DRAGON'S TREE QUEST, PT III (OPEN)

[usurpers]

Who: those who signed up for dragon quest iii!
When: throughout may!
Where: the wilde
What:  dragon mom needs assistance
Warnings: n/a will update as needed. violence is sure to ensue. 


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

I. THE MIRRORBOUND OUTPOST
[ with construction and the group effort successful during the last working months, the mirrorbound outpost has successfully established a safe rendezvous point starting at the bright wall or even the wilder created northern outpost. thanks to the teleporter and traveling enchantments, questers will find it easier to hop back and forth from here to the city. take the time to decorate if that’s your thing, or further equip the outpost with battle-ready spells or just good places to relax before work. meet your fellow questers, stock up supplies. any veterans are welcomed to share information with new partners coming as a first (in fact, this is encouraged), and even more encouragement goes to talk to the citizen wilders established here for more tips on sprucing the place up into a fine, infection-free fort. add your touch!

the brush continues to grow against the chill of the wilde around it. there doesn't seem to be a huge threat this time, unlike the serpent and wolf of previous months, and it feels as if the threats have diminished in number as well; with the coming of the wilde's fall, the bee swarms, vermin and frogs that'd plagued the groups previously are all scarce and nonexistent with the coming of hibernation.

with the fauna settling into a kind of hibernation, this month may be the one to make headway into doing the most damage to the cywld still present in the areas— both with the tree itself, as well as the boulder in which the dragon lay— and to make the outpost a permanent station. ]

II. THE BOULDER
[ nearby and part of the clearing, a massive rock sits: the formation appears to be just a large boulder at first, with nothing special to its mossed edges. a closer look can herald some unusual features on the surface. the boulder curves like horns, there are wings seamlessly sculpted across mineral, small but seemingly folded. this is supposedly créia, in the flesh. it's cleaner than it used to be, that's a given, but more is needed to take care of this legend. questers will be encouraged to always keep this area spotless and constantly cleanse the grass and rock with charms, spells and whatever you have up your sleeves. don't have those? offerings like flowers and healthy plant-life will bring the same level of effort and appreciation over time— and are not limited to those by any means! with most of the animals hidden away for the coming winter, maybe not so many greedy beasts will come around to snatch what you’ve left behind. take advantage of the crispy autumn chill to make the slumbering dragon a sleeping beauty. ]

 III. THE TREE (DUNGEON)
[ close and not too far from the outpost and its boulder is the biggest problem of all: the dragon's tree, a massive one, grander than all those in the wilde and seem miniature in comparison. it stands tall, bark scarred and chiseled, holding evidence of ages past in the many knots and healed burns, dark wood branching off into pine-scented leaves. it's wilted, in poor shape and black as if there's no going back from the rotting point it has reached.

as the month wears on, the tree will be freed up enough to allow . . . a peek inside—? well, that's not very good, and yet it feels to hold the promise of something new all the same. within the crack that shows itself as the taint recedes slightly, the tree isn't half as spacious as one may presume from outside appearances; as the cwyld diminishes, however, it does expand enough for a group of five to enter at a time, and an initial scout will discover a few things: it reeks of magic, both tainted and not, and holds the familiar scent of nature from eren's dream, and, the crack opens up to this initial room, but there are openings that can be easily cleaned to step through to different areas themselves! each room is sizable enough for a group of up to five, and as far as the first floor goes there are three rooms not including the first. you are not required to have three groups of five in order to complete this, but the max is up that way.

—the foyer: has spiderweb-like tendrils of cwyld crisscrossing the walls and ceiling of the tree, as well as parts of the floor. they will reach for any signs of magic and hold fast their target, small, jellyfish-like needles pricking into unsuspecting flesh to infect it. most clothing will defend someone from this simple nuisance. this room, outside of the mentioned cwyld, is safe. just don't light a fire in it.

—left room (puzzle; witch specialty): as one steps in, it's positively empty of magic; if one isn't careful, they may suffer from magical exhaustion and need to step out into the foyer for rest. that said . . . immediately within this room are three objects: a petrified sapling, a high wooden pedestal, and a large glass marble with an emerald scale trapped within. the marble cannot be initially cracked. upon closer inspection of the room, there are channels in the floor which one can pour . . . something . . . into, and they pool around the sapling as their end. this puzzle can be solved by manifesting magic into a pure form for "water", and then using an imbued crystal as light shined through the marble once placed upon the pedestal, which will heal the sapling and cause it to wiggle happily. how this ultimately happens is up to you all, but it is worth noting that it might require some fine timing.

