Private Eastern Brisshal A Starting Point

[Siondhe]

Kyra glanced down at the scythe in her hand, the black metal shaft meeting dark violet blade that almost seemed to shimmer in the glint of the light, the curved blade at the top round back into a point like a hook. The entire thing was almost the length of her arm, small in comparison to most scythes she'd seen in other games, but complimented by the chain that dangled from the shaft, ending in another dagger like point. She'd figured out that with the right movements, right reactions, she could use the chain as an off balance strike.

"Rather handy, I guess...if used in the right way." Not that she was sure she could use it in the right way, yet. It had been a few hours since she'd landed in the game, and she'd only recently managed to find the weapon itself - luck bringing her upon a travelling individual willing to part with it. Still, she knew there was more to learn, more to see, more to experience. "More than just this damned forest, and never ending road. There has to be!"

Her tail twitched as she glanced around, the newest piece of her form giving sign to the agitation she'd been feeling since she'd lost sight of the others she had met in the game. She was sure they had to be around here somewhere, if only she could figure out where here was. "This would be the perfect time for some guide, or for a quest to appear, or anything that would lead me away from being lost. Seriously. Anything, anything at all!"

 

[Cain Darlite]

If it wasn't for her heightened aural senses, perhaps she wouldn't have heard it coming. The rumbling of earth, the groaning of roots. But despite all that, there was still something missing, something that prevented an immediately effective response from formulating in Kyra's mind.

That something, put simply, was experience.

And in this case? The specific experience of having the earth rupture a mere dozen meters away from her as a mass of roots sprung out with the destructive grace of a dolphin breaching the sea. Except the dolphin was easily the length of a school bus and, if one correctly understood the siren-cry of the magical eye that sat at the center of its form, was filled with a rage most homicidal...towards the man clinging on top of it, a flagpole jammed deep into the writhing roots. Tall, dark, and handsome, Cain Darlite rode atop the plant-based monstrosity with one hand on his Battle-Banner and another on his hat, midnight-hued hair streaming wildly against the crisp blue skies.

It would have been picturesque, and perhaps even fun, if viewed from a safe distance. But there was no safe distance when the landing point this earth-swimming root-treant was exactly where Kyra stood, a fact that Cain himself recognized, his expression doing a 180 from exhilarated exuberance to immediate urgency. The tip of his banner blackened, gravity multiplying manyfold, and he leapt sideways off the back of the beast, using the length of his instrument as leverage to twist its form away, falling off in the meanwhile.

The monster smashed into the earth once more, burrowing deeply but missing the scythe-wielder by two meters, while the muse landed nearby with much less destructive force, rolling into a recovery before springing to his feet with such grace that it looked as if part of a routine. He looked around, eyes flickering from one sound to another, anticipating another attack, but...only silence.

A sigh. It was hard to tell whether it was of relief or disappointment.

"Apologies my unannounced entrance," Cain said, adjusting his hat so that it sat on a slant. "Are you quite alright, miss?"

 

[Siondhe]

Her mouth hung agap as she stared at the man in front of her, her mind trying to register what had just occurred. She'd seen it - she was sure of that. She'd heard it, her ears had made her painfully aware of the rumbling, the crashing, the very entrance that had occurred. Yet, she still couldn't quite believe what had just occurred.

Was she alright? Was she? She'd just seen a man erupt from the ground, on what was essentially a rock dolphin, only to roll to the ground before her, and ask her if she was alright? A heavy sigh, before she beamed a smile at the man, hoping that the twitching agitation that was her fox's tail wouldn't cause the man to realise her inner turmoil.

"I'm alright, I think. Just a little...well, I guess you could say surprised! It's not every day you see a giant rock-like dolphin appear from the ground, only to have an individual perform a spectacle-like entrance, rolling up before you."

She cocked her head to the left, eyeing up the individual. She'd still not run into anyone of danger here - although she'd only been in the game for a short time, a few hours at most. But safety was always the name of these online entities.

