Entry tags:
DRAGON'S TREE QUEST, PT 1 (closed)
Who: eren jaeger, elliot craig, towa herschel, fie claussell, judar, nier, stiles stilinski, h.c. andersen, cloud strife, aerith gainsborough, sora & zelda (botw).
When: sometime in march— this very easily stretches for a few days to a week, but i'm flexible with when it happens!
Where: the wilde.
What: dragon mom needs assistance.
Warnings: violence, will update where needed!

Come. I will show thou what must be done, for thou has come to wake me, hath thou not?
When: sometime in march— this very easily stretches for a few days to a week, but i'm flexible with when it happens!
Where: the wilde.
What: dragon mom needs assistance.
Warnings: violence, will update where needed!

Come. I will show thou what must be done, for thou has come to wake me, hath thou not?

NORTHERN OUTPOST (DOWNTIME)
[ once together early morning (very early), the quest group arrives through the transporter and are met with the ever growing northern outpost. still raw and unadorned, the stop offers a few structures to rest and gather yourselves— it won’t be long, and there’s a reason why they’re here so promptly: eren is impatient. although he won’t particularly introduce himself as eren (it’s krüger, if anyone asks), he hasn’t stopped preparations since the second they’ve arrived.
briefing will occur regardless of who knows the story or not, sharing what he’s gathered for months now: their destination is créia‘s tree. her petrified boulder body, foremost, will be visited first, before stretching off from there. if you show any signs of infection, go to elliot. the paths are going to need constant cleaning from here on out, so wake up. smell the misty crisp of an autumn sunrise, and maybe catch a glimpse of the former shedding its rays through thick, dense wilde canopy.
go on, equip the supplies, pack enough food for a week, check your weapons, have a quick breakfast or even give your neighbor some survival tips— eren mentions that it won’t be long before he wants to get moving. don’t get comfortable, he’ll say, rather pointedly at anyone who dares open their mouths to yawn or look an inch close to tired. anyone who’s especially groggy will get a surprise, so hopefully you’re all awake and fitting!
oh, and thanks for coming! even though the imposing dragon man (dragon man, armored to the teeth but not in the form and shape of a full dragon today) doesn’t say it. you all know why you’re here. it isn’t a favor. anyone who wants to begin threading the trip to the boulder is also free to do so; there’re symbols carved into the trees to take them there, and some may even remember a few of them that are burnt and dead by dragon fire. most of the path has been cleared up last month, and only occasionally will they come across lesser shades (birds, rats, boars, bears, or the straggling feral arachne). just be mindful of the foliage, a lot of it is still infected. ]
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he tries to keep himself busy, at least, keeping to his word about preparation time. he can be filling himself with freshly caught, charred frogs, lizards or rabbit (in which he’ll offer, don’t worry. protein), loading his guns or sharpening his talons with a flat piece of stone. or, hell, maybe all three. ]
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When we get there...what are you really hoping to gain?
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he says thanks, but low and with an acknowledging incline of his head as he removed a blade from one of his arsenal pouches— one that extends— before stabbing the carcass through, from mouth to anus. now what he hopes for, as he positions the rabbit and adjusts his grip on the handle: ]
Raise our chances of going home. [ it was straight to the point, no heartfelt I want to save the trees bs, even if he does have a growing soft spot for créia. ] Yourself?
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I want to kill the Cwyld. As many as I can and as well as I can. [ bad associations, a need to defend, or maybe just a primative need to kill. it hadn't mattered. ] You're the first person I've met who's spoken of going back home. But I guess that makes sense.
Do you they think they'd let you?
[ the coven, he means. ]
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“They” don’t have a choice in that.
[ whether that be the coven, the fae, the world— whoever it was that made this happen. he was going home and he knew that he would. for whatever reason. with his rabbit-kabob ready, eren breathes in to expand his fire sac, expelling a blue stream much like a cough from his lips to char the rabbit’s flank. once, twice, a little more consistent on his third, then tongue testing the texture before taking a bite into golden brown muscle. ]
. . . Some people don’t have a home to go back to. Others might just think it’s impossible right now, or feel comfortable with where they are. There’s no rush to go back.
