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Post by Arashi Tento on Jan 11, 2023 1:49:16 GMT -5
As Arashi wandered through the Moonglade forests, he noticed something was bugging the people who lived there, it seemed someone was taking all the lantern light bulbs, and it was definitely creepy. The eerie silence that could be felt as one entered the now dark and dreary woods, clearly hinted that something wasn't right, it was as if a pest was in these woods.
when he arrived at a nearby town he saw that there was a missive for any adventurer willing to crawl through the woods and Exterminate the cause of the missing lantern light bulbs. This bugged Arashi as he felt that these woods are a magnificent place worthy of protection and admiration. So he decided to take it into his own hands to repel Whatever was causing this.
He went looking for the village elder who might have more details on where to look and what might be causing it, so that he had something to go on. Arashi was told to wait in the entrance to the woods as some people were likely going there for the same reason as him, so he walked out of the small town towards the road that went deeper into the woods, leaning against a tree he would wait for a companion on the same mission as him.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 11, 2023 19:01:08 GMT -5
Gerhart had somewhat of a personal interest in investigating these out of control bugs. The Lantern Light Woods was a special place and it didn't do his heart any good to know any place in his home was under stress. Fighting bugs would also be a new experience, maybe not a good experience, but a new one so that's nice.
Being a local, Gerhart had arrived only a slight bit earlier than Arashi, but not by much. His ears perk up hearing someone else is looking into the bugs, having headed off to talk to a few other locals to see just how pervasive this problem had gotten. From the sounds of it, the bugs had been doing quite a number on a few of the plants the villagers rely on.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it!" He gives a bright smile to an older man, offering a reassuring pat on the shoulder before turning to head towards the other man.
Gerhart holds up a hand and a smile towards Arashi, "Yo! Sounds like Elder Firon says you're also helping look into the bugs! That's great, it's always a bit easier with more people." The bright grin his held as Gerhart offers a hand, "Gerhart Stanislav, good to meet you."
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Post by Kara on Jan 12, 2023 0:57:16 GMT -5
Kara blinked at the village Elder. She wasn’t sure she heard right.
“Something… is bugging you?”
The Elder frowned. “That is… uh, not quite what I said. The problem is bugs.”
Kara hesitated, then leaned in and spoke in a low voice to the old man. “And who is this dastardly… ‘Bugs’? Some sort of eco-terrorist?”
Now it was the Elder’s turn to blink. “Uh… It’s not… Uh… not a person named Bugs. Its bugs. Insects.”
“Ah…” Kara leaned back, a knowing look on her face. “Bugs in sex. I see. I believe there are remedies for that. Some good doctor’s that can-”
“For heaven’s sake, woman!” The old man exploded. “The problem is BUGS! Flying. Insects!. Do I make myself uck-” He was suddenly cut off by a spear point being pressed into his throat.
“Yes.” Kara replied with a deadly calm. “I quite understand the problem, gray one. I understood it the moment I read the notice that brought me here. If you don’t like someone tweaking your beard, that’s fine. But if you ever speak to me in that tone of voice again, bugs will be the least of your problems. Now, where should I go to find these bugs?” She removed her spear from his throat, and he swallowed hard.
“Th-There are others. By the entrance to the woods. A couple of fighters, seeking to help.”
“Thank you.” Kara said, a hint of coldness to her voice. She got up and left. A moment later the Elder ran from the room, eager to change into fresh underclothes.
Outside, Kara was quick to see the men the Elder had mentioned, and made her way to them.
“Kara.” She said by way of greeting. “Y’all ready to go… Bug Hunting??”
Damn it, that sounded way better in my head.
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Post by Arashi Tento on Jan 12, 2023 19:49:55 GMT -5
As Gerhart introduced himself Arashi chuckled a bit and shook his hand, This person seemed awfully cheery, "Arashi Tento, pleased to make your acquaintance" He nodded slightly, he still wasn't used to the mainland's physicality in greetings, but tried his best to follow along and not be rude. "And I agree, safety in numbers is a saying for a reason."
Soon after this meeting A woman approached, presenting herself simply by stating her name, "I'm Arashi," He told the newly introduced Kara, "And I think we are." He looked at Gerhart for confirmation, although he didn't think much of it was needed as he already looked quite ready, nevertheless he would follow the group once they set off, specifically Gerhart since he seemed to be a local, or at least know his way around better than him.
"Let's hope there's still enough Plants for the forest to recover, it'd be a shame to lose such a place..." He then looked at Gerhart, "I noticed you know people here, are you a local? if so, do you know of a place that could be appealing for these bugs to settle in, or maybe somewhere that still has these plants... If we manage to locate some healthy plants we might be able to just follow the path laid by the eaten ones back to the insects' hive."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 12, 2023 19:59:19 GMT -5
"Good to meet you both." He grinned brightly giving a little laugh to Kara's question. "Hopefully we can just chase the little guys off, but seems you're both ready in case they need a sterner talking to."
