quest log | wilder training

[faileas]

Who: Those who signed up for the High-Risk Quest "Wilder Training"
When: 08/09 to 08/12
Where: A camp on the south-western edge of the Wilde.
What: From the quest information itself: "Outside of the recruitment, the Wilders are also offering training for anyone who'd like it regardless of bonds and experience. They'll be taken into a safe, slightly infected area in order to hone skills of magic (both Witch and Monster based), how to handle different weapons available, have lectures on things to look for in the field, and finally a test to see what they've learned. No notes allowed."
Warnings: None in the log post itself; if anything comes up, let us know, and we'll make sure to add it here.

The Way There

The training camp party gathers just outside of the city's walls before the sun begins to rise; once heads are counted and everyone is accounted for, Yvette Tressa - the same Witch who led the expedition into Smugha Cave - will start the march through Dead Man's Land, following the river. It isn't quite dark at this period of dawn, the bare landscape painted a washed-out blue by what small light there is, and as the sun settles into the early morning sky they reach their first destination - the edge of the Wilde. Rowboats large enough to fit five or six people (or a few significantly larger people) bob gently up and down where they're tied, the runes marking around the area marking it as protected by a barrier; keen eyes will notice these are the same as what the Wilders and the Coven have been setting up around Smugha Cave.

The party is herded into the boats and sent up the river into the Wilde, the boats gently rowing themselves against the current. The trees of the Wilde have slowly, almost imperceptibly, been shifting to a new color as summer turns into fall outside of it: browner and fully dead, with fewer leaves hanging from their branches, as if winter has finally come. The air is also significantly cooler the deeper they row into up the river, the breeze a sharp string of cold when it blows, and several Wilders shiver despite their being used to it. The journey is a quiet one, the river ducking out of the Wilde when the sun is at its highest point - the area is changed from the familiar fields around Aefenglom around this small bend, with dozens of flowers waving their faint scent in the still chilly breeze. No two flowers look the same, but the boat ride doesn't stop there: it continues back into the Wilde, leaving the sweet smell behind them.

The sun is still visible where they dock, noting it as a little later in the afternoon; further ahead, the river splits two ways, and it's to the left side the party will be guided. As they come upon the split's left side, the trees begin to thin in a way similar to the area around Smugha Cave, their branches cleaned up and the start of infection scraped from their sides - and then abrupt barrenness as it becomes clear just what the trees now suddenly missing have been used for: A fortified camp, well-protected by its high, sturdy wooden walls, the tops of them sharpened to a point. As the party draws closer, runes of protection are easy to notice, carved line after line in the thick, wood logs.

Training Camp: Sauf

Located on the edge of the Wilde (the red dot; the navy dot is Smugha Cave, for a point of reference), Sauf is a fairly large camp equipped with all of the basic necessities. Used year-round for various training exercises, Sauf is home to around twenty "permanent" residents - that is, those who have volunteered to stay the year - and otherwise hosts trainees, instructors, researchers, and so on. Look-outs are positioned all around the camp's edge, manned by at least one pair of Wilders, and a large communal fire pit sits in the middle of the camp. The main entrance is on the south side, with smaller ones located on the other three sides.

The north side of the camp is where characters will find their living quarters for their weekend stay: large, sturdy tents designed to hold several dozen people comfortably. Given the Wilde's chill, these are kept toasty and warm through the use of small piles of heat stones similar to the larger ones found in the city during the snow last month. Also on the north side is the mess hall, where characters can get some grub or hang out and mingle with their fellow trainees, mirrorbound and native alike.

The east and west sides of the camp are where the training takes place. Each side has a different function, however: the east side is for more individual-based training, with dummies and moving targets, both magically-repairing, and instructors, while the west side is for arena-based training - that is, fighting one another. Any type of match-up is considered fair and reasonable, and fights go on intermittently over the days, as does betting.

Finally, the south side of the camp is home to the meeting hall, a large stone building; while not currently in use, it remains an important fixture nonetheless. The healer's wards are also located here as two tarped areas that hug both walls, which provides medical help for those coming in or who have been injured during training, and protection for those venturing out.

I. A Primer On Witches


In addition to weapons training - which, specific to Witches, comes in the form of long-reach weaponry such as lances, quarterstaffs, or halberds - they offer instruction in spells that come in handy while needing to defend oneself and others in the Wilde.

