Complete Private Vintergard A Little Messed Up

[Yugam]

Yu walked over to Luthien, sitting quietly at a table, her arms still wrapped in bandages, with a couple of trays of food. He set one down in front of her, before sitting across from her. Honey ham and carrots, just as requested, with a cup of black tea that had been precariously placed on the edge of the tray, the only spot with any room for the cup. For him, just a chicken drum stick and a side of rice, with a cup green tea. Neither seemed to have much of an appetite at the moment, but they needed to keep their strength up for whatever came next.

"You okay?" the raven-haired man asked, not having had a proper chance to check in with the elf since she'd walked out of the medical tent. His clothes were still stained with blood. Mostly hers, he reckoned, though it was impossible to be certain. The whole relaxation tent had been soaked in blood after all. And it wasn't only afternoon.

The day's stress was wearing on Yu already, and the scouts hadn't even left camp yet. They were behind schedule. They needed to get behind the walls of the capital and back before nightfall, and yet, Yu had the distinct feeling that that wasn't going to happen. From what Yu knew, that was not an ideal situation for them.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Lúthien couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this exhausted, the day's activities having taken both a physical and mental toll on the girl. Soon as their little chat with Sven had been completed she had been more than happy to slump down on the nearest empty seat, immediately regretting the action seconds later as a pained hiss escaped her lips.

He'd asked what she wanted to eat, and although at first the elf had been reluctant she eventually agreed—the hunger metter at the corner of her HUD already dangerously low, and the only food she'd had in-game so far had been the morning's breakfast. By the time Yugam returned with two trays of food the elf had chosen to rest the left side of her head against the table, giving a soft nod in response when the hemomancer asked if she was alright before straightening back up.

"Yeah... just tired."

It was then she noticed all the blood stains around his clothing, much like her own, and the elf couldn't help the concerned look that crossed her elven features at the sight. The tray with her food was gently pushed closer, a low sigh escaping the elf before she finally picked up her fork and began picking at her food.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Yu gave the elf a small smile. One of disbelief, but it was better than the alternatives, he supposed. He too then picked up his fork, carving out a little clump of rice for himself and putting into his mouth. But eating even this felt like a chore. Brown eyes glanced up at the elf as she picked at her food, hardly eating. Not that Yu could blame her at all. A concerned look fell on his face, but he didn't attempt to push her to eat.

"Hey," he said to her softly, drawing her attention. "What happened in there?" The man understood that talking about it right might've been a bit...difficult, at the moment. But an attack. In camp. With no trace left behind? That spelled out a whole lot of trouble. For everyone, Traveler and Lander alike. And the only thing that Yu had managed glean from the blood echoes had been some kind of space altering, magical attack. But even then, they should've seen someone nearby. Yu had been trying to piece it together in his head ever since he'd dropped Luthien off at the medical tent, but nothing, absolutely nothing made sense to him.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She'd eventually stabbed one of the carrot chunks with her fork, a piece of honeyed ham already secured, before the elf placed the bite of food in her mouth. Usually she would've enjoyed this, but right now everything felt tasteless in her tongue—even the tea she had enjoyed in the morning felt bland as she took a few sips from her cub.

"Hey, what happened in there?"
". . ."

The question had been more than expected given, well, absolutely everything that had transpired—but how could she explain it without it all sounding absolutely foolish. "I could try to show you...?" It had worked with Sven, somewhat, though given the pained look in the man's face shortly afterwards Lúthien wasn't quite sure how uncomfortable the experience might be... for Yugam or for herself.

"I'm not sure I'd even know where to start if I tried putting it all into words."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

She didn't answer at first, her eyes fixed on the plate of food. Patiently, Yu waited for her, picking up the glass of tea. Just as he put the glass to his lips, she answered him. "I could try to show you...?"

