It had been a close thing, their discussion, but the two of them decided not to go looking for the predator. Lissa was far more inclined to look for the beast, confident enough in her own martial skill, but she deferred to Nylah’s judgment to head back to the village. After all, they were to collect herbs for poultices, not hunting.

It did make her uncomfortable when the deer’s cries were cut short, for all of the uneventfulness the remainder of their foraging mission went. Until they reached the edge of the forest, that is. At the boundary between the forest was a foreign woman, injured, and to her, tottering on the edge of consciousness. Lissa’s companion understandably rushed past her to aid the horned woman, and a brief moment later, the Raam-in-disguise hustled to join her. She didn’t need Nylah to ask her for help to immediately begin rendering aid. Just from looking at her wounds, she agreed that the Oni needed her bleeding staunched. It seemed that the two knew each other, but that wasn’t an important detail at the moment.

“Of course. I’m right behind you,” she replied, her hands already behind her head as she undid the large blue ribbon that usually sat cutely on her head. Lissa liked it very much, but it was also her best option to use as a tourniquet at the moment. One of her belts were the second-best thing, but belts were in a far distant second for stopping bleeding—first aid tips that she had learned over the years on the road.

“On it,” she nodded, immediately descending on the injured Oni. Finding the limb with the most pressing wound, she quickly began applying the tourniquet. If there were any other wounds that needed one too, she’d undo her belt or one of the fasteners on her coat, although she knew it was less than ideal. Working with Nylah, she did what she could to stabilize the girl—she didn’t know anything about herbs, so she left the Mothraki to prepare the poultice as she rendered the first-aid she knew.

Hopefully the apprentice healer had a trick up her sleeve, or getting their unexpected back to the village without injuring her further would be troublesome. Lissa was sure she could carry her, but that was less than ideal…

She had struck true.

Seelay sighed at Sionna's celebratory antics, but she was pleased at that her arrow had pierced the deer in a way that would limit its suffering. If it yet lived, it would not be for much longer given she had struck it either through the heart or the lung. Preferably the heart, but a destroyed lung would also be relatively quick as long as it was damaged enough.

Before she could check her kill, however...

The Kyrnith was here.

Seelay had never seen the elder beast in person, though she had heard of it even before Akando's explanation. She knew very little of it, and her curiosity was undeniable.

But they had to tread carefully.

They had done nothing to earn its ire, as far as she was aware, but even so it was possible the creature would take issue with their actions if they did something untoward.

"It's as the Raam says, Father of Wind and Wood," she began, one eye still on the body of the most distant deer carcass, "We don't want to harm your kin, but instead to take what we need to sustain the village through these difficult times."

@Cu Chulainn@Rune_Alchemist

---

A hunting we go
@Cu Chulainn@VitaVitaAR

---

The beast would remain silent as they replied, seconds stretching into what felt like minutes as it would quietly gauge their response before it would finally deign to reply to the hunters.

“Such is the cycle of life. The wolves, too, have been starved by the frost of the Beast of Rime.” It would flick its head towards the south, a brief, cold wind passing through the area. “...all of the forest hurts. Wolves starved. The birds which run along the ground found no shelter from the beasts. The armored behemoths starved, unable to find enough food themselves.” It would turn its head back towards the gathered hunters. “The beasts of the deeper forest seek sustenance elsewhere too.”

“...does anyone understand what this gangly deer is saying?” Sionna would point to the Kyrnith, completely oblivious. “He’s speaking in riddles and riddle games are for the kid fairies.”

“...you would do well to keep such comments as ‘gangly deer’ to yourself, child of the Otherworld.”

“Do…do you mean the beasts which leave in the deeper forest are hunting here?” Akando asked hastily, a frown forming on his features. The Kyrnith did not deem it important to reply, instead, turning to walk, long legs slowly gliding across the snowy ground, each step clearing away the snow beneath him with a small gust of air.

