisible, trackable only by their depressions into the earth. Perhaps a jarring experience to not even be able to see yourself or your friends. "This should make the trek much faster." Someone grumbled, Lanlan assumed it was the ranger. After some time, and much less frequent rest periods, they arrive at the bay of an average looking lake. "See that? Probably the source of the weirdness." They definitely saw it. In the middle of the lake, was an island covered in trees. In the middle of the island was a tower. One could certainly see everything on the small island and all the way to the edges of the lake on that island. Most conveniently, was a small boat big enough for three. And one paddle. "Shall we?" Asks Lanlan. He pats invisible compartments on his invisible self, taking inventory of everything he might need for some sort of confrontation.

Odhranos is mildly surprised upon being no longer visible, but after a moments disorientation he accustoms to the odd sensation. Closing his eyes, he instead sees with his senses. Lanlan is lit up by a ghostly faint aura in his outline, while the ranger shines a noisy rich green. "Inconspicuous, me thinks not. Its a wonder this man can sneak up on any magically sensitive creature" Odhranos thinks. Upon their arrival at the lake, he casts his senses across the water and is greatly surprised. The whole tower appears to be glowing with power, an aura of which he cannot determine its colour. "Very curious" the mage murmurs, as his elf companion busies himself in preparation for the crossing. Before long, the three are seated in the low sitting boat. Odhranos begins to lean towards the paddle, ever the practical one, but pauses. His mouth cracks into an invisible grin and he sits back against the gunwales, eager to see how the elf reacts to see that his "subordinate" doesnt intend to row.

Lanlan dispels the invisibility. Of course, he instantly sits in the front and gives the paddle to the ranger. Odhranos isn't on the payroll yet and he has an inkling of respect for him since he's magically inclined. The trip across the lake is mild, there is no evident danger the whole way there above or below. Lanlan too struggles to discern anything about the nature of the magic in the tower, but similarly can determine that copious quantities are stored there. The ranger is presumably oblivious to anything related to magic. "It's an oddity..." They reach the shore and Lanlan takes care not to step in any soggy parts of sand. From here they can only just see the top of the tower, the rest is obscured by all the flora. It's possible if you are of great eyesight that you might notice a figure in the top, but it may be your imagination. Either the figure flickers gone. There's a clear-cut path between the leaves that looks promising. Nothing else is holding them up, so Lanlan begins stepping reluctantly forward, and then similar to Odhranos earlier, thinks better. "Ranger? Lead." Of course that's his job and he does so. Before any are able to take a step, a deep rumbling shakes the entire island, followed by a groan. The last thing Lanlan remembers is the displacement of all the magic in the tower. All of it instantly radiates in a wave that engulfs the entirety of the island. Lanlan, the ranger, and probably Odhranos are immediately affected by it and thrust immediately into dreamland. Upon awaking, Lanlan notices quite a different perspective than usual. No sensation in any of his limbs. And upon standing, noticing that he is quite a bit shorter. "What fresh hell is this?" He intends to say, but the mouth he wears now is so far different than his normal elven one, that nothing but spit comes out. Poor Lanlan...he's been turned into a caterpillar! Very near to him, where the ranger was standing he presumes, a hawk is slowly coming to its senses. Is it a coincidence that Lanlan's spirit animal is that pathetic armless thing? Would it also be that a hawk was in the soul of the ranger? What then praytell, would Odhranos turn into!?

Odhranos wakes up and shakes his head, his small pointed ears waving slightly as he shakes. Odhranos pauses. Ears? Pointed? His eyes widen and he looks around. Everything is larger than it used to be... or perhaps... he is smaller? Odhranos turns and stares incredulously at the grey furry body that lies behind him. He jumps and the body jumps. He lifts his hand, and a grey furred claw lifts too. "Im... a ferret?!" Odhranos cries, but his words come out as a squawkie growl. He crosses his eyes cross as he stares as the small pointed snout that now lies between his eyes. He glances to the earthen ground before him and spies a small caterpillar, wavering on its hind legs as it looks upwards towards him. Could it possibly be... Lanlan? Odhranos cocks his small furred head sideways, just as he hears a raucous caw to his left. The ferret mage turns sharply to his left and spies a vicious-looking hawk bearing down upon the hapless caterpillar. The ranger, it would seem, had lost his senses and was unable to keep his personality coherent in his new form, essentially, the ranher had become the hawk. Being a hawk, he saw the caterpillar as nothing more than food!

