Fantasy Arva: Tides of Darkness [IC] [Closed]

[joshuadim]

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ACT 1
CHAPTER 3

The Growing Darkness

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After what seemed as though was a few minutes of hurriedly moving through the Grœnnfold following Joony, the woodling yelled out for the group's attention and pointed to another gate and rushed through it with everyone following short behind. Returning to the mortal world, the group found that in only a few minutes had hours passed and was now daylight in a new forest they found themselves in. The Gate behind them shattered in pieces rather violently as well, perhaps the doing of Ellas, as everyone regained their bearings and took a good look around. Where they were was rather hard to tell, but the climate had grown more chilly and thus one could deduce that they had indeed traveled much further up north.

Joony collapsed to his knees and began to cry as he knew that his guardian was in trouble... or worse. Hughin panted rather heavily as he sat down on a felled tree nearby and tried to relax as best as he could. Arnas however looked about and realized that Ellas was not with them and looked at Hughin. "Where is she?" he asked with both anger and concern, to which Hughin only shrugged and let out a sigh. "She stayed behind to help our escape."

Arnas was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. "...shit." was all he managed to get out as he sat with his back against a tree rather defeated.

"They can't follow us through that, right?" Zakala then asked aloud, "We lost them?"

"Perhaps not for long." Hughin stated as he placed a hand to his face, "We'll need to move soon anyhow. We can't afford to take chances."

 

[Fauxs]

After his successful cast, numerous projectiles rain down on their enemies. With the help of his elf ally, Cain did more damage against the enemy lines as expected. Never did he realize that his power could achieve such heights of destruction.

The rush of the battle remained with the boy. Accompanied with the appearance of a massive titan-like creature, Cain attempted to pick off another enemy in order for them to flee smoothy. Most of the enemies ran away but the half elf did not notice such an occurence, resulting in an unnecessary and accidental attack towards Hughin. The boy was shocked by his own actions, but more important matters were at hand; they needed to flee.

Guilt stuck in to Cain's mind as they left Ellas, alone to fend off such a monstrosity as she refuses to join. In a swift fashion, Cain joins his allies as they passed through the gate, unaware of what could come next.

 

[Breadman]

"Easy!" Waylond responded as the hit from Valentina bounced off his armor. The impact was going to leave a bruise either way, but that didn't matter. Putting his sword away, the knight reached and grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her "By everything that is holy and dear in this world, get a hold of yourself my lady!" he yelled through the helm. While trying to be reassuring, it was rather hard with an intimidating helm covering his face along with the chaos around them.
They didn't have much time as the enemy made his presence known. As much as he wanted to stay and fight, he knew it would serve them nothing if he were to throw his life away against it. Not with what was at stake. He thanked whichever higher power was looking out for them for the armor being as light as it was. It allowed for them to flee as fast as his name implied. In other times, it would be shameful, but not now. Not with that over their heads.

Once they were through the portal he looked around. A momentary panic took his sense away until he saw Pottrey standing next to the others. His squire had managed to escape and it eased his mind that at least the boy he was to train and look after was alright. Now they had other things on their mind.

"Aye, we should move. Question is, which path do we take?"

 

[Adobe]

Eidunn screwed her eyes shut as she fell out of the portal, groaning as she took a moment to compose herself. Getting to her feet, she reached a hand down into her bag, wincing as she felt a shard of glass prick her finger. Dejectedly, she ambled over towards the group, taking a seat next to Arnas and begining to carefully pick the broken glass out from her bag.

"How long do you think it'll take them this time?" She asked, slumping against the trees base.

 

[joshuadim]

Hughin looked at Waylond for a moment before shrugging. "North. Vaguely." he simply responded as he stood up and took a look at a nearby tree. From his experience, the moss growing on trees could help show which way to go, and seeing the moss situated one one side signaled which way was north. He took a good look before turning in the direction the moss was growing on the tree and pointed. "That way. Hopefully we come across some form of civilization soon enough, if those elves in the arena were indicative of anything then this 'Altissia' is a pretty active entity in these lands." he stated.

"What if we come across them, and they aren't... you know, friendly?" Zakala then asked with concern.

Hughin looked at his lieutenant for a moment before sighing: "Then we cross that bridge when we get to it." he replied.

Eidunn's own question got Arnas to shrug as he sighed: "Hopefully, we have a good headstart... seems we moved quite a distance from where we were previously." he stated with some optimism, "It's actually rather chilly around here if I'll be honest." Arnas shuddered a bit as he rubbed his hands together to try to warm himself a bit. To Eidunn however, it wasn't all too dissimilar to her homeland and didn't feel the chill as much as others would have.

 

[Breadman]

"A bit of cold shouldn't slow us down." Waylond responded.