Yu set the glass back down, giving the girl a confused look. "Show me?" he asked, not understanding how that was even possible. He hadn't mentioned the blood echoes to her before, and even if she had, that wasn't quite something Yu wanted to do again. Using that affliction on Luthien the first had felt...wrong, accidental or not.

"I'm not sure I'd even know where to start if I tried putting it all into words."

The man reached out and placed a hand on the girl's arm, giving it a gentle squeeze, careful not to aggravate any of her wounds. "Whatever you're comfortable with," he said, eyes meeting hers to let her know he wouldn't ask anymore of her.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She could see the confused look on his face, and honestly no one could blame him. Lúthien herself hadn't expected her little stunt to actually work on Sven moments before, and even now the elf wasn't feeling confident enough that she could pull it off again. A hand reached over to her to carefully squeeze a part of her arm that wasn't covered in bandages, her own hand reaching over in response as she held onto his wrist softly.

"A-Alright..."

The warmth of his skin against hers was comforting, before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Like before she tried to reach out with her consciousness for Yugam's, managing to find it with relative ease, and for a moment Lúthien thought it would actually work... until she felt a sharp pain in her forehead.

"Nnngh!"

Her reaction was instant, the fork clattering onto the tray of food before the elf's hands rose towards her face, pressing on both her temples in an attempt to try and dissipate the stinging sensation.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Yu watched as Luthien closed her eyes, appearing to focus intently for a moment. Figuring that the woman was trying some form of mindsend trick again, or perhaps whatever it had been that she had done with Sven, Yu stayed silent, letting her do her work. At least, until she let out a sharp cry of pain.

Her hands pressed to her temples, Yu reached out, leaning across the table to grab her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, concern written across his face.

When it had appeared that Luthien had recovered from whatever was bothering her, the man sat back down in his seat, looking around himself briefly. His sudden movement had drawn the eyes of some of those around them. Ignoring the prying gazes of others, Yu leaned forward slightly. "What happened? Didn't work?" he asked uncertainly, still not entirely sure what it was that she had been trying to do.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She felt the hand squeeze on her shoulder, her eyes slowly opening to see the concerned look across Yugam's face as he asked if she was alright. "Y-Yeah, just tired I guess..." A side-glance showed that quite a few people in the busy tent were now staring in their direction, the elf's shoulder stiffening in response as she remembered the request of the Commander towards them.

By then the man had sat back down, choosing to lean forwards slightly as he spoke up, before Lúthien gave a faint nod in response. < I wanted to show you the vision we had like I did for Sven... but this time it made my head hurt. > There was a pout to her lips, the girl unable to keep her frustration from fully showing.

< With that woman's help we kinda scryed into the beacon assigned to us... and instead of the King we saw what looked to be a Magia caring for a massive magitech egg... >

A hand reached over to pick up her fork once more, thankful it hadn't stumbled off from the table, before she began to pick at her food once more. Occasionally the elf would actually take a bite, forcing herself to consume the meal that her in-game body required even if Val herself wasn't in the mood.

< ... but then it looked like she saw us too. She called us Saviors before suddenly moving, and the connection got severed all of a sudden... by the time we came to our bodies were already cut and bruised. >

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Y-Yeah, just tired I guess..." the elf muttered quietly. More than one part of Yu didn't believe her though. While she was certainly looking fairly ragged due to...whatever it was that had happened in the tent, now wasn't the time to push for more information.

And then her voice spoke in his head. It was a bit less shocking, now that he knew who it was that was speaking to him, and he could actually recognize the voice in his head. But nonetheless, Yugam's eye darted up to hers, the faintest look of surprise on his face.

Once the initial surprise had subsided, Yu made to look as if he was focused on eating, all the while processing what it was that she was telling him. A frown settled on his face as his brows furrowed. There was absolutely nothing in what she had just told him that wasn't a cause for concern.

