Fantasy ⊞Mistwalker Logs

[RedArmyShogun]

Gene Bennet - New Mistzone, Wuthering Gardens - Clubhouse - 2nd Floor Library​

With filtered air flowing through his helmet and into his lungs Gene only picked up scant whiffs of the musky environment, catching sight of movement outside the windows they passed, whatever was out there may not be alone, as the organic tendrils wiggled here and there, trees in a plant house... It would be difficult to clear it out. This may be an objective to abandon. As creaking floorboards announced their presence, a marked off door, in the distance, Gene paused, readying his weapon as all hell broke loose, did it detect sound, or movement? It was time to test that out, "Flash out!" He shouted, before reaching his left hand to his tactical harness, grabbing one of his flash bangs, the soldier aims it into one of the crowded and dusty shelves, once it went off he would observe how the plants reacted.

"That room, we likely need to go there, but this all may be compromised." He said over the communicator to those with him. "We will need to risk access the objective."

Interactions: all

Sylvia Gannet - New Mistzone, Wuthering Gardens - Clubhouse
​

Hearing the THUMP of the flashbang up above, Sylvia smiled direly as she moved her massive shield forward to block the acid blast, communicating across the short- and long-range transmission in response to Venator's question. Playing the bit of devil's advocate with I told you so energy, she had a dangerous glint in her eye. "This is all so easy to solve, I can burn the monster and all right to the ground. Do we really need to find the documents? What is the purpose in them? Finding tax records to make some nobles pay for land they long lost? It is all so easy to fix."

Curiously in salvaging her thick metal shield, she rammed it into the ground, through the floorboards and into the soil using the heaping amount of dirt, particles and wood would gunk up and dilute the acid in the short term. Her strength was something to behold, however it was a trick that would only work once and didn't block everything as part of her hair singed and burned off on the tips and base. "The more we form it up and cut it, or make a break into it, the more of its acid blood it will spray. Not all battles can be won so freely and carefully. Some of us will die here. Eheheh... So, what we say we give up on the books and I just set it all on fire? we can still get the remains, unless we need to kill them too. It's not cowardice to survive..."

Interactions: all

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Selena Purcell
New Mistzone - Clubhouse 2nd Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

"I would surmise that you're correct..." Selena replied Navox. The plants had to be noticing them some other way. Without a chance to study it, she could only hypothesize that it was detecting vibrations in the same way some carnivorous flora detected prey.

Selena slashed and swiped at the vines as they made their way upstairs, breathing a soft sigh of relief as they entered the library. Looking around, the large metal door towards the back caught her attention, but so did the lines of books. Who knew what literature was in this place, however they had little time for her to peruse, which was only affirmed when the vines poured in from the windows and creaked the floorboards.

She watched as Gene threw out a flashbang wincing a bit as she turned her head and covered her ears to mitigate the impact of the grenade. It was a good idea in hindsight. Perhaps the vibrations from the flashbang would stun or confuse the creature.

"Yes, I very much doubt they have the documents we're looking for in these bookshelves... but, perhaps they had a screw or two loose," Selena chimed in. "As for risk... we'll be at risk until we leave the grounds it seems, unless the plant life has also learned to hold a grudge."

 

[Cresion Breezes]

New Mistzone (Former Gerralia Empire), Wuthering Gardens, Clubhouse Interior
[23/09/1035]


Upstairs

( RedArmyShogun , EmperorsChosen , Azurian Dream , Cresion Breezes )

The vines were rapidly approaching the source of movement in the formerly dead quiet room, which was, of course, the humans that had barged into it. However, their advancement course was altered when the flash bang detonated deeper into the room.

For a moment there was silence, but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. The vine stopped their movement for a bit. But then, the chaos started. More vines began to pour into the room from the now broken windows, some shattering the few glass panes that were unscathed in the initial attack. However, none of the vines were rushing at the humans in the room anymore, even if they were going for the general direction of one of the search team's members, it was rather clear the person was just on the trajectory of the vine's travels. They had another destination.

That destination was the shelving area the flash bang was tossed into. More and more vines began to swarm and pour into the area, attacking the bookshelf, and lashing at the aged wooden fixture with thorny bristles. In only a few seconds the shelf and its contents seem to be reduced to wooden splinters and paper pulp.

The vines didn't stop there though, even once the shelf was destroyed. They continued to vibrate violently and lash around...until the murky floorboards in the area bored a hole, the small area of wood collapsed, and the vines continued to charge downwards into the floor below.

Downstairs

( RedArmyShogun , Nellancholy , TreasureSniper )

A few bullets penetrated some larger tendrils that was still raving on the ground floor, the tendrils shook at the impact, but as it shriveled and retreated, acid squirted out of the holes formed by the bullets in various directions, including upwards and splashing on the mold-covered ceiling. It dripped down alongside some disintegrated mold bits in a foul smelling and burning drizzle.

While the remaining members downstairs were debating and analyzing their enemy while trying to fend it off, they might hear what sounded like the noise of creaking and cracking wood. The source of the sound was overhead. The ceiling.

A small area of the ceiling suddenly collapsed, wooden splinters rained down on the first floor along with the moldy acid. From the ceiling, hole poured in what looked like a large vine, however, upon closer inspection, it was clear that it was not one large vine, but many thin small ivies tangled together like a well-woven rope. The few leaves that remained hanging on the vines were reminiscent of the crawling ivy that covered the outer walls of the building.

The large ivy cluster dived from the ceiling directly into the ground, with a distinctive 'splat' sound before remaining there motionless, like a vine-woven tree trunk.

---

Navox Cerulewurst
Wuthering Gardensm Clubhouse, 2F
[23/09/1035]
Interactions: Gene ( RedArmyShogun ), Selena ( EmperorsChosen )
Mentions: Octavius ( Azurian Dream )


The upstairs was certainly quieter, the hallways seemed much less infested by the wiggling plant life than the bottom floor. Navox was prepared to react to anything that could burst up from the flooring as it did on the ground, but nothing out of the ordinary happened as their group walked to the building's library and book collection area.

"Yeah...that hypothesis is getting more convincing for sure..." Selena, the aloof woman had formerly expressed agreement with the idea that the plants could be using vibrations to detect them. Now that they were on the second floor, the attacks had ceased as the floorboards were way more disconnected from the soil.

Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly once they did reach the area of their goal. Navox was still on guard, but relaxed a bit after their idea seem to be all but confirmed. However, the blitz of vines that flurried through the window still made for a nasty surprise. "Tss-" Navox quickly turned around and tried to block out the light from the flash bang, he was prepared to put up an Encoding shield, but his older teammate acted much faster in the situation, he could only hope that the flash bang would have some effect on the vines.

Luckily, it appears that the vines were distracted by the flashbang. Although a few of them blitzed past Navox and grazed him, the directional nature of their movement allowed him to get out of the way in time. "Compromised? Room-?" The boy heard the assessment from the older team member, still a bit dazed by the events that just occurred. "...Right! The room at the end." He did his best to blink away the light patterns in his eyes and looked ahead at what seemed to be a sealed archive door.

"Miss Selena's right, we'll probably be at risk as long as we're in this area." Navox agreed with the woman's assessment, "I'm going for the room." He added, flipping a switch to activate the heated edge of his glaive, the polearm's blade slowly began to charge with a soft luminescence, before dashing towards the heavy metal door.

