Fantasy Tales of Raeligard

[EmperorsChosen]

Location: Oyten, Murder Forest
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As they ventured inward, nothing seemed to go awry. Some vines lashed outward here and there, but it was relatively easy to respond to since they were expecting it. The knife slit through them like butter and even her gauntlets slashed through them with relative ease. Hysydice seemed to be getting whatever she didn't. Such a change in attitude, even though Lucia didn't see what she said as entirely defensive of the woman. Nonetheless, it was a bridge built, not burned, so she would take it. Perhaps she could teach her in their off time.

As they came to a stop, Lucia rubbed her own shoulders as she rotated her neck a bit, trying to massage some of the fatigue away. "Or is it significantly larger than we previously surmised? And we are simply farther in the outskirts than we thought," She added. "You also said that the vines would adopt new forms, yet none have attacked us."

@Team A

 

[AnonyMouse]

Sen Hyazari​

Location: Oytenrand Greatwoods​

"Is... Is it possible that there is more than one of the Esservine here?" Thea asked. "Or that this is a special one that was placed here by design only days ago?"

Sen frowned at the question, not because it was a bad one, but beacuse it had been running through her mind as well and the implications were troubling, if true. "I ain't never heard of nobody tryin' to grow the damned things," the Syrieth said. "Why would they? Far as I know, ya can't control 'em. They spread like weeds, fuck up every ecosystem they touch, and ain't got nothin' worth harvesting. And two would... compete? Mate? Never seen it, so I don't know."

"Maybe messing up the ecosystem is the point," Falco added.

At this, Sen scoffed. "Oyten's a nice l'il town, don't get me wrong, but they're nobodies. Who'd wanna fuck with 'em? For fun? Cuz there sure ain't no profit in it, that's for sure," she said, falling back into her bandit mindset. "I ain't rulin' out any possibility. People do dumb shit all the time. I just don't get it."

"At least we are doing well away from the river," Thea went on to say, refocusing them on the task before them. "We cannot be lax, though I must say this has made up for missing my training routine. I think I've not had to spin my blade so much since my father trained me."

"Hey, at least you've got range. Knife does the trick, but I'm tired o' lettin' these slimy fucks get close," Sen said with a smile. "Slingin' big iron's funner. Not gonna lie, yer makin' me miss it, knight. Might have to nab a big 'fuck off' sword o' my own, once this is over" She cackled with laughter and was about to tell the knight to get moving again, but her favorite adventurer spoke up next. Sen put considerable effort into not grimacing as she turned to the girl.

"If this is a young one... Are we safe here?" Hyss asked. "More importantly, can it um, regenerate, for lack of a better word? Grow quick enough to regenerate those lost vines we just cut through? At its heart will its vines grow so unnaturally fast we will have no breathing room?"

"Or is it significantly larger than we previously surmised? And we are simply farther in the outskirts than we thought," Lucia added. "You also said that the vines would adopt new forms, yet none have attacked us."

Sen took a deep breath, not because the beastkin girl was annoying her again --she wasn't, finally-- but because she didn't want to fuck this up:

"We ain't safe anywhere, which is why we should get movin,'" Sen said, keeping her tone calm and level. She nodded to Thea and the group began to move once more, but not without a proper answer to both girls' questions. If Hyss was actually receptive to learning and willing to listen to what she had to say, Sen would not waste this opportunity to teach or to offer her experiences as guidance. As for Lucia, her concerns were very much aligned with what Sen was thinking on the matter.

"That's what I'm thinkin', too. We're only beginnin' to scratch the surface," she said, responding to Lucia, despite keeping her eyes and attention on the forest around and before them. "This one's different, but I think I can safely say it can't regenerate faster than we can retreat," she said, shifting to Hyss's question. "Whatever we sever, is dead... but, if ya cut a finger off, it can still use that hand. if ya cut that hand off, it can still use that arm. Ya get me?" She hoped Hyss could follow the analogy. She and this girl were like ships crossing one another in the night and, at times, it felt like they couldn't even agree that they were both on water.

"We do enough damage and it'll either recoil from us, or focus us down," Sen said, lowering her stance and looking from left to right, as if she sensed something. "Right now, it's still recoiling. But, once it starts doin' the latter, we'll really know what we're dealin' with. That's when- THORNS! We got one!" she shouted as she suddenly charged off to the left toward a nearby tree.

Around its fungus-encrusted trunk was a thick, pulsating, green vine, covered in sharp thorns. The pulses were faster than most they had seen before, which suggested this one was close to the heart. As the Syrieth closed the distance, it rose from the tree, like an angry snake preparing to strike. Sen led with her shield for the last couple of steps, before slicing it with her hunting knife in one swift stroke. The severed end of the vine went limp and fell to the ground as Sen bounced back to regroup and reassess what remained. The living remnant of the vine began to slither up the trunk, where she could see there was much, much, much more to it. The canopy above them was laced with similar vines, descending from the tangled branches, each covered in small, needle-like thorns. They all began to writhe and move, now that their 'fingertip' had been severed.

The adventurers had seen this scenario play out many times before: cut a vine, and watch as the remainder slithers away, presumably retreating to defend the heart. However, these did not slither away. The network of vines above their heads moved erratically, swarming and flowing together. They were aware of the adventurers' presence, but did not seem to be aware of each adventurer's individual position.

Sen froze, planting her feet. "Schuerer, what's the play?" she said, calm and even. Her words ellicited no response from the esservine. It was not looking for sounds, but movement.

She felt confident they could likely cut through this, but whomever took the first step would make their presence known and be targeted. She was more than willing to be that person, and would follow if someone else got this party started, but Sen didn't want to initiate combat until she was sure the others were prepared. The esservine's feelers were blocking their path and searching for prey. She paused to assess her surroundings: a network of vines overhead. bulbous, puffball-like fungi dotted the trees around them, which she had not seen before. The rapid pulses suggested they were close to the heart, if they could press through this. It definitely felt like a final line of defense.

Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun (Thea) / EmperorsChosen (Lucia) / Thalia_Neko (Hyss) / Topless (Sakura)

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oytenrand Greatwood​

As the conversation flowed all around, Thea bided her time, waiting for a brief break to speak up, "Hmm, regardless of it being old, young, many of somethings "pet" turned loose, we will only find answers if we search." Before she could say anything else the situation deteriorated rapidly. A new vine had arrived, a large one with thorns from what looking like a fungus tree in the near distance, one which Sen delt with quick and efficiently.

If only it could be so simple. Thea thought to herself. It also seemed she would need to dictate this as well as seemingly dozens of the same vines dangled from the treetops, searing for them as Sen remained still, not a bad idea, but they could not keep up at this, sooner or later, someone would have to move. Looking around herself, Thea, was not pleased with the obvious choice for this. Herself. Falco's chainmail had too many holes to invited him to bleed, Lucia, Sakura and Hyss had no such armor. Hyss would claim to be fleet footed and fast, but one fuck up would be the end of her potentially. And this beast did not seem to understand or to detect speech.

"Alright. We want answers and we need to kill this thing, I will be putting a measure of faith into you all, myself and the Goddess. I shall move, my armor offers me protection, but I have spots I cannot armor, once the vines come for me, strike. Once I can freely move we chase after the retreating tendrils and see what lies at the source, but ever vigilant. Make no mistake, I have no intentions of falling here and I rather my legs not get broken. Sen, I leave some of the cutting to you. And remember, all of you, three feet."

With those words said, Thea immediately goes to stomping her feet and slapping her blade into her right armor, as she spun the blade like before. The plants being quick to react, even as she cut them down, some of the strands kept up the attack as bits of it would bite into metal, leather, chainmail and flesh. Even drawing blood here and there as she sliced into the green mass. "GO! Urk!" Some of them stung.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen Thalia_Neko AnonyMouse Topless

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Currently: Still annoyed but focusing on the mission
Thinking: "Do what I can... we'll defeat this thing!"

Location: forest
Interacting:
Mentions:
​

Hyss understood that. It was more Sen didn't understand what exactly she was asking. But, there was no need to press it. Likely Sen didn't know exactly anyway. Her question was more of just a question to the entire group, and wouldn't be answered till they saw the thing up close.

Hyss nudged her hood off. She needed a full field of vision for this new threat. The strange thorned bulbous vines were extremely threatening. Even Sen was playing it safe -something Hyss didn't think was possible for the woman. As for herself, she kept as quiet as possible, and made no movements. This was Hyss at her quietest, not a single vibration. There was no way this monster would ever target her, so she kept her eyes peeled if she needed to protect anyone. Lucia had definitely noticed she was helping, so she wasn't protecting her as strongly this time. But she still kept her eyes peeled, her vision sharp.

Thea was making herself its target, assuming her armor would best protect her. Still, they would need to defend the knight woman. Hyss' eyes scanned the canopy of writhing vines while the others clashed and slashed at the vines near Thea below. Hyss posed, aimed, and threw Fangflake. The weapon cut through the air with a vicious spin, savagely slicing through several vines above like butter. Tearing through them, leaving them in tatters.

"The wind howls.. A swift zephyr, cyclone winds. Return!" she firmly intoned, and her Arcanizer glowed faintly. Fangflake returned to her outstretched hand, as she prepared another throw. Meanwhile she remained steady, keeping her own movements and motions to a minimum. She doubted the vines would notice her at all with the way Thea was making noise, and anyone else who was cutting and defending Thea from the vines.

​

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Location: Oyten, Murder Forest
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It seemed to be as Lucia surmised and their mark was greater than first understood. However, they were making progress given Sen's callout. Thorny appendages, pulsing more obviously than the ones previously encountered. They wriggled and writhed, however did not retract. According to what the older Caskarieth said, that meant they were close.

Lucia stayed still, given they followed vibration and not sound. However, Thea's plan left much to be desired. There was that foolhardy martyrdom of hers, so eager to take a blow.

As the vines descended, Lucia sliced and cut at them with the dagger, even catching some with her plated fist before severing them with the blade. Though under-armored against an ordinary opponent, the areas of her body these things targeted were covered, save for her neck. She even let a few wrap along her plate only to cut them with her free hand. If what Sen said was true, they had a limit. What they cut they didn't have to worry about.

