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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Oct 21, 2023 2:35:31 GMT -5
Sylvari peered out from behind a twisting tree, heaving a sigh of annoyance at her creeping progress. She was on a mission to rescue a group of Woolfuls that had escaped their enclosure. To this point, the mission had involved a lot of plant trimming, as Sylvari used her eldritch claws to tear away the myriad vines and bushes that seemed intent to bar her path. Judging by the green chlorophyll stains on her darkened plate, Sylvari noted with distaste, she was met with middling success. She looked back to her partner on this mission, as he trailed in her destructive wake. She sighed internally, noting the difference between their garb: her armor had been defaced and caked with greenery and earth, while his was as spick and span as it had been when they met back in the city. Raoul. She had a hard time getting his measure. He was usually very cheerful and talkative, but at times he grew reserved, contemplative. One could almost see the intellectual acuity of his mind working in the silence that was juxtaposed against his normal extraversion. She almost felt sorry to break his quiet concentration when she spoke up to him. " Have you got any ideas where the herd might have gotten to? I'll admit, animal tending isn't in my normal repertoire." Quest Name: A Wool Full
Participants: Two or more
Location: Anywhere
Post Requirements: 4 post per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown
Description: A small group of Woolful (3-6) have found themselves stuck in a dire situation. Maybe they are stuck in a recently opened fissure, or at risk of drowning in a flooded area. Maybe some hostile predator is hunting them, or maybe they are just lost, regardless of what is causing them danger, they need your help. Be careful, Woolful are easily spooked off and are already terrified. Do what you can to rescue the little creatures before nature, or something worse, claims them.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Oct 22, 2023 3:06:10 GMT -5
Raoul’s mind was occupied by the task at hand, his fingers on his lips as he thought, “Group of woolfuls missing, have to capture and return to farmer Solfin and his family of seven so they have enough wool to sell. Woolfuls are tricky little fellows so this might be hard, have to have them back before dark since it’ll be harder and unlikelier that they’d still be alive”.
Raoul himself started the day out with a simple stroll along Eclipse City when he saw a post looking for someone to help find their woolfuls. The dhampir man, stubborn and kind to a fault, decided to bite and followed the quest of the farmer fellow who told his tragic tale on the flier. That moment he decided he’d help and came across another person the older man had gotten to help an ethereal-looking knight woman named Sylvari. He kept thinking, writing small mental notes about where they could be. He knew these woods well, having to scavenge and survive her during his childhood. He simply followed behind the nature-destroying knight deep in thought.
His concentration was broken as he heard the destructive woman’s voice, he shook his head focusing his attention on her as he looked over to her eyes with a faint smile and said, “Hmm, I have a couple of ideas knowing this area, there is a small pond area wild animals like to gather around, a small clearing should be around her as well, but to be honest they could be anywhere really so we’ll have to keep our eyes open”.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Oct 22, 2023 20:37:34 GMT -5
Sylvari nodded, smiling at Raoul's geographical knowledge. It seemed to her as good a place as any to start, as even someone as novice in tracking as Sylvari knew that a drinking source was the likeliest place to find all sorts of creatures.
"A watering pond sounds as good a place to start as any, darling. Well done."
Following Raoul's pointed directions, the armored justiciar began making her way towards their destination, relieved to be free of the grasping vines at last. It was a beautiful day, and the verdant jungles and pervasive depth of nature of Moonglade made Sylvari think of home, back in the Crescent Isles.
A familiar longing made her heart ache, her constant companion since her exile over a year ago. The pain and betrayal in her comrades' eyes were still fresh in her mind as the day she was banished, and their gazes haunted her dreams each night she slept. Sylvari was grateful her new vampiric nature obviated her from nightly rest.