While the vines were distracted, Navox clashed the now super-heated edge of his weapon to the padlock. The old school contraption left to hang in the elements and Mist for decades clanked with the metal before beginning to glow reddish orange when being pressed against a laser edge. It soon dropped with a 'clang' onto the ground.

"Ugah-" Navox was startled as the dropping of the destroyed lock caused a few smaller vines from the window near the door the launch themselves at the metallic object, but the heat that remained on the lock scorched their surface before the boy cut the few interlopers down with the heated blade.

"Doesn't seem that secure after all! Maybe they thought the proximity to the Mist was the best security..." He waved the still slightly glowing glaive at the others in the search team, trying to indicate that they could get into the room now.

 

[Azurian Dream]

Octavius "Oct" Halbervi -Mist Zone-Wuthering Gardens Clubhouse Second Floor, West Gerralia.

"I hope they pardon the wall run scare," running towards the stairs the Dr took a shot with pulling out a bolt with a rather large hook like protrusion taking a higher up shot in the middle of the second floors railing before dashing for it. He jump pulling the secondary trigger of his gun causing a aggressive veering sound to signal a minor engine to start tugging on the rope pulling against the railing inside the gun as they struck into a wall run sending him to clear the vines current dangerous grip on the stairs. As they plopped onto the second floor they were quickly met with outside view showcasing the garden out in the distance. Worse for wear they were met with a iron door of sorts.

"Hopefully you, our merc, or the lady scientist have a quick answer for that or were going to have to grab whatever we can, and book it. Like our pilots reminded use best to make haste to the bigger objective," upon those words the rupture of shattering glass filled the room with immediate chaotic reminder of the downstairs problem. Gene's Flashbang made quick to work on the plants sensitivity to vibrations when the soil feelers were misplaced to which was a potential of extreme knowledgeable use.

"Lady Purcell, Gene might we try pushing something heavy out cause them to potential backtrack," Oct yelled. This would need quick foot work to which Oct immediately took to combing a few books or whatever was about while deciding to jump onto the furniture to avoid whatever that creaking groan was as he scoured whatever he could get his hands on.

"Navox how we looking," the good Dr. Oct called out throwing a few usualness book at the shatter glass to distract the vines with false vibrations of their locations wanting to avoid trimming as much as possible to give the plants a better sit of their locations in the room. Thankfully the boy had made quick work of a original thought aggressive defense system. It did indeed seem Navox theory held weight though that also begged the question...

"Lets hope there is something left to claim," Octavius made his way atop the library desks jumping to a couch before beelining it for the boy. Oct made quick notion of the wine rack a few bottles still left in place it seemed.

"I think we may need to consider torching this place like the gremlin suggested to secure our safety in the plants panic to fire," Octavius called out waiting for Selena, and Gene to make their way over.

Mentions:
RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Cresion Breezes​

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Gene Bennet - New Mistzone, Wuthering Gardens - Clubhouse - 2nd Floor Library​

As events descended into pure chaos, Gene readied another flash bang for the collapsed hole but would wait to throw it. The result hadn't been what he hoped for, but it more than did its job and show that burning the place was the correct choice. Once they got the book or books at least, it would be time to move quickly. Speaking at a low Volume Gene continued, with the flash bang in his left hand and the MP5 in his right. "Just you two for now..." He called to Oct and Navox, motioning for Selena with her sword to stay with him. "Three minutes tops, we'll exfiltrate out the windows on the front side, should be no vines there, I have a rope to get us down. Move. No telling when, or if it'll be back." He said in his clipped military manner, not entering to search for the documentation they were sent for. Hopefully whoever catalogued things in here was blatantly obvious with it.

Time was on the clock, though with how the plant acted, maybe it would be a good idea to throw this grenade into the plant house proper. Had the noise stunned it? Or was it well and truly dead? Gene didn't want to find out as he broadcasted his words to the floor below. There was no point staying in here any longer than necessary.

Interactions: all

Sylvia Gannet - New Mistzone, Wuthering Gardens - Clubhouse
​

As the floor crashed in above them Sylvia kept her ground and backed away slowly as the writhing and then stationary mass kept her in a cautious stance. Was it dead, stunned, or looking for the next sound? eying up the others and hearing Gene's instructions from up above, she was a little irked at him giving the orders, but they coincided with her interests at least. "Hey, you heard em, can I burn this bit at least? It won't all catch up I'm pretty sure, but fighting it up close isn't working out for us. So what do you say? Huh?"

Sylvia asked, keeping her focus on the mass of vines before her, though stationary for the here and now, it was only a matter of time before they moved again, not wanting to step any closer, the runes on her shield started to glow as she positioned herself towards the mass and the origin of the plants behind it. The rest of her team seemed to be slouches, maybe now with all of this they would finally spring into action? Well, here was one to hope, and if hope let her down, then there was fire. Fire never let her down, did it?

Interactions: all

 

[Nellancholy]

The rapidly escalating situation was punctuated by the sudden intrusion of another mass of grasping ivy, a swarm of small tendrils that were acting as one. Appendages of the same acidic being that was already assailing them, or a third party to their confrontation? Who could say if all the plant life in the vicinity was already under the control of some centralized intelligence, directing their attacks in a display of malevolence that bore no regard for personal risk or collateral damage? If that was truly the case, then it had to have its core somewhere. It brought to mind her experiences of baiting rats, a task that occasionally came to be required in the Cathedral; while the power plant was pristine, the quarters were not always so.

With that in mind, destroying the hypothetical controller or at least the central mass of the shambling plant life assailing them wasn't the top priority, but it might improve their odds of getting out alive and generally unharmed. She hoped Navox and the others were making good time...

And so Kythera dropped her pistol back into its holster and leapt over to where Sylvia was. Landing in a kneeling posture, she hastily scratched a warding glyph that would (mostly) shield both of them. "We should waste no further time, hellion. Guardsman-" here she took a moment to address Venator as well; "-give it all you've got left!"

She pulled her rifle from her back, bringing it to bear in one arm. Not the steadiest firing posture, but it'd have to do. She muttered a prayer to U235 and squeezed the trigger, sending out a bolt of plasma that struck the stationary ivy with a flash and a sizzle. Hopefully that'd be enough to ignite and repel both sides of their attackers...

RedArmyShogun TreasureSniper

 

[TreasureSniper]

"Guardsmen? Been a while since someone called me that." He honestly liked it, it commanded a sense of respect and authority, at least what it sounded from his side. As much as he wanted keep within mission parameters, he could see that things were starting to get out of hand. And if they dont act now, things will get worse, a lot worse. However, he could see that slowly but surely, the plant mass was revealing itself. And if they could see it, surely they could kill it.

Upon hearing Kythera's suggestion and seeing her activate her power to shield them, he decided it was time cut loose. "Oh well." Hartwell muttered as he raised his flamethrower gauntlet and aimed it toward the general direction of the mass of roots. After a second of hesitation, the guardsmen let out a controlled stream of flames onto the roots, being very careful to only ignite as much as it could handle before swapping back to gunfire with his pistol.

If things got worse, he at least knew he could rely on the few extinguisher grenades that he had the foresight to bring. Though if this entire place were to be set ablaze, he doubted that his puny grenades would make a difference. "Let's try to keep the damage within acceptable parameters." He was mostly referring to Sylvia, considering how enthusiastic she sounded to be able to go all out on an oversized plant

RedArmyShogun Nellancholy

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Selena Purcell
New Mistzone - Clubhouse 2nd Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Selena turned, shielding her eyes and ears from the grenade as much as she good when it detonated before turning her gaze on the room again. It did seem to have an effect on the vines, a debilitating one, yet also violent. It wasn't exactly what they hoped for, but it did buy them some time alone after the thing threw a tantrum in the room. Selena gave a nod to Gene.

