SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Hearth and Home

Participants: Two or more

Location: Dragon's Cradle, (Hearthside Village)

Post Requirements: 4 post per person, 200 words per post

Reward: +1 Renown

Description: A new village is being constructed on the border between Dragon's Cradle and Zeinav and the region is in need of helping hands. Due to the increased flow of people fleeing the Ash Lands, Dragon's Cradle has become a hub for refugees and has decided to put their resources to good use, building a new village to further increase the region's economy and social standing with their neighbors to the south. An open call has been issued to anyone who would like to help out. Things like constructing buildings, stables or fences, the digging of trenches or wells and collecting supplies like lumber or food are all task that are in need of assistance. Whatever you have to offer, Hearthside Village will accept!

Aagha had decided for this mission to begin the trek to Hearthside village early in the morning. The sun had managed to just creep over the horizon of the foggy land. Thankfully, the currently low light wasn't an issue due to Boromir being bright and casting light around himself. In the dark they were like a beacon moving forward towards the makeshift village in order to assist in its' establishment. He had chosen to provide food for the village today. He quickly rolled out his beast scroll and from it launched Ignis, his hell hound companion. The earthen beast with fire flaring through cracks and bits of it's body let out a loud howl as it ran beside Boromir and Cane.

"Bah! Must you be so loud?! Fine! I will be louder!" With that, the red wolf took in a deep breath and let forth it's own gorgeous howl that carried through the area. "Shh! shh! You two are going to wake up the entire village if we get too much closer and you announce our presence like that! Not to mention we will have to make our rounds trying to find animals in this area!" The boy chuckled and then pulled his hood down as the sun continued to rise. He wasn't aiming to scare the villagers with his cloak and mask. He pulled the mask from his tan face as well and ran his fingers through his hair making sure it wouldn't be too wild for his first meeting with these people.

It wasn't long before the trio finally made it to the village to check in and let some officials know they were present and of the task they had been assigned for the day. The official nodded and waved them off to be on about their business mentioning that there could be others who had gathered to assist with the collection of food and wood just as Aagha had. The boy dismounted from his dawn lion, several people staring in awe at the creatures and Aagha. As he got down, he was met happily by ignis who was padding about the soft ground proudly. "Ah yes the hunt! But no hunt will be as glorious as.." Aagha sent a look at Ignis and this shushed him. "It's true!" The second message brought forth a smile from the boy, though a soft one. He reached a hand out patting Ignis gently atop the head. His show of affection for the one creature brought Cane and Boromir closer to him as well and soon he found himself taking turns with gentle pats and rubs on each of them.

"Today, remember. We must not rip prey limb from limb. As attached and whole as possible for the sake of cooking and feeding others! Don't forget." He leaned against the bright lion, pulling at his tan clothes a bit in his best attempt to make sure he didn't look unbearably wrinkled or like he didn't take care of himself. "There is no need to worry Aagha. We each know why we are here. We will take care today with our hunt to make sure these villagers, workers, and officials have a bountiful feast ahead of them! Will you be cooking too?" Aagha nodded and this brought even the lion's tail to sway in excitement. "A glorious feast indeed!"

The past couple of weeks had been quite the time for one as new to the world as Videl. He had managed to encounter a variety of monsters and beasts, and even made a few acquaintances along the way. Perhaps even a friend or two! Even with all of that said though, this was his biggest trial yet. For the first time in his life, he had managed to escape from the wintery confines of the Frost Gale. No longer was he beaten down by the torrential winds and snowfall of his home. Instead he was faced with rolling thunder, heavy rain fall and frequent lightning strikes. Honestly, was there no such thing as peaceful weather in this world? Or did he honestly just have the worst of luck?

Whether the weather was actively working against him or not, for the first half of his journey, it didn't seem to be that troublesome of an issue today. Perhaps this was due to the fact that he was closing in on the supposed desert of Zeinav? Videl had never seen a desert so he honestly wasn't all that certain of whether or not it had anything to do with the decrease in hazardous weather activities, but until proven otherwise he was sure that this was it.

Much like every other day, since he had departed from his tribe, today was one of new challenges for Videl. At the behest of a scientist named Lloyd, the T'saya had decided to venture out into the world to try and gain a new understanding of things. Helping a few people along the way was the easiest way to get them to give one information and as such, Videl had ultimately found himself entering a village that was in the process of being built. It was this village that would set the precedent for how Videl had viewed the world outside of Frost Gale so he had rather high hopes.

