Private Hylands Ascent Chaotic Hibernation

[Sol]

Exploring, that's what Sol was doing. After spending some time in Falderen and collecting information on the most interesting places to go to in Terrasphere, she decided on heading to the Hylands first. And that's how she found herself near the Ascent, carefully climbing up the side of mountain to see what she could find. Sol was the most interested in discovery- Seeing unfound sights and maybe even putting them into physical pieces of art, using the world around her as inspiration and coming up with pieces she'd never even thought of before. She wasn't super interested in having her name printed in the history books, but was more than happy to just help others do so. It was less about credit and more the experience for herself and what she could do with it, where she could go, what she could see.

Carefully jumping from one surface to the next, she continued to make her descent upwards being careful as she went. The Hylands Ascent was a weirdly shaped land, something she'd never seen before and could only be mustered in a video game. Stopping for a moment, she looked below at the slanted shaped forest nearby, wondering how the wildlife here even found it possible to live, Do plants even grow well on a surface like this? Well, no matter. Facts and reality didn't really apply here as much as they did in the real world, but that's what Sol liked about it. For an artist, it was an endless world of possibilities, and she felt as if she hadn't even gotten to the fun part yet.

Moving swiftly up to a higher perch, she looked out from the slanted surface and out across the land around her. It was beautiful, the sun was just nearly moving to set, causing an almost picturesque image in front of her. Smiling softly to herself, she paused for a moment to take in the view, moving some hair out of her face as the breeze picked up and pushed past her. She'd definitely had to remember moments like these to translate into an art piece.

She took a couple more moments to commit the scene to memory before turning away and continuing to move around the rocks. She'd long since gone off one of the various obvious paths up the mountain in favour of maybe finding one of the rumoured caverns in the side. Looking up, she finally spotted it: A hole in the side of the mountain. Another smile crossed her face as she maneuvered her way over before finding herself standing on the platform in front of the entrance, looking inside, It's dark. Good thing she had Pyromancy. Holding out the palm of her hand, a small fireball flickered and sprung forward to life, moving atop her hand as if dancing. And with that, she stepped inside, entering the cavern.

She stayed close to the side, holding her flame up to the wall closest to her as she studied her surroundings. She wasn't quite sure what she was looking for, but she felt as if she'd know once she saw it. She'd heard of a hidden Citadel deep within the ascent that people were still working on, gathering information and research, as well as the inscriptions dwarven people of the past had left written on the wall, Wouldn't that be a sight to see?

It wasn't only until a bit into the cavern, she suddenly bumped into something. She had been so focused on the wall that she hadn't even noticed the figure laying on the ground in front of her until her feet bumped right into it. Moving quickly backwards, she held out her flame in front of her towards them, her finger on her other hand moving to her palm in a defensive stance, ready to summon a weapon if possible, "Whose there?" She called out in front of her, not really expecting for them to reply but more or less expecting them to at least wake up and fight her if need be. Or maybe it was just someone who needed help. Either way, Sol wasn't taking any chances.

 

[Schilva Flasch]

Money. Why did everything have to be about money, even in a videogame world? Honestly, you'd think that an illustrious Traveler like himself would be given equally illustrious concessions in the bastions of civilisation he was supposed to defend, but no, no, 'get out of the tavern if you don't have the coin', 'what are you doing in my barn', 'the stables are for horses not you'...

Bitterly poor and hungry, Schilva had tramped his way across most of Solvale, miraculously without getting into more trouble than being shooed out of several establishments where he'd tried to find shelter. At this point, he had to resort to hunting wild animals, foraging and digging up roots to barely keep himself going, lacking much in any sort of currency to buy proper food. At least he'd managed to learn the basics of what plant and animal life in Astorea (that's what this region was called, apparently) was good to eat from the frequent meetings with scattered Lander (which is how NPCs referred to themselves) homesteaders and countryside roamers.

