Cold, snowy, windy, empty. Yup, that was pretty par for the course in most of Frostgale. Heavy snow fell nearly horizontally as it was blown around in the harsh winds. Up ahead, a jagged crown or white and grey stretched across the horizon. Fitting, for a mountain range called The World Crown.

Blue didn't like coming up here. Really, it was an unbearable environment for the ooze and the only reason they even could venture to this frigid snowscape was through the use of magic to keep them warm and not a block of raspberry ice. On top of the freezing cold, the harsh winds made flying difficult and the heavy snow made it hard to see.

Well, they'd just have to put up with it. There were people who needed some help and they were on their way to provide it. A town had suddenly been overrun with giant bugs that were feasting on the inhabitants! Blue liked bugs, they were always a great snack, and these bugs were a problem, so it was a perfect combination! They'd save the day and get a meal out of it too. For that, they'd brave the cold and wind.

The giant blue bird looked around at the white ground for the town they were supposed to be heading to. Even with the snow, it shouldn't be too hard to spot. It should stand out really easily against all the snow. They were going to the right way, weren't they? Did they get blown off course by the wind without realizing?

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Check for Ticks
Participants: Two or more
Location: Frost gale
Post Requirements: 8 posts per person, 250 words per post
Reward: +1 Mystical Archive Ticket, Choice of 1 Rare crafting material

Description: In the aftermath of Mt. Drakolt's eruption and destruction, a heat wave has moved across the region, warming and melting a bunch of ice in the northern regions of Frostgale. This has caused several hives of Glacier Ticks to emerge and move south, looking for fresh food and a place to set up nests. Unfortunately, they found what they were looking for. Several small hamlets and towns across the northern tundra have fallen victim to these pests, turning their small hamlets into a giant tick nest, and using the people as a food source. Assistance is needed in removing these monsters from the local villages.

Special Requirements: You are fighting at least 10 adult sized Glacier Ticks while attempting to rescue any remaining civilians trapped in the village.

---

Shapeshifter Plate

Getting rid of some pesky snow bugs seemed like the perfect job for the Drakon Security Company. They were in for rough weather though considering how chilling and freezing the World Crown was known to be. As interesting as just wearing his usual attire would be to test himself and train against cold environments he was quickly scolded for the idea and his retainer Nadia forced him to wear a warm winter jacket. The snow fell all around them as they trekked up the mountain range Javal tried his best to cover his face from the howling wind and cutting cold. The fellblood had no fire magic to speak of so he and Nadia were simply bundled up as much as they could. The cold didn’t matter to the Javal people who needed help and that was all that mattered. No amount of wind or snow would stop him from coming to their aid. After all a hero would stop at nothing to keep the innocent safe from harm. That was a great deal of what his sensei Sir Emeraldcutter instilled in him as a kid.



They continued to trudge along through the blizzard looking for any signs of the town ahead. Soon after about half an hour more of walking Nadia saw lights and signs of civilization. Quickly Javal sprinted forward almost tripping through the large snow as he grew closer and closer seeing the truly sorry state the village was in.

Glacier Fleas were all around people’s homes wrecked, he even saw the big mean bugs carrying some people in the air. People’s shouting and shrieking were the only noises that could be heard besides the loud humming of the large flea’s wings.

After flying a while longer in whatever direction, they could barely even tell anymore in this snow, Blue thought they finally saw something they could follow. Down in the big blank landscape of snow there were tracks cutting across, forming a trail to follow. They had no idea who these tracks belonged to, and Blue wasn't any kind of expert tracker, but they could at least follow a dotted line from one end to the other. And this line was leading toward the mountains.

Landing in the snow, the giant blue bird shifted and morphed into a new creature. Wings moved down and thinned into a pair of legs as talons shifted to match. Feathers fluffed up and separated into strands of fur. The beak transformed into a canine muzzle while a pair of pointy ears popped out of the top of their head. The blue bird had transformed into a huge blue wolf which immediately took off running, following the tracks toward the mountain. With all the wind and snow, it would be much easier following the tracks on foot than in the air.

It was a good thing that it didn't matter what form the ooze took for the magic core to keep them from freezing. Even with the thick wolf fur covering their body, it offered no real protection from the cold as it was just more slime shaped to mimic the warm coat.