It took a bit of time but eventually Videl would find himself within the confines of this village's boundary. He had learned of the intent behind the creation of this village from one of the inhabitants and decided to help out. While he could always assist in the transportation of goods, given his capability of increasing his mobility, Videl had bowed out of that particular section of work. His core strength hadn't been all that great and he was worried that he might mess things up. It would be much better for him to focus on doing what he was capable of and as such, he had decided to assist in the acquiring of food.

With the directions that one of the local workers had given him, Videl had made his way on over towards the group that was assigned to this particular task. There weren't too many others that had really stood out amongst the group, most of these individuals being your average tradesman, but there was one individual in particular that had caught the eye of the T'saya. A man with floofy brown hair that had seemingly been communicating with a trio of exotic animals. Some the likes of which he had never seen. From what he could guess, there was some kind of dog, a wolf, and a rather large feline?

Given the rather friendly nature that the man ahead of him had held with these creatures, Videl had opted to approach him. As he had done so, he would offer the man a bright smile and a curt wave. "Well hey there! I take it that you're here for food acquisition as well?" A large part of him wanted to ask if the dogs were here to assist in gathering sticks but he had managed to keep that part to himself. "I'm Videl. Fairly certain that we'll be working together."

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Action Type
- N/A

Active Items
- N/A

Active Passives
- Frozen Solid: A very unique gland that is frozen and iced over, installed in the body, causing the user to feel very cold to the touch. This graft will allow the user to not be bothered by non magical warmth or heat, and will constantly give off a small aura of cold around their body. This cold is not enough to deal damage, but can be uncomfortable if exposed to for an extended amount of time.

Recharge Tracking
- N/A

Aagha was taken aback a moment. He stepped back, but Boromir was there right behind him with a gentle gutteral growl of sorts. "Aagha, you truly must get used to being around others a little easier.I was hoping the festival would help, but you're still so shy young one." With the Dawn Lion speaking so directly to him, he gulped softly and a soft blush had just barely touched his cheeks. He held out a hand to the other, though it did seem a bit weak. "It's a pleasure to m-meet you." Aagha was a bit soft spoken, but his annunciations were clear and thorough. "M-My name is Aagha. Aagha Iniliti. I will be hunting, cooking, and gathering fire wood for the day with my companions here as well."

Boromir was the first to proudly step forward. The dawn lion was a massive creature that shined with the light of early morning. He bowed politely. "This is Boromir, the d-dawn lion." The Lion then stepped back. He was a large creature and it was clear out of all of them this creature was definitely a mount. The next to step forward was the red wolf who's tail wagged expectedly, and around his neck was a small bell that jingled about as he moved. "This one is Cane." The red wolf let out a howl but as Aagha placed a hand on the top of his head he quickly simmered down. He stepped back but was sniffing the ground already clearly itching to hunt. The last to step forward was the hell hound. It made it's way forward and stood proudly like the lion, though it was smaller. The fire within it's stone flesh glowed softly and it's tail wagged back and forth. "Finally this is Ignis." Once Aagha had stopped speaking about himself, a clear shift in comfort was very noticeable. Perhaps even as he introduced the animals a bit of pride and excitement were present as he properly introduced his Trio to the new comer.

"We're all looking forward to working with you Videl." Aagha still had a soft blush, but his words were at least losing their timid stutter as he spoke and he seemed much less hesitant to respond and communicate now that the most difficult part of the entire thing had been done. "I specialize in tracking as well as hunting by bow.. and according to these three I can cook pretty well over open fire, but I guess today is when I really put that to the test. I've never really made a meal for anyone else.." Aagha ran his hand along the side of his head through his hair and let out a soft nervous laugh as the hand ended on the back of his neck seeming to squeeze slightly. "Hopefully I won't disappoint."

Videl's smile would hold strong as he had continued to close the distance between himself and the animal tamer. "Aagha, huh? That's a rather nice name that you've got there! So you've got talent, friends, and a cool name. I've got to say, I'm pretty jealous." A soft laugh would escape from the man as he had turned his gaze towards the three creatures that had stood beside Aagha. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you and your friends are capable of. When it comes to the talents that I possess, out of those that would be useful in this regard anyways, I suppose that you could say I'm only good at hunting."