—right room (puzzle; monster specialty): as one steps in, it's positively overwhelming with magic in contrast; if one isn't careful, they may lose their minds and display unusual behavior, needing to step out for a bit until it releases itself from their systems. this magic stems from a sapling that's sick with it, glowing brightly within the center and to three spots against the walls. to solve this puzzle, one must form a "bond" with the sapling and take on the excess magic it holds while managing their own selves in order not to soak up too much. how this goes is ultimately up to you all, but it is worth noting that temporary bonds may prove very useful in this venture.

—center room (combat; both): the apparent "heart" of the tree, or so it would seem. unlike the other rooms, this one has no visible ceiling and the sounds of birds can be heard from high above. it's also . . . very . . . not "heart of the tree" like; where there should be a large pillar of heartwood within there is nothing, with a pit of darkness below and the aforementioned lack of ceiling above. the smell that drifts up from this pit is rotting and earthy. there are paths up and down, but before they can be thoroughly explored a roar deafens the room from below— a scritching, scratching sound aches painfully against the ears of those within the room and a giant maggot, pulsating with cwyld and infected wounds with birds still in it, turns its many-teethed maw at what it assumes is new food to consume.

it is steadfastly rooted in the pit, so it's an easy target to hit, but the hide is oddly thick for being a baby pest and oozes sticky liquid when attacks do make it through; while seemingly just gross, it will slowly dissolve whatever it lands on! the maggot also has a few choice moves it likes to do, which includes attempting to swallow, smash, and rollover whatever is in front of it, as well as spit acid. a combination of monster and magic is necessary to defeat it, as a monster's various natural weapons (including their inherent magic) are effective in busting through the thick skin while a witch's magic is key in killing it, as it regenerates otherwise. enough fighting will eventually slay the beast, and depending on how it's done it can fall back within the pit, crash against the ground, and even blow up! choose your own disgusting fate, just be mindful that it blowing up does mean its corrosive juices get everywhere and require extra hands to clean.

welcome to your tree dungeon, everyone. This isn't the last of it, and there's still plenty to do within if someone doesn't manage to sign up for this round... more details regarding other exploration will be given as needed as well, such any investigation towards the saplings as well as the up and down of the center room and the like. ]

( a huge thanks to the mods for most, if not all of this information to play with! any questions on how to proceed could be asked below! )

Comments

QUESTIONS

[moustre]

[stopfen]

Outpost and boulder things
[As stupid as it was. Mikasa really liked the little(or not so little given some of the people) outpost. How high it was in the trees. She wasn't sure if that was nostalgia from not being high up in so long. In her down time she could be found just kinda hanging out, literally. The mantid had clambered out, off of the main outpost to go hunch up on a branch. There she just waited, antenna occasionally swaying in the wind. Simple, wood-handled blade held out slightly.

Then suddenly taking a small step and hitting a long insect with many legs with the blade. That wasn't enough to kill it though. The end with the head fell off the branch as she pulled the blade back...But then the ass end sped up, directionless and running across any surface it came across.

When she was actually doing stuff. She was just cleaning up around the boulder, she had no offerings for it or spells that could cleanse the earth. So Mikasa spent most of her time doing pest control...Not that there was many. And Mikasa wasn't inclined to kill them unless they were actually causing trouble. As one bipedal rat found when it fell round a corner. Looking up at the humans or former humans wide-eyed for a moment. Trembling. Then it bared it's teeth, charging forward with a yell. Mikasa just kicks it away, back into the bushes you go.

Then the fae waited a moment, to see if the punted rat returned...]

Fungeoun
[The moment she steps into the tree, she was drawn to the room on the right. Antenna giving a flick and reaching out towards it, maybe even brushing anyone in between her and it. Throwing all caution to the wind as she pushes her way closer and into the room. Letting out increasingly loud chittering the closer she got to the plant.]