[ time stops where they left. truly, there had been little urgency of that were truly the case. some people don’t want to go back so soon, and at the moment— he’s not judgmental when he speaks, even though there’s a part of him that feels irked at the possibility of someone getting comfortable. it’s natural. it’s human. but he doesn’t like it. ]
But the ones who do have a home to return to, [ he pauses in mid-chew, coughs up another flame, ] they won’t get anywhere if they think the same way.
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[ said easily, and as to what, he does not specify — all of it was. the words the man (or rather, dragon) speaks are earnest and true in what they are. ]
You can't control people. The more you try, the more they'll simply want to break free. And if they want to, then they will.
[ idly, nier tosses the rabbit skin into his pouch, instead drawing out a survival knife to wipe down as he speaks. ]
I've already done everything I needed to. So if you or the others need any help in your pursuit, you have my blade.
[ a moment, silent and fleeting, passes. his eyes are trained on his knife. ]
I'm sure your home's waiting for you too.
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It is. [ his home. he knows it is. he’s been back and forth and back and forth again and when he goes back . . . the final battle awaits. ] Does that mean this is a new home for you?
[ or just an unminded detour? ]
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When Eren finishes, he gives a nervous laugh as Eren goes off to do...whatever he's doing]
O-Oh, and thanks for coming! I'm making eggs and porridge for anyone who wants some breakfast before we head out. There's coffee too!
[Sure enough, he has a campfire set up with some plates, a cooking fire, and a thermos of coffee. Looks like at least someone tried to be hospitable before the big journey. ]
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We’re all here because we chose to be. [ a cant of the head. ] Do you need any help? Cooking isn’t an issue for me.
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Oh, only if you're sure! Do you have anything you need to prepare first?
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Just give me something to do and we can start.
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[But it's nice to know this guy is prepared]
Well would you mind watching and sometimes stirring the porridge? Gotta makes sure it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pot.
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I travel to the Wilde a lot. The city's a little cramped — and I want to study the Cwyld, too.
[ his eyes are trained on the porridge. ]
What made you want to do this? Are you here to support your Bonded?
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[He gives a little shrug at the question]
Well, there's that. I do want to support him. But I also want to help stop the Cwyld, so I'm here for my own interests too.
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Anyone who missed breakfast will be offered some tea from a small thermos and a muffin-- they're still warm, so it's likely they were freshly baked this morning.
Once everyone's eaten, she'll be preparing her weapons. The first and most important is her orbal gun. For those who are unfamiliar, it's a pistol-type gun with a large body to it. They may see her charging it with magic, so it's clearly not your ordinary every day kind of gun. But she also has a dagger to tuck in a small holder on her upper thigh. With the foliage, a blade could come in handy.]
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But if there was any motivator, it was the money. Nothing changed there. Whatever the world, money was important. So it was for that reason that he signed up for the task outside of the city. The reward was higher than any of the busywork inside of the gates offered, and while his interest in a draconic tree(?) was fleeting, it paid.
...Only as he arrived, that motivator became two. While he was hardly anything resembling a social butterfly, he can't exactly not at least glance over the gathering and see who he was working with. Just like he can't not fixate on the faces that he knew.
In fact, he might even be hovering near them. ...As distantly as possible, of course.]
THE BOULDER
[ except this boulder isn’t looking too hot. upon arrival, the group will be led to such: a massive rock supposedly creiá, herself. one could find the odd curve of horns or even the rough texture of petrified scaling, all hidden and quiet beneath gnarled vines, moss and the black of webbing infection, spreading across its shell and attempting to penetrate its surface with the cwyld’s veins. monsters are encouraged to sniff out leylines while witches will be supported to tap into and use them— elliot craig is the main infection healer, so any extra energy that could be fed to him would be appreciated. monsters and witches alike can be on the look out for shades and cwyltids, help clear the area, and deal with threats promptly. witches (and maybe fauns) are more primed to safely and directly tend to the boulder’s cleansing. that means: cleaning or burning the infected plants off of it and its surroundings. be careful, and always use protective gear if you must touch something but let’s not says eren. ]
TEAM “ ᔆᴼ ᴺᴼ ᴴᴱᴬᴰ?” — ANDERSEN, AERITH, JUDAR
🌳 trip brushes: various low to the ground brush that seems intent on tripping and then consuming whatever falls on them; marked by the bones of the unfortunate animals that fell asleep in the sometimes sweet-smelling flowers, the pollen wafting up the minute they're disturbed.