Searching through what remained, taking notes and what appeared important to the task at hand, Selena listened to suggestions for after. Truthfully, her aversion to the idea of using fire wasn't simply as it would destroy samples and the literature. Rather, it was as she knew by now that one couldn't entirely predict the reaction of happenings of the Mist. Case in point, the vines reaction to the flashbang. It debilitated and confused them, however, it didn't stun them. Rather, it distracted and threw them off, causing them to lash out at everything that carried the vibrations of the detonation.

Who was to say that the fire would simply kill it rather than make it angry? Normal logic could only go so far, here. Then again, she supposed it could also be that simple as well. The Mist had its own rules. That, and the team gremlin seemed unreliable when it came to restraint.

"Just do try to use it in controlled bursts..." Selena commented with a small sigh.

 

[Cresion Breezes]

New Mistzone (Former Gerralia Empire), Wuthering Gardens
[23/09/1035]


( Azurian Dream , RedArmyShogun , Nellancholy , EmperorsChosen , TreasureSniper )

"Woah woah, is that...smoke, fire? Wow, something must've happened there didn't it?"

"I suppose so."

The navigators of Mistwalker Squad 13's airship looked over the area of the abandoned neighborhood, it wasn't much different from when they arrived, other than the orange flames that now permeated one of the buildings.

"...Guess it's good we pulled up. Seems like a whole situation here." Tangram muttered and picked up the onboard communicator. As the airship pulled closer to the smoke pillar, the signal cleared up better and better, though the background noise of the rather chaotic battle in the building was still interfering.

"So...yeah. Dunno what happened down, but it's not the time for that." The tired-looking pilot said into the communications device, same tone, no disappointment, not even a hint of curiosity as to what happened.

"Eyes in the sky here! We don't know, but it seems to be spreading! We'll drop down a rope in T 3- no, 2 minutes. The smoke'll be threatening our visibility soon, and the area will turn into a wildfire soon, you guys gotta evacuate!" The concerned-looking girl of the navigator duo, Rubika, put down some binoculars and took the communicator out of her colleague's hand and shouted her judgment of the situation outside.

"...It's not our place to order around the combatants..." The man tried to interject, but his always indifferent and quieter tone made it much less noticeable.

As the airship swirled closer to the area, a strange shape could be made out in the fire, wiggling and moving. It appears to be some sort of large tree, or plant, or an amalgamation of an entire garden together. It was burning, but not in the way that other normal pieces of wood and dried grass were. It seemed to be burning from the inside out, like whatever filled its innards was the best firestarter one could ask for. Occasionally, a piece of the plant's strange tendril-filled body exploded when the flames finally ate through the exterior and into its juices, a sour, sulfuric smell floated in the air.

"......Yeah. I suppose I'll suggest an evacuation too. Can't order you guys around, but hey, it's your lives." The pilot looked out of the navigation room window, the smell of strange sour smoke even leaked into the airship a bit, and the crew had to turn up the filtration systems. Even from afar, one could tell a bit too dangerous to stay in for long.

---

Northmound Outpost, Hangar C3
[26/09/1035]


( Azurian Dream , RedArmyShogun , Nellancholy , EmperorsChosen , TreasureSniper , Irradiant )

Official Mission Summary For Mistwalker Squad No.13

Mission Type: Search and Retrieval
Mission Requester : Gerralian Empire National Income Auditorial Department (Gerralia NIA)

Location: New Mistzone (Former Gerralian Empire Territory) - Wuthering Gardens

Mist Expedition Results:
The dispatched squad reported a dangerous Antiquity that seemed to be the result of mutations to botanical life forms residing within the mission location, causing great obstruction to mission objective.

When attempting to use fire to counter the plant-based Antiquity, the properties of the Antiquity and decrepit conditions of the location caused unexpected spread.

Due to the lower priority of mission nature, decision has been made to evacuate the premises instead of continuing the search for the mission objective.

A limited number of documents were recovered and sent to Gerralia NIA for examination and processing. Results are currently pending.

The airship was sitting back in the hangar the group first met in, a few maintenance crew members were hanging around, polishing off the soot and smoke marks on the airship's exterior. Thanks to that process, and the whole ordeal of processing what happened in the Mistzone, a few days of calm have past by.

"Ah." Marrianne put down the report after skimming it. The HR officer laughed a bit and shrugged. "It's normal, it's just how things in the Mistzone go a lot of the time..." But she sighed a bit afterward. "Everyone gets used to it eventually...but lots of people can't handle it before that happens too..."

Mistwalker Squad was a romantic idea to many, but at the same time, many joined without truly understanding what horrors and dangers the Mistzone could pose. Veterans know not to underestimate the Mist, but veterans only became who they are now through countless errors they have made in the past...and not everyone makes it through those errors to continue in this line of work. Many forfeited their spirit and motivation after seeing the true nature of the Mist, some others forfeited their lives to it. That was life in the AIMC, people pass you by and leave you.

But sometimes, new people will also come.

"Oh, right!" The HR officer tried to cheer up and pulled out a thin envelope. "There were actually members who couldn't make it to the initial orientation, but they'll be joining your squad from now on. And as for your next mission..."

Flipping through the pages of documents, the girl's expression changed a few times, from a light frown to confusion. "...Right. The MAA rescinded their original mission request after we told their representative it would be attempted alongside another nation's Mist expedition request. They say they're still working out the details about what exactly they want from us, but we know at least the next mission would be dedicated to only that goal." She explained to the group that so far, they had no real missions.

"However, based on the current estimate they're giving, it's likely that the next mission location would be further up North." Marrianne flipped over the document and displayed a map of the Northwest area of The Clearing. "The Ferria Outpost, North of here, would serve better as a base of operations for your squad based on what we know so far, so once the routine maintenance of your ship is done here, you'll be sent there." She smiled a bit and gave the listeners a small wave.

"I hope you can all relax a little bit, it won't be as stressful as trips into the Mist itself after all."

AIMC outposts, although technically outside of the Mistzone, were no stranger to Antiquities spilling over into the proximate area occasionally. The most efficient flight path also seems to hover near the border of the Mistzone and the Clearing. Perhaps the eager HR officer was right, and it would be all quiet alongside the Northwestern border, or perhaps...something else is waiting.

 

[Irradiant]

To Gaze at the Abyss Once More
Yurina Yamaguchi​

---

Yurina eyed the dial on the centrifuge. "3500 RPM," it read on the digital display. Perfect. The word lazily fluttered from her lips. Her glazed eyes would travel to the test tubes next. "1, 2, 3, 4..." Seven. She counted seven in total. This won't do. She flicked a finger upwards. Rip. Her lab coat began to unravel into separate threads. Then, as if going to fetch something for her, they made for a nearby shelf, grabbing an empty test tube. Yurina would promptly fill it with water before slotting it into the centrifuge's rotor. Now there was the same amount of tubes on each side. With a press of a button, the centrifuge roared to life.

