Private Dunnstads Damnatio Memoriae

[Fina Drago]

‎

"You still haven't really explained why I can't go alone. I mean... What danger could there possibly be in a forgotten crypt that no one seems to even know about anymore? I think I can handle a few overgrown spiders or other pests that might have taken residence there..."

"Nay, Miss- you do not understand what I'm saying! It is not that this place was merely forggoten by the passage of time, it has been- ack, nevermind! Either way, we have already been informed that another individual has shown interest in this task. You two will accompany each other."

The levander-haired feline was arguing with a sleekly dressed clergyman of sorts, right in front of the church building as if there was no one else around. Details about the task were rather sparse as of now, which was always a bit frustrating. And when the church was involved, it was doubly so. As far as she gathered, the task was to retrieve some sort of ceremonial item from a crypt of sorts. And yet, they were insisting that this task was far too dangerous for a single individual.

Well, there was little to do if they refused to give her further details until her to-be-companion arrived. Squatting down in front of the flower field that adorend the side of the paved path into the building, she took in the lovely smell of blooming summer, before letting out a oud sneeze and a sigh right afterward.

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Adapting to incredible change in her life was starting to become alarmingly normal. Adapting to a change in her appearance, her very physical form, even more so. The aftermath of the ritual of separation was still felt keenly and strongly by Luna. She had her own body now, one that didn't feel like she was sharing it with a deceased passenger. No more was she shackled to the corpse of what she had once been unified with. Gone were the abilities she'd built up back then, the things she'd learned to do with that cursed and infested body she'd abandoned.

It had seemed to be a good idea, seeking out an easy job in order to get used to the changes she'd gone through. Luckily the forms were similar. Still a woman. Still a Beastfolk. Tigress had been replaced with Lioness. The unrelenting raw physical power she'd held was reduced, but still there, bolstered now by something she was having trouble deciphering or recognizing. It was almost vaguely akin to that feeling of the old Arcanamancy, back before the servers had been cut.

Yes, more practice would be needed. Even the way she now wore heavier armor, adorned with metallic platemail rather than the old clothes she'd used to wear, needed adapting to. Carrying a simple longsword at her hip. It was in many ways, a return to basics, borne from the necessity of change.

She turned a corner and down a pathway towards a temple or church, one that was adorned with various flowers. A girl frolicked amongst the flowers, whilst a member of the clergy stood waiting outside. She stopped in front of him, pausing momentarily to adjust her new armor.

I'm sorry for my late arrival. I was busy purchasing some new equipment. My name is Luna, I responded to your request for assistance.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

The ever-perceptive fluffy ears adorning Fina's head flickered as the sound of heavy steps upon the paved way got carried by the pleasant summer winds towards her, curiosity overwhelming forcing her head to turn toward the not-so-distance source.

"Hoh..?"

The sigh was nothing short of surprising. To observe whomst arrived, the feline expected another rugged traveler, or perhaps a flamboyant Starcalled who would stick out of a crowd like a sore thumb with their futuristic clothing and aura of importance. Yet, the lioness that came forth and approached the clergyman was neither, nor did she she posses any of the more common characteristics of the Landers around these parts. What local knight could possibly afford to adorn themselves with such armor? And yet, there was something else... It was as if this individual had effloresced, a briliant auro and lightness following their steps.

Quickly hopping up and narrowing her body, Fina was eager to approach, waving one of her hands with an open palm, a smile on her face in hopes of leaving an equally good first impression, despite her normally drab demeanor.

"Ah, hello..! If you're here about the artifact hunting, I think we'll be working together-"

"EHM! -Yes, you have come to the right place. This... adventurer... has also shown interested in the task. I have already relayed all the necessary information to her, so unless you wish to hear the details straight from me, she can inform you on the way."

Folding her hands behind her back in a relaxed manner, Fina continued to smile as she tilted her head to the side ever-so-slightly, anticipating the new arrival's reaction.

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

She'd been expecting the clergyman to be the first person to speak to her, not the Beastfolk girl that she'd seen prancing and dancing around amongst the flowers. Even with the odd way the girl dressed, she'd considered somebody acting like that was perhaps just another Lander, like many of the others. It seemed to not be the case, not by any means. Still, she turned her attention to the girl just as the clergyman did manage to speak up.

A partner wasn't unexpected. Rare, it was, that these kinds of jobs were undertaken by just a singular person. It was lucky that she wasn't taking this job for the reward, but to get used to the changes that she'd recently gone through. This was much more of a test drive than it was an actual attempt to go questing and earn some money that way.

Ah. In that case, if you've already been briefed on it.

