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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 23, 2023 18:17:33 GMT -5
As much as he would try to deny his rising status or that many people saw him as a hero, it was hard to do that when people continually asked him to do things. The researcher he had saved from Mount Drakolt weeks ago apparently had stumbled upon something else interesting in his research.
Gerhart almost turned him down before hearing him out, having little interest in another story about magical woolful. The man's relentlessness and Gerhart's soft-hearted nature eventually ended in the young knight hearing the researcher out. According to this man, there was some sort of temple or ruins out here that held a strange secret relating to the past of King's Valley.
The details were sparse, but sometime before the collapse it supposedly was home to a god of sorts. Or just a very powerful spirit, it was hard to tell from the old records, hence why people were being sent to investigate. At this point, heading into weird tombs for powerful spirits seemed to be his main work. It figures that you can only do so many rounds of guard duty before people start to think your time and efforts are being wasted.
He rested his hands on the pommels of his swords as he stood in the middle of the Kingswood, scanning the horizon. Gerhart had outright refused to take the researcher with him, not wanting to worry about a liability while traipsing through dangerous ruins. The researcher was insistent some one else go, probably wanting someone who at least had a grasp on some other languages and had a better shot at understanding or at least being able to write down languages.
"So, he con you into dungeon delving as well or do you actually understand the stuff he talks about?" He grins looking over to his traveling partner.
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 25, 2023 18:04:12 GMT -5
Del glances up at the armoured young man, her expression wry. "A little of both. A friend and I helped to uncover a temple a ways out of Zeinav city not long ago. He said he was impressed with the notes and reliefs we took, and I helped give some context and translation after part of the structure was, ah. Destroyed." There's a note of amusement in her voice. "Dragons appear to be able to live in interesting conditions for an extended period of time, as it turns out."
The Kingswood was a place Del did not linger in often, and for good reason; the tribes and people that called this place home bore much resemblance to her, but she felt deeply out of place. It was as though they could sense the imposter in their midst, someone who spoke with the wrong accent and did not know the customs or the culture. Greetings had always been warm enough, but at times, there would be a stern word from an elder and the tone would shift, and Del would be avoided. Once, she had been pursued by the Red Riders, narrowly managing to avoid them.
But, when the researcher had reached out to her to accompany someone on a journey for a similar effect, Del was hesitant to pass it up. She was curious by nature, of course, but it was the insistence that the work she and Fish had performed was so imperative, so relevant, that he needed her eyes to be able to see and understand what was coming next. How could she say no to that?
And so, she found herself on the road. Del pulled her hood up over her head and gave her wrists a light stretch. "He said you were very reliable and helped him survive something he didn't really want to get into. Have you been doing this a while?"
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 25, 2023 18:45:11 GMT -5
"Ah so you're here to be the brains of the operation then." He laughs a bit as she explains about the translations and reliefs she took. Gerhart started to make their way through the woods, comfortable taking point. Despite the armored look, Del could see he looked very at home in the woods as he passed through the trees and easily clambored over large exposed roots.
Being in the woods was strangely peaceful to him, even when they weren't as familiar too him. There was something to the air and the energy in the woods he never found anywhere else. It's was free and wild, expressive if you knew what to look for.
He looks back to Del as they walk with a little smile, "He managed to get himself cornered inside a volcano by a basilisk while trying to research woolful. One of the stranger jobs." Another light chuckle bubbled out of him. "But yeah I suppose....been working and doing odd jobs since I was a kid, only added the swords a year or so ago truth be told. Lot better pay fighting monster than fixing fences though.......though I still fix a lot of fences strangely enough." He shrugs at the thought while they walked.
"Did he give you a hint as to where this place was? Is it in a lake or by a lake? I zoned out a bit when he started going on."