After she and Raoul crested a nearby hill, Sylvari caught sight of a little pond in the adjoining valley. No Woolfuls could be seen from her current vantage, but a sizable portion of the tiny lake was obscured by a heavy wood that ran alongside its eastern edge. Gods willing, the creatures are just beyond those trees.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Oct 23, 2023 3:39:47 GMT -5
Raoul faintly melts at the woman’s compliment and says, “Thanks dear I did live around here during my childhood so not knowing about this place would be like betraying my roots”.
Raoul then took charge of guiding the pair to a good vantage point and everything looked exactly as it did many years ago, ethereal and beautiful.
Raoul sat down on the meadow on a verdant hill next to Sylvari, eyes sharpened with a slight pained look as he tapped his fingers over his lips, a common habit of his as he entered a state of remembrance for times long ago. Being here was like reliving his childhood all over again, as he walked through the wild brush he felt as if he was still that starving child scavenging and surviving using the forest as his home away from humans. He’d come a long way from that day, that dreaded day when it all happened: his mother’s passing, the mob’s destruction of his house, and his no good excuse for his father’s meaningless apologies. It made his heart hurt as he looked down to the grass, “To think I’ve come so far yet I feel like I haven’t even moved an inch from who I was. No matter how far I go and how much work I put into things I’ll always be that starving child wanting more for himself”, he thought quietly lost in his mind.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Oct 23, 2023 6:44:28 GMT -5
She might have missed it in the exchange of pleasantries, had Sylvari not been keenly aware of her own sorrow, but she saw a glint of longstanding hurt in her companion's eyes as he led them to a good vantage point and sat down. She came and sat next to him, a little closer than their status as acquaintances would warrant, to provide some comfort by proximity.
She idly twirled a strand of grass as she looked out over the beautiful lake in the heart of nature. Here the pair were, in arguably the most beautiful place in the world, and only the heaviness of their respective pain weighed in their hearts. She wished she had something to say to him, some comforting words that might ease his burden, if only a little. You would have known what to say, Mom. You always made things better.
She was not her mother: she didn't have that divine gift of knowing exactly what to say to lift a person's spirits, but she also was unable to sit by and do nothing. She raised a tentative hand to Raoul's arm, her touch light as it was uncertain, as if he was a wild animal that would flee at the slightest provocation.
"No matter how far we go, how wide our range of journey, it seems we always have a bit of our childhood within us. Surely, the pain we've felt can be mixed with a unique joy at bringing our piece of home with us wherever we go. We can share that with others who need it and strengthen each other by the best of each of us."
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Oct 23, 2023 10:19:26 GMT -5
Raoul’s focus on his mental suffering quickly ended as he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He wanted to reel away from the armored woman in panic but not wanting to let his cool mask slip he let Sylvari touch him.
Her touch made him feel better as his expression softened and he glanced into her eyes a dark look on his face as she peered into his soul as he played back her words in his head.
“You’re right the past holds us in its grasp ever tightly gripping our decisions and behaviors. Joy and pain go together hand in hand, that's what it means to be truly alive, doesn't it?”.
He then stands up and shakes his head shifting his focus, “Sorry about that, you don’t need to worry about me”, and looks over the lake ahead and says, “Alright we should get going”, in a brisk tone of voice trying to move on from what just happened.
He walked with Sylvari at his side and settled at the lake as ethereal and mysterious as it had in his youth. He glanced around searching for any signs of an animal before spotting a faint pink-wooled creature stuck between some bushes bailing for someone to help it.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Oct 23, 2023 11:16:28 GMT -5
Sylvari's lips parted in a marked frown, thoroughly unconvinced by Raoul's assurances, but she was in no position to press him. Offering help where it's not wanted is only a hindrance. Perhaps he will be more open to talking later. Sylvari merely rose from her seat to follow Raoul around the lake's edge, struck again by its pervasive beauty.
As the pair walked, Sylvari perked up at the sound of bleating to see a pink Woolful caught in a briar bush, its piteous cries relaying the creature's frustration. Sylvari smiled despite herself at the slight ridiculousness of the situation. She was surely relieved that at least this creature was otherwise unharmed and hoped the rest of the herd was similarly indisposed.