She offered a hand slowly to the girl, leaving it in the air between them for the girl to take and shake, if she felt so inclined.

I just introduced myself, but my name is Luna. It's nice to meet you.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

She was friendly, a good first sign! Fina nodded to the affirmation of how things were, regarding the information about their task, and then eagerly reciprocated and took a fairly firm hold of Luna's hand, shaking it firmly. Even though the reset had taken away most of her horrific inhuman strength, there was still some of it left, it seemed.

"I go by Fina Drago, but just Fina is fine. A pleasure to meet you!"

And with those pleasantries out of the way, she quickly took one last look at the clergyman, who seemed to pretend they weren't even there at this point. Probably a good time to get going then. While there was no strict time limit on their mission, it was probably a good idea to return this 'artifact' before the ceremony that called for it was performed.

"Our desitnation is some old catacombs outside of the city. Not terribly far, but it'd be one long stroll on foot, so... Do you have means of transporation? If not, I've got a reliable horse that can take us both."

Taking a few steps in the direction of the city's gates (as much as they could be called gates, given how small this place honestly was), she looked at Luna with a sense of anticipation, awaiting her answer.

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Her hand taken in a firm shake, Luna noted that the girl was a lot stronger than her more slim and wiry frame would have led her to believe. It was a decent indicator as to how this girl fought, at the very least. She was clearly in some ways a physical fighter, much like Luna herself. It was as good of a grasp of the girl's abilities that she would gain from just a simple handshake, at the very least.

Just Fina. I understand.

Her head dipped in a small nod, noticing too that the clergyman was now ignoring them. The man likely had other business to take care of and had already entrusted things to Fina here, so Luna would just incline her head in the man's direction before turning her attention back towards Fina.

I don't have any other means of transportation personally. I have a tendency to walk everywhere since I'm never really in much of a hurry.

And walking often meant that she got to spend more time appreciating the scenery, or in recent cases, getting used to the dramatic changes to her body. She followed after Fina as they began walking towards the city's gates.

If you're able to accomodate us both with this horse, I'd be grateful, but if not you can ride and I'll walk alongside.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

So far, so good. Although the reveal that this individual was not in possession of at least a basic mount was...

"...wait..."

Her eyes were drawn toward the distant horizon, roughly in the direction they were meant to go, then back at the lioness.

"By foot? Aha, what a good jest, my lady... walking to distant lands for days, possibly weeks or even months on foot, haha."

But regardless of whether she was actually joking or not, Fina decided to lead the way for now, as they slowly approached the edge of the town, and with it, the large stable that served both as a temporary shelter for the mounts of visitors, as well as a more permanent home to steeds that would spend most of their days as the living engines for carriages and other transport-able tows.

Once close enough, she would put two fingers in her mouth and let out a loud whistle, her own ears briefly flicking from the sound. At least it did its job as a loud complaint from some worker echoed from somewhere inside of the structure shortly before a white horse with countless black spots all around its body rushed out, moving straight toward the duo and sharply stopping just before colliding with them.

"There you are! This trusty friend of mine has gotten me places you wouldn't believe, and she's more than capable of carrying two people at once. In fact... this is not the first time, and I've made sure to get a longer saddle after the last person I gave a ride to, so neither of us has to sit on her spine."

With that, she skillfully hopped onto the horse's back and extended one of her hands towards Luna.

"Need a helping hand with getting on?"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Luna looked at the girl with a blank, unamused expression. She wasn't sure she'd actually said anything that should have been taken as a joke or as amusing. So what if she travelled by foot everywhere?

I don't exactly travel very far usually, so I never have any need to have an actual steed of my own. Nor am I around often enough to take care of one.

It had been different when she'd been a beast tamer, riding around her pet tigress everywhere, but those days were long gone and never coming back. She'd left just about everything from that build behind and wasn't returning to it anytime soon. Having pets had just meant that it'd hurt when they were inevitably taken away, after all. She was all too familiar with how cruel this game could really be.

She followed after the smaller girl, until they reached the outside of the stable, upon which Fina whistled to call a white horse to them. It was a good, strong beast, from what Luna could tell anyway. Remnants from her time Beast Taming told her that the horse would suffice. Even with the heavier armor that she now wore, it should carry both of them fine.

So long as they didn't push it too hard.

She grasped Fina's hand and clambered up onto the horse's back, landing in the saddle with a soft thump, an arm curling around Fina's waist to secure herself in place.

So, we're retrieving an artifact, are we? What exactly are we looking for and why on earth does the church not already have their hands on it?

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

"I see..."