Wildcard/plotting
[I'm kind of interested in the combo fighting prompt too but only putting one prompt in here for now because probably better suited characters to fight than a fae with no magic yet (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧]

Outpost (cw: violence, some blood)

[silentsavant]

[Save for the faint rustlings of the thick evergreen undergrowth, all is quiet. A tense, suspenseful silence pervades the air, its once crisp spruceness ripening gradually with a charged and odious stench. Then, a horrible scream splits it apart, the squeals of a rodent give way to a sickening squelch and snap. The bushes shake with the force of a struggle.

Soren cuts his task at the boulder short to attend this abruptly escalating matter that snagged the corner of his sharp senses, hurrying over to provide the backup she might soon need. And she's a Fae. That makes this worse.]

Get back!

[Whether it needs to be said or not. Two blackened and disfigured petalwolves — or four, depending on whether your definition of identity consists of separate bodies or separate heads — burst out of the foliage that had concealed them, snarling and stained with their recent kill but already hungry for their next target. Cwyltids. The Dragon wastes little time drawing his breath against them, a white-bright blast of searing energy that shoots one of the beasts and sends it back.]

RATTY NOOOO ;-;

[stopfen]

[Mikasa pauses at the rustles. Too much, too heavy to be the large rat. Even if she'd kicked, it wouldn't have been moving fast enough to make that much noise. The fae's antenna rose, pointing in front of her to smell something out. Flowers, the sickly scent of Cywd.

Not that she has to wait very long at all for an answer. The screech and blood's smell give away what happened. There's a hiss as she draws her blade. It wasn't great for Cywd infected creatures, but it might slow them down. Still Mikasa is back pedaling.

Wolves were quick. That was something she already knew, and would have been able to handle. It was the two heads that made it difficult to fight them, it made it difficult to predict their movements. She'd learnt that last month when the larger one had bothered the outpost. Then there was the Cywd. Still... Flesh and plant burned, and Maria had shown her that fire was very good against the infected. So while the hit petalwolf hadn't been killed by the blow. It had been greatly slowed, it's front legs burnt to the degree that they trembled under his weight.

As for Mikasa? She was focusing on defense. She had little that would work against them, not like the dragon evidently did.

The other wolf though, that one was retreating into the underbrush. Going to stealthy approach instead of charging at the creature that sent it's packmate flying.]

I'm a monster

[silentsavant]

[The first thing Soren needs to address is not only his own safety, but Mikasa's. If she were to get infected, that would only cause more problems. The Cwyltid must not touch her.

Their retreat allows him to catch up to her. Though she wields a sword like it's second nature, combat at such close quarters with a Shade could prove too risky for a Fae, especially an underdeveloped one. Soren takes advantage of their brief retreat to approach Mikasa, urgency flashing in his bright, reptilian eyes. He warns her of his intent so that she does not mistake him getting all up in her personal space for anything else.]

I'm going to fly you to a place they can't reach.

[And though she's inches taller than he is, the small dragon will have no problem heaving her up off the ground by the back of her legs and shoulder blades. If he's met with no resistance, he'll take wing to the bough of a tall tree sturdy enough to withstand their collective weight. Just as he leaves the ground, a bit wobbly from only having recently gotten the knack for flight, the sneaky petalwolf Cwyltid lunges, just barely missing the two of them.]

truly

[stopfen]

[This was why she tried to stay close to the camp.

Really, the sword was more of a deterrent to Shades that still had some sense. Admittedly, that wasn't many. But if it made them pause and think about how to approach her for just a second, that would give her an extra second to escape. The large fae wasn't inclined to be afraid, but there wasn't much she could do. And she didn't need to be afraid to know that staying on the ground was a bad idea.

So she gives a nod. It wouldn't be the first time someone had carried her. Everyone got used to the idea of being carried if their gear failed. People got over that pride quickly when the alternative was a titan's mouth.

The closest thing he got to any resistance was her quickly tucking her sword back, then craning her head to look over his shoulder and down his tail. Just in time to see the Cwyltid's yellowed teeth gnash together as it tries to sink it's teeth into his tail.

Then they're up...

