Fantasy The Guild Stone ((Old Questing Thread))

[Vol]

WOE, UNDEAD BE UPON YE
Location: Solmar Outskirts, Abandoned Outpost -> A Solmar Catacomb
Interactions: Tyron Avattica Sylph / Eiru Eagna Uasal
Honourable mentions:
Quest: Rescue Mission
Reward: 2000 Coins

Spoiler: Ambience

Down they descended, with only the ferrets as their lithe guides.

A familiar scenery but one he did not wished to see anytime soon. Skeletal remains lined the walls, some stuffed against the hardened earth as a meagre show of respect. Another catacomb, another ground soaked in bone dust and forgotten regrets. 'I could've been in one of these. Maybe I had been...'
The flashes of an earlier epiphany crept back to him, the name Norwich and the silhouette of a hooded figure haunted the crevices of his metaphorical mind.

Zion's head swivelled at the noise behind him and a soft glow stuttered at his fingertips at the ready. However, upon realising it was the Noble's little accident on a mass of bones, the light was snuffed and he looked to the hallway that stretched further ahead of them. Eiru seemed to be taking this much better than the lordling, atleast, when he had taken a look back. Either that, or she was hiding her distaste for the sake of professionalism.

The undead battlemage stepped on bone as he ventured forth, the quiet apologies he uttered trickling to a solemn acknowledgement instead. A populated burial ground, but they looked like old remains. Were they the buried soldiers of this outpost? Though some of the carved-in graves had plaques nailed underneath them, he did not spare them a glance. Especially when he could hear some shuffling and softspoken voices further ahead. Zion could not glean any words but just guttural sounds...

If he had brows and lips, he would be adorning a face of disappointment behind the mask. It was inevitable they would have to face the undead, but it still didn't give him any satisfaction.

"Do you two seriously think this will lead anywhere? What makes you think we won't end up like them?"

'So much for keeping quiet, hm?' He kept to himself,but let the next thought be a brief response that could be heard within both of his companion's minds, 'Better here than up there. And you won't, if you don't plan on dying today.'

He was no expert on the arcane of necromancy despite engaging with a few spellcasters that dabbled in the sort, but from what he had experienced and gathered, the undead are made from the souls of the deceased through a process -- the living cannot be enthralled instantly. Perhaps a greater necromancer could turn the living into undead without ritualistic means, but he has had yet seen or heard of it.

Zion slowed his pace as the cacophony of rasps seemed to grow closer, and the soul trapped within his skeletal ribcage pulsated in anticipation.
Only to stutter in intensity when the enchantress behind him gasped in alarm; the shout cutting off when she slapped a hand to stifle it.

The chamber -- no, its decrepit inhabitants were waking. A sharp hiss came from behind the battlemage's mask, eerily matching with the re-forming skeletons own dry battlecry, and he instinctively rushed to the crawling skeleton that had grappled Eiru's leg and sent the arm flying with a heavy kick. The owner of the arm simply latched their other hand back onto Eiru's ankle.

'Just hold on a minute! We mean you no harm--' Zion glanced at the appendage he had dislocated, 'No further harm. We -- I, want to help free you from this mortal plane. Put you to rest.' His telepathy slammed against a thick wall of arcane. He could feel it wasn't getting through.

His gaze flitted between the hallway ahead of them and to the undead scrambling in their current surroundings. Shaking his head, he raised his arms in front of him and positioned his fists together, before gradually pulling them apart. A translucent white line was dragged into shape before snapping apart; two moulds resembling scimitars shimmered into existence.

Suddenly the chamber grew darker, the flickering torchlight provided by old torches nailed to the walls dimmed almost to nothing...until the weapons in Zion's
hands lit up the room again, the torchlight captured and bouncing inside the scimitar cases.

'We have two choices.' Zion could not muster the skill or spare energy to communicate to both minds, so he delegated his message to the witch, 'We cleave a path till we find our quarry, or we run like hells till we find our quarry.' He spun the scimitars before cutting and burning through enemy flesh and kicking away the hissing corpse. 'I'm used to the former, but if you have better ideas, I'll do my best go along with them. You are--' A pommel thrust against another advancing skeleton, who unfortunately tore another segment of his cloak, 'clever.'

Their ferret guides were also having a bad time with the small horde of undead. With their teamwork they had managed to fell one, but even with their nimbleness, one of them was held up by a rotting grip.

 

[Sylph]

Ymir
Location: Icewall Caverns
Mentions: Key of Stars Funnier President -ferret-​

"I'd give that whole experience a 6/10. 10/10 for the flying part, 1/10 for the landing."

She snickered, watching his head poke out of the snow as he extracted the rest of his limbs. "You're meant to land on your feet, generally." Despite being as fickle as a cat, it seemed he hadn't inherited their innate ability to stick the landing.

"Overall though, that could have gone worse. My most charming feature seems to have survived just fine."

Oh most certainly. He could have crashed into a pile of rocks, or impaled himself on a spire. At least by making it across he'd avoided the first and most likely cause of falling to the bottom of the canyon. "Not too bad for a first-timer," she agreed eventually, grinning as he flashed a winsome smile. "Feel like joining the expeditionary force?" The goofball still had snow in his hair, though she wasn't helpful enough to point it out.

Her gaze returned to the edge of the ridge where Leo had come from, searching for any sign of their fourth member. Mazus had seemed quite capable, but flying over a bottomless canyon was a big ask for anyone's first mission. Maybe I should have stayed up there longer...

But the mission was still underway. The entrance to the caverns yawned dark and wide before them, icy stalactites lining the entrance. Like most caves there was the hollow roar like the inside of a shell, but above it floated something different. A cackling. High and delirious and ever so faint, the mere traces of an echo that emerged from within.

"So. Anyone want to take the lead on this one?" she said. The snow blue den seemed to lead straight to the heart of the mountain, pieces of armour and weapon fragments lining the walls and more than a few bodies visible, frozen in place in the icy sides of the tunnels. The remnants of those who had come before them, no doubt.

Azalea Gibraltar
Location: Guild Hall
Mentions: Vol Vagabond Spectre​

"Well ain't that a sight--is that a new special you're cooking up, Elias? Looks like it'll be a killer one."

That made things easier. Azalea's gaze switched to Faygo from a still-pale Elias, slowly lowering the furious crustacean. "Faygo- so you were around. Good."

His ever-present companion hissed inquisitively, until its attention switched from Azalea to Elias and it seemed to consider what it might like for lunch instead. Faygo clicked his tongue around his usual leafy chew--birchgum today. Things must be quiet if he had time to grab a sprig from the forest--at least someone's had a nice morning.

"I'd like you to take a look at this," she said, foregoing any extra pleasantries. There was a great deal to be done and she was already behind. "It attacked Elias while he was trying to make breakfast." The gleaming pincer-blade continued its wild swings as if to prove her point, the creature clicking and spitting its displeasure at being held. Cracks ran throughout its shell and a dim, purple-tinged glow filled the gaps like tar. Strange enough, but apart from that it appeared relatively crab-like.

 

[Uasal]

Eiru Eagna
Gold Rank Support
Location: Inner forest​

Eiru was quick to follow behind Zion, leaving the prince to write in disgust all on his lonesome upon the surface. The small witch, moved carefully as she descended, carefully watching her footing as to not slip and fall down the dimly lit hole. Fortunately, the hole wasn't all that hard to scale and both the witch and spell caster soon found themselves within a catacomb long lost to time. The room was dimly lit, torches the only source of light and ever so creepily lit they were. Looking around the room she found herself in Eiru couldn't help but notice the overabundance of dust and webbing. This tomb had seemingly not been visited by life in a very long time, yet the ferrets seemed to acknowledge it connected to their summoners location. Perhaps the furry creatures had escaped through here before returning to the outpost. If that was the case this was very promising.

Turning to grab a torch from the wall Eiru carefully illuminated a wall faintly inscribed. The writing was old, eroded and almost unreadable but from what little she could make out the catacombs they now found themselves in was commissioned by the Merchant House. Those laid to rest were miners and others who fell in the battle against the western wastelanders. Eiru continued to try her best to decrepit the faded inscription but her train of thought was soon broken by a loud clatter of bones. The prince in all his wisdom had fallen down the hole. In all honesty, Eiru found the sight hilarious but she did well to withhold her laughter, souring the prince's pride would only result in a more agonising mission. And so the witch quietly returned to her reading and left the prince to gather himself.