From start to finish, the process is all but muscle memory to her. Loading up samples, finding the appropriate RPM, even counter-balancing the centrifuge with "blanks" to ensure the rotor doesn't shake uncontrollably — Yurina performs it all as naturally as she breathes: precise, mechanical, requiring no thought on her part. Her skill in the lab is only eclipsed by her talent for encoding.

...

A knock at the door. "Come in."

Dr. Stevenson would come into her atelier, with papers in hand. His blue eyes lit up with curiosity as he entered the room, what with the whirring centrifuge and the samples of blood. Though, given his familiarity with Yurina's personal encodes, he could likely — no, definitely — hazard a guess as to what Yurina was up to. He put a hand to his chin, a worried expression directed at her. "Back to the Mist, I'm assuming?" A long sigh wafted from his lips. "What's it this time?"

"It is..." A studious pause. "Well, I'm not entirely sure myself. They weren't too keen on the details." Yurina's answer did not inspire much confidence from the doctor, who seemed to be concerned for her well-being. "They?" Dr. Stevenson was prodding for more information. "Yes. 'They' as in the AIMC." A snappy answer. Of course, Yurina herself knew that her ambiguity provided Dr. Stevenson with little comfort, if any. Thus — "Don't worry Bradley. I'll be fine." — she reassured him. A smile would paint her face in pastels as she did so.

Another sigh, though of a different sort than the one from before. "...If you say so, Yurina." Was it of vexation? Of relief? Yurina couldn't tell. "Just... stay safe out there. No excessive risk-taking, you hear?" Still, if that was all it took for the man to drop the topic, then it didn't really matter it was. A classic example of 'ignorance' and 'bliss' working hand-in-hand, if there ever was.

"Oh!" Dr. Stevenson pulled out a paper from the stack he was carrying. "Almost forgot what I came here for. Here, you've got to see this..." Yurina would remove her gloves before retrieving the document from the doctor's hands.

"A..." She scanned the paper. "Penis." Yurina was mildly amused. Dr. Stevenson, on the other hand, could not contain his laughter. He attempted to air out words but an unrelenting onset of giggles would squeeze them right out of him. They say laughter can be as infectious as a virus; a stifled chuckle from Yurina would certainly agree with that.

"I, I should—" A gasp for air. Dr. Stevenson was still fighting against the urge to laugh. "I should probably explain what you're looking at." Finally, his trembling voice returned to normal. "I was in the process of grading these," he gestured at the stack in his hands, placing it on an empty table.

"But then, lo and behold..." He pointed at the paper that contained the phallic drawing. "If such an encode truly existed, hoo boy..."

Yurina flashed a devilish smirk. "I think I can have that arranged."

"Oh hell no!" Dr. Stevenson was opposed. "Knowing you, I don't doubt you can make something work." He paused for a bit before commenting on the matter further. "I don't want my walls getting chalked up with glyphs that look like penises. No thanks."

"What if they were the most elaborately-drawn penises? Surely that's got to count for something?" Yurina, pouring gasoline on an open flame. "I know how you like your complicated glyphs."

Dr. Stevenson? The open flame itself. "Yurina—" He contemplated his choice of words carefully. "Just... No. I won't even entertain that with a response." The flame died out.

"...I should probably get going. Got another class coming up after all."

A nod of acknowledgment from Yurina. "Of course. Duty calls."

Wasting no time, the doctor started to collect his papers, shuffling them into a neat pile. He turned to face the door but a lump in his throat forced him to look back. "I mean it, Yurina. Take care of yourself out there..." He trailed off. "Don't think I can handle losing someone else to the Mist, y'know..." He was mumbling at the end, so Yurina couldn't quite make out what he said. But before she could ask, he was gone. Probably more words to tell her to be careful, she assumed.

"It's almost time for me to leave as well." She fetched the samples from the centrifuge, the immiscible liquids now separated into layers. Preparing to go, she took another good look at the room before flipping the light switch off. Click. The sound of a door locking. It would be a while before she'd see her lab again.

—​

The bottoms of Yurina's shoes clacked against the metallic floorboards of the hangar. What did they call it again? Hangar C3? The person who'd led her here had said the name once, but for Yurina, it was in one ear then out the other. She should have listened more intently. Over yonder, at the back of the facility, was the airship. She would soon be walking towards it.

"Follow me, ma'am." Bumping into another AIMC member, a dapperly dressed man with shades covering his eyes, she did as he said.

As she neared the group congregated around the airship, she could somewhat discern the voice of a woman at its center. "There were actually members who couldn't make it to the initial orientation, but they'll be joining your squad from now on. And as for your next mission..."

How timely, Yurina thought. She let the raven-haired girl finish her spiel before continuing to approach. Now she was well within the group's periphery.

"Apologies for the intrusion." She gave a glance to Marrianne, and then addressed the rest of the parties present. "I suppose I am one of the 'new members' that was mentioned. Yurina Yamaguchi, from the MAA. The Department of Encoding Studies, to be more specific. Well met, everyone."

She tugged at a crease on her kimono. "I believe it's pertinent for comrades-in-arms to know of each other's abilities. But I'll keep it quick, to spare your ears." With one swift motion, nothing more than a twirl of the wrist, the fabric on her sleeves was woven into a whip. She cracked it, sending a ripple of sound throughout the hangar. "I'm quite adept at manipulating fabric. A personal 'gimmick' of mine, and the most versatile. Shape, size, hardness — to name a few, these are some attributes that I can adjust." After Yurina dispelled the encode, the reconstructed threads returned to their rightful place.

"As for my other ability..." Fiddling with a zipper on the inside of her kimono, after some difficulty, she pulled out a vial of blood from it. "Long ago, I gained the nickname 'Lifegiver' from a Mistwalker, like yourselves." She extended a hand towards the group to make her point. "My personal feelings on it aside, it is true, to an extent. I can indeed create life — monsters — that do my bidding."

Shaking the vial, "However, I will require time and a sacrifice of blood to accomplish it. More importantly, I will be left vulnerable."

A respectful bow. "I hope to rely on you all when the time comes."

"Naturally, you all can rely on me as well," she added, ensuring they knew that she also had their backs.

 

[Cresion Breezes]

Navox Cerulewurst
Northmound Outpost, Hangar C3
[26/09/1035]
Interactions: Yurina ( Irradiant )
Mentions: All


"Hsst- Ow..." Navox was sitting near the airship and watching the maintenance crew work on polishing the burnt soot away from its exterior. He picked at a bandage on his arm idly, underneath was a a minor burn from the last mission. It still felt a bit fiery even after a couple of days, but in hindsight, Navox felt lucky that he didn't catch anything worse with all the acid and fire flying everywhere in the last mission.

He looked around at the others in the squad, perhaps it was only natural that some of them felt like they weren't cut out for this. Navox might've felt the same if he hadn't spent time with the Department of Mistzone Research. If there was one thing about Mistzone exploration one should know, it would be that nothing ever goes smoothly there. The HR officer from before seems to agree.

"Certainly could use a break...at least I didn't burn my input hand." He said, looking rather bored. But the introduction of potential new members did have the boy's eyes perk up a bit.

The new member was a woman who introduced herself as a member of the MAA and an encoder, she seemed rather polite and reserved, or it might just be courtesy towards strangers. "Ello," Navox looked over and waved at her casually. "I'm from the MAA too, I used to be with the Department of Computational Sciences, name's Navox." His voice had a lackadaisical tone that contrasted with Yurina's.