• Abjuration 1: Barriers, shields, alarms.
• Abjuration 2: Healing (both lower level and advanced courses), dispels.
• Alchemy 1: Potion-brewing for healing draughts, magic draughts, potions that can cure basic ailments (poison, paralysis, sleep).
• Alchemy 2: Arrays to create on-the-go bombs (palm-sized) of the offensive and smoke varieties, weapons of various types, all from materials able to be found around and on oneself.
• Conjuration 1: Temporary camps (tents and campfires), various magical weapons, food and water (not very filling nor hydrating, essentially as a just-in-case thing).
• Conjuration 2: Living creatures such as animals and insects, a variety from the harmless/watcher-type to more offensively-based ones.
• Divination 1: Scrying on the fly using pocket mirrors, running water as a medium, speaking with animals (sometimes not extremely helpful given their lower intelligence).
• Divination 2: Finding magic via a scavenger hunt, how to enter a dream-like trance to access the subconscious and interpretation of signs found there.
• Enchantment 1: Charm spells that work against either humanoids, Monsters, or animals, which make the target more friendly or a straight-up ally; some target will know they've been charmed.
• Enchantment 2: Strengthening spells such as for physical, mental, or magical power, as well as elemental imbuing for weapons and other objects.
• Evocation 1: Single-target elemental spells and how to control them, particularly fire and ice for the latter, with elements also including earth/stone, water, lightning, and wind.
• Evocation 2: Multiple-target elemental spells with the same instruction and types as above, as well as multiple-target healing spells.
• Illusion 1: Visual illusions (people, animals, items), larger illusions (areas, buildings, bigger varities of aforementioned types).
• Illusion 2: Audio illusions, how to tie them together with visual illusions.
• Transmutation 1: Transforming oneself or one's items and back again, as well as mending minor objects.
• Transmutation 2: Transforming other people or other people's items and back again, as well as how to do it sneakily.

II. A Primer On Monsters


In addition to weapons training - which, specific to Monsters, comes in the form of short-reach weaponry such as swords and axes - they offer instruction in the special traits and perks each Monster has, particularly ones that come in handy when defending oneself or others in the Wilde.

• Arachne: Speed/jumps and web-spinning, either as traps or in use as rope, whip, etc.
• Chimera: Fighting blind and/or deaf to avoid charms, illusions, and curses.
• Dragon: Breath abilities, both how to use them and the finer points of control.
• Fae: Creating illusions and seeing through them, with a heavy focus on landscape and areas rather than creatures or objects.
• Faun: Plant growth, with a focus on naturally revitalizing plants and ones with more offensive uses, such as bomb-nuts and carnivorous flowers.
• Harpy: Singing lessons, as well as flying lessons with the use of wind magic should one have it.
• Merrow: Water magic, with an experimental focus on purifying it for drinking or bathing purposes.
• Naga: Speaking to water and empathizing with it, as well as instruction on the proper and ethical usage of hypnosis.
• Puca: Impersonation practice, with shapeshifting into someone they know or see and mimicking their voice and way of speaking.
• Turnskin: Sense training, particularly smell and hearing, with the use of blindfolds.
• Vampire: Casting thralls, and proper measures to take against the sun.

III. Partnering Up


Skills and spells are both useful while out in the Wilde, but one's biggest asset is their partner - or partners, plural. The Wilders will pick at random two or three people to partner up and do a variety of things in order to build trust and clear communication, such as your ordinary trust-falls or a game of telephone, as well as things that might be a little more on the side of seeing just how far they can go: clothes-switching (you don't know a man - or Monster - until you've walked a mile in their shoes), taking care of an inanimate object together, and being connected to one another for several hours, courtesy of some enchanted pair bracelets that won't allow their wearers to move more than a foot from the other half of their pair.

Outside of that, they'll be offering up the opportunity for those without Bonds to try temporarily Bonding to whoever their eyes land on first (with a quick, non-ceremonial shot of silver liquid), as well as fighting together against other pairs or tamed beasts (with or without the Bond) in the arenas.
IV. A Little Exploration


On the final day of the weekend training excursion, everyone is once again gathered - this time for the test promised to them. It isn't a pen and paper test, however, but one to test how well they've retained the training offered to them. In the early morning, the group will set out north-west of the camp; the path begins well-trod, but overgrowth soon begins to get underfoot. Patches of frost begin to show up as well - perhaps it's the Wilde's odd season at work.

Or perhaps it's something else.

Entire trees are encased in ice, their branches looking like arms reaching out or twisted around themselves; the bark resembles faces, with hair curled to their chins, and while some may have the sinking feeling that appearances might not just be appearances, the humanoids frozen mid-stepping from similarly frosted trees may all but confirm it.

Dryads, frozen in time, the Cwyld dark and trapped beneath the ice - or maybe those are remnants of the fire that was an attempt at culling the infection before it could begin. Some of them are cracked and broken, their limbs lost, while others are perfectly preserved.

There won't be too much time to stop and stare, however; this is a test, and the enemies of the day become apparent:


• Ice wolves. With a chilly bite and a tendency to work in pairs and groups, it's worth doing just the same to take them down. Their paws are black and crusted with mud and Cwyld infection, their eyes bright and unseeing - and though they may be blind, the rest of their senses have become even stronger in response.
• Snow elementals. Large and actually made of a mix of ice and snow, their patches of Cwyld streak across their white bodies - it makes them easy to see in all the white, but gives them some resistance to the traditional use of fire to melt them. They primarily rely on ice spikes and other related magics, ut will throw a heavy punch if gotten too close to.
• Withered ents. Ordinarily peaceful, these normally massive moving trees are as tall as a one-story house due to hunching over from the cold and ice that covers them. Similar to the wolves, their large, gnarled hands are covered in the black of the Cwyld, but only one eye is the blind white that marks infection - the other is hollow and sunken in. Roots and heavy earth shakes are their primary skills, being otherwise slow to move, and they avoid fighting where there are dryads.
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Comments

II-C

[overworker]

[All this training has been tough on someone as small as Towa, so a break was very much needed. It's nice to have some company too, even if it's a comfortable silence sort of moment. Until the bet is thrown out there. Towa blinks and for a moment, she can't help but laugh. It reminded her of all the class battles back at Thors.]