Sure enough, sleeping under the stars had its thrill and Schilva was more than happy with how he'd been able to connect with the Landers of the world, but the fact remained that he was a evil-slayer and swordsman before a chef or survivalist. At some point, the story of 'noble swordsman toughing it out in the wilds, rejected by naysayers he saved with his own blade' gets a bit implausible, especially when he'd not been actually doing much saving or slaying with his blade.

Still! A master swordsman would never resort to begging or crime! Hitchhiking and harnessing the power of unreliable NPC word of mouth, Schilva had managed to get word that some Travelers had gone to someplace called the Hylands in search of valuable monster parts like harpy talons or whatever. Point was, that was apparently the place to be if he wanted to come into some money, so to speak. Two days in the back of a mildew-scented wagon was worth it if he could get a windfall out of cutting down some dumb birds on a mountain.

Unfortunately, by the time he arrived at his destination, it was already too late to climb the whole thing before nightfall, especially considering the naturally difficult terrain. Seriously, everything was just trying to get in the way of his inevitable ascent to greatness! Without much in the way of illumination, Schilva could only toss in the towel when night fell and hole up in the closest cave he could find in his fatigued haze before falling asleep, too exhausted to log out.

When he came to next morning, the sunlight spilling in from the cave entrance had been blocked by a figure standing over him and a foot prodding him in the side.

"Not right now...can't you see I'm sleepin' here..."
Grunting dismissively and preparing to roll over again, something clicked in Schilva's half-asleep brain and set his heart pounding.
"...!"

Roll over he did, but in the same motion he'd draw his blade, a little wobbly on his feet and dark circles under his eyes. Bedhead and drool off the side of his lip on display for the horned newcomer, Schilva shivers a little in the cold morning air and shoots a question back.
"Who are you, and what's the meaning of this? Who rouses the great Schilva Flasch from his repose!?"

@Sol

 

[Sol]

When the mound on the ground spoke up, Sol tilted her head to the side, her alert expression replaced with a more confused one at the mumbling below. Did he... Mean to be sleeping here? Well, to each their own of course, maybe he liked the feeling of the cold cave floor more than one of a soft fluffy bed- No, that definitely wasn't the case. Maybe he was homeless? Well then, couldn't he just log out? This is a game, after all. She felt more confusion well up in her chest as the questions began to grow in her brain, her stance loosening up for a moment. But in a second, she was at alert again, especially when the figure got to his feet and started brandishing a weapon at her.

Her foot slipped into a more aggressive stance, finger pressing hard into the palm of her hand as she opened her mouth to prepare to answer his aggressive question, eyebrows furrowed into a serious gaze as she looked forward at him. It was then that she actually got a good look at him- Bedhead, drool, and all. She seemed to visually pause for a second, before a small noise rang out in the momentary silence between what he last said and the moment at had.

"Pfft-"

Moving her hand that had been ready only a moment ago to form a weapon, her hand moved to her mouth, covering her lips as her body trembled gently, eyes squeezing shut slightly as she tried to control her laughter. He looked down right ridiculous, so much so that she couldn't even take him seriously. And his way of speaking- He had to be one of them rper's, right? Opening one eye to look at him, she straightened up her body to compose herself, taking a small deep breath as she turned to fully face him, holding the flame out to light up both of their faces. However, her mouth ended up looking kinda awkward as she did so, a smile daring to breach her lips as she studied his expression once more.

"It's Sol, my bad for running into you during your... Beauty sleep," she stifled a giggle once more as she struggled to stay calm, but soon was able to return back to relatively normal, crossing her other arm over her chest as her hand rested on the arm that held out the flame, "You can put away your weapon, I mean no harm. Any reason why you've decided to sleep on the floor of a cave?" she asked him genuinely, looking around there surroundings once more before looking back towards him.

A smirk danced across her face as she raised her fingers to her lips, pointing to the corner and making a little wiping motion, "Also, you got a little something. Right here." She felt as if he might be someone who could be fun to tease, and Sol was never against using the opportunity to throw someone for a little loop, if just for a moment.