Another little laugh before he turns to Arashi, "Not to this village, but I grew up in these parts and know a few of the people here....Not sure exactly where these bugs would have set up. Sounds like they have taken a liking to some of the ash trees around here. Don't worry about finding a tree in the forest, I can take care of that. The biggest concern I have right now is just how big these things might be. A few small bugs wouldn't be an issue, but if they are calling in adventurers then they might be just a biiiit bigger than what you would expect. Hope those weapons are sharp." He grins.
Gerhart will turn towards the path into the forest, already scanning for any sorts of hints. "Unless there's any questions, I think we should head out! Not gonna find anything just standing around here."
Whenever his companions were ready, Gerhart would gladly lead the way into the forest and start their search for bugs.
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Post by Kara on Jan 15, 2023 1:55:40 GMT -5
Kara walked grumpily after the two men as they made their way through the woods. Why was she grumpy? Because the frickin’ bugs were biting her. She kept slapping at her neck as she felt mosquitoes going to town on her. Dirty little vampires. She glared at them angrily, mollified only slightly as any bug that drank from her radiant blood burst into tiny little flames before her eyes.
Serves you buggers right.
Gerhart was leading them deeper and deeper into the woods, and as the branches above them grew thicker and thicker, the light was getting dimmer. Fairly soon, they’d be in darkness.
Well, might as well…
“Hey, guys. Need a little light?”
With that, two large, golden, luminous wings burst from her back, flaring out behind her [Divine Ascent]. The area was suddenly lit up with Kara’s Angelic light. She pushed off ever so slightly, and hovered in the air. Yesssss. Flying was so much better than walking. She floated forward, following the other two while lying on her back in mid-air. She increased her speed slightly, moving next to Arashi. As she floated into view, one leg crossed over the other, she gave him a little wave.
“So, sword boy, what’s your story?”
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Post by Arashi Tento on Jan 16, 2023 17:25:40 GMT -5
before they went out Gerhart answered Arashi's question he felt better having someone who knew the place in the group "I for one, would rather a few big-guys than a swarm of little ones... Sword's not too good against a cloud of flying insects"As they Entered the forest, some bugs could be seen flying about, but nothing particularly out of place for a forest like this, lots of mosquitoes though, which he was sort of used to, but someone in the group seemed to have a particularly bad time with them. Arashi Looked at Kara who rose above both him and Gerhart. Seemed like despite the trouble the mosquitoes were giving her the ones actually suffering were the bugs as they all seemed to go up in flames as soon as they bit her. As they got deeper into the woods and the light began to fade, Arashi, looked at Gerhart to see if he'd have trouble navigating with such dim light, Suddenly after a brief question, Kara manifested wings of pure light... Ok now that's cool Arashi thought as the woman began floating about, The wings provided decent illumination too so it was quite a useful skill. Suddenly she approached Arashi and after a little wave asked for his story "Well, there's nothing much that's very interesting... I used to be a foot-soldier for the crescent Isles army, as per my father's wish, although I didn't like having to stay put most of the time, so I decided to become an adventurer instead... It's not like I had any bad experiences in the army, not more than anyone else to be honest... it was just boring and not what I wanted for myself. Besides..." After saying that Arashi spaced out for around half a second. I'm sort of sick of being expendable... he thought at first but decided not to say that, "I think I just rather Live and die on my own terms, if you get what I mean..." and reworded it instead.
"How about you?" Arashi looked back at Kara, although he was curious as to how or why she had light wings he didn't want to leave Gerhart out, so he looked towards him "Or you Gerhart, I'd like to know more about both of the people I'm on a mission with."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 16, 2023 18:19:08 GMT -5
Gerhart looks to Kara as she starts to float with her wings and the light that spread from them. Certainly a neat talent to have, but it did seem becoming the bright light made her the target of the bugs. It did help them see a bit better, though Gerhart trusted his senses but on the other hand not having to was nice.
He kept his hands resting on the pommels of his swords as they walked, just to be at the ready but not seem on edge. The young knight kept quiet as Arashi shared his story. It was unfortunate to hear about more people who felt disrespected by others. He certainly knows a thing or two about feeling expendable, though his thoughts on it probably come from a far different place than Arashi.
After a bit of walking, he stops and crouches down to look over some tracks in the dirt. Usually you wouldn't find bug tracks, but with how big these things supposedly are it's more likely than not. Picking up on them would be easy too since bug feet naturally look a bit strange.
"Oh, I promise there ain't much special to me." He looked back to the two with a smile and laugh, ignoring that it was prety obvious to tell from his equipment alone he wasn't just the typical swordsman. "Just know a few things about fighting and tracking."