Lanlan couldn't find his wand in all the madness, and instinctively stood on his back false legs and reared up defensively at the hawk. He might agree with the other mage, clearly the ranger had not the wits to maintain his awareness through the change. But in recalling the way Lanlan treated him like such a lackey it could simply be that he now had his advantage over the little Lan-bug and was making use of it. However! Atop Lanlan's head were two bright red and vicious looking spikes. Certainly they appeared to be what any creature should fear; poisonous barbs. That they were actually just heavily disguised antennae shouldn't matter to someone who doesn't know! He glances over at the ferret, Odhranos, but realizes he probably wouldn't be able to save him anyways. A caterpillar may also be the pray of that particular mustelid too. So he's doomed. Suddenly a dart comes from nowhere, flinging towards the feet of the bird. Totally stunned, the caterpillar and sky-raptor both glance towards the source. A very very tall man. Giant probably, relatively speaking, wielding a crossbow. On his head was the maw of some spotted big cat, and around his shoulders was a clasped wolf pelt. Truthfully he wore the pelt of many a once dangerous beast. How long had he been standing there? His voice booms over them. "Welcome to my island," he begins, "Try to become accustomed to your new forms, otherwise you'll never survive." He gazes upon the trio curiously, "A ferret, a hawk, and a caterpillar? How unfortunate. It'll be terrifically difficult for any of you to put up much of a hunt." Since this was mostly to himself apparently, he starts again, "You've all been enchanted. As you can see. In three days the curse will wear off...but until then you have to do one thing. Survive. Good luck!" With that being said, and with hardly any more adieu, he loads up his crossbow once more and fires another bolt. This one pierces the ranger and pins him to the sand. Lanlan takes this as his cue and hustles with all the minute speed a caterpillar can muster and climbs atop Ohdranos the ferret. There's no way to communicate at this time, but hopefully he knows he has to get away from this guy!

Odhranos shudders as Lanlan scurries up his foreleg and settles on his back between his shoulder blades. The grey ferret looks up at the tall figure towering over him and hisses malevolently. "That's the spirit, you little rodent" the man laughs, as he loads another bolt into the crossbow. As the bolt releases with a bass thrum, Odhranos twists and leaps, his skinny furry body flowing like a grey wave and the quarrel sinks into the loamy earth where the pair were a moment before. The man curses and goes to reload, but the ferret and his small green companion are already gone, bounding off into the leafy undergrowth. The giant grimaces, then bends down towards the immobile form of the hawk-ranger. He pulls the quarrell from the unfortunate avian's wing and turns, leaving the bird lying unconscious on the dark ground.

Lanlan burrows into Odhranos's fluff to embed himself securely while he skips and sprints. The entire time he's wondering whether or not he'll still have any control over the magic. But there's no time to tell yet, not until they arrive some place safe enough to practice. It seems like they've been running forever. Lanlan tries to calculate just how fast they were going, but with so many alternate variables it's difficult to tell. He wouldn't have any business knowing what a ferret's landspeed is, and besides he's been in nearly a state of shock since waking up. Ah! That's it, this was all still a dream, had to be... That's what he desperately wanted to be true, but he knew it wasn't. He knew the characteristics of a dream, he designed some of them! No, this was real. He really is a caterpillar. An armless, stubby-legged worm. Suddenly he rolled off the side of Odhranos and tumbled into the dirt. He had to get a handle on this situation, take some control over it. In the dirt he rolled over onto his legs and body. This was pathetic, he was so low to the ground his belly scraped the earth. There's no elegance to a caterpillar. None. Back to it, he focuses just a bit, with his eyes and his...antennae. And maybe he can detect a bit of magic all around them. Maybe. But maybe he'll have to learn how to control it all over again. He does have control over his prehensile antennae at least, and he methodically carves the dirt into a letter. "H" is what it says. After a full minute, he begins again close to that one. "i" is that one. He appears finished. Or maybe tired. Lanlan looks to Odhranos expectantly, probably for some form of response.