@Team A

 

[King Crimson]

Current Location: Outside Heine Warehouse #5​

The vial's effects, compounded with the deteriorated state her her mind and body were in, were immediate, and visceral.
Cressey's face turned a pale shade of green, her body tearing itself from the merchant's grasp as she turned away and retched the contents of stomach onto the ground.
After several moments of agonized coughing, gagging and wheezing, however, she turned back towards Talio, her eyes distinctly sobered, and more than a little hurt.
"You...didn't have to go that far..." she hoarsely croaked, wiping off the remnants of drool on her mouth with one hand, while the other made to wipe the tears away from her bloodshot eyes.

She'd regained some semblance of her composure, at least enough to be cognizant, but the pained anguish in her face was far too clear in her downcast eyes, and in her uncharacteristically crushed, defeated sounding voice; a far cry from her earlier resolute confidence.
"Y-You're right...both of you," Cressey admitted, sitting on the dirt floor, curled almost into a fetal position.
Cressey's eyes remained fixed in the floor, her breath steadied, coming out through her nose in harsh, rueful sighs.
She felt so small, so pathetic, she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
"I...I should be better then this. I should have been able to strike down those bandits with little effort. I should have been able to keep you all safe..."
"...But I couldn't lay a damn finger on the bastard! I was like a pathetic child!" she exploded, her fist, shaking and clenched so tightly her knuckles bleached white within her gauntlet, slamming furiously into the dirt in frustration.
"I practice every day! I pushed boulders the size of my own body up hills for weeks with Vivian! I learned to use this stupid rock from Cephilia! I used every tactic I could think of, and took every opportunity I could!"
Her fist struck the earth again as she shrieked, "...So what am I doing wrong!? Why can't I hit anything!?"
The rest of her anger petered out, passing through her with another defeated sigh, leaving only melancholy in it's wake, as she curled up tighter into a sad, self-loathing ball.
"...And now...they may be well on their way to put Lori down for good, we're injured, exhausted, and helpless to stop them, until Arien can come to clean up our mess..."
Scanning over to look at Lupa and Talio, she regretfully adds, "...And I'm here, forcing you to listen to me bemoan my inept failures..."
Another rueful sigh escapes her as she turns her mournful gaze back to the ground.
"I'm sorry," she says.
"I just...I just can't stand to leave things like this..."


Interacting:
Silver Wolf (Lupa)
TreasureSniper (Talio)

 

[TreasureSniper]

Location: Outside Heine Warehouse 5
Interaction: Silver Wolf (Lupa) , King Crimson (Cressey)​

"My apologies." Talio immediately apologized upon seeing Cressey unload her guts. He didn't think that the smell was that bad. But then again, he had already become accustomed to the scent due to how many of these bigs he had to exterminate back home at his family's warehouses. Talio was just about to leave when he immediately felt a tug on his wrist. "Hmm?" the merchant turned his head to meet the Lupa's disapproving gaze, he himself seemed unfazed by her actions, but nonetheless, he was willing to stay and listen to what the beastfolk had to say. He stayed silent, allowing her to freely speak without any interruption. While her words were...not as diplomatic as he would like, nonetheless, he was able to read between the lines of what she had just said.

Her harsh glare of warning was met with a stare of indifference from Talio, though this was more out of habit than disrespect, as he was accustomed to not showing any emotion in important discussions whether it be negotiations with fellow businessmen or talks with bandits. Halfway through her explanation, he had already made up his mind on his next course of action. While her anecdotal story was...an odd inclusion, he understood her point of it is far too dangerous to pursue this matter further in their current condition. "I suppose you're right." Talio sighed, admitting that Lori was right, as he gently pull his hand free from her grasp. While he was slightly peeved by her tone, her argument and reasoning were sound. "In that case, let's just take a rest on the tree over there while we wait." Seeing as all of them were exhausted from their combat encounter, they might as well take refuge in a more shaded area.

Having made his decision to stay, Talio turned his attention to Cressey who was finally sobering up. It was not a pretty sight to say the lease. From what he can tell, this warrior was not used to losing fights, at least not like this. The assumptions of her own strength and capabilities were optimistic to say the least. Though he too has trodden that path before and it cost him dearly. "Cressey...I think we all did the best we could do, given the situation." The only thing he wishes he had done differently was to prevent Lori from going alone. Considering the gap between the skill and power of their opponents, it was fortunate enough that all of them got out with relatively minor injuries. He would want to elaborate further on the strength of the opponents, but now was not exactly the best time for that. "Neither can I. But the best course of action, as Lupa said, is to wait for Arien's arrival. I doubt that we can do more on our own. At least not in our current condition." While the results of that bout were disappointing, at the end of the day, he must realize he's just a merchant with a fancy arm. And that will only get him so far in a fight. "The sin is not in being outmatched, but in failing to recognize it." Talio quoted a book had read, one written by an adventurer he admired. Talio placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to comfort her in her time of need. "At least we're still here. and with that comes an opportunity for redemption, for all of us."

Taking out a vial of disinfecting alcohol and a roll of bandages from his pouch, he would pass these items to Lupa. "Here, it's not ideal, but it will have to do for now." He always made it a habit to carry parts of his medic kit with him, though unfortunately, he didn't have anything that could alleviate Cressey's pain of defeat. "I am gonna make some notes on the bandits we have encountered while the memory is still fresh on my mind." Talio walked towards the tree while taking out his notebook. He sat down under the shade and wrote down notable details of these opponents such as height, race, and appearance. Although they were only rough estimates. He was fairly confident in his ability to record the approximate dimensions of an object from all the years of recording his inventory. He also made note of the techniques they used as well as his own shortcomings. And from there, his thoughts were already focusing on the next contraption he would need to avoid this problem in the future.

Right as he tried to write another word, loud noises of metal scraping on each other could be heard coming from his arm. Its movement was janky, and unnatural, bending in ways impossible for a normal arm. And eventually..." SNAP!"...the metal arm ceased to function, going completely limp. Talio sighed in disappointment and defeat, worrying about how much it was going to cost to repair such a sophisticated machine. He could only hope that his wagon still had the spare parts needed to repair it. In his heart, he hopes to meet these elves again. Who else was he going to charge the bill to? No longer being able to write, Talio used his one good arm to close his not book and pocket his pen. From there, took out the peace of the sword he had managed to break and inspected it, wanting to determine if it was a metal he was familiar with.

 

[Topless]

Location: Oyten

It looked like the break didn't last long as Sen went up to some tree wrapped in thorny vines and above them are more vines. It seemed that the Esservine has fully established the adventurers as a threat. Thea was leading the charge, encouraging her companions to protect her. Sakura acknowledged the command as she clawed onto the incoming vines.

Considering their thorns, clawing then proved to be very cumbersome, with some of them managed to stick on the beastkin's hands and claws. Eventually, Sakura had enough. With a deep breath, she let out something that doesn't seemed to be very fitting of her.

"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Sakura howled. A very bloodcurdling one too. The vines may not hear it, but her companions can. It is very telling from that alone that Sakura was getting pissed. Her clawing turned a lot more violent than before, including her vicious biting. If one where to take note of it, they would noticed detail; that is not a sound that a fox makes.

AnonyMouse Reinhardt RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Thalia_Neko
​

 

[AnonyMouse]

Sen Hyazari​

Location: Oytenrand Greatwoods​

The knight chose the sacrifice play, which was to be expected. She pressed forth, making as much ruckus as possible to draw the vines' attention. The plant's response was nearly instantaneous. Thea seemed to trust her armor more than her allies but, lucky for her, both faithfully performed their roles. Lucia, Falco, and the fox began to fight in her wake, drawing some attention to themselves and taking a bit of heat off of their beseiged leader.

Despite her instincts telling her exactly what to do, Sen waited for a few precious seconds, while observing the others. She was not alone on this mission, and thus could not simply act on pure instinct, as was the Syrieth way. If they weren't here, she would have tried to navigate the sea of vines by dodging, weaving, moving without thought, maneuvering as the way of the wilds instructed her to do. It might work. It might not. Such is the nature of nature.

Not acting, when every fiber of her being told her to, was more difficult than the alternative. But sometimes, ya gotta slow down, to speed up, she told herself, remembering the words of an old comrade from a past life. As she watched the rookies, a path forward began to take shape in her mind's eye and a sadist's grin began to curl the corners of her lips as she unbuckled her shield and raked her fingertips along its battle-scarred surface, while muttering an incantation: "Spirit of the ouroboros... avenging winds... imbue this weapon..." she repeated the words four times, pressing her palm to the shield's surface as her arcanizer began to glow pale jade.

Meanwhile, the party's self-proclaimed 'Shadow' began to make her way forward, utilizing what she claimed to be her best asset: stealth. In truth, Sen had never attempted to sneak up on an esservine. Both times she had faced one, her tactic was to charge in, using sheer brute force with a bit of positioning and a distraction or two, only relying on subterfuge when cornered or overwhelmed. She found it was possible to have the esservine lose track of you, even after you've been targeted, via some careful footwork... but it wasn't easy. And failure meant being surrounded by tendrils, while cutting your way to the esservine at least gave you a clear path out, if things went to shit... which they always did, inevitably.

To be honest, she had only suggested stealth to give the 'useless' girl purpose. A test, if you will. Hyss's overly cautious approach and constant waffling and bitching --as if braving danger isn't a Kriegslowe's job!-- really pissed Sen off. She wanted to see what Hyss would do if offered a risky approach, suited specifically to her. No more excuses. No backing down. What do you do when you are the answer? Sen thought as she watched the snake inch forward. She wouldn't be much of an observer if she didn't test them, after all. Which led them all to this moment...

The stealthy approach worked. The plants took no notice of Hyss but, to Sen's surprise, the girl still tried to support her allies by throwing her glaive. Still not doing it like I told ya. Idiot, Sen scoffed... though at this point, she was just looking for reasons to be salty.

Sakura's howl cut through the air, like the call of a great and powerful predator and spurred Sen into action. The fox appeared to be struggling a bit, but Sen didn't interpret the animal call as a cry for help. "Haha, are we doin' battlecries now? Alright! Ayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!" she joined the fray.

