Private Eastern Brisshal Bunny Slopes

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus awoke to another new day in Terasphere with bright eyes as he sat up from his makeshift bed. A few days ago he and his partner Corsair had liberated a woodcutters shack from a pack of murderous goblins. Over the next couple days they'd routinely logged on and worked on restoring it, bit by bit turning it into their own little second home together. It was rather cozy, if not still a little rundown, but the fact that he'd helped rebuild it with his own hands filled him with a sense of pride. As he stretched and went through his morning routine, he checked his bars to make sure all of his needs were met. Hunger was a little low, and so was thirst, so he raided his backpack for a couple apples and slurped down some water from his canteen.

Corsair, his robotic partner, was idling in the corner of the room at a charging station they'd constructed for her while she was logged out. Her magitec ran the defenses of the camp, and if she'd dematerialized they would go as well. He stopped and gave her hair a playful ruffle, something he wouldn't dare do while she was around for fear of her chewing him out, and shot her a warm grin.

"I'm off to do some chores Corsair. Give me a PM when you wake up."

With that he walked out the door and began to inspect the clearing. <Bloodless Wolf Spider> had constructed an array of weblike structures to detect and deter any visitors in the night, and thus far had done a solid job in doing so. He wished they were strung a little higher however, as he often found himself having to duck under the webs or step over them as he went about his work. He would chop some firewood, draw some more water from a nearby river, and then go check their garden to see if any new vegetables had grown that he might cook for breakfast.

That's when he noticed the problem.

His garden was in ruins, the dirt turned over and filled with holes. Most of his plants, save the mint, we gone. Pilfered by some bandit in the late of night. He grit his teeth and let out a feral growl. Somebody was about to have a really nasty morning. He found the muddy tracks of some rather...medium sized quadrapedal creature and began to stalk it out into the woods.

They would pay.

 

[Magdalyn]

The forest whispered around her. Leaves in brilliant shades of emerald and navy fluttered on their stalks, or waved from high atop the trees. Dappled sunlight sifted through shifting canopy, casting a kaleidoscope of shapes across the grass carpeting. Mags closed her eyes, standing stock-still as the breeze washed over her; it combed through her hair, and tugged gently at her loose-fitting blouse. To Magdalyn, it might as well have been a hug from a lover.

She drew in a long breath, filling her lungs with morning air, before exhaling on a contented sigh. She loved nature, especially forests, and Michigan had some beautiful ones. But there was just something…. different about Terrasphere’s natural beauty. The colors were just a smidge more vibrant, the scents just a tad more enticing. It called to her like a siren’s song. Could that be her new elf blood? Perhaps. Or maybe it was simply that she was back. After four long, horrible years, her virtual home had opened its doors to her once more. And now she never wanted to leave.

A new sound slammed her back to herself, her eyes springing open as she spun to her right. That rustle couldn’t possibly be the wind, and what in the world was that thumping sound? The footfalls of an especially large man?

Curious, Mags picked her way closer, brushing branches and bushes aside in her pursuit. As her gaze remained lifted, searching for said especially large man, she nearly tripped over the enormous, muddy footprint.

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus had a way of lumbering about the forest like a gorilla. His steps were heavy, his boots leaving large prints in the dirt and grass. It wasn't like he was worried about being tracked, as far as he knew he had no enemies so to speak aside from perhaps the local goblin clans and even then he was fairly certain none of them had the balls to try and take him on after the showing he and other adventurers had made squashing them like bugs.

So it was much to his surprise when he found a scent wafting into his nose from the wind. It wasn't a wolf or goblin, but a person. He paused, mid step, eyes narrowing a bit as he turned and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the trees were swaying in the breeze and the sun was shining. He debated drawing his canon from his inventory, but he'd been a little TOO gung ho about the gunpowder diplomacy for a moment. After a while of turning the idea over in his head, he simply took a deep breath and called out.

"YO!" He called out, "Anyone out there?"

 

[Magdalyn]

The single word boomed like a canon above the tranquility of the forest. Mags flinched away from it, though more out of instinct than fear. As the voice continued, the elf slapped her hand to her racing heart, willing it to slow its gallop. "Yeah," she called after a moment, once she figured her voice wouldn't waver. "Yeah, I'm here."

She knew the smart thing to do would be to search for the stranger. Or, at the very least, prepare herself for his arrival. He could be an enemy, for all she knew. So much had changed in four years - perhaps hack and slash was the new normal. Jumping innocent bystanders? But would he have announced his presence then?