Odhranos turns his head and peers down at the ground. He nods towards the caterpillar, then sets about scratching in the dirt. Due to the fact that he has paws, he is a little speedier at scratching out the letters, but his ferret-caligraphy leaves much to be desired. When he is finished, he sits back in his haunches and examines his message. "WHAT NOW? TOWER? FOOD? MAN?" The message reads, and the ferret runs around, sits upon the word TOWER, then looks at the caterpillar meaningfully, then sits back, giving the elf-terpillar a moment to decide what to reply.

Lanlan is satisfied that he's managed to communicate, though this method is ludicrously slow. He takes a moment going over to each letter and leaning up on his back to examine it. He made a very perplexed face, but it was probably difficult for Odhranos to tell. Probably just looked like an evil caterpillar. His bright red scary antennae shifted and twirled curiously while he pondered. He actually was super hungry, but considering that ferrets probably ate caterpillars like him he wouldn't choose that just yet. He crawls back over to where it says tower on the ground and plops on it. Yes. As he recalls, the source of the magic was the tower, and thus most probably, the source of their curse. He slowly wriggles his way back onto Odhranos's shoulderblades. As he does, and he gets properly embedded and ready to go, a voice calls out to them. "So you'll be going to the tower will you?" It was a hoarse voice, sounding downright villainous. "Suppose the hunter's in there. That is his home after all. Will you slay him with your false spines? Or you with your needley teeth?" Lanlan located the voice at last, it was a raven. Perched in a branch above them, clearly overseeing them for more than just a moment. Lanlan is of course wordless, but also motionless.

Odhranos arches his head back and spies the coal black raven on the branch. "Who are you?" He tries to say, but all that comes out is a hissing khaaaa sound. The raven laughs, "Dont waste your breath my furry little friend, you will learn to speak in about a year or two, but the first year you will do nothing more than growl and spit" he laughs, a hacking rough caw. A year?! Odhranos didnt like the sound of spending three days as a ferret, nevermind a year, and didnt think Lanlan would be too keen on the idea either. Odhranos stared down the raven and very pointedly slashed his claws across the word TOWER. "Where there's an enchantment, theres a way to undo it, usually through breaking the means through which it was cast" the ferret-mage thought.

Lanlan is still motionless and speechless, and he doubts that he'll ever have an audible word as long as he lives...as a caterpillar. This simply cannot stand. Not for a year...! Hopefully not for three days, but realistically speaking...maybe three days. The raven talks over his thoughts. Everything is too loud when you're this small. "Ferret and caterpillar," it begins, and Lanlan instantly takes offense. "Yes I'm aware you're both "not really" animals, but I don't care. Ferret and caterpillar, you aren't the first ones to suffer this curse, but maybe you'll be the last. IF you help us." Lanlan does caterpillar things which indicate that he is very interested. Who's this 'us' he speaks of? Lanlan once again resumes his readied position between the ferret's shoulder blades. "Yes," says the raven, "there are more of us. I'm going to them now, you may either follow me, or continue again towards the tower, where I'm sure you will be summarily squished." With that he heads off, vanishing into the woods with or without the former mages.

Odhranos bounds off in pursuit of the raven, Lanlan clinging to his back as they bolt through the undergrowth. Its not an easy task, as Odhranos has to keep an eye on both the raven overhead and the branches and trunks flashing past. He almost gets lost and when he eventually loses sight of the raven, he stops, bewildered and exhausted. However, he feels a gentle yet insistent pressure on his left shoulder. Of course! Lanlan keeps an eye on the raven and directs the ferret left or right by placing his weight on the corresponding shoulder, while Odhranos focuses on not running into any wayward plants or rocks. Before long, the raven swoops down to the ground behind a bush and the pair hop lithely in after him. Upon passing through, Odhranos skids to a stop, unable to believe his little beady eyes.