"We did almost all explode on our last mission, but I'd say we're mostly reliable. Right guys? Guys?" He looked around and asked the group.

 

[Azurian Dream]

Octavius "Oct" Halbervi -Northmound Outpost, Hanger C3.

"Quite capable indeed. If anything learned during my time in service its that intense situations build the best bonds," Oct responded with a s mild smile to Navox handing him some freshly made burn ointment having seen him fiddling around with prior applied bandages. It was true while some had opted to leave after the plant experience giving a minor taste of what the mist had in store, it was also true that some were reaffirmed in these expeditions worth to the rest of humanity. A "weed out" process was simply natural to all organizations the AIMC was no different in that regard. Sitting down with some bandages of his own from the acid/flame explosion thankfully medical supplies, and Octs hand were in good supplies in the aftermath.

"Well met Ms. Yamaguchi we will be honored to have you amongst our numbers I am sure," Oct expressed watching her expressions has she explained her abilities. Another unique personal with a body needing particular care Octavius would need to go over her medical notes later to make sure he was prepped for anything unique her physiology would through his way in a worse case scenario. Given the addition of new arrivals it was apprecaited to know their was a balance to their loses be that as it may though it would be interested to see how the rest of the party was feeling currently.

Interaction: Cresion Breezes Irradiant
Mentions: EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Nellancholy TreasureSniper​

 

[Irradiant]

Of Dangerous Travels and New Faces
Yurina Yamaguchi

Interactions: Cresion Breezes and Azurian Dream​

---

As Yurina wrapped up her introduction, which admittedly had gone on a bit longer than she'd hoped, the relaxed voice of one Navox Cerulewurst rang in her ears. Out of instinct, Yurina turned her head towards him, listening intently. "Oh!" Her surprise manifested itself into a lilt. "You're from the MAA as well?" Of all the things the azure-haired youth had mentioned, Yurina latched onto that one particular detail. She looked him up and down, attempting to locate him in her memories, but alas she could not recall anyone of his likeness. Perhaps she never brushed shoulders with him after all, despite her occasional dealings with the Department of Computational Studies. Not one of my students. A mental note, of which she was mildly disappointed.

...

"Navox," she mumbled pensively, after a brief silence. "Navox, Navox, Navox... Where have I heard that before?" The name did indeed sound familiar, but at the moment Yurina was unable to put a finger on it. Fortunately, with a bit of digging in the good ol' noggin—

"Right! The computing device. That Navox."

—she managed to put two and two together.

Though she had not much else to say on the matter, "You... ahem... must really like the tech," she did find it a little strange, endearing even, that someone would entitle themselves after it. Still, it was definitely not the strangest name she'd heard in her life. Yurina would leave things at that.

Navox also went on to mention an interesting, if not eye-opening, detail about their most recent excursion. To borrow the gentleman's words: "We did almost all explode on our last mission." Yurina raised an eyebrow at the word 'explode,' wondering how they came out of it mostly unscathed.

At the mention of the group's previous mission, another gentleman would enter the picture, passing Navox what looked to be a tube of burn ointment. A resourceful fellow, Yurina observed. "Always prepared, I see. It pays to be prepared in the Mist." It was true: though one can never truly know what to expect, people who plan and anticipate usually live longer out in the field. The black-haired man was one such person.

 

[Nellancholy]

A quiet tap-tap-tapping could be heard in the quieter parts of the airship as Kythera continued her few laps of jogging around the more open areas, a loose white shirt and linen pants (the only items she'd brought that could afford to get sweaty off duty) flapping as she ran. Regular exercise wasn't necessarily what most people would associate with a person of the cloth, but given her additional duties it was quite necessary to maintain a certain level of physical aptitude. She was certainly nowhere near as musclebound as some Mistwalkers ended up being, but good cardio and a general habitation to physical activity went a long way out in the mist.

As for the prior mission...as long as the AIMC got some measure of what they wanted and she wasn't being dismissed, she figured she was holding up her side of the agreement. Helping Radiatheology profit and establish better ties? Good. Exploring the Mistzone and salvage what was left behind? Also good. Following the AIMC's orders...she didn't hate it, or she wouldn't be here, but she didn't quite feel great about it either.

As she ran, she let her hand touch her other arm, gently scratching one of those tiny holes that would open whenever she thought hard about something.

She figured she'd contributed towards making the right call earlier: they were likely on a ticking clock the moment their feet touched the ground, and those plants could have caused further problems for...someone down the road if not pulled out at the roots, as they were. Her encoding had mitigated (if far from nullified) the scope of the collateral damage, and by the grace of U235, there was at least something to salvage.

With that in mind...her thoughts moved to that reckless, trigger-happy girl. She hadn't seen her since extraction, and she felt just a little more responsible for her.

Changing course to cover sections of the ship she hadn't crossed yet, she tried to keep an eye out for her.

RedArmyShogun

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Gene Bennet - Northmound Outpost, Hanger C3.​

In the days to come, Gene mostly kept to himself, thinking over the mission with his only real human contact being his roommate, Selena on the flight back. Satisfied they got a few articles of documents out of the location, it was not yet told if they found anything of value, unfortunately they could not yet know if they had what was needed. And the recovery of human remains could not be done at all. Still, it was the right call to leave, burning it? Well that was open to debate. But given what he heard of it spreading acid, attacking all sources of vibration and movement, it ended up being as big as the garded section itself, and its roots and vines were all throughout the building.

Though it was poor luck with searching this place, and not assuming that all the Fauna was a monster. And it didn't seem things were getting much better. Or at least no less eventful. A new mission, a new location. This time Gene just arrived in his normal gear, taking off the gasmask and helmet only after he reached some of the rest. Some faces were gone, some were added, giving a simple nod as he began to look over his equipment, Gene had nothing to say just yet it seemed. But did voice a response to Navox.

"We all came back alive and with all our parts. Thats a good mission."

Interactions: Cresion Breezes

Sylvia Gannet - Northmound Outpost, Hanger C3.
​

"Hmmhmmhmmmmmmm." Humming to herself, Sylvia walked the halls of the airship and the hangar and thought a little about the mission. That fire was sure impressive, but she didn't expect the plant to blow up. But then again, its not like they had a chance, could have just left the building, but that would be too late and they would have lost the documents, still, she didn't get why they just upped and left, the fire would have taken some time to reach the other areas, right? Oh well, that didn't much matter. Still, just what was that thing? Before it became what it was?

Catching sight of the medic, well that was a good thing to call her, right? Either way, catching sight of her Sylvia took note of her scratching the hole, wound, in her arm. Well, she wasn't sure what to call it, it wasn't bleeding at least, but she seemed hopelessly lost, or searching for something... The Airship wasn't that big, as her clanking armored form approached closer, she waved and spoke out. "Eheheh, are you lost or looking for someone? I think most of the people are in the Hangar, we'll likely be moving again soon you know."

Interactions: Nellancholy

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Selena Purcell
Northmound Outpost - Hanger C3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Their first mission hadn't very well gone according to plan, however they had mostly come out unscathed, a fact Selena was grateful for. However, a part of her had felt lacking. She knew by now that the Mistzone was unpredictable. One couldn't very well become accustomed to it enough to reliably lead novices through it as with normal professions. Nonetheless, as one of the people with the most experience, she still wished she could have guided the others a bit better.