They had been traveling approximately west all day, if Sen's internal compass was to be trusted. Her small detour to attack the first vine, before all of this mess started had taken her a few meters north of the others. Thea was fighting at the head of their formation, further west than the main group of Lucia, Falco, and Sakura. Meanwhile, Hyss was slowly arcing southwest, avoiding the commotion caused by the others. Keeping heat off of her, while also ensuring Thea doesn't get overwhelmed was Sen's primary focus.

With that in mind, the veteran Kriegslowen repositioned, using especially heavy footsteps to draw the esservine's attention. When she spied vines descending onto her position, she curled through the air, and slung her shield, using her body's rotation to add extra spin and power to the attack. The metal disc sailed through the air, ricocheting off the tree where she had just been before returning to her hand. One, Sen counted as the jade glow paled marginally. The thrown weapon had the desired effect, drawing vines to where the shield had struck, instead of her current location. Needless to say, the diversion was shortlived, for she was still noisily traveling toward Thea and the others, who were slowly advancing in the direction they believed the esservine's heart to be.
Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun (Thea) / EmperorsChosen (Lucia) / Thalia_Neko (Hyss) / Topless (Sakura)

 

[Silver Wolf]

Location: Heine Warehouse 5
Interactions/Party: TreasureSniper (Talio), King Crimson (Cressey), Reinhardt (GM/PLEAAASE bring senpai)


​

Lupa listened as the Valgemian merchant comforted their smaller comrade, but didn't say anything until Talio handed her some disinfecting alcohol. She gave a smile and thanked him before getting to work on the bandages. While she rubbed the alcohol on her wound, she hissed at first before pushing through and working to thoroughly clean her area to prevent any future infection. After that, she looked to Cressey and decided, maybe she should pitch in to cheer her up.

"Look, I don't know what you've gone through in life, Cressey, but maybe I can give you some advice. You may be more experienced than me by a mission, but I'm still your senior in life and maybe combat. You can't win every encounter with the enemy. Trying to do so is how most of us in the military go to meet Aurelia. I'll tell you, my adoptive father, a former knight, loved drilling this lesson into me during training. In the end, it saved my life too many times to count. Sometimes, we have to retreat, make sacrifices, or painstakingly wait for whatever news comes. The most important mission at the end of the day is to lose as few people as possible, yourself included."

She looked to the child and while she was looking away, Lupa gave a small flick and closed one eye in a wink while her smile stayed on her face. If one looked, they could see how her facial muscles fought to hide her discomfort as she continued to clean her wound, how exhausted and sweaty her face seemed. Dirt from the dust caked her face, but still she smiled.

"I for one am grateful for your actions today. You made the right call giving Zest to Endymion, and you were of great assistance in making sure we kept the warehouse and whatever is currently inside it intact. Had it been one less of us, we may not have succeeded at that. If anything should be seen in your failure, it should be that you still have a long way to go. You can't change the outcome, but you can still improve yourself for the future encounters. Now, maybe you can help me with my bandages now that my wound's as clean as I can get it for now. I'll keep the clothing out of the way."

Lupa handed Cressey the bandages and lifted up her clothing to reveal her stomach, which was both scarred and toned due to her previous profession and disciplined training. It was clear from the fading of the scars and the firmness of the muscle that Lupa spent years with the scars and perhaps more building and maintaining the figure Cressey's small hands would help bandage. Yet, even she admitted to her loss, and just said that it was an important part of improving. Despite her years of training and experience, she hadn't stood a chance against the combined might of the elves, even with their help.

"Guess I still have a long way to go too..." the wolfgirl thought to herself as she gazed at the sky and took in the environment. She gave a short yawn as she listened to the swaying of the wind and leaves along with the scribbles of Talio's notes. She may have lost her first battle, but she was determined to keep trying. It's not like she had anything else going for her right now anyways.

 

[Reinhardt]

Lieured(?), ??? & ???​

Location: Outside Heine Warehouse 6​

Eventually, the two elves retreated to just outside Heine Warehouse 6, where the woman they called as lieutenant awaited. As the two approached, the male elf fiddled with his damaged Arcanizer and attempted to hammer out the resulting dent from one of the recruits' earlier attacks. The female elf's gaze eventually matched the lieutenant's, and made her pause in her steps for a moment, before following her brother. In time, the two stopped before the lieutenant, as the male elf ceased fiddling with his Arcanizer.

The lieutenant's gaze darted all over the elves before she spoke.

"What held you up?", she asked.

The two elves retold their encounter with the recruits, with the female elf taking the lead and the male elf occasionally chiming in his inputs. The lieutenant's gaze remained fixed on them as she listened to their tale, and it was rather evident that she was not quite satisfied with what they were saying. In the midst of it, the lieutenant

"So you lost.", she abruptly said.

"Well...", the male answered. "...those guys were not normal, lieutenant."

"They're Kriegslöwen. Normal is not what you should expect from them.", the lieutenant said with a rather ticked-off tone. Her eyes swiftly locked onto the female elf."And you. Are you certain that their backup has arrived?"

"Y-yes, ma'am!", the female elf replied with a slight hesitation.

The lieutenant clicked her tongue as she swiftly looked at the warehouse, then at the road where the elves came from. "We're done here. Return to base."

"What about the other wareh-", the male elf interjected.

"Leave it. Remember the captain's orders.", the woman said firmly. "We are not to confront the Kriegslöwen."

"What about the chicken we caught?", the male added.

"They can have her.", the woman responded, as she, and the two elves, fled from the scene, disappearing into the distant horizon.

Interaction/s: ---

Arien / Zest​

Location: Path to Heine Warehouse 5 → Outside Heine Warehouse 5​

Once Endymion was finished with his message Zest would no longer emit the same glow. The bird remained still within his cusped hand, but its gaze was no longer on him, but on the distant horizon along the path. At this point, it would become clear what the next step would be - waiting for Arien to arrive. Hopefully, just as the voice had told Endymion, Arien would have listened to what he had said. Hopefully, Zest was able to relay his words to her master without fail.

At some point in time, during the wait, the bird would flap its wings and fly off into the distance. It didn't take a while after that for a familiar figure to emerge from the distance, swiftly and steadily heading towards Endymion, as if the winds were pushing his steps forward. A blue bird perched on the figure's shoulder, right beside the striped scarf that was subtly being blown by the wind. A bow on one hand, with a quiver of arrows on the side. It didn't take much to figure out exactly who was coming.

Arien paused in his tracks right before he passed Endymion. There were no words spoken, only a nod to Endymion's direction. It was clear that time was of the essence - if Endymion was to come along with Arien, he would feel the winds at his feet as a green glow lit up from Arien's right chest area, allowing him to keep up with Arien's clearly magically enhanced traversal speed without much effort. Regardless, Arien would move on, following the road that led to Heine Warehouse 5.

Whilst the three recruits rested under the shade of nearby trees, a familiar blue bird flew towards them. It circled above their heads before it finally chose to land on one of the lower branches of a nearby tree. It tilted its head as it gazed upon the weary trio and gave a loud chirp, which was followed by two familiar figures emerging from the distance. These two blurry silhouettes gradually became clearer and clearer as they grew closer to the trio, and in time, would stop in their tracks just before the three recruits.

The winds at Arien's and Endymion's feet ceased at their arrival, with the green glow at his chest swiftly fading away. Arien's silent gaze darted from one recruit to the other as he started to take a step forward.

"Seems like we arrived a little too late.", Arien said as he knelt on the ground to inspect the traces of conflict which remained. He rose from the ground and approached the three recruits, at the same time gesturing Endymion to come closer and regroup. "Can any of you get me up to speed?"

Interaction/s: Cresslinde ( King Crimson ), Lupa ( Silver Wolf ), Talio ( TreasureSniper ), Endymion( lunar_moth )

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Currently: Fighting the esservine heart
Thinking: "Holy @$*%!"

Location: esservine heart
Interacting: AnonyMouse EmperorsChosen everyone else
Mentions: Sakura Topless Thea RedArmyShogun
​

Spoiler: long post

Hyss had drawn quite a bit away from the others, which was nerve-racking, to be sure, but she was used to heightened tension. Or at least attempting to train herself to be. At any rate, it wasn't going to slow her down, or deter her. Nope, she wouldn't lose her edge because of that. It was the other's constant noise and racket that kept the esservine's attention, allowing her to go deeper into the nest of vines. She avoided cutting any, because she didn't want to draw attention to herself, and was getting a little worried about how they spread out around her, but still, she carried on. She crept near-perfectly. Footfalls as soft as she could make them. No vibrations. Or, she wanted to make no vibrations. These tiny vibrations were the best she could do at this point. It was her allies' commotion that kept the esservine completely busy.

Even as she drew closer, she kept a side-eye on her allies. If she had to, she'd break away to help. Or that's what she told herself. Even her ears pricked at the sound of a battle-cry, and that louder more-concerning howl. But she didn't waver. She trusted Thea's armor, and the nimbleness of her allies to keep her protected. Sen, even. Sen's strength was commendable after all. Being able to trust her allies to this degree is what allowed Hyss to put her entire focus into her twinkle-toe steps. Inching ever ahead.

Until she spotted it. The Beastkin paused, blinking. Was that it? This so called "heart"? Up ahead, hanging above was a large, bulbous... protrusion of fungus. The growth around it was nasty. But the heart itself was large -huge! Big enough to encase an entire man. -A man bigger than herself, obviously. Hyss' face creased with disgust. There was a patchwork of crisscrossing vines all above it, creating a canopy of sorts. The heart itself, upon closer inspection, appeared to be some sort of juice sac, or gland. It was semi-transparent, and red. And.. was.. it pulsing? Or was that just her imagination?

She was in the process of taking a step forward when as her foot pressed down, the vines suddenly shivered. Their reaction was so visceral. Like vibrating cords of an instrument. Those vibrating vines shook the forest, creating a blanketing sound like sea of hissing roaches. That caused Hyss to immediately freeze mid-step, breaking out into a cold sweat. The vibrating vines, suddenly stopped. They had responded to her. Finally.

Not good.

Hyss gently swallowed, then pushed her foot all the way down. No movement. Good.