Lanlan also can't believe his weird compound eyes. They arrive at a perfect glade, and as they stand in the middle, there is a great coagulation of all types of fauna. Many from all species; exotic, domestic, big, small, predator, prey. Each with such an intelligent look in its eye, that one can't doubt that the brown fluffy beast over there is smarter than the average bear. They all appear to have been waiting for the raven, and his right hand man breaches the circle and into the middle, nearly crushing Lanlan and Odhranos under its hoof. A hulking buck with wide antlers and a fierce-looking demeanor. You might say he was knightly. The raven balances its delicate tiny talons on a branch of his antlers and begins to speak. "We have two new additions. There was...a third, also. He didn't make it." Rightly so, thought Lanlan. The ranger turned into an animal for a second and embraced it like a savage. "But these two will be a great asset to our endeavor. They're what we've been looking for in an animal." His gaze darts across each animal in attendance rapidly, saving the two newcomers. "Mages." There's a crescendo of stomping hooves, whooping calls, howls, barks and all. Lanlan is of course baffled. He's not a mage anymore, he's a caterpillar. It would take some time for him to learn how to do anything with this ridiculous body. "But they've had a long day, and I think we should let them eat, and sleep." The raven organizes a 'feast' in their honor. Congratulations on being devolved into critters. A kangaroo hops over to the duo and empties her pocket. A pile of leaves for Lanlan, honeysuckle and other strains. For the ferret, a very familiar looking bird with a perforated wing and chest. Bon appetit you cannibal you. If you would find a way to ask, the raven would tell you that though these animals did in fact work together, there were some that completely devolved and forgot they were anything else. They exist as beings of instinct, and wouldn't hesitate to kill you if that's what the beast should feel like doing. He would muse about wondering what kind of creature such a tortured animal would return to, if any. It happens to them all eventually... Thus, those are the stakes! The reason for helping, for escaping this arboreal prison. He also tells them of a plan, that the tower is well protected, but it does have a weakness for ones which are small enough and clever enough...he thinks. Last, that they shouldn't bother even trying to learn to control magic again. No one here has been able to, including the raven himself. Well Lanlan heartily devours the leaves the whole time he's talking, and hardly pays anymore interest to him. After his feast, he crawls up an inconspicuous branch, settles on a leaf, and looks like bird poop. Very convincing, no one will be eating him tonight.

Odhranos watches Lanlan settle upon the branch and decides not to disturb his small friend. The elf had a troubling day, and Odhranos had no doubts as to his comforting seating on the journey in. Odhranos climbs atop a large boulder that peeps above the foliage and gave a clear view of the tower. With a hushed flapping, the raven settles on the stone next to him. "Im glad you have joined us, but there's something you should know." The ferret turns his head curiously. "That tower, isn't what you think it is. Its less of a building, and more of a conduit. It focuses the energy that the enchanter uses, but the one thing we have never figured out is how he accumulates so much power, to keep such a substantial enchantment active.". Odhranos nods, then return his gaze to the tower. A focusing conduit... Odhranos tilts his head and thinks, as the shadows lengthen and the night closes in.

Lanlan probably dreamt caterpillar dreams, if that is what they do. But it wouldn't last for very long, in the middle of the night everyone's sharply jolted from sleep by the sound of a war-horn, sending hidden animals in panic scurrying from their den. It was the hunter! He takes full advantage of the sudden diffusion, killing creatures with a veritable arsenal of hunting implements. Stopping a bear with a dart coated in an acute venom; ensnaring the legs of the great beast with a whirling bola before quickly finishing it with a knife carved from bone. With deadly accuracy, he employs his crossbow; you can see not his victim merely the triumphant grin as he smears warm blood across his face. He darts in and out of view, like the spotted beast who's skin he wears. Quick, smart, and deadly. And more beastial than any animal he slaughters.The raven appears to Odhranos covertly while Lanlan bounces tentatively on a leaf. "Now's our chance," he hisses, "The towers empty! We must ascend!" The stag appears to have escaped the bloodshed so far, as the raven, and stands at the base of the boulder Odhranos once slumbered on, ready to lend his cloven hoof to speed him away. As Lanlan jaunts about absently, the raven plops his toe in his way, so Lanlan lumbers over it without a thought. "I fear your friend may have succumbed utterly to this curse, Ferret." The caterpillar makes no indication of comprehension, but continues to mosey along the raven's umbral form, even as he takes off for the tower.