And it's a strange sensation being up in the air like this. Without the tug of wires pulling at her limbs, or the momentum hitting her. It makes her tense in the dragon's arms. Though he'd only feel it in her legs, the hard chitin on her back masked the muscles there. It felt like they were about to fall, like when a gear failed and they were about to plummet. She felt a lot safer once they'd reached a branch. Even with the wolves circling at the roots.]

Now what is going to happen? [She just peers down at them, mouth set in a thin line.] You can't burn them while we're up here.

[silentsavant]

[He'd set her down a little more roughly than he'd intended, his body a balancing act of motions he'd never been programmed to perform at birth, his first time ferrying another person in his arms. At least he's proven to himself that he can accomplish it. But they've reached high ground, a safe place to bounce their next actions off of, and Soren swings to perch on a branch nearby so that they don't snap Mikasa's with their combined weight. He crouches there, tracks his gaze where the Fae's is laid.]

On the contrary. This is an excellent vantage point for me. As long as I don't hit the trunk, you have nothing to worry about.

[And even then, he has faith in his own abilities to catch her before she goes timber with the tree. Eren had been helping him fine-tune not only his power output, but his aim, and this would be one of those moments where that guidance would be put to the test, put to good use. He flips down to an even lower branch, his stare fixed on the twin Cwyltids like a hawk's calculating eye before drawing air, activating his breath sac, and sending another brilliant beam of charged energy to collide with one of the wolf's shoulders. He'd missed his mark: the juncture where two wolves become one, for the creature had enough time to react and defend. But wasn't like he'd failed to strike his enemy: the canine Cwyltid whines in pain and stumbles to the ground, and in retaliation, its other two-headed packmate lunges for the tree, carving into it with vicious, infected claws, body slamming it in mindless desperation to topple it, to shake them out of the tree, anything to bring them back down. Soren wobbles but holds fast before he can fall.]

Ugh... They're powerful like this.

[And infecting the tree while they're at it. How quickly does it spread through the rings, up the bark? Another thing to be careful about.]

[stopfen]

It won't spread? [Skeptical, but you know what? She's not going to question it too much. Magic. It's...Not a wonderful thing, more confusing, but she'll just accept it.

She grunts at the blow, crouching to make it easier to balance. She's done this before enough times. Even without the safety of her gear. The fae gritted her teeth as she watched the wood splinter, listening to it creak. It'd hold up for now but it wouldn't last long if the other wolf recovered.]

...That'll spread. [Dryly, as she cranes her neck to look back at the trunk. She couldn't see any discolouration. But it could have been like those fruits from before the outside looked fine, but inside...She sighs. Antenna trying to sniff it. But everything was being blocked by the sickly sweet smell of the Cwyltid below them.] We should probably stay in this tree till they're gone or they'll just infect more. Won't they?

[This infection stuff was a pain in the ass.]

[silentsavant]

[The tree rumbles with the force of another bodily thrash. This makes the conclusion easier to come to.]

...We can't afford the luxury of waiting it out. They seem determined to hunt us down. Not only that, but we should protect the outpost area.

[If the warped petalwolves stop attacking them, they'll surely head for easier prey, be it a wilder or another hapless Mirrorbound... not to mention, they're just out here spreading their disease. They must be dealt with.

There is one way they don't have to stay stranded in a precarious tree, but it's not an option that Soren is fully comfortable with. Nevertheless...]

If I transformed, you could —

[ crack — Soren grits his teeth and clings as the trunk groans and they sway. ]

...get on my back. That might be better for the both of us at this point. Do you think you could manage?

[In just these couple of minutes, she has already given him the impression of an able fighter, hasn't lost her cool under these straits and won't under circumstances even more pressing than this. It would follow that she would likely be able to adapt to riding a dragon, probably even more readily than he himself would get accustomed to having someone mount him like a common wyvern... but he couldn't leave her here in the tree while he took off and fought with more firepower.

(Or, well, "fire"power. It's not fire he's fighting with, so it certainly won't spread.)]

Lady Maria | OTA | Witch

[whomthebelltolls]

[1: The Mirrorbound Outpost - Beginning of May]

[It was brought up to her by Eren, so here Maria is, teleporting in during the early hours of an otherwise uneventful morning, after having sorted out the strange new Mirrorbound that arrived in Aefenglom.

The outpost seems to be quite well put together, for as short of a time as it's existed, though she can tell by the fresh wood and clean nails that it's definitely only been out there for a short amount of time.