“Take your spoils, but be warned. Do not take more than the forest can sustain. I will uphold the principles bestowed upon me upon my creation…”

“We should…head back. Get what we can. I’m…concerned about what the Kyrnith has said.” Akando would finally relax with a sigh. “If the beasts of the deeper forest are here then…ngh, we can deal with that later. We should get back before it gets too late.” They were free to gather their spoils and head back towards the village, it seemed.

---

---

The Missing huntress
@ERode@Pyromania99

---

A curious thing.

The cabin abandoned as though someone had made a hasty retreat, a dead corpse, and rime beasts. Scavengers or the reason for fleeing? Surely if they were, Maira could have handled two herself…it was hard to really say what had occurred here. The only one who did, was Maira herself.

So across the river the two would travel - deep into the Kyr forest. It was a fairly easy journey. A small bridge had been constructed some time ago, though the path quickly faded once they had come to the opposite treeline and another problem would soon present itself. Atzi was a skilled craftsman to be sure…but could she track? She had heard a wolf in this direction, Tallen or not, but how would she go about locating them? Calling again would result in a similar response - though this one would be cut short, like it had been interrupted mid-howl, but it would give Atzi and Vammy both another heading.

It would take a fairly long hike through the woods, but eventually the pair would find what they’d seek. At the bottom of a small decline surrounded on two sides by fairly tall earthen walls, was a rather disheartening site. It was definitely Tallen, but the poor beast was tied to a massive boulder. Thick, sturdy ropes had been tied around the beast's neck and ankles, preventing the animal from moving at all - worse was the source of what cut it off mid howl. A wound from some sort of weapon had gouged out the beasts neck. Rather concerningly, the beast looks thinner then the last time Atzi had seen it…

Upon seeing Atzi, the large wolf gave a pitiful whine, raising its head just slightly to acknowledge her presence. Whoever had done this to the beast didn't seem to be nearby from an initial glance...

“Aw, what a pitiful beast. I bet its fur would make a good carpet…” Of course, the little demon on her shoulder had something to say about it…

---

An eight legged herbalist
@Click This@Crusader Lord

---

“Nngh. I’m not in…any condition to resist.” She’d respond as she’d fall onto Nylah, allowing herself to be treated by the apprentice healer. Really - her injuries seems to be more than just something a little rest and first aid could do. Aside from her arm being awkwardly twisted, a solid chunk of skin had been taken out of her abdomen and what seemed to be relatively old puncture wounds of some sort on her back and shoulders. Thankfully those were bleeding less than the fresh seeming cuts and gashes on her arms, but they hadn’t been properly treated or had time to heal.

“Ggh…glad that Dawn…is…alright…” She’d tiredly speak out through a few pained grunts as Lissa would apply the tourniquet to her shoulder. “We tried to…break through the storm but the Yaga ambushed us-” A fit of coughing interrupted the Oni, after which she’d fall silent, pained, labored breathing following.

The Reed was easy enough to prepare - crushing it, mixing it with a bit of hastily melted water from the snow was the best that the Mothraki could likely achieve right now, and then wrapping the most severe bleeding with the resulting paste would serve to stop most of the bleeding on her arms, and a few strips over the large tear in her stomach would likely be enough to stop most of the bleeding.

“If you could…help me to the village-” She’d attempt to stand, though would quickly find herself unable to do so as she’d both likely be chastised by Nylah and her weakened body. She was probably as stable as the two were going to get her out here - so long as they didn’t run into anything else it would probably be fine -

Of course, it wasn’t going to be quite that easy.

From just out of the brush came low growls, a hungry looking wolf slinking from under the foliage, no doubt attracted by the smell of blood…and no doubt there was another wolf or two nearby.

Before the two set off, Atzi made a tired grin at Vammy’s remark, her large hand reaching back and mushing up the corrupted elf’s hair.

“I’m not going to die.”

And with that they were off again, her muscles rolling like steel cords as she powered out of the cabin and into the woods. Physical exertion shook off the last of the lingering cold that infected her form, and as she breathed in the naturally cold air, the dark-skinned woman could feel herself settling into that comfortable, energetic rhythm again. But comfort or not, the path turned perilous as they got deeper in, and more concerning, the second call-and-response she had with Talien was cut short.