 

[Schilva Flasch]

Hostilities seemed like an inevitability for a second, even his boast about his bloodthirsty blade that 'could never be drawn without intent to kill' forgotten in the moment. Schilva had not forgotten that this game had killed before and likely would kill again, but after the haze of panic passed he recognised his own mistakes and backed down.

First of all, if this...goat-person wanted him dead, then she would probably have done something to that effect before bothering with waking him up. Secondly, he shouldn't have pushed himself that far. He had to make sure to never fall asleep while logged in at such a dangerous locale; this wasn't a farmhouse barn rafter he'd managed to get onto or the back of someone's cart that he'd managed to sneak into, this was some godforsaken cave in the Hylands wilderness. A sword couldn't cut anything if its wielder was asleep, no matter how fast.

So, thankfully, he hadn't been the target of any lethal intent. It would be highly embarrassing if he, master swordsman Schilva Flasch, got mauled in his sleep, just because he collapsed without logging out in some dingy cave somewhere. With that out of the way, Schilva rubbed his eyes and yawned just in time to miss the newcomer losing her composure at his raggedy state.

"Bwuhhh...Schilva Flasch, master swordsman-to-be, slayer of evil, et cetera."
Rubbing the gunk out of the corners of his eyes, Schilva clicks his tongue dismissively at the inquisitive jab, his stance relaxing as well as he leans against the cave wall.
"Twas not anything so trite as a 'beauty sleep' that you happened upon. Through the long night I had journeyed towards this daunting peak in search of a worthy foe...guuhhh..."

Unable to hold back a second yawn, Schilva sheathes his sword and blinks the tears out of his vision.
"Normally I do not draw my blade so lightly; its hunger for battle is vexing to tame. You are lucky, Sol, that its appetite for blood is not so great in the light of day."
It's not until he regards Sol again that his face reddens slightly, seeing her gesture. Stretching while surreptitiously scrubbing the drool off his face, Schilva hopes that the shadows of the cave in firelight might be enough for his embarrassment to be concealed.
"Such was the nature of the journey that I took, that I could not spare to lack vigilance on the long road. I merely borrowed this cave for a moment of respite before-"

thud

"What was that?"

thud-thud

Schilva looks behind him, into the darkness beyond Sol's firelight. The thudding emanating from it seemed to grow louder in response. Looking to the Beastfolk with an uncertain nervousness, Schilva's hand would wander back down to his sword again while backing away towards the entrance of the cave.
"Sure as you would want to ask now, we can talk about me later. Seems I've...overstayed my welcome."

@Sol

 

[Sol]

Oh he definitely was one of them rper's. An amused expression glimmered on Sol's face as she watched him while he spoke, arm once again crossed over her chest as she did so. She had yet to meet someone so into their character in the game that listening to him speak with more than enough to entertain her. How did he manage to fit so many fancy, old English words into his sentences? Maybe she was just too young for this, however he didn't seem much older than her in the first place. Maybe he was in real life. Whatever it was, she was not upset at this development.

"Nice to meet you, Schilva. Thanks for sparing me my doom," she replied to him with a smirk, deciding to play along with him. It might be fun to act a little less realistic for a while and play to the sound of his tune. He had relaxed and stretched for a moment, and Sol could swear that she could see his face turn red as he did so. She stifled another giggle as she nodded in reply to what he had said, about to ask him for what kind of foe he was looking for and maybe make a comment about how comfy the cave floor must have been, when she was cut off by the sound of thumping. All amusement quickly drained from her face as she took on the more serious expression she usually wore, staring evenly into the darkness.

She glanced over at Schilva with a nodd, looking back into the darkness a moment after, "Good idea, lets get out of here." she said, also making her movement back towards the front of the cave. It was then that the thudding got louder and faster, causing Sol to turn her body completely around and shove Schliva out in front of her, "Go!" she barked at him, pushing him with one hands as the other moved to her side.