Her first order of business is to investigate the outpost - where they eat, where they sleep, where they mingle to prepare for whatever comes next. It must be manned at all times, she figures, by someone, or else it would just quickly and easily be taken over by Shades or other creatures out in the Wildes, or simply reclaimed by nature.

Maria isn't really one for smalltalk, but she does want to get a feel for who she is working with in this place, so don't be surprised if the big Hunter wanders up at some point, to greet whoever may be around. If nothing else, she may very well simply decide to sit and observe, like a cat. And, like a cat, existing peacefully in the same room as someone means, at least, she likes them enough to stay.]

[2: The Tree - Randomly Throughout May]

[For all that Maria is a fire elemental witch, she doesn't seem to be scorching the earth, here. As spring continues on, and May comes to its peak in Aefenglom, it means her garden is starting to grow in nicely. She figures the temperature whiplash will be strange for the plants, but a little ribbon or two with a heat spell to keep the frost and snow away, and she is ready to transplant some small bushels near the boulder.

She keeps to hearty flowers that are good for both winter and otherwise - Irises, Snowdrops, Heather, and a couple other magical varieties like them. She doesn't grow too many of them, considering she wanted to keep her garden for flowers she more prefers, but finding out she can plant some fresh plants in the area helps out.

Surely, it must be a bit strange to see someone so large and dangerous out around the boulder, gently cupping colorful flowers as she plants them into the ground near the boulder, but... there she is.] Careful where you step. I'm trying to keep a walkway, but it's over there.

[3: Tree Dungeon - Early-ish May - Preference for Center Room]

[This is familiar, in an aching, nostalgic sort of way that Maria isn't quite sure how she feels about. Especially not after April and... well, that hell realm of a time she'd rather never think or talk about again.

She grabs at her swords as they walk in, eyeing the Cwyld as it digs in and rots at the tree.

She looks back to her teammates, eyeing who came with her. It's a decent mix of Witch and Monster alike, at least, so they should be well-equipped for any kind of thing they find.

Investigation it shall be. To the left, a void of magic that feels like it's trying to vacuum her power right out of her bones. To the right, a surplus that makes the back of her tongue taste like ozone and arcane. To the center... something is making awful, disgusting noises in the depths, and it smells like ongoing rot. That seems like right up Maria's alley (Alex can be mad at her later, if they ever speak again. Maybe she'll just add this to the reasons never to do as such).

She knows what she wants to do.] I say we find whatever is in that void - It's probably soaked up Cwyld and is helping rot this tree.

2 - so late I already drank the starbucks

[stopfen]

[Mikasa didn't have any plants of her own to grow here. Nor did she have the money to buy some, not with the amount she was spending to keep herself fed. But gradually as the month went on, more plants would just appear. The fae wasn't sure where they were coming from, but she'd check on them while she was there, tending to them as needed.

Except it seemed she didn't need to this time.

She freezes at the head she could see bobbing about above the bushes that gave the warning. Maria being out in the Wilde wasn't a surprise. The witch had seemed like one of the more competent people not counting the Wilders when it came to traveling outside the brightwall. But Mikasa hadn't excepted to see her here and not looking for infected.]

Right... [She's just going to step back, reassess where she was treading.] I've not messed it up by coming here, have I?

[She hadn't been out that often. So maybe there wouldn't be the telltale trail of something heavy repeatedly walking through. But she wasn't sure.]

And you didn't bring any to share? For shame

[whomthebelltolls]

[Maria's head cants up as she hears someone coming, and watches Mikasa for a moment, as she arrives. She trails her eyes down toward the other woman's feet for a moment, assessing where she's standing, and then... shakes her head.]

They should all be transplants, so as long as you've not stepped on live flowers, you're not walking on them. But there are some near where you were heading.

[She motions toward the ground, where some drooping snow drops live, bent close to the soil, but still poked up enough that they should be visible. Then, she elevates her eyes again, and looks Mikasa over. That's always the interesting part about the newer Mirrorbound - their transformations, and how they proceed.

And, even more, looks like this fae isn't drunk this time. So Maria doesn't have to carry her off again.] So long as you watch your step, you should be free to move about. Did they need me for something at the camp?