Odhranos bares his teeth in frustration. First this bloodthirsty hunter appears and chaos erupts in the animals camp, he must have followed their trail from where they met the raven. Secondly, Lanlan decides at this moment to succumb to his larvan whims. He picks up the slow moving insect with his mouth and plops him on the ravens back, whereupon the little emerald elf nestles into the warm obsidian feathers. Odhranos scampers up the flank of the stag and they take off towards the tower, the raven soaring overhead as the stag crashes through the undergrowth. Upon arriving at the base of the tower, the raven lands on the stags twisted antler and spies Odhranos with one of his beady glinting eyes. "There is a small crack in the wall at between the fourth and fifth layer of stone, you should be able to squeeze through the crevice" the shadowy raven croaks. Odhranos nods, then scans the alabaster wall of the tower. He sees the aforementioned crack and after shifting a little upon the stag's broad back, the little mustelan bunches his compact muscles and springs from the stag, scrabbling headfirst through the gap in the white stone. Odhranos' smooth grey fur slides easily across the broken stone and his little black claws hook into the walls and pull his small lithe form through the tunnel. A few moments pass and the grey ferret pops from the wall like a cork from a champagne bottle and sprawls across the smooth polished floor, the moonlight shining on the fine fibres of his fur. Odhranos cranes his pointed muzzle back and his jaw drops open as he looks up. Above his head, floors and floors of thick rune-etched glass. As the mage looks closer, he realises that they are in fact giant thick focusing lenses. "The whole tower.... its like a giant telescope!" the ferret muses and he casts his eyes around the room, where they settle upon a white pedastal in the centre of the circular room. Upon the pedastal, hovering a few centimetres above the smooth carved surface is a fist-sized crystal, its planar surface carved and etched with hundreds - no, thousands of miniscule runes and symbols, which glow with a pulsating light. Above the crystal, the lenses focus, direct and refocus the pale moonlight into a single incandescent beam, which is centred directly upon the apex of the crystal. However, rather than diffusing inside the crystal and beaming out in prismatic rays, the light is trapped in the net of runes and collects in the crystal, which is exuding a pulsating and overwhelming magical energy. Without a doubt, this is the source of the cruel enchantment that plagues the island. "To disrupt the enchantment, the mechanism must be disrupted." The mage recites, but pauses. With the amount of raw lunar power collected in the crystal, damaging it could release the energy in a colossal, devestating wave.

Since this island was so small, and the hunter was so adept, it was truly an easy task for him to track the animals to this one particular place. After he stumbled across one set of tracks, he would mark and continue along until he found more. Following this delicate procedure he eventually found a likely point of convergence. Now he was finished there, and resolved to resume his hunt. He examined a spot of stomped branches closely, and even found a leaf with gnawing marks on it. Nothing was a coincidence to this detective. In no time, he found tracks leading out of the slaughter leading to his tower! He bound into a tree and began hopping branch to branch, leaving almost no trail as he followed the stag tracks. At some point, Lanlan departed from his spot nestled on their ebon friend, and found himself inching along the dirt of the ground, probably looking for more delicious foliage. While he crawled, the hunter tracked. While Odhranos puzzled, the deer stood watch. Soon something was going to come to a point, and it was something inevitable. From an invisible perch in the woods, the hunter hurled his bola towards the ankles of the stalwart stag. With nary an effort, Whateverisnameis the deer loops his head down and up making a 'u' and catches the bola with his antlers. In one swift motion, he turns his head sharply to the side and sends the bola back into the trees in which it came. This was a buck who wouldn't succumb to trickery as easily as the rest of the beasts. He stepped purposefully to the side while gazing unblinking into the trees, unknowingly almost crushing Lanlan to guts underhoof. From utter blackness, the hunter steps without a noise. He looks wild, ready for a fight. The raven has apparently helped as best he can up to this point, and perches safely above, in a higher spot above the tower. Lanlan begins inching up the wall, having nothing better to do, and the deer and the hunter begin to clash.

