Complete Private Hylands Ascent Pursuit Within The Mountains

[Tick Tock]

Their search had finally resumed, with their things gathered and what little they had packed onto a wagon that Tick refused to explain where she got, other than it was totally legal and safe. It helped though to carry what she couldn't, unlike the other two who had an inventory, Tick Tock relied only on her hands to do the trick. Of course, the wagon worked for transportation across Astorea in their approach towards the Ascent. The Mountainside looked as menacing as ever now that they had closed the distance from miles away.

"BEEEP! Attention all passengers, we are approaching 'The Watchtower' BEEP! Twenty minus ten plus five minutes!" Tick's voice sounded exactly like a radio to add into the immersion, before giving a loud 'Hyaa!' to get the horses moving with a smack of a whip. The most important part was that the horses weren't actually real horses, but puppets.

Quite literally, real life sized wooden horses. They lacked the detail the twins had of course- Eva could tell that apart given the work of her daughters. They were easy to identify as wooden horse puppets, but they worked surprisingly well thanks to the magic radiating from them: Not only a soul, but twisted voodoo magic. The sort of dark powers that Kyanna's senses would tingle at.

"According to your birdie Nerevar, Kyanna, we are riiight on course. But! As mama and your beloved wife Tock knows already," She paused to let a hand rest over her bossom to let that last bit settle in. "We gonna have to take a little break first, and word is, there is this place called The Watchtower. Tock and Tick heard that is a good spot to look for answers first."

"Tock's mama-in-law is a really good climber apparently, Kyanna. Tock's ure she wanted to chill at the top of Hylands by herself. Third eye says it's full of wolf people up there and some super cool sightings! But the path is dangerous indeed." Tock hoped for the best here, despite her voice not showing any other emotion other than overjoyous.

The climb was nothing if not brutal, and many died on their way up. It's a good thing they are no regular hikers, or that would make for a quick death for all of them for sure.

"BEEP! This is your driver asking the passengers: How are you feeling? Need some refreshments? Are you afraid of heights and sudden death? BEEP!"

@Kyanna Wynne @Eva

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna scratched the head of the owl, Nerevar, gently as it rested on her shoulder, with her gaze remaining mostly on the path they had ahead, at least until Tick voiced their approach to the 'Watchtower'. It took a couple seconds for Kyanna to understand the weird way to tell how far they were from it, but one thing was clear about it: They were close.

Clasping her hands together, Kyanna smiled faintly. "In that case, we should get ready." There was a small nervous slip in her voice, considering this was probably the only clue that was remotely palpable so far.

Tock's implications of a marriage that didn't exist fell into deaf ears, as Kyanna was already promptly ignoring all of that when spoken too casually. "I did hear a lot about wolf people. The one I met was kind enough to help me to save my friend, but... I guess players don't count, do they?" She wondered, peering to Tick, Tock and Eva.

Her eyes then turned to see the harsh path they had ahead, dangerous and thrilling, to say the least.

"Yeah... I wonder what she was doing around here." Kyanna muttered, with her eyes half closing, pensive as she turned to look at Tick. "I'm not afraid of height, nor sudden deaths..." Kyanna said, tugging her totally-not-a-broom-staff. "I think I will stay on my broom though, or at least keep it ready. Last thing I'd want is to fall... We need some counter measurement for it, because I can only really carry one person in my broom if the worst comes."

Her eyes then turned to Eva. "Do you have any idea?" She asked.

@Tick Tock @Eva

 

[Eva]

"The Watchtower," Eva tapped the page several times with her pen. "Never heard of it before." She added another entry under the page 'Hylands'.

The woman then put the journal book away inside her backpack. Her gear today was considerably different because they were going to a place with extreme weather. The temperature-insulating jacket looked dashing in black and the mask will help when should the oxygen level goes down. Somehow she looked more like a bioweapon exterminator than a gadget inventor.

Why are the four of them here, again? According to an intel Tick and Tock got (they swore it was reliable), there was a high chance that Kyanna's mom is up there on the Hyland's Ascent.

