Hollow

Welcome to the Hollow.

Dawn has cracked the horizon as you arrive at your destination: marshland stretching tens of miles in every direction, peppered with only a few withering trees. It is deathly silent here, devoid of any signs of animal life. Rumor has it there is a great treasure at the center of this marsh, though stories disagree on what exactly it is. Whatever this treasure may be, you are here to find it.

There is another rumor regarding this marsh, which is known to towns nearby as The Hollow. People claim that beasts wander the wetland at night, creatures with needle fingers and great drooping ears. It is said that these things are looking for a soul to fill their empty husks.

But those are only stories, aren't they?

OOC here: Hollow (OOC)


1: @GrandWild, Jova Barton
2: @yoshikrab, Amoku
3: @LordMomo
4: @galaxygem, Sol Sanders


1: Keep swearing PG-13 at most. No f-words or anything like that.
2: There will probably be a bit of body horror due to the nature of these monsters, but I'll be trying to keep violence to a minimum and it's highly recommended that y'all do the same.
3: All the rules in the official forum apply here as well; NO exceptions!
4: Have fun!

Earl Jova Mortimer Barton IV paused to breathe in the rank air of the marsh as his guides took their hasty leave. The sky was a perfect blue, unblemished by clouds and utterly ignorant of the glaring yellow ball reaching peaking at the very center of its dome. Jova could hardly feel the sun's heat; it was a blessedly cool day and perfect for mucking about in a haunted swamp.
Glancing back at the retreating backs of his guides and their horses, he shouldered his pack and took his first squelching step toward destiny.

Sol sighed heavily as he trudged through the marsh, a few warm tears still trickling down his cheeks. He hadn’t always had this monstrous appearance. He’d simply fallen victim to dark magic and lost control of himself for a few minutes! And yet, his friends had kicked him out for good. Now, he was trying to find a new home. He had another friend, who lived on the other side of this swamp. So here he was, trying to get through it, not realizing the rumors, the treasure inside, or how big this swamp truly was.

Amoku decided that he hated mud.

Completely, utterly hated it.

There was nothing worse than the slimy substance seeping everywhere all over your clothes. Amoku had already seen the "beautiful" sky. Gasp! Such beautiful blue! cried the people going on the tour around the marshy landscape. Like Amoku cared. There was nothing more beautiful than a nice nap. In retrospect, Amoku wondered what even possessed him to even come here. He had decided to go sightseeing because the sky wasn't cloudy for once, but Amoku already wanted to turn back.

Except Amoku forgot the way back.

Jova marched through the soaking landscape, hardly looking where he was going as he scribbled eagerly in his field journal. The flora and fauna of this place wasn't his primary interest in The Hollow, of course, but they were still intriguing. There were some species here native only to this specific area. In fact, wasn't that a speckled marsh hare hidden behind those shrubs?

Sol kept on walking along, eyes glued to the floor. He didn’t notice the sharp bramble that he ran into.

“Ow-!!! Crap-“

He groaned as he fell to the ground. Great, he thought as he looked at the cut along his arm. He knew he should’ve brought a first aid kit.

Jova had been walking for a few hours when he heard the sound. A cry of alarm, of pain? Was that what had just reached his ears? He shut his journal, looking around warily. The creatures weren't supposed to come out until night fell, and he had quite a bit of daylight left. Was some fool caught in a sinkhole?
"I say," he called, "is someone else out here?"

Sol tensed up. He quickly pressed his cloak against his wound, to try and stop some of the bleeding, before getting up quietly. If someone saw him, especially with his monstrous appearance... gosh, that wouldn’t be good.

Jova craned his neck, spotting a dark shape lying prone among the brush and mud. "Hello there!" He started toward it, resting a hand on his rifle. "What are you doing on the ground, good chap? Are you hurt?" He stopped several feet short of the figure, keeping wary. It was foolish to trust the Hollow, even in daylight.

Sol quickly looked this guy up and down. They noticed the hand on the rifle, and growled.

“What’s it look like, idiot?”

He figured that, if the others wanted a monster, then that’s what they were gonna get.

Jova frowned at that. Whopping rude, that was. "Seems as if you are, but I can't bloody well see any injuries with you flat on the ground like that, can I? No need to toss the decorum, sir, I'm sure--" He stopped as he saw the horns protruding from the man's head. "--I say." Jova's hand flickered from the butt of the gun to ready position. "Er, if you don't need any help I'll just be on my way, old sport. Sorry to have bothered you."

Sol blinked a little as Jova backed away. It was the appearance. He looked down. He hated the thought of being alone again. But he felt like he had to be on his own. He wasn’t sure why, maybe they felt as if they had to act all tough, but it was the feeling he felt. He quickly took back the tough persona and shot Jova a small glare before turning to leave.

Jova responded with a tight smile, then whirled and began walking east as quickly as he could. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't friendly and certainly didn't want his help, and he had much more pressing matters to attend to.

Sol sighed as he looked down at his wound, starting to pay closer attention to his surroundings. He needed to find a way around this bramble. But how...? It seemed endless. He’d certainly get lost if he went around it... he looked down at his whip. He took it out, and swung it at the thorns. They were destroyed. He knew what he was doing now! He kept going at it.

Jova could hear the creature struggling to free itself (himself?) from the brambles. That was only mildly concerning; he was fairly sure a bullet would stop the thing in its tracks if it attacked, but for now he was content to put a distance between the two of them before that happened. The center of the marsh wasn't going anywhere of course, but Jova really wanted to get a move on.