"Hypothermia and frostbite would however, ser." Pottrey added. The knight tilted his head and gave him a glance through the helm "I mean, if we're heading north its bound to get worse. We're going to need to keep warm." The squire managed to finish his though before looking around as if searching for a means to warm up.

 

[Auda]

Aureal was almost left behind as he refused to leave Ellas alone. But the Elf won't let the sacrifice of his kin go to waste. With a heavy heart, Aureal followed the group through the portal, narrowly escaping death once again. Once the company was safe, strength seemed to leave Aureal's body as he knelt and grabbed a fistful of grass and dirt, trying to anchor himself. The trees were quiet, as if they're mourning, and the air whispers a silent prayer. The guilt inside Aureal continued to grow. There seemed to be a running theme in his life. Everywhere their group went, tragedy follows right after, taking the life of those who didn't know any better better than to interact with them. He remembered the Utterlins, the kraken that took Lanya's family from her, yet they still lived. He remembered the garden. The once beautiful place now ruined once they entered the sanctuary, Ellas dying right after meeting them. Yet again, they still lived. Aureal was tempted to just give in. To let destiny fuck itself and give up.

Aureal forcefully hit his forehead on the ground, snapping himself from his previous train of thought. 'No. Stop. Persevere.' He kept repeating inside his head. The Elf won't let the deaths of those who sacrificed their lives for them go to waste. Finally finding the strength to stand up once again, Aureal approached the rest of the group to figure out what to do next. 'There will be time to mourn once all of this is over. Bottle it all up, seal it, and hide it somewhere deep to be opened again once the time comes. But not today.'

"I could cast a spell to keep us warm. I doubt it'll do much, and it's not the best feeling the world, but it'll have to do. At least until we find a place to get some real protection from the cold." Aureal suggested, already thinking of the necessary spell to cast. "Unless someone has a better idea?"

 

[Adobe]

Letting out a small laugh, Eidunn stretched out her arms, yawning as she stood up. "You'll get used to it, it gets much worse." She said, idely kicking at the dirt below her. "We should find a river and follow it, should lead us to some sort of settlement." She added. It was definitely colder than the place they had entered the grove from. "Anyone want my old cloak?" She asked. "This new one fits me better anyway."

 

[Dmaster]

Da'Vost was left exhausted by both the battle and the planar travel that came after it, yet as ever despite his ailing body his mind raced with possibilities and potentials. The West Spire had fallen, and the foes they were facing were not of this world. Once they had emerged from the gate he checked Lanya for injuries, kneeling down as his head twitched and rolled while he gave her a glance for any obvious damage.

"Not too cold, are you?" he asks her, preening his own feathers a bit before he stood up and looked around. The Fateseeker nodded at Hughin's outlook on their situation, if any settlements were outright unfriendly to them they would have to face that problem when it arrives.

"There is little time for deliberation, yes. Even still, our otherworldly enemy continues to advance and take over this land. If any we meet are to be hostile, perhaps the dire circumstances that trail us may get them to reconsider."

 

[joshuadim]

Lanya had been quiet ever since the group fled the Garden and she remained so as she shook her head to Da'Vost to inform him she was rather fine, considering her fur and other clothing would help keep her warm in the meantime. In the meantime, Zakala did take up Eidunn's offer and replaced her own tattered cloak with one better suited for the cooler climate. "Don't tire yourself with magic, save your strength for later." Hughin stated to Aureal as he got up from where he sat and looked about to the rest of the Company. "We'll travel until dusk, then we will find somewhere to rest." he then stated, placing his sword over his shoulder. "Let's move."

Silverpine Forest


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The forest itself was filled with large pines that towered over any one would see in the northern regions, in particular northern Argos and southern Voyekrey, with blades that seemed to give off a hint of silver shine off of them as the group pressed onwards through the thick of the underbrush of small grasses, roots, and dirt. Unlike how they felt in the Garden, with an aura of safety, here everyone felt rather uneasy over everything that had transpired recently. How could one feel safe in these times and in these strange lands? In the distance after entering a small clearing, craggy peaks pierced the horizon and up towards the skies which signaled to the group they were near a mountain range of sorts... and perhaps finally a river.

A few hours after having pushed past where they had entered from, the distant sound of rushing water could be heard which helped bring spirits up towards the possibility of a landmark to follow. Minute later, the group was treated to a modestly sized river of moderate depth in their path as they approached its banks. It certainly was possible to ford through as the waters weren't too strong to carry someone off their feet, provided they were able to get a good grip on their feet. One by one, the group would pass to the other side of the river as carefully as they could without too much trouble facing them.