"Hm. Records said that the caenis tribe around here wasn't the most friendly to outsiders." She answered Kyanna, recalling that the Sun Tribe lives around the area and that they are a territorial bunch. Can't count on external help in situations like these.

And of course, even though Eva plans things several steps forward just like Batman does, there's always a limit. "No," The woman gave a surprising answer to the witch while inspecting her climbing devices; the two arm-mounted crossbows have been replaced by retractable claws, sturdy enough to punch through and climb any surface. "At this weather and height, not even a parachute will save us."

"You're capable of flight. If something happens, I'm counting on you." But if it comes to the worst, she could always fall back to her grappling hook. Reaching inside her pouch, she brought out a vial of some gatorade-colored drink and offered it to Kyanna.

"Drink this. Helps maintain your internal temperature high to keep your motor functions from getting hindered." She already Tock was going to ask her for the same drink, so she quickly beat her to it. "You two already have a built-in function for that."

@Tick Tock @Kyanna Wynne

 

[Tick Tock]

"Wha- You haven't, mama?!" Tock said, incredulous at that. Eva always knew everything, so how could she not know this?! "Well, neither Tock. But Tick says it's a good place to go before we make our ascent through the... Ascent!" She pointed out right infront of them with a little swirl beforehand to add power some form of power to it. "Arre caballo, arre! Mi matrimonio depende de ello!" She blurped out, before Tick hopped on the back of the wagon with the rest of the group and left their wagon unmanned.

"You should, Kya! A lot of people die on the way up. Not a single part of these mountains is safe. Fortunately for us, Tick knows someone who can help." Unfortunately,that was a bit of a lie. But! They didn't need to know their journey was half-baked. They had the tools to survive and that's what mattered. Death was the only thing to avoid.

Tock turned her gaze back to Eva and nodded, while Tick did the same but for Kyanna. "Indeed! Very dangerous canine tribes over there. Trick is to avoid the weirdos. Not all of them are aggressive, else we wouldn't have a map of the Ascent!" Tick pointed out. "Of course, that means we need to make it up before that map's of any use, sooo... Tick hopes you two did leg day, and arm day, and stomach day." She giggled, although her voice cut off as soon as a refreshment came on-sight, their eyes focusing their lenses almost instantly, with Tock taking a seat right next to Eva in a totally not suspicious manner.

"You two already have a built-in function for that."
"Aawwwh... Not fun, mama, leaving your children to starve like that."
"No marriage, no energy drink. Worst day ever, Tock tells you..!"

---

At the distance there had been sightings of the watchtower, only it was nowhere near as impressive as the name would suggest. For one, it looked more like an odd-shaped house, perhaps a survivor's own little fortress with a gazebo and an overview of the mountains that was worth of envying. Clear maintenance went over to the structure, and one could tell it was built to last with bricks instead of wood, and the architecture had a strange mixture between Lander and the real world's aesthetics.

The doors, unmanned as they were, didn't had an issue without their driver. In fact, it almost seemed like they were better off without Tick behind the wheel (or straps? Whatever), going through woods and forest alike to reach this hill they inevitably would need to backtrack a little to straighten up their road.

On the outside of the watchtower, one could see a rather tall looking man wearing a rather casual set of robes and sandals, with a pair of pointy silver fox ears atop his head, working by what seemed to be a little campfire set outside. It would be immediate that the party would be struck back by what seemed to be the smell of a stew, with the most accurate of noses noticing the odor as exotic enough to be considered a predator worthy of hunting down, now left inside a pot...

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (81) + 35 = 116

Knowledge | Tick Tock | 1839

Preparing For The Unforeseen

From here on, every post done should have an expertise check of your choice to fill a Preparation Bar. Every point will influence how well prepared the group is to face the obstacles through the mountains.

[ 116/??? ]

@Kyanna Wynne | @Eva

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna swallowed at the idea of a caenis tribe that wasn't that friendly. If anything, she knew that the caenis lady she had met was very powerful, and if all of them were like that, chances were that they were all going to be mauled and have their butts very bitten and kicked. Still, that wasn't enough to discourage Kyanna, and she kept a firm expression. "If we meet them, we just need to make sure they know we have no ill intentions. They should understand." For a moment, she wondered if her Beast Arts abilities would help in any way...

