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Post by Ashe on Sept 2, 2019 15:10:43 GMT -6
Ashe hated failing quests. He couldn't find that cursed Orbaru, damn it! So he had been almost sulking when he had come across the next quest; a little old goat lady asking for some crystals back. Ashe accepted, eager to reclaim his throne as a true Quester, and hurried home to get prepared for this. He had a brilliant idea. Since this was an old tree that stole the crystal, if he couldn't get it back the easy way (demanding it back) or the tricky way (sneaking up, stealing it, and running away!) then he would get to try the fun way (burning it to a crisp with a fire breathing pet). It didn't take him long before he was soaring back over the questing board on the back of a large black Sarane. Fafnir's wings stretched, his legs dragged, his tail whipped behind him as he took a leisurely flight toward the gardens. His watchful gaze swept the land below, carefully keeping eye for any Drakes wanting to threaten him. He was brimming with confidence and the pride that only Drake Sarane could practically ooze with. Inyala was seated between Fafnir's neck and the horn of the saddle, a little nook there that made it easy to hang on. It was safer, less windy, sitting there than on Ashe's shoulder as they flew. Before long, Ashe spotted the gardens beneath them and he signaled for Fafnir to begin his descent. [count continued from last thread] Fafnir: 0 1/5 Inyala: 0 4/5 Ashe: 0 4/20 1
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Post by Ashe on Sept 8, 2019 18:22:06 GMT -6
Fafnir circled, slowly circling, spiraling down until he could find a place to land safely. Being this close to the gardens, it was either land in someone else's property, assuming that they even had room to land, or crash through some trees in the overgrown plots. In this case, these plots were overgrown and abandoned, hence the quest. Soon, Fafnir's legs touched ground and he quickly furled his wings, sort of cupping his precious cargo to keep them from falling after the slightly bumpy landing. When he felt Ashe move to start getting off, he opened his wings to give him room to slide off. He took Inyala with him, the Imp resuming her usual place on his shoulder. The Sarane glanced around, eyeing the plant life with distrust. He didn't like the looks of this place too much. It felt cramped. This was an odd sensation coming to Ashe across their many bonds; a creature he found in the mines, in a deep dark mineshaft, feeling claustrophobic out here above ground, just with extra trees and vines.
"It'll be fine. Maybe some thorns, but we need to find this tree creature." Ashe started forward into the first abandoned lot, looking around, paying extra attention to the ground in case he could find Nyssa foot prints. Bent plant life would also be a good indicator that something large had come through this way. So far there was nothing.
Fafnir: 0 2/5 Inyala: 1 0/5 Ashe: 0 5/20
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Post by Ashe on Sept 8, 2019 18:28:29 GMT -6
Fafnir started after Ashe, keeping his wings close to his body. His long tail trailed along behind him, bumping around on roots and rocks and other such things. Together, they walked probably fifty yards, before they found their first broken plant. It was a young tree, completely snapped in half and hanging down. Ashe observed the dirt on the ground and saw some scuff marks, as if something dragged something this way. Did Nyssa walk? Or was it more of a shuffle? Now that he thought about it, he realized he hadn't really interacted that much with Nyssa and he didn't know for sure. he thought they had and used feet like most other creatures, but he could be wrong. Did they drag branches like knuckles? Maybe. He decided to try and follow the scuff marks since it was their only lead.
Fafnir leaned over to sniff at the broken tree. It smelled odd, like a tree but also like something living. It was a strange combination of scents that he didn't think to alert Ashe. In his mind, he chalked it up to 'weird place with all the plants that smells like rotting plants'. He continued on after his companions, keeping his head down and his neck low. It felt like they were heading deeper into the woods but he couldn't be sure.
Fafnir: 0 3/5 Inyala: 1 1/5 Ashe: 0 6/20
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Post by Renathan on Sept 8, 2019 18:32:15 GMT -6
Certainly they were going deeper into the woods, but where was the Nyssa? Was it hiding? Was it sleeping? Or was it... something much more sinister? Closer, maybe? Only time would tell.
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Post by Ashe on Sept 12, 2019 17:27:19 GMT -6
Unknown to the trio of companions, there was something moving, slowly following them. A shifting of branches, a rattling of leaves, but never more than a whisper of the wind to give it away. Fafnir was the most sensitive to this, the creeping dread feeling of being watched, of being followed. He kept an eye out, distracted, wishing to both face the threat head on, and also protect his human while they were in enemy territory. He didn't know what a Nyssa was, the thing Ashe spoke (and thought) of, but he gathered that this could be a dangerous adversary. There was a tense excitement in the air, like the thrill of the hunt. Ashe considered himself the hunter, of course. This was just a tree, right?