When Zion moved to venture deeper into the catacombs with the ferrets as his guide, Eiru moved to follow behind him, torch in hand. In all honesty, she would have preferred to investigate the catacombs more but given the mission and the circumstances surrounding the area she felt going back to investigate after everything was said and done would be far more efficient. Even if some insight into the current happenings could be gained. Eiru followed close to Zion, unfazed by the bones she treaded across. This was far from her first time in such a tomb and it was far from her last. However, although she moved unfazed she was in no way disrespectful toward the dead, quietly offering words of rest to those she trod upon.

When the Prince voiced his concerns with their advancement, Eiru remained quiet. The ferrets were their guide and if they wanted the group to head in this direction then that was where the group should head. Familiars had a sixth sense for this sort of thing but explaining such a thing to a disgusted royal in the depths of a catacomb was not going to be easy. So much so it was hardly worth the effort. Instead, Eiru moved to match the spellcasters pacing, slowing as he did. From the sounds of things, corpses were animated up ahead and heading this way. Eiru was repaired to assist the spell caster in a frontal attack but when a hand grasped her ankle she audibly gasped before moving to stifle herself with her free hand.

Fortunately, Zion was quick to her aid, kicking the arm and freeing her from its grasp. Unfortunately, the undead was quick to grab hold of her other ankle with it's other hand. With Zion already Preoccupied with the undead appearing in front, the ferrets preoccupied on the same front and the prince frozen in all his glory Eiru had to act quickly to protect herself. "We fight, your light magic will stop them from reanimating.". Eiru smacked at the undead arm with her torch and eventually broke loose before tossing the torch to the prince for him to catch. She moved to Zion's back and placed her hands against his back "Zion, I want you to throw your scimitars. Focus on the undead and the idea of a tainted or corrupted soul and once you have that thought in your mind. Throw both with all your might.".

Sylph Vol

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Elias Allard

Taking a seat in one of the chairs to clear his mind from the sudden shock from the kitchen. Rubbing his temples before he began his summarized explanation of the kitchen nuisance. It appears a rogue crab has become a threat kitchen that nearly swooped a cut on his neck. Felt like he was being overdramatic at the moment. Azalea decided to investigate the situation herself which he didn't stop knowing that they are capable of holding their ground more than he ever could.

It was only a few seconds later that the cook came into the kitchen when the crab was captured by the scribe. Half the kitchen staff seems to have been comfortable working normally again. Elias walked in only to see the crab in Azalea's hands. The grip of his knife tightened as he approaches Azalea and the crab.

"Are you okay? Did this son of a- MMmmmmmm..."

Despite his usually calm face his voice and eyes were that of anger as just the sight of the crab alone makes him want to grab out of her hands and murder it himself. He immediately realized the rise of his steaming head and decided to stop and breathed for a minute. Standing closer to Azalea as the crab attempts to retaliate. The man fell silent moments later even right before the arrival of another member who is called to analyze the crab in hand. While despite the lighthearted comment given to the cook. He did not entertain the new arrival and looked back to Azalea.

"(Sighs) Apologies for bringing you into the kitchen at this time. I don't know how this happened but I'll just serve you something else."

Subconsciously using his knife in his hand to scratch an itch on the right side of his head. He immediately stopped halfway after the feeling of the sharp cold metal touched his scalp, laying down on a nearby countertop but not away from his reach.

Vol Sylph

 

[Key of Stars]

Klein Eshwald
Location: Gaenet
Mentions: Minma SilverbackActual ​

"Give me the word and I'll make him talk. I specialize in torture techniques and if that doesn't work and he's no use to us.." Klein shook his head in response. "I don't doubt your capabilities but if my assumptions are correct that man is nothing more than an innocent farmer who had his emotions toyed with and his worldview twisted with the help of illusions." Klein pointed at the man's eyes. "Look closely at his eyes, he most likely thinks he's been pulled into a hellscape on earth. Of course, that's not the only reason I suspect he's under the influence of illusions. He keeps calling us demons and my hand a claw. I'm not sure if we can save this fellow but I urge you to put him down for now."

Klein waited until after Lynx put the man back down before continuing. "Now then, returning to what you asked before about how a dead person is relevant to our situation. I'm not yet entirely certain how myself but I fear this situation has something to do with Glaeder."

"Oh? Demon Lord? Do not say that this one is back..." Klein once again shook his head. "No, contrary to what the name given to him by the people would make you expect Glaeder was entirely a normal human. Even if he somehow faked his death there is no way for him to have lived for more than 400 years." Klein paused momentarily. "That is, as a human. All of this is just an assumption but I suspect what we're dealing with is Glaeder's spirit. It's the only explanation that makes sense given that the townsfolk reported it as a wraith."

Klein cast his gaze in the direction of the forest. "How he managed to maintain his form as a spirit for this long is still a mystery to me." He turned back to Lynx and Themisto. "What greeted me when I observed the forest from above was a perfect replication of Gaelyn Fortress. What's more, that fortress was more than a simple illusion, it was interacting with its surroundings."

"Illusions so powerful that they exert an effect on reality, if it really is the spirit of Glaeder he might even have gotten stronger after his death." Klein mumbled to himself before warning Lynx and Themisto. "We'll start making our way to the fortress slowly. Stay alert. From here on out, everything we encounter can both be illusory and real at the same time."

Leonidas Hood
Location: Icewall Caverns
Mentions: Sylph -ferret- Funnier President​

"You're meant to land on your feet, generally." Leonidas nodded as if in deep thought. "Ah I see, you're supposed to land on your feet. And here I thought I was onto something landing face first." He said with a chuckle.

"Not too bad for a first-timer," Leonidas flashed a proud smile. "Feel like joining the expeditionary force?" "That depends," Leonidas started with a grin. "How often do you discover uncharted taverns?" He asked, removing some of the leftover snow from his clothes where he could.

Only when Ymir turned away from him for a moment to look at the entrance of the cave did Leonidas realize just how much colder it was inside of the cave compared to the top of the cliff. He shivered before speaking up. "Listen to me for a moment." He said to Zeno and Ymir before putting his hand to his chest. "We find ourselves in a cavern quite cold, a glorious story about to unfold. Now with a power akin to deceit, I'll supply us with welcome heat." He recited, a warm feeling enveloping him and replacing the cold.

"Keep in mind that the warmth my magic provides is purely psychological, it will make you feel warm but it won't influence any of the complications that might come with this extreme cold." He warned the others before turning to the entrance of the caverns.

"So. Anyone want to take the lead on this one?" Leonidas pointed to Zeno. "I volunteer our brave gold-ranked adventurer for the job." He said, turning to Zeno. "It would be most rude of me to steal the glory from a high ranked adventurer such as yourself." Also, I would prefer not to end up a living ice sculpture like the poor souls before us. "So, after you." He said with a grin, gesturing to the entrance of the caverns.

 

[Minma]

Minma Gate
Location: Gaenet

"I don't doubt your capabilities but if my assumptions are correct that man is nothing more than an innocent farmer who had his emotions toyed with and his worldview twisted with the help of illusions." Minma tightened his grip on the man's sshirt and grunted. Minma is someone who doesn't take threats lightly. "Look closely at his eyes, he most likely thinks he's been pulled into a hellscape on earth. Of course, that's not the only reason I suspect he's under the influence of illusions. He keeps calling us demons and my hand a claw. I'm not sure if we can save this fellow but I urge you to put him down for now."

Minma released the man and he plummeted to the ground creating a thud. "Under the influence you say? That explains his ignorant actions." Minma was so focused on the hostage that he didn't process what Klein had just said. But when he did his breath stopped for a second. Illusions? And not just that, ones strong enough to posses a human body?! The thought of such powerful art of battle excited Minma. He couldn't help himself. He's goal is to become the strongest being to ever walk this Earth and to do that you must face strong foes, even foes that seem unbeatable. Although he was excited about facing this challenge he didn't let it clog his objective. His emotion of excitement was tied in with sadness for the people of this place and the fear of the unknown.

"Oh? Demon Lord? Do not say that this one is back..." Minma raised a brow of confusion and curiosity. How come she spoke of this "Demon Lord" like she knew of him." Minma looked at Klein as he began to speak. "No, contrary to what the name given to him by the people would make you expect Glaeder was entirely a normal human. Even if he somehow faked his death there is no way for him to have lived for more than 400 years. That is, as a human. All of this is just an assumption but I suspect what we're dealing with is Glaeder's spirit. It's the only explanation that makes sense given that the townsfolk reported it as a wraith. How he managed to maintain his form as a spirit for this long is still a mystery to me. What greeted me when I observed the forest from above was a perfect replication of Gaelyn Fortress. What's more, that fortress was more than a simple illusion, it was interacting with its surroundings. Illusions so powerful that they exert an effect on reality, if it really is the spirit of Glaeder he might even have gotten stronger after his death."l" Minma paused to gather his thoughts and soak in the information given to him. The thought of a spirit roaming around didn't sit well with him. Illusions strong enough to alter your mental state and also interact with nature itself was not the run of the mill illusions.