Her eyes then shifted to Tick, slightly surprised that she was told she should fear height. "If you know what to do, then I don't need to fear, right, Tick?" She said, perhaps for the first time showing full confidence on one of the twins, at least ever since she had trusted Tick the first time, in the event that created the distrust of the witch regarding the two of them.

She reached for the drink that had been offered to her, showing a grateful smile to Eva. "Thank you! And don't worry, I will be wary to try and snatch any of you if things go south." She reassured, tapping her broom and hopping on it, adjusting her seat on it before peeking at Tock.

"There will be no marriage though." Her eyebrows rose, delivering the retort before gaining some height upon flying with the broom.

The sight of the Watchtower eventually came to Kyanna's eyes, and she remained relentless on her flight, despite keeping an eye on the rest of the ground that was beneath her.

PREPARING FOR THE UNFORESEEN

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (90) + 20 = 110
Awareness | Kyanna Wynne | 1839

[ 226/??? ]

@Tick Tock @Eva

 

[Eva]

"Doesn't mean I haven't planned for the possibilities,"

Eva listed, counting the number of alternatives that she has. "Plan B, Plan C, Plan D..." When it comes to the worst, she could always use the prototype. The thing wasn't stable enough yet but might come in clutch during critical situations.

"Yes, no marriage without consent, Tock."

Thankfully, nothing dangerous happened as they slowly but surely continued on their way.

Yet.

Kyanna took into flight to be able to see more of what lies ahead. After a while, a building came into their view. The white-haired woman pulled out what looked like a pretty high-tech military rangefinder, looking toward the direction of the building silhouette in the distance. "That's the watchtower." She noted down the weird architecture or the lack of things that made it 'a tower'.

Her view then moved to the side, pointing out the beastfolk male chilling around the building. "Doesn't look like a tower. Who's that person to the side of the campfire?"

PREPARING FOR THE UNFORESEEN

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (86) + 25 = 111
Knowledge | Eva | 1839

[ 337/??? ]

@Tick Tock @Kyanna Wynne

 

[Tick Tock]

"For sure they will." Tick added, sort of skeptical over the aggression of the mutt race, specially if they had an adversion to bad juju like this adventuring trio had, between a puppet, a witch and a totally-not-robot mother. The trust Kyanna seemed to deposit on her came off as a surprise, enough to make her chuckle like your stereotypical rich girl would. "HOHOHO! Of course you don't have to worry, Kyanna. But mother nature's a nasty taskmaster, Tick says. Expect her worst!" She replied, as a very elaborate 'Yes don't worry but worry' sort of answer. They couldn't plan for everything.

Even if Eva was hell-bent on preparing more plans than they had days, or letters on the ABC for that matter, Tock counting with her fingers each letter of them as they were mentioned. "Is plan D the dinner, mama? Tock's hungry." Even if they had eaten already, a little white lie may get her some extras-- Only to be punished by Kyanna's heartbreaking sentence, followed by a double teaming from her very own mother. "Gah! Tock's poor heart cannot take such powerful hits... Tock faints." She grasped her heart, dropping down over the floor of the wagon to fake her death scene.

Pulling out her own portable telescope out of her pockets, Tick stood next to Eva to get a better look of who exactly she spoke about, and of the famed Watchtower. "Huh. Yeah, there's the Watchtower's Guardian! Very powerful person indeed, tread with care you- Oh well Kyanna's gone. FLY CAREFULLY!" She shouted upwards, making her telescope disappear (it never existed, it was an illusion), before jumping over to the front of the wagon to get the wooden horses to stop several steps away from the tower.

From high above, Kyanna could notice two things: One, the tower wasn't so much of a tower beyond just being a tall building, and there seemed to be a lot of equipment at the very top of it stashed carefully on each corner against the rails. Ropes, crates with red crosses on them, hooks and boots. On the other hand, there seemed to be a thin veil of magic connecting to a golden tripod of sorts holding a crystal. One could practically miss if it were not for the angle that stretched far away past the tower and onto the mountains, and it seemed to end on...

Some sort of... Secondary tower on the Ascent?

Hmmm. This Stew's almost done!