Still, even going to the nearest village could take hours, and then to get to any points of interest on foot? Surely that would have been entire days of just walking, no? Maybe the lady knight here just had one powerful strut... Fina tried not to focus on it too much.

Once they were both atop her horse, the feline would lean forward and give it the gesture to start galloping forward. And since their goal wasn't exactly just a few minutes away, it was good that Luna was already starting a conversation. Fina had to fill her in on the details anyway, as sparse as they were... any and all information could always be of use in this place.

"Correct. That priest man was awfully dodgy about it all, so I don't know what exactly we're looking for, but apparently it will be pretty damn obvious once we find it. As for why they don't have it, well... when I asked about that, he almost looked like I insulted him. On top of that, he insisted that I go with at least one other person, which is why you're here... all in all, it's kinda suspicious if you ask me."

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

The priest being dodgy about it was odd. They were doing this task on behalf of the temple, after all, so there weren't many good reasons for somebody to be cagey with information about their task. It as possible that religious communities in this world were just very insular and guarded when it came to outsiders. Understanding the theology of this world was a process that was very much under process for Luna.

Still, if there were no answers to go off of and all she had was reported behaviour that Fina had noticed when she'd asked her own questions, then there wasn't a whole lot they had to work with.

Well, it at least sounds like they expect for there to be danger involved with retrieving it, otherwise they'd just go and get it themselves. And if it's so obvious even to outsiders, then perhaps it shouldn't be too hard to locate at the very least.

She sighed, shaking her head. Truly, things in the world never changed, for how much things seemed like they were changing. The locals were as unreasonable as ever.

So, since we have some travel time, do you think we should, you know, get to know each other? Or at least what we're capable of?

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

Racing past the town's entrance, the two elderly and rather poorly-equipped guardsmen waved at the duo before they disappeared in the distance. People in these parts were generally pretty friendly, possibly because they were lucky that the magia calamity had not touched them in any way. It was, therefore, warranted to have potential doubts in the priest's demeanor.

"That's what I figured as well. If it's a real relic rather than just a mundane object, it will also likely have traces of magic, making it all the easier to find."

Not like she was particularly sensitive or well-versed in magic and all of its facets, but she knew and controlled enough to be able to recognize a magical item from a mundane one. And speaking of...

"Sure, don't see why not. Er... my abilities have been kinda... weakened from what they used to be, but my specialty is that I can conjure just about any kind of weapon or tool. And I've trained enough to be able to use most of them effectively as well. That's... kinda it, I suppose."

Describing it in words, Fina's abilities probably did not sound all that impressive. Certainly not when compared to more famous magic-oriented people who could make it rain meteors and whatnot. But it was very versatile and useful in many different situations, at least.

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Well, she certainly wasn't particularly well versed in magic. Even back when she'd been an Arcanamancy user, way back in the day when it was what allowed people to fire off beams of pure magic, it'd been less about sensing and understanding magic and more about just firing it off in the hopes of deleting everything in a given direction. Back in the day, it would've been more accurate to refer to Luna as magical artillery or something.

Not anymore though. Still, how hard could it be to detect the magic of an artifact?

Luna hummed. Somebody else who had found their abilities degraded? It was interesting. Granted, the circumstances were probably very different, unless this Fina had found herself glitched and fused with an old beast companion too. Still, it sounded like a versatile set of abilities, if anything else.

Well, I have my sword and my heavy armor, obviously. I'm built pretty sturdy, good for taking blows. I'm also a practitioner of Divine Magic, though I'm not particularly well versed in anything really.

She certainly wasn't at the level where she was enacting miracles of flight or bringing down divine wrath on a given area of land.

I think we'll be fine either way. Sounds like we both fight up close, so we can keep an eye on each other I suppose.

Luna paused to think, watching as the town gave way to the wilderness beyond its walls. It would likely be a long journey even with a mount to shorten the trip and she wasn't the greatest at making conversation. Still, she had to try to dig up something to talk about.

So, how new to this game are you? You said your abilities had degraded a bit, right?

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

From the description alone, it seemed that the two of them were going down a somewhat similar-ish route, at least when it came to physical combat. Or maybe thinking so was a bit of a stretch, given Fina's attempts to be a jack-of-all trades as far as weapon play was concerned, whereas Luna gave off more of a paladin-esque vibe.

"Oh, does that mean you have at least some base healing powers, concerning your divine ties?"

Having a healer by your side was always a good thing, even if it was just a part-time gig for them. And if they were headed for what Fina assumed to be catacombs, divine magic was traditionally strong against the undead. Though whether that was still the case in the realm of thius game, she wasn't exactly sure.