Ominous. Deathly so.

She swallowed her spit, furrowed her brow, and drove away her worries with action, snow kicking up as she ran with ever greater speed, Vammy’s weight doing almost nothing to impede her. And when she arrived at the scene, Atzi stopped.

Pressed this close to her, Vammy could feel it. A heart that roared like a hammer. A heat that built up like a volcano. A rage most murderous, restrained by a body gone so rigid as to have become a stone coffin.

But the moment passed, and Atzi set her companion down before rushing over to the wolf’s side. “God’s above,” she whispered, drawing out her knife and sawing at the ropes. “Tallen, stay with me here, I’ll get you out in a second!” Her sawing became violent stabs, tearing into the thick ropes before she opted to flat-out rip them arm with her hands. Unconcerned with her surroundings, the woman reached into her pouch and pulled out some dried meat for the wolf. It’d do nothing to sate the beast’s appetite, but every bit of energy would help with the recovery.

“Be strong for me, alright? Where’s Maira?” Her head swivelled from the left to the right, trying simply to spot any droplets of blood leading away from the boulder, any footprints in the snow that weren’t her own. “Vammy, do you, I don’t know, sense anything weird?”

There was an edge of desperation in her tone. And yet, it was still off.

Vammy was happy to be carried around. It was a lot easier than Doing anything herself. "Yea, your not gonna die with me around. You're too cu... Ahem, valuable, to let die." Yes, her true intentions hadn't leaked through or anything. Not that it mattered much cause the two of them were heading towards where that wolf was, though the last howl was cut off for some reason. Not that she cared too much, but it's where the two of them where heading. Regardless, when they finally arrived at where the wolf was, it was in terrible shape to say the least. "Would be pretty. Kind of wouldn't want to bother with that though." Vammy said to the demon on her shoulder. She looked around to see if there was any sign of anything nearby but... There was nothing to see at least. No demons in the midst or anything.

Then the muscular woman asked if she sensed anything. Now she had to actually like, do something? "Fine, only because I like you. You owe me~" And so, the demon gave used her enhanced senses to see if there were anyone nearby, or anything to notice, smell, hear. It should be fairly easy for a demon such as her to find something if there was anything after all. The touching scene hadn't really been one that had reached her heart or anything, as that had been closed off a long time ago, but she still decided to help. The quicker they found the huntress the sooner she could plot her own little course of revenge. "Now, what am I going to find~"

It took some quick thinking, careful work, and the two of them working together, but it seemed like they had gotten the wounded Oni stabilized enough to be moved to the village without immediately dying on them. Lissa couldn’t do anything for the trauma on the girl’s torso besides applying pressure to staunch the bleeding before Nylah was able to finish up her medicinal paste and apply a stopgap treatment to the wound, but the Raam-in-disguise was able to staunch the other bleeding with well-applied tourniquets to her extremities.

It was just as they finished treating her that the girl tried to get up, but Lissa held out a gentle hand to stop her. “Don’t move unnecessarily, or you might open a wound again,” she explained. “Nylah has some spells that can help you move, I think—”

Just as she finished speaking, movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention away towards the brush.

Trouble.

It seemed the predator from earlier was a wolf after all. The deer from earlier probably fell to it, then… or, more likely, to another wolf in its pack. “Kuh… What awful timing…” With a pained expression, the armored traveler stood up, quickly drawing her longsword from its leather sheath. Dropping into a guard stance, she warily eyed the approaching wolf, making sure to place herself squarely in between Nylah and her injured patient, and the hungry beast.

“Nylah, hang back and support me from the rear if you can. Keep an eye out for the rest of its pack. If it’s just one right now, it shouldn’t be a problem, but I can’t defend from all angles.” Although a sword, even a longsword, wasn’t the most optimal weapon to fight off a bunch of hungry predators –the lances her race preferred were far more ideal—between her chainmail coat, her constitution, and her own skill, Lissa was well prepared to tank a simple wolf. It was the two others she was worried about, if they were encircled by a wolf pack.