Quickly, she cut her nail into her palm, opening up a fresh wound in her hand. She winced ever so slightly but ignored the stinging from her cut. Again, the realism never failed to surprise her. It was then that the blood from her hand began to form and stretch out, before hardening into a long sword like structure in her hand to which she held at her side as they ran. It was then that the two arrived at the small plateau at the entrance of the cave, and Sol turned back towards the darkness, gripping her weapon in an attack position.

thud-thud-thud-thud

THUD

After the last final large thud, emerging from the darkness came a large, black bear. It landed with it's paws on the ground, staring at the two of them with red, angry eyes. Leaning forward for a moment, it let out a mighty ROAR!, so loud that Sol flinched in reply to to it and shriveled up her nose at nasty bear breath.

Glancing over at Schliva for only a moment, she kept her gaze trained primarily on the beast in front of them, moving her leg back to support herself. "It's either fight, or flight. We can run and see if it can chase us on the diagonal surfaces, or see if we can take it." Looking back at Schliva once more, she raised an eyebrow as if in a challenging matter, a corner of her lips pulling up if only for a second, "What do you say, Mr. Master Swordsman-to-be?"

 

[Schilva Flasch]

70 / 100

-30 from Bear Retal

"Alright, alright, I'm moving!"
Hurried along, Schilva keeps his hand on his sword and glances behind him to try and squint through the darkness. Bad idea.
"Ah...yeah, yeah that's a great idea!"

Glimmering eyes under a shaggy coat and a steaming cloud of breath are all the darkness betrays of the cave's rightful resident, but enough experience with RPG games and their starter foes already clued Schilva in to what this might be. Sure enough, they had barely made it out of the cave before the hulking figure of a cave-dwelling black bear lumbered into view.

Stopping just in time to stop himself from skidding down the side of the slanted cave entrance plateau, Schilva steadies his footing to keep himself grounded while facing an intimidating bear bellow. The aftermath of the ursine battlecry leaves him reeling from the smell as well, forced to put a hand to his nose and block out the foulness assaulting it.

It isn't hard to tell that it is very much furious at the trespassers upon its territory, especially by these two very vulnerable and edible humanoids so much smaller than itself. Its thought processes are not hard to estimate; as soon as I adjust to that bright fireball out there, I'm going to rip these idiots to shreds.

Even without Sol's prompting, Schilva knew that getting the fuck out of dodge was probably a good idea. In fact, were Sol not here, Schilva would probably already be zooming away out of this mess. However, he had another duty right now, and it would be severely unbecoming to flee in the face of danger when there was a helpless soul to protect!

"Fear not, hapless goat maiden! I shall strike this bea--!"
Lowering his stance as he makes his declaration and decision, Schilva is about to ready himself for a decisive strike, but the beast in question decides that's as far as he'll get.
"-ghak!"

Even Schilva's own reflexes seem to surprise him as the lumbering bear closes the distance much faster than anyone would expect of something that huge, slamming a gigantic forepaw down upon his braced sword.
"ᵃʷ ᶠᵘᶜᵏ ʰᵒʷ ᶦˢ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ˢᵒ ˢᵗʳᵒⁿᵍ"
Fortunately, that does leave the creature open, surprised that the cocky swordsman's spine is still in one piece.

@Sol

Rolls

Heavy Attack
1d100 (24) + 5 + 5 + 20 + 20 = 74
74 damage (beats bear's 40DC)
Schilva cannot move this cycle
Slash Weapons | Schilva Flasch | 230C1

Bear LP: 2/3
Retal: 30
DC: 40

Schilva's Loadout

 

[Sol]

70 / max

Rolling her eyes slightly at what he said but still impressed at his ability to stay in character, Sol turned her attention back towards the bear, "Sure, yah, lets go with that-"

She was cut off by a loud clang as the bear was suddenly right in front of the two of them, way closer than Sol expected it to by. Caught by surprise in the moment, she jumped away from the beast for a moment, her foot barely missing the edge as she slipped slightly. Throwing her arm out to the side and quickly catching her balance, she shook off her rising heart rate before turning her attention back towards the bear, trying to slow her breath. She shouldn't really be this scared, seeing as nothing could really happen to her, but everything was just so real that it kept catching her by surprise, I need to just chill out and focus. Beat the bear first, inward monologue second.