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Post by Kara on Jan 19, 2023 14:52:21 GMT -5
Kara smiled when Arashi asked about her. She loved revealing this part to people- even if most of them never believe her. “I…” She paused dramatically. “...Am an Angel.”
She beamed at the other two. When she had first arrived on Charon, the fact that she was an Angel hadn’t meant anything special to her. The longer she was here and the more that she learned, the more she came to realize the special status the concept of an Angel held for many people.
“Long story short, I’m not from around here. I was… Banished to this place. So now I trek through the woods with strange men searching for strange bugs.” That should cover everything. She turned her gaze to Gerhart when he began to speak.
Fighting and tracking, huh?
So. Two soldiers and an Angel versus a bunch of bugs. It almost seemed like… Overkill. Maybe I’ll just watch them fight. Wait, then I’ll be bored. Screw that, they can sit back and watch while I fight. Yeah, that’s better.
“So, Gerhart the fighter and tracker, what do you think? We almost found these buggies yet?”
Kara righted herself in midair, though didn’t touch down. Hovering over tree roots was better than tripping over them.
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Post by Arashi Tento on Jan 20, 2023 14:55:17 GMT -5
Arashi raised an eyebrow at Gerhart as he tried to dismiss the question, but decided to not press anything out of respect for his privacy. Then Kara did a dramatic reveal of her origin, as she beamed at them Arashi had to hold a bit of a chuckle, he didn't know what to make of it, it would explain the wings and maybe the height, but the delivery was a bit funny at least to him.
"That's a way of putting it I guess" Arashi said in response to Kara's remark about hunting bugs with strangers. As she asked Gerhart if they were close to the bugs already, Arashi felt a buzz, which was slightly different to those that had been constantly harassing his ears since they set foot in the forest, it was a deeper, slightly louder buzz that seemed to come from a bit farther away, something big had been flying around... Feeling something with murderous intent Arashi began feeling a bit on edge, suddenly a bit of grass and leaves where ruffled and as he looked to the side, a thin silhouette could be seen behind the bush to his left, a faint glimmer of light was reflected from Kara's wings into something that looked like a scythe, noticing the glimmer move Arashi jumped back as a bladed arm slashed his way.
Stepping forward was a gigantic bug it stood at a height of around 6'7 it seemed like a grotesque mix of a mantis and a locust, it's lower body was like that of locust or grasshopper With legs strong enough to jump impressively far as well as a pair of strong wings, then it's upper body rose slightly with two Scythe blades for arms, and then it's head which looked like that of a mantis but with slightly bigger jaws made for consuming both meat and plant alike. It's eyes analyzed Arashi not like a hunter would a prey, but rather like a tormentor would a victim, dissecting weak points, looking at how to inflict the greatest amount of pain without killing, what to eat first, after all, the fresher the meat the more tender it was.
Suddenly a few more buzzes were heard, more giant monstrous bugs appeared out of the underbrush, one for each of the adventurers hopefully they were ready. Arashi Took out his sword.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 20, 2023 19:07:36 GMT -5
"I think that answers your question." He gives a little laugh as he draws his sword, dodging backwards as the bug came down with a fairly telegraphed overhead strike. The sword-like hand digs deep into the earth, leaving a sizable fissure in its place as it pulls back.
"Don't lose your will over a few bugs, these shouldn't be an issue." Gerhart calls out to them both, for some reason his words bolstering their strength.[1]
The young knight moved back in dodge under a strike, moving faster than a man should with all the armor he wore, slashing across the abdomen. His sword bit into the bug, but the exoskeleton seemed a bit tougher than the average bug even with the enhanced wind and damage enchantments he had. This fight might be a bit more drawn out it seemed.. It stood its ground and swung again, this time Gerhart held it off with a side block with his off-hand sword locking them both in place.[2] He grit his teeth and kicked at the bug to send it stumbling back.
"Don't hold back, these things are apparently a little tougher than just any old bug." The bug quickly re-engages and Gerhart is wrapped up in fending it off for the moment.
1. Battle Cry 2. Lock Up
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Post by Kara on Jan 24, 2023 11:45:56 GMT -5
“Good, I was hoping for a fight.” Kara said, twirling Light Piercer around her body before settling into a combat stance. As the Mantis creature scuttled towards her in what could only be described as a “bug charge”, Kara thrust the spear point up and forward, intending to drive it through the creature's skull.
Her jaw dropped as the spear was jolted to a stop by strong pincers. Yet the Mantis’ charge didn’t stop, and Kara found herself being pushed back by the creature’s momentum against the spear, her heels digging a trench along the ground as she fought to maintain her balance.
