09. Ivy and the Beanstalk

[Corwin]

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[14:24] <Knight> The walls to either side of Ivy seem like a mesh of steelwork and fern-laced cliffs, a hodgepodge of nature and man. The paths through the hedge often begin this way; clearly defined at first, only to later become so twisted that none could hope to find their way through. (More)
[14:26] <Knight> Lines on the ground mimic those of roadmarks at first, but as she walks further in, the spacing becomes irregular, the lines less straight. Dimly, she can hear the revving of an engine, as Charlie's car departs; behind her, she hears a rocky tumbling, and a glance confirms that the cliffs far behind her have collapsed; the only way to go now is forward. (More)
[14:28] <Knight> It is not long before she reaches an intersection. The roadmarks are fainter and fainter, some becoming arrows that point towards the walls. A signpost stands in the middle, with only three directions marked; a black sign points ahead, a blue to the left, and a green to the right. The signs are not hoisted at the top of the post-
[14:29] <Knight> -but in the middle, and a strange bird sits upon the green one, with a steel feathers and a metallic beak, both long and thin.
[14:33] <Ivy> And this is where she must start relying on far more arcane measures than just her very own senses. Before she even considers the choices set before her, Ivy reaches for the fern-covered walls and carefully tries to pluck a thorn from it. Carefully, that is, so that a single drop of blood would be shed in the process -- no less, no more.
[14:36] <Knight> The ferns seem metallic and cold when Ivy reaches out to them- no, they are metal, artfully stylized into the shape of plants. Nothing around her can be considered alive, save perhaps whatever force leaves the Hedge the way it is. The mocked plants are sharp enough, she finds; they resemble little green knives.
[14:38] * Ivy suppresses the shudder she feels inside. That must be how Charlie is, when confronted by people who are not people. She leaves the doll-plants be, and approaches the intersection anew, her eyes kept on the bird.
[14:40] <Knight> At Ivy's approach, the bird turns to the signpost- metallic as everything else- and begins to poke away, creating an alarming racket.
[14:43] * Ivy contemplates addressing the bird, just as she considers gaining some better control of her fate. However, her luck being as it is right now, she doesn't want to bet on it or gamble any of it away, and so she makes a split-second decision and picks the leftmost path.
[14:47] <Knight> The path in this direction seems to emulate the way she came to begin with- as she dashes away from the noisy avian, she feels a slight chill, and realises this direction seems overtly colder than before. The ground is becoming slick beneath her feet, and a faint layer of frost seems to cover everything. (More)
[14:48] <Knight> The metallic plants seem to have prospered in this environment, becoming longer and sharper. Running here could be extremely dangerous; if she were to slip, she could easily skid and skewer herself into one of the twisted walls.
[14:49] <Ivy> roll 4d10
[14:49] * Hatbot --> "Ivy rolls 4d10 and gets 18." [4d10=2, 5, 6, 5]
[14:49] <Knight> Whatever secrets this segment of the hedge holds, they are hidden from Ivy.
[14:50] <Ivy> She's traded the dangers of unwelcome company for the dangers of the environment, Ivy muses. As long as the two won't meet, however, she should avoid a careless mistake.
[14:54] <Knight> The road seems to be going from simply being slick to being crafted literally out of black ice. The road markings become slicker- oil, perhaps? It is quite cold, colder than Valiance at it's worst, Ivy knows. (More)
[14:56] <Knight> Rounding a sudden turn, Ivy finds herself at the apparent edge of walls. A field of ice dotted with trees with branches shaped like claws stretches out before her- the deeper hedge, she reasons. Best not to lose sight of the walls, dangerous as though may be. (More)
[14:57] <Knight> A small yellow light seems to flit around the top of one of the trees. There are numerous small breaks in the blackened ice, leading into crystal-blue pools of water. Somewhere deep within the forest, she can just make out a thin plume of smoke rising above the treeline.
[14:59] <Ivy> roll 4d10
[14:59] * Hatbot --> "Ivy rolls 4d10 and gets 14." [4d10=1, 8, 4, 1]
[15:03] <Knight> This segment of the Hedge has two sides, Ivy knows in an instant. The ice is only meters thick. Someone brave enough to dive through the freezing water can easily reach the flipside, and walk upon it just as easily. (More)
[15:04] <Knight> Her own studies in the occult remind her of how the Hedge deals in twisted reflections. What lies on the other side of the ice will be different to what lies above in some fashion. How, she cannot say.
[15:09] <Ivy> It sounds like a better escape at a desperate time than a dash past walls of sharp knives upon slippery ice. For now, Ivy would try to explore the forest without coming close enough to the obvious signs of habitation. If it allowed there to be a cabin or campsite of some sort, as seems apparent, then perhaps she could find a place to hide herself in as well.
[15:14] <Knight> Passing by one of the trees, Ivy notes that it has a small, ragged hole near the base- as large as someone's head, perhaps- as though something had torn the bark away. As she passes by, she sees another chunk of the tree simply crumble and vanish, as though ripped away!