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 25, 2023 21:55:47 GMT -5
Del laughs in reply, shaking her head, "Oooh, I don't know about that. The eye for detail, maybe!" She looks around them as they walk, noting Gerhart's apparent ease with the forest. He seemed more like someone from the cities, so it was a genuine surprise to her to see how readily he adapted to the unevening footing in the forest. Del also moves over and around the roots and stones without issue, of course, but it was odd to see someone so young traversing it so easily. That and the fact that he had only started using swords in the past year only cemented that opinion."[/b]
"Is that how?" She snorts quietly, "How did he manage that studying woolful of all things, was he chased off a ledge or something?" Though, she hums thoughtfully over the second part of his statement, smiling a little. Ah, one of these. "That's a good thing, though. A nice way to keep you humble and grounded." Perhaps she was biased because she herself made most of her living doing exactly that, simply helping others and fixing fences, but it was genuinely good to see in others. "Never a bad thing to not be above fixing a fence. Some people need that more than they need a monster slain."
Del clears a root with a light tap of the ball of her foot against the wood, pushing off of the trunk and back to the ground with nary a sound. "I believe he said something about it being an area by a lake, either a cave or a ruin. He wasn't overly specific when it came to the map, mostly because I think he had only heard about this area and hadn't seen it for himself. So, who knows, it could be in the lake at this point." Though she sincerely hoped not.
Though as they walked, the trees looked older, larger, stretched higher and higher into the canopy above them. A sacred part of the forest, to be sure. She raises a hand to touch a tree, pressing her palm into the bark. "This is an old place. I think we might be getting close."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 25, 2023 22:29:39 GMT -5
"Apparently he thought the volcanic woolful might have something special about their wool that made them more heat resistant....which I guess makes sense ya know? Wool is pretty thick so if they enjoy it out there then they must have something special going on.....Don't know if he ever found out, I think the basilisk chased him away before he could get a sample." Gerhart stifles a laugh thinking about that entire situation again. It was quite the strange scenario, but it helped him meet Cyran and now a new friend so it's not like it was all bad.
As Del talks about humility and staying humble he gets a sheepish smile on his face, thinking back to the conversation with Zarius. He did have a rising status in Moonglade....would he have to give up helping out the small villages and towns? That was a thought he wasn't prepared to have or process now. He only started really learning how to fight to do that....he didn't expect he'd ever be more than a simple folk knight. He shakes his head and refocuses as he looks over to Del.
Watching her move through the woods gave him a bit more confidence as they walked, she was not useless like the researcher thank Ginma. The small laugh and roll of the eyes is impossible to hide as she mentions the lack of details given.
"Seems to be how those guys operate, vague directions and few details." He paused a moment to look at some of the trees and surroundings. His ears gently twitched....water up ahead. "I think I can hear a stream up ahead, that might lead us to a lake. At the very least we can refill the waterskins."
Gerhart motions ahead with his head before making his way towards the sounds of water.
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 27, 2023 3:21:05 GMT -5
Del can't help but laugh at the mental image of a basilisk chasing a poor soul who just wanted a wool sample down a mountain, shaking her head again. Oh, the hubris. "He must have been pretty confident. Good thing you were able to find him and get him somewhere safe so he could ask folks like us to do the dangerous investigating. --Truthfully, I don't know why they tend to do that. Either it's because they do know what's there and they didn't want us to say no if it was too weird or dangerous, or, they don't know but don't want to admit that they don't know, so they're just vague about what they do know." She flashes Gerhart a smile, "If that sounds needlessly complicated, it's because it is."
When Gerhart stops, Del follows suit immediately, coming to a dead halt. Her awareness extends around her fully, trying to catch what Gerhart had apparently heard outside their immediate vision. Ah, he could hear some nearby water? She has to close her eyes to hear it, listening until the wind separates out and she can hear the burbling of the brook. "Good ears. Lead on, then." She nods appreciatively. "Do you spend a lot of time in the woods?"
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 27, 2023 16:03:18 GMT -5
"I do...or at least did, bit harder these days getting pulled around everywhere. Growing up near the woods and....often lacking coin meant learning to hunt and that meant learning not to make so much noise and listen....got the listening down, still working on being quiet."
He gives a little smirk and laugh as they walk. It really had been far too long since he'd really taken a walk through the woods like this. Sure, there was the patrol with Zarius but that forest was a little different, it didn't have the familiarity of other woods. The strange ashen plants and burnt looking trees were fascinating though. The Kingswood felt much more similar to Moonglade forest. The life was teeming here and the sounds more comforting.