With that in mind, she kept her position static for the moment, giving up the initiative to the predator. Far better to hold here and let the wolf skewer itself on her sword than to rush it and leave the two others to be ambushed by the rest of the pack.

---

Wolves. Why did it have to be wolves?

As soon as they'd patched her up the Mothraki had stepped back from the patient to stand near her, and had already begun to prepare a Light spell when the growling and approach of a (definitely not alone) hungry wolf arrived. It was something she'd hoped would not happen, but all the same the smell of blood was a strong one for such predators. Food. As much as she wished they would not have to deal with it, she was confident in one thing that could help with this. Magic. That was a skill she'd learned more than enough for a small thing like this.

She was not letting Haruno's life be taken as wolf food. Neither her or Lissa's own lives.

Quickly, Nylah pushed to finish her spell as a shimmering rectangular panel of light came up from underneath the injured Haruno, lifting her up as a bubble of light likewise forming over the top of the panel and attached to the sides of it. All were solid light, a simple construct she could move using magic which would keep the wolves away from the injured oni. That and it had breathing holes around the bottom. Not big enough for a wolf's muzzle, but breathing holes nonetheless. She'd tried this sort of thing with Mass Calra a number of times before, mostly after she'd given her interest in wanting to become an Herbalist as well. A protective dome-stretcher, simple as it was at least protective from physical threats like a wolf if nothing else.

The Mothraki then turned toward the wolf, flicking out her left arm almost imperiously as she stared back at in the animal's direction and kept her peripherals open and looking. About five simple light spears shimmered into existence around the Mothraki, sitting in the air and pointed in the vulnerable directions around her as solid light projectiles and a small and simple defense. they could be unleashed at the whim of her mind at least, but she didn't have the time to do anything more.

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This

---

Gideon considered the Kyrnith's words carefully, pondering their implications. The Sage hadn't once thought about how the denizens of the forest were affected. Not only was the village of Dawn destabilized, but so too was the ecosystem of which they hunted. The wolves they had slain were bold enough to go after the blue-furred deer, something that Gideon would presume isn't a risk even the native animals of this land would take unless pushed to desperation. After all, if the Kyrnith is a being of nature incarnate, then it must also be the "apex predator" of these lands.

As the Kyrnith made its exit, Gideon walked over to retrieve his spear, crouching down on the wolf impaled by his trusty weapon. If these wolves were also troubled with food, this added a new layer of complexity to the management of resources in the area. Not only did they have to hunt for enough food to feed the village of Dawn, but they also needed to be careful about overhunting as well. There were a few sustainable food sources that came to Gideon's mind, namely the possibility of selectively breeding certain animals to be used as a food source. He'd have to expand his expertise on the fauna of this land, however, if he truly wished to pursue this venture...

... It would be strange to see a Raam Ranch in this part of the world, however.

"We should get back with what we have." Gideon stated, cleaning the blood off his spear before slinging it back onto his shoulder. "It may be a good idea to gather up the other hunters as well, possibly the fishermen too. The Kyrnith's... guidance has brought something much more important for us to consider in regards to food and resources.

"We should be more cautious of our hunts, and try not to take all the bounty this land has to offer. As the Kyrnith said, the forest needs time to heal as well. We should also try and discuss quotas, perhaps set up rules and guidelines for just how much we can hunt in a given week or month. With that in mind, I may have a few ideas from my travels to solve our food issues. Either way, a meeting may need to be set to discuss this with the rest of Dawn."

---

A hunting we go
@Cu Chulainn@VitaVitaAR

---

“Wise words, Raam.” Akando replied, walking over to one of the downed deer, taking the arrow from its corpse and offering it back to Seelay after inspecting it to make sure it was still useable. “None of us thought about that, but…well, it makes sense.” He’d heft the thing over his shoulder once done, he’d turn to the Raam. “Take a deer and the wolf, will you? We can have Bolcha skin butcher it once we get everyone back to the village. Safer to talk there, too.”