I did. But the journey was so long I drank it too ;-;

[stopfen]

[The fae stared for a moment. There were a few visible differences, this fae's changes were going slowly. The antenna a bit longer, the chitin now going down to her elbows. The most noticeable thing would have been one of her eyes. They'd been strange before, with the solid grey and the pupil that expanded and contracted. But now? One of them was an almost solid black at all times, faint lines crisscrossing, like an insects'.

If it weren't for the pupil in her 'normal' eye, and the downward tilt of her head, it would have been impossible to tell where the fae was looking. But she looks back after spotting the flowers.]

No...I didn't know you where here. I was coming to check nothing had eaten the plants.

[Though a part of that involved killing or moving the bugs, while resisting the urge to eat them herself.]

Are you the one whose been bringing all of these here?

B-but-!

[whomthebelltolls]

Yes. [... Fae changes are always so fascinatingly disturbing. If it weren't for her history with fish-like beings, she would consider it the worst, all things considered.

Instead, she just keeps on thinking they're rather grotesque, and does little more than observe, before looking away.

She knows Mikasa, at least, so she has no problems turning back around toward her garden. Hard to be afraid of someone you carried out of a bar, no matter how they look.] I was told fresh, uninfected plants will help the dragon recover. So I brought what I could from my garden, knowing what will survive the leap to winter. It isn't much. [A sigh.] But now I have another garden to tend, I suppose.

🥺

[stopfen]

[Does the steady twitching of those thin antenna make it any less grotesque Maria? Especially with them being brown and vaguely resembling a roaches'?

But Mikasa steps forward, not really getting closer to the tall witch. Instead, she went over to a bush that wasn't doing as well as the others, lifting the leaves at the bottom and tutting at where something had chewed through an offshoot.]

I'd planted seeds but...[She shrugs. Her small wince hidden from view.] They're spring plants. I didn't know it'd change to winter. My garden hasn't been grown long enough to have anything that'd survive being moved out here. [She was mainly growing produce or herbs, she didn't have much that'd handle cold weather.]

[whomthebelltolls]

[No, twitching bits are definitely worse. At least, twitching bug bits; there's other things she likes making twitch that aren't, but that's a totally different conversation.

Maria perks her head up, briefly, to watch where Mikasa goes, and then... returns to her work. Apparently it's play keep-away hours. Not that it bothers her much; she prefers Monsters at arm's length until she knows just how violent they might be; and Mikasa has the build of someone that could be very dangerous, even if she's losing height.]

Ah, yes. The seasons in the Wilde are opposite those in Aefenglom... and opposite those I am used to from home, relative to their time of year. Still, I am ensuring this place is well-covered with heat spells. Perhaps with that and a bit of magic, the seeds may yet flourish. Where did you put the seeds down? Adjacent to my transplants?

[stopfen]

[She was fine not talking. Casual conversation wasn't her strong point, and people tended to get surprised when she tried. The fae just turned her head, remaining crouched, she was going to have to get something her to block the animals off.]

Some of them. I tried to make sure they'd be where they'd have enough light. Most of them were wildflowers so they be okay as long as it's warm enough though. [Wild flowers were hardy like that.] I put extra down, for what the animals would eat before they could start growing.

Though I'm not sure if the giant rats would eat them to begin with...

closed to Soren

[morbide]

III. THE TREE — center room

A temporary Bond with Soren's proving to be a helpful thing, and who knew how much help a Dragon could be in the realm of boosting Evocation magic?

They cut to the heart of the tree, the two mages... but not before Soren gave Henry a strict warning to abstain from using fire-based spells. Others could take care of the other parts of the tree if they preferred it, but Soren and Henry found themselves drawn here. And Henry doesn't regret it one bit. Look at the size of that maggot! Awesome!, he'd said when they first entered, clearly undaunted and fascinated more than anything else. But now they're here, in the midst of a battle.

How long has it been since he's been given the chance to have an honest to goodness fight?

The sorcerer casts lighting upon the slimy maggot. Then ice. One after another after another, and none more effective than the last. With his magic proving inert, Henry hops closer to Soren so that he could be within earshot, sighing in his disappointment.