"Yeah. I mean... the man's insistance that I do not go alone aside, this is a quest from a small town. Surely these people can't demand anything on part with slaying a drag- I mean- a giant flying crocodile."

Then, Luna opted to wholly confirm that she was a traveler, just the same. Sure, it was more likely than not, but until someone admitted it, Fina tended to stay on the side of caution. There were landers who had so much experienced with starcalled that even they themselves could not, at times, bit differentiated from those who came to this world from Earth. Though, ultimately, the feline did not even comment on that fact.

"Not... terribly new, I guess? I dove in for the first time pretty shortly after the game became available again after the 4-year pause. Though... geez, even that has been a good while ago now, huh? Time flies... er, by the way you asked that, I guess you've been around for a while?"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Well, base is definitely the right word for them. I can do some rudimentry healing, but I wouldn't plan on losing any limbs whilst I'm around. Not much I can do about serious wounds as I currently am.

Granted, it was more healing than she'd ever been capable of before. Up until now, she'd been better at avoiding damage entirely than she'd been at recovering from it. She'd always really focused on ending whatever was threatening to cause harm, rather than undoing any harm that was caused. She'd often found herself surrounded by healers and wondering at their capabilities, rather than trying to do any of the things they did.

Fina was right, though. There was no need for them to expect something that'd take herculean effort. This wasn't the kind of quest that bards and skalds would compose song and limerick alike over. At best they were looking at clearing some undead that had infested the area, or perhaps a few bandits that had claimed it as a den.

Unless something went awfully wrong.

Luna stretched out, a little stiff. She was still growing used to wearing heavier armor most of the time. It was a big difference to the silken robes and fineries of her past endeavors. It was odd, as Fina spoke, to think of herself as a veteran of this game. But still, the moniker kind of counted by now, she supposed.

I was around for a while before the servers went down. I was there for the big mess with that big tentacle monster. There was also a smaller incident where a god, or something else, made me blow myself up.

She hummed in thought, looking down briefly to examine her hands. The ones that felt like hers now.

The server shutdown caused a little issue. I was logged out with a transformation active that no longer exists, so when I got back my avatar was kind of bugged. It took a long while to fix it.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

Fina certainly didn't expect her new companion to rival a full-fledged healer like Vina, it was just a good reassurance that they had at least something if things were to go south a bit. And the feline wasn't so reckless as to run straight into danger and hurt herself... Or at least she hoped that she wasn't so reckless. Maybe others would have a different opinion on that.

As Luna talked about her past experiences with the game, the scenery around them slowly shifted as the horse galloped at almost full speed, taking them through the green fields, through the flowers, between trees, until the area became a bit more rocky with jagged hills sprawling around them.

Listening to the lioness was very interesting as well, and especially as she revealed something unusual, Fina couldn't help but react.

"Oh! O-oh..."

She fell silent for a moment before she even tried to elborate.

"That's... Really interesting? Er, not in, like... An insulting way toward you or anything, it sounds like that must have been a major pain to deal with! More like, how to say this... This whole game is so incredibly realistic that you could really easily mistake it for real life. To hear that something or someone actually glitched out, that's the interesting part, is what I'm saying, I guess..?"

She was really trying to not come across as dismissive of how annoying and/or outright bad that must have been for Luna, but her social skills were not quite there.

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Wow this girl was awkward. It reminded Luna a lot of herself, if she travelled back in time a few years, to the days before the server shutdown. Back when she'd been just a girl, looking for a way to escape a reality she didn't think she was strong enough to handle and live in. Of course, there was no way to tell if Fina had the same kinds of anxieties, or if she was perhaps just not a social person.

There wouldn't really be any deep inferrences from this kind of chat, after all. Nor did there really need to be.

They picked up speed, Luna humming as Fina had attempted to navigate something that resembled a response, before chuckling a little bit and shaking her head. Not that Fina could see that, given that she was seated behind the girl.

Ah, it's fine. It's not a situation that many people would have ever encountered. In fact, it's entirely possible that I was the ONLY person that kind of thing could have happened to.

She hummed again, pausing in thought. A small history lesson wasn't necessary, but maybe somebody who seemed to enjoy this game would enjoy it.

Way back then, when you maxed out a Mastery, it evolved. If you were the first person to ever max one out, you were notified of that. I happened to be the first to ever max out Beast Taming. The evolution happened to be Beast Fusion.

She shrugged.

Beast Fusion was removed from the game during the 4 year downtime, seems to have been rolled into Beast Arts and Metamorph. As you can probably suspect, being logged out with a Mastery active that no longer existed created a bit of a mess...