After running for some time, Blue began to climb a mountain path, continuing to follow the tracks. Whoever these tracks belonged to, they really did seem to be going exactly where Blue had been trying to go. What a stroke of luck! They probably would have never found the right way if they were still flying around trying to see the village from the air. It must have been pretty well hidden from view in the mountains. They should reach it soon.

Nadia shouts still trying to catch up to Javal hurriedly trying to make her way through the tough snow, “Please hold on my liege I know it looks bad but we must approach this delicately and with a plan”.



The fellblood simply starts to crack his knuckles and starts stretching his body feeling the cold wind around him.



He then shouts, “There is no need to worry about a plan Nadia all that matters is that we’re here now and ready to help. Hey, you big mean bug fellows in the sky. This is your last warning: let go of these innocent people right now or I’ll be forced to cut you down and stop your villainous actions”.



The glacier fleas pay his threat no mind and simply continue to wreak havoc against the poor town.



Javal simply yells, “Alright I tried to be nice but if you fellows choose to do this then I shall show you the very cold fists of justice. Nadia let’s get to work and crush these bugs with all of our strength”.



Nadia finally makes it into town and gets straight to work hurriedly running to her liege opening up his backpack pulling out his ray bow and getting ready for battle. She aims at the closest glacier flea, an arrow of light appearing in the bow’s notch as she lets go and hits it right in the back.



Javal quickly grabs his katana and unsheathes it yelling, “Come and face me cowards” before pointing his blade at Glacier Flea as it zooms towards him.

---

Nadia Sadrine
Fires of Ray Bow at a Glacier Flea

As the glacier flea zoomed toward Javal, ready to bite into him, the flea was suddenly hit from the side by another, even larger projectile.

"I finally made it!" The giant blue wolf shouted out happily as it ran into town, right into the flea. They rammed into the side of the glacier flea, sending it tumbling across the snowy street and into another flea. The two massive bugs impacted together with a crunch, some of their shell cracking and breaking off from the heavy impact. Blue shook their head for a moment, but they suffered no brain injury, mostly thanks to the fact they had no brain to injure in the first place.

Following those tracks in the snow had been exactly what Blue needed! They lead straight to the town they were looking for and helped them make it in time to help drive the monsters away. Blue looked around at the scene. It looked like most of the villagers had hidden from the glacier fleas in time to avoid being dragged away, but a few fleas were trying to make off with villagers that weren't as quick.

Blue ran after to fleeing fleas, trusting the villagers to hold out a little longer with the help of what looked like a couple other adventurers who were also here. Blue wasn't smart enough to make the connection that it had been these two's tracks they'd been following up the mountain, but they appreciated the help anyways.

The two bashed fleas got back to their feet, slightly dazed, but still in need of food and looking to grab the two new prey standing out in the open. The huge wolf was a tempting target, but it was too fast for them as it ran off in the same direction the rest of their hive was fleeing.

Before Javal could charge towards the incoming glacier flea a completely strange sight befell the young fellblood. A speeding blue blur slammed into his would-be attacker and he jumped back and stared in front of him.



“WOAH!”, he exclaimed, “Hey Nadia do you know of any talking blue wolves in Charon? I think this is the first I’ve seen in my entire life!”.



He was amazed at the fellow’s power and strength although his retainer was immediately wary of the strange creature. She pointed her arrow at Blue worried at the situation



“Watch out my liege I’m not sure what exactly that beast is or what its goal here is. It might be here to hunt both us and the fleas as food”.



Quickly Javal waved her concern off, “Not at all my friend, any giant talking blue wolf has to be friendly. For blue is the color of heroes at least that’s what my mother said”.



With the wolf holding some fleas off the two got right back to work, Nadia notched another arrow and shot it toward a nearby Glacier Flea. Javal gathered up ice magic into his palm, shaping it into a long spike of ice (1) that he aimed and fired at one of the overgrown bugs. It landed right in their back breaking into its shell causing it to immediately fall to the floor in pain.

---

Javal Zarrias
1. Ice Spike
Nadia Sadrine
1. Fires off Ray Bow

The ticks were fast and they had a serious head start. Blue had to run fast if they wanted to catch up in time before losing sight of them in this snow. With sparks of electricity crackling across their blue fur, the giant wolf's speed suddenly increased and allowed them to gain on the escaping glacier ticks.

