Forsooth, to Slay the Beast! (IC)

[Supercape]

4th February

Rene turned over another dusty tome. His books on magic were not very complete, and he swore to himself that he really must start setting up a proper base at home. As it was, it was only really good for living in and painting in.

The house was luxurious. A listed building full of "character" with a sea view. It was also disorganised and full of junk, but that was the way he liked it. Perhaps he should get a butler or something. Right now, what he really needed was a well stocked library full of arcane tomes.

Marcus' beast rune was painted on to a canvas for him to peruse. Almost without thinking, yet gazing at the hypnotic rune all the time, he started painting.

It was a scene of mayhem and violence, not easy to discern, but it appeared that some beast was being slain by a medieval knight. For some reason, Freedom City was in the background, and it was not hard to see the forest the battle was taking place in was none other than Wharton Forest.

Rene picked up his phone and dialed for Marcus.

"'Allo, it iz Rene. Do you fancy, 'ow you say... a Picnic?"

[GranspearZX]

"A what?"

Marcus had spent most of the day buried in his sketchbook. It wasn't entirely unusual, especially not recently. He was in his dorm room, his roommate was gone... really, he was having one of his better days, and was extremely reluctant to go anywhere. Still... he didn't mind Rene's company, giving him little reason to say 'no'. Especially not to free food.

"Alright... picnic, huh? Just tell me when and where."

[Supercape]

"Wharton Forest" replied Rene "and I don't know where. We may have to look for ze right spot. Somewhere high, with a good view of Freedom City" he said, scrutinizing his cryptic painting.

"I hope you can drive, because we may have to drive around ze forest. And I hope you are fit, because we may have to do a little of ze walking. How my old bones will cope, I don't know. I'm a helpless old man, you know!"

Rene started packing a small hamper of wine, bread, and pate. Well, if they were going to tramp around Wharton Forest on the basis of some ill formed painting that had jumped from his unconscious, they would need refreshments!

[GranspearZX]

"Yeah, I can, but... ...right. Okay, I'll be there."

Marcus's car wasn't much to look at really. Left to him by his father, he hadn't really had much occasion or reason to drive. He actually preferred to get around on foot if necessary--mostly because of the nature of his powers and the fact that he couldn't drive in bear form. He at least knew the best way to get to Wharton; he and his father had gone camping in those woods plenty of times. He'd heard of people being attacked and harassed by wild animals before, but he'd never had that problem... in hindsight, he wondered if his father had something to do with that.

He had time to prepare, so he grabbed a few things; by now, he actually had tools that he could carry around with him. His book, bag, and staff were all he really needed... at least, he hoped so.

[Supercape]

Rene took a rather despairing look at the car. In truth, he didn't own a car himself and it had been decades since he had driven: and the cars of today were a lot more reliable than the clunky ones of fifty years ago. He actually quite liked the beaten up old car driven by Marcus.

"Hmph. Spared no expense I see!" he said, getting into the car with as much irritation as he could muster. "The seat is not so comfortable. It will play havoc with my back. I'm on old man, you know!". Once in, he strapped himself securely into the seat and stretched out his feet in a most relaxed manner.

"Drive on" he said, waving his hand vaguely in the direction of Wharton Forest.

As they were driving, he is explained his painting. "I do not know exactly what it means, but I was pondering the Beast Rune and how to understand it, when I painted the scene in Wharton Forest. Perhaps something is connected, but I do not know what..."

[GranspearZX]

Most of Marcus's belongings were in the back, and he'd brought extra things just in case. Mostly a change of clothes, just in case, and his staff sat across the back seat. His spellbook and knapsack were on the floorboard behind the passenger seat, and he took stock of where everything was, leaving plenty of room for Rene to store his own stuff.

"Hey, it gets me from point A to point B... Don't insult the car." It was his father's car, after all; he didn't look directly at Rene, but his eyes narrowed a little bit.

"So, let me get this straight. You dragged me off campus because there's something out in the forest that might try to kill us. That about sum it up?" He chuckled, though in reality the revelation was kind of worrying. If Rene was seeing some future event based on focusing on that rune, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what kind of craziness he was driving into. "Geez. I wonder if I should've called somebody..."

[Supercape]

"Heh. Call Yourself. Thats what I did!" grunted Rene as they went over a bump. "I think you are the man for the job, to disentangle the mystery so speak. "

When they reached Wharton forest, the pair continued to drive through for several minutes until they reached high ground. Rene asked Marcus to stop.

"Here is as good a place as any. Its on foot now. "

[GranspearZX]

"...well, it's probably too late now. Cell phone reception out here is usually pretty bad..."

Marcus stopped the car, not entirely sure where they were. He supposed that in the grand scheme if things, it didn't really matter. He got out and grabbed his stuff, stuffing his keys in his pocket and slinging his staff over his right shoulder.

"Right. Lead the way, then, Mr. de Saens."

He had no idea where they were going, but he was sure Rene had a better idea than he did. Whether or not that was comforting remained to be seen.