At least, those were the questions Magdalyn should have been asking herself. Instead, the lanky woman crouched beside the footprint, fingertips gently tracing the lines and curves of the enormous mark. "Doesn't look human," she mused aloud, either to himself, or to her maybe-attacker, had he drawn near enough. "No real toe marks, either. I'd say rabbit, maybe. But it would have to be big."

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus lumbered towards the voice, a woman's voice at that, with the practiced grace of a bull in a china shop. When he found her he paused for a moment, she was an elf, the second elf he'd met, but she was also pretty. It was less her looks that stunned him, but more that she was one of a long line of pretty women he'd met. Sure, he supposed making your own form in VR meant that you could do whatever your wanted, he was a classic case, but he'd only taken some of his natural features and...machod them up a bit. He was beginning to think he was interacting with a whole bunch of horny dudes who wanted to be pretty anime girls, and that whole train of thought was unsettling. He listened to her talk as he approached, and then hunched over to get a better look at what she was talking about.

"Definitely rabbit," he grunted in affirmation. "Probably the one I'm looking for too, littl- er, big lil fucker wrecked my god damn garden. I owe him some payback."

He would offer her a hand up from her crouched position. "But where are my manners, I'm Brutus, Brutus Dahlgren."

 

[Magdalyn]

Mags winced sympathetically. "Oof," she muttered. "Super sorry to hear about your garden." She paused to motion to the print on the ground. "I figure the bastard who left a print this size must have been capable of some pretty significant damage. I'd be happy to help you find him, mostly out of my own morbid curiosity."

Finally finished speaking, the woman snagged Brutus' outstretched hand, and allowed the mountain of a man to tug her to her feet. At 6'2, Magdalyn considered herself quite tall. Brutus made her look like a child in running amuck in a Chuck E. Cheese. Seriously, how tall was this guy?

"Nice to meet you, Brutus." Mags dropped his hand, then instinctively wiped her palms on the seat of her breeches. The motion was entirely absentminded, as she tried to remove the dirt she'd picked up while crouching, but a particularly observant (or sensitive) man might take offense to her wiping him off her hands. "My name's Magdalyn, but most people just call me Mags." She fell silent for a moment, then added, "You know, I didn't actually pick a last name. I wonder if that's going to cause problems for me down the road."

She gave a soft hum of thought, then seemed to dismiss the notion. "I figure we follow the trail, and see where it leads? Should be straightforward enough."

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I mean, you can always just come up with one and introduce yourself as that." He quipped back. His eyes shot down to the track, narrowing as his gaze shifted in the direction. "And yeah, this is looking like a Rabbit of Unusual Size." Mentally he cringed, Olivier would never make that statement, but he was Brutus right now. Brutus said stupid shit like that.

He nodded in agreeance with her suggestion and began to stalk along the path, his eyes following a mixture of tracks and disturbances, pointing them out as he spotted them. The creature was an absolute unit of a rabbit, it's feet leaving heavy imprints in the mud, snapping some rather large branches that'd found their way to the forest floor, and even leaving trails in trodden grass. After a bit of walking, he found them approaching a large clearing.

"My quest senses are tingling..." he mused aloud, rubbing his chin. Turning back to her he realized he'd skipped a rather important step in them partying up. "On the off chance this turns into a fight, what sort of skills do you have?"

@Magdalyn

 

[Magdalyn]

Mags snorted at the man's reference. It was only fitting that she respond in kind. "As long as the R.O.U.S. doesn't go full Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog on us. That would be a pain in the ass."

As the pair neared the meadow, Mags could practically hear the increased tempo of the imaginary battle music. When Brutus spoke, it only confirmed her suspicions. "Don't worry about me," she answered, slanting him an amused sideways look. "I'll be able to hold my own." In demonstration, she lifted both hands, palms up. One drew moisture from the air, a small blob of water circling in a steady figure-eight. The other contained a small, flickering flame. "I'm halfway to being the Avatar," she announced proudly. "I'll be even better once I pick up a sword, but for now, these should do."

Tilting her head to study the man, Mags asked, "What about you? What are you packing?"

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

To answer her, Brutus simply pulled out his canon, carefully carrying it the same way that Elmur Fudd might carry his shotgun. The massive pillar of Iron and gunpowder glistened gently in the canon. He would casually stuff a canonball into it, making sure it was ready to lock and load.

