middaeg | DRAGON'S TREE QUEST, PT III (OPEN)

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DRAGON'S TREE QUEST, PT III (OPEN)

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! )

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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✧]

[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.]

[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.]

[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.]

[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.

[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.]

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.]

[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.)]

By gone, I meant dead.

[It takes her a moment to get that out. Trying to focus on the rocking and creaking of the tree. The idea of riding on his back didn't even remotely faze her. Titans were bigger than any of the dragons she'd seen here.]

If you can carry my weight for longer than a few seconds.

[That was the main issue. At least to her anyway. His take-off had been shakey before, staying in the air longer would be harder. Especially if he had to aim and...She wasn't sure exactly how breathing on things as dragons did worked, or if it needed concentration. But she was down, or up in this case.

So slowly, she steps away from the trunk, moving a little closer as the petalwolves bayed below them.]

I hope you don't have spines like the last dragon I rode...

[She'd cut her hand. It was minor, but the dragon had gone looney afterwards.]

[She's right to have reservations after his first aerial demonstration. But it could have been worse — he could have crashed, and that would have lent even less credence to his budding capabilities as a flier! But they're running out of options.]

Not where it matters, no. [His neck and upper back, that is.] I should be a more comfortable ride.

[He doesn't know who Mysterious Other Dragon could be, but there aren't many to pick from. Soren analyzes the best position with which to transform and allow her to successfully mount him while they're both perched in a tree. The trunk sports a healthy, sturdy diameter, and it won't matter much to anyone but the tree if his expanding body snapped a few branches off here and there. Using his clawed wingtips for extra clinging power, he shimmies across the bark until he reaches a better angle, one where he won't dislodge Mikasa in his wake, and hones in on that quiescent power lurking deep within him, draws out the form of his ancestors as he practiced.

Bathed in a shimmering pale glow, Soren's small body thickens and hardens into a tremendous beast of legend. His wings spread to a size too vast for him to grapple the side of the trunk any longer, so they tuck against his body for the time being just to get out of the way. His limbs expand; he embraces the tree like a kid stuck up on a flagpole. Hmm. A little awkward, but that's to be expected when you're a weedy little mage boy not quite used to carrying yourself as a couple metric tonnes of lizard. He tries to readjust.

Hello, Mikasa. Anyway, the tree is starting to protest even more. Soren bows his head.]

Grab onto my horns.

[horndlebars...]

[There's....Something about watching him change. She'd seen Eren change into a titan before. The flash of light and steam then that was it. Not the steady growing glowing that seemed so much more controlled. At least the sudden presence of a large creature wasn't going to send her tumbling.

Before he even starts speaking she's reaching to grab. Because the tree was starting to bow under the sudden weight, shuddering when the wolves jump at it one after the other.]

If you start purring like the other one, I'm jumping off...

[It's dry.

She might have been joking. Or not, maybe a dragon enjoying being sat on was enough for her to fling herself off instead of dealing with that again.]

[He can't make expressions very well anymore. He blinks a couple of times with a scant tilt of his head.]

Why would I do that?

[Who is this other dragon and why does he sound like a bit of a creep? Anyway, it's a waste of brain cells to care. Soren's got a fae to evacuate for the second time. Once she's reasonably secured, with a pump of his wings he severs himself from the tree, which splits in half with a thunderous crack and topples to the Wilde below. The wolves scatter from the impact and snap and snarl at the looming aerial shape, undaunted by an apex predator when their brains have drained to nothing but sickened, ravenous voids.

Forced to fly or die like this, Soren has no choice but to adapt and do so quickly. His hulking form is a vastly different beast to control from the lightweight frame he's been used to carrying his whole life. In trying to keep himself calm and focused while he adjusts (and the action is a bit rocky; sorry, Mikasa) he comes to recognize a certain connection to his breathing in the process of staying airborne that he hadn't before. It felt like a key had been twisted in his brain to streamline the ordeal. For the time being, he hovers there in an upright position with broad wing strokes, gains more leverage, analyzes the cwyldtids' movements while minding the fact that he has a passenger on board the clumsy dragon express. The last thing he really wants is to boot her off and let her become rabid dog chow.]

[The fae could really only see the back of his head. A blink looking more like a wink from this angle, not that registers it as that. Either way, he doesn't get a verbal response. Just a snort. That was something she wanted to know, she really wasn't sure what to make of that particular dragon.

She grunts at the movement. Lowering herself. Hands wrapping around spines, feet bending as she pressed them into scale and hoped her boots had enough grip to stop her sliding off. Eyes flicking down to see what little of the cwyldtid below as she could. Not that she could do much, or anything at all really. Just hang on and not get eaten.

She swallows. Please don't be like the last time she put her faith in someone and left them too it.

He could talk but... ]

Can you spit fire like this? Or do you have to land then do that?

...

[He answers her question by charging an icy blue spark of energy that glows within his jaws, then fires it at the wolves like a laser cutting through the terrain, dragging the constant stream across the earth with a tilt of his head until it strikes one of the beasts and unleashes a distorted yelp. It was the one that had been hit before, its movements slowed by the recent attack by the dragon's weaker form. It lies there twitching in the dissipating mist of the blow.]

It's not fire. Otherwise, I would hesitate to use it in this forest, and this battle would be much harder.

[Well, she can see that now.

Not that she actually knew what a laser was. To her it was just a steam of light, one that tore though that which it touched. The fae scoffes. At least that explained why nothing had caught alight the first time.]

That explains why it didn't die to the first blast. [Not an insult. She'd seen how quickly infected flesh brunt. When the wolf didn't burn from the dragon's last attempt, she'd just put it down to Maria's spell being that powerful. Because she'd filled that infected warren enough for the flames to flicker out of the other entrances.]

[It takes Soren a couple of tries before he lands a blow, then the killing blow, spelling the last Cwyltid's demise. Unaccustomed to himself like this, the dragon flaps his wings hard as he lowers himself to the forest floor, sweeping debris up in the gusts produced, and lands with a bungling gracelessness closer to the safety of the outpost proper. He bows down on all fours to allow her to dismount.]

We'll need to inform the others of probable infection, and what caused it.

[As far as he was debriefed, most of those threats had been taken care of, if the cooling weather didn't do the job for them. An aerial survey of their surroundings did not reveal anything obvious, but this is still the Wilde, and there will always be the off-chance that the sanctuary these questers worked toward could still be disrupted.]

And we all need to maintain due vigilance out here. You, especially.

[She lowers herself against him, not burying her face in his back. That'd be a very bad idea. Blocking her own eyesight more than it already was. Not that they're up much longer, she jumps off easily. She might not have her gear but it was easily enough.]

It spread so quickly... [It hadn't seemed so quick when her ear had been touched.

She doesn't comment for a moment. Because, it's a lecture she's heard before, more harshly. But she was used to putting herself in harm's way for others. Better someone tough like her, even if that sentiment didn't carry here.]

Doesn't the same go for dragons? It seems to be spreading quicker down here than the northan outpost.

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DRAGON'S TREE QUEST, PT III (OPEN)

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Outpost (cw: violence, some blood)

RATTY NOOOO ;-;

I'm a monster

truly

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