You're on.

[She doesn't really have any horse in this race but if

It's way too early to count anyone out just yet.

[showsnopiety]

Good.

[It's hard on Caren too, and she was feeling worn out. But well-a simple bet would be kind of fun to settle and just watch. There was a part of her that wanted to join in but-she knew she shouldn't.

It'd be too easy to get her wings whacked, for one.]

Are you favoring anyone to win?

[There were a few others out there, but she thought the person in the red looked the freshest. But she might be missing something.]

[overworker]

Hmm, let's see...

[There are still a lot of people out there, even though the training has been going on for a while. She recognizes a few figures from when she'd been other there but--]

I think they have some good potential!

[In the purple, one of the ones that had initially struggled a good deal was actually starting to get the hang of it. By sheer speed and amount of improvement, they stand a good chance.]

[showsnopiety]

They're not bad.

[Caren isn't an expert but they're moving with more confidence now.]

Let's hope they can keep it up. They might be going too fast.

[overworker]

--oh!

[One of the witches takes a tumble. They get right back up but it was quite a shock.]

They're really pushing everyone hard out there. I'm sure everyone's tired. After this, I just want to drink some tea and go to bed.

[She's still weak-- but then, it's only her first time. So she has hopes that it will improve.]

[showsnopiety]

Owch.

[And t look like someone fell and skidded backward. Was it due to force or ice on the ground, it was hard to say.]

I think I'm much of the same mind. I might check into the mending area, before going back grab tea and sleep.

[overworker]

Oh good... it looks like they're not too badly hurt.

[At least they got up. It just took two other people to make it happen, so-- probably ice.]

I'd planned to help out at work later but it might be a good day to take a break.

[showsnopiety]

Maybe a bit of road rash.

[Yeah, they got up and they look...determined? Maybe mad. They'll still have to be careful though.]

And I suppose. This counts as an educational break, doesn't it?

[overworker]

This is my first time, actually. I thought that a military school background would help but I feel just as much at a disadvantage as everyone else.

[This is more studying than she ever had to do in school and that's saying a lot.]

...By the way, I'm Towa. What's your name?

[showsnopiety]

If it helps, I'm learning from scratch.

[She has to, with her chimera status.]

It's Caren. Pleasure to meet you Towa.

[overworker]

I suppose it's not easy for anyone. Not that I want everyone facing that challenge, but-- it is kind of a relief not to be alone.

If it has to be difficult, it's better to have someone to go through it with, right?

[showsnopiety]

Mm. If nothing else, none of us are alone with this, nor are we alone in wanting to step up to the responsibility.

I'm used to doing things alone but-this is oddly reassuring.

[overworker]

That must have been tough. Working alone... well, it sounds lonely.

[She can't count how many times she's had to rely on others. Much as she's trying to stand on her own two feet these days, she'd never really want to give up the support of her friends.]

There are a lot of things I'm not sure about here, but if nothing else I'm glad to get to meet so many incredible people.

[showsnopiety]

It was. But I got used to it.

[People are amazingly adaptable she thought. She's seen that with the fighting going on in front of her, and how people are getting back up. ]

I'm still getting used to being around so many people. The training camp is easier to adjust to. Maybe I should have done this from the start.

[overworker]

[There's a strength in solitude. An admirable one. At least in some ways she wishes she could pick up some of those attributes. She certainly admires those who manage to make it look so easy enough.]

It seems like it's almost always busy here with something or other. Festivals, training, work-- like we could all use a reminder to slow down and take a break sometimes.

[showsnopiety]

[Maybe it is. She didn't see it as admirable-it was simply something she had to get used to on her own.]

It does. It's very...distracting. Admittedly, I do like being busy but...I'm starting to feel as if I may be missing something obvious with all of these activities.

I assume I'm not the only one.

[overworker]

You too? I feel the same way. It's good to enjoy doing what you can, but sometimes if you're doing too much you can end up limiting yourself too much before you realize what it is you really want to be doing.

[Admittedly, it's a problem she's somewhat familiar with.]

[showsnopiety]

Mm. One has to chose on doing one thing at a time to do it well. Else, if you try too many things at once, you have a better chance to fail at everything.

And let not only yourself down, but others in the process.

[overworker]

Yes, that's how I feel exactly.

It's daunting, as a witch, knowing the full potential magic has. There are so many types of magic and a million more ways to use it. It's like trying to decide what to do with myself after graduation all over again, but somehow almost more difficult.

[showsnopiety]

I never really had that opportunity. I knew what my life would be.

But I suppose I am...stubborn, and also I am not a witch. I suppose...the question for you, is what is the best way to fulfill your desires?