Fantasy Cursed Island

[Darkling0096]

Breakfast passed relatively uneventful outside of the immediate mess with Niudisa's outburst. While the group was packing up, Jerry stopped by Erina's cart with the hydra eggs. "Figured you might get a use out of these," she explained, "Asta and I found them in the hydra's nest, Nalla says they'll probably hatch." Erina was the one with the magic chains, anyway.

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina looked over as she was folding up her loom. “Eggs? Ah, I see. I’ll do what I can.”

Shuffle didn’t have anything to pack, so she was right back to the puzzle box.

 

[Darkling0096]

"Niudisa thinks she can get some use out of the hatchlings, and you can control things, so," Jerry put the trio of eggs in Erina's cart, "I leave them in your hands." She stopped on the way back to strap Asta up to check on the dragon turtle egg, and then saddled Asta up, picked up Poli, and climbed into the saddle.

Once everyone was ready to go, or at least able to move on, they departed the hedge, following the island inward. It might have a tunnel leading off of it.

 

[Fangs9090]

As the group pressed on, Emil looked around at the cavern. "Seeing all these massive cave systems, one has to wonder just how much of our world is hollow."

 

[Darkling0096]

"We cannot know the details of how the gods constructed our world," Joanne shook her head, "There is likely more to this than we can understand."

 

[Fangs9090]

"True. I don't think that will stop adventurers from trying though. There's always someone looking to explore the unknown."

 

[Darkling0096]

"I'd rather be exploring the vault of some noble with too much gold," Jerry muttered as the group continued on. Eventually, well past the hydra nest, the air became warmer, and smelled of raw meat. Not rotten, like meat tended to in this place, but raw. Like it wasn't the meat of something corrupted. As they walked, the ground became mushier, and had a reddish tint to it.

 

[Fangs9090]

Shuffle's nose twitched and she shook her head. "We just ate, but that smell is making me hungry again. Where's the healing water?"

Emil glanced at the ground. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this..."

 

[Darkling0096]

"We're in a dungeon that doesn't seem to end," Jerry shook her head, "Having a bad feeling means you're smart enough to stay alive." She tossed the flask down to Shuffle so she could drink from it. "Just keep your eyes open and your ears focused."

Eventually, though, the landscape started to change appearance more drastically. It didn't just smell like meat, it looked like it too. Trees had what looked like skin, with veins coursing through it. The ground pulsed like an enormous heartbeat. Red liquid welled-up around feet as they stepped forward. The ground looked like muscle, twitching every now and again.

 

[Fangs9090]

Shuffle took a big gulp of water, deciding to carry the flask with her for the time.

Niudisa looked around at the fleshy surroundings. "Everyone else is seeing this too, right?" She pulled up her lens again, just to check if the trees had bones.

Raine moved a little closer to the middle of the group. "Was this the only path...?"

 

[Darkling0096]

The trees did indeed seem to have something akin to bones. Not quite bone, but much stronger than cartilage. Nobody answered Raine's question about this being the only path, but as they pushed forward there didn't seem to be any kind of feeders wandering around.

"Guys?", Jerry pointed off into the distance where a humanoid figure could be seen walking around.

 

[Fangs9090]

Fia tilted her head as she saw the figure. "Someone's here?"

Emil shook his head. "Considering our surroundings and the lack of feeders, that's suspicious. Be careful."

 

[Darkling0096]

"No shit," Jerry reached for her bow as the figure began to wander in their direction. As it got closer, it looked to be a girl, wearing a dress that went all the way to the floor. She didn't seem bothered at all by her surroundings. She cocked her head when she got a good look at the party.

"You aren't feeders," she sounded intrigued.

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina tilted her head. "Neither are you... This is hardly the place for a pleasant stroll."

 

[Darkling0096]

"Isn't it, though?", the girl spread her arms around her and twirled, "This place is safe!" Through Niudisa's magical lense, she could see that this girl wasn't a separate entity from the world around her, she was attached to the ground, and moving around by moving the flesh she was seemingly grown out of.

 

[Fangs9090]

"But, not for us..." Niudisa muttered as she fluttered over to Jerry, letting her see through the lens and talking quietly to her. "Got a plan for this?"

 

[Darkling0096]

"It's safe," the girl insisted.

Jerry went a bit pale when she saw what was coming through Niudisa's lense. "Let's just see if we can pass through, find the heart and destroy it if we can't," she whispered back, "Try not to piss her off." She sat up straight to address the flesh-girl. "I'm sure your forest is safe," she nodded and smiled at the flesh-woods. "But my party can't stay here, we have business to attend to."

 

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa nodded as she dismissed the lens. She opted to stay quiet. Peace talks and not upsetting people weren’t her strong suits.

 

[Darkling0096]

The girl looked saddened by the announcement the party couldn't stay. "You don't want to stay for dinner?"

"We cannot," Joanne apologized, "But we intend to come back this way once we have completed our business. We can have dinner with you then, if you'd like?"

 

[Fangs9090]

Shuffle nodded. "We just ate anyway, so we're not hungry."

 

[Darkling0096]

The girl looked down at the ground for a moment. "You promise?" Nods. "Pinky promise?"

"I swear on my honor that when we pass through here again, we will provide a feast that shall last many days and nights." Joanne put a fist over her heart, "I give you the oath of a paladin."

"Hmm," the girl looked down at the ground again, and a giant flesh hand reached up out of the ground to shake. "Shake on it."

 

[Fangs9090]

Some of the others just looked at the hand in silence, unsure how to respond to that. Shuffle, missing the meaning, shook her whole body in reply. Raine was already backing away, getting ready to run.

 

[Darkling0096]

Seeing no one else was stepping forward, Joanne stepped up to shake the giant meat hand.

"Okay!", the girl smiled and stepped aside, "My forest won't bother you!" She gestured in the distance, "There's a cave entrance in that direction, you guys might be able to move on in that direction."

 

[Fangs9090]

Emil hesitated before dipping his head. "Ah, thank you." It seemed too easy, so he was remaining cautious.

Erina had to offer Raine a ride on her cart to keep the kobold from preemptively hiding somewhere.

 

[Darkling0096]

Caution did seem to be the proper course, everyone keeping a hand on or near their weapon as they passed the smiling girl. "Are we going to-"

"Later, just keep moving and don't piss her off," Jerry hissed at Veo.