🐁 frogs riding giant rats and rats riding giant frogs: these are enemies of one another, so the best way to deal with them is to get them in a fight with the other. they're very hardy and persistent otherwise. ]
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The trees cast dark, dappled shadow over them, and while she feels the most at home among nature, something about this nature makes her apt to keep quiet and keep her eyes open.
She is not afraid, though she is cautious, and so when the brush crackles and shifts nearby, she stops midstep, and regards the direction in which the noise came from.
To her teammates:] Did you hear that?
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It's low, that's for sure. But it stopped too quickly after two of the three had. ]
... It's not happening now. Best I can say is to watch where you walk. Could be ankle-biters.
[ The best he could figure out was that it was down low. ]
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Seems like they may have good reason to worry.]
Great.
[He grumbles beneath his breath as he hoists himself up a step.]
That's exactly what we need: a bunch of tiny hostiles that'll chew through our Achilles' tend-- OW!
[The crackling's grown louder now, and it just so happens that a branch has lashed out around his ankle, yanking him off balance and right onto his face. There's no way his glasses didn't break from that impact.]
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She doesn't know what's grabbed him, but she hears the sounds too, though that doesn't stop her from kneeling down to check on him.]
Can you stand? Here, let me —
[Too late she will realize her mistake, that the rustling is not just ahead of them but beneath them too, and a branch twines around her ankle too, the grip so light that she doesn't feel it just yet.]
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Bruh, hope you worked on those repair spells he told you about.
However it meant his attention was more to that area and direction; not just for listening, but looking over to make sure there weren't tiny little monsters. Instead, he saw... Huh. ]
Not another step, Braids. Don't even move yet.
[ That does mean you, Aerith. He's just the type to use nicknames over proper ones a lot of the time, until it seems like he should. With a hand ready to support and keep her from falling as well, the faun slowly drew closer to do as a faun did. First, to stop onto the branch that was starting to wrap around its next tripping victim, having protective 'boots' that were designed for hoofed people. Then, the other faun thing, which technically he shouldn't be so ready to do out in infected areas; Pulsing the plant magic he had to deal with what was in the immediate area.
It wasn't much, and didn't go far- in fact, even Andersen would've been able to see some of those sleep spores heavily waiting a foot away from his face, as the rest was kept from being released. He couldn't force the branches to go back, but he can stop them from actively trying to trip the three in this immediate area. ]
You two've been working on dealing with infected areas like this, right? If the answer's yes and that it's fire, you better warn me.
[ He's putting a lot of concentration on just this, and it'd take effort to handle the aggressive instincts fire stir in the faun. ]
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[He appreciates her checking on him, even as he waves her off. It's a little embarrassing to be knocked flat down so early in their exploration, and his mood's only worsened by his broken glasses. As such, he's doing his best to put on a stiff upper lip. Andersen's about to go off on a rant about the messy state of the forest when Judar's warning freezes the words on his tongue.
Andersen looks down. He doesn't need his glasses to actually see; they're for show. That's how he sees the vines slithering around them, curling around the protective field that Judar's created for them. He tugs away the rest of the vine and slowly rises to his feet.]
I don't do fire. It's too difficult to control.
[He reaches into his jacket pocket and takes out two pairs of scissors. With a touch, he makes them float.
Leave it to Andersen to have a flashy method.]
How many are there?