Ashe and Inyala trudged on ahead of the Sarane, looking around for moving trees, or branches that looked like claws, or something that looked like an ancient tree. Maybe it would be in the center of this tangle of overgrowth, in a clearing hidden by the actual trees' branches blocking out the sun. Unfortunately it probably wouldn't be so easy...
"So this crystal thing..." Ashe was murmuring to Inyala. "What kind did that lady say it was?" Inyala looked at him, shrugging her shoulders, without a clue. But midway through the shrug it dawned on her why Ashe would want to know. Crystals were what he hunted in the dark underground, and crystals were what he used to make those magical orbs he carried around. What if it was a magical crystal?
Fafnir: 0 4/5 Inyala: 1 2/5 Ashe: 0 7/20
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Post by Ashe on Sept 12, 2019 17:55:22 GMT -6
"I don't remember her saying, either," Ashe admitted. "But in that case... You know, if it's like ruby or sapphire or something, fine. But if they happen to be Magical, like Tainted or Chaotic or Water or...." He trailed off, imagining each of the aforementioned crystals. The lady did say a cluster - do the magical ones come in clusters? If so, how many are in a cluster? Is that more or less valuable, like how the cut crystals lost their node-making powers? "Well, anyway, if it's one of those, it might be too valuable to return to her... It needs to be properly used, right? Not just in bonsai growing. Why does she grow them next to crystals anyway?" Ashe continued discussing the quest with Inyala; the Imp added something here or there, or scolded him if he went a little too far with his comments. They both knew very well that Ashe would not be above stealing the prize if it was more intriguing or valuable than the reward.
Something shifted again behind them, causing Fafnir to come to a standstill. He growled low in his throat and peered around. [Ashe. Something follows.] He lowered his neck, his head snaking forward, nostrils flaring. Wings rustled at his sides, and the clubbed tail bumped into a tree and some ferns as it swept around behind him. Concerned, Ashe came to a stop and turned, too.
Fafnir: 1 0/5 Inyala: 1 3/5 Ashe: 0 8/20
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Post by Ashe on Sept 12, 2019 18:06:42 GMT -6
Ashe didn't see any immediate danger. The trees behind them, overgrown with vines hanging from high branches. Any trickle of breeze blowing through could easily lead one to mistake them for a snake slithering through. It was darker here, but not hard to see yet. Soft, moist dirt and fluffy moss grew here and there. Leaves rustled. Ashe watched, staring, waiting for something to happen. Just when he started to think Fafnir might be a little paranoid, he saw what the Sarane surely saw. There was a large, hulking shape that moved in the trees. The bark of its body, the green of its leaves, and Ashe became acutely aware of just why they hadn't spotted it sooner. It was so perfectly camouflaged, it was hidden except for the quicker movements.
And this thing was moving toward them.
Fafnir moved his body to be positioned more directly in front of Ashe. He gave a warning snarl and started to spread his wings, a typical behavior when trying to look bigger than a Sarane was. He had to stop when his wings brushed lower branches and other plants; it was too cramped for that display here. And still, he prepared for battle. This was why Ashe had brought him here, wasn't it? To roast this guy and take it back?
Ashe inched forward, careful of the angered Drake's club tail. He came to stand next to, though slightly behind, his faithful Drake.
"Nyssa, King of the Forest," Ashe called out to it. A little embellishment and ego boosting might help, maybe? "I come seeking something you have stolen!"
Fafnir: 1 1/5 Inyala: 1 4/5 Ashe: 0 9/20
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Post by Ashe on Sept 12, 2019 18:43:49 GMT -6
The Nyssa finally made its appearance, breaking through some of the branches above and sending splinters and leaves flying everywhere. Fafnir managed to shield them with a wing, raising it and extending it vertically instead of horizontally. The giant tree creature made a bellowing sound that resembled a tree cracking in half and falling. It had deep vibrations, like the type that elephants could hear, but Ashe felt the thrum in his bones. Fafnir made an indignant squawk noise, something Ashe had never heard him make before, and he swung his clubbed tail around to threaten the beast with. The display kept the elder Nyssa at bay, and Ashe continued with Plan A, aka the Boring Plan. He was going to talk to it, see if it understood him in its many years of being in these gardens.
With Inyala murmuring encouragement into his ear, Ashe stepped forward once again. "Nyssa!" Ashe called out to it, noticing that it was barely paying attention to him. But he kept on anyway. "Return the crystal cluster, or we will make you!" Though as he said it, he realized that if they took the Nyssa down here, instead of in its lair sleeping like Ashe had planned on, they might not ever find the crystal. Unless it was on the Nyssa's, erm, person... body? Tree? If it had the cluster on it now, they could steal it, then torch it. Or else they might have to scare it and chase it, then steal.