That was around the time she began to notice her own surroundings. The heart above had just been too demanding that it had drawn her immediate attention. But now she was finding proper focus, and was able to see where she was. It appeared to be... a campsite of sorts. She was standing in the center of a campsite, with the heart hanging above. The area around was suspicious, to say the least. Quite suspicious.

Off to the side was a small log cabin. Demolished under the weight of vines. In a circle, busted-up tents, with their contents laid strewn about. Hyss was now able to scrutinize the campsite. Along with the aforementioned destroyed structures. The firepit was filled with ashes of long-ago burnt wood. Rations were thrown about and torn through. Lanterns broken, burn marks across the ground. Various other trinkets and utensils were strewn about. Abandoned gear, including a few knives. Well, old, nicked knives, but knives nonetheless. Which Hyss made a mental note of. For all intents and purposes.. it appeared like a tornado ripped through the place, but Hyss could guess what the real culprit was. Still.. she narrowed her eyes. What was going on here?

She could barely make heads or tails of it, but still attempted to make some sort of guess. It.. wasn't good. Her best guess? The people who this campsite belonged to -whoever they were- were.. trying to do something with the esservine. Perhaps.. create it? Create that? Was that?! Their endgame? Surely not... What would be the purpose?

Hyss focused her gaze once more up at the heart. Her allies were still fighting.. The longer this lasted the riskier it was. The more chance there was for something bad to happen. She was in position... This was why she had snuck up on this thing, right? But, all those vines.. Something still wasn't right... Regardless..

She took out Fangflake, the weapon opening up into its glaive-form. A big, metal throwing-star-like chakram with some very keen, nasty edges. Hyss took a deep breath, then shoved off from the ground, leaping high into the air. She twisted her body mid-air, as the vines around began to shiver again, reacting to her very-noticeable action.

Through the twist of her midsection, Hyss flung her glaive with full-force right at her target. "Ssssnyyaaaah!~" Releasing her own battle-cry simultaneously. The vines swarmed like bees from a hive. All raging around the heart and lunging towards her. Since the esservine couldn't hear, it had to guesstimate it's new prey's position mid-air based on the vibrations from the jump and from the various noises in the air. Some vines struck where she had left the ground for good measure. The ones aimed straight at her... Her glaive chopped through them like butter. The plant-like meat shreds flying through the air like leaves on a breeze.

Her glaive caught the heart, spinning against it with ferocious force. By this time, other vines had converged on her position. Hyss whipped out the knives she had quickly snatched. They were small and dull, but Falco and Lucia had the right idea with them. Her knives struck the heart meat-like vines that attempted to attack her. She clashed with them, scraping along them like they were metal, her own body small enough to scrunch up and avoid anything nasty.

Finally with the sounds of scraping, she slid out of the vines, still in the air. More vines launched at her, and she deflected them with purpose. One. Two. Three vines hit her knives, which she shoved to the side. Fangflake finally stopped its assault, and slid off the heart, much to Hyss's shock. But she noticed a noticeable cut along its surface that hadn't been there. Not deep enough...!

Another vine struck at her, and she was forced to respond by catching it between the two blades. Hyss grit her teeth as she was pushed up into the air, still blocking the strike. Nyyyyyyeeerrgrgrgrgrrr! Was.. that a roar?? Did the esservine just roar at her in frustration? Or was it her imagination. Hyss clenched her teeth, and flexed her arms. She wasn't the strongest, no, Sen held that trophy. Or perhaps Thea. But she was no slouch, despite her appearance. It took some effort to throw her glaive like she did. As she clenched her teeth with the level of exertion she was putting out and the pressure the vine was putting on her, her fangs pierced her lips, drawing blood; her eyes constricted to slits, with a loud, steady angry hiss suddenly coming from her throat.

Like scissors her two knives finally severed the tough vine that she was defending against. This gave her freedom to move again. She snapped her fingers, dropping the completely ruined knives. "The wind howls.. A swift zephyr, cyclone winds. Return!!" Hyss intoned with expedited emphasis. The glaive had still been flying through the air, having just rolled off the heart. Mid-air, winds grabbed it and it spun back towards its owner. It struck the heart again, as it had been directly in its path, bounced off and continued. The esservine had released another barrage of vines at its airborne opponent that it had failed to ensnare a moment ago. But the glaive made quick work of them, ripping through them from the other side this time on its way back to Hyss.

The vines became a shredded mess as Fangflake appeared before her, the girl catching it, just as a vine actually caught her by the ankle. But Hyss had her signature weapon back. A quick swipe and she cut that vine off. More vines were swarming around her once more. It was almost like the esservine was angry. It was getting even more frantic now. It was like she could feel its anger. If she were mammalian, her hair would be standing on end. The equivalent was jittery scales. Shhhhssssssssssssss! Was that a hiss? Hrssssssssss!! She hissed back aggressively, telling it how she wasn't backing down! She held her ground against Sen, she could do so against this freaking plant!

Elegantly she swiped Fangflake through the air, cutting away the vines once more. It had looked like a simple moon-like swipe. More vines converged. The esservine wasn't done! Hyss chopped a couple, then lithely kicked off another to gain more height. She took Fangflake in both her hands, stalled, then spun straight down, slicing through all the vines in her way, striking the ground. A flurry of shredded plant filled the air, falling like snow. She backflipped in perfect step as a mess of vines smashed down where she had just been. Landing lightfooted she snapped her glaive on her back, and plucked a makeshift bow off her waist.

After training a bit with Sakura, Hyss had spent a bit of time on her watch crafting this bow. It was small. A 'small bow' she thought it was called. Perhaps smaller than that, and even cruder. It was nothing more than twine on a small, weak, but bendable stick. Her arrows, just as crude. Nothing but sticks with their ends sharpened.

Hyss slapped two into the bow, aimed, took the briefest of moments to reflect on Sakura's teachings, holding the pose, lining up her shot. Then she loosed. The two twigs struck a nearby cooking pot that she had seen fallen on the ground. Just in time, too. The gentle donnnnn of the pot stopped the vines that had been just about to strike her. The pot wasn't a bell or anything, but the vibration it had emitted had been good enough. The vines forgot all about the silent, motionless being and went after the new vibrating target with a shark-like ferocity.

That was her chance! Another opening had presented itself.

One more!

She posed, then took a step and twisted her body, trying her best to emulate when she had seen Sen use her brute strength, putting all of her own strength into the throw. Teeth clenched once more, muscles flexing.

Fangflake whistled, like wind it cut through the air. The glaive, this time, satisfyingly sunk into the heart. Yes!

Hyss noticed at that moment. Damn! Still not good enough?!?! She turned. This was all she could do. Her magic built up, intoning her spell. And with foot on a swivel, she held up her hand, "Return!!!" She shouted.

It was at that moment, her eyes still barely back to see. Fangflake ripped out of the heart, a splash of amber plant juice spraying out of it. Then an arm of a person slid out of the new opening, with a torso catching at its shoulder. There was a person in there! A corpse, probably.

The split-second was over. Fangflake soared through the air, and she caught her glaive effortlessly as she turned and bolted away. By now the esservine had caught on. Vines ripped through the forest after her. -She had injured it right??!?!

Vines struck down where she was, but Hyss leapt out of the way. Left. Right. She never stopped running. A vine curled up under her. Her foot struck it and she shoved off. Another fine to her side, she twisted and kicked off that one. A vine got too close or was too irritating? She slashed through it with her glaive. The slippery snake sliced and diced, and ran, leaping and swerving through the maze of vines meant to capture her. She didn't come out unscathed, with a hit here, or scratch there, but she made it back to the others.

Twisting Hyss held up Fangflake and blocked a vine meant to pierce straight through her (if it had enough power to do so). The vine resounding off the metal of her glaive, as it shoved her back.

She slid back, now in the safety net of the others. Though closer to Sen, ironically. Hyss glanced up at the woman, and gave her a little grin and side shrug.

Now that she was amongst the others, she quickly disappeared. Her presence got muffled. Her vibrations becoming nonexistent amongst their own turbulent waters.

Breathing heavily, with blood trickling out of small wounds, Hyss began to quickly recant what she saw. Briefly, anyway, they were still in a combat scenario. Camp. Ruined. Suspicious. She gave her speculation about the people trying to make this esservine into something stronger. "There was a dead body in the heart... I'm guessing it was what caused this thing to go out of control, though that's just my guess..! Oh, and I wounded it! But didn't kill it..." she grumbled slightly annoyed.

"Anyway. I think with one good strike to the wound I left, it'll go down for good. I think one of you guys with a stronger strike could pull it off..."

"Like Lucia." Hyss suggested, giving a glance towards the pugilist. Sen was the obvious choice. But Hyss felt it was more prudent to suggest someone actually on her squad to get the job done, as opposed to an upper Kriegslöwen who was mostly playing babysitter, who they all knew could handle this on her own already. Thea was an obvious runner-up. "I suggest Lucia because she has more maneuverability than Thea. But that's just my suggestion. Although... I'm not so sure that'll end it.. I don't know how to put it but the amount of vines... Well, something's off. There could be another. Kinda like how there was another hooktail. I wouldn't count it out. Anyway, alright... phew!! Whew... whew.."

With that, Hyss released a pent-up sigh, and began taking heavy breaths of air. She also faltered, but shook her head and kept herself upright. Her exhaustion was catching up with her. It didn't help she rattled off a report in the midst of chaos right after. At least she could somewhat relax as their shadow. But it wasn't over yet, and until it was, she would still remain vigilant and provide any help needed.

She reached for her bow. Lifting it up, it was obvious the wood was snapped and splintered. That must've happened in her escape. Oh well, it was a shoddy thing, crudely constructed just last night. She untangled it from her belt and tossed it aside. It had helped. Boy had it helped. She resolved to get a proper one after all this was said and done. A pair of knives, too. She gave her discarded bow a silent prayer of gratitude before rejoining the others. It was her first bow after all, it deserved respect.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oytenrand Greatwood​

Advancing through the green tide, Thea kept up her blade, though the thicker tendrils were more of a problem, her armor and allies held, with her being the battering ram and they her cutting arms. Together they pushed. To some annoyance and yet a lack of surprise, Hyss was nowhere to be seen and the Fox was losing her goddessdamned mind to a frenzy... Well, hopefully she still had her mind and wasn't totally berserk, she had no idea how to explain that one if she had to end up putting her down.