Speaking of the bear, it's paw was currently raised up in the air, about to come back down on a struggling Schilva. Quickly jumping forward and slashing up between the bear and the man, her sword quickly shed some of its blood to form a pointy barrier between him and the bear's, causing it's body and arm to come down upon the barrier. With a loud beast like grunting sound, it bounded back, clearing up the space between Schliva and it for a moment, "You good-"

Having angered the creature, it now turned it's gaze on Sol. Not even giving her a moment to speak, it bounded up and lashed out at her. In the same moment she jumped away, but it was not fast enough to avoid the oncoming attack as it's claws shredded into her arm, causing blood to splatter on both her, the creature, and the ground. Grimacing, Sol found her stance again, but she seemed to be smiling a little as she stared at the bear head on, Well, I guess this works in my favour anyways. Shaking off the blood from her arm more towards the bear, a flame formed in her hand at her side, ready for action.

@Schilva Flasch

Rolls

Protect
1d100 (61) + 10 + 5 = 76
76 damage (beats bear's 40DC)
Give 1 ally in your zone the Protected status (obv Schliva)
Hemomancy | Sol | 230c1

Bear LP: 1/3
Retal: 30
DC: 40

Play Sheet Link

 

[Schilva Flasch]

55 / 100

Protected by Sol
-15 from Bear Retal

Having never so much as thrown a punch at anyone in his life before, Schilva's whole being was being solely sustained by a mix of terrified adrenaline and the numbing sensation of still not being fully convinced that he could die in a game. With each passing second, though, that notion was becoming more and more convincing as his arms strained against the effortless strength of the foreclaws threatening to break his shabby katana in two. His knees felt on the verge of giving out as well, the weight of the bear soon to overwhelm him.

Willing himself to hold out just a little longer, a little longer yet, Schilva struggles to adjust his footing and stop himself from being crushed into the ground. The shifting of his blade cuts into the callused pad of the bear's paw, causing it to rear back and prepare a devastating second downswing with its uninjured paw. Schilva could only watch helplessly as the whooshing strike descended, arms shaking with exertion and legs ready to buckle. Maybe having his skull crushed would be relatively painless? Goddamnit, he shouldn't have turned off the Pain Limiter after all!

...but the dreaded impact never lands. Before his eyes, a flash of fiery red repels the strike intended for him, and both his silently pleading eyes and the bear's beady glare fall upon Sol. Stunned by the intensity of the sudden clash, Schilva is only brought back to his senses by the iron tinge of beastfolk blood in the air.

Hefting his sword again and letting out a hoarse battlecry to match the bear's roar, Schilva's sword flashes silver in the morning light as he dashes forward with speed that surprises even himself.
"G-GET BACK, UNWASHED BEAST!"

A streak of blood paints the cave ceiling as the point of Schilva's katana rakes a clean streak over the bear's face, cleanly blinding it in one eye. With an injured howl, the lumbering brute turns and flees into the darkness of the cave as quickly as it had shown its aggression, now turned to cowardice after being bested by seemingly harmless prey.

"Holy shit. Oh, fuck."
Collapsing onto one knee, Schilva digs his sword into the ground, the illusion broken completely for a second. Never had he had such a close brush with death itself before, and it wasn't an experience he was eager to revisit on such notice.
"I-I'm okay. I'm fine? I think? Thanks..."