Something to dwell on later. For now, they had an opportunity to rest and onboarding of even more new members. The first to arrive instantly earned an interested gaze from her. Yurina Yamaguchi, also hailing from the Academia. Selena knew of her. An encoder but, more so, the woman was one of few with a weighted resume of expeditions into the mist. She had even more experience than Selena, likely almost as much as her mother would have had, were she still here.

Selena gave a smile, her visible eye shutting momentarily, waiting until after Navox spoke and Yurina had the chance to respond. "Selena Purcell. We work in the same Department at the Academy, though I don't know if you recall me. I suppose you could say I'm a bit of an admirer of your work," She greeted before moving on to address Gene and Navox. "Indeed. Failed missions are marked with a list of M.I.A.'s," She said with a soft chuckle.

RedArmyShogun Cresion Breezes Irradiant

 

[Cresion Breezes]

AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship, Open Skies, Northwest Gerralia
[26/09/1035]


( Azurian Dream , RedArmyShogun , Nellancholy , EmperorsChosen , TreasureSniper , Irradiant )

The journey towards the North began with the lift-off of the airship, the flight path was set for the border between the Clearing and the Mistzone. Things were quiet for a while, perhaps it was due to being so high in the sky. Beneath the cruising air vehicle was the thick layer of Mist that was constantly present, occasionally pieces of nature or civilization could be seen peaking through the blanket of fog when the Mist density cleared up or the altitude of the structures was high enough.

Things were rather peaceful for the most part, the breeze was light and the weather gentle. The ship was planned to move both day and night on the pre-set trajectory toward Ferria Outpost, it looked to be a journey of one day without much issue.

The darkness of the night settled in, the dark blues and pitch blacks replaced the endless expansion of grey shades outside of the window. It was difficult to even tell the ship was moving, as almost everything was identical outside to the naked eye.

That was...until there was something in the distance. It was a speck of light, a speck of bright orange light that pierced the foggy landscape beneath and rushed upwards into the sky. The orange spark then bursts open in another array of orange light before falling and fading away into glowing specks. It was a familiar colour to any member of the AIMC, the organization's signature colour - Fog Fluorescent. The ray of light that ascended into the sky was what the distress beacons of AIMC members looked like, from colour to form.

Any member near a window would likely been able to see it, including the ship's navigators.

"...Give me the handbook, rookie."

"The hell we need the handbook for? That's clearly a standard distress signal and we have to-"

The two navigators, seemingly tormented by the looming prospect of an all-nighter shift, were bickering about the situation as usual.

"...Ain't up to us what to do...And it's the mission logs...the planning logs, I need those...I stuffed them into the handbook. Didn't think we'd need those." Tangram decided to get up himself and flip through a large volume before shaking out a stack of loose-leaf papers. He checked the navigation tables and the papers before his usually tired and apathetic expression turned slightly confused, as well as concerned.

"As far as it states in the mission planning logs, there should be no official AIMC activity around this area." The tired-looking man frowned a bit as he looked out the window, another orange beacon rose and burst into the sky.

"Either the Mist is playing tricks on us...or we stumbled into something off the books." He added, with a tone more serious and firm than usual.

---

AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship Meeting Room, Open Skies, Northwest Gerralia
[27/09/1035] (approx 2:00 A.M.)


"So far, we have slowed and stopped the ship, there were at least half a dozen of those distress beacons detected before midnight turned over." Rubika pointed to a projected map from the navigation table. She tried her best to sound authoritative even though she didn't have any authority, because waking up your (some trigger-happy) colleagues past midnight for an emergency meeting required at least some degree of confidence.

"However, according to official mission logs and planning logs from the AIMC, there should be no missions taking place in this area for such a signal to be possible. It's unknown whether it is an illusion conjured by the Mist, but there have been no records of such a phenomenon so far, especially since we are barely in the Mistzone in the first place. Tangram hypothesized that it's more likely that we have stumbled upon illicit activities or potential theft or misuse of AIMC's devices." The girl explained rather sternly, but soon relaxed her shoulders and plopped herself down on a nearby chair like her colleague. The slight dark circles under her eyes gave away her fatigue.

"...Look, I don't like to be up at this hour either, but you guys are the ones making the judgment calls here," Tangram said half-heartedly while clicking away at the projector mindlessly. "The nearest ground help AIMC can send would take like, half a day or something, whatever is going down there could be over by the time that happens."

"So...what do we say? I'll sacrifice my sleep to do some landing protocols if you lot are willing to wander out there in the dark to try to find what's going on."

 

[Irradiant]

An Unexpected Development
Yurina Yamaguchi

Interactions: Azurian Dream , Cresion Breezes , EmperorsChosen , RedArmyShogun , Nellancholy , and TreasureSniper​

---

Yurina could hardly fall asleep. She tossed and turned in her bed, but try as she might, memories of her previous expeditions would take up residence in her mind, never really letting her linger on anything else, even the prospect of rest. For the umpteenth time, she would be venturing once again into the Mist. The realization of just how many times she'd been in the thick of it hasn't quite sunk in yet. The rustling of sheets — Yurina had gotten up, stretching her arms and legs, shaking them awake. On a corner of her living quarters was a small, round table with a vase at the center. Coincidentally, it was also adjacent to a window, which gave a clear view of the night sky.

As she sat, a finger tracing the outline of the vase and its ridges, her eyes would periodically wander to the outside, peering into the inky vastness that lay there. Then, she would daydream.

It was like any other occasion, no different from her other trips to the Mist. She would board an airship, greet her new companions, and set off to mist-covered horizons. A routine. A multi-step process that she had performed over and over for years. At the time, she saw her repeated outings to the Mist as such. That was her mistake. She could still remember the slimy texture of that tendril, brushing against her skin. Before she knew it, she was down on the ground, writhing in pain. Perhaps her prior experiences out in the field made her reckless; perhaps she felt invincible, immortal even, after having only gone on successful missions. Though she left the encounter with her life intact, in its aftermath was a lasting scar by which she would remember it.

Out of instinct, Yurina reached for her mask, which hid one side of her face. Lifting it up momentarily revealed grafted skin replacing old, necrosed skin. She could see her reflection from the window, the sky's black canopy making her features easier to discern. She had learned her lesson, of which the price was flesh.

"Hm...?" A surge of orange penetrated the sky's dark blanket, drawing Yurina's attention to it. The unmistakable color of an AIMC distress signal. One after another, more of these signals — flares, more like — would light up the expanse, turning it bright. An alarming sight. Human compassion would dictate jumping into the fray immediately. But, as with all matters relating to the Mist, making such a choice is rarely so cut and dried.

—​

Yurina mulled over Rubika's words carefully. The girl was privy to additional information, after all. Misuse of AIMC gear by bad actors, or an illusion conjured up by the Mist? Rubika maintained a characteristic neutrality as she relayed her findings to the group. From time to time, Tangram of the navigation crew would chime in with some remarks of his own, sounding rather disinterested by it all. While Yurina figured that was simply the gentleman's personality, she could easily see how one could be slighted by his demeanor. Still, he was right: if they were to leave things to the AIMC, reinforcements would likely not arrive in time to intercept the yet-to-be-verified perpetrators. They would need to personally act, and now, if they were to ascertain the truth of the situation. With these variables in mind—

"I believe there is no harm in taking a bit of a detour."

—Yurina spoke.