As Boromir, Cane, and Ignis had all stepped up, Videl couldn't help but allow for his smile to grow ever brighter. This was his first time encountering animals of such breeds, as well as the first time that he had gotten the chance to interact with such beasts without having to hunt or survey them. It was rather refreshing to be able to encounter them in such a manner. The only creature that he might have had a bit of distance with would have been Ignis and that was simply due to a difference in biology. Ignis, the hellhound, held a deep fire within it's very core whilst Videl had held the opposite. A frozen gland that had emitted cold. Biologically, the two were essentially polar opposites.

Even with that brief bit of distance that Videl had kept from the hell hound, the man himself had still rather enjoyed meeting each of the beasts in addition to their owner. Or companion. Whatever exactly it was that Aagha had considered themself to be. "I'll be sure to remember each of your names to the best of my ability. Aagha, Boromir, Cane, and Ignis." In the next instant, the pair would find themselves further discussing their talents. Once it turned back towards Videl's own turn to speak, he would reach into the air and call forth a spike of ice that was large enough to be a spear ^{[Ice Spike]}. "With your bow and my ice spikes, I'm sure that we'll be at the top of the hunting unit." Another laugh would pour forth from the mans lips as he had shoved the spike into the ground, ultimately causing it to shatter and leave a chunk of ice in the ground. "Looking forward to your cooking as well."

Aagha watched in fascination as out from thin air crystalized the ice spear. He was absolutely mesmerized for a moment. "M-Magic!" Aagha hadn't truly had the opportunity to observe others up close during the most recent happening. Seeing magic casted right next to him was absolutely amazing. His eyes shined with the wonder of a small child who had just been given a brand new toy or blanket. He stared at the magic, but it was merely out of wonder rather than analysis or curiosity. After a moment he managed to bring himself back under control. "Sorry.. I.. that's amazing. I can't do it myself you know. I seem to have some sort of call to it, but the one who was intended to show me the path is gone from this place now. He seemed to have a calling muh higher than I alone." Aagha hugged himself a bit, the light blush from before had returned but was now a deepened red on his softly tanned skin. "I think it's amazing you know. Simple magic even. The entire process of it to me is fascinating, but I just don't have any innate talent. It's okay though. I've found I'm good with other things." He motioned to his beasts and the bow on his back.

"Well.. if you don't mind.. we can take Boromir here out a ways from the village. Thirty kilometers should probably be far enough to start picking up some medium or small game." With that said, neither cane nor ignis bothered to wait any longer. They began their trek out playfully seeming to sprint forward and around one another. After a few moments, one would gently trip or leap over the other, then the same would happen again except this time it would be the opposite. The two had clearly formed some sort of bond after their last encounter. It seemed that perhaps rather than battling for alpha the two of them now understood each was equally important under different circumstance. This playfulness was something that elicited a happy sigh from Aagha as he watched and a series of grunts that would perhaps be a soft chuckle from the grand dawn lion.

"My oh my how they have changed. It is much better this way Aagha." To the series of grunts, Aagha merely nodded. "Indeed. They were getting a little overwhelming even for me." With this, Boromir dropped himself lower to the ground, though only slightly. Aagha was clearly used to mounting at the higher height, but it was perhaps in better interest for the dawn lion to lower himself for the new rider unsure if they had any prior experience. In addition to this, Aagha held out a hand toward the other ride. "Come up now if you will. Close to me, arms around my waist or chest if it doesn't make you too uncomfortable. If you don't want to hold onto me that is fine, but be warned Boromir is a bit rough around the edges compared to most mounts. His previous rider was... impetuous." Hearing the final word brought yet another series of noises from the lion. Impetuous was... accurate to say the least.

Whilst Videl himself hadn't thought this to be a feat worthy of praise, he had still found himself rather touched by the fact that someone had been in awe of his magic. Back home, in the Frost Gale, there were far too many people that had made use of this kind of magic. Being complimented on his use of it.. Well it was close to the first time that this had happened.