[Supercape]

"Oui, oui, onwards!" said Rene confidently.

He had no idea where they were going, or indeed why, or indeed if they should at all. Ah well, he had learned to follow his nose over the years. If nothing else they would have a picnic.

And after about an hour trudging through the forest, that was precisely what he intended to do.

"Curses!" he muttered "these knees can't take it any more. I'm all for staying active but this is intolerable!" he swore in French a little, before sitting down on a fallen tree. "Lets take a break. I don't even know what we are doing here. That's magic for you. As Socrates said, wisest is he who knows he does not know!"

He opened up his hamper and started pouring some wine.

"A little refreshment, Monsieur? Are you appreciator of the grape? but of course you are. A fine Claret here..."

[GranspearZX]

"Are you sure you're up for this?" He frowned at Rene; Marcus was inclined to hand him the staff he was carrying to see if it would help. He was, admittedly, a little tired from the hike, but not THAT tired. If he had to guess, they'd walked several miles into the woods... No reason not to use his powers.

"I'll... pass on the wine, thanks." He smiled. "Never been much for alcohol."

He closes his eyes and extends his right hand outward, breathing slowly as he allows the Beast Rune to take over. There's a brief flash as he changes, wisps of light swirling about him as if his very soul were changing shape. When it ends, he was standing there as Arcturus. If anything, he actually seemed bigger than when Rene had met him...

Arcturus frowned, sniffing at the air. "...I really need to get out more. I can smell something but I have no idea what it is. This is the first time I've been out here in these woods like this." He moved a bit closer to Rene, sniffing to be sure it wasn't him. It was some kind of animal... just what kind, though, he didn't have the slightest clue...

[Supercape]

"Animal?" answered Rene "really?" he had been enjoying the Claret just a little too much a popped a cork back in the bottle, thinking of the lovely bread and pate he had.

"Animals..... in the wood.... well I nev..."

He was about to continue his sarcasm, when he spotted three almost rabid dogs growling at him several feet. They were quite regular dogs, at least physically, but looked mad, scared, or possessed - he couldn't tell which.

[GranspearZX]

Rene's snark and sarcasm was making the big bear's eye visibly twitch. He put a paw to his forehead and sighed, still very much in control for the moment. He started to say something but noticed the stray dogs.

This deep in the woods, he was wondering why strays would have even been an issue. It was odd, but he doubted it was really all that uncommon. He moved, positioning himself between Rene and the dogs, staring at the pack...

"Ten bucks says it's your food that's drawing them, Mr. de Saens..."

[Supercape]

"Please call me Rene" answered the mage, eyeing the dogs. They looked aggressive but three dogs were hardly going to be a match for him. He slowly spread some Pate on a piece of bread and offered it to the dogs, who merely growled and barked.

"Suit yourselves" said Rene, eating away slowly.

Without averting his eyes from the canine's, he addressed Marcus "is this what you smell? or is there something more... something that has upset these creatures? whatever it is, there is something fiendish afoot here, I think..."

[GranspearZX]

"It's not them, it's... nngh..." Arcturus was clearly getting annoyed; he was trying to tune out the barking but it wasn't happening. He turned around, glaring daggers at the three stray dogs. "QUIET." He gripped his staff--it was nearly as tall as Arcturus himself, an it had transformed into something sturdy enough for him to use without breaking it. If nothing else, their incessant noise was going to attract even more unwanted attention...

[Supercape]

Rene watched as the dogs backed off from Marcus' command. They actually turned and fled, clearly recognising an apex predator when they could see one.

"So, there is something else here, oui? Something that has put the fear into those Dogs perhaps? We should be on the alert... are there any tracks? or something you can track by scent? It's been a while since I hunted in a forest, I'm afraid. "

[GranspearZX]

"Yeah, it reminds me of... well, me." He lifted an arm and sniffed at himself. "No, it's not me... Definitely smelling something hairy though. It'd have to be big to be this strong..."

He paced around a little bit, understandably impressed with himself as the dogs fled. He wished he could at least attempted communication with them, but this worked just as well, he supposed. He tried to pick up some sort of trail, sniffing at the air before settling on a direction. "I think I know where to go now... We'll rest here until you're ready. Let me know if I need to carry you or somethin'..." He didn't really want to, but he figured he may as well offer. Arc had his doubts about whether or not his newest ally was really up for a longer wilderness hike, and already he was thinking about the trip back...

[Supercape]

Rene huffed and puffed but was able to keep up as Marcus followed some kind of trail.

Of course, he took the oppurtunity to moan about every ailment he could think of, both real ones and ones he made up.

"These hills, they are playing devil on my chicken-swahili disease, you know... I'm an old man...."

Enjoying himself as he was - the view was magnificent, the exercise invigorating, and the making up of imaginary ailments amusing, he was distracted, and didn't pick up on the threat. His mind's eye would normally have detected the ambush.

A rustling, a roar, and three man-beasts, all fur, fangs, and claws, jumped from the foilage at the heroes!