"We'll start making our way to the fortress slowly. Stay alert. From here on out, everything we encounter can both be illusory and real at the same time." Minma slowly sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. "Allow me a minute. Guard me if you will." Minma raised his hands and held his index and thumb finger together. He took deep breathes in and out. Using spiritual vibrations in the atmosphere Minma began to try to focus in on a spirit, if any, were in the immediate area. He couldn't sense far but if there was some form of a spirit around he would have picked it up, maybe. The illusions were interfering with his six sense of vibration guidance. They posed vibrations themselves similar to those of spirits, but Minma could tell they weren't. One last deep breath came from Minma as he opened his eyes.

He stood up and dusted his pants off. He tuned towards Klein and Themisto. "In the immediate area there are currently no spirits. Now by immediate I mean about roughly twenty meters in each direction." Minma paused and sighed. "The illusions casted oddly were able to falter my ability to pick up on frequency of a spirit. It's possible the person behind them was already prepared for someone with my ability."

Mentions: Key of Stars SilverbackActual

 

[Vol]

A FISHY SITUATION

Location: Waystone Guild Hall, Outskirts of Lantana City
Interactions: Azalea Gibraltar Sylph / Elias Allard Vagabond Spectre
​

"Faygo- so you were around. Good. It attacked Elias while he was trying to make breakfast." "

The wood half-elf raised a brow. So she'd been looking for him earlier? Darn, maybe he should had stayed back at the Bestiary. Though the infamous and very convenient Waystone crystal made travelling to and from destinations unfairly easy, he would've preferred to be walked in when he was in the middle of feeding time.

"Apologies for bringing you into the kitchen at this time. I don't know how this happened but I'll just serve you something else."

Faygo opened his mouth to point out that the chef was about to cut himself with his own knife, but then quickly switched to a quiet half-smile when he noticed Elias catching himself before the damage was done. He rubbed the side of his cheek with his index finger, silently pouting at the fact that NEITHER of them reacted to his pun -- tough crowd, these two. Well when wasn't Azalea a tough nut to crack laughing? Even before...all that nature on her.

"A'right,I'll take a looksie." He chortled as he casually bent closer to inspect the weaponised crab, oddly unperturbed by all the pincer-whipping it was doing. It paused its futile onslaught for a second when Faygo's face neared it; beady black eyes concentrating on yellow ones. Snip.

Faygo returned to his half-slouched posture with a now half stem of birchgum, but still seemingly satisfied with his inspection.

"That's one crabby crustacean. But I get why it would be mad. Getting boiled alive isn't fun for anyone, I like to think." He began as he slipped the birchgum out of his mouth and with a flick, let it loose into the air. Effy jolted up like a spring and caught it, easily consuming it. Good thing Rattlebuns were omnivores. "Though the weird thing is, apart from the literal blade it has as a pincer, is the veins running along its shell. I've seen my share of crabs, even the types that aren't used for eating, but...I've never seen this."

He leaned forward once more, not too close as before, but still at weird conversational distance to the crab.
"Hey there pal, mind taking it down a notch? Let's have a nice chat -- I'll make sure you'll be off the menu."

The crab paused it's writhing, as if in thought. It probably didn't expect anyone to be communicating to it, let alone understand the words being spoken.
"No. I wanna give you a piece of how it feels to be cooked a-fucking-live." It chittered rapidly before resuming it's thrashing.

Faygo simply blinked and pulled back, amusement clearly written on his features.
"Oh it says it likes you guys, but just has a funny way on showing it." He chuckled before lazily glancing over to Elias, then Azalea.

"Do you's remember where you got our crab friend? What market stall or anything like that?"

 

[Sylph]

Tyron Avattica
Location: Solmar Catacombs
Mentions: Vol Uasal​

The underground was not Tyron's ideal environment to fight in. His permanently etched scowl was shadowed by torchlight as he parried a blow and cut through the enemy, a low hum accompanying each strike. The edge of the blade seemed to sing, reverberating with the magic he fed into it.

A terrified screech drew his gaze to the undead that had one of the ferrets in its grasp. Useless lump of fur--

He swung down, and a thin ripple followed in its wake, whistling across the hall to cut through the rotting limb and crack a part of the wall. Dust and rubble showered down for one, heart-stopping moment before the air settled. Tyron shook the dirt from his hair as another undead lunged. I seriously hate fighting underground.

The trapped ferret reunited with its companion and they scampered closer to the other two adventurers, who had the side of the hall with greater number of foes. He trusted they'd take care of it. At least one of them had an ability that worked in enclosed spaces, and the other could enhance it, so he turned his back to focus on the foes on their other side and--

Clunk.

Not a moment after something knocked into the back of his head.

It clattered to the floor a heartbeat later. The helpful gesture of a companion that had missed its mark. Tyron's brow twitched, lips pulled back as he glared at the witch who'd been holding the blasted thing. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, she was busy saying something to Zion and channelling her magic, and Tyron had bigger issues to deal with as a stray swipe almost took off his ear. He ducked out of the way and parried another blow. Doing so took him out of reach of the torch that some of the undead had noticed. They seemed enraptured, reaching out with rag covered hands only to shriek as the flame leaped higher upon sensing its opportunity.

What followed was a domino effect of burning corpses. Tyron stood, sword raised pointlessly as he blinked. The ones afflicted shrieked and stumbled, only to be set upon by the others nearby, who were folded into the inferno. It saved having to do much on his end, though he refused to believe the witch had planned it. That wasn't a level of credit he was willing to give someone from the arcane house.

The duo seemed to have taken down the majority of their enemy forces while he was busy, using whatever spell they had perfectly. Great, because they needed to go straight through. The number of shrieking fire corpses was growing fast and attracting more and more attention, filling the hall with smoke and the stench of burning, rotten flesh. Tyron pulled edge of his cloak over his mouth, eyes narrowed through the smog as he rasped at the others. "We need to go."

Azalea Gibraltar
Location: Guild Hall
Mentions: Vol Vagabond Spectre​

"Are you okay?" Elias stood upon her approach, though his expression morphed into something altogether frightening as he caught sight of the nuisance she held. "Did this son of a- MMmmmmmm..." He seemed to catch his words, drawing out a groan as he closed his eyes to take a few, deliberate breaths. His usual composure seemed to have cracked, revealing a far more impulsive nature Azalea wasn't familiar with. Perhaps a side he preferred not to show.

She glanced down, lifting up the lower half of her leg the crustacean had impaled. A translucent, faintly glowing and sap-like substance had begun to harden through the hole in her boot's upper. It didn't bother her much, sensation wise, but she was quite fond of the shoes themselves. "It did manage to damage my shoes," she said, lowering her foot to the ground. "But that's inconsequential."

"Apologies for bringing you into the kitchen at this time. I don't know how this happened but I'll just serve you something else."

She waved away his offer, shaking her head. "It's fine, Elias, I don't have much of an appetite these days anyway." She'd almost forgotten about the creature she held until a small snip caught her attention, and half a birchgum sprig tumbled onto her shoe.

"That's one crabby crustacean," Faygo said, leaning back with a satisfied grin. "But I get why it would be mad. Getting boiled alive isn't fun for anyone, I like to think."

Azalea's expression didn't move. She watched him remove the leafless stick from his mouth, flicking it to Elly. Trust you to sympathise with the breakfast menu.

"Though the weird thing is, apart from the literal blade it has as a pincer, is the veins running along its shell. I've seen my share of crabs, even the types that aren't used for eating, but...I've never seen this." He leant down, staring unflinchingly into the beady eyes of death as he continued in similar tone. "Hey there pal, mind taking it down a notch? Let's have a nice chat -- I'll make sure you'll be off the menu."

The response was both swift and distinctively unfriendly. Faygo didn't seem bothered as he pulled away, grinning to himself--he always seemed to return to that expression. Azalea was half convinced his face was set that way. "Oh it says it likes you guys, but just has a funny way on showing it. Do you's remember where you got our crab friend? What market stall or anything like that?"

"The cove," she said easily. His roundabout answer had been exactly what she needed to hear. If Faygo hadn't seen the thing before, then there was zero chance it was a natural occurrence. "Most the seafood comes from fishing villages in that area. I suspect an artefact or magic source of sorts has washed up." It wasn't uncommon for those things to be misplaced, but magic variants of creatures also existed, making it difficult to determine the cause of apparent mutations at times. "If that's the case then I doubt this is the only thing that's been affected."