"Well, it looks like we've found the first, not much worse for wear. Shall we release it?"
Sylvari readied writhing black eldritch claws [Eldritch Claws] that manifested over her gauntleted fingers to slash apart the briar that held the poor creature, waiting on Raoul assent. There was an argument to be made to leave the creature alone while they searched for the others. Sylvari certainly was not possessed of any skill in animal herding, and she was already thinking how they might best corral the creatures back homeward.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Oct 23, 2023 17:23:09 GMT -5
Raoul’s good was slightly improved as he saw the curious sight before him as he walked to observe the stuck baaing creature.
“Yes, it seems we’ve found it poor little fellow, who knows how long it’s been here”, he then waited and looked over as Sylvari armed herself with long black claws ready to tear apart the brush containing the poor imprisoned woolful.
He stepped aside and behind her as he said, “Go ahead friend, tear it apart, we wouldn't want to leave this poor little guy trapped any longer, would we?”.
As Sylvari tore apart the little fellow from its trap it scurried towards them tackling Raoul and knocking him over to the ground. He quickly sits up as the woolful lies in his lap excitedly licking his face; he can only just manage a genuine smile as he pushes it off and stands back up. He pets the little fluffy fellow as he scratches his chin contemplating their next move.
He looks over to Sylvari, “I guess this little fellow is taken with me so no need to worry about him running away. Hopefully he can help us find his siblings while we continue to look?”.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Oct 23, 2023 20:43:14 GMT -5
Sylvari smiled, happy to see Raoul pulled out of the mire of his melancholy by the eager animal. As soon as it was freed of its bonds, it immediately bowled her companion over and began crying out in joy. She was glad that the Woolful seemed to have taken a liking to Raoul, obviating the use of a lead that they would need to fashion.
"Well, that's one down and eleven left, by my count. With any luck the others won't be very far: they are herd animals, after all."
Sylvari waited for her partner to regain his footing and made sure the little lamb followed Raoul before setting off once again, deeper into the hollow, where the moisture of the air had made the terrain muddy, revealing cloven-hoofed footprints. The winding path eventually ended in a small cave, where bleating could be heard.
"Seems the gods have favored us today, my dear. Let's go collect our quarry and return them home." As Sylvari and Raoul entered the cave, the Woolfuls were easily seen all milling about, nibbling at the small sprigs of moss that grow in the lit corners.
She began to move to usher them out, when she heard a threatening growl of a predator. She turned slowly to see a massive brown bear, eyeing the pair of them warily and the herd of fluffy creatures hungrily. Sylvari immediately rolled into a defensive stance, flinging out her shield in an instant to interpose herself between the bear and those in her care.
Something's wrong. I can sense a flux of arcana from this bear [Chaos Touched]. This is no normal creature...
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Oct 24, 2023 3:06:44 GMT -5
Raoul still has a faint smile as he responds to Sylvari’s comment, “Eleven to go, doesn’t seem that terrible if they’re all gonna be as friendly and as easy to spot as this little guy”, he says reaching down again to pet the woolful that is snuggling against his right leg.
After petting him for another second he followed behind Sylvari eyes looking sharp as he went deeper into the ethereal verdant forest.
He immediately crouched down as he saw the muddied hoofed footprints, “Obviously this has to be some of the woolfuls tracks, now let’s see how many can i count, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10. At least ten of these little guys went this way”, he thought to himself as he stood back up continuing to make his way behind Sylvari into the small cavern where the cries of an animal could be heard baaing for help.
His eyes looked around, something was off, he held his finger in the air feeling that there was something mysterious about this whole thing.
He tried to push this instinct to the side thinking, “There’s no way a simple woolful catching assignment would be any sort of unnerving, it’s probably just my imagination”, he then entered the cave side by side with Sylvari with the little woolful behind his leg.
His eyes shoot open as he spots a large bear snarling and roaring with the rest of the woolfuls behind him. He quickly takes out his shimmering scorpion blade and cracks his whip and changes it into a large thorny whip.