The first glacier tick they reached looked back in surprise as the wolf was suddenly upon them. Blue chomped at the tick's back legs, grabbing the appendages between their teeth and bringing the tick to a halt, snow being thrown into the air as they were slammed to the ground.

The captured villagers on the tick's back shouted as they went flying off, but thankfully they landed in the thick blanket of snow which broke most of their fall. With them out of harm's way, Blue swung the tick to the side and tossed it down the mountain. Its hard carapace crunched and cracked as it slammed into rocks as it tumbled down, out of sight in the blizzard.

Blue was worried about the two villagers, but they would just have to come back to help them in a moment. There was still another tick with more villagers on its back trying to get away. Blue charged forward, their speed still enhanced by the lightning coursing through their slimy body, and reached the second fleeing tick. This one proved a bit more capable than the other one though, or maybe it learned from seeing what happened to its fellow.

The tick sidestepped Blue's bite and lashed out with a leg, grazing the side of the wolf's muzzle as Blue pulled back to avoid the hit. The tick kept running with Blue in pursuit.

---

Lightning Armor
Blue Raspberry's Energy Drinker

The blue wolf terrorized the glacier fleas, its ferocity, and power taking the young fellblood by surprise. It seemed like they were on the side of justice as they saved some captured villagers.



Quickly Javal would yell, “Nadia cover those villagers that the wolf saved and get them to safety we have no time to waste”.



Without question, the moon elf would bolt as fast as she could, sprinting towards the two villagers and trying to get them back on their feet and head towards safety. A glacier flea seeing this would charge at her thinking she’d be an easy target. That assumption would be wrong as Javal would aim his blade toward the tick focusing and calculating the perfect angle to hit it at.



He would then pull back his katana and throw it with all his might, the steel blade would whirl through the air (1) and catch the Glacier flea’s right wing causing it to weakly crash into the snow below. Before he could celebrate that victory he’d find himself facing down two buzzing glacial ticks that found him to be too much of an annoyance. The fellblood without his signature blade would barely have enough time to dodge the two’s ambush, his right side getting grazed and slicing through his coat. Javal would then open his mouth charging up water in his throat (2) before shooting out a thin sharp beam of water that would pierce one of the glacier flea’s hard shells and send it flying.

---

1. Boomerang Arc
2. Water Cutter

Blue was trying to bite the tick and stop it from fleeing with the villagers it had captured, but it was proving to be a much more difficult opponent than the other one had been. Just trying to bite it wouldn't be enough even with the electricity enhancing their speed and strength. They would have to get a little more creative.

From the wolf's shoulders, two tendrils grew out, elongating and thickening into a pair of tentacle-like tails tipped with pads covered in sharp spikes. The two extra tails that would be seen on a displacer beast were now growing from this giant wolf. At the other end, the fluffy wolf's tail was also changing, thickening and elongating to more resemble a lizard or serpent's tail than a canine.

The three new appendages whipped at the tick and this time it wasn't fast enough to defend. One of the displacer tails caught one of its legs and the spikes dug into it, impaling it so deeply they burst from the other side. The tick lost its stride and fell, the villagers on its back flung off into the snow.

Blue continued their attack, now aiming their teeth for the neck area of the big bug. With a vicious bite, the head was entirely removed and disappeared into the maw of the giant wolf. Blue looked hungrily at the rest of the tick corpse for a moment before shaking their head.

They still had to help finish off these ticks. Once that was done, there'd be plenty to eat. They were here to save the village, not have a feast. They could control their ooze nature long enough to accomplish that.

They looked to the villagers in the snow. None of them were injured thanks to the powdery landing. They seemed afraid of the giant blue wolf creature in front of them even thought they'd been saved by it.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help! I'll take you back to the village. Just hop on." Blue said assuringly, laying down to let them climb onto their back.

---

Displacer Tails
Prehensile Tail

Nadia would look a little untrusting of the giant blue wolf, especially after seeing it eat the head of a glacier flea but she didn’t have much choice. Her boss seemed insistent on the idea that this fellow was helping and she couldn’t carry both of the villagers back to the village on her own.

So against her better wishes she’d calm the two civilians and speak plainly, “Please get on that blue wolf it’ll be better to get you two back to safety. I promise you that you’ll be brought back safe and sound to your homes”, she’d then help the two villagers onto the beast’s back and give them a confident smile as she’d then hurriedly run alongside them trying to get back to the village herself on foot.