"I've got a BFG for this BFR." He replied, a grin forming over his lips. "You drown him in a puddle and I'll blow him out of the water." He cracked his neck and burst into the clearing, drawing his gun on the would be foe.

The Rabbit was large, massive even. He was the size of a large pig, three feet tall sitting hunched and about five feet long. He was sporting large front teeth the size of daggers, and his front paws sported wicked claws. It's eyes were blood shot and red, staring daggers at the man who'd just entered. Brutus was ready, but had made one crucial mistake.

That Rabbit was roided out on buff herbs. He let out a blast and the Rabbit charged forth with lightning speed, biting at Brutus' ankles. The teeth tore into his skin, but he used the opening to punt the Rabbit into the air with a swift kick.

"Get him Mags!"

@Magdalyn

 

[Magdalyn]

No words were necessary - that massive gun said it all. Mags beamed a smile at her new companion. Between his firepower and her... well, literal fire power... they should be able to handle anything that the game threw their way. "Roger roger," she answered, extinguishing the fire in her right palm, and collecting another handful of ever-shifting liquid. It shouldn't take much, given the rabbit's size. Sure, the creature was large by rabbit standards, but it wasn't as if they were battling a ten-story tall behemoth.

Even as that thought crossed her mind, Mags realized how woefully underprepared she was. The bunny moved with impossible speed, fuzzy little tail wagging as it latched on to Brutus' leg. "Shit," she growled, grimacing sympathetically as her partner was assaulted by tiny rabbit fangs. But the grimace turned to awe as Brutus punted the creature clear into the air.

"Got him!"

The lanky woman sprinted forward, following the rodent's trajectory as she lifted both of her hands. Balls of liquid exploded from her palms, tiny water canons that continuously missed the target by inches. Mags cursed again. This would be a lot easier if she had a water source to draw from and-

Even before it hit the ground, the rabbit's legs seemed to be pumping. As soon as its feet touched dirt, it was sprinting toward Mags, teeth bared.

"Ah, screw it."

Two jets of flame blasted from her hands, bits of steam rising where the fire touched the water droplets that still lingered. Soon, the scent of burnt hair joined the steam.

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus hisses and popped another ball into his canon as Mags went about her work. This thing was fast as FUCK and angrier than sin. It dodged her attacks by micro adjusting his air tech with the thump of his tiny lil feetsies. When it landed, it practically wavedashed its way over to Mags who thrust out her hands and hit him with the flame on. He could smell the thing charring, but unfortunately he'd just eaten a bunch of fire resistance materials, making him an extra tough hare to cook. The creature hissed leaping forward, but Brutus swung his canon wide, and instead of hitting the creature, caught it in the barrel of his weapon. Grinning, he pointed the canon up and BLAM.

Shot that hare careening into the air like evil fucking kaneeval. He let out a gout of flame from his canon with his pyromancy to leave the thing coated in flame, but he could tell even with all that, the wicked creature STILL had a little bit of fight left in those stumpy little legs of his.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" He hissed.

 

[Magdalyn]

Mags leaned back, the flat of her hand shielding her eyes from the sun as she followed the rabbit's path through the air. A small part of her expected it to blast off Team Rocket style, disappearing with a shimmer and a tiny "ding" against the robin's egg blue sky. Instead, the critter plummeted back to earth, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. When it crashed down, a pile of smoldering fuzz, she had visions of planes shot down during the World Wars.

Of course, those planes didn't get back up after they fell to Earth. The demon rabbit from Hell did.

The muttered curses that fell from Mags' lips were quite similar to Brutus' exclamation. For the first time since re-entering Terrasphere, real fear began to lick at her. Clearly, blasting the creature with fire wasn't enough to put it down. The other ability in her playbook, hydromancy, would likely undo all of the progress they had already made – why put out the fire that might be doing some good?

"Uhhhh, thinkingggg," she declared, as if that might hurry the process along. With a flick of her wrist, a sparking, snapping whip of fire unfurled from her hand. "Indiana Jones," came her explanation, giving the whip a quick snap. Then she reeled back, heaved her weight forward, and wrapped the whip around the hare's neck. "I'll try to hold it still," she called to Brutus, gritting her teeth against the strain. "See if you can nail it with your gun again."

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"On it!"