@Sol

Rolls

Heavy Attack
1d100 (67) + 5 + 5 + 20 + 20 = 117
117 damage
Schilva cannot move this cycle
Slash Weapons | Schilva Flasch | 230C2

Bear LP: 0/3 (DEFEATED)
Retal: 30
DC: 40

Schilva's Loadout

 

[Sol]

☀˚̣⋅ .

But before Sol can strike again, and before she can set her fire ablaze with her Pyromancy, Schliva was suddenly jumping forward with a heroic call, landing a hit right to the bear's face. From that moment the bear quickly flees from the two, what was once a strong, scary enemy now as fearful as a small mouse. The flame in Sol's hand quickly goes out as she regains a more casual standing position, putting a hand on her hip, "Well, that was easier than I thought that would be." She mutters under her breath, finally returning her attention to Schliva.

He seems to be a little shaken from the encounter, and Sol smirked slightly at the way he seemed to return to being a normal, average player, if only for a second. Approaching him and reaching out a hand in front of her, she offers him to get back to his feet, "You weren't kidding when you said were a master swordsman, slayer of evil... Etc." Obvious maybe to him or not, she was being entirely joking when she spoke, another smile threatening to pull at her lips as she tried to push away any outward show of said amusement. She was more than okay with giving him the credit in the situation though, it was more fun that way.

Whether Schliva used her help or not, Sol stood up straight once more and willed her blood sword to crumble into dust, spreading into the wind around them. She stares out towards the view once more that had encapsulated herself earlier, before looking back at him and shrugging, "Well... It looks like I'll either have to find another way into the caves, or we both head down," There was always another day to explore, and Sol was more than happy to climb up and find her way up here again, "Hungry? I've got some food in my bag that I can share." She wasn't even sure really why he was here in the first place, but if he had been sleeping on the floor like that, part of her wondered if he really had much to his name, Are there other new players out there like that similar to him?... What an unfortuate way to start playing this game.

 

[Schilva Flasch]

"Easier than you thought? That was easier than you thought!?"
Parroting the words breathlessly, Schilva wipes his brow of the curtaining sweat that had broken during the unexpected encounter. Ignoring the hand outstretched with the intention to help him, Schilva slowly lowers his shivering hands to eye level.
"I can't feel my hands! Or my arms! Or my legs! Or my spine!"

As soon as he hears @Sol's compliment, though, he shoots up with his back straight as a board again, looking completely hale and hearty once more. His sword, left plant in the ground, is a clear affront to all practitioners to kenjutsu, but Schilva is too concerned with maintaining his credibility in Sol's eyes for that.
"Kidding? Well, I do like myself a jape every now and then. See? I'm fine. Have some faith in the Evil-Rending Blade of the Schilva Flasch!"
Kicking each foot back and forth while stretching each arm across his chest, Schilva grins cheerily, the earlier overreaction to his 'injuries' completely forgotten. With a plucky click of the tongue, he draws his sword from the ground at last and slips it back into his sheathe.

Peering up the mountainside, Schilva coughs and waves his hand in front of him a little to disperse the red dust that Sol's dispersed sword scatters.
"Head back down? But a hero never gives up! T'is not the way of Schilva Flasch."
Referring to himself in third person, egregiously enough, Schilva points all the way up at the cloud-hidden peaks of the Ascent.
"If what I hear is true, then other Travelers of our ilk have found their way up just fine. Surely t'is no great task for one such as I. For us, even, should you think yourself competent enough."
Adjusting his robes to be less haggard, Schilva turns to regard Sol with a smug sideways glance, unaware that the patch of sweat on his back is quite apparent even through the dark fabric.
"Save your rations for your own use, by all means; you have more need of it than-"

...grrrmmnnghhh...

Tightening the obi that served as his belt and held his two swords, one scabbard on each side, Schilva's expression visibly becomes strained with embarrassment as his statement falls through. He...hadn't had anything to eat in a while, in-game.
"So. Hey. Uh. What did you pack? Just out of interest."