“... Grrr… Screw… You!” Energy coursed through the spear and exploded out of the tip, still held in the Mantis’ jaw, golden light sending the creature tumbling back [Purity Bolt]. It toppled onto it’s back, and Kara leaped forward, landing on it’s midsection and driving Light Piercer into it’s abdomen. It slid into the soft underbelly easily, and with a second blast of energy, Kara burnt out it’s innards. With a jerky little twitch, the Mantis stopped moving, dead.
Pulling out her spear, Kara, still perched on the dead creature’s body, looked around at her teammates.
“Tfft. These are no challenge at all.” Kara stepped off the corpse and was suddenly swept off her feet. She quickly rolled onto her back, as the creature she thought she had just killed clambered over her, scythe-like arms coming down on her, smoke still rising out of it’s mouth.
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Post by Arashi Tento on Jan 26, 2023 11:09:25 GMT -5
Once Arashi had drawn his sword, The insect looked at it curiously, almost as if wondering if that was all. It lunged again slashing diagonally with it's right scythe like arm, Arashi sidestepped while lifting his sword intending to use the attack's momentum to launch his own, as the Katana clanged with the arm, with a flick of the wrist Arashi spun his weapon into a strike aimed at the wing, the bug saw that coming and shoved its body against Arashi's making him tumble backwards.
With a roll he recovered "Dammit, they're smarter than I thought" as the bug attacked yet again he repeated the motion hoping the insect would do the same, but this time instead of launching an attack immediately he would vault over the bugs back and attack it's underbelly with a stab. which worked like a charm, the bug repeated it's shoving motion but this time Arashi was ready for it. Stabbing it in its lower belly managing to hurt it, as it bled green it raged attacking Arashi Again. It made a crucial mistake this time as it stood up in its hind legs intending to drop it's whole weight against him, The bug's extensive movement and huge wind up allowed him to look for some weak-points in its exoskeleton, since he had noticed Gerhart's struggle in harming it he was sure his own sword would fail if he just attacked anywhere.
Right before it dropped Arashi saw something that looked particularly fleshy and unprotected, Right between its middle legs the insect had a triangular shaped sort of hole, must be something important... he charged towards the bug as it dropped trying to slice at him, Sliding beneath it's scythe-arms Arashi reversed the grip of his sword, and as he moved under it he stabbed the bug right in that fleshy piece, it immediately recoiled back while screeching. Arashi stood back up "Look for a hole in between it's middle legs, that seems to be a weak point!" after informing the others he prepared for another round.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 26, 2023 16:27:50 GMT -5
"Not....all of....us are...angels." Gerhart manages a short laugh, making his quip between matching blades with a bug. It's pincers were as hard as steel. Where did these things come from? Gerhart is honestly surprised he's never heard of something like this. He'd definitely have to follow up with someone about this.
He side stepped another swing of the big, the tip of its blade dragging across his cuirass. There was a slight bit of relief the thing didn't gouge it, dragon scale was tougher than bugs, good to know. What he really needed to find out was where the actual gap in the bug's chitinous exterior was.
Parry, swipe, block, stab, where is it? Dodge back, slash across its chest, duck wide swipe....There! Gerhart saw as the creature rose up to bring its full weight down for a swing, it created just enough of a gap in the pieces.
Gerhart switches his Duelist longsword to an icepick grip, stepping in as the creature rose to its apex. He swung fast and hard, putting his hips into the weight of the swing as it hit its mark.[1] A viscious black ichor poured from the bug, it was hurt bad, flailing as it stumbled backwards screeching in pain.
1. Gerhart's Final Strike
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Post by Kara on Feb 2, 2023 2:40:28 GMT -5
What did Arashi say? Weak point?
Good.
Kara held her spear across her chest, blocking the scythe-like arms as they tried to shred the flesh from her bones. One of the creature’s arms slipped past her defense, and slashed across her forehead, sending blood splattering across fallen leaves, glowing slightly with an inner power before slowly fading to normal-looking blood.
“Not nice, you… bugger.” Kara gritted out, and reached down with one arm, desperately feeling along it’s body until… Yes. Kara shoved her fist into the hole in its chitinous body and released as much energy as she could [Purity Bolt]. The bug fried from the inside, twitching and jerking, and then Kara shoved upwards with a final burst of energy, a yell escaping from her throat. The creature flew fifteen feet up, before gravity took hold of it once more, and it fell back to the ground with a sickening crunch.
Kara slowly stood up, glowing blood streaming down her face and a snarl on her lips. Her wings flared out behind her as she straightened [Divine Ascent], and planted Light Piercer beside herself.
She looked between her two companions, trying to judge who needed her help more. Her eyes narrowed. Gerhart seemed to have struck his foe with a grievous wound, so she tossed her spear up, catching it in a grip that was better for throwing, pulled her arm back and then forward and let the spear fly towards the creature Arashi was fighting.
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