He smirks as he cracks his whips on the cavern floor, "Alright Sylvi looks like we gotta get through Mr. Big Tall and Ugly to get the rest of these little guys home, shouldn’t be too much of a problem even if you say he’s filled with arcane energy”.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Oct 24, 2023 11:37:27 GMT -5
Sylvari flicked her gaze to the side, giving Raoul a curt nod before returning her eyes to the predator before them.
So Raoul sensed it too. Seems it wasn't my imagination: there's something different about this bear.
As a test, Sylvari lifted a finger from her grip on her warhammer, pointing it toward the bear. "Slay," she intoned under her breath, as a crackling beam of purple-black energy shot out at blinding speed from her pointed gesture to her target [Chaos Bolt]. To her expected dismay, the attack broke across the bear's chest like a river over a boulder, the energy dispersing harmlessly around it. Hells, it seems to resist base magic. Perhaps a stronger spell, but my hammer is a simpler path.
Sylvari clicked her tongue in annoyance as the bear roared and charged, only able to utter a quick sentence to her partner before it was upon them. "Low level magic has no effect on it! Martial weapons are the way to go, unless you have an unexpected arcane mastery in your back pocket!"
Of course, Sylvari did, but she wasn't eager to show that side of her, especially as she hadn't finished mastering her new swelling of magic.
She got into a combat stance, and braced the brunt of the bear's charge upon her shield [Shield Hit Preventions 1/3], holding steadfast in her footing despite the massive size differential [Knight, Immovable Bastion], as she rebuffed its advance. She launched twin shouts, one to bolster herself and Raoul [Knight, Battle Cry], and one to keep the creature's attention on her as they attacked [Knight, Challenging Mark], a provocation she was sure was successful given the murderous look in the beast's eyes.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Oct 25, 2023 2:32:14 GMT -5
Raoul’s eyes widened as he saw that the beam of black magical energy that Sylvari shot at the bear was simply phased through it, almost bouncing off its coat.
He smirked slightly, a little nervous about fighting not only a bear but a magical bear at that. He was not particularly skilled in the art of combat like his sworn brothers but he was good enough at binding and grappling opponents and that’s all that he was going to set out to do here, support Sylvi letting her do the brunt of the damage.
He chuckled slightly at Sylvari’s remark, “I’m no master of the arcane, I’m a master interrogator with some whips and hopefully that’ll be enough for this”.
He reeled as he saw the bear charge at them but was reassured as he saw that his knight in shining armor blocked the hit and let out a war cry that filled him with hope and energy.
He sprinted diagonally from where he was behind Sylvari and hoped the bear would keep its attention on the destructive threatening woman in front of him. He cracked his whip and whipped at the burned arm wrapping its hard and spiky vines on its arm and pulling it towards him as it roared in anger.
“Sylvari there’s a chance, hurry up I’m not sure how long I could hold it still”, he says as he tries to pull the bear towards him.
1. Whip Wand,
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Oct 25, 2023 11:42:47 GMT -5
Raoul wasn't the first stranger that Sylvari had journeyed with who was forced into a combat scenario with her while claiming to be non-combatants. She found that such people tended to be of two groups at the end: the eminently capable and the eminently truthful. Sylvari was very grateful in this moment that her new friend was of the former.
As she bore the brunt of the bear's attack, by the design of her challenge, Raoul dashed to the side, pulling out a unique-looking wand which extended out a line of whirling flame in the shape of a whip. He lashed the weapon out towards the creature, and despite the flames looking very much like their natural counterparts, the whip seemed to be altogether physical as it wrapped around the bear's front right paw and tugged. Raoul held the bear steadfastly, providing an opening for Sylvari to exploit.
Let's see just how far this magic resistance goes. Sylvari clapped her hands together quickly, creating a spontaneous cold snap around her and the enemy. The temperature around the pair declined appreciatively as tiny ice crystals could be seen in the air around them, and if Raoul turned around, he would see a light snowfall beginning outside, despite the temperate climate of the surrounding environment [Sheer Cold].