Assuming Gideon would, Akando would take point, effortlessly carrying the deer on his shoulder while he’d leave the other deer for Seelay to carry back. It was perhaps a bit dangerous with the wildlife about, and they’d pass a group of riplings busy feasting on the carcass of a wolf on the way back. Thankfully, they were not bothered by the forest avians.

After reaching the village, Akando took the two to Bolcha’s workshop. A fairly large building situated centrally in the village so most people had easy access to it, and it certainly smelled like both a butchery and a craftsman workshop full of leather and tools. Bolcha himself was outside, seemingly having just gotten back. A man nearby dressed in simple clothes was wrapping a bandage around his arm.

“Well now,” He’d smile seeing the three hunters giving them a warm smile. “Aren’t you three a sight for sore eyes. That’s a lot of meat ya have for me there. Set ‘em down on that table and I’ll have one of my boys bring it in and get to work on it.” He’d motion to a table that was covered by a small overhang on the roof where a number of dismantling and skinning tools were.

“Got lucky, thanks to Seelay’s skills and Gideon’s foresight.” Akando replied, doing exactly that and setting the deer carcass on a nearby table just on the front of the shop. “What happened to him?”

“Dumb fool got himself bit by something in the ocean after he made a fishin’ hole in the ice.” Bolcha grunted in response. “Took a pretty big chunk out of his arm, too. Probably whatever’s spookin the fish. He’ll be alright, but whatever that thing is its gonna hurt our fishing prospects if this keeps up.”

“...tch.” Akando frowned. “We’ll need to figure that out sooner than later.” He’d turn back to Seelay and Gideon. “Thanks for the help. This should feed everyone for a week or so at least before we need to go back and do any more hunting. I’ll gather the hunters in the church tonight and we can talk about things there.” He’d look towards the treeline. “...be wary if you go back into the forest. If what the Kyrnith said is true and things from the deeper forest have moved in…things that live there aren’t just beasts. Old things live there.”

There was probably enough time for them to find something else to do in the meantime, as the sun was slowly starting its descent across the sky.

---

The Missing huntress
@ERode@Pyromania99

---

Tallen lowered his head, a high pitched whine coming from the large wolf as the ropes binding him were cut. Smelling the dried meat was enough to stir the beast into action though, as it would greedily devour it, sating its hunger however momentarily it could. The ropes would come undone easily, snapping in twain from Atzi’s cutting until he was completely free, Tallen falling to the ground, barely able to lift its head from both the wound in his neck and hunger.

There were no signs of blood, or footprints. In fact, one could say the area was suspiciously clear of any such things considering the situation. The wound was obviously fresh, likely inflicted when his howl had been cut off earlier…but then did they cover their tracks?

“My my, someone’s furious. I wonder if she’d let me in to have a little fun…maybe we should rile her up a bit? Throw a fireball at that mutt.” It was a good thing she had similar senses that the Blood demon possessing her had, though despite its goading. It was subtle, but Vammy could hear something…multiple somethings. Upon the hill overlooking this little sloped incline. Six sets of footsteps, slowly, quietly approaching. Tallen would lift his head, a low growl coming from his tired body in the same direction.

Thwip

The sound of a bowstring loosing as multiple arrows would fire themselves towards the duo, barely having enough warning to defend themselves or avoid it…though if they did, avoid, no doubt one or two would hit Tallen.

---

An eight legged herbalist
@Click This@Crusader Lord

---

The wolf hesitated upon seeing that it wasn’t likely to get an easy meal. The beast slinked closer, growling and keeping the both of them in its sight, only briefly glancing towards the raised Haruno. Ultimately though, it did not seem to be deterred and it would soon become apparent it wasn’t alone, either. There was a snarl, a second wolf would dash from the underbrush, making a mad dash towards Nylah, fangs and teeth bared seemingly not wary of the spears of light she had formed.

A third would attempt flanking Lissa from the opposite side while she was distracted by the first wolf, attempting to leap and knock her over. The first would dash towards her ankles regardless of her action to defend herself or which she engaged.

If not for Vammy’s warning, things would be different.

Different, but perhaps only in circumstance.