Unaware of the titanic clash occuring mere meters away, Odhranos sits on the cool stone floor, puzzling over how to best dismantle the enchantment. "The best course of action would be to remove the crystal from the pedestal, but in his mustelan form, Odhranos wouldnt be able to get a good enough grip on the crystal and risked pitching the energy-primed crystal to the floor, which would result in a sudden dispersal of ferret to the four corners of Hollow. His musings are disturbed by a little scritch-scritch coming from the crack in the wall. Odhranos backs away, fangs bared when, to his surprise, a stubby green head with spiky red feelers pokes from the hole and peers around. "Lanlan!" The ferret exclaims, which translates to a growly chirrup. The many-legged larva plops from the wall in a quite undignified manner and starts to amble across the smooth stone floor. Odhranos sighs, Lanlan seems to be showing no signs of recognition, not even a feeler-wave in greeting. The mustelan turns away in disappointment and jumps; a pair of scuffed and muddy boots are planted behind him and a large hand swoops down and grabs Odhranos about his furry midriff. "Thought you could sneak away and try end my enchantment, did you? I'll admit, you got farther than any other pest that cursed raven sent". Odhranos stopped struggling and stared up at the man. "Dont give me that look, you rat, I know all about that raven. Why do you think we cast the enchantment in the first place?" He growls menacingly. His eyes grown angry and seem to any onlooker to be hundreds of miles away, in the past. "That raven was once known as Kai Xelion, a necromancer that specialised in enslaving human souls in the forms of animals. He rampaged through Hollow and when he was eventually subdued, he was imprisoned here, in punishment for his crimes. The Mage's Guild thought it ironic to cast an enchantment on the island that imprisoned the necromancer in the form of an animal, as he once did to his victims, and the enchantment defended the island against any would-be-liberators of the imprisoned mage."

The hunter coming back meant he had already murdered the deer outside, but it wasn't easy. Blood dripped from his clothes, and some of it was his. Stagman put up a great fight, but he couldn't win without thumbs. Lanlan scurried onto the boot of the hunter without a sound. "Yes it's true, I've been fooling you all along! Poor saps, one last thing though, be good minions and grab me that crystal would you?" The hunter noticed him and instantly forgot about anything else that was bothering him, including Odhranos who he dropped unceremoniously to the ground. "Nemesis! You won't change me back!" he said as he started scaling the walls after the raven, methodically and dexterously placing his hands and feet to propel himself towards the perch the raven leaned on. When it looked it he would be closing in on the bird, he slowed and discretely began reaching for something behind his back. Lanlan had made his way up the hunter's leg and onto his flowing, spotted cloak. He crawled for only a few more inches before he lost his grip and flopped onto one of the lenses, casting an intimidating shadow on the floor below. There, with the enlarged perspective of his umbral form, you could easily see how his antennae were always in flux. But suddenly they straightened out, and there was barely perceptible flourish of magic coming from them. Nothing happened right away, other Lanlan stopped inching, stopped doing anything. The hunter might not notice right away, but the raven did, and he flew from his perch just as the hunter threw something in his mouth, and then sprayed it in a cloud into the air, dousing the raven. It was poison! Instantly it blinded the raven, and he struggled to maintain a fluid flight path as he spun to the ground. Careening off a lens and onto the ground, he did his job. The lens shifted, throwing the whole delicate mechanism out of whack. And more, the hunter realized the affect of Lanlan's spell. "The crystal...gone...How!?" He drops down elegantly to examine it. It definitely -appeared- to be gone. But it was an illusion! He scanned the room for a sign of it, all he saw was the struggling raven, and the defiant ferret. Oh and the shadow of a caterpillar. "Who took it!?" He demands as he kicks the raven into the wall, then he looks at the ferret, the next outlet of his rage.