While the bear certainly didn't seem to be damaged by the icy arcana surrounding them, between Raoul's hold and the airy ice, the predator's movement's were slowed to a dull sluggishness, especially contrasted against Sylvari's impressive alacrity, even weighed down by her plate armor [Knight, Light as a Feather].
She struck at the bear, again and again: here on the shoulder, there on the head, creating a devastating onslaught that left the creature seething with rage. Its otherworldly endurance was the only thing that prevented a victory for the frosty knight right then and there.
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Post by Raoul O. Ardelean on Oct 25, 2023 23:52:34 GMT -5
Raoul grits his teeth as he pulled harder and harder on his left hand’s grip as he held his other shimmering scorpion blade in his left, he was not as physically strong as other adventurers, his skill lying in his mind but he needed to hold the rune bear still for at least a couple of minutes. They needed to finish this quickly, if they stretched this out too long it increased the risk of one of them getting hurt as well as the frightened woolfuls.
Raoul shivered as he felt the room’s temperature decrease drastically he whispered in a hushed tone, “I thought I was properly prepared for this visit, I supposed I didn’t anticipate spontaneously cold”, he glanced at Sylvari then the room noticing just how cold it was surrounded by tiny falling snow crystals. He then turned his head back to notice it was snowing outside and muttered still shivering under his breath, “Damn the day looked so nice before, it’s never gotten like this at least in a while”, he then glanced and squinted at Sylvari thinking that she was most likely responsible for it and smirked.
It was smart she had slowed the beast’s movements down drastically giving them an increased chance of landing hits on it which the destructive knight quickly took advantage of. As she finished her onslaught of hits he decided to at least help give her another distraction. He raised his shimmering scorpion whip in the air and shifted its shining material creating a small circle of light that he moved into the monster’s eyes blinding him temporarily. He then cracked the scorpion whip (1) and lashed the bear's right leg wrapping his whip around it and pulling it binding the blinded beast’s even more.
“Give it all you got Sylvari I can hold it off for a little more for as much as you need”, he says with a faint smile as he struggles to bind squirming the beast in place.
1. Shimmering Scorpion Blade
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Oct 26, 2023 9:57:14 GMT -5
Sylvari frowned in irritation, seeing that her assault had not found adequate purchase, as the bear still roared and struggled against its bonds with staggering vitality. Her gaze flicked to Raoul who was still doing his best to dutifully restrain the creature despite his apparent exertion. I need to end this quickly.
Sylvari danced backwards, out of the fray and out of the reach of her enemy's swiping claws to call in reinforcements. Lifting her right hand as if gripping invisible chains of great weight, she wrenched her arm heavenward and intoned under her breath, "Arise." A horrifying, hulking amalgamation of disparate bones and flesh in the vague shape of a humanoid crawled up from a void in the earth, a massive great axe in its hand [Summon Undead Hulk]. The creature made no sound but immediately understood its purpose, dashing over to the restrained bear with unnerving speed to begin hacking at it mindlessly. Its master, however, was not done, for Sylvari truly intended to end this fight here and now. More.
She lifted her left hand in the same manner as her right, a second creature arising like the first, identical in its visage, but this one bearing a gleaming greatsword [Necromancer, Army of the Damned]. Seemingly satisfied with the servants she brought to bear, Sylvari dashed into combat alongside her second creation, dwarfed in their shadow but landing blows just as severe.
Even though the bear's innate resistance turned aside the blackened rot that coated each of the hulks' weapons, its hide could only withstand so much martial punishment. With the combined efforts of Raoul, Sylvari, and her summons, in short order the poor creature was hacked to ribbons.
Sylvari took a step back, seeing the creature dead, and finally remembered to heave a pretend sigh of exertion for her companion's benefit, as she gave him a small smile.
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