True enough, they weren't wandering long before finding the stream. Gerhart knelt down to fill his waterskin, offering a hand back to Del to fill hers if need be. "What about yourself? You don't seem to be too uncomfortable out here."
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 29, 2023 3:40:12 GMT -5
Del chuckles softly, "I think you carry yourself quieter than most people, honestly. Your time in the woods around your home shows, you certainly seem like you know what you're doing in the forest." Looking around at their surroundings, the woods were pleasant. She knew better than to underestimate even such a 'typical' environment, but compared to the places she'd been lately, or the misty forests of the Crescent Isles, this was about as much of a storybook forest as one could get. But that also meant creatures and other strangeness was apt to lurk where it was older, ancient, removed from the normal world.
As they come to the stream, Del gratefully hands her waterskin out to Gerhart for him to refill. She takes a look around them as they take this quiet moment, thinking over the question asked of her. "Yes and no, I suppose. I spent a long swath of time in the past in the forest and travelling, and I tend to prefer camping in the woods when on the road, but I find it easier to manuvere when there are obstacles in my path. The forest has plenty of those, in my experience," a mild laugh leaves her as she keeps an eye on what is around them, just in case. "I spent a number of years in the Crescent Isles with my mentor. We were up in the mountains for much of that time, but that forest is quite different from this one."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 29, 2023 11:48:42 GMT -5
Gerhart takes a moment to stretch after hand Del a full waterskin, taking a small drink from his own before tying it back onto his belt as Del spoke. He nods as she speaks, knowing and sharing a few of those feelings especially just the life of travel in general.
"It is strange how each forest takes on its own life." He smiles as he looks to the Kingswood around them, turning to start walking and following the stream again. "Shadewood Forest has an...eerie calm to it. It's generally peaceful, but knowing the creatures that roam there sometimes the silence is scarier than hearing wolf howls or the growl of a displacer beast."
Gerhart laughs gently at that thought, being more afraid of the quiet than the noise, but for a local it made sense. It just felt strange to say out loud. He didn't know if Del understood the sentiment or not, but he wouldn't look back to check for fear of embarassing himself so he kept his eyes forward while they walked.
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 30, 2023 19:18:13 GMT -5
Accepting the waterskin with a quiet word of thanks, Del's brows do lift slightly at Gerhart's words. She does agree, certainly; silence in the forest was anathema to the whole function of the ecosystem, it was jarring and unnatural. Everything made noise, from the humming of winged insects, to birdsong, to angry squirrels, even the steady creak and groan of trees pushed by the wind, of plants growing. A quiet forest was either a dead one or one that was holding it's breath, trying not to be heard. To be caught out in the open in that situation was nothing short of terrifying. Del did understand it very well.
"I can't say I am overly familiar-- quiet within the wood is dangerous at best, I agree, especially when you are travelling alone. But what creatures are you referring to that would produce that sort of silence?"[/color] she asked. Del minds the stream as they walk, making sure to check behind and around them as they continue on their path at regular intervals. Gerhart seemed a little... nervous was perhaps not the correct word. Aprehensive, maybe, has he had broached that subject. "In my experience, that tends to happen more often around people than it does other creatures, unless they are of an unusual sort of nature."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 30, 2023 19:59:21 GMT -5
"I suppose it depends on how unusual you find werecreatures." He offers another short chuckle as he looks at some tracks. Deer...couple of them....would be good to hunt for dinner, but that would likely take them off course. "Shadewood is just a special place I guess is the best way to put it. It's hard to describe....Moonveil on the other hand, now there's a forest."
He grins back to her as they walked. It wasn't completely obvious he was trying to speed past talking about Shadewood, but it wasn't hard to guess. Gerhart was fortunate that they were coming up to a lake, which he gladly pointed out.
This section of the Kingswood certainly felt old. The bones of the forest grew larger here somehow, great oaks encircled the lake. A thin fog rolled over the water, a strange sight given the temperature. A couple of ruined buildings seemed to be swallowed up by the forest, lost to time.