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Elias Allard

With the fold of his arms. He slowly tried to neutralize his seething mood with great success, pacifying himself in a span of a minute. It’s not everyday a brawl in the kitchen brews itself and a single magically mutated crabbed caused alone a scene already. So much for a good morning.

The analysis had begun. Elias stood by in silence, offering no comment. This crab is totally out of the menu now, too much work for what it’s worth. It did raise curiosity to the man, how did something like that happen? How was this overlooked by the kitchen staff? Was it always that way? Rather than asking , he kept it all to himself as he has a strong feeling he is about to find out.

He had mixed indescribable feelings about the crab, mostly figuring what to do with it now. Jumping straight into I'm unculturedyo’s last question, his deep voice added into the conversation again.

“I think this batch was delivered straight from the docks. Until now, i wasn’t even aware of this monster.”

Azalea traced back to where the source originated with good detail than his. It made him look back to the green skinned woman with a slightly curious look.

“It seems like an investigation is in need of action here. If Ms. Azalea’s thinks that there could be more of this then we really need to do something here before this get out of control. Who knows how many of these are out there now.”

Sylph Vol

 

[Vol]

WOE, UNDEAD BE UPON YE
Location: A Solmar Catacomb
Interactions: Tyron Avattica Sylph / Eiru Eagna Uasal
Honourable mentions:
Quest: Rescue Mission
Reward: 2000 Coins​

"We fight, your light magic will stop them from reanimating. Zion, I want you to throw your scimitars. Focus on the undead and the idea of a tainted or corrupted soul and once you have that thought in your mind. Throw both with all your might."

One sizzling slash and another foe tumbled down, but the battlmage didn't see them fall as he had turned his attention to the witch. Inner conflict roiled within him for a moment, but as far as reasoning and adrenaline went, the latter won over.

He thought of necromancy at first then honed in on the the various spellcasters of said school of arcane. In a particular one of his investigations was a man named Vigintio, an old soul that had been strengthened by siphoning the souls of others to overcome and tame death. His soul was beyond tainted, Zion believed, as it was an amalgam of imprisoned and tortured life source.

The scimitars were no longer in his grasp.

He didn't have the time to see where or what it landed upon since he continued to fight, gloved knuckle cracking against bone or through soggy putrid dead flesh. Fortunately Tyron was noticeable even amidst the now crowded hallway; the noble must have somehow gotten ahead of him when he was busy shielding the enchantress. Zion continued to retaliate against the shambling undead as he tried to reach the prince in red, hoping to close the distance between them as getting separated would most likely kill him.

This would have been easier if he still had his blades with--

FWOOSH, FWOOM.

Zion slapped away a flaming hand and the scene before him slowly evolved to what he imagined what one of the levels of Hell looked like. Corpses aflame by a combination of holy fire and ordinary flame, their shrieks becoming a sickening choir of wails. Something within the undead adventurer's soul pulsated in familiarity, and he had to press his cloaked skull against a shaking hand.

"We need to go."

'I won't leave you behind.'

 

[Uasal]

Eiru Eagna
Gold Rank Support
Location: Inner forest
​

While Zion focused as Eiru had instructed the young witch began to make alterations to his spells formation. Her mana flowed seamlessly into his undead corpse and intertwined with his own, flowing directly toward the scimitars he held firmly within his boney hands. The sensation would have been strange for the undead, his mana was being controlled and warped without his own doing and the warmth of Eiru's own mana would envelop his cold undead body flowing much like warm blood through the magic circuits of his soul. A warm embrace, almost like a mother yet distinctly different. Natural yet somewhat distant. Regardless of how the undead might have reacted Eiru pushed on, focusing deeply on the inner workings of his spell, unravelling its workings to rewrite it as her own. It didn't take the witch long to do so and by the time she had, Zion too had a clear image in his head of what he felt the shambling corpses were. More importantly, he had focused directly on their souls as Eiru had asked. 'Enhance, Multiply, Seek, Donate'.

As Eiru inscribed the runes upon the scimitars her mana began to flare, the once warm embrace quickly turned to a rush of power and adrenaline within Zion as his body became a conduit for the witches power. Eiru held back to ensure she didn't push the body of the mage too far with her forceful donation of mana but ultimately he only had to bear with it for a few seconds for once he let loose the scimitars Eiru's enhancements took effect.

Two scimitars left the mages hand and immediately those two scimitars became four, eight and then finally sixteen. The swords glided effortlessly through the underground space, turning to correct their trajectories before each and everyone found a home within the chest of a shambling corpse. Each of the sixteen swords hit their mark, but what was most impressive about this spell was yet to take effect. Once the scimitars had embedded within the corpses they began to glow violently, light bursting out like fireworks in the night's sky. What the swords had pierced may have been rotten flesh, but what they had targeted was the soul itself. Zion's scimitars were not slaying the undead but purifying and exorcising their souls. They were putting the undead to rest while also lighting a path through the thick smoke that now filled the corridors.

Eiru moved to follow behind Zion, sticking close to his back coughing quietly as a result of the smoke, knowing she could trust in him to save her should another hand reach for her. She hurried behind the two while the light show continued to not only purify but distract the remaining undead from the escaping trio.

 

[Sylph]

Tyron Avattica
Location: Solmar Catacombs
Mentions: Vol Uasal​

Tyron gave the scimitar'd corpses a cursory glance as he passed, but there wasn't time to admire as the growing heat from the fire pressed at their backs, burning the air those living needed to survive. Some of the undead stirred as they passed by, but they were either cut down or left in the dust of their wake, the trio following the ferrets as they wove through the labyrinth.

Eventually they arrived at a larger hall, as dilapidated as the rest of the tombs, but... there was something off. The stretch of stone between them and the stairs leading up were devoid of remains. The ferrets chittered nervously, huddling closer to Eiru in the hopes of receiving comfort the other two wouldn't provide.

Where are the guards? It was unnatural to have an exit with no protection, no less when even the dead seemed to avoid it. Tyron cast his gaze around the wide area, wary of traps or hidden spells. Apart from it being scoured of remains, there was nothing else he could see.

"Do we pass through?" he muttered, not seeming to realise he'd directed the question at Eiru. His attention was preoccupied with observing the room. He couldn't shake the sense of foreboding as above them, something dark and gelatinous began to move.

Spoiler: Freedom?

 

[Vol]

A FISHY SITUATION

Location: Waystone Guild Hall, Outskirts of Lantana City
Interactions: Azalea Gibraltar Sylph / Elias Allard Vagabond Spectre​

"The cove. Most the seafood comes from fishing villages in that area. I suspect an artefact or magic source of sorts has washed up. If that's the case then I doubt this is the only thing that's been affected."

“I think this batch was delivered straight from the docks. Until now, i wasn’t even aware of this monster.”

Faygo gave Elias a look, his usual half-smile turned to a coy grin. "Only a matter of time till the food fights back. Though from what Azalea's suggesting, I doubt this isn't entirely your fault."

He returned his gaze to the snappy crab, head tilted to the side thoughtfully. His animal companion had been slithering figure-8's between his feet as the discussion had went on. Effy was impatient for a snack and she figured the crab would be one that the wood half-elf would serve to her, if he just stopped flapping his gob to the others.

“It seems like an investigation is in need of action here. If Ms. Azalea’s thinks that there could be more of this then we really need to do something here before this get out of control. Who knows how many of these are out there now.”

"If you're so worried about it, stick a notice on the questboard, Elias. The guildmembers would take care of it faster than you would make and plate, eh, I 'unno, sautéed mushrooms with garlic butter." Faygo half-heartedly gestured with his hand as he spoke. He hadn't gone quest-venturing in probably years; it just wasn't his jam he supposed.

Effy's tail suddenly rattled against his boot and the vibrations of its sound caused his leg to shake involuntarily. Faygo clicked his tongue twice as a signal for her to settle down, but the Rattlebun was unmoved by it, as she was busy trying to lick at the dried sap that had coagulated around the hole of Azalea's boot. Once he realised what she was doing, he finally took notice of the tiny wound.

"Oof, the beastie snipped you a good one didn't it? I can take it off your hands if you like, so you can...patch yourself up? Aren't you hurtin'?" His words at the end were tinged with slight worry but also an odd sense of confusion. Was that sap her...blood? Or did it come from something else? Sure she'd been literally blossoming into a dryad of some kind, but the first time Faygo had met her, she had been of flesh and red blood, not bark and golden sap.

Also crab, he wanted the crab.

 

[Sylph]

Ymir
Location: Icewall Caves
Mentions: Key of Stars​

"That depends. How often do you discover uncharted taverns?"

"Oh all the time, the continent's riddled with them." She was almost as fond as caves as she was mountains. The two went hand in hand anyway--so dark and mysterious, with all those secrets to get lost in.

