Dark Woods

Bloop-5 had never been in the presence of a being such as Mabus. The small machine gently whirred as it rose to almost-eye-level with Mabus, beginning it's path in a circumference to map width on it's way to height.

Alastor McNibmet was focused on his invention and was either too busy to answer Mabus Thumbnail at that moment or had simply not heard him speaking over the sound of his own clambering and tinkering. Mabus sometimes forgot that humans couldn't hear as well as elves, and was about to repeat himself more loudly when all of a sudden, Bloop-5 came to life and started hovering off the work table right in front of him, causing Mabus to forget what he was about to say as he turned his attention instead on the floating octopus-like machine as it whirred in mid-air, rising to almost-eye-level with the druidic dark elf. Mabus' pointy ears flickered slightly with curiosity, as if having a mind of their own which sometimes betrayed his feelings and emotions. It was obvious that Bloop-5 had caught him by surprise, as Mabus had not sensed another lifeform in the immediate vicinity so close to him. "Oh, well that's interesting. Hello there." Mabus said, still looking at Bloop-5, this time with more caution as he tried to determine whether the robotic octopus was a threat or not.

His golden eyes twinkled briefly, reflecting the light from the inventor's headlamp. Mabus appeared almost-pitch-black at night, but the dim light was enough to betray just a hint of blue tincture to his otherwise shadowy skin. If not for his shining eyes, silver nails and thin gold spiderweb-like decorative jewelry, he might not have been noticeable at all in the Dark Woods, having almost no silhouette which could be observed visually in the shadows. Thumbnail was in his own element, and when he spoke, he bore perfectly white pointed teeth vaguely similar to a piranha's jaws. This only added to his menacing appearance as his wide nostrils flared at the sight of Bloop-5, his 5.8 foot tall slender frame becoming slightly more tense while he glanced down at the seated inventor before looking back up at the small jellyfish-like machine that was whirring in front of him. His pointy ears were standing upright now as Mabus the Darkelf placed his right hand into his matte black robe, keeping his left hand down at his side. He had short but sharp silver nails on his left hand, which was just as dark as his face. But despite his angry expression, Mabus actually wasn't angry either. He just looked more phenotypically unfriendly and malicious, but really he was just startled and unnerved by the mysterious machine with the long spindley tentacles which he had originally mistaken for scrap metal, and was curious to know who or what this thing was.

You notice Primitive Arrow appear on the ground.

Dracosuchus has arrived, coming from The Hidden Glen.

Peter R. Sheffield has arrived, coming from Twisted Path.

Peter winces underneath his helmet again. Another headache, and he wasn't quite sure how he got here. He coughs once, and again presses his leather gloves against his metal temple. As he looks around, there are quite a lot of figures, both human and not quite human in various places in the trees. He stumbles through the dirt toward the three figures closest to him, his heavy metal boots pressing deep indentations in the earth. He gives a friendly "Howdy," to the figures, one of which looks like an... Octopus? The other two looked human enough, but as he got closer, he wasn't quite sure about one of them. He makes out pointed ears, and almost immediately asks, "Hey, Moon, is that you?" As he gets closer, though, he doesn't think so. They were dressed quite different.

He takes off his helmet in the hopes that maybe he'll be able to see better in the dark, but it doesn't help much. He says again, "Howdy, what are y'all doing here?"

Thumbnail stared at Bloop-5 for a moment, examining its structure while still keeping a bit of caution. After a moment, he withdrew his right hand from his black robe collar, holding a purple handkerchief. Thumbnail glanced at Bloop-5 with a bit of hesitation before moving his hand closer to it. He noticed that the machine was somewhat dirty and neglected, its strange small red eyes glowing rather dim, so Mabus used his purple handkerchief to wipe the octopus-like robot's face, polishing its metallic exterior in hopes that it might be able to see him better, and perhaps deem the Darkelf as less of a threat.

That wasn't to say there weren't hidden dangers in the forest. As he put away his handkerchief, Thumbnail's dark vision and elven senses started to kick in. He started to sense a powerful presence in the Dark Woods, one of great size and a familiar scent. "Dragons" he whispered to himself, becoming more aware of his surroundings in the dark. But there was something else closing in on his position. Thumbnail's pointy ears perked up as Peter coughed. Humans were always easy to detect, for even the stealthy ones were loud and smelled funny to elves. Thumbnail was able to detect him coming from a mile away, and could see Peter R. Sheffield approaching even in the dead of night. Thumbnail's golden eyes shimmered again briefly as Bloop-5 scanned over them, and he glanced down at the inventor again before peering into the Dark Woods.

Peter's heavy boots made quite a ruckus to the Darkelf as he approached the scene, greeting them from the darkness. Thumbnail stood there motionlessly as the man approached the clearing before stopping to remove his helmet. "Hello there," Mabus said calmly while looking directly at the man in the heavy armour. It was obvious that Peter couldn't see him very well in the dark, but Thumbnail's voice alone was enough to inform the stranger that he was not this Moon character. Mabus examined Peter's metal suit for a moment, but said nothing as he looked around, still sensing another hidden presence in the immediate area. The Darkelf was very keen and aware of the hidden dangers in the darkness, even if nobody else could feel it.

At that moment, Peter R. Sheffield spoke again. "Howdy, what are y'all doing here?" he asked. It seemed like a legitimate question to most people. "I should be asking you the same," Mabus answered. After all, Mabus was a Darkelf, and the Dark Woods were as natural to him as a fish in water. If anyone was out of their element, it was the strange inventor and the man in the metal suit. What were humans doing this deep in the Dark Woods at this hour of the night? Mabus found that to be quite suspicious and strange. After a moment, Thumbnail reached back into his black robe and pulled out a small glass vile with a cork in it, containing a strange glowing blue liquid which appeared to be some kind of elixir.

Peter pulls his handgun, a Desert Eagle chambered in .50 AE, and with one hand levels it in the direction of the sound. “Who’s there?” His head is spinning, and he can’t shake his dazed confusion. “Tell me where you are and what you’re doing or I’ll blow your chest in half.” He visibly falters, his hand dipping down as his fingers slacken before he tightens his grip on his pistol and raises his arm back to the aiming position. He’s never before realized how uncomfortable he feels in his armor, and with his left arm he reaches up and twists his helmet off, throwing it behind his head where it dangles from a leather strap. “Come out into the open where I can see you.”
He’s visibly sweating, and looks ill. His skin is very pale and he rubs his face with his other arm, unsteadily sweeping his shooting hand back and forth along his surroundings, despite how blurred they are in his vision.
“I’m not joking, I will shoot you if you don’t come out with your hands raised.”