TEAM “ ᴵ ᴬᴹ ᔆᴴᴼᴼᴷᴱᵀᴴ” — FIE, NIER, ELLIOT
🐇 jackrabbits: be vewy, vewy qwiet.
🐝 swarming..... IN BEES!!!!: an important note that the queen is a cwyltid and will come out once her brood is threatened to a certain point. they can be avoided by looking for a particular flower that smells like whatever your character deems "home", be it a sort of food smell or what have you. ]
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They managed to make it to the boulder without too much incident. Veins of infection were splattered across the surface. Elliot grimaced and started getting to work, using his magic to try to clear away what he could. ]
This...could take awhile, sorry guys.
[He starts casting magic, humming as he goes with a glow of magic on his hands. But the sound and light seems to disturb something - as if the others are listening, they might hear a faint buzzing sound.... ]
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[ there's a raise of his blade — it serves as makeshift shield in this moment, his eyes steeling as he scans the area.
but his ears perk at the low buzz from afar. ]
...Wait a second.
[ bees? on god? ]
Something's there.
TEAM “ Mᴇʀʀʏ Cʜʀʏsʟᴇʀ” — ZELDA, SORA, STILES
🐜 colonies of ants: live within large mushroom colonies, using their vast connected roots as their tunnels; the mushrooms themselves are dangerous as well, causing fiery explosions when the colony is threatened and showering those closest with a paralyzing powder. you know, so the ants can feast.
🌲 screaming trees: they have faces. some of them may resemble people the team knows, especially once they reach closer to the dragon's tree. they alert the birds that live in them to attack, and it can be seen that these birds are connected to them via thin vines controlling their brains. despite appearances, the birds are not the problem. it's the trees themselves that are cwyltid, and they have visible rot at their roots.
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He's listened to the bits of information from the others and he sets off with his pack (filled with rations for about a week, some first aid items like bandages and such) and his keyblade now latched to his back with a harness. He looks to his two new companions and nods.]
Alright, let's get going. We've gotta clear out whatever cwyltid-things we can find along the way, right?
[That Krüger guy knows a lot and Sora's still trying to make sure he's got all the details right.]
And we gotta find those leylines.
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Yup, [ he affirms, popping the “p.” ] You ready, Zelda?
[ The notebook snaps shut; Stiles returns it to his rucksack and unslings his baseball bat. Even if it may not be as effective as a sharper weapon in his hands, he’s glad for the familiarity of the shape. ]
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She snaps one picture of the sight before her; it reminds her of Malice in how it's spread and infected the world, and there's something that feels right about ensuring it is gone. Promptly, she moves her sheikah slate to her back pocket. ]
As ready as both of you are, [ is her short quip, before she begins to walk towards what looks like where infection has settled for a long period of time; much of this is not new terrain to her. It reminds her greatly of Hyrule. ] Tactically speaking, it might be best for us to make a beeline to the leylines. You both look ready for war, but we should keep injury to a low level out here. [ She pauses. There's a hint of cautiousness, self-doubt coloring her tone. ]
I... admit that I am not quite as good at feeling them out as monsters have been, so if either of you have an inclination, I shall follow.
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The others said the faster we find the leylines the better, right? So yeah, let's try to get to them as fast as we can.
[Team assembled and it's time to move out!! Sora follows after Zelda and his long rabbit ears twitch as he tries to listen for anything important in the vicinity. He's never had to use his monster instincts to find anything like leylines before but he's heard the notes that it's like detecting an off pocket of magic. And Sora knows what magic feels like.]
Let's go up this way.
[Following in the direction that his instincts tell him. But along the way, there is some rumbling nearby that he doesn't recognize. It's like there's a bunch of rapidly scuttering feet...?]
Uh, do you guys hear that?
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Just ants, [ he begins dismissively, the trichobothria on his hands identifying the insects based on vibrations alone. ] Kinda loud though…
[ It becomes clear why moments later; larger-than-normal ants burst through the brushwood, antenna twitching in their direction. Stiles has what can only be called an “oh shit” expression on his face as he immediately steps in front of their Witch.