"Listen to me for a moment. We find ourselves in a cavern quite cold, a glorious story about to unfold. Now with a power akin to deceit, I'll supply us with welcome heat." He lowered his hand after he finished, tacking on at the end. "Keep in mind that the warmth my magic provides is purely psychological, it will make you feel warm but it won't influence any of the complications that might come with this extreme cold."

At least I won't feel it if my toes fall off. She huffed, burying her nose in the protective swath of material around her neck. Hopefully it wouldn't end in such an extreme. Once they were out of the biting wind it would be easier to retain a little warmth.

"I volunteer our brave gold-ranked adventurer for the job. It would be most rude of me to steal the glory from a high ranked adventurer such as yourself."

She nodded along, still revelling in the heat his words brought. She'd been out in the snowstorm for nearly an hour already, scoping the ravine for signs of their target. Even if she'd grown up amongst snowstorms and harpies, the toasty sensation of a fireplace blanket was much appreciated.

She blinked back to attention as Leo gestured at the cave entrance. His call was appropriate. Zeno was the most offensively based of the group, and stood the best chance of surviving any sudden attacks. Okie dokie.

"Shall we go then?" If Mazus joined them Ymir would put them in the middle, so her and Leo could make up the back. It would be the safest position for someone both new to adventuring and healing orientated. With a wide grin she started after the others as they descended into the ice, falling in step beside Leo.

"Y'know, I've actually been thinking I should make a proper expedition team. I was going to be a part of the Lantana one before... uh." She faltered for a moment, though her smile returned after a heartbeat. "But this way's more fun, right? I usually explore alone cause it's faster, though Azalea keeps telling me I need to get used to group dynamics."

She was insistent, in fact, that Ymir 'would not be moving to gold rank until she did'. Ymir's expression soured. "I guess we'll see how this one goes."

It wasn't long until the outer icy layers began to give way to intermingled rock. The battering wind became less prominent as the cavernous silence took hold. There again, ever so faintly, the echo of a cackle could be heard from the depths.

Spoiler: Into the Ice

Azalea Gibraltar
Location: Guild Hall
Mentions: Vol Vagabond Spectre​

“I think this batch was delivered straight from the docks. Until now, I wasn’t even aware of this monster.”

Elias looked back at her with a raised brow, to which she shrugged. It was her job to know where these things came from. The cove had always given them good ingredients, so the situation was a concern on many levels.

"Only a matter of time till the food fights back. Though from what Azalea's suggesting, I doubt this isn't entirely your fault. If you're so worried about it, stick a notice on the questboard, Elias. The guildmembers would take care of it faster than you would make and plate, eh, I 'unno, sautéed mushrooms with garlic butter."

She snorted under her breath, fixing Faygo with an exasperated look. Always about the food.

“It seems like an investigation is in need of action here. If Ms. Azalea’s thinks that there could be more of this then we really need to do something here before this get out of control. Who knows how many of these are out there now.”

"They supply a great many areas," Azalea said. "There are eateries in the city, and even the..."

...palace.

Azalea stifled a sudden snicker, cackling to herself at the thought of the kingdom overrun by crustaceans. The absolute chaos it would bring. Her free hand covered her mouth as she tried to remind herself of the gravity of that problem, but it was a struggle to regain composure. "...with any luck there's only been a few of these that were caught," she managed eventually.

It would most certainly require an investigation. A known area--guildstone access. No extreme threat... copper? No, not if it's a potential artefact--"

"Oof, the beastie snipped you a good one didn't it?"

Azalea blinked out of her thoughts, taking a moment to recall as she glanced down at her shoes. Her brow rose at sight of the Effy nibbling at her leg.

"...ruined a perfectly nice pair of boots is what it did." She crouched down, waving the creature away before it did further damage. Snapping off a growth that was curled around her arm, Azalea tossed it to the omnivorous contradiction as a sign of goodwill, watching it snap up the vegetation in a flash of fangs and scales. What higher order of intelligence decided snakes and bunnies were a good match anyway?

"I can take it off your hands if you like, so you can...patch yourself up?"

"Oh." She blinked, recalling the crustacean. "...right." It had managed to score a few gauges in her arm while she'd been distracted. More coagulating sap to deal with. She stood and pulled another plant growth from her arm, deciding with some level of annoyance to put an end to the vexing struggles. The vine began to wriggle and grow as she directed it to wrap around the crab, several times, until it was nothing more than a mass of tangled greenery and waving legs and she could finally let go in good conscience.

She tossed the bundle to Faygo with the care of a late birthday present. He'd best be careful of the still snipping claw, restrained though it was in one position.

"Aren't you hurtin'?"

"...don't worry about it," she said. "The skin will grow back." Not many knew her before she came to the guild, and less knew her well. Faygo was one of the few. He was considerate enough not to pry into her appearance. In return she didn't question what made him leave the city, or where he'd gotten his... peculiar companion. "I'll class the quest as an iron. It's in a waystone accessible area so help will be available." The concern was whatever had caused the strange behaviour in the first place.

Noticing a glint in Elias's normally amicable gaze, Azalea raised a brow. He still seemed somewhat out of sorts from the incident. "...would you like to go along on this one, Elias?" He had best grasp on what they'd be facing.

 

[Key of Stars]

Leonidas Hood
Location: Icewall Caves
Mentions: Sylph​

"Shall we go then?" Leonidas gave a small nod. "Let's see if we can avoid being turned into a human ice sculpture like these guys." He said, knocking on the clear ice wall of the cave. The statement was meant as a joke but there was a hint of seriousness present in Leonidas's voice as he quietly observed the people stuck in the cavern wall for just a moment, tapping his chest in a completely random order before falling into a comfortable walking pace.

Ymir walked beside him, a wide grin on her face. Leonidas found the fact that she seemed entirely comfortable and even excited while walking through an icy cavern towards who knows what comforting. He wasn't one to take things very seriously, going as far as cracking jokes while surrounded by frozen corpses, even so, he couldn't help but let other's moods rub off on him to a certain extent, getting more serious if his teammates were as well. Having someone like Ymir around meant he could truly be himself, not having to tone down his personality, not having to force himself to act serious about everything.

For a little while, they walked in relative silence until Ymir turned towards him. "Y'know, I've actually been thinking I should make a proper expedition team. I was going to be a part of the Lantana one before... uh." The brief and subtle change in her expression and mood didn't escape Leonidas's notice, after all, emotions were part of his expertise. He chose not to pry and simply motioned for Ymir to continue. "But this way's more fun, right? I usually explore alone cause it's faster, though Azalea keeps telling me I need to get used to group dynamics."

Leonidas thought for a moment before responding. "That certainly sounds like her, group dynamics huh..." He started. "I'm not sure about the standard or official definition for a group but then again," He continued, a grin forming on his face. "When have we ever cared about the standard way to do something? The two of us are as non-standard as they come. If you ask me, two people make for a perfectly acceptable group." He said with a laugh.

"A proper expedition team," Leonidas tapped his chin as if in thought. "That sounds like a thrilling way to spend my life. You can play the role of diligent and efficient captain and I'll be your devilishly handsome vice-captain. Count me in." He fully turned to her with a broad smile. "If you'll have me in your team that is of course, captain." He said, giving her a mock salute.

"I guess we'll see how this one goes." Leonidas nodded. "Let's go kick the ass of whatever is up there before that cackling drives me mad." He smiled before adding a final comment. "It's horribly out of tune."

Kathlyn Silva
Location: Guild Hall
Mentions: Sylph​

Kathlyn stood in front of the building the townsfolk had pointed her toward. She readjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder, the various bottles and vials inside colliding with each other with a soft clink, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves before pushing open the door and stepping inside.

Three people were currently in the guild hall, they seemed to be having a conversation. Not wanting to seem rude Kathlyn waited patiently until the conversation came to a temporary halt before speaking up.

“Uhm,” Kathlyn started, nervously pushing back a strand of blonde hair, revealing one of her slightly more pointy than ordinary ears. “Excuse me, I’m new around here, I was told to look for Azalea?” She said, wincing slightly at how loud it had come out of her mouth.

She paused momentarily before realizing something. “O-oh, I’m sorry how could I forget, my name is Kathlyn Silva.” Kathlyn seriously felt like crying. How could she forget to start off with her own name? She mentally scolded herself for messing up the easiest part of the plan of action she had gone over with her father so many times to prepare.

The woman called Azalea turned to her and asked her about the reason for her visit. Something about the calm voice of the other eased Kathlyn’s nerves as she responded. “I’m here in hopes of finding work. Let me introduce myself again, I’m Kathlyn Silva, expert and aficionado of and in all things medicine, herbs and other flora…” She trailed off, observing Azalea for just a little too long. “A-ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to stare.” She blurted out, cheeks flushing a light shade of crimson.