Almost unconsciously, she flicked the chain on the scythe, letting it rattle slightly in the air. She'd no intent on using it, simply agitating the piece in a nervous tick. Her eyes darted around as she remembered why she'd come out here. Although she was reluctant, she knew there was no other option, and so she spoke her question with a breath of hesitation.

"I...actually, you wouldn't happen to know...where the nearest civilised centre is, would you? I'm...well, I'm fairly new to the game, and I've been wandering around...well, for a while now. I've run into a few others - mostly lost travellers like myself - but...well, I've gotten nowhere! Even with directions. Although those were about as helpful as a fire in a desert..."

 

[Cain Darlite]

Oh, a lost newbie? Cain's eyes flickered from the quality of her weapon to the erratic twitching of her tail, then towards his surroundings once more. The Scarwoods, marked as they were by apex predators who claimed this strip of nature as their own, certainly wasn't the sort of place for a newcomer to wander aimlessly through, and at this point, the Root-Leech Treant that had been his personal quarry was looking more and more like a lost cause. A bit of a shame, but he could shelve that task for another day.

Player lives came first. At least in comparison to low-scale environmental damage.

"Ah, if you're in search of civilization, then allow me to be your guide." He stepped back and crossed his rear foot past his front foot, bending his knees and inclining his head. "I'm Cain Darlite, a muse gradually reclaiming his infamy as the Flagbearer of Miracles. Eastern Brisshal has become somewhat more dangerous compared to the years past, but Honeyhome, the lovely little hamlet that many newly-fallen Starcalled make as their initial proving grounds, remains both a well-protected sanctuary and a conveniently close destination."

Well, being a sanctuary depended largely on whether or not the Starcalleds' relationship with the Wild-Druids had soured or sweetened over the years.

"I suppose you've made your descent here with little research and much enthusiasm, Miss...?"

 

[Siondhe]

The man spoke as if one who was well versed in the themes of roleplaying games, accenting the warm greeting with what Kyra could only assume was a well practiced, well maneuvered bow - as if the man himself had trained for many a year in order to perfect it.

Her torso bent at the waist, she leaned forward with a smile on her face - less a bow, and more a typical forward lean of inspection. She cocked her head to the left, her tail twitching slightly behind her as she considered the man before her. He seemed nice enough, and she saw no immediate concern...

"Kyra. Kyra Vashtana. Kyra works, though. It's a pleasure to meet you...Cain? Cain Darlite? Uhm...yeah, I'm fairly new...I recently err...fell in? I was with a group a while ago, but, we all got separated once we reached this one place...I had heard that there was another spot nearby that would be interesting, but no one else wanted to head there. Did you say Honeyhome? That does sound familiar..."

She pulled up her map again, glancing at it briefly before closing it with a sigh. The entire thing was still mostly covered with the fog of undiscovered, a term she had coined in annoyance. She doubted it would be of any use for quite some time.

"What is one such as yourself doing out here, anyways? And...what was with the giant earthworm? Not that it wasn't a spectacular entrance, albeit somewhat adrenaline causing in appearance."

She felt her ears twitch in response to the words, the telltale sign that she'd spoken something of an understatement. She was more surprised that she hadn't picked up the sound of the creature before its eruption, making her wonder if there were limitations on her abilities here.

 

[Cain Darlite]

"Not an earthworm, but a Rootleech Treant. The Scarwoods, guarded as they are by the wolf pack who culls and protects the species within as necessary, remain vulnerable to parasites of the vegetative and invasive side. As wolves cannot dig into the earth, it becomes the work of adventurers to fight these subterranean treants and end them before they can further proliferate their vampiric spawn."

There was a pause, briefly, as he considered sharing his own map's information with this Kyra Vashtana. But despite the annoyance reflected in her crimson eyes, adventure and discovery was something you could only experience once, treasured moments to be shared with like-leveled companions. Not to be ruined by the self-satisfied assistance of a muse like himself. Not, at least, unless she asked first.

But there was that twitching of the ears too, a too-natural swiveling that accompanied those who had bestial organs that were meant for function as well as form.