Or that's what one could guess they said when they watched him take a sip from the cauldron and prepare a bowl to serve himself with. There wasn't much noteworthy to note from the tower, other than it's design and aesthetics were clearly more Starcalled oriented than Landerish. The structure itself must have been built by one, given only someone from the modern world could have the energy to try and adapt a strange design with an optimal foundation to compliment it. Awkward, but it was the sort of 'tower' to endure the passage of time, the cold and perhaps even a catapult! Or not...

One thing is certain: The man they could spy through their apparatuses from this far had no name atop of his head, but somehow, the word 'Protector' came to mind, and it wasn't his build or clothing style, which was far more casual than one would expect for the wording.

@Kyanna Wynne | @Eva

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

If anything, Eva's overplanning was always reassuring, Tick's confidence was always encouraging, and Tock's love was... Concerning, but at least comfortable in a way.

"The watchtower guardian..." The witch muttered, then turned, smiling at the trio. "I will be careful, don't worry!" Kyanna said, eagerly before darting off at full speed, with her eyes slowly locking on the equipaments the tower held, along with some... Rather intriguing contraptions and tools that she couldn't really make heads and tails of what it was from distance.

It did beam with magic, though, at least the air that touched her started feeling like that.

Casting a glance to the owl that was following along, she questioned- "Is that the person we are looking for?"

'Hoot, hoot-'

"I figured..." Kyanna blinked, turning to look at the man again, before speeding up and finding her way to the man, waving with the most friendly smile she could pull out. "Heeey!" Kyanna called, soon finding herself landing before the man, perhaps rather abruptly-

Flailing for a bit, Kyanna eventually met her balance again, standing and turning to face him, tugging her witch hat back to its place.

"Hello! Are you the Watchguardian?" She asked, almost immediately nicknaming the guy. "I'm Kyanna Wynne, grand fungi witch, and-" Her nose twitched, with her eyes trailing to the stew.

"Oh, this smells good!" She pointed at the cauldron.

@Eva @Tick Tock

 

[Eva]

"No, plan D is the Destroy plan."

Somehow without describing anything, this sounded scarier than the Red Fever Nuke (for those who know about it, of course). Of course, Eva just deadpanned at Tock's sad Yamcha death scene. "Powerful...?" She asked, turning to Tick to confirm it with yet another mysterious question.

"Can't possibly be more powerful than a nuke, can he?"

As she watched Kyanna fly away, the woman knelt down on one leg, knocking on Tock's porcelain head several times to wake her up from the wagon floor. "Hey, let's go. We're falling behind." Signaling them to pick up the pace and follow Kyanna toward the tower.

"Anyway, Tick, Tock."

Eva suddenly asked as they moved closer to the watchtower, where Kyanna might have landed several minutes ago already. "Where was this intel coming from? Hylands seemed to be a peculiar place for Kyanna's mother to reside." She couldn't fathom why a UI-locked adventurer would travel into a region known for its danger. Why not, like, retire and live in the countryside or something?

"We're close." The writer decided. They could see Kyanna talking to the watchtower guardian already with their bare eyes.

@Tick Tock @Kyanna Wynne

 

[Tick Tock]

"More like Plan B, the Boring Plan." Tick giggled at her totally smart pun. But rather than jests, Eva was interested in sidetracking with the power levels of the Watchguardian or watchman, she forgot exactly how she introduced the man. "Yes, he is very power- A NUKE?!" Tick blinked a few times, plucking out her left eye and scrubbing it a little with her handkerchief before putting it back on it's place, repeating the process for the right one, then blinked again. "Tick means... Maybe! Who knows? The mystery of the Watch guardian man is unknown as of now." She recovered her momentum by lacing the tale with some fiction and a narrator's tone for the suspense.

"EEEEEEEE Tock's awake!" Tock rolled on her back once bonked, jolting back to her feet and doing a cool slide over the backrest of the wagon's driver's seat to pick up the reins and give the puppet horses a few smacks. Her gaze darted to the skies however, to her BELOVED fungi lady who now became a full fledged witch and begun to harass people and watchtowers alike.