[15:17] <Ivy> Even if an invisible force is eating the trees, it would only be a danger to Ivy if it could also spot her! Falling back upon her stealth, Ivy places several other trees between herself and the one being consumed as she proceeds.
[15:21] <Knight> As Ivy departs, she notices that the hole in the tree is quite hollow, as though whatever bit it away only needed to get through an outer shell. As she continues through the forest, she notices a child (not a child, it just looks like one) squatting over the one of the ponds. Ragged black hair streams around it's face, which appears to be intently studying the waters.
[15:23] * Ivy pauses to observe, here.
[15:27] <Knight> Suddenly, the thing's neck stretches, and it's head plunges into the water! Seconds pass, before it snaps back like a spring, and the force sends it tumbling backwards until it slams into a tree! The thing's head seems to be all mouth- a obscenely huge maw, which clutches within it one of those metallic birds Ivy saw at the streets.
[15:28] <Ivy> Diving through the icy divide may prove even less of a defense than she thought, Ivy muses to herself, deciding to retrace her steps and see what was left of the tree that was being eaten.
[15:33] <Knight> A couple more chunks of it appear to have gone missing, but it miraculously stays upright, despite it. She notices that a few of the other trees in this area seem to have similar quantities of bark forcibly detached from them.
[15:35] <Ivy> Maybe these aren't really trees, but cocoons for those metallic birds? Rather than search for something extravagant, Ivy tries to ascertain none of the trees in the area are in the process of being eaten, before checking the insides of one.
[15:35] <Knight> To check out the inside, Ivy is going to have to lie down and slide her head through one of the gaps; simply crouching won't be sufficient.
[15:37] * Ivy lies down on the black ice, though she prefers to simply peer into the hole rather than stick her head right through it.
[15:39] <Knight> It is dark inside, but from what Ivy can tell, the tree is entirely hollow. It doesn't seem to contain anything; the inner walls are rather smooth, she thinks.
[15:41] * Ivy had thought that she had used up her quota of reckless foolishness for the night already, so Ivy surprises even herself when she reaches through the hole with a hand. Should something horrible still lurk there, that would likely be the time her luck gives out.
[15:42] <Knight> Nothing seems to be present within the tree. It's warm inside, almost as though the trunk is an insulator.
[15:43] <Ivy> Time to try and wiggle inside ignobly. Ivy's pride is reassured somewhat by the fact that should anyone see her do this, it would likely be her executioner and thus she would be spared any mocking as a result.
[15:47] <Knight> The hole is rather small, but Ivy manages to cram herself inside the tree nonetheless. It seems slightly bigger on the inside than the outside, though it would still compare unfavorably to airline seating as far as comfort goes.
[15:51] <Ivy> Time to see if her bet bears fruit. The benefit of metallic surroundings is that sound is made far too easily and carries far. As long as she remains still and listens, Ivy should get advance warning on anyone approaching her location. Unlike her, the natural residents of the hedge are far less likely to use stealth in their approach, which may well end up saving her.
[15:54] <Ivy> roll 5d10
[15:54] * Hatbot --> "Ivy rolls 5d10 and gets 15." [5d10=6, 2, 2, 3, 2]
[15:55] <Knight> Ivy is barely able to sleep at all; standing virtually upright in a coffin-sized space, a phrase continually springs to mind; "He who gives up a little liberty for a little security deserves neither." For an interminable amount of time, she is surrounded by darkness, barely able to move; the temperature drops slowly over the evening. (More)
[15:57] <Knight> Is it evening? Is it morning outside, now? She can't tell, not in the hedge. At some point, she's sure she dozed off, but heavy footsteps have trudged towards her- stopped, just outside her tree!
[16:00] <Ivy> It is too late to do anything at this point, so Ivy remains perfectly still, drawing upon the composure that allowed her to jump straight into danger unflinchingly time after time in the past. To truly get to her, anyone hostile would need to first destroy her tree. She has no control over that, and if she survives the attempt, her chances of dealing with her situation grow better. And there is always the outside shot that she hadn't been discovered just yet.
[16:01] <Knight> The tree shudders. Ivy hears a thin slap that reverberates through the tree, as though something had grabbed it- before she's overcome with a lurch! Her world tilts, and she finds herself sliding towards the top of the tree! Or is it the bottom, now?
[16:06] <Ivy> Arresting her fall is the order of the day, and she braces herself against the walls with her limbs. For now, staying stable should trump anything else! Only when she has achieve that can she try to wiggle towards the opening.
[16:06] <Knight> OOC: Make an aths+str check?
[16:06] <Ivy> roll 3d10
[16:06] * Hatbot --> "Ivy rolls 3d10 and gets 13." [3d10=1, 6, 6]
[16:09] <Knight> Ivy slides away, impacting head-first upon the top of the tree! Her exit is far away, now, but the tree lurches again, and gravity seems to be directed against the length of it- as though it is now paralell to the ground. Still, moving will be difficult- it seems to be in motion itself, and it bobs up and down in time with someone's heavy steps.