Bowstrings thrummed, and Atzi imposed herself before those that she sought to keep alive, red eye alight with fury that had an enemy. Her wooden club caught three of the arrows, staccato thumps felt in her hand, and two more scattered against the boulder behind them, snagged upon the cloak that she swung up to intercept. She caught the sixth shot in her left forearm, letting out a roar of pain as adrenaline surged in once more, that miracle drug that grant strength to the fatigued, relief for the pained.

The first volley passed, but any archer worth their salt could fire the next within seconds. Hiding behind the boulder just meant they could better organize and maneuver, corral and flank. Running away was worse; it would be like being asked to be shot in the back or hunted down for hours on end. There was, as always, just one route ahead. As with wolves, as with bears, as with monsters, as with humans, she would fight until she died. Atzi grit her teeth and clenched her left fist.

“Vammy, cover!”

And with a lion’s roar, the wild woman charged forth up the incline, prepared to snap their bows and break their bones.

---

As soon as the second wolf dashed out of the underbrush, seeking to charge her down with a perhaps hunger-driven urge to support its pack in the attack, the moment it emerged into Nylah's peripherals and bolted right at her she made her own move. With a flick of her thoughts toward the wolf, two of the spears of light shot out toward at the charging wild canine in turn. The other three simultaneously shifted to obstruct the mad charge defensively like an impaling three-light-spear wall in case it got past the two sent at it somehow. If all went to plan, the mad charge would get the wolf immediately impaled on the two light spears. If it went south, the other three were being used for defense.

The novice herbalist kept her peripherals open regardless, even as her main line of sight shifted rapidly to the oncoming wolf that was madly charging her. Breathe. Focus. Control. One could, if they looked closer, see an ever so light tremble in the clenched right fist kept at her side though. At the same time, her face wore a look of notable focus and somewhat angry determination as it had the moment she decided to protect her patient.

It was not perhaps a boon to Lissa's own situation, but the Mothraki silently prayed that the other girl would be able to fend off the other two wolves. Or, at the very least, that there weren't two more waiting to pop out beyond these. Regardless, the patient was safe despite her own and Lissa's immediate lack of safety thereof. A small comfort for the situation at the very least.

However, there was one last thing...

...If the tiny moon goddess did not stop sticking her tongue at them,then she'd have to deny it imaginary headpats! That was, however, perhaps the most lighthearted potential aspect of the whole situation at best. Unless it was all a divine hallucination with the screen and all. Not a thing one could completely deny the potential of, given the moon goddess was involved in it. However, further thoughts about it would have to come later after getting Haruno to safety and then some.

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This

Lissa had hoped that her immediate reaction would have been enough to ward off a lone wolf that might have bumbled itself into an opportunity, but it seemed that the three of them would not be that lucky. Although it had momentarily looked deterred, it was soon joined by two other wolves. The Raam only had the luxury of processing this information for a brief moment before the three beasts were upon them.

For better or for worse, the pack split its attention between herself and Nylah, clearly smart enough to disregard the injured Oni as a threat. Nylah drawing the attention of one of the pack meant that Lissa faced down a far more reasonable two wolves, though, and from the spears that the Mothraki had summoned, it seemed the villager was more capable in a fight than she had initially assessed. At the very least, she could count on the girl not immediately dying in the next few seconds, which was more than enough for the armored girl to make things work.

She paid little attention to the avatar of the moon goddess that hovered in the periphery of her vision as she met the first wolf head on, sword at the ready. If it continued its charge in the way it did, it would simply gore itself on her sword with relatively little effort on her part. Simultaneously, she kept track of the second wolf that had remained in the corner of her eye as it jumped at her, syncing its movements with its packmate. That it could coordinate this well was mildly impressive, but she was confident in beating them off.

As the two wolves converged on her, she simply shifted her stance at the last moment to let the first wolf thunder past her before bringing her sword to run down along its body. Immediately following up, she turned this momentum to engage its mate, leveraging it to bring… a boot to the face. Regardless of how the engagement went, she then quickly disengaged by jumping backwards, making sure to remain in a position that would keep the wolves away from the other two.