Tick wiggled her fingers like an evil mastermind once questioned over her intel, and Tock shared an over-the-shoulder grin to add to the mystery as her twin giggled. "Hehe well you see...." The tension peaked just with how grim her voice turned. "We heard it from some blind guy who gave Kyanna her owl, who apparently were good friends!" The mood broke just like that with the tamest of answers, a smile carved all over her porcelain face.

"Aaaaaaand WE ARE HERE!" Tock halted the horses, giving an abrupt stop now that they weren't so far away from The watch guardian man person and Kyanna, with the pair hopping off and waving back at Eva to tag along.

"Last one to reach Kyanna gets shot!" The pair shouted, and that included Eva, obviously...

"Heeey!"

A flying witch came at full speed on his vicinity, and by the time he noticed it might have been too late, covering his eyes and looking away to brace for impact, until nothing seemed to have happened other than to give a very bad first impression to this newcomer. But while his knees shivered, the girl went ahead to introduce herself as a 'witch', which only made him extra wary.

"Dear All-father don't drop like that! If you just wanted to introduce yourself you could have, you know, landed and walked over here!" His temper exploded, but quickly enough he composed himself from that outburst. Breathing in and out, just like the old man taught him... "Alright, I'm sorry about that, you just caught me by surprise." He admitted.

When Kyanna showed interest on his cauldron, every single worry and tension piled together just washed away, earning a hearty chuckle out of him as he took a step closer to the cauldron and kneeled down.

"You are a mushroom witch of sorts, right? Then you probably tasted a bunch. This one is my special recipe using liferoot extract, carrots and Earthshrooms. Care to try, miss witch?" He was quick to offer the metal ladle hanging conviniently next to the cauldron and point out to one of the extra set of bowls resting over a small crate.

"But to answer your question, yes, I am the 'Watchguardian' you could say. Real name's Thomas. What brings you her- Oh!" His eyes went over to the incoming group, then to Kyanna, and finally back to the group. "Your friends? Let me guess... The Ascent?" He smirked, tapping at his temples as his ticks demanded. "Not many come here without that for a reason."

editor's note

I'll roll a 1d4 for anyone who eats from the stew.

@Kyanna Wynne | @Eva

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

"A-Ah, sorry, mister!" Kyanna apologized, clasping her hands together in an apologetic gesture, shaking her head when he tried to apologize. "No no, you are right. I should've been more careful." She said, before the voices coming from behind caught her attention.

Kyanna blinked, turning to look at the incoming trio, offering them a smile. "Hey! We really found the Watchguardian. Seems like your info was right, Tick." She said, perking up before returning her attention to the man, with nose twitching as he offered some of the stew, in which Kyanna didn't wait for a second. "I'd love to, if you won't mind." She said, reaching for the ladle and a bowl, pouring some of the stew into it and then holding it softly with both of her hands.

"Those? Those are my friends. I hope you don't mind having them as well, I promise they are nice people... Though the twins can be a bit of trouble." Kyanna warned, taking a sip of the bowl's contents, with the owl on her shoulder hooting in curiosity.

@Eva @Tick Tock

 

[Eva]

Eva's eyebrow raised toward Tick's anti-climatic answer. "A visually impaired person doesn't sound like a good source of information."

Like, where does he get his information? By seeing? Obviously not.

"Last one to reach Kyanna gets shot!"

She sighed, pulling out a small pistol from her jacket before racking the slide. "I will shoot if you two try something funny." The woman followed behind the twins menacingly while power walking. Soon, they approached the watchtower guardian who was already talking with Kyanna.

"Greetings, we are her friends," Eva introduced the group while waving her hand slowly, looking sharply at Tick and Tock in case the twins were going to pull a weird shenanigan in front of this guy. "Indeed, we are going to the Ascent." She nodded, before noticing a few bowls on top of a crate, and Kyanna already helping herself to a serving of an unknown soup.

"... For us?" She motioned toward the soup, before proceeding to ladle a serving for herself. "Thank you, I'll try it then."

