LogFAQs > #904133570

Before long, the party came across the farmlands which had bordered the edge of town. The area was open and wide, just as Lady Maria's map had shown. From their vantage point up on the hill it had been easy to see that there were no threats in this big open space. Still, despite that, they wanted to send someone 'reliable' to secure the area and make sure nothing was hiding.

"As if anything could hide in a place like this," Punch grumbled to himself.

"Sir?" Tristan asked.

Punch ignored him for the time being. The fields were barren at best, rotted at worst. The place stunk to high hell, even more than the worst belly of the ocean. And this was coming from a man who had drowned twice... once in brackish water. He stepped over the pumpkins which had likely begun growing over a year ago and died almost as long ago. They were black and crumbling to pieces.

Scanning the area it seemed quiet. Almost too quiet. Perhaps it was just his nerves, or the fact that he was anxious for a good brawl, but Punch felt like there was more here than met the eye.

"Sir," Tristan called out again, walking faster to catch up with him. The two were now standing out in the field, about a quarter of the way across the full length of it.

Owen was hanging back away from the two and fiddled with his camera.

"Don't worry, kid," Punch told him. "If there was anything scary here, the others would have seen it."

"No, it's..." Tristan grabbed his sleeve and yanked on it. He regretted it when he saw the face that Punch made, but this situation was far more urgent than that. With a silent point, he directed the attention of Punch to the side of the barn.

There, clinging to the back side of it, was a giant moth nearly as big as the barn itself. Its wings were folded downward but flicked back ever so slightly from time to time. Whatever that thing was, it was definitely still alive. Neither Tristan nor Punch were men of science, and they had never observed a bug under a microscope before. Seeing the true horror of the insectoid body type on such a great scale had a notable effect even on Captain Punch.

"Blast me to hell. What is that thing?!" Punch blurted out.

At that moment the air seemed to shimmer and twist, like a heat mirage. Those two couldn't see it fully, because they were inside of it, but from Owen's perspective he got a better view. The wings of the great moth shook and spread ever so slightly, releasing some kind of... field. A dome formed around the barn and a large part of the field, capturing the other two inside of it.

It was hard to say what exactly was inside of that dome, but one from the outside could clearly tell that the inside and the outside were different.

Though, for Punch, he definitely felt the difference immediately.

There was a hard ringing sound in his ears. His eye twitched instinctively from the pain as he felt something warm inside of his head. Then, like a bug, little rivets ran out from the inside. That was a trail of blood dripping down from the inside of his eardrum.

"Kid, get behind-" he grabbed Tristan, but before he could finish that thought something else happened.

He heard a voice inside of his head. It spoke words that no human could understand, and yet somehow he understood it. The creature above, its black and round eyes without focus or purpose, seemed to be staring right at him.

//###//

The Old Inn, a more central location in the hamlet, and one of the largest buildings aside from Cain's estate. Jamison took stock of his surroundings as his companions were surveying the outside of the building. Unlike most of the others here, he was a Chief Inspector who worked with the city.
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~* Now I only see your dull imposter ~*
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