Fafnir: 1 2/5 Inyala: 2 0/5 Ashe: 0 10/20
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Post by Ashe on Sept 12, 2019 18:55:53 GMT -6
It wasn't long before Ashe came up with an idea to help solve this issue. While he was waiting, admittedly in vain, for the Nyssa to apologize for stealing the item and return it at once to Ashe's hand, he murmured the plan to Inyala, who listened intently and gave slight nods as he detailed her part for this. Then she scampered off into the undergrowth, and Ashe started to feel the tension of their separation. They were within one hundred yards of each other, well within the bond's limits, but he was still used to being within touching distance of his shadow. He trusted her to be able to scale that living tree and search every nook and cranny for what they were looking for. It was just a matter of keeping the Nyssa occupied and distracted, so she would have some time before it attacked or retreated.
"Give it back!" Ashe told the Nyssa, his voice deep and demanding, but his heart not in it. "I should probably have you go and apologize to that lady, too, but I'm not that cruel. Yet. Unless you give me a reason to be."
The Nyssa finally turned to look at Ashe and his nonstop yapping, and when it did, Fafnir was right there. He let out a roar, attempting to paralyze his foe with fear, even just for a few moments. Let it know that he was the boss!
Fafnir: 1 3/5 Inyala: 2 1/5 Ashe: 0 11/20
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Post by Renathan on Sept 12, 2019 18:59:27 GMT -6
You've rolled a success! Your QP will be added to the shop, and your prize/s will be sent to you shortly. You may continue roleplaying if you wish!
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Post by Ashe on Sept 12, 2019 19:20:24 GMT -6
For a few moments, the Nyssa was frozen. It tensed, so that not even a leaf fluttered. Then the peace was shattered and it came back to life with another tree-groaning roar, long branch limbs reaching out for Ashe, or Fafnir, or whatever else it could get its dirty mitts onto. Ashe ducked and Fafnir whirled into action. The Sarane reared up, slashing at the branches with his front legs, claws raking wood and leaving deep rents. Fafnir gave another roar and swatted at it, landed on all four feet, then lunged forward, trying to drive the Nyssa backward and away from Ashe. The man was standing relatively still, eyes scanning the branches, looking for his Imp. He hoped she was staying safe and not in Fafnir's way.
[I can burn. Fire nice.] Fafnir thought at Ashe, telling him he could roast the Nyssa and make quick use of it. That had been the plan, after all, and yet the command hadn't come. So far, Fafnir was reacting to the threat in front of him, he wasn't the one shelling out the first attacks. But Ashe shook his head.
[No. Inyala's up there, we have to wait for her to come back. Then you can.]
The Nyssa raised one of its branched arms and swatted at Fafnir again, and the Sarane grabbed at the arm, biting down on it with bone crushing fangs. Bark splintered and the Nyssa screamed. It tried to swat at him with its free hand, but missed.
Fafnir: 1 4/5 Inyala: 2 2/5 Ashe: 0 12/20
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Post by Ashe on Sept 12, 2019 19:29:11 GMT -6
Then Ashe saw her, a flash of blue jumping from branch to branch. It looked like she was coming back toward Ashe, though that could be reversed and she could just be moving around, searching. She was there and gone in a flash, making Ashe tense. He wasn't sure how much longer Fafnir could hold off the beast with just tooth and claw, but he couldn't risk Inyala getting roasted.
Wait for it.. Just wait...
Thuds shook the ground as the two large creatures duked it out. Ashe tried to stay out of the way and give mental commands and reassurances to Fafnir through their link, and the Sarane occasionally made simple comments in reply, but not usually.
And then there she was, the little blue Imp, running toward Ashe and trying to stay under the overgrown ferns. Soon as Ashe saw her approaching, he gave the signal to Fafnir through their mind link, and as soon as he received the command, Fafnir let loose with a steady stream of fire. Unlike their previous discussions, Ashe wasn't really out here to kill this thing, he just wanted the treasure, and he had that. But he wouldn't hold Fafnir back, and the Drake could decide.
The drake went for it. He let out a spurt of flame, and the Nyssa's trunk took most of the damage. Thankfully, because otherwise its branches and leaves would be crisping and holding onto the flame. As it was, the trunk itself didn't catch on fire, but some of the lower branches did. Nearly instantly, the Nyssa backed off and ran the other way, to seek softer prey.
Fafnir: 2 0/5 Inyala: 2 3/5 Ashe: 0 13/20
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