Taking more pride in his abilities than ever before, Videl would find himself positively beaming. "Well I appreciate the interest! I'd be willing to lay out the basics for you in the future, if you'd like, but I'm not sure how great of a teacher I am." He would then gesture towards Aagha's animals. "As you said though, you've managed to find your own talent. It's certainly something to be proud of. Honestly, I'm not sure I could ever replicate such a relationship with an animal. I barely know how to interact with people to such a degree." A soft laugh would escape from the mans lips as he had allowed Aagha to continue the conversation.

The conversation would eventually lead back to the reason that they had been here, thus prompting Videl to return his focus to the task at hand. It had become apparent that Aagha and his companions had been ready to venture out in search of game and Videl had been quick on the uptake. Once Boromir had begun to lower himself and Aagha had offered him a ride, Videl would gratefully accept. "I can ride with you..? Really? Thanks!" Without a second thought, Videl would grab ahold of Aagha's hand and allow for himself to be pulled upon the back of the dawn lion. Much like Aagha had suggested, Videl would wrap his arms around the waist of the man before him, thinking nothing of it. "This is my first time riding on the back of anything so I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes."

Aagha grabbed hold of the other's hand and pulled up the best he could. It was enough to assist the other up. "I would be thrilled for the help, but last I checked sky domain seems to be my most responsive magic type." Aagha let out a bit of a sigh with that. He wished he could create arrows of ice like those spears. It would make it much more proficient than carrying a lot of ammo with him all over the place. He was quite pleased that the other seemed to be receiving his compliments well. Once the arms were wrapped around him as he suggested, Boromir began a trot. It was enough for the other to get used to the up and down motion if necessary. This pace kept a minute at best before finally the trot turned into more of a jog for the lion. This pace would last for a minute as the ride got a bit rougher, then finally, an outright sprint began as the beast put distance between them and the village. The wind whipped about them and the soft sprinkle of rain felt decent enough, but while mobile the drops were more like being pelted on not so gently. This didn't seem to bother Aagha in the slightest as in truth he had become very used to it.

After around ten minutes or so, Boromir slowed and then finally came to a stop. The wolf and hellhound already were sniffing about the edge of the woods and very gently padding about looking for tracks. Aagha would then slide down from the lion once Videl released his hold. Once his feet touched the ground, Boromir dropped down once again to make Videl's life a bit easier. Aagha had already turned to the woods. He watched the thin forest carefully. He shut his eyes after a moment and listened. The world slowed for him. He sniffed the air. There was game not too far from them now. They would have to be careful. "Ignis you should be okay to head through these woods without issue. This soft rain seems constant here. I doubt you'll accidentally set anything on fire." With that, Ignis approached into brush a bit more liberally than he had previously. "Cane head west let ignis head east. I think I heard some smaller prey. I'll begin to walk through the forest looking for actual tracks. If I find anything I'll call as usual to each of you. Make sure to pick up some kindling and sticks too as you're going around. I'll be the one primarily searching for tracks. Boromir try to stay on the forest edge, but you can pick up loose sticks too. I'm afraid your light will put a lot of things on high alert here. We want this to go smoothly as possible."

With that, the group began to do as was asked of them. Aagha would wait for Videl before heading into the woods in search of tracks. He would begin carefully observing small gathering puddles and the various point of wet ground. In addition, he would look carefully at the bark of trees and the plants around. There were very minor disturbances from creatures, but nothing in particular stood out quite yet.

Videl would find himself nodding along as Aagha had spoke about the magic that he was more inclined to make use of. From his understanding, Sky Domain magic had consisted of both wind magic and lightning magic. Each of which had made a modicum of sense for Aagha to make use of. Amongst the wealth of magic types, the Sky Domain had seemed most suited to an archer. "The Sky Domain, huh? I don't know many people that make use of such magics but I'm sure that the concept is relatively similar. It's just about understanding your element."

It wouldn't take long for Boromir to take off towards the forest once the two were situated upon him. Thankfully the dawn lion had taken its time to build up its pace, so as to acclimate Videl to being a rider. This was something that Videl had been rather thankful of, considering the fact that he had never properly rode upon another before. Of course Videl had also felt rather anxious as the three had made their way towards the forest edge. His body was constantly emitting an aura of cold after all and such an aura was quite likely pushing down onto the dawn lion and its rider.