Vammy sighed. Of course there were archers. Well, she was a scary demon. She had to show these people that scary demons shouldn't be triffled with. "We don't have to time for that, idiot." Vammy said to the demon's voice in her head. She say some arrows heading her way and quickly threw up a whirling screen of fire in front of her to deflect the arrows aimed at her. "How annoying these people are, I really just wanted to find that damn huntress and you all had to so damned annoying."

The demon-elf held her hand out and pinpointed the general area where one of the bowmen were and created a fairly big ball of fire in her hand. She started bouncing her head up and down slightly, as if dancing along to a tune. She tossed the fireball up into the air and kept bouncing her head until the ball of fire started to fall back to the earth and she frowned. As it fell to just above her head, she stepped her foot back and braced. Her hand raised and then she powerfully hit the ball much like one would hit a volleyball and it launched in the general direction of one of the bowmen. As it impacted, it would slightly explode into a firey mess. It wouldn't immolate someone to death, but it would definitely singe and cause pain.

She repeated this and aimed in the general direction of another arrow's source. "Gah, I'm really getting frustrated by the turn of events in the past day or so. Makes me want to rip something apart... Or feel someone up. Think Lazhira would let me?" She asked the demon in her head, readying to cast a fire screen should more arrows be heading her way... Or the mutt's. Perhaps she'd protect it just because she was feeling generous. Definitely not to make some other people feel indebted to her.

On the return to Dawn, there were many thoughts working their way through Seelay's mind. The Kyrnith's warning was chief among them. Not that she was worried about overhunting, as she would not allow the town's actions to come to that. Rather, the fact he had mentioned old creatures from the deep forest emerging to hunt.

That was a potential concern, and also a potential opportunity.

What hunter worth their salt would not desire to hunt such beasts, if given the opportunity?

But there was also a fairly immediate issue. Something was scaring the fish away, and had injured a man. Something in the water. While the elf was more adept at hunting on land then hunting things beneath the waves, she was still quite proud of her fishing skills. And a bow could kill a beast of the water just as well as it could kill a beast of the land, as long as it was near enough to the surface.

"Can you take me to the site of the fishing hole?" she asked.

@Rune_Alchemist

Fish? Fishing.
@VitaVitaAR

---

“Ah?” The injured man looked to Seelay, having finished bandaging up his arm. “Oh, you must be one of the travelers…thanks for the help. Looks like you and Akando had some good luck from the sage there.” He’d say, giving Seelay a friendly greeting. “Sure, I can take you.”

“Careful you two. Don’t need anyone else getting injured by whatever that’s doing it.”

“We’ll be fine! I’m not the one going near the water.” The other man would say with a cheeky grin as he motioned for Seelay to follow. Heading east, they’d eventually come to what was normally the docks, now completely frozen over - and it seemed like many of the fishing boats and canoes the village used had been rendered unusable thanks to frost or being pillaged by the rime beasts.

The sea too, seemed to have been blanketed in a large sheet of ice, extending far out into the bay.

“If it was just the ice it wouldn’t be that bad, honestly,” The man would say, leading Seelay to where a couple of fisherman were using hand drills and other hand tools to break the ice and scoop it out. “but whatever it is that’s been spooking the fish though took out one of the boats we managed to salvage too…whatever it is, is huge.”

Several holes had been carved in the ice, a few fisherman using hooks and a few nets to scoop up fish, though it was hardly as efficient as what they normally used, likely.

“We’ve tried catching it with the nets, but we’ve just lost the nets with nothing to show for it.” He’d sigh. “And…we didn’t tell the others, but we found one of our storehouses we use to dry salt fish for preservation was broken into and lots of it stolen. An empty crate was turned over near the water here, so that means whatever it is can also get on land too, right?” Well, it was logical for someone to think that, at least right? Still, this certainly seemed like quite the problem. “Just ask any fisherman here if you need any help or anything…or ideas on how to handle this.”