"Mind if we talk once we're done eating?" Yu asked, eyes glancing up at her. To anyone else, it probably just looked like a couple of people who needed to talk about personal matters, or maybe a couple going through a rough patch.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She could tell her message had gotten through to Yugam when his eyes quickly darted towards her own, the faintest trace of surprise present in them that causing the elf to give him a faint apologetic smile in return. < Sorry... > She continued to pick at her own food, the occasional bite taken here and there as they continued to eat in silence.

Unfortunately for them both the elf's trait didn't allow Yugam to respond back to her messages.

There was a frown on his face, his brows furrowed, and the elf felt she could probably take a few correct guesses at what was going through the man's head. "Mind if we talk once we're done eating?" Her eyes glanced up from her plate to look at Yugam, the elf picking up on what the hemomancer was attempting, before she played into the part with a slight nod.

"Y-Yeah, we can talk after eating..."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The two continued to silently eat, still out of necessity than any actual desire for food. Despite that, Yu left almost nothing on his plate by the time he was done, just the singular chicken bone and a few stray grains of rice.

The man picked up his cup of green tea and drank it all down. "Whenever you're done, I'll take the tray's back," he told Luthien, and soon enough, she too was done. Just as he had said, Yu got up and returned both trays to the kitchen before returning to Luthien's side. "Right, let's go."

Staying nearby, in case Luthien wanted to use him as support, the pair walked back behind the parked wagons again, the site of their first in-game encounter. And a place proven to be private enough to hold this discussion.

"Ok, so first let me see if I got all this right," the man said. "There was a magia, with some kinda giant magitech egg, she somehow saw you guys, called you 'saviors' and then somehow forced you guys out of the scrying...thing. And when you guys came too, y'all were on the ground bleeding? Is that right?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

For a moment she felt like a child again, struggling to finish a plate of food that she wasn't particularly interested on. Eventually she also completed most of the food in her plate, only a few rounds of carrots left that she hadn't bothered to finish. The black tea was drunk, before Yugam returned their dishes to the kitchen. She'd walked besides him as the pair had made their way back to the parked wagons, both feeling confident enough in the privacy afforded from them after their encounter that very morning.

"Well, we also did a spirit seance to a backpack that Zelrius bought before that. I don't think she was too happy about it, apparently it was a deceased spirit that got smashed by a... watcher?" That sounded about right, if the elf's memory wasn't playing tricks on her, though she wouldn't blame Yugam if the man thought Lúthien was trying to pull his leg for a moment with her words. "Later Rael voice mailed us about needing to find a player with high Astramancy, something about checking out that beacon spell the King was supposed to trigger to be located."

She described to Yugam how she'd thought it a good idea at the time to attempt connecting with the Magia via dreamshare, an elven ability known in game that Lúthien had unlocked. "When I came to there was a thin red string coming from my chest... and when Kyra found me she also had one too, so we followed it and that lead us to the pink haired Magia." She described how Rael handed Magi the scroll with the spell, the woman attempting to replicate or study it—Lúthien wasn't sure on those specifics—before the vision had suddenly triggered for all of them.

"Y-Yeah, you got that last part fully correct... and yes, I know it sounds absurd." A soft sigh escaped her lips as the girl carefully sat on the back of one of the wagons, her feet now swaying ever so softly off the ground. "Though I guess we got lucky? That was our ping after all, and I'd hate to think what would've happened if we came face to face with her."

There was a pause, her eyes trailing to a section of her HUD where the odd status was still displayed.

"... I think she also marked us."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

As Luthien explained everything to Yu, from top to bottom, the man squeezed his eyes shut before casting a wide-eyed gaze to the floor. "Wow, okay..." the man muttered quietly, his mind hardly managing to put together anything that the elf had just told him.

What surprised him the most was the mention of fate threads. No one else Yu had ever met even had that trait. But for an elf and a beastfolk to actually see fate threads? That was new to Yu, and the man had spent some time trying to find as much information as he could on the things.