Still it did irk her that Hyss had ran off again, that could be dealt with later. And who knows, maybe this time she would bring back something valuable in place of being found with a broken neck and limbs. For that reason alone, that, desire to have trust in her allies, Thea said or shouted nothing. She would press onwards. As the onslaught continued, Thea noticed a brief and sudden change in the movement of the enemy, the vines were suddenly in full retreat, chasing something, leading them deeper. If the enemy would retreat, then she would run it down.

It was then that Hyss suddenly returned. Ah... So that was it? She thought to herself as Hyss gave an explanation of what she found, it would only be a matter of time before the vines would return. Now was the moment to finish this. Still, the fact there was a dead body was unfortunate. Further answers and questions could wait, and this time did Thea call out. "Alright! We have it on the run! Lucia, Falco, back up one another and go down the middle, aim to finish it off, me and Sen will take the front to each side, our jobs are to go for the deathblow and to keep the greater mass of the tendrils focused off of the rest, Sakura.." A pause. "Just go wild on the sides, move as you see fit with Hyss! Do not stop!" With that said Thea rushed off, blade at the ready as they move as a group the green vines returned, aiming to stop what was started, to protect itself. But it was too little too late as between the lot of them the way was breached into the clearing.


Thea could only take in but so much at once, catching sight of the arm and gash, the mass of vines, the broken camp and a hut that looked even older still, reaching a snap decision she communicates to the rest.

"Go! Disturb the site as little as possible! The beast falls first above all else!" And with that she threw herself into the fray, raking her blade through the green mass that protected the green and red bulb at the center, any delay, any misstep, any slip up in the assault would have dire consequences for one or more of them. Putting her all into the strike, she severs through several of the vines, even as they grasped at her, the fact this one seemed to be a science project gone wrong and thus lacking the more mature elements of a larger one was a blessing of the Goddess as far as the knight was concerned.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen Thalia_Neko AnonyMouse Topless

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Location: Oyten, Murder Forest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

As if Thea's suicidal tendencies weren't bad enough, now there was the distraction of the animal howling and rending at everything around them. Then, there were two with Sen joining suit. Lucia rolled her eye, otherwise concentrating on the tendrils that were now striking out at them all as well. Weave with her body, block with her arm, counterattack, each movement with poise and purpose. While unknowingly half-Syrieth to the others, she certainly wasn't the type to rely on bare instincts to carry her. No, each strike was driven with purpose.

However, suddenly the assault stopped and the greenery recoiled and retreated. Lucia kept her guard up, as if to make sure it wasn't a trick of some kind. However, it of course wasn't. It was a plant, after all.

Hysydice returned, making it known that she located the heart and they were close. Lucia's face churned to that of aversion when there was mention of a body. Would one body really have caused this thing to grow like this?

Surprisingly, Lucia was suggested to finish it off. However, she was surprised, but not cross with the idea, and gave a brief nod. With Thea's words, it would be both her and Falco.

"Very well," She agreed, glancing over to Falco before proceeding forward. Thea took the brunt of the vines, as usual, and Lucia rushed past her. Some started crashing upon her, yet she was making headway with evasion, blocking, and cutting away the flora as it assaulted her position.

@Team A

 

[Topless]

Location: Oyten

The moment the vines began to retract and retreat was the moment for Sakura to stop and relax for a brief time. At this point, she is but a bloody mess from all the reckless clawing she had laid upon the vines. How many thorns had struck her during that time? Hyss returned and explained the situation she had witnessed. Looks like some fools had done something to the Esservine that got them all killed. Regardless, Thea made a command and Sakura acknowledged it.

"Understood." She spoke and went charging in on the the vines by the sides. She clawed at them like a wild beast, but the more she does the more thorns could strick her. Lucia better finish off the heart fast.

AnonyMouse Reinhardt RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Thalia_Neko
​

 

[King Crimson]

Current Location: Heine Warehouse #5​

"'Outmatched'? So I never had a chance, is that it?" Cressey gloomily replied, her downtrodden eyes looking up at the merchant as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
She takes a deep breath inward, lookin back towards the ground, and then, with a long sigh, she adds, "For a merchant, you're quite terrible at being hospitable."
Another sigh, though, this time, there was the faintest hints of an uneasy smile on her face as she reassuringly placed her hand atop of his.
She felt a bit better for his efforts to console her, at least enough to give the merchant a light ribbing.

And she couldn't deny that his words held some merit, as did Lupa's; they had fought against experienced foes who held every advantage against them, from their surprise ambush, to their coordinatized assaults, to their use of enfeebling magics.
As much as she wanted to refuse to accept it, it was nothing short of a miracle that they were able to fend them off for so long, let alone at all.
And in the end, they had all suffered the same defeat; Lupa suffering from a number of self-inflicted stab wounds still blooming red with blood at her side, and Talio's exquisite mechanical arm, now broken, hanging lame and useless from overuse.
Both testaments to how badly they had wanted to win, just like the number of cuts on her legs and knees, and the faint outline of her own handprint seared upon her chest.
And yet, unlike her, they still found the strength to accept their defeat, to push on, and even to try to lift her up from her own squalor.
It made Cressey feel even more pathetic for her petulance, but at the same time, looking at their expectant faces, she felt some newfound sense of inspiration.
They were all still alive, they still had faith they could make things right, save Lori, and finish the mission, and despite her failings, they both still had faith in her.
"O-Okay..." Cressey said, staggering slowly to her feet, and joining Lupa beneath the shade of the tree.
"Next time, I promise I'll give you both a better showing."

Taking hold of the bandages offered to her, she looked at the mess of scars and cuts with a brow furrowed in uncertainty.
Frankly, she had very little knowledge in applying first aid, though she did once have to splint her own leg after taking a bad slip in the woods and spraining her ankle.
Surely this couldn't be much more difficult?
Her hands fumbled a bit at first, tucking in the gauze a bit too loose to staunch the flow, or a bit too tightly that it caused the beastkin some slight discomfort.
A small part of her broiled in frustration every time she had to start again, or when the bandage accidentally fumbled out of her hands, which showed in her twitching brow, and the prominent vein at her forehead.
But rather quickly, she learned from previous mistakes, her movements grew more precise, and more confident, and the focused, irritated glower on her face began to soften.
Her hands worked busily in sealing the rest of the bandages shut, until, for a brief moment, she hesitated.
Looking up at the two, particularly at the notebook in Talio's hands, she shyly mumbled, "Ah...and if you could both do me a favor? Please don't mention my earlier...outburst to anyone?"

Soon thereafter, the wounds on Lupa's body had all been properly staunched, disinfected, and sealed.
Before Cressey could take the time to marvel at her own handiwork writ upon the beastkin's body, however, she heard a familiar chirp overhead, along with a small, fuzzy blue body floating by and landing on the nearby tree.
Two more familiar silhouettes soon followed, and the calm, commanding voice of their guild superior banished the tranquil calm that had overtaken the forest clearing.
Apprehension clutched Cressey's heart at Arien's voice.
She knew who would have to relay the bad news, who, as senior, carried the biggest burden of responsibility.
"We were..." Cressey nervously began, swallowing her words, shamefully unable to meet the man's gaze.
"...Ambushed...by a pair of bandits."
With a long sigh, she gathered her thoughts, before continuing to explain, "They both wielded Arcanizers, and tried to subdue us with a potent combination of magic to sap our strength. We did all that we could to fend them off but...in the end, they managed to seal us in the earth, and made their escape."
Another shaky sigh. Next came the hard part; her biggest mistake.
"They mentioned Lori...She went off to scout the last warehouse alone...We fear they've taken her."

Interacting:
Arien ( Reinhardt )
Lupa ( Silver Wolf )
Talio ( TreasureSniper )
Endymion ( lunar_moth )

 

[TreasureSniper]

Location: Outside Heine Warehouse 5
Interaction: Silver Wolf (Lupa) , King Crimson (Cressey) , Reinhardt (Arien)​

"Mhmm. I tend to say it as I see it. Besides, I don't think you're the type of person that would appreciate blatantly sugar-coated statements." While certain things could have been worded better, he wasn't exactly trying to sell her anything at the moment. And the fact that she is able to reply with snarky remarks was a good enough indicator that she was in better spirits.

With his arm broken, it was rather awkward for Talio to continue to write without the leverage of both hands, and so he decided to simply stop and look at what he has written so far. It was a quick summary of what had happened so far, a more basic version of his full report which was to be written later. Hearing the short girl request to omit her little outburst from earlier was strange, but seeing as it's not an important detail, he didn't see any reason to include it. "As you wish."

Whether it was the breaking of his expensive arm, or his exhaustion finally catching up to him, Talio slowly felt himself dozing off. His eyelids grew ever heavier by the second, prompting him to look around if there were enough shady-looking elves trying to put him and his team to sleep. Thankfully, there were none, and instead, he would see someone else. A friendly face, or as face as Arien could get, as well as Endymion and Zest. At least they succeeded in their objectives. The same could not be said about himself and his party members.

"Ah...Arien, Endymion and even Zests, it's good to see all of you." Talio propped himself up with his sheathed blade. He gave the group a friendly wave with his one good arm. Upon being asked to provide a summary of the recent events. Talio tried his best to convey the most important details. Talio explained in greater detail to Arien, adding onto what Cressey had just said. "I'll explain more later. But for now, we have intruders, they approached us while we were making our way to the next warehouse. There were two of them, but we don't know if there are more of them. We were outmatched by their magic and swordsmanship and they managed to get away. Assuming Lori is alive, they may or may not have Lori in their custody. The last place Lori was headed towards was the next warehouse. If nothing else, we should investigate the area for any possible clues." And just like that, he finished explaining the most important information about the current situation. While there were of course a lot more other details involved, he could cover them later in a detailed report.