"If you are...curious, however, would you be willing to assist me in hunting once more this overgrown weed, Kyra? My own ears, as they are, appear much less sensitive than yours."

 

[Siondhe]

She listened intently as the man explained the Treant, it's impact on the natural world and the adventurer's own part in ensuring that they were properly culled and managed - as if the players of this world were expected to somehow maintain and take care of the world itself. She nodded as he spoke, memorising the words as best as she could, her ears twitching in response, and her tail swaying slightly behind her.

"Interesting, so you're hunting them in order to ensure the ecosystem remains in balance, and isn't overridden. Much like we would cull certain invasive species in the real world..."

Her thoughts - aloud mumblings as they were - were interrupted when the other player suddenly requested her assistance in hunting down the creature, paired with a semi-hidden comment of embelishment regarding her natural skillset. She felt herself flush slightly, and her tail twitched faster behind her as she tried - and failed - to hide her embarrassment at the attention.

"Well...I don't know much about hunting these...Treants...but if all you need me to do is hear where they are...I think I could do that...is there any specific sounds they make? Like a call? Or is it just the rumbling beneath the ground? Do...you know of any specific areas that they tend to gravitate towards? Or perhaps commonly travelled routes, or paths? Or...any sort of verbal calls they make?"

Her mind had already begun racing, even as she spoke her questions. Atop her head, the ears twitched as they seemed to twist in place, her eyes closing over slightly as she turned her focus towards her hearing - listening both for the response from Cain, as well as any sign of the creatures below the ground.

 

[Cain Darlite]

Cain couldn't help but chuckle at the barrage of questions that came his way. It was good that Kyra was a quick study, even better that she homed in immediately on the most pertinent details of the work involved. But, perhaps, in the case of the purple-haired beastkin, a desire for conversation and clarification obscured the simple truth that laid at their feet.

In this case, all he did was gesture towards the schoolbus-sized tunnel that the Rootleech Treant left in its wake, before stepping down into it, offering one hand to help her with her own descent. In his other hand, the Battle-Banner thrummed gently, motes of starlight shedding out from the sharpened tip.

"Our task at hand only has to do with this particular Treant, Kyra. As such, we mostly just need to follow this tunnel that it has so kindly dug out for us. The nature of its methods of communication, sadly, remain frustratingly obscure even to scholars and druids, owing to the liminal space their occupy as a treant driven mostly by instinct. But your ears will be key to warning me of whether or not it has doubled-back to charge at us." He tapped his fist against his chest, the sound echoing like a drumbeat. "And so long as you can do that, you can trust on me to handle the rest. Does that sound acceptable, m'lady?"

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

She glanced down at the ground beneath their feet, the tunnel plain and obvious to anyone who had eyes. She felt herself flush slightly in response, her cheeks going a light red in colour. Nodding, she moved towards the hole, before stopping - a look of curiosity on her face. She opened her mouth for a moment, considering her question, before speaking it aloud.

"So...we have to go down into the hole, after it? And...you mentioned that no one really knows how they - or if they - communicate? Has no one really researched into it, or has the answer simply eluded everyone? Could it be that there's not enough ground work...? Or perhaps limited contact...or maybe the wrong environmental factors..."

She drifted off into a brooding state, her eyes focused on the hole in the ground as she considered the possibilities. The idea of determining something that no one else knew being entirely too exciting. She wanted to leap into the hole, but wasn't sure it was such a good idea. She eventually broke her gaze away, turning to look at Cain with a look that bespoke of excited hesitation.

"Would you be against trailing it for a bit, to see if we can get any sort of insight into its behaviours and...maybe make some records and stuff?"

She turned a pleading look towards the other, hoping that it would help her case. She tilted her head to the left, folding her hands in front of her and twitching her ears; her tail swishing behind her in a lowered manner.

 

[Cain Darlite]

“The Rootleech is a mixed existence. It is not a construct, guided by binary laws inscribed to it by its creator, nor is it a beast, born organically through generations of necessary evolution. It can not be considered part of nature, of course, parasitic as it is and having none of the abilities that plants ought to have, but it similarly is capable of self-replication and proliferation, discounting it as a curse or a spirit. As such, those who have tried to research how these monsters communicate have been confounded by the unexplained medley that is its existence.”