@Tick Tock @Kyanna Wynne

 

[Tick Tock]

"You don't need eyes for that, mama. Tick thought you of all people would know that!" Tick replied with almost a saddened tone upon her voice, as if somehow her heroine just did a big oopsie, yet the puppet quickly shook it off in favour of a smile. She's grown up enough to know parents aren't invincible, afterall.

The loud click from the slide got her point across moreso than her words did, enough to make the pair giggle in unison. "That's the spirit!" Tock called, before both puppets rushed ahead, just in time to make one final jump and land side by side with Kyanna once she turned to notice them approaching rapidly to her.

"Tick Tock!" They wrapped their arms one over the other's shoulder. "Did someone say trouble?" Shenanigans pulled, they both shrunk a little once Eva send a mean look over to them, no need to even glance over to see she still has a gun at ready, like the partypooper she is.

The man jolted back, partially because of the sudden appearence of the twins, and moreso because of the tall woman who made her terminator approach towards him and Kyanna like she meant business.

"W-well, don't worry about it, Kyanna. Though your friends sure are uhm, peculiar... You are all Starcalled too, I get it?" He didn't sugarcoat it at all, his gaze peering over to Eva's handgun for a moment before pointing back at it. "Haven't seen one of these in a while either, none of that's natural in Terrasphere."

"Aha, see Kyanna? Tick is very reliable indeed! This guy's the watchman, AND a Starcalled too!" Her smile widened, to the disdain of her sister who gave her glares born out of jealousy. Being congratulated by the witch... How dare she to be special!

"Name's Thomas, pleasure to meet you three, too!" Thomas added, picking up his own bowl to give it a trying sip, humming along when Eva questioned the meal then accepted her better instincts to trust the mysterious cauldron of his. "This is a special stew, so do let me know how it tastes, I want to hear your experiences."

Kyanna would find the mix between spice and sweet, yet never falling too far from one and the other. A certain warmth to it helped against the cold winds coming down from the mountain. Somehow, the Earthshroom tasted... Familiar. Homely and comforting. Somehow, the stew would remind her of past meals from the real world itself.

Eva's experience would be completely different-- The stew felt cold at first when her mouth got a taste of it, but with each spoonful the meal would grow warmer until it reached a middle-ground between both feelings. It wasn't cold, it wasn't warm, it wasn't spicy nor mild, it was nothing, and yet despite how bland the stew seemed to be, something about it felt oddly captivating, but whenever you felt like you found the answer, it simply turned out to be wrong-- Like you were missing something in the first place...

@Kyanna Wynne
@Eva

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna smiled at Eva's introduction, somehow feeling bubbly at being called her friend even if that was already obvious by now. "Yeah, the Ascent is our destination. A bit of a rough path, but I'd say we had been in quite a good luck right now." She said, humming in joy as she took sips of her stew, that was nothing short of very tasty and welcoming.

Just what the girl needed, especially since the weather would get fairly cold very soon, the higher they reached.

A small giggle slipped her lips. "Hmm~ This is very tasty, Thomas! It feels just like I'm at home. Perhaps it is a good sign for our travels!" She perked up.

Her eyes then shifted to Tick, giving her a grateful smile, but it wasn't hard to notice Tock's jealousy. A small sigh escaped from her lips, and she scooted closer to nudge Tock. "Do you want some?" She offered a spoon of her stew to the needy puppet, then peering at Eva.

"How did your taste like, Eva?"

@Eva @Tick Tock

 

[Eva]

"You don't need eyes for that, mama. Tick thought you of all people would know that!"

"I would like to remind you of the reason why I lost my eye."

As they approached the Watchtower Guardian, Eva once more reminded the twins not to get too distracted, "Remember, we're here to ask him for help to get to the Ascent."

The man seemed nice though, as she commented on the woman's gun. "Haven't seen one of these in a while either, none of that's natural in Terrasphere." Eva just replied while racking the slide, "Yes, the less there are things like this, the lesser the chance they have the counter for these."

The guardian introduced himself as Thomas (it was a pretty underwhelming name, to be honest). "I am Eva, these two are Tick and Tock." She proceeded to sit down and start eating the stew, processing the food slowly without any noise.

"How did your taste like, Eva?"