Over with Javal, he’d find himself in trouble although he’d dealt with one of the glacier fleas that surrounded him the other came charging right after it. The fellblood didn’t have enough time to dodge out of the way and the beast smashed its head into his stomach causing the wind to immediately get knocked out of him. The beast rammed him into a wall causing him tremendous pain as he tried to get back on his feet, the glacier flea looking ready to dig into him. He’d weakly smile holding his hand in the air as the creature was about to pounce on him, the whirling of his blade was close by. Soon his weapon would arrive right (1) back into his hands and he’d grip it tight whirling it in the air as the glacier flea was about to strike. Quickly the rhythmic momentum (2) of his katana would make quick work of the big bug slicing right through its body cutting it in half.

---

1. Boomerang Arc
2. Blade Dance (Passives: Bull's Strength, Water Rune)

The villagers were hesitant at first. Not surprising, considering the giant blue wolf with three tails. Being carried off by a giant tick, they weren't very fond of oversized animals at the moment, but this was at least a lot better than those bugs had been. They climbed up onto Blue's back, helped up by the tails. Once everyone was in place, they felt almost stuck to the back as if the fur was sticky.

Blue turned and ran back toward the village, running as quickly as they could without going too fast for their passengers to handle. With lightning coursing inside them still giving them a slight glow from beneath the fur here and there as if their whole body was a storm cloud, they easily outran Nadia. She would have been left behind in a wake of kicked up snow if Blue didn't reach over with their serpentine tail and wrap it around her, carrying her back to the village with the others.

It took barely any time to get back to the village with everyone. Blue kept an eye out for any attacking ticks as they lowered themself to let the villagers slide off and placed Nadia on the ground. The villagers were relieved to be back to the village, and ran to the nearest house to get inside. Once they were all inside and safe, Blue stood back up and looked around for the nearest glacier tick.

They spotted one trying to break through the wall of another building, probably after seeing or hearing someone inside. Blue charged over to it while its attention was on the building. It didn't notice the blue wolf until it was too late as the jaws bit into its side. The sturdy exoskeleton stopped it from having a chunk taken out immediately, but it didn't hold for very long under the force of those powerful jaws along with a sizzle of acid. A crack echoed down the street as the shell gave way and Blue took a massive chunk out of the tick's side, the chunk vanishing into the wolf like it never existed.

Bugs were remarkably hardy as, even with nearly half its body missing, the tick tried to flee from the wolf. Blue continued their assault, chomping away until there was nothing left of the bug, and then looking around for another target.

---

Blue Raspberry's Energy Drinker
Prehensile Tail
Flesh Rend

Nadia glanced next to her barely able to catch sight of the strange blue wolf almost engulfed by the snow before suddenly being saved.



She would scream in fear, “Oh no great heavens”, as the strange creature’s snake tail wrapped around her, the sylvan elf had no idea whether she should be thankful or terrified of her savior. It seemed friendly enough but seeing it bite the entire head off of those overgrown bugs and being at its mercy made her feel quite perturbed.



Nadia was placed back to safety onto the ground and waved the strange beast a faint smile and curt bow of gratitude, “Uhh well , thank you fierce azure wolf” before sprinting towards her master.



Javal barely was able to stand up gripping his sword to support him as he pulled it out of the glacier tick in front of him. Nadia would support his shoulder as he took off his cuirass and padding both destroyed from the giant bug’s ramming headbutt.



“I’ll be fine Nadia, we can't stop now, not when we’re so close to driving these insect invaders out”, he’d exclaim, waving his blade in the air.



The fellblood would clasp his hands together praying to his celestial patron uriel feeling her faint presence on his shoulders filling his body with relief and recovery (1).



He’d grin from ear to ear, “Now that I’ve hit my second wind you damned bitter bug bastards are done for”.



Javal would clasp both his hands together with water (2) enveloping them and growing as he swung it at one of the nearby glacier ticks. He’d entrap their right leg pulling his rope like water back and started spinning around taking the creature to his mercy. He spun and spun around for a few moments before slamming it into the wall of one of the nearby buildings. It's hard shell shatters upon impact, and the fellblood stumbles forward, his head dizzy and spinning trying to recover his balance.