"I suggest we secure the warehouses, starting with warehouse 6, and have them investigated immediately." Looking back, it is highly unlikely that these were just mere bandits. They much too skilled, too organized. Well dressed and skilled. It was much more likely that they were dealing with sellswords, mid-tier ones. "These opponents we fought, they were not your usual roadside bandits. They were likely mercenaries, hired by someone to do a specific task that didn't invovle killing us. Had they wanted to, I'd say they could easily killed us." As much as he didn't want to admit it, they were clearly holding back. Granted, he was just a merchant, but no normal individual should be able to dodge his disarming strike, at least not at that range.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Falion "Falco" Cauphix​

Location: Oytenrand Greatwoods​

Falco's twin daggers were a blur as he sliced and diced through the attacking tendrils. The smoke-blackened blades became tainted green by slime and viscera. Their unique knuckleduster grips were molded to his palms, as if they existed as an extension of himself. A boy with blades for hands, he wore them, rather than wield them. He had even become adept at flicking off the occasional throwing knife in the midst of a flurry of attacks, with only a marginal loss of accuracy.

Falco relished this moment, glad to finally see his training shine. He wanted them all to notice him and see he was more than just a goofy boy from Achelreide. He was a serious adventurer, with the skills to back up his natural swagger. He moved fluidly across the battlefield and felt at home amidst the churning chaos, as if this encounter was meant just for him. For the first time, he truly began to feel, in his heart, that he could really go far in this line of work.

The reason for it all fell away. Why were they fighting this monster? What was at stake? Would they even be paid? Would he make rent this week? Would they be remembered if this all went wrong? In this moment, none of that mattered. It was all lost in the simple geometry of connecting his blades to the enemy. In fact, Falco found he was enjoying this a tad too much, grinning like a madman as he dodged and wove, surfing on the cresting tide of battle, feeling untouchable...

Focus, he warned himself. His jovial expression vanished, replaced by a steely-eyed stare as he recalled Viv's patient tutalage. Her soft words contrasted the brutality of the striking machine he endured for hours on end. The pain came back to him. The bruises and welts. The taste of dirt. The sensation of grit in his teeth as he lay on the ground, staring at the centaur's hooves through blurred vision. The moment he began to feel comfortable, bobbing and weaving through the spinning mechanisms of that contraption, was usually when he got knocked on his ass. Right when you think you've got it, you get it. He could not afford to have that happen today.

One key difference between now and then was that he wasn't fighting alone. He couldn't afford to succumb to tunnel vision here. Falco's senses wanted to zero in on the enemy and analyze only the small area immediately around his body and reflexively destroy every lashing vine which dared invade that personal space. Slice and tear and rend until they reached the heart! But he couldn't allow that. Thea. Lucia. Sakura. Sen. Hyss. Remember their names. Remember what you are fighting for. He had to keep track of them all, watch out for them all, protect them all. Pain taught him to protect himself. Loss would teach him to protect others... but he wasn't going to wait for that lesson.

With this shift in mindset, Falco's perception of his allies grew. He drank in their movements, assessed them, and adapted as best he could. First, there was Lucia. Her shorter range made her easy to stick close to and work around. Her style wasn't drastically different from his own, but focused more on power. His days of wielding switchblades and improvised shanks had taught Falco to stick-and-move: shallow, but decisive, attacks. In and out in the blink of an eye. By contrast, the Caskarieth's strikes were hard and brutal, probably a bit more than was needed against these limp vines, but still something he could learn from for future encounters. She wasn't optimized for this, but performed well enough that Falco didn't feel the need to lend aid or keep her in his peripheral vision. And, frankly, he worried what she would think if he did.

Meanwhile, Thea was in constant motion, likely due to the weight of her blade and armor. She kept momentum at all times, though some of this was probably meant to channel the esservine's anger. Falco had seen plenty of Thea's basic techniques during their encounter with the hooktail and doubted there was much he could borrow from them. How one person could put so much faith in some steel was beyond him, but such was the way of a knight. In any case, he also understood her style and mannerisms well enough to risk getting close and lend some much-needed support. He would not allow her to shoulder the burden alone, no matter how much she wanted to. So, each time the esservine's onslaught intensified, he appeared at her side, cutting and weaving, but always just out of reach of her zweihander, always appearing when needed and retreating when he was not.

Sen was the one he should be studying, but he kept losing track of her in the fray. She seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, all at once. And when he did glimpse her amidst the chaos, she seemed to be doing something different every time. Sometimes, she was frantically slashing with her knife. Other times, she would grip a fistful of vines with her gauntleted hand and ram the edge of her shield down upon them, severing an entire cluster at once. She appeared to do most of her work at the head of the group, near Thea, but would often dart to the wings or flanks of their ecelctic formation, rip through some vines, and then return to the vanguard. There must be some strategy at play, but Falco couldn't make sense of it. Was she doing clean-up, ensuring no vines got behind them and cut off their escape route? She seemed to perceive dangers they could not. In any case, she clearly didn't need his help and her ways were beyond his understanding, so Falco stayed clear of the Syrieth.

And then there was Sakura....

Her animalistic howl cut through the air like the frightening warcry of a mighty predator. But any fear Falco might have felt quickly gave way to concern. Her performance contrasted sharply with the beastial roar. Claw and fang might be effective, if not for the thorns. But, as things were, she was bloodied and suffering and no one seemed to notice or care. They were too busy with their own struggles, while Falco's unique perspective afforded him a chance to analyze and think. He could resist the urge to hyper-focus on the 'now.' He felt sharper under pressure, more than mere adrenaline ought manifest, and was able to look ahead and --most importantly-- look to those around him and how he might be of use to them.

As the battle wore on, he began to prioritize Sakura over Thea and even considered asking the knight to slow their advance, for the sake of Sakura's wellbeing. But he resisted the urge to do so. The fox girl seemed to have something to prove and Falco would not betray her determination by announcing her weakness to those who might judge her too harshly. Still, her vulpine mobility made her a difficult one to keep up with, despite his best efforts. Falco whirled from one tangle of vines to the next, looking for the familiar streak of silvery floof. He frequently lost her in the fray or was forced to wrestle with his own problems. And, during some of these moments, he spied another silver streak: Hyss's glaive, sailing across his field of vision, sometimes traveling away from its wielder and sometimes toward her, on a return trajectory. But, as the fight went on, these sightings became few and far between. Until, eventually, he did not see the glaive at all... nor its wielder.

She did it again, Falco thought as he dodged another undulating pack of vines. He took a swift break-step back, then stepped in and slashed cleanly through with a wide arcing stroke from his right-hand dagger, before immediately following up with his oft-hand blade for good measure. He was in no position to concern himself with the snake's antics, but couldn't help but wonder if he was wrong about her. What if she hadn't abandoned them? What if the truth is far darker? Surely, she hadn't fallen in battle... right? She would have called out if she'd gotten ensnared or someone would have noticed. She had been fighting on the outskirts, away from the thickest part of the melee, but not entirely hidden. But now, when he looked in that direction, she was gone.

Through gritted teeth, Falco swallowed a lump of anxiety forming in his throat and doubled down his efforts. "Hang in there. I got you," as said to Sakura as he passed by her in the flurry of combat and cut down more vines. The battle seemed to drag on forever and then, just as quickly as the fighting had begun, it all stopped. Falco was mid-swing, about to slice through more greenery, when the target of his attacks retreated and his blade found only empty air. He chased after the retreating tendrils for a few steps, but ultimately stopped and planted himself, taking deep, steady breaths.

Is it over? What now? I know you're not done, he thought as he waited for the other boot to drop.

The adrenaline was still coarsing through him when Hyss returned a moment later and began relaying what she had seen. Falco idly toyed with his daggers, flicking and twirling them, overflowing with nervous energy. So, she had seen the heart and it had already claimed a life? Good for her, but that news only made him angrier. It could've been you. and None of us would've even known, he thought, grimacing at the mental image. An odd mixture of fury and relief swirled within him. He kept glancing from Hyss to Sen, as if expecting their 'chaperone' to chastise the girl for running off again. But the elf was aggressively sharpening her hunting knife with a rock she had found, as if Hyss's words meant nothing and she could only think of the coming battle. In fact, she had begun doing so before Hyss even showed up, while also using the brief calm to reapply the greenish glow to her shield.

She knew this wasn't over.

With a small sigh, Falco clenched his jaw and set his mind on the task at hand. There was a coldness in his green gaze as he spoke. While Hyss's penchant for breaking ranks still bothered him, he could not deny that each person here had a part to play and she had played hers well. Or, well enough to return relatively unharmed. "Good intel. Let's not waste it. Clock's ticking," he said, sounding very uncharacteristically businesslike. Gone was the joking boy they knew so well.

When Thea gave the order to advance, Falco fell in line without hesitation. Sakura's condition still weighed on his mind. And choosing Lucia to deliver the blow did not seem like the wisest choice. But, if Hyss's role was to be the shadow, his was to be the light. No matter the plan, he would make it work. Because, as he had been telling them all day:

"We got this," he said to Lucia with a wink and a smile as he overtook her in their frantic charge toward the heart. She only had one knife, while he was dual-wielding. So, naturally, he stood a better chance of carving a path. "I'll take point. Leave the vines to me. Final blow's on you," he added as the esservine began its assault once more. "Make it count, Mittens!"

He could see the heart up ahead: a hideous, bulbous mass, vaguely shaped like a fleshy green vase, but tinged red, as if its innards were filled with blood and digestive juices. The canopy of vines above them were thickest here and appeared to be growing up and out of the heart, suspending it a few feet off of the ground. The vines shrouded the area in darkness, while the floor beneath it was pockmarked with more of those ball-shaped fungal growths they had seen earlier. Falco did his best to avoid them, but when he did step on them, they burst with a small cloud of spores. A half-collapsed shack to the right was speckled with even more of these puffballs. Its ancient, rotting wood suggested it far predated whatever nefarious deeds were taking place here.

The final battleground was much as Hyss had described it, but infinitely more disgusting in person. There was, indeed, a human limb dangling from the damage the beastkin had done. He did not envy Lucia's appointed task. A more chivalrous version of himself might try to spare the 'princess' this gruesome work, but now was hardly the time for such antics. They each had their orders and he would see them through.