[16:12] * Ivy decides to do this slowly, wincing at the pain. She only moves whenever the tree is at the apex or nadir of its bobbing, bracing herself in place at any other times to retain any gains she makes.
[16:12] <Knight> OOC: This is more a dex thing, yeah
[16:12] <Knight> OOC: Aths+Dex?
[16:13] <Ivy> roll 3d10
[16:13] * Hatbot --> "Ivy rolls 3d10 and gets 28." [3d10=8, 10, 10]
[16:13] <Ivy> roll 2d10
[16:13] * Hatbot --> "Ivy rolls 2d10 and gets 10." [2d10=5, 5]
[16:15] <Knight> Ivy practically slithers down the tree, making progress as well as anyone could do while essentially lying down! She makes it to the other end, and her legs dangle over the hole at the rear!
[16:16] * Ivy slides further out, grasping the edge of the hole and lowering herself to see just what is happening around her.
[16:19] <Knight> Ivy manages to dangle from the edge of the hole- she's still got to be a few feet up off the ground! She can see two enormous legs marching in front of her- a giant?- carrying the entire tree over his shoulder!
[16:21] <Ivy> She expected as much! Ivy takes a few quick glances about her, both to familiarize herself with the area and to enjoy the vantage point she would soon lack. Where is she? What are the hiding places she could utilize, if her luck runs out and the giant notices the drop in weight he's carrying, however negligible her form is to a large, metallic tree?
[16:23] <Knight> It's hard to get a clear view from the swinging back of the tree by her fingertips. Ivy isn't quite sure- most of the forest looks the same, there are other trees...
[16:23] <Knight> (More)
[16:24] <Knight> The giant stops, suddenly, craning his neck over one shoulder.
[16:26] * Ivy lets go, turning her fall into a roll to deny the impact with the ground the chance to stun her and to avoid any attacks, should they come. No trees are immediately around her, and so she intends to dash away before her senses even fully return. She could adjust her course afterwards, as long as she ensures the initial direction is away from the giant.
[16:26] <Knight> OOC: Make a dex+aths check?
[16:27] <Ivy> roll 3d10
[16:27] * Hatbot --> "Ivy rolls 3d10 and gets 20." [3d10=8, 6, 6]
[16:30] <Knight> Ivy lands on the ice, but skids away on her back rather than managing any rolling. Picking herself up is difficult... "Ho!" calls the giant- the tree swings around (how does it not hit the other trees?). "Why be a vagrant here?" he demands. A heavy rush of air follows the tree, a cold winter wind indeed.
[16:32] <Ivy> "I'm terribly sorry," Ivy responds, stalling for time as she tries to regain her footing. "I was lost and cold, you see. My apologies, and I'll be leaving now."
[16:38] <Knight> The giant rumbles. "Aye, see that you do. The gobblers do be vandalizing my trees, and I do be fixing them. 'tis not safe for young girls to be hiding in trees this time of year. Where be you headed, lost one?"
[16:40] <Ivy> Is there a time of year where it would be safe, a part of Ivy's mind wonders. Still, she feels much better over her chances of survival now than she had mere seconds previously. "A place where security does not require the sacrifice of liberty," she responds politely.
[16:44] <Knight> "Eh? Eh..." The giant seems to contemplate the statement for a moment. "'tis no such place!"
[16:46] * Ivy accepts the answer in stride. "I might be lost for a long time still, then," she says sadly. "For now, I'll try to look for a safe haven where the loss of liberty is neither permanent or forced on me and try to work my way towards my goals from there."
[16:52] <Knight> "No safety here. The gobblers do be eating the Reine's forest from the outside in," he replies, sombrely. "'tis long since she brought her justice here properly, so us poor smiths need not build forts for ourselves," he adds, with a spit. "'tis a marauding place of tree-hunting fiends! But I do think they be happy to bite leg as well as trunk."
[16:54] * Ivy is just as somber. Natural predators, laughable as it normally would be to consider a bird one, coupled with the prospects of intruding upon the Reine's domain. "Even past the holes in the ice?" she questions. "I think I saw those terrible birds on the other side as well."
[17:01] <Knight> "Other side be a dreadful place, I do be told. All ironworks and weaponsmiths there. There be no beauty in a place like that."
[17:05] <Knight> "The birds do be excellent bait for gobblers, though," he continues, shrugging. "Blighters are far too fast to catch on foot without tricks."
[17:06] <Ivy> "So I see--" Ivy begins to say, before she seems to realize something. "Ah, but I shouldn't occupy any more of your time. Once more, my sincerest apologies."
[17:06] <Ivy> She dips her head in a bow, intending to head into the opposite direction from the one the giant was taking. If he took a direct path, then she should be able to make it to the tree's original location, and from there, back towards the icy corridors she started out from. The turn to go left was clearly a mistake, looking back.

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