With a river being potentially a way to find civilization, the group followed the current downstream along its opposite bank now that they had crossed and pressed onwards. As afternoon began to take hold on the forest the group was tiring to the point of complete exhaustion and without much daylight left to work with the options for a safe haven were running out for them. It seemed as though their fortunes began to turn however as after a bit of additional walking something recognizable appeared in the distance: a cabin. As the group approached however, the mood changed drastically as it appeared that whoever was living here was not anymore as the door was broken into along with whatever windows there used to be.

"Shit." Hughin muttered as he readied his sword, with Arnas doing the same afterwards as the two slowly entered inside. It was a small domicile with what seemed to be a small living room and two other rooms for what perhaps were living quarters. It was hard to tell considering how disheveled the interior was as furniture and other items lay strewn about either broken or misplaced. Yet what caught Hughin's eye was that there was a candle near the cooking fire that still had smoke coming off its top. As he looked around he pieced it together that someone was living here recently, and that a struggle of sorts took place. Hughin relaxed, and motioned for Arnas to do the same before speaking: "We're alone here." he stated as he walked outside to inform the rest of the group. "It's been ransacked. Whoever lived here isn't anymore. We'll have to make do with this for now."

 

[Fauxs]

As the group ventured on towards the forest, the boy was planning to apologize to his comrade about the accident that happened back in the garden, however; all of his thoughts came to a halt as they spotted a cabin. Hughin and Arnas began to scout the area for potential threats and thankfully there was none. Entering the cabin, Cain approached Hughin. "About earlier... I would like to apologize in regards to my actions. It was truly my mistake." he spoke as he pertained to his faults on the last battle with dismay.

The half elf also approached his elf ally, Aureal. If it wasn't for him, his attacks wouldn't have been as powerful. "Thank you for your aid, friend. if you ever require assistance, I'll be sure to watch your back." Cain said with a nod and a smile.

 

[joshuadim]

Hughin simply shrugged at Cain as he apologized. "Nerves get to people. Simple as. Don't worry about it." he stated rather bluntly, but without any anger in his voice. He went over to lift an overturned chair upwards and took a seat to relax as everyone got settled in and made themselves at home within the abandoned cabin. Except for Arnas, as he noticeable paced around the cabin and looked about with a rather inquisitive look as he pieced together what exactly had transpired here. Noticing this, Zakala walked outside to meet him as he stood at the back of the cabin and looked at the woods nearby.

"What's on your mind Arnie?" she asked.

He didn't look at her but pointed to the ground: "Tracks... and drag marks." he stated as he crouched to the ground. Zakala did so as well as she looked at the scenes. Many footprints were visible, but they weren't anything like what one would expect from a human or such. These belonged to creatures similar to the ones they had fought. It was clear that this cabin had been visited by the otherwordly invaders, but what was even more concerning was the drag marks. It was rather clear that whoever lived here were taken against their will and in a rather violent fashion as well.

Zakala had been quiet as she made the conclusion and shook her head. "Shit." she muttered as she looked at the nearby treeline, "At least they don't have reason to come back here... probably."

Arnas looked at her and chuckled: "Doubtful, considering our recent experiences. We still need to be vigilant."

"Yeah... I'll let Hughin know then." Zakala then said, prompting a 'mhm' from Arnas as he continued to observe their surroundings. As she returned back into the cabin she walked over to Hughin who had by now closed his eyes and was rocking gently in the chair he had claimed for himself. "Hughin, we'll need to set up watch. Seems as though the creatures we fought had been here already."

"Figures." the old mercenary replied as he grunted in his seat, "Alright then, we'll figure that out for when the night comes. In the meantime, help the others get comfortable..."

The demoness raised an eyebrow at Hughin as she looked at him and chuckled: "Much like you are right now old man?"

"...I could get used to a rocking chair back in the Golden Talon."

In the meantime, Lanya and Da'Vost continued where they had left off previously before their sudden departure from the Garden as they situated themselves at the bank of the nearby river in order to help with the current spell they were attempting to have her master, the manipulation of water as she had tried and was close to succeeding back at the Monkey King's arena. She looked at the flowing waters with a mixture of determination and apprehension before looking at Da'Vost, waiting for his instruction.

 

[Breadman]

"What do we do, ser?" Pottrey asked his knight. "The situation is rather dire isn't it?"

"One should not loose hope in situations like these, you know this." Waylond responded to him. "For the sake of our morale and of that of our comrades, we have to keep looking ahead." The squire nodded, tho he still looked uneasy. "Tell you what, it's been a while since you spared hasn't it?"

"Since the ship, ser." he shrugged "Haven't had a proper fight since."

"I see." Waylond looked to his comrades. "Friends, I have a favor to ask. Anyone free to help my squire in his training? I need to continue his process of becoming a knight and that requires exposing him to as many different fighting styles as possible."