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus was certain that Rene was deliberately trying to drive him insane. He was admittedly pretty twitchy, although that was actually more of his human mannerism. The beast within was virtually unaffected by Rene's rambling... until he smelled something. Gripping his staff in his right hand, he saw them charging--werewolves. Or at least, what he assumed were werewolves; his normally analytical curiosity was replaced by the realization that there were three snarling, clawed beasts charging at him and Rene.

He was surprisingly adept at using his staff and spun it over his head, charging forward before taking a baseball-like swing at one of the werewolves, aiming to crack the thing right over the head with the rune-etched quarterstaff.

[Supercape]

Rene cursed himself for not paying more attention. He had been enjoying grumbling too much. In truth, his hips were twinging a bit.

And now, one of the man-beasts had clonked him over the head with a powerful swipe and had sunk his teeth into his arm. Fortunately, his protective Talisman flared reactively, its mystic power warding of tooth and fang. If not, an altogether different type of claret would be decorating the forest.

His young friend had been much more keen and alert, and his staff had been equally keen - the blow sending one of the beasts sprawling into a tree, nearly splitting it with the force, and knocking the creature out cold.

[GranspearZX]

"HEY! Paws off the old man!" Arcturus moved back, just enough to avoid a swing aimed at him by the other conscious werewolf. Focusing on Rene's attacker, Arcturus crossed the distance between them and threw a hard, sweeping hook at the beast's head. He definitely wasn't pulling any punches.

[Supercape]

The hook caught the man-beast squarely on the head, and sent him tumbling head over heel, to land in a awkward pile, completely unconscious from the force of the blow.

Rene turned to face the last beast, and in his mind, painted a stream of vines from the nearest tree that strated to wrap themselves around the creature. He hadn't counted on the beasts uncanny agility and ferocity, as it twisted out of the snare and tried to sink its teeth into Rene, but this time to no avail, still fighting off the creeping tendrils.

[GranspearZX]

Arc moved with a surprising amount of precision for a beast his size, and he reached forward to grab the werewolf, leaving his staff on the ground while wrapped his huge furry arms around the beast. It thrashed in protest but it wasn't going anywhere. It was clearly in a murderous frenzy, but he didn't want to dispatch the thing right away... He wanted to know where it came from. His mind turned, for a moment to the three dogs he'd scared off earlier...

...nah. Couldn't be.

"HEY! If you don't calm down, you're gonna get REAL intimate with a tree, understand?!" The threat only garnered more thrashing from the beast, unable to strike back with the enormous bear holding his arms against his body. It wasn't going anywhere, but that wasn't going to stop it from trying, jaws snapping between barely intelligible words. Arc was pretty sure he heard 'kill' in there somewhere, among other things--none of it was encouraging.

He huffed, tall enough that his grip was holding the snarling beast off the ground. Ark looked at Rene, a single furry eye ridge raised. "You alright over there?"

[Supercape]

Rene nodded "Oui, Oui, my friend, thanks, it seems to your timely intervention. It seems that the Beast Rune iz powerful indeed. It has made you more than a match for these creatures..." he indicated the two unconscious creatures, the cracked tree, and the third beast held in Marcus' Iron like grip.

"Now then, what 'ave we here. What do you think? something very strange. But it seems my intuition was not entirely wrong... there are beasts in the woods today... not entirely beasts, and not entirely men. And sorcery is afoot... a spell of transformation, perhaps?"

[GranspearZX]

"Good question." Arcturus tightened his grip, noticeably compressing the smaller beast's form and forcing a painful yelp from it as it squirmed in his grasp. Bearhugs were especially effective if you were... well... a bear.

The Beast Rune shared a remarkable similarity with lycanthropy. It wasn't contagious, but it exhibited a lot of similar traits to the magical disease--heightened aggression, a change in physical form, and often a mental atavism that tended to drive once logic-driven men into murderous rages. Marcus had become exceptionally well-read on the subject in an attempt to gain more control and understanding of his own powers, and while he couldn't be rid of the Beast Rune, lycanthropy could most certainly be reversed through magical means. It took so much time, though, that doing it on a scale larger than a one-on-one ritual was practically unthinkable. Removing lycanthropy was saving someone; removing the Beast Rune could be potentially fatal. Both were practically curses--a fact that Marcus didn't really like to think about.

"Where'd these three come from anyway?" He looked down at the held beast, watching him wear himself out with trying to fight his way out of the bearhug. "I don't suppose you're gonna tell me, are you?"

[Supercape]

"I don't think the beast can even talk. At least not more than a few words" muttered Rene, dusting himself off. "I don't suppose your unique abilities include some kind of connection with such creatures do they? You handles those dog's pretty well. Hmmm. Something had them spooked. Like these things. "

He examined one of the unconscious beasts. "Still has tattered clothing. Modern. Jeans, t shirt, that stuff. Not much left of it, but enough. These were people once. My gods, Marcus, we must try to reverse this!"