Rather than attack as a column, Falco veered off slightly to the left, in an attempt to divide the esservine's attacks, and hoped Lucia would follow. They were properly in the thick of it now, with vines swirling in from nearly all directions and virtually impossible to sever them all. All he could do was continue slashing a path toward the heart and pray it didn't close in behind them. His blades worked furiously, but he knew Thea was fighting right behind them, drawing some attention. As they pulled away from the knight, he glanced to his right and saw Sen had fanned out toward the shack, even further spreading the monster's area of affect. This is typically the part where he would think 'haha, ya can't get us all!' But it could. And, with one slip up, it would.

About twenty meters to go. They were closing fast, but beginning to lose momentum. Falco was practially flailing now, using both blades to swat at greeney as if he were being assaulted by a swarm of hornets. And then, the first terrifying thing happened: his blade struck something hard. He both heard and felt the solid strike of steel meeting bark. The vine he had failed to cut lashed him across the forearm. "Motherfu-" he grunted through clenched teeth as he struck again, this time bringing both blades together, edge to edge, like a pair of scissors, to prune the armored weed. Too many more of those and they wouldn't make it.

Ten meters and closing. Falco narrowly ducked another armored weed as he raced toward the heart. They were mixed in with the regular ones now, an infuriating change of pace, but he was beginning to adjust. Avoid them when ya can. Prune 'em when ya can't. But, just as he thought he had gotten the hang of it, the second scary thing happened: two such vines rocketed toward him. He raised his daggers, ready to strike. But, they did something crafty: the vines coiled together, braiding like rope. "Shiii-" Falco quickly adjusted course, utilizing an erratic break-step to throw off their timing. He dropped so low he actually scampered on his hands for a moment, before retuning to a full sprint, and narrowly avoided what would have been a noose with his name on it.

But, for the brief fraction of a second he was down there, he witnessed the third scary thing: the round, ball-shaped fungi closest to the heart began to bloom. All at once, they burst open, unfurling like grotesque flowers, to release clouds of pinkish spores. A fine mist hung close to the ground, surrounding the suspended heart and its victim, like a final, desperate line of defense. As Falco resumed his run, he staggered a moment. His shoes were lead. His limbs, jelly. The ground tilted at odd angles, but he pressed on. Less than five meters left! He could practically reach out and touch it... so why did it feel like it was getting farther away? The heart was so close he could taste it. Literally, he could taste it! It tasted sweet. So damn sweet. So sweet, he wanted to breathe it all in-

No! Fuck you! Fuck you, that's a dirty fucking trick you fucking son of a fucking bitch! he thought as he shielded his nose and mouth with his sleeve and pressed onward. He even bit down on his arm, hoping the pain would bring clarity. It did not. With his other arm, he flailed at the atttacking vines, for that had not changed, even with all of the other tricks this damned plant was throwing at them. One dagger was enough. That's more than he had had most of his life. He could do this with one. We got this! We got this! We got th-

A vine snatched his feet from beneath him and Falco went down hard, collapsing into the spore-filled mist clinging low to the ground. Unknown to him, Sen's shield raced across the corners of his vision, a rusty metallic blur, severing the vine which probably would've snapped his ankle or worse. And it carried with it a gust of wind which granted him a momentary reprieve from the sweet-smelling fumes. Falco rolled and was up again, just as fast as last time, but not before sucking in a second lungful of what dreams are made of. We made it, Lucy! See, we made it!" he thought, laughing like a madman as the heart loomed before them, large and obscene... yet beautiful. It was so full of life. So beautiful. So captivating. So-

Goddess, please murdurize this fucking thing before I puke, he thought as he continued to fight. His once-precise movements were now drunken and loose but still (ocasionally) found their target. In a way, his erratic, staggering footwork might actually be working in his favor now.

Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun (Thea) / EmperorsChosen (Lucia) / Thalia_Neko (Hyss) / Topless (Sakura)

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Currently: Fighting the esservine heart
Thinking: "I need some new wind spells..."

Location: esservine heart
Interacting: AnonyMouse everyone else
Mentions:
​

They said so little. She wondered how much they appreciated her intel. Maybe they were just so focused on the mission at hand and killing this thing.

The Beastkin placed her hand on Falco's shoulder and nodded to him about what he said after he complimented her intel. Then Hyss glanced at Thea and said, "Ma'am," to indicate she heard Thea, and then they all were off. Once again, the battlefield was a mess of vines and blades. The snake was attempting to do as instructed, though her orders were vague.

But whatever she did at this point, she figured it was enough to aid her allies. Plus, she was feeling slightly sluggish after her fight with the heart. The various scrapes and bruises across her body ached, but the snake kept pace. She threw her glaive this way and that, cutting off vines trying to ensnare around the group. Then she caught her glaive and sliced a vine here or there that managed to avoid the others, coming close to the rear of the group.

Once again at the heart, she looked up, grimacing at the vile fungal bulb that was the heart. And all the vines still canopying overhead. She had cut through a lot before. Had they regrown? Or was it something more?

Suddenly the bulbs burst, releasing a mist of spores. Hyss gasped. "Everyone! Masks! Quick!" the girl called. That was quite the thing to say; not everyone had readily-accessible masks, but still, maybe they could quickly rip some clothing for makeshift masks. Personally, she always wore a mask just for this occasion. Well, sort of for this occasion. She wasn't sure if even her mask was enough for this mist though. More and more she realized she needed more wind spells. They would fit her kit nicely.

Hyss quickly intoned her spell then as close as she could to the densest mist spots -where the bulbs burst- she threw her glaive with a fierce spin on it, aiming to chuck the glaive as far as possible away from the group. The winds of her spell that typically pulled it back to her were swirling around the weapon. Hopefully she could blow some of the mist away with this maneuver, but didn't really count on it amounting to much. But even a little would help the vanguard she figured. Still, it meant she would be glaive-less for a bit. So the snake immediately ceased vibrating-causing movements.

 

[lunar_moth]

“Mn, wait— sealed you in the earth? What did I miss?” Endymion mutters, one hand brought absently to his chin. “I don’t understand what the point was of ambushing everyone and then running away. Clearly, whatever it was, it was not accomplished.” He sighs and scrubs a hand across the back of his neck. There are certainly a lot of things he doesn’t understand right now. Not to mention the motive behind Lori’s birdnapping.


“Oh, before we go any further, do any of you need healing? You guys probably got scraped up in the fight more than me,” Endymion says, and he’s already waving his hand to mist a heal spell across the team. Despite how minor of a spell it is it still makes his palms feel chilled from the inside out, like he’s rubbed them with menthol or something. It’s a much nicer feeling than the Ruby ever gave him. Soothing.


King Crimson TreasureSniper Silver Wolf Reinhardt

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Location: Oyten, Murder Forest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

As they approached, suddenly a pollen began to fill the air. Lucia attempted to shield her nose and mouth with her inner elbow, though the armor made that difficult. The fact it smelled so sweet and intoxicating was a red flag, and so she tugged the hem of her tunic up to cover the bottom half of her face. However, that meant one less limb to stave off the attacking vines.

Switching to evasion, Lucia began to take cuts and scrapes far more often. With the added detriment of the pheromone, her movements became slower and sloppier, lacking the same precision as before. One vine lurched out and grasped at the forearm holding up her tunic and drawing it upward. Spitting out a terse incantation, she held her palm out toward the vine and lit it with a spout of fire from the Arcanizer before Sen's shield came and blew away some of the pollen to give them a brief respite.

With it, the two managed to recover and reach the bulb. Lucia wasted no time feeling relief and instead gripped into the bulbous form and tore it down. Boring a plated heel into the base, the elf then pierced both gauntlets into its body before ripping outwards in separate directions while keeping a portion of it pinned. Throwing the mangled pieces down as all manner of liquids spilled from it, Lucia stepped back huffing, and giving it one last good kick for her own frustration.

"Revolting creature..."

@Team A

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oytenrand Greatwood​

Continuing the Advanced, Thea spared the occasional glance at her allies, all seemed to be alright, but the mass of tendrils maneuvering too and around her were not to be ignored or taken lightly. The thick barked ones also made their presence known, being harder to cut, they did press Thea. Coiling and whipping, the Esservine had many targets too focus on, which gave Thea some breathing room. As a mass of vines go for her right arm, she deftly turns the blade, snapping through the coiled collection and keeping her arm free, readying for the next strike, Thea readies herself.

"Have at thee!" She shouts, hefting the blade, readying for the next attack. All was going according to plan, all of them were fighting, though not following her orders exactly, she had long abandoned that being a thing, a general idea of who was where, that was good enough. It was then as the battle was closer to the heart did things take a sudden turn. The mass of vines near her combined themselves into a coil, aiming for Lucia and Falco, it seemed this plant had sense enough to prioritize danger. Hyss then shouted as flowers bloomed, releasing a sickly-sweet pollen into the air.

"Mask?" She questioned quietly... After this getting some sort of helmet might be a smart choice, saving up for a more covering suit of armor, she would upgrade to better metals when able, but still not a question for here and now as the mist had an effect on those closer, a number of the tendrils had grabbed Lucia and Falco, with mixed, or rather nonexistent success as magic and shield made quick work of it. The mass of Pollen billowing about was finally close enough to reach Thea, shaking it off she pushed aside her thoughts, chanting prayers to the Goddess, focusing on the blade in her hands and the enemy she could see, nothing else mattered.

Panting a bit the Knight gave herself over to a rising fury as more and more of the tendrils went to help the source, bypassing her as she shouts; "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" Sweat running down her face, Thea rushes off into the fray, spinning her blade and her body, mixing in all of her techniques and opening herself directly to the largest of the bundles at the end of it all and the anchor point beyond that kept the bloated abomination afloat. SCHUERER STRUM! She calls out internally, focusing beyond the training given to her by Viv, the massive singular strike was followed by the Knight leaping into the air, bringing the blade crashing down as the power built into the attack splits the large anchor point and slams into the large, combined tendril, rendering it asunder as the momentum of the tendril smacks her back, smashing her to the side.

"Urk!" Between the blow, the pollen and the impact, the knight was surprisingly quick to regain her footing, used to the weight and constriction of movement her armor offered. However, she was left panting, as she held her chest plate, a noticeable dent in the metal, that had to have hurt. Seeing the efforts of Lucia and herself the beast was torn asunder, its footing collapsing as it swung, held up by only a few tendrils as she called out with a gasp of air, the thing was likely dead by this point, but better safe than sorry;

"BRING IT DOWN! Cut the last!"