"I... don't know," Her eye rolled to the side, trying to find something she could identify as a taste. "It's neither warm, nor cold. Not repulsive, but not delectable. Nothing." She kept searching for the answer, as the white-haired woman turned to Thomas, asking him what might be wrong with the stew.

"What is this?"

@Tick Tock @Kyanna Wynne

 

[Tick Tock]

Thomas smiled to himself, glad that his assumptions weren't gone straight down the drain once Kyanna confirmed their destination.

"You come on a difficult time I'd say. But I do hope that luck doesn't wear out just yet! Maybe that's all the Hylands needs: A bunch of lucky adventurers." His optimism begun to show quick enough, giving a thumbs up over to reassure the witch.

When Eva pointed out her missing eye, Tick just smiled with almost unnatural innocence and hopped closer to her to wrap her arms around for a hug. "Because you are a great mama, the best mama!"

Tock instead saluted her in the most goofy representation of a soldier she could pull off, with a pouty face and a frown. "10-4 mama. Only important things to ask." She wanted to keep up with this act, but her attention span died in the lapse of two seconds once jealousy took over, nurtured by Tick's feigned ignorance of it.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. With err... The magia business in Vintergard and all that." He pulled at the collar of his shirt, eyes shifting over to Tick and Tock- It wasn't hard to tell the twins were of the aforementioned race, but he hoped they wouldn't have hard feelings for pointing it out.

"Unfortunately, the predators in the Hylands are pretty thick skinned. Should pierce straight through a reaper though. These nasty birds have gotten more aggressive as of late given their matriarch."

Tock felt the nudge pushing her to the side, turning her head to notice Kyanna offering a spoonful of her own bowl, leaving her jaw unhinged in awe for a second. She tucked a few hairs behind her ear, turning bashful out of a sudden as she quietly held the spoon and took a sip out from it.

He took a spoonful of his stew and hummed pleasantly once the warmth spread all over his body, eyes darting back to Kyanna once the girl pointed out her experiences, beaming his face into a smile. "Can't get enough of this I tell you. If you want, I can write down the recipe for you! The ingredients are a bit rare to find anywhere else but the Ascent or the Hylands themselves, but you should be able to get plenty on the way up."

Thomas couldn't help a chuckle breaking through once Eva seemed almost completely baffled by the taste, and the question came with a wink from him towards the silver lady.

"Secret! But let's just say the stew can tell people apart. It kind of 'reads' you, and the taste changes based on what it 'reads'. I dunno if stew's sentient or not but I guess this is the closest you can get to it! Or just an adaptive taste... It's part of the Earthshroom's mystic properties. The garlic helps too, I suppose!"

@Kyanna Wynne | @Eva

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

There was a confused blink at Tock's reaction to her stew offer, but didn't comment on it aside from a bright smile to the puppet, only for Eva's words to catch her attention.

Kyanna frowned. "Nothing?" She asked, puzzled. "Strange, mine is tasting very nice..." Kyanna pondered, confused at the situation until the man revealed the nature of the stew, that made her clasp her hands. "Ooh, I see now. Then do give me the recipe, I want to try this some other time!" Kyanna chirped, then returning to the important topic-

"A bunch of lucky adventurers? So things had been troublesome around?" Kyanna sighed, rubbing her neck. "But it should be fine, we came prepared to face any danger-! If there is danger in the way, we will be able to do it, in a way or another!" She huffed, confidently before turning to the other three.

"Did we bring birdseed? I'm great at talking to any animal or plant, and birds aren't out of this equation for sure." She beamed with a smile.

@Eva @Tick Tock

 

[Eva]

"Thick-skinned?"

Eva raised her eyebrow, taking something out from her side pocket. A cartridge, with the size equivalent of a real-world 20mm caliber. "Don't worry, this one should pierce." The white-haired woman declared, before putting it back.

'Earthshroom' that 'reads' people doesn't make sense whatsoever, but so do like 99% of the things in this world. If anything, that explained perfectly why her stew didn't taste like anything in particular.

"Ah," She just nodded, while finishing her bland, tasteless meal. "I am fully aware of the fact that I am boring." The woman concluded the source of the lack of taste.