This thing would give the Killer Rabbit from Montey Python a run for its money. Hopped up on 'roids and rage it had survived being shot into the sky, lit ablaze, and taken a whipping and kept on kicking. He was running out of option, so was his partner. He had to remember all of the things Corsair had planted in that garden. Various herbs of elemental resistance, something that would make a potion of health regen, ingredients for various stat buffs. He took a deep breath and charged.

Neither of them had any sort of debuff moves, so that was off the table., He would have to give it a simple, but effective throttling. He raised his canon high and swung with all his might, slamming into the restrained rabbit with all the might he could muster. The monster let out a screech, sinking slightly into the dirt from the sheer force of the blow. It let out a shrill hiss, still alive as it refused to die. Brutus raised his canon up once more and swung again. Over and over again, he slammed his canon downwards smashing the creature deeper and deeper until finally, with a loud crunch and a deafening wail, the creature ceased its gnarly gnashing of its teeth and constant thrashin of limbs and grew still.

It was finally dead.

Brutus, covered head to toe in sweat, let out a deep sigh and dropped his canon to the ground. He was out of breath and out of energy. After a huff and a puff, he turned to look at Mags and slowly began to grin, wearily raising a hand in a thumbs up.

"Good shit Mags."

@Magdalyn

 

[Magdalyn]

Heaving an enormous sigh, Mags released the hold on her magic. The whip sizzled and popped out of existence, just seconds before the woman bent at the waist. She slapped both hands onto her thighs, propping herself up as she gulped in lung-fulls of air. When she finally straightened again, her face flushed, she managed to return Brutus' thumbs up.

"Good shit," she echoed, nodding in a way that sent her mop of blue hair flopping into her eyes. The breeze that swept through the meadow felt uncomfortably warm against her damp skin, and she wondered if a cold shower was possible in Terrasphere. Or perhaps she could go for the next best thing.

"Hey," she began suddenly, tossing her head to move her hair from her eyes. When she finally leveled a gaze on the other Player, she wore a smile. It was tired, and a bit droopy at the edges, but it was genuine nonetheless. "What do you say we celebrate our victory with a cold drink? We can cool off while figuring out how historians will write about this day in Terrasphere's history. Because that was definitely some high level boss we just killed."

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Aye, a drink and some food would sound good right about now."

They'd definitely just slew something, that was for sure. Whether or not it was a bug, or just a really big bunny, it'd taken more energy to merc than just about anything he'd ever duked it out with. The giant banished his canon into the ether of his UI inventory and then, in one fluid motion, shrugged off his jacket and also banished it to the ether. He was sweating bullets, the sheer exertion, plus the pyromancy had heated himself up quite significantly. Mix that in with the slight humidity in the air, and he found himself needing to peel some layers off quickly.

"How's drinks at the Cozy Nook inn in Honeyhome sound?" He asked rolling his sleeves up. "The selection isn't the best, but honestly they're cheap enough to make up for it and the inn keeper owes me a few frosty ones for finding his daughter when she wandered off into the woods."

@Magdalyn

 

[Magdalyn]

Though her mother had always scolded her for staring, Mags couldn't help it as Brutus peeled off his jacket. One less layer of clothing meant the man's barrel chest rose closer to the surface, and his shirt plastered to his flushed skin in an oddly appealing way. Who cared if his physique was likely a construct of the game itself? She could still appreciate it. She was a blip of data in a virtual world, but she still had eyes. And he still had pecs for days.

"Uh yeah," Mags finally answered around a tongue suddenly dry and sandpapery. She averted her gaze to keep from examining his bare forearms. "The Cozy Nook sounds good. I haven't been there in ages."

Rescued the inn keeper's daughter? That line drew her attention back, and genuine curiosity lit her vibrant kaleidoscope eyes. "You rescued his daughter? Was that a beginner quest or something? Honestly, I haven't spent enough time doing quests, so I probably missed it if it was."

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I don't know if it was a procedural thing or like..." He would trail off, waving his hand in the air. "Some sort of prewritten affair or not, all I know is some wolf chased her up into a tree and I managed to kick the shit out of it and bring her home unharmed."

He would shrug and slide a hand down the center of his shirt, knocking loose a few buttons and exposing his chest to the woman who he was unaware was eyeing him like a slab of meat. He had a need to feel a breeze on his sweaty form and was just about ready to do anything to feel a bit of comfort.

Using his pyromancy tended to spike his body temperature, which often required him to vent like the sussiest of imposters. He would lead the way, enjoying the morning air as they trotted along. Eventually Honeyhome would come into sight, the city slowly coming to life.

@Magdalyn