Interactions: EmperorsChosen Thalia_Neko AnonyMouse Topless

 

[Topless]

Location: Oyten

The miasma in the air upon arrival spelled bad news for the group. Hyss yelled to cover their faces lest they get insane by the sweet fragrance of death. Falco was unfortunate enough to inhale some to go mad, which worried Sakura. The beastkin had to use her cloak to wrap around her snout as tightly as she could before going back to her clawing to ensure a safe oath for Lucia and Falco to get to the heart and destroy it.

Sakura may have inhaled a few slivers of the pollen, but her will power is strong enough to focus at what is at hand. Her wounds are getting worst the more she clawed her way through the green inferno until Lucia landed the final blow at the heart. At this point, things should slowly ease up. Sakura has become more and more of a bloody mess. She should have gotten the bloody knives had Sen told Falco that she can use her claws.

AnonyMouse Reinhardt RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Thalia_Neko
​

 

[Silver Wolf]

Location: Heine Warehouse 5, Outside
Interactions/Party: King Crimson (Cressey), TreasureSniper (Talio), lunar_moth (Endymion), Reinhardt (Arien/GM)


​

"Thank you," she said with a smile to Cressey after the bandages had finished. Shortly after that, the cavalry finally arrived. Well, at least they had a better shot. She listened as Cressey and Talio explained the situation, only to look to Arien and say, "I have nothing to add."

With one small hiss of pain as she re-adjusted herself, she pushed herself up and stood straight, her tail surprisingly limp and not being a usual reflector of her true emotions. It was then that Endymion healed them and she felt a cool wave of relief wash over her briefly, and she felt just a little bit of the pain subside. She gave Endymion a smile and a nod then turned her attention back to Arien. She couldn't tell what he was thinking or what he knew for the life of her, but it probably didn't matter since they were all together, save for Lori. While she wanted to save the bird girl, she felt rather useless.

"Perhaps I should stay, just for the chance our driver comes back...it wouldn't do to be stranded out on the outskirts with not recourse back to a safe place. If you wish for me to accompany all of you, I will do so, but maybe it would be best if I remain positioned here. I don't know if I would be of much use in my current state."

While the question was directed towards Arien, she gave some glances to the rest of her team, gauging their reactions to the idea of her holding down the area as a precaution. She doubted the mercenaries would be back, but she would honestly rather rest after that whole debacle. While it didn't hurt, and she was capable of moving again, she knew the wound and exhaustion would be a problem should they run in to trouble.

Yet, if her team, and commander, were to will her so, she would come along. It wasn't as though she was incapable of doing anything, but standing up was proving to be a rather wobbly little experience, or felt like it. Her forced use of adrenaline had clearly taken a toll on her body. On the other hand, she had a knack for finding some things out of place and piecing together bits of information, but she could also play the part of sentinel rather effectively too. Someone had to be the first line of defense and communication at the checkpoints after all.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Sen Hyazari​

Location: Oytenrand Greatwoods​

As the abomination came into view, the party's formation began to fracture, dividing the esserrvine's attacks amongst them. Schuerer went down the center, but was almost immediately slowed by vines, while the urchin and the Caskarieth took a curving path to the left. Sen forked off to the right, near the ruined shack, and the fox and scaly beastkin remained in the knight's wake.

Despite her love of a good fight, a scowl crease Sen's features as she charged into the fray, doing her part to cover them. Unknown to the rookies, she had been covering them for some time now, even during the previous battle. Each time she threw her shield to sever a vine or distract and encroaching cluster of tendrils, her dissatisfaction grew. The rookies were doing good. Very good, in fact. They were certainly punching above their weight. But it wasn't enough.

Something about the grisly sight of a human limb dangling from the esservine's maw drove that fact home. This is as far as we go, Sen thought, with a sense of finality as she planted her foot and threw the shield once again, with all of her might. The boy was down and very nearly lost a leg. He and the she-elf had done a commendable job of pressing toward the heart, but they were clearly in over their heads. A wafting mist briefly concealed them from view, until the passing gust of Sen's shield cleared the fog. It not only severed the vine attemtping to coil around the boy's ankle but, on its return journey, took out another armored, thorn-encrusted appendage coming for the Caskarieth from behind.

Just as Sen caught the spinning metal disk and whirled around for another throw, Lucia reached their goal. The pointy-eared pugilist plunged her 'mittens' into the esservine's slimy flesh and ripped it apart. Despite the worry writ on her face, Sen actually grinned with delight at this. Any lingering doubts she harbored about the pampered princess were erased in a single moment as the plan't digestive juices --and its incomplete meal-- spilled to the ground at Lucia's feet. It was appropriately brutal. Sen docked one point for Lucia stepping back instead of letting herself get fully doused in the literal spoils of war. But, other than that, well done. The spore-drunk boy actually applauded the shower of gore for a half-second before remembering he was still under attack and quickly going on the defensive once more.

The corpse tumbled out, landing face-down in the puddle of greenish-red juice. The victim appeared to be an adult male, dressed in plain, dark clothing, but the Syrieth couldn't make out much more than that from this distance. The fact she could make out anything at all proved he hadn't been inside for long. His clothing was tattered and he appeared to be missing clumps of hair, but more than a couple of days inside the esservine's digestive sac would do far, far worse. Hair and fabric were usually the first to go, followed by skin and soft tissues such as eyeballs.

The change in the esservine's attack was immediate. The writhing tendrils became clumsy and unfocused. The two halves of the heart began to shrivel almost immediately. An esservine's appetite for water was immense. Now that it's own reserve of fluids had spilled to the ground, it began to rapidly shrink. The pulsating in the roots began to diminish, along with their motor functions. The adventurer's continued to fight, spruned on by adrenaline and fear, but it was clear this monster had no resistance left within it. For a minute or two, they continued hacking and slashing at attacking vines, until they were merely hacking and slashing as slow-moving, lethargic bits of foliage and, at last, the esservine's defenses went limp.

Well, most of them.

The esservine's need for water lingered in the back of Sen's thoughts. The corpses they had seen along the river had her convinced the heart was upstream, not here far from the water's edge. She knew, from past visits, that there was a bend in the river further east, which would make an ideal place to take root. And, if it were to take root there, it could conceivably dam the river's flow. By the goddess, how fucking big would it have to be to do that.

Bigger than this, Sen thought as her sharp gaze drank in every detail of the environment, seeking some explanation for these things which tugged at her innate senses. The way the bulb shrank unnaturally fast... it was almost as if something sucked the life out of it... almost as if this wasn't the true heart. A gardener prunes a plant, so more resources can be used on the core, not the appendages. Pruning the extremities, makes the main body more likely to survive. Fuck.... we may have just made it stronger.

A few of the rookies were still fighting ghosts. She could hardly blame them. This thing had given them hell getting here and no sane person would relax just because it appeared to be dead. But the vines above them had gone limp and some even fell from the branches and flopped to the ground, where they now lay unmoving.

The Syrieth had pulled her cloak over her mouth and nose when the spores erupted, but now peeled it back just enough to bark an order: "Status check, rookies! Who's alive and who's wishin' they weren't!?" Sen shouted out, her anger showing a bit as she kicked a dead vine out of her path. She was not angry at them, of course, but at this whole shitstorm. Her gaze loitered on the corpse, as if this man were the source of her rage, and she began to walk toward him, wading through the low-hanging spore-mist.

"Fox, get some heals. Ya look like shit. Open cuts and this thing might be poisonous, for all we know," Sen said, gesturing at Sakura as she walked toward Falco and Lucia. When she arrived at the duo, she loked them up and down. "And, you, boy-"

"I'm good. never felt better," he said, nodding eagerly. With a small chuckle, he added, "You should see the other guy."

The Syrieth's eye narrowed upon him, but she said nothing. While Sen didn't exactly believe he was 'good,' she had done enough questionable substances to know he'd probably sober up in time and face no lasting ill-effects. He hadn't vomited, passed out, or shit himself, so it must be a good high, right, not a bad one? He had even continued to fight, albeit slightly clumsily, after getting dusted at point blank by those damned shrooms, so it seemed the only sideaffect was slightly dulled senses and motor skills, with a tinge of euphoria.

Sen's attention shifted to the corpse. Middle-aged. Plain dark clothing, not cheap, but not exactly flaunting wealth. No discernible markings or scars. Too clean to be a hunter or outdoorsman, as far as she could tell. He wasn't grizzled enough for that life. But also didn't look like he had bumbled out here. Admitedly, she was making a lot of broad guesses. Sen was not the person for this. She didn't even kneel to inspect the corpse, nor touch it. Her frown grew.

"We're pulling out. I don't like bodies," she said at last, her tone flat and measured.

"Didn't imagine you as the squeamish type. You want a stick, for the pokies?" the idiot said with a childish grin, and then frowned, as if he realized, too late, that he had disrespected the dead. And then ginned again as the next silly thought took up residence in his muddled noggin.

Despite the situation, this actually earned a small snort of laughter from the older adventurer. "Not squeamish, kid, I just don't fuck with 'em. Corpses mean investigations. And yours truly, the former bandit, prefers to stay well clear o' that shit, thakyouverymuch." She turned to the majority of the party and rested her hands on her hips. "Y'all did pretty good for some greenhorns. Even you, Dumbass," she said with a nod to Hyss, "But this is as far as we go. This ain't the heart and prunin' more of these... 'sub-hearts' or whatever the fuck they are, just makes things harder. I'd raze the whole fuckin' forest if I could, but that might put spores into the next county." She rapidly shook her head.

"Too many unknowns. We can't just keep hackin' away and y'all are runnin' on the ragged edge. Me, too, if I'm bein' honest," she briefly sighed before concluding: "We let specialists take it from here. This ain't a monster hunt no more; the fucker's too entrenched. It's like we're sieging a fortress, not to mention the 'why' and 'how' of it all." She crossed her arms before continuing. "We've gathered enough intel that whoever comes after us can be smart about this shit, know what they're walkin' into, and come correctly. Thats a win, folks."


Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun (Thea) / EmperorsChosen (Lucia) / Thalia_Neko (Hyss) / Topless (Sakura)