Putting the bowl back on top of the crate, she expressed gratitude for the food, even if it was far from what she could call a proper meal. "Thank you for the meal," She nodded lightly, almost bowing. Looking at one of the twins who apparently forgot what they came here for, she quickly reminded. "Also, Tock, remember when I said we're here to ask the Guardian about the Ascent?"

Sighing, she turned to Thomas, her left hand motioning toward the direction of the Ascent. "We're on our way to the Ascent. From what we've heard, the path is very dangerous and the twins here informed me that you could provide some help."

@Tick Tock @Kyanna Wynne

 

[Tick Tock]

Right away! I got it written somewhere around my notes...

Thomas patted at his own clothes in search of his notepad, seconds before Eva pulled out a cartridge, staring at it as he scratched away at his chin as he tried to not look entirely clueless about guns, nodding at the current expert on the matter- Maybe a bullet would work where an arrow couldn't?

Sorry! I didn't...- Wait no I'm sure you are pretty interesting, Eva. Just... Need to get to know you better!

He recovered his confidence after that mishap, inspired by Kyanna's determination to push through the Ascent.

"Oh oh! Tock has pumpkin seeds. Do birds like these?" Tock interjected once the witch pondered about birdseeds. It wasn't exactly the same, but she wouldn't know unless she asked, and the prospect of being useful excited her beyond belief.

"Worry not mama, Tick and Tock know very well what we are here for, and that is: Tasty soup and help on our way to the Ascent. The watchdog keeper is the best guide we could ask for!" She waved her hand towards him, which prompted him to awkwardly shift his hands into his pockets at the sudden attention.

Fortunately Eva broke the ice for him quick enough, and a light frown dropped upon his features. His eyes cast away as he glanced over his shoulder at the distance, to what Kyanna had taken notice of earlier: The building far far away into the Ascent.

It will be dangerous. Even if we manage to make it into the valley, there are plenty of other dangers to be wary of.

And that is without including the sapient hostiles, the road was worrisome, but once he gave a glance over to the twins, the witch and the terminator, a smirk formed upon his lips.

I'll be more than glad to help, if you four could help me reach the other watch-tower. I lost contact with the guardian there and I'm kind of worried. It's just been two days but...

"We get it, mister! Kyanna and mama are expert problem-solvers, we will find that guardian easy peasy if you would guide us. Right?!" Tick turned over to the group, with Tock resting her hands behind her head, waiting for the pair to say the obvious.

"Tock will go and get the horses ready. Tock could use a very talented and very cute and very powerful fungi witch's help on this." She wiggled her brows over to Kya, leaning a little against her shoulder before turning back towards their cart.

I will get Kyanna her recipe and pack up some hiking equipment and lanterns just in case. But you and Eva are free to help with that too, they are over behind the cauldron.

Most of the boxes were stacked in a similar fashion to the ones at the top of the tower, and further inspection from anyone on the group would tell they are all of variable size and weight, with their contents ranging from mere tools to clothing. Some wear and tear was present, however, implying this wasn't the first time they were used, or packed up in the first place. The bent nails were proof of it.

@Eva @Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna frowned at Eva's words, quickly interveening. "That's not right, Eva. You are very cool, you aren't boring at all!" She exclaimed, certain of it- Or at least, subjectively she thought so. "You are amazing, great, badass too!"

Her eyes then turned to Tock, and she nodded quickly- "They love it. Actually, they are excellent, they are very nutritious for birds, but... Why do you have pumpkin seed?" Kyanna blinked, curious about why the puppet would have that. Birdseed in general was a thing, but a pumpkin seed? Well, it was Tock, so maybe Kyanna was overthinking.

However, the overthinking only grew when the man revealed the guardian was missing for a bit, which made a frown cross her face.

"Really? This means we need to do some extra work to find them..." She sighed, casting a brief glance at Eva as soon as Tick declared them to be great problem-solvers. "Eva more than me. You are good at investigation, aren't you, Eva? Maybe we can find an answer-"

And as the man stepped away to get the equipments ready, the soft bump on her shoulder made her look at Tock, showing a sheepish smile after the usual flurry of compliments. "Sure, I can help you, Tock."

@Eva @Tick Tock