Once the trio had arrived at their destination, Aagha and Videl would dismount. Aagha had proceeded to lay out several commands to his beastly companions, all of which had been a rather impressive display for the T'saya. 'This is my first time seeing an outsider take charge of such beasts before. I've got to say that I'm rather in awe of his abilities. He shall be a strong ally in the future, if I can maintain a relationship.' "I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together, Aagha."

Whilst there was a plethora of knowledge that Videl had pertaining to forests and tracking as a whole, he unfortunately wasn't going to be of much use in this particular area of the world. What he had known had more strictly been defined by the wintery wonderland that had been known as the Frost Gale. That having been the case, Videl couldn't do much else aside from stand aside and see what Aagha had been trying to do. Aside from that, he would prepare for the inevitable hunt by calling forth another icy weapon like he had before ^{[Ice Spike]}. At least this way he would be of use.

After some time, Aagha finally found something. He found some woolful tracks. It wasn't uncommon anywhere in Charon to find the creature. It cooked quite well into stews or over open flame with some vegetables. As Aagha began to take note of these tracks he began to observe the foliage more. There had indeed been multiple woolful. The tracks weren't too fresh, but perhaps there would be evidence close enough to them that they could find more yet. Aagha whistled a high whistle and this brought bothCaneand Ignis to him after some time. They both sniffed at the tracks excitedly, sniffed at the air, sniffed at the trees and light brush. They had already gathered some sticks and the like and taken them to Boromir. Aagha was continuing to observe when he spotted tracks of something a bit more dangerous.

"Oh my, it appears we may be dealing with not just woolful, but.. Aven too. My oh my if we could manage to catch an Aven or two we could have quite the feast.." Boromir had heard Aven and it was enough to bring him closer to them and for he too to begin sniffing about. The three animals in Aagha's command began to sprint about in different directions looking for more tracks and possibly evidence of other animals. The large mount pack given to Boromir for the sake of holding sticks was getting near full. It was time for them to actually hunt.

Aagha drew his bow and an arrow, not knocking yet, but keeping his eyes peeled along the tree line. Bold Aven often would attempt to catch prey off guard the best they could and for these light woods, that would most certainly be to strike from above. Aagha stopped when he saw something falling from the tree tops. He wasn't quite sure what it was from so far away but for some reason the way it fluttered as it fell made him uneasy, only for him to realize it was in fact a feather. This brought the arrow to be pulled back on his string. His animals were still dashing about listening and smelling. It was possible the rain had made it difficult for them to pick up the scents well. He gulped slightly, but nothing was happening yet.

"Aven and Woolful, huh?" From what Videl had known about the two, it was going to be an overall interesting moment when they had come to blows. Albeit reluctance had painted the T'saya's face as he brought his gaze down towards the tracks. "I'm all for taking on a couple of Aven and bringing them in for the villagers to feast upon but Woolful..? They are noted to be emissaries of Ginma, and quite frankly, I'm not sure how to feel about bringing down the emissaries of the earth domain god."

If the rumors were true however, about the gods having been killed off quite a long time ago, then his worries would be completely unfounded. Given his stringent belief in the fact that they might be alive though? Well the whole situation was enough to cause a tightness in the mans chest. "Let us focus on the Aven for the time being. If nothing else, they can provide a wider array of meal options and supply." He would proceed to lift his ice spear at this point, his reluctance becoming less noticeable. "And I know it sounds a bit full of myself but it's more fun to take on an aerial martial artist of sorts!"

Following after Aagha, Videlvi would attempt to keep low to the ground. His clothing had likely been a dead giveaway for where he had been, if one were searching from on high, but that wasn't something that the T'saya had even considered in this forested region. It was then that the pair would find themselves in waiting, curious as to where a feather had fallen from. Nothing was happening in this particular moment but.. Videl wasn't going to just wait around.

Seeing that Aagha had been keeping a firm grasp on his bow, Videl would whisper to the man. "I'm going to try and get a better vantage of what's above. Hopefully I can draw in the attention of anything that might be flying overhead. If anything starts to charge towards me.. Well I am trusting you to bring it down." He would then offer Aagha a firm nod before applying a thin coat of ice to his skin ^{[Frost Web]}. As quickly as the ice had formed, Videl would pull the ice from his very form and it would coalesce into a sticky substance that had held firmly upon his left hand. Using this substance, Videl would start to climb up a nearby tree, with a bit of a struggle considering his right hand still held the ice spike.