But more pressing at the matter was the mention of this 'mark'. "W-what do you mean you're marked?" Yu asked, concern written all over his face as he took a step towards the elf. "Are you guys safe? Is she gonna start hunting you down or something?" If that was case, screw the scouting mission. The enemy would be coming to their front doorstep anyways. And there was no way in hell that Yu was about to let some metal bitch hurt any of his friends. Especially not Luthien.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She could see him trying to piece all the information together, the elf shooting Yugam an apologetic look in return. "S-Sorry... I didn't think that stuff would spiral out of control like that." There was a sense of guilt that washed over the blonde once more, especially considering she had promised to be careful when playing this game.

"W-what do you mean you're marked?" Lúthien winced slightly upon hearing the question, the concerned look on Yugam's face plain as day to see. "Are you guys safe? Is she gonna start hunting you down or something?"

"I don't k-know...?" The elf couldn't help bite her bottom lip in worry, eyes straying back to the corner where the status was displayed. She had noticed shortly after waking up, but had chosen to ignore it then in the hopes that it would clear off with time. "It just says that we've been seen, followed by some question marks."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Yu sighed as soon as he heard the elf apologize. "Don't apologize," he said, casting a kind smile her way. It wasn't her fault anyways. Not like she could've known that a creepy ass robot woman would be watching them anyways. Or that she could apparently attack them from who knows how far away. The whole thing sent shivers down Yu's spine. If the Vintergard Magia could do that, who knew what else they were capable of.

"Fuck..." the man muttered leaning his back against the wagon. A cigarette eventually found it's way to Yu's mouth, the familiar sound of a match being struck following, the orange glow illuminating his face. A cloud of smoke hung in the air silently for a few moments before Yu finally spoke. "That's...ominous," the man muttered before turning to looking at the elf. "I doubt it's nothing but...we don't know enough to know what." Yu took another drag of his cigarette, a scowl on his face as he did so. A part of him wanted to stay, to make sure nothing bad happened to Luthien. But he had an obligation, a reason for being here at Camp Hope in the first place. One he couldn't just abandon. Yugam hated not being able to do anything in this situation.

"Promise me something," he said, looking at Luthien again. "If something happens, something you guys can't handle, you'll get the fuck outta Dodge, and message me as soon as you're safe. Promise me."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

There was a faint look of surprise on her elven features when the man asked her to not apologize, the words being the last thing Lúthien had expected to hear. She had thought he would've been upset, perhaps even angered, that in the span of maybe two hours tops the elf had gotten into such a clusterfuck of a shitshow—and in the middle of Camp Hope IV no less, no one would've probably expected such a thing. Instead he'd offered her a kind smile, and it took every ounce of self control the elf had to not lean closer and steal a kiss from his lips.

"I haven't checked with the others, but I'm assuming they probably have the same status on their UI..." A curse tumbled out of his mouth before the man reached for his pack of cigarettes, one of them soon finding its way to his lips before he puffed on it for a moment. "Besides what are the chances she'll come all the way over to camp? Wouldn't she have done that already if it was possible?"

Not to mention the many players and Landers currently residing in it, if anything this should be the safest place to currently be at in all of Vintergard.

"Promise me something..." She listened intently as the man spoke, the concern he displayed causing her heart to flutter as she softly nodded in response. "Promise me."

"Okay, I promise... but Yu, please, promise me you'll also be careful out there with the other scouts."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Besides what are the chances she'll come all the way over to camp? Wouldn't she have done that already if it was possible?"

"Well, what were the chances that she could attack you guys from miles away?" the man countered, taking another drag of his cigarette. "I think we're past just chances and what may or may not be possible," the man said, a grave look on his face. "I don't know if she is or isn't able to just warp over here or something, but I'd rather we not take chances. The best course of action is to start preparing for the worst." Ideally, that would've meant evacuation preparations, alongside a strong defensive line. However, Yu had the feeling neither of those things would be happening.

Careful? Careful was something he could do. Reaching out, the man took the elf's hand in his, squeezing it firmly. "I promise," he said with a small nod.

@Luthien