"This is dumb. Can't I use just a little bit of fire? As a treat for being good?" he asks, as if Soren could just... keep the tree from catching on fire. "Bugs and fire would totally not mesh well! I could roast it until it's a grubby snack, easy-peasy! Come on, Soren...!"

Soren's the brains. He turns to face him, imploring and even clasping his hands together.

[silentsavant]

A snack for... who, exactly? Soren's face asks this question as he glances up at the Witch who proudly demonstrates his disorderly priorities, looks down the bridge of his nose, and says,

"No."

But he won't let his eyes linger a second longer on his ally when they need to pay attention to the movements of his enemy. "Must I remind you? Wood and fire also do not mesh well, and you do not have a water Dragon here to put out your fires. Careful, it's—!"

Soren does not have to finish his sentence when the colossal maggot launches a wide spray of acid at its prey. The Dragon propels himself up and away with a beat of his wings and remains airborne, wobbling a little like an unpracticed dragonling still fledging. He takes the opportunity to send a surging beam of luminous breath at the creature and aims for one of the wounds. Birds flush from the oozing spot if they're not caught in the obliterating shaft. The grub writhes and convulses in pain as its tough flesh is ripped open further.

[morbide]

A snack for his Bonded. She eats bugs.

It's impressive, the way Soren manages to look down upon Henry from beneath him. The dark mage hums in acknowledgement, knowing that yes, yes, wood and fire do not mix... But as soon as the wind sage alerts him to new activity, he's quick to return his attention to the massive creature, all without startling.

The Dragon might be soaring upward, but Henry can't dodge this one. He can tell before it even happens. Though the mage is a real goofball, he is a seasoned soldier, and he's adaptable even toward unfamiliar beasts like this one. Its acid may have hit its target if not for Henry's newly applied magical barrier, which its oozing poison hits with a schlorp before dripping to the ground.

"Oh, gross..." It's a comment he makes while Soren exhales his breath, causing a murder of infected birds to flock from a newly torn injury. An injury...!

"Hey! Soren! Your breath!" cries Henry. "You take dragon's breath to a new level. It's nastier than a maggot! Do it again!"

[silentsavant]

"..."

There's really nothing Soren has to say to Henry's round of cheery commentary. He's just glad that the sorcerer can handle himself in a fight like this with quick, effective action, no fear or hesitation at all resounding through their thin Bond. The maggot rolls around with a sickening, scratching squelch and lunges for the airborne Monster. But before it can snag him in his jaws, Soren meets it head-on with another blast of Dragon's breath. It reels back in a pained arc to whirl its upper body around like a pinwheel. Soren backs up accordingly and cuts his attack short.

As ever, the strategist keeps an eye out for any change, however small. The next notable development isn't good for them. The last wound he'd opened up on the body of the giant baby insect starts to repair itself much like an injury treated by an invisible heal staff. If things keep up like this...

"It's quick to regenerate," declares Soren, closing the gap between them with quick, stuttering wingbeats. "My breath is strong, but in this form, I don't think I can overwhelm it fast enough if even a well-placed headshot didn't do it in. We've got to — !"

The maggot sweeps its massive body across the wooden expanse of their terrain, impossible to outrun. Soren hooks Henry beneath the armpits and uses as much strength and speed as he can muster to launch them both out of harm's way. "Try another Evocation spell!" he urges on strained breath. "If we can both attack it effectively, then..."

[morbide]

How odd, that the maggot would go for an airborne target and not the one standing on the ground, Henry thinks. He's not one to be making significant strategic sense of it all, but it's the observation he makes purely out of disappointment that it would aim for his teammate and not him. Thankfully, Soren doesn't get hit by its thrashing.

As Soren arrives at his side, he's attentive, even as his body language suggests amateurish looseness — a feint, perhaps, deliberate or not. Before he knows it, he's yanked by Soren in a direction he can scarcely perceive, and he yelps.

But being told to cast a spell is easily done. "You got it, one spell, coming right up!" he calls, slapping his hands together in this awkward hold without even thinking twice.

Ice erupts from his fingertips, chilling the room as the beam collides with the maggot's husk, no point on its body vulnerable to a Witch's maggot once more. If this proves anything to Soren, it's that for some reason, his breath pierces its shell while Henry's magic is utterly useless. His deftness and potency couldn't be to blame, could it? He gasps in frustration at the lack of result.