---

1. Massive Healing
2. Water Whip

Blue never heard anyone call them Azure Wolf before, but they thought it sounded cool. Was Azure some kind of title or description? Also, how did this person know their name was Wolfe? They realized that in all the hurry to save the villagers and get rid of the big bugs, they never actually stopped to introduce themself to either of the other two adventurers here. Well, it could wait until they finished saving the village. Proper fancy introductions took some time and they didn't want to take that time now while they were in combat.

The number of remaining glacier ticks was dwindling thanks to the efforts of the three adventurers, so the combat should be finished soon anyways. Then they could introduce themself to the villagers they rescued too. They weren't actually trying to receive any reward here. They considered being able to eat the glacier ticks their main goal and a good reward for their efforts here, but they were told they should make sure people knew it was actually them who came to help and not just some giant blue wolf. They still forgot to make sure of that sometimes.

While thinking about that, a glacier tick flung itself forward, trying to ram into the side of the giant blue wolf that had just consumed one of its fellow ticks, but a whip of a blue tendril stopped it and sent it reeling to the side. Blue didn't hesitate to follow through, quickly turning and taking a bite out of this tick as well. With its front half disappearing into the depths of the ooze, the rest of the tick slumped to the ground, dead.

The number of ticks dwindled by another one in an instant, and Blue glanced around for another, already forgetting about needing to introduce themself properly again.

---

Dancing Chain

The fellblood would shake his head wildly and recover his sense of balance after spinning around. He would continue to clean up these bug bastards until every single one was dead. The large swarm of glacier fleas was beginning to die down, quite literally with the bug carcasses scattered around beginning to pile up. Thanks to him, Nadia, and that strange blue wolf fellow, the Glacier Fleas were going to learn the deadly lesson to not mess with the innocent.



“Alright let’s see you guys handle this heat!”, Javal would exclaim tapping his crimson red cuirass (1) an explosive heat gathering into his throat before he spewed out a large cone of intense flames aiming it directly at the bugs ahead of him.



A faint intense buzzing would come from two glacier fleas he caught with his flame breath. The smell of burning bugs would grow filling the air, rancid and putrid. Javal would catch three bugs in his flames after a few seconds of the fire; they'd fall from the sky and hit the snow below with a faint thunk.



“Hahaha, Once we finish clearing these fellows up completely we should all celebrate this victory with some cooked glacier fleas, everyone! How about it, even some for you blue wolf!”, the fellblood would exclaim excitedly before narrowly avoiding a glacier flea tendril swipe.


He'd grab the tendril with his hands and stab into it's underside as it tried to carry him away with it quickly jumping back down to the floor. 

---

1. Flame Breath (Red Dragon Plate)

The villagers in the houses that weren't too busy cowering and trying not to be detected by the ticks outside heard Javal's announcement and looked at each other with a lot less excitement than he had. Eating giant icy bugs... It didn't exactly sound very appetizing, especially as those fleas were attempting to eat them at the moment.

Blue however was very excited to eat the glacier ticks. So excited, that the giant blue wolf didn't even wait for them to be cooked. Even the horrid smell of the two burnt ticks didn't put a stop to their insatiable appetite. As another glacier flea disappeared into the maw of the hungry canine, there appeared to be only a single tick left to fight, and that was the one engaged in combat with Javal.

This tick was slightly different than the others and had two tendrils on its face that resembled a mustache. Maybe this tick was the leader of the pack, or a different species, or something. In whatever case, Blue didn't care as they just saw it as one more snack to devour before their mission here was finished and the people of this village were safe.

With the tick fleeing, trying to take Javal with it, Blue charged at it. It was also slightly faster than the other ticks despite its larger size, but another pulse of lightning arced across Blue's fur and absorbed into them, further enhancing their own strength and speed.

They caught up to the tick with ease and pounced, sinking their acid-dripping jaws into the tough exoskeleton of its back and grabbing onto it with their claws. The sharp canine claws scratched deeply into the hard exterior, also leaving sizzling wounds lined with acid. The pads of their paws stuck firmly, a bit of sticky slime gluing them in place and preventing Blue from being thrown off as the glacier tick struggled to free itself from the wolf's grasp and get away.

---

Energy Drinker
Eldritch Claws
Flesh Rend