Nervous, he tries for humor: ] I’m not sure if we’re the pest control or they are.
[ As one, the ants swarm. ]
TEAM “ Hᴜʀʀɪᴄᴀɴᴇ Tᴏʀᴛɪʟʟᴀ” — TOWA, EREN, CLOUD
🌵 spiny plants: their burrs carry the infection without it infecting the person it's riding on. Please don't bring these back to the outpost and city; touching them will infect someone, a dark black spot appearing immediately, as they're basically poison capsules in plant form.
🐺 petalwolves: the alphas of the packs are most likely to be a level of Bad, and despite their infection the families will defend them with their lives; the Cwyld has rotted the pairs' forms and more or less put them together into a disgusting two-headed cwyltid, but a weakpoint can be found to split and defeat them. expect to need a good hot shower. claws and teeth are the worst carriers.
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Careful, [ he says, and shortly after coughs up a flame to catch onto a spiny plant, and watch it eat away at its nasty smelling seeds. ] it looks like they stick.
[ carefully, he lifts his armor to show that one has caught onto the magical fabric— luckily for him, he’s ready to make it burr flambada. to be honest— all he could smell was plant. ]
MIDWAY CAMP (DOWNTIME)
characters will be silently encouraged by eren to leave behind offerings by planting healthy seeds around the boulder’s soil, tending to blooms and other plants taken from aefenglom’s monthly festival (these include flower crowns, pretty up dragon mom) and putting up protection charms for créia. they can also switch amongst each other to keep watch over the camp while the others take care of themselves— some things they could find lurking about (and what you can encounter at your own discretion) are the following infected:
🦎 lizards: of varying sizes and sorts, some of them resembling small dragons sans wings. very spikey, and the smaller varieties are the more bitey.
🕴dapper gentlemen: they come in groups and take the form of those in the party. they don't have the same skills, but can mimic voices, appearances, and when they die are anguished and betrayed. ]
THE TREE
it’s unnoticeable at first, given the cover of the trees, but after the last ring is cleared the area is just as eren recalls it, undisturbed but looking far, far worse. while the cwyld has ebbed, there's no doubt that this place is what one would call beyond all hope; the sort of tree you'd sooner cut down and replace with something new, land to be torn up and replaced. what guards it is a black figure wrapped tightly around its trunk, gnawing at the roots like some hungry beast, a large serpentine being that levels its gaze at the party with a hiss.
(just pretend it’s black)
the serpent itself, while it can be mistaken for a great dragon, is actually a mutated naga— one far more reptilian than any sort of human homage, with large fangs and a body that ripples with muscles beneath the blackened scales. It's very aggressive and defensive of its territory, being the tree, and has a few attack patterns it likes.
it’ll slither up into the tree and spit poison at the ground, acidic enough to smoke, and swing its whip-like tail at anything it perceives as 'fallen'. the serpent has a hypnotic gaze, turning friend into foe and even taking those with a hint of healing magic attributed to them to its side (you know, like a smart boss). it also adores slamming its massive body on the ground, causing tremors and cracks to appear.
the weaknesses of this cwyltid are all the usual naga ones (cold weather, sunbathing), but attacks seem to bounce off its hardened scales— the belly is soft as ever, so it's wise to draw it out and kill it that way. after that, it’s time for some clean up— time to go back to aefenglom to prepare for the next trip, and time to gather more people. ]
TEAM “ ᵂᴱᴸᶜᴼᴹᴱ ᵀᴼ ᶜᴴᴵᴸᴵ’ᔆ” — TOWA, SORA, NIER
TEAM “ ᴼᴼⱽᴼᴼ ᴶᴬⱽᴱᴿ” — FIE, ANDERSEN, CLOUD
TEAM “ ᶠᴿᴱᔆᴴ ᴬⱽᴬ ᴷᴬᴰᴼᴼ” — STILES, JUDAR, ELLIOT
TEAM “ ᔆᴵᔆᵀᴱᴿ ᔆᴺᴬᴾᴾᴱᴰ” — EREN, ZELDA, AIRETH