In the middle of the lake sat a small unassuming island.
"So....how much you wanna bet the door is on that island and not actually just in one of these buildings?"
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Feb 1, 2023 18:24:07 GMT -5
"Mmm." Del nods a slow understanding. "Personally, not unusual at all, although not common, and many are, ah. Not the kindest."[/color] Which was putting it mildly, but Del was watching Gerhart carefully. She wasn't quite sure where she was getting the trepidatious sense from regarding him-- it wasn't from her, though, it seemed to come from him. Like he was skirting something. She paid close mind to that, dropping it for a moment as they came up on the lake. Del grimaced.
The age of this place tickled the back of her mind in an uncomfortable way. She did not know what it meant, but it was a familiar feeling she had gotten when she and Fish had explored the ruins in Zeinav. The gravity of history was heavy here, and it felt as though it had been waiting.
"Well. It certainly is majestic," She commented, laughing quietly at Gerhart's supposition, "I think you're right on the money. Maybe we can glance through some of these ruins on the side on the way back, see if there's any extra reliefs we can take. But for now, how do you propose we get across?" She gives the younger man a sheepish look. "I am, ah. Not exactly the best swimmer."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Feb 1, 2023 19:32:28 GMT -5
"How comfortable are you at being carried?" Gerhart couldn't help but grin as large draconic wings unfurled from his cuirass after a small crackle of lightning, a gentle rumble of thunder eminating out as they flick out to their full size.
He offers his back to carry her piggyback style over the water. It was a choice between swimming or being carried for a very short distance, Gerhart would wait patiently for her decision. The trip truly didn't take long, the lake was not as wide as it seemed at first. Del is either put down as quickly as possible or helped out of the water.
"What was the riddle he gave for finding the actual entrance? Find me in the center of where nature flows....something something....crows? Do we look for crows? Ginma's blessings, I should've written it down."
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Feb 3, 2023 17:16:10 GMT -5
She's looking out at the water for a moment, contemplating her options. Del grimaces at the offer, but it was better than being in the water and swimming, so she swallows her pride-- and then blinks as wings suddenly unfurl from Gerhart's back, thunder crackling across their membranes.
"Oh. Ah. You have wings?" That was unexpected, to say the least. "--Thank you for offering," she inclines her head slightly, trying to be graceful about it, as she takes the offer for the piggy back ride. Trying not to think about how she was (probably) old enough to be this young man's grandmother five times over, and the indignity of it all, but it would be much more undignified if she drowned. Pros and cons.
She disembarks quickly once they touch the ground, brushing off her pant legs, and looking around. "I appreciate the assistance getting here, really. I would probably still be on the other shore." She chuckles softly, looking back at the water with a furrowed brow for a moment before returning to Gerhart. It takes her a few seconds to remember. "I think it went; 'Find me in the centre of where nature flows, Weighted and dreaming, with blackest of crows.'
Her gaze shifts to the ruins before them, lips pressed together in a fine line. There was an energy in the air she couldn't quite place that was thicker, heavier than it was before they had crossed the lake.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Feb 4, 2023 16:09:02 GMT -5
"Not for long I don't." He gives a little smirk, they have plenty of time to get to the other side but shortly after landing the wings dissipate into a gentle static. "That's that for the day, but it should be ok....so long as we don't fall."
He nods at the thanks and is happy to move past it for Del's sake. He knew all to well about pressing topics that seemed more sensitive to a person. There were a handful of situations that would make him feel the same.
As she rattles off the rest of the riddle, he puts his hands on his hips. Stupid puzzles and riddles. Why couldn't any of these old bastards just like hide it in like a really cool urn? Or fancy bowl? No gotta be behind riddles and traps.
During this fussing, he does spot something. A tall tower on the other end of the lake. Much of the structure had crumbled, but a large stained glass window with a crow in the middle. The few bits of a light it caught flickered across the water.
"Wait...is that it? What if the shadow tells us where it is? We just gotta wait for the sun to move into place."
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