Odhranos notices the rage in the hunter's eyes and with a small hiss, he scampers to the far side of the room. "Come back you mangy thief! You have no idea what you are doing!!" the hunter roars as he charges after Odhranos. The ferret narrowly avoids the enraged man and scoots between his legs like a small grey bolt. The man stumbles and crashes into the stone wall. Upon turning, a deep vivid gash on his temple, the hunter roars ferociously, somewhat like an animal himself and continues in his pursuit of Odhranos. Meanwhile, something strange is going on outside the tower. Invisible to the naked eye, a haze of purple energy is seeping inward from the edge of the lake towards the tower. As the haze flows inwards, it passes over the fallen corpse of a small sparrow that lies near the water. As the haze flows over the small body, the body begins to glow ever so slightly, but growing stronger each second. Inside the tower, Odhranos is having a harder and harder time of avoiding the hunter. Every second, Odhranos seems to be getting slower and weaker, his scampering growing more sluggish, while the hunter appears to be getting faster and more angry with every passing second. In a moment of thought, Odhranos glances back at the hunter. Bestial, the hunter seemed to be becoming more animal-like each second that passed. Looking at the pedastal, Odhranos could still sense the crystal's presence, even though it was hidden from sight, but he could also sense that its power was waning, that the shifting of the lense has broken the beam that once powered it and that the crystal's power was running out. Along with the enchantment that held them all in their animal forms. Returning his gaze to the hunter, Odhranos wondered; were there more than just humans in animal form on this island?

As the light powering the rune-covered stone fades, so does the enchantments effects on the the island. The denizens, the flora, even the tower begins to show signs of degradation. The tower begins to rumble. The crumpled raven returns to consciousness, stirred by the shaking masonry, "We have to get out," he says weakly, realizing being in the middle of a crumbling tower could easily be fatal. Upon trying to stand, the raven notices its busted leg, it flapped around desperately for a moment, trying to balance on one leg and injured wings. He glanced over at the hunter and Odhranos; the hunter had him pressed into a corner. Knowing there was no semblance of mercy within him, the Raven realized there was only one way to save Odhranos. He flapped vigorously and lifted off the ground, it was a short flight however; one that carried him right into the crystal. It fell and crashed into several shards. The hunter knew what the sound must've been, and he forsook his prey, "No!" The pieces vibrated with energy, humming with unstable power until suddenly it stopped. The energy the crystal had within it manifested itself in an undulating mass of bright purple light that visibly struggled to keep itself stable, retracting various tendrils of itself that by nature wanted to fan out. At last it couldn't. The energy erupted instantly, and radiated over the entire island, washing everyone in a purple glow and knocking them unconscious. They awaken in an inconspicuous glade, similar to the one where all the animals met, but there was no sign of a tower, and no sign of a raven, caterpillar, or ferret. Nor was there a hunter. Lanlan wriggled on the ground for a moment, until he realized again how to use actual limbs. He instantly fell backwards down on his butt. Though he was for the most part uninjured, it's been a while since he had to balance in such a way, and even more he was exhausted. So he stayed, and took a measurement of everyone else who made it back. There was Odhranos, who simply went back to being the animal he was before he changed, a human. And there was a high elf. Hair black as coal, and ears pointy, clearly garbed in clothes designed for a mage, but with thick fabrics and ornate design. Not travel gear. He sat still, and his leg was visibly battered. The last creature was a chicken. Not an ordinary chicken however, a murderer of countless peoples and perpetrator of great evil. "Kill it," Lanlan said to Odhranos, testing out his voice for the first time in a while, and being pleasantly surprised. "No!" the high elf said, "He's my familiar," he got to his feet with a bit of a struggle and the use of a cane he manifested out of nowhere.The elf explains that he was a master enchanter and wanted to use his abilities to get more use out of his beloved familiar, and so turned him into a person. He didn't expect the familiar to regard their companionship of years and years to be considered 'slavery'.

Lanlan eventually finds his balance again, and the first thing he does is do another investigation of their surroundings. "Anybody know the way home?" He investigates the area where he thinks the crystal should be, but nothings there. For a moment he looks a little forlorn, and then he waves his hand and utters a few words, dispelling the invisibility spell he cast on it. He sees a few shattered fragments and delicately picks them up. "I think I'll hand these over to the guild for study." Part of him misses the simple life of the caterpillar. Maybe he'll be able to find a way to return to it.

This is a Mage's Guild RP.