"What gives!" he shouts irritably. The maggot pulls itself together, ready to writhe in yet another squirming, full-bodied attack. "I'm starting to think I've got to kill it with fire. Do or don't, things won't be looking good if we don't do something, and I'm not about to give up my life over an oversized grub!"

[silentsavant]

Shock slices coldly through him at the sensation of tail tip brushing against the cwyld-infected maggot.

Soren had hoped his partner might think to try a spell other than an element he'd already proven useless, but he hadn't exactly been specific in his command. As the ice hits, the grub's injuries continue to seal up Soren's progress with the grace of time. Soren struggles a little harder just to stay airborne in the dropped temperature, but the maggot shares in his sluggishness with slowed movements. The warmth of a fire spell, however inadvisable, sounds awfully tempting even to him. But he resists that comfort.

"We're not out of alternatives yet," groans the Dragon. He shuts his eyes, taps into the ancient pulse of energy that swims through his veins, veins that have carried a current of this power even before Talam had branded him a Monster, and he begins to glow and shift, expand scale by scale into a tremendous form concealed within that compact little body of his until there remains no trace of human flesh nor form.

A bastion of hard muscle and plated scales replaces the boy, his draconic features defined and enhanced by a vast wingspan that whips the stale air into gusts with the force of each beat, well-defined charcoal-black arms embellished by broad fins and glowing markings that adjust to carry his passenger more securely to his chest than his smaller form could have accommodated.

He ignores how strange it feels to be in the body of Goldoan royalty, to cradle another human so effortlessly in his arms, rears his neck back as he fills his breath sac, and blasts the maggot with beaming force more devastating than he'd ever accomplished in any of his humanoid iterations.

The creature gushes with wounds, its entire midsection split raw and seeping. It gurgles and hisses and spits and Soren must move before he can be targeted by an eruption of corrosive slime, so he cuts off the attack in favor of dodging clumsily.

[morbide]

Still in Soren's grasp, Henry gasps in astonishment at what he feels taking place behind him. Still in Soren's arms he remains, arms that become stronger, scalier, with more pronounced claws...

"Whoa!"

Soren is a black Dragon, after all.

That astonishment becomes excitement, especially as the Monster unleashes a breath of raw power. A laugh bubbles up from Henry's throat, even as Soren's made to dodge with him in his grasp in a haphazard tumble mid-air.

As soon as Soren stabilizes, Henry takes that hand of his with a smear of blood upon it as a conduit for his magic and raises it toward the maggot. Air curls and churns around him, in front of him, before he sends a slicing gale at the massive grub — with perfect timing, as it's a cut that lands dead on one of Soren's injuries, penetrating its shell and slicing through tender flesh underneath. The maggot unleashes a screech, and Henry laughs again.

"Woooo! We got it, Soren!" cries Henry, pleased to be airborne and more pleased yet at the oozing appearance of their opponent. "Just look at that! I'd get nauseous just at the smell and the sight, if I weren't already motion sick! Nya ha!"

Is he really sick? Who can say...

[silentsavant]

"You're sick in more ways than just one," quips Soren with a faint, tired note of disgust, wishing he would quit this obnoxious character trait of bubbling laughter like a giggle fountain whenever guts or gore were involved. He has enough putrid sensory input to endure and he doesn't need to fill it with any more unpleasant nonsense. The constant stroke of his wings help to circulate the air a bit, for what little good that does in diffusing the dizzying stench.

He doesn't waste any more seconds bantering with Henry when he could be firing. The maggot is a nice, big target, immobilized by the pit and easy to strike. He loads even more power into his next blast. The tough hide fissures and splits like cracked ice under a surge of flaming blue, exposing more viable tracts of weakness for the Witch to mow down with his next choice of elemental blood magic.

But nibbling Soren at the back of his body and the back of his mind is the worry of having contracted infection with just that glancing, tingling touch. He'd never caught the Cwyld before, had always taken great care to avoid and defend against it. He longs to check, just one peek at the tail trailing behind him... but even then, would the bruise-like mark be easy to spot from here on his scales inside the tree? How long would it take to spread through a Dragon? By the time this horrible grub is pulverized, he should be able to get Henry to help him deal with it.