To Kathlyn’s credit she managed to get over her embarrassment at record speed, continuing her introduction. “I’m also proficient at using healing magic.” She said, her hand was enveloped by a gentle green glow as she held it up as a matter of demonstration. Unsure of how to demonstrate her magic any further Kathlyn awkwardly dispelled the glow and lowered her hand.

She looked up at Azalea, the other didn't look entirely too convinced yet in her eyes so she hurriedly continued “I can also take care of various other administrative tasks, I’m used to helping my father out around his shop.”

Kathlyn left it at that, not wanting to come off as entirely desperate. She already wasn’t all too sure why she had added the statement about administrative tasks to her introduction in the first place. Sure it wasn’t a lie, she was quite good at administration and organization but that wasn’t why she had come to the guild in the first place. She had come here in hopes of becoming a guild healer, not an administrator.

 

[Vol]

GREASY MOMENTUM
Location: A Solmar Catacomb
Interactions: Tyron Avattica Sylph / Eiru Eagna Uasal
Honourable mentions:
Quest: Rescue Mission
Reward: 2000 Coins​

An undead's sensation of 'warmth' would be different to the living. That is to say, how could they even feel the seasons passing by, let alone the wind and rain that would splatter across bone and nerveless flesh. Magic, of course, magic was an easy but dismissive way to explain such things. Fortunately for Zion the memory of 'warmth' was not too far from his reach, and this was of a comforting sort; Eiru's mana had managed to snap him from his shaken stupor.

Although the enchantress could not see it, the soul trapped within his skeletal prison flared in intensity as well, like a fire being fanned. Strong and high enough that wisps of ethereal blue seemed to seep through the sockets of his skull and past crevices of his mask. The strangely intimate transferral of power lost its edge as soon as the scimitars had left his hands. Then he felt...undead once more. What a dangerously addictive buff Eiru could muster.

Zion didn't have the luxury to admire the combination of their attacks as even with new maelstorm of his enhanced weaponry piercing and purging the corpses around them, the undead continued their onslaught. Using this window of opportunity he had grabbed Eiru's wrist and dashed forward to catch up with the prince in red, and the ferrets up ahead.

________________________________

Eventually the trio came to a stop in a larger chamber, albeit as crumbled as the one they had left behind. Atleast there were no wall graves AND lingering undead here, except for...one. Zion watched his companions' heaving chests and sweat that dripped from their brow to cheek, and then remembered to let go of the enchantress' arm before slowly walking forth. He stopped at a distance from the stairs, trepidation lapping at his senses at the suspiciously inviting light of the possible exit it offered.

Instead he decided to do a whole 360 degree turn on the spot to take in the whole chamber; torches lined the walls but most were not lit. The few that were were dying cinders, the light from the stairs provided the main source of illumination. Pillars were placed strategically in the room, most likely to hold the ceiling up than just for decorum. 'Here I thought the whole fortress would be inhabited by undead.' Zion assumed to himself as he gently ran a gauntlet down one of the pillars. Stone dust caked his gloves. 'Must have nothing to guard in this particular room, then mayhaps the next one is the same.'

He eyed the ferrets that were coiled around Eiru's feet. The doubt that Tyron had earlier trickled into Zion...

"Do we pass through?"

Zion inspected the grey ash on his hands as he allowed the question to linger in the air. Although Eiru had assigned him to take point, that did not mean he was the actual leader of their little group. Besides, it sounded like it wasn't addressed to him anyway. He watched his hand suddenly darken and the battlemage tilted his head a fraction in curiosity.

Only to look up too late as something dropped down on him.

'Oh shit, anything but this.' A deadpanned message that was laced with a strange panic was slapped across the mentalspace in Eiru and Tyron. Fighting slimes were not too difficult, especially with Zion's combat calibre -- but that only applied if he wasn't INSIDE one.

The digestive acid that literally oozed everywhere was eating away at his clothes and armour. He managed to wrench his head up, he was met with a fellow skeleton; only a head remained.

 

[Sylph]

Tyron Avattica
Location: Solmar Catacomb
Mentions: Vol Uasal​

Tyron watched the battlemage turn full circle, half expecting something to fly out of the walls and slam into them. They seemed undisturbed by the same exhaustion he and the witch displayed. No rise and fall of their shoulders. No sound at all to indicate they even breathed--and Tyron had better hearing than most. He turned to the witch, narrowing his eyes as he checked again that yes, their breath rattled in and out of their chest.

Glop... glop..

He froze at a different noise, straining his ears. Like Zion, however, he realised where it was coming from too late. Above-?!

'Oh shit-'

Tyron spun back around in time to see the dark body descend atop the third member of their group. A mass of malleable gel, a single, bleached skull floating at the top--

Fuck! A black slime, one of the worst. An acidic creature that fed off the remains of the undead, toxic enough to dissolve bone-

'Anything but this.'

Tyron was inclined to agree. Most slimes picked the bones bare. Black and red slimes made sure there was nothing left to bury. Beneath the dissolving scraps of material Tyron glimpsed the tell-tale signs of white bone--so it had already eaten through the skin. Settling into a grim scowl, Tyron nonetheless raised an arm, the air beginning to hum in front of his hand.

A simple sound wave. For dealing with slimes it was ideal, but the underground surroundings made it complicated. "Oi witch-" Tyron said. Adjusting spells was her specialty, right? "Make sure this doesn't hit the walls."

Or we'll be dealing with a bigger issue than the slime.

 

[Key of Stars]

Klein Eshwald
Location: Gaenet
Mentions: Minma SilverbackActual ​

"Allow me a minute. Guard me if you will." Klein nodded, he had already put up several thin almost invisible strings that would alert him if someone came into contact with them so he didn't do anything special except slightly tightening his grip on his cane.

Lynx soon stood up again, turning to him and Themisto to report. "In the immediate area there are currently no spirits. Now by immediate I mean about roughly twenty meters in each direction." Klein tapped his cane on the street softly as he processed the information. Lynx's observation was in line with what he expected. He assumed the spirit would have taken residence in the illusion of Gaelyn Fortress, unwilling or perhaps unable to leave.

"The illusions casted oddly were able to falter my ability to pick up on frequency of a spirit. It's possible the person behind them was already prepared for someone with my ability." "That doesn't seem unlikely." Klein started. "If we really are dealing with the spirit of lord Glaeder we're up against an opponent that has several lifetimes of experience in magic, it's not too outrageous to assume that he has found a way to disrupt most forms of searching magic."

"The frequency of a spirit... Falter... well... we could try to reduce this noise--" Klein was about to respond when a figure appeared behind Themisto, he instantly raised his hand, ready to step in if necessary, but Themisto handled the attack rather well, taking out the figure in a single clean slash. Klein was pleased to see his two teammates could handle themselves well enough. This mission had already turned into something more complicated than he had anticipated and he didn't even know the full extent of his opponent's abilities yet.

"Well, that was a close one!" Klein gave her an approving and affirmative nod before crouching down next to the now lifeless figure. He carefully poked it in the side and was met with the resistance one would expect when poking a corporeal object. Klein had expected something like this but even so, finding an illusion that he could touch and interact with was still a somewhat surreal experience.

After a particularly hard poke from Klein's cane, the figure slowly faded away leaving behind not even the slightest trace of its prior existence. He stood up and turned to Themisto and Lynx. "Let's start making our way to the fortress, if we're going to find the one at the source of all this it will most likely be there." There was still a lot that Klein wasn't sure about in the current situation but he was sure that staying in the same spot would do them little good.

"Stay alert, I doubt the one behind this will simply let us walk to his fortress." Klein warned the other two as he started walking.

 

[Uasal]

Eiru Eagna
Gold Rank Support
Location: Inner forest ​

Eiru wasn't too fused when Zion took a hold of her arm, in fact, she was thankful if anything for the guidance he provided through the thickening smoke. But her thanks would soon run dry when she realised just how much faster the larger framed skeleton could move in comparison to her small frame, especially when he needn't worry about smoke-filled lungs. Fortunately, Eiru managed to keep herself from tripping behind the spellcaster despite the quicker pacing. Which to be honest was a feat in itself. Unfortunately, when he released her wrist Eiru was exhausted and completely out of breath, coughing violently as a result of her exposure to the smoke and irregular pacing.