"If I recall correctly, the AIMC was only formed some 20 odd years ago, so it would be fair to say they are not as well-resourced," she continued, supplementing her initial statement with an explanation. "Let us assume there are people down there who possess ill-gotten equipment from the AIMC. This begs the question of 'how,' no?" A contemplative pause — Yurina was still lost in her thoughts. "Moreover, it would also mean that an AIMC facility has been compromised somehow. I believe this is worth looking into, if true." She would stop there, awaiting feedback from the others.

 

[Nellancholy]

Kythera was (pleasantly?) surprised that Sylvia was apparently able to take notice of her, and a little...piqued by the fact that Sylvia was apparently walking around alone. People like her...tended to thrive on an audience, in Kythera's experience. She'd known kids like Sylvia, back when she was scrabbling together for a living in the slums. The kind of person who'd do the most audacious thing possible in their own way, just to make sure they were leaving a mark.

People tended to write them off as attention-seekers, though that's really not how she saw it. More often than not, they'd do what were ultimately very worthwhile things out of their drive to show their abilities. They just needed some external direction to get there.

She slowed her jog to a halt in the corridor, acknowledging Sylvia's statement. She exhaled, leaning back on a sturdy crate that had been left unattended for the moment.

"I believe Mr. Tangram and Rubika will let us know, if that's the case." If she noticed her own slightly odd linguistic construct, she gave no indication of such.

"But I WAS looking for you, Ms. Gannet." She wasn't sure how Sylvia was used to having people approach her, so she had to do a bit of probing herself. "I felt I should thank you, for your contributions in our prior excursion. U235's blessing was made manifest in your armaments, striking down that creature, and I am certain our odds of retrieving anything of worth-" Including themselves. "-would have been that much slimmer were you not present with your...proclivities."

She tried to remain diplomatic. "I think if we're going to continue being on a team..." She made a slight gesture with her hand past both shoulders, trying to signal that she was referring to "we" as a whole, not just the two of them. "...there's a lot we can learn from each other. I'm sure I can count on you to lead by example..."

RedArmyShogun

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Gene Bennet - Northmound Outpost, Hanger C3.​

One of the new ones, though old giving some aspects of her appearance, Gene was quick to add his own thoughts, it was late at night, too damn late, but trouble didn't operate on a 9 to 5. Though one thing perplexed him. "The AIMC has been around for enough years to iron out production for things like this. We are the tip of the spear and most of what the other governments want to throw into the fray. If I'm being optimistic it's one of the deep mist teams having found their way back... Unfortunately, that is likely not the case." He says a bit grimly behind the mask, before continuing, "Regardless of who or even what it is, we have to respond to such signals regardless. We'll find out the truth soon enough, it's not a matter of what we prefer. Though, if it is an emergency of who's there, its been two hours.

And though remote, we should consider it is bandits of some sort purposefully drawing us in." Saying his piece Gene waits to see if the rest had anything to say one way or the other.

Interactions: All present at the summons

Sylvia Gannet - Northmound Outpost, Hanger C3.
​

Listening to Kythera, Sylvia watches with her red eyes narrowing much like a snake as she hung on each word, each syllable. As her face broke out into a grin she shook her head. "Nah, Sylvia is fine. This isn't the Imperial Military, Gannet is such a stiff name. Plus, it may surprise you, but I was only a private, even after years of service." Listening on, it seemed Kythera was a worshiper of the Atom, what a fool, there was only one divinity in this world... And it was aiming to strangle them all... But Mortals could kill Gods, couldn't they? "But, ah, lets not talk about the past, the spider may come down and bite you after all..." Watching the other leaning against the crate, she rolled her shoulders, continuing the speak.

"I just did what I knew to do. Everything dies if you just try hard enough. Everything and everyone. They all fall down. Though... Are you sure you want to follow my example? That may not be such a good idea, still being so late and called for, should we be out here? I had no plan to go, the rest can deal with all of this, if a vote is tied, they can find me." Though there was one more matter to address, the working together, learning from each other bits.

Sylvia only smiled, she was a troubled person, even as a child, but she was more akin to a delinquent or scavenger, rather than an attention speaker. "I'm only up right now as they called for us, that and I'm looking for any abandoned items I can use for a trade trail. When you just trade items with lots of people, till you get what you want. I also am something of a crafter. I also like to burn things, let there be fire! Ahahaha! Ah... Though, I'm not sure everyone was happy in me setting it on fire, but that creature was just too dangerous, and I kinda wonder what it used to be. The mist repurposes things, more so those who are left behind. But yeah.. So do we skip the meeting, or do we go? And what do I call you?"



Interactions: Nellancholy

 

[Azurian Dream]

Octavius "Oct" Halbervi -Northmound Outpost, Hanger C3.​

Oct rubbed his chin as he listened to the briefing thankfully having already been up procuring and compounding some more burn ointment for his medical supplies. As such for those who hadn't been awake, he brought around a set of coffee that he had made off his bunsen burner. He gave a particular bigger cup to Yurina who looked like she had performed to a prior bad attempt of rest before this. Handing a cup to Navok, Gene, Sylvia(With some added sugar if she pops ip), Kythera(who he gave the optional of tea instead based on her pedigree if she pops up), Selena, and a double dose for Venator. Finally offering a cup to their wonderous flight crew the good Doctor took his seat as his colleagues mulled on the option giving their opinions.

"I too am curious like Miss Yurina to what ill gains have potentially been set up in this area not even that far in. Though I also err on the side of caution with Gene the likelihood of this being a foul attempt for something else gain is highly more likely. Though in the end, we ourselves have more to gain than lose hopefully by checking this out," Octavius nodded leaning back in his seat as he looked over the information present again. There was no other rendition to the scenario present thus making its concept simple, but just like the other the good doctor was just as game.

With the lack of Kythera, and Sylvia thought it was unfair fruition to say this was a foresure mission acceptance though Selena had yet to give her opinion nor had Venator. The table was open pretty wide as the Doctor took a drink from his own cup curious to how their flight team was holding as their banter could be heard no more what was going on.

Interactions: RedArmyShogun Cresion Breezes Irradiant
Mentions: TreasureSniper EmperorsChosen Nellancholy

 

[Cresion Breezes]

Navox Cerulewurst
AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship, Open Skies, Northwest Gerralia
[26/09/1035]
Interactions: Yurina ( Irradiant , Gene ( RedArmyShogun ), Octavius ( Azurian Dream ) )
Mentions: All


"Ugh...I graduated already I don't need to be up at this hour anymore..." Navox sulked in a corner, he looked a bit tired after being awoken in the middle of the night, though that sentiment quickly faded as the navigators explained the current circumstance and the other members of the squad began giving their own few cents on it. The new lady mentioned the possibility of interlopers who may have illegally gotten their hands on AIMC's equipment, that certainly seemed like a reason for an off-the-table, unexpected event, but it was strange that those who resort to illegal activities would dive headfirst into the Mist. Probably some real desperados if that was the case.

"I mean, if someone stole AIMC's stuff, I guess there's no other reason for it than to go into the Mist themselves." Navox leaned back and casually stated. "Looks like they didn't study up at all though, basically got completely screwed a few steps into the Mist, I've seen first-year students at Miscantia do better. Whether they're criminals or not, they're probably amateurs when it comes to the Mist." That hypothesis did stand in stark contrast with Gene's more optimistic outlook about one of the missing Deep Mistzone exploration squads returning, though it was an optimistic outlook for a reason.