Cain paused, noting Kyra’s own hesitation. The Starcalled that he knew would be chomping at the bit to hunt and kill a weird little monster, but for her to pursue knowledge over loot...well, he supposed that with MIT gaining power recently, perhaps Terrasphere was becoming attractive to those who sought to uncover mysteries and break down this world into tangible, sensical laws. And if that’s the case, well, what was a Flagbearer to do other than concur with the decisions of his charge?

“I would not be against such investigative work myself, no. In actuality, Kyra, the commission I took specified that the corpse of the Rootleech be brought back in as intact a manner as possible, to allow for the dissection of this fusion of unnatural elements. If you are willing to delve into recording the living behavior of such a monster, I’m sure that will be in the spirit of the inquiry as well.”

After all, if it was just a matter of killing the Treant, he wouldn’t have been trying to ride it back to Honeyhome anyhow.

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

She gave a single, curt nod. From the sounds of it, her intent of not harming the creature was likely to be cast aside, by her will or not. She gave one final glance around, before deciding it was best just to get this venture over and done with.

"Just...don't let it eat me, okay? I'd prefer not to Fett this thing, if at all possible..."

She gave one final sigh, before making her way into the hole. She strained her ears, listening for any signs of vibration, or...well, anything that would signify that something other than herself was down here. For a while, there was nothing. A few moments passed, and she was just about to take her first step, when she heard...something.

"It's dark down here. Watch your step...and uhm...we're not alone down here. I think. At least, I can hear something up ahead..."

She strained her hearing again, trying to hone in on whatever the noise was. To her, it almost sounded as if something was...grinding? Or perhaps rocks rubbing together? She wasn't going to find the answer here, and placing her hand on the wall to her right, she took her first step.

"I'm going deeper."

Her voice carried the fear that she felt, and she knew that the other would likely pick up on it. Still, she pushed forward. There was something to find, something to learn about, and she'd damned well be at the forefront of that. If she had any say, in anything.

 

[Cain Darlite]

"Careful then."

Cain pressed his hat against his head as he stalked after Kyra, his own senses more attuned for fluctuations in the magic within the dank atmosphere of the tunnels. There was, perhaps, a part of him that felt bad for throwing her into the deep end of things, but considering what it was that they were chasing down, it was unlikely that the monster itself would turn to attack them. It was a Rootleech, after all. An anomaly that couldn't be slotted into any particular category, but similarly a creature that could only exist like a herbivore did: by draining the life out from unmoving creatures. Perhaps it possessed speed and strength, a talent for burrowing through earth, but in terms of instincts?

It had no reason to kill, for it could not eat.

The darkness deepened, no matter the light cast by the stars that Cain drew forth to light their path. Uneven as the subterranean retreat of the Rootleech was, it was still easy for the two Travelers to make out the smooth grooves dug into the earth, easier for them to notice how clean the tunnel was. As if the majority of the dirt, rather than being displaced by the movement of the treant, was absorbed instead, leaving no trace of soft earth in its wake. The sounds of grinding grew louder in time though, and as it did, Cain snuffed out the illuminating stars one by one, until soon enough, only the distant glow of crimson could be seen.

The Treant was near.

He took the forefront, and together, the two advanced upon their quarry. But there was no need for violence yet. After all, his charge had something she wanted to learn.

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, allowing her to catch the grooves and lines that stood out against the darker portions of the tunnel, as if wandering through the forests at night. Distinct shapes, forms and details unclear, but general outlines more than visible. It was offputting, to say the least.

She continued onwards, leading them forwards as they pushed on through what Kyra had now deemed the Ever-Under-Dark, an area that was lost to the world above, leaving them in a collection of darkness that would consume anything that wasn't willing to fight against it. She appreciated the lights that Cain was able to provide, as minimal a difference as it might make.

"I think I see something up ahead."