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

Even as Fina very much focused on trying to lead the horse down the correct path through the terrain, she was able to listen and parse what her other companion was saying. It'd be pretty rude not to, but that double focus was briefly broken when Luna said something that caused the feline to turn around in a mild disbelief, giving the reigns to Lucia herself.

"Wait, first?!"

As the steed suddenly jumped over a patch of rocks, the two girls would make a small hop in the saddle and Fina returned to focusing on the road.

"Okay, that's way more of a veteral than I expected. And here I thought that maybe you were a newbie or something, you're closer to being a lander than anything..."

As she commented to herself, she tried to imagine just how it would feel to be subjected to something so rare, yet also something that would affect you so negatively. She'd probably have no idea whether to be impressed, or cursing the Gods of RNG.

"That still seems really impressive, though. Glad you managed to get out of the conondrum, and I guess... you at least got a story to tell out of it all?"

That was better than nothing, probably? Fina certainly didn't have any impressive story to tell, not like that. It sort of even overshadowed the last thing Luna said, which the feline wasn't entirely sure how to address, either.

"And, uh... that means you're 'diving' as some call it? A step closer to being stuck here forever..?"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Luna smiled slightly at the girl's sudden proclamation, as their steed stepped or hopped over something. She understood the shock of it all. For something that should have been quite the achievement, Luna had done pretty damn well at keeping her name out of any kind of history book. Most of what she'd accomplished back in the day was only known by a handful of people. And to even fewer, the full extent of everything and the context surrounding them.

Yeah, first. It was a whole thing way back then. Nowadays it's a lot harder to achieve being the first person to do anything, but then again, the recent challenges people have faced have been pretty different in every regard.

The messes with Red Fever and Szofrit came to mind. She hadn't really done much about those, other than tank some damage and keep some pressure off of some other players.

And as for 'diving', whatever that meant, Luna shrugged. She wasn't really sure about any of it.

Hard to say, really. I hadn't noticed any difference after the death. Granted, it was only the one death and I've been careful not to suffer any more. I had to flee that mess with the big Magia woman because nobody was healing me after all.

Maybe some people would think of her as a coward for that. Luna had always preferred to preserve her own life wherever possible, though. She'd done her duty and gotten people through the battle without being blasted or ripped apart.

It was a pretty out there experience, though. Not the most pleasant thing in the world. Though neither was being glitched after the server shutdown.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

Even trying to imagine this world where people have not yet reached their full potential was a bit difficult. Plenty of people Fina got to meet these days were already capped at their powers and the only way they could grow stronger was by being creative with the way they used those abilities. Heck, it was the same for her… until something happened. Well, the girl had a pretty good suspicion as to what it might have been, but she kept it to herself for now. And if she was right, then it made sense Luna herself did not know, given what she said next.

"No healing… sorry to hear that. I guess many people were too scared or disoriented to act properly, given how that fight went. I mean… I managed to stay until the end, but that was only because I focused on staying on the defensive for the most part."

As they went past another hill, Fina suddenly tightened her grip on the reigns, subtly gesturing to the horse to slow down.

"But I'm glad that, if nothing else, you aren't hindered by that death. Many people don't seem to care, but I've always tried to… avoid having to experience that myself."

Soon, the animal came to a full stop as the feline started looking around, only to grab a small bag that was hanging off her side below the cloak, opening it up and producing an old parchment from within. If Luna took a peek, it appeared to be a hand-drawn map.

"I… think our destination should be around here. Well, there are certainly a lot of hills and jagged rocks around these parts, maybe one of them has an entrance on the side that will lead further into the ground?"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Luna could only shrug in response. Yeah, receiving no healing really had sucked, but she'd never really been in danger herself. If she'd have tried to stick it out, then maybe she would've been at risk, but she was smarter than that and actually had some semblance of a self-preservation instinct, which seemed to be getting rarer and rarer amongst the people who played this game.

Well, I'm sure it all worked out in the end, considering the world isn't overrun by robots now. I just made the decision to pull out before I could be at risk, rather than hope somebody would notice me in the chaos.

Besides, it was a decent lesson to her, that she needed to have her own way to patch her own wounds.

The horse came to a slow stop, upon which Fina retrieved something from her pack. Luna wasn't really the type of person to read or watch over somebody's shoulder, but logical processing made it easy to determine that it was either a mission document or a map, or something like that. Given that they were stopped, she swept her legs to one side, sliding off of the horse.

Well, if it's around here, we should search for it. Split up and search for clues?

She stretched her arms above her head, before looking around. Sure enough, they were surrounded by rocky crags and spires, as well as hills.

I think the hills are our best bet.

@Fina Drago