"Optimistic for sure, I've just been assuming they all died. Besides, it's kind of strange for hardened explorers like the Deep exploration squads to return at a location that's this remote, but maybe they didn't have a choice where they ended up, regardless of who they are." Although theories were flying all over the place, there was a sense of curiosity in the air. It wasn't that surprising, those who are curious enough to potentially throw their lives away (or face a fate worse than death) in the Mist would be curious enough to investigate such an oddity. Navox wasn't exempt from that feeling.

"How would they know anyone would be passing right now though, it's been super dark outside, if it's a fraud attempt I mean. And even if someone can see it, the chance of your average stargazer going into the Mist is pretty slim. Seems real high-risk low reward for criminal activity." He reassured those concerned about the criminal origin of the signal. The Mist did seem like a perfect place for crimes to happen, it apparently did historically, but the fact that it was so deep in the night and the signal being of AIMC origin was off-putting to the young man.

"I agree, we should check it out. We're better equipped than anyone else in this area to, it's now or nothing, us or no one." He added while leaning back in his chair, almost spilling his coffee.

 

[TreasureSniper]

There was a sense of dissatisfaction with how the previous mission went. In fact Hartwell was dwelling on it for a bit too long, it became one of his go to topics for the breakfast meetups.

"Well let's hope our Intel is much more complete this time. Personally.. I think-" And thankfully Venator had enough self restraint to know that there was a time and place for such a discussion. "Apologies, please do carry on with the briefing."

Silently, he listened the brief about the stolen equipment, causing him to raise a curious eyebrow (hidden behind his helmet of course). "And I assume that they would want the suspects to captured alive?" While this was obvious for most, it's important to lay out the mission requirements, especially for the more trigger happy folks of this group. Though it were up to him, any criminals caught out here take way too much resources to bring back for what they were worth.

 

[Cresion Breezes]

AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship, Open Skies, Northwest Gerralia
[27/09/1035]


( Azurian Dream , RedArmyShogun , Nellancholy , EmperorsChosen , TreasureSniper , Irradiant )

"It appears that we got a majority opinion," Rubika said after the discussion about the mysterious signal, she crossed her arms and tapped her forehead for a bit. "Well...I suppose we can give you what information we have on this area."

"Right......Let's see......" Tangram untangled himself from the blanket and chair, surprisingly revealing that he hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"Alright alright, here's something about the area." He fumbled with what looked like an aged map for a moment.

"So we're in former Gerralian territory, this entire area was nothing special, other than being really flat. It's mostly farmland, so not a lot of people relative to land area, they all fled post-expansion anyways. AIMC doesn't monitor this area too closely because it's so barren post-expansion, as far as records go, not much other than some cattle, shacks, and archaic farming equipment was left behind here."

"But that doesn't mean it's safe." Rubika added.

"Yeah yeah of course, it is still in the Mistzone." Her colleague yawned, seeming slightly amused by the turn of events.

"......Anyways, if you made up your minds then get out there. Make sure to keep clear communication, whatever you find out there probably isn't worth your life."

---

AIMC Mistwalker Squad No.13 Airship, ???, Northwest Gerralia
[27/09/1035]


The intel from the navigators seemed about right, the Mist was a lot thinner than what was encountered in the previous mission, and there was even a faint glow from the horizon that symbolized the Clearing's civilization.

The land around was indeed flat, there was grass and weeds growing disorderly, and occasionally a piece of abandoned manmade structure such a fences or sheds laid in the field, but mostly, there were no obstacles.

The area where the signal approximately came from was a small forest, the trees planted for farming purposes. After being abandoned, the saplings grew without human intervention and competed for the few nutrients in the soil. Most were withered and dried, but a few managed to grow into true sturdy trees in the past decades.

The trees were silent even after being approached, thankfully.

...

Or...were they?

Nope, it appears they were screaming.

There were what looked like a dozen of strange black and white masses gathered under one particularly large tree, upon closer inspection, they were quadrupedal creatures about the size of cows, they had black and white patterns similar to cows, the moves on the legs and hoofs like cows...Other than the tendrils that extended from the skin that was currently trying to reach up the trees and the fact that the blacks splotches on their pelts seems to contain some extra eye balls, they appeared to be cows.

In the shallower edges of the Mistzone, normal animals that were abandoned or wandered into the Mistzone were commonly somewhat mutated, just like Mist Corroded humans. Animals didn't have to deal with social discrimination, but they also don't have orientation programs that taught them how to cope with these new found powers.

"AHHHHHH- IT'S TOUCHING ME IT'S TOUCHING AHHHHHH- NO NO NO NO NO!"

The tree was screaming in the distance, or maybe it's more accurate to say that the screams came from the tree. The headspace of the last mission may lead to an inaccurate assessment of how alive some plant life are.

-Bzzt-

Plop.

Something dropped from the tree onto the mutated cows, a whirling motor sound came from the item. Keen-eyed individuals may observe its circular saw blade that dug into one of the cow's tendrils. Unfortunately, gravity is not the most skilled at wielding weapons, the item eventually fell to the side of the tree.

"WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR! WHY DID YOU JUST THROW IT!"

"WE'RE DEAD, WE'RE SO DEAD SO DEAD SO DEAD! I REGRET THIS JOB I REGRET THIS LIFE I REGRET EVERYTHING!!!"

It appears that trees were screaming again, muffled by distance and whatever branches and leaves were left. It appear to only animate the mutated creatures beneath the tree though as they kept on trying to reach upwards once more.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Gene Bennet - ???, Northwest Gerralia​

The trip was thankfully in short order and uneventful, though the fact someone was in this region at all was a bit surprising, there was nothing to be gained from it. It was just farmland, had they stumbled across something more? Still, the likely enemies here were repurposed livestock, cattle at that. Nothing much to see here, this place was one of many ripped from the annuals of time, history and mediocracy. Still, they had a job to do.

What in the name of the Mist had they came out upon? With his hearing being assisted by the still air, it seemed humans were indeed behind part of this, and likely the opinion on them being thieves was true. Unfortunate, but still they were humans. That afforded them some protection, plus they likely had information on why, how, when and where, they got their goods. That information was to some extent vital, shrugging, he pointed forward with his right index and middle fingers extended and his thumb touching the ring finger and pinky in a tactical gesture that was simple for those with any sort of military training, move out, attack the enemy.

Interactions: All present at the summons

Sylvia Gannet - ???, Northwest Gerralia
​

"And here I thought you would never ask! Eheheheh! Don't worry! I won't shoot you once you get in front of me!" Sylvia for her part had paid little and less attention to the briefing. The passing farmland stirred some grim memories as the girl took on a more somber expression, as she had done many times before, like a coiled snake in a docile, yet ill mood. Farmland like this wasn't too unlike her home. No, this very well could have been it, though her family didn't really mess with cows, so much as pigs and vegetables. No, the odds of her being dragged home, were far too remote. Though much like Gene, she wondered why anyone would be out here. The liveliest thing they could find would be a monster. And the most advanced thing a Tractor from some years ago.

Still, seeing these abominations that were clearly once Cows, she finally had something to do, she wouldn't set a fire though, she didn't want to get yelled at for setting a fire as she rushed in, loading a fresh shell into the 12 gauge as she fired at close range into one of the beasts, aiming for its center mass. Then a second and a third round joined the Symphony of violence as the armored juggernaut fired 000 buckshot rounds into two separate targets as she advanced with her shield forward and her armor clanking in the thin mists.



Interactions: All