She whispered the words as the crimson glow started to appear at the edge of her vision. At first she'd thought it was simply her eyes adjusting to the dark itself, but now she was starting to wonder if it wasn't a light being produced by someone else - perhaps other travellers or Starcalled?

Before she could turn to ask, Cain had passed her, moving himself to the fore and leading their way towards the ever growing light. Kyra had half a mind to protest - it had been her job to lead them through the dark, had it not? - before she remembered that this was his venture. She was here to provide some support in the dark, but in the end, this was Cain's hunt. She settled herself back behind the man, content to remain silent in her arguments.

That glow is definitely getting stronger though...and Cain taking the lead...is that the thing he was riding on? She resisted the urge to ask her question aloud, knowing that the man would likely be concentrating on any dangers ahead of them. She felt her hand drift down towards her scythe, naturally reaching for the weapon as she felt the adrenaline begin coursing through her body.

There was no immediate sign of threats, but it was never bad to be careful. She kept her ears up, twitching constantly in the semi-dark as they searched for any sign of concerns, or threats. Before she even realised it, she'd spoken aloud.

"There's something moving...in the walls? It sounds like...scratching...right here."

She placed a hand on the wall to her right, the palm resting flat as she tried to feel anything beneath it. Aside from the cold of the dirt, she was disappointed in her search.

@Cain Darlite

 

[Cain Darlite]

Whisper. Chant. Prayer. Incant.

Shadows coalesced around them, the air stilling until it became solid. Spells of darkness and harmonics snuffed out any sign of the duo's approach as they reached the dead-end of the tunnel that they pursued the Rootleech down into. Cain's eyes flickered towards the direction of Kyra's hand. If it could burrow so seamlessly, mayhaps it possessed some innate geomantic ability as well, allowing it to fuse itself with the earth rather than simply smash head-first through it. In that case...

"Allow me, Kyra."

From his battle-banner, the Flagbearer pulled off a stray strand of the astral weave, whipping it through the darkness before bestowing it over the beastfolk's own eyes. Like a blindfold, it shuttered her vision immediately, and like a headset, it granted her new vision immediately. The darkness was replaced by a blue-hued world, speckled with stars. Divination too, was the domain of Astramancy, and from divination came the gift of farsight, not just temporal, but also spatial.

Past the superficial layer of dirt now, she could see it. Coiling its tendrils around yet another set of roots, that crimson light gradually trickling up the tree that it was parasitizing. The Treant once more, content to feed despite what it had suffered from not even an hour before.

But perhaps there was something more to be gleaned from this. Perhaps divination offered a deeper message than just a surface-level reading.

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra Vashtana

220 / 220

She'd given a small yelp as the cloth was placed over her eyes - a momentary darkness that was darker than anything they'd just travelled through, and then suddenly, a blue-hue that bespoke vision. Confused, unsure, and entirely at a loss for what was going on, Kyra glanced around - realising suddenly that whatever had been placed on her, was allowing her to see.

It was then, that she realised she wasn't just seeing, it was something more. The rocks, the wall, everything around her was there, but...somehow she could see beyond. Beyond the solidified surface that her hand still laid upon, to something that lay on the other side, shifting softly as it seemed to settle itself. She peered, considering the shape, the size, the overall appearance of what she was...

"Nine hells...is that the thing we've been chasing? It's right there...just ahead...wait. How can I see it? What is this? It's like, I can see through walls, or something. Like some sort of magical x-ray vision!"

She could hear her voice echoing back down the tunnel they'd travelled, but all concern was gone from Kyra at the moment - far too excited over this new discovery, this new ability. She wanted to know what it was, how it worked, what brought it to life - and what its limitations were. She turned her gaze around, searching for the individual who had guided her along this path.

"Everything is so blue...so...astral? I don't know how to describe it...it's...why aren't you blue?"

The words slipped out as her eyes laid upon the other individual, the sudden shift in colour, the unclear shape. Everything was different, and for some reason, it brought a sense of worry to Kyra's mind.

@Cain Darlite