Eiru took the longest to recover, not having a chance to observe the new chamber before Zion found himself trapped within the gelatinous mass that was the black slime. Fantastic, even in a crypt as old as this Eiru was fated to encounter a slime. A cruel and twisted joke, especially given the slime was that of black slime. The most dangerous type of 'regular' slime. Before Eiru could move to act the red prince began preparing a spell of his own and had demanded Eiru's aid in doing so. With the spell already being cast, Eiru had no choice but to alter it's construction. If she didn't the roof was likely to collapse. But what the prince hadn't taken into consideration was the fact that this was no mere slime. Black slime were highly corrosive and toxic in nature and even a defeated black slime had its dangers. Namely the fact that a sound wave would send its toxic body flying in all directions. If any of it's remains managed to coat the stairs it would very likely become much harder to advance.

None the less it was that or the roof. Placing her left hand on the prince's shoulder Eiru began channelling her mana through the prince's body. Like with Zion, Eiru was limited in how much mana she could use. In fact, the prince could handle far less than Zion. Due to this technicality, Eiru could only use one rune on the prince's magic without causing an astonishing amount of pain and backlash. The prince would also only experience a tingling sensation as opposed to a warm embrace or 'high'. But fortunately one was enough 'Seek'. "You need to imagine your soundwave entering its body and echoing within. Do not. DO NOT. Imagine anything else. Focus... Release!"

 

[Sylph]

Tyron Avattica
Location: Solmar Catacombs
Mentions: Vol Uasal​

"You need to imagine your soundwave entering its body and echoing within. Do not. DO NOT. Imagine anything else. Focus..."

Echoing-?

Fine. Tyron's eyes narrowed focusing on the malignant black mass as more and more bleached white was revealed beneath Zion's dissolving cloak. At this point they were too far gone. Tyron was no stranger to losing soldiers on a battlefield. It was a necessary evil, though a regrettable waste all the same. He'd been growing to appreciate their ability to keep the witch entertained.

The sensation that started at his shoulder let him know Eiru's magic had begun to work. It spread throughout his chest, reaching down his arm as it prickled against the skin. The muscles in his arm spasmed with the effort of keeping such a concentration of soundwaves and the interfering runes in check. The casting was significantly harder when he wasn't channelling it through something as solid as a sword.

Echo within the mass. Echo within the mass- He didn't concern himself with the fact it might harm Zion too. At worst it would scatter what was already bone and rags, though hopefully there would be enough muscle to hold him together. Dismembering a corpse was... distasteful practice. Not something an Avattica heir should aspire to. Echo within the mass-

"Release!"

The recoil backfired all the way to his shoulder, but the wave of magic continued uninterrupted. Rather than expanding or losing force over distance, it maintained its shape until slamming into the slime's body.

At first, it seemed to have little effect. Then as slowly as surely the glutinous mass began to burble and expand--Tyron swearing under his breath as he realised the outcome of the spell and grabbed the edge of his cloak. Losing the witch on top of Zion would be... unfortunate. She was useful. And small and easy to shield besides. He wrenched the red material up to create a barrier between them. Not moments later they heard the repulsive squelch of gel coating the walls, and Tyron's cloak wavered with impact of chunks of slime against it.

Disgusting. Some landed on his boot, and he kicked it off in alarm as it began to eat through the outer layers. His cloak bore the brunt of the damage, though it had help up for a good few moments.

"Hells-" he swore, holding up the material for examination. He'd hardly bothered to check if the witch and their furry snake guides were ok. "This is arachnea cloth." Rare and expensive and effective. Tyron could hardly believe the tattered state. It had served him dutifully for years in place of armour. Just how toxic was that wibbly bastard?

The skull floating within the slime had ratcheted off the walls and bounced to a clattering stop nearby on of the pillars. Tyron all but ignored it, glancing up at the former third member of their party, of whom bone and sinew was likely all that remained. Unfortunate, but there was no guarantee they would all have made it out alive.

"There's no helping him." He turned to the witch, examining her briefly for injuries. Hopefully she'd come to the same conclusions as he. It would be troublesome if she had any sort of attachment to the mercenary, but she'd need to put it aside for now. He was confident he could drag her along, willing or not, if the need arose, though it might affect how useful she was later on. "Let's go," he said. The remnants of the slime were slowly eating holes into the walls and pillars.

Azalea Gibraltar
Location: Guild Hall
Mentions: Key of Stars​

The tentative opening of the guild doors drew Azalea's attention, and she glanced over from where Faygo and Elias were still discussing the prospect of a quest. The new addition glanced around the largely empty guild hall--as morning had passed to noon most the adventurers had cleared out on missions--before landing on the three guild staff discussing the aftermath of the morning's incidents.

“Uhm, excuse me, I’m new around here, I was told to look for Azalea?”

They seemed nervous. Wide and flickering eyes that tried to take in everything at once. As the newcomer brushed back part of their hair it struck Azalea why--they might not have had the best reception in other places with ears like that. "Very well. What can we do for you?"

“O-oh, I’m sorry how could I forget, my name is Kathlyn Silva. I’m here in hopes of finding work." Not unusual. There were no end of stragglers seeking a living where normal livelihoods were impossible or too constricting. They seemed around Sherly's age, though nowhere near as outgoing the other half-elf barmaid. "Expert and aficionado of and in all things medicine, herbs and other flora…"

They trailed off, eyes roaming around the straggled branches and sprouts. Azalea gave a resigned sigh. Was her appearance really so fascinating? "Go on."

"A-ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to stare. I’m also proficient at using healing magic. I can take care of various other administrative tasks, I’m used to helping my father out around his shop."

Azalea paused, considering their words. They didn't lack for healers, though adventurers with such a skillset were always in high demand. "I see. You seem very capable, but..." Their disposition didn't seem suited for potentially dangerous missions. "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a safer line of work?" They seemed more like they'd be at home in an apothecary, where they could put their skills to use. The guild's main source of income was through quests, after all, they didn't have unlimited funds to hire staff without a pressing need. Such had been Elias's case, where the previous cook had moved back into the city, or Faygo who had offered to take the messy task of dealing with creature companions off Azalea's hands.

 

[Uasal]

Eiru Eagna
Gold Rank Support​

Location: Inner forest

Eiru was concerned with how weak the princes magic was in comparison to the slime as a result of no medium being present but all she could do was hope the soundwaves would be enough to blow the gelatinous mass to pieces. Fortunately, it was. When the slime began to balloon and spasm Eiru moved to crouch behind the prince, taking the ferrets in her arms to better shield them from the toxic hail about to unfold. To her surprise, the prince moved to shield her and aside from a small pinhole in her pointy hat, Eiru emerged unscathed as a result. Moving to a stand Eiru let the ferrets sit atop both her shoulders and with little time now to advance she moved quickly toward where Zion had fallen following the blast.

He had been inside the slime for quite some time and unfortunately there was no way he could hope to hide his secret any longer. Examining his body Eiru was glad to find no residual Slime left on him, although that wasn't to say he was in all too good a shape. His bones had suffered a great deal from the overexposure to the acidic slime. With time and a stable mana source, he would heal but unlike with the living, healing magic was likely not going to help in the process. Necromancy maybe but to Eiru's knowledge, no one in the guild had access to the forbidden art of necromancy. Time then was the likely bet. "Zion, can you move? is your soul chamber damaged? How's your mana, are you low? Talk to me. If you need mana I can donate more than enough."

Eiru moved to kneel beside the undead, she refrained from touching him or forcing her mana upon him but without doing either it was hard for her to grasp the situation. Undead were hard to read. Especially sentient ones. "I'm no medic but you were in there for quite some time. Be careful your bones are bound to have weakened considerably."

 

[Vagabond Spectre]

Elias Allard​

Watching the crab struggle to free itself from Azalea using it’s violent movements. His eyes have no sympathy for such a creature regardless of what Faigyo had said. He couldn’t care less if it begged for mercy, if it weren’t for Azalea passing the-now-entangled crab to Faigyo, he could have proceeded to cook it without hesitation. Maybe he would even enjoy it screaming, as he boils it or butcher it.

Setting sadistic thoughts aside. Azalea received a few cuts from the crab but nothing even close to threatening as she reacts little no pain. He faced away from the two, getting a sight over the kitchen. Everything seems to be flowing fine now that the rascal has been arrested. His hand placed itself on his chin, reflecting back to the conversation of the origins of this bizarre incident. Then came a question that caught the man’s attention back to the scribe.

“Hmm? I’m sorry?”​

Obviously caught off guard, now that she mentioned it. It’s quite rare for him to ever go outside the guild other than shopping for more rations and ingredients in some occasions. Looking down onto the greased floor, processing an answer on his head. Almost took him half a minute to answer before his head looked back Azalea. While it could get dangerous, Azalea did ask him to take on the quest, he began to murmur to himself as if doubting himself if he could do it. After careful consideration he opened his mouth to say...

“Ye-“​

Briefly interrupted by another distinct sound. Azalea left the kitchen to check on the guild hall. Confusing him for a brief second. Only left with Faigyo and animals co. His eyes looked back into the bundled carb that Azalea left in his hands. He gave a sigh to clear himself.

“I was admitting to her that i was saying yes. Do you have business elsewhere, sire? Care to spare time on this mission?”

“I think the kitchen can go on without me anyway.”​

Basically asking Faigyo if he was going to join in the mission since his already visual expression of interest in this odd crab mutation is already present since he got here.

Sylph Vol

 

[Vol]

OF UNDEAD AND MEN
Location: A Solmar Catacomb
Interactions: Tyron Avattica Sylph / Eiru Eagna Uasal
Honourable mentions:
Quest: Rescue Mission
Reward: 2000 Coins​

A nerveless entity would not feel the acidic embrace of the necrotic slime, so Zion didn't scream out in pain. Which was for the best for his living companions, for telepathic static would've muddled their concentration. Instead Zion's howls were directed to the aether, the astral plane, to the ethereal; threads of the magic that chained him to the mortal coil were being eaten away so, so, slowly. It was agonising. It was torture.

The soul within the skeletal ribcage thrashed and stuttered as it fought to break free from its vessel, but to no avail.
That was until, a small reveberation that grew into a seismic shock destroyed the necrotic slime.

Zion felt unburdened for the first time in a very, very long time. The armour that hid his form clattered to the floor but the cloak and hood he had worn were torn beyond repair.

Colour was amiss in his sudden tunnelvision and he could not hear the splattering of the slime's remains against cobblestone. The world for him, at this moment, was like black and white polaroid film. A blue soul hovered where the battlemage had once been, pulsating like a heart that was ripped from its owner.
Zion's bones were scattered and splintered across the room from the might of Tyron's and Eiru's magic. Suddenly they rattled and slowly gravitated towards the hovering light. Strange magic knitted the broken bone together, reforming it whole, before it gathered and strangely built itself upwards piece-by-piece; the basic skeleton of a big boned human lying supine.

Then chains reappeared, curling around the wisps of his soul, trapping it once more inside the ribcage, before dissipating into starlight. Colour returned, and so did the sound of limestone melting against acid. Zion managed to catch the clipped "farewell" of the prince in red. 'Dutiful. Cannot say I would not have reacted the same way if I was in his position.' He found himself thinking, as if he had not just revealed to them what he actually was.

"Zion, can you move? is your soul chamber damaged? How's your mana, are you low? Talk to me. If you need mana I can donate more than enough."

Eyeless sockets stared back at the witch.

"I'm no medic but you were in there for quite some time. Be careful your bones are bound to have weakened considerably."

Zion decided to test her statement as he tried to lift up an arm, only for it to splinter and break off. Plumes of blue smoke filtered through the spaces between his exposed teeth; frustration then resignation. Suddenly the said arm knitted itself back together and snapped back to place. Not only was his soul seemingly cursed to be stuck to this vessel, it was the same predicament with the skeletal form.

'Not the first time something like this happened. But by slime and sound magic? Yes.' The undead adventurer's telepathy was softer, fainter than its usual confident echo. 'Just give me time, your restoration should not be wasted on one that cannot properly die.'
A truth said with disdain but also inevitable acceptance.
'However, your offer...is greatly appreciated.' And he meant his gratitude at her aid, not everyone would immeditately do such a thing once you discovered an undead, be it sentient or mindless.

He willed himself to sit up, bones creaking underneath the pressure, but was successful. Zion's skull refused to turn to Lord Avattica as he commanded skeletal fingers to methodically re-equip the armour that had fallen off of him. He would wait for the princeling's reaction while trying to gather himself -- also he did not think that far ahead on what to say if such a reveal happened...

 

[Vol]

LET'S HEAR IT

Location: Waystone Guild Hall, Outskirts of Lantana City
Interactions: Elias Allard Vagabond Spectre
Honourable Mentions: Azalea Gibraltar Sylph / Kathlyn Silva Key of Stars​

The Beastmaster managed to catch the crab with one hand before his animal companion could snap up and interfere. With a tiny smile he probably didn't know was on his face, he cooed quietly over his new entangled 'friend' . The hand that tried to pet the parts that weren't covered by vines seemed to take on a strange sheen; a similar colouration and texture of the crab. With a soft flash, a pincer the size of Faygo's hand replaced the normal one, and he slowly snipped away at the vines. The crab had stilled at that gesture, its confusion overwhelming its struggles.

"You need to catch a break sometime, Az--" The half-elf started, but cut himself off with a not unkind "oh, 'kay" when the receptionist moved out of the kitchen and out to the guild hall. Probably needed once again.

“I was admitting to her that i was saying yes. Do you have business elsewhere, sire? Care to spare time on this mission?”
“I think the kitchen can go on without me anyway.”

Faygo finally raised his head, eyebrow quirked and one eye wide from its usual half-lidded state.
"Mission? You mean questing? Oh, well, ya see..." The crab, finally freed from its viney prison, had clipped itself onto Faygo's pincer hand, probably still processing whatever the hell was going on, "I'm not really the venturin' type anymore..also I got a new beastie here to take care of." With the pincer, he held up the knife crab. It's little legs dangling in the air and knife-arm awkwardly cutting at nothing. The strength and ferocity replaced with idle instinct.

Effy, disappointed that her sap snack had wandered off, went back to coil around Faygo's feet. Disinterested by the crab now, and probably just wanting to reserve her energy.

"Unless," He waggled an eyebrow at Elias, his minuscle smile morphing to a playful show of teeth. "I wanna hear how persuasive you can be."
The prospect of seeing more cursed creatures was an interesting one, and possibly securing some and aiding their condition but...

Sure the Beastmaster had a whole department to take care of as well, though the workload was much less widespread than Azalea's. He had a few assistants here and there, but most of the inner workings was executed by him. Also he did have a purpose on dropping by which was was to consult Azalea about the new feedstock to be delivered to the Bestiary. Though from the sounds of it, the dryad seemed to be preoccupied with someone else at the moment.

He really wished she could be given a break, or an assistant of some sort. The job isn't just wearing her down physically, he figured, but emotionally as well -- she now lacked a certain...feeling from before. He wondered if it wasn't just the job. He let the thought pass, eyes glazing over for a moment before it cleared and trained back to the chef. He tucked it away as another query for another time.

 

[Key of Stars]

Kathlyn Silva
Location: Guild Hall
Mentions: Sylph ​

"I see. You seem very capable, but..." Kathlyn didn’t like the sound of that, nothing good ever came after a but. "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a safer line of work?"

Kathlyn recollected her thoughts for a moment before responding. “Well, uhm, I was hoping to mostly stay here in the building. I can provide potions and salves to people before they depart and provide additional healing magic treatment when they return.”

She set down her backpack on a nearby table before rummaging around in the main compartment, various bottles clinking against each other before she pulled out a small vial. She held the vial containing a light purple liquid up to Azalea. “This one is my own recipe, it soothes headaches for at least 24 hours and I can whip it up in less than 10 minutes. I know headaches aren’t exactly the most revolutionary thing to cure but I always carry this with me because it’s a fairly common problem.” Kathlyn explained, holding the vial out to Azalea. “You can have this one if you want.”

“I know it sounds like I would be more suited to working at a village doctor’s place instead but this place has people going on adventures to all sorts of different places, so many new environments, so many new ingredients, so many new medicine possibilities.” Kathlyn rattled on, a sparkle in her eyes. Talking about her medicine had helped her get over her initial nervousness and aside from the small bit that remained she was now back to her usual personality.

Almost without taking a break to breathe she continued. “I don’t require much for payment, I just need shelter, food and money for vials, bottles and other containers for my medicine, those are my only actual expense.” She explained. “I have everything I need to create my medicine with me, that’s why my backpack is that big.” She pointed at her somewhat oversized backpack before continuing.

“I can go on quests if you require me to but I’m afraid your assessment wasn’t wrong, I’m not exactly suited for combat, all I carry in the form of weapons is the knife I use to cut herbs…” She fell silent for a brief moment before her eyes lit up. “But maybe I can start a delivery service. You must have some sort of magical flying creature here that can cross big distances right? Maybe I can use those to deliver medicine to people while they are on quests!” Kathlyn said, eyes shining. She was totally swept up in the idea. Not realizing that all of this would most likely place a bigger burden on the guild to provide for her.

“And like I said before, I’m also good at administration and keeping stock due to my experience in my father’s shop. I can assist with those things when I’m not making my medicine.” To hell with it, Kathlyn hadn’t come here to be an administrator but if she could do it on the side while also working on her medicine she was willing to give it a shot in hopes of convincing Azalea.