---

@Cu Chulainn
A certain little spider

---

As Seelay walked off with the fisherman to investigate, Gideon would be left alone. Akando had left too, presumably to gather the hunters so they could more effectively discuss what they were going to be doing. He had plenty of time to do anything he wanted to now, but it seemed that work would instead find him.

Suddenly, something grabbed him from behind. Hands, feeling stiff against his skin as his sides were slowly rubbed.

“Hmm…Raam? Raam. Curious. Why is one of your hollow kind all the way out here. Did someone send the little blessed one on an errand?” He’d barely recognize the voice as Achel, the grave keeper and the Chiralta that had been looking after and dealing with the dead. “No? No. Likely no. Hehe. Of course not. You have nothing to do with this. You’re just a coincidental little fly that tastes like iron caught in a web you know nothing of.”

Her hands would release him, as she’d then move in front of him, smiling her usual, odd smile. Threads of silk seeming to move in time with her hands.

“Is the little Raam here looking for a ranch? Or are you free to help Achel with something?”

---

The Missing huntress
@ERode@Pyromania99

---

The fire from Vammy whirled in front of her, creating a vortex of hot moving fire as it would burn and throw the arrows off course from the both of them, sending the projectiles harmlessly burning into the snow as Atzi charged up the incline. More arrows followed, and being out in the open like this made it easy for her opponents to hit their mark - an arrow slamming into her shoulder, a second into her leg. A third in her arm. The only saving grace was that they missed any vitals.

When she finally reached the top, she could see her opponents.

About ten people wearing ornate, light red robes gilded with patterns of gold and white scattered around the rocky incline. Their robes were doubly covered with thick insulation and padding to protect from the cold and to act as armor. Who they were though…well, she’d have to beat them to a pulp to find out. Their faces were covered by faceless white masks. No eyes, no features, nothing to distinguish them from any other. The three nearest something said nothing to her as they’d turn towards her, forgoing their bows for their melee weapons and charge towards her Two would continue to fire arrows at her at regular intervals…while the other five would focus on Vammy.

The demons in question fireball would sail towards one of the robed archers, who would duck behind a tree by the time it would reach them, completely missing the archer entirely and instead singing the tree. Immediately they would respond with more arrows, seemingly attempting to keep her busy while the others dealt with the amazonian woman named Atzi.

The second fireball would have a bit more luck, knocking the archer off his feet but otherwise not doing too terribly much aside from a bit of disorientation from the impact. Thankfully her fire wall would still throw the arrows off course.

“How about we feel up one of these idiots by ripping their guts out and strangling another one with them?” The demon roared in her head, demonic fury boiling over into Vammy’s own mind from its influence.“Oh if there’s a pretty girl there we can certainly ‘feel them up’ that way too! Ahaha, oh yes yes yes let me have theeeeem!”

Well, one of them was having a good time at least.

---

An eight legged herbalist
@Click This@Crusader Lord

---

Nylah’s light spears hurtled towards the wolf with just a flick of her wrist and a thought. The wolf, in turn avoided the first, leaping out of the way while the second managed to graze its fur with a pained yelp, sending it stumbling to the ground, but not out. It got back to its feet, blood trickling from the wound on its side, growling warily but otherwise not making any move…

The two assaulting Lissa had a bit rougher of a time. The wolf sailed past her, its leaping charge missing entirely as a sword sliced its side open. It would fall upon the ground, whimpering and whining as blood spilled from the wound. The second similarly was stopped by the Raam’s boot being slammed on its face, the crunch of bone being felt as its muzzle now looked just a bit shorter, causing it to back off and stumble warily away from the trio.

It looked towards the second wolf that Nylah had fended off, as if the two were judging their chances now.

thud

Something caused the ground to shake.

The two wolves lifted their heads, turning them towards the forest in the same rough direction they had heard the deer whimpering from earlier.

thud

A second movement as something started walking closer, causing the wolves to whimper and bark, before bolting away from the scene entirely.
Thud

A tree near the treeline shifted, the cracking sound of wood as though something heavy and strong was simply pressing against it, causing it to shift and bend with its weight. Whatever it was briefly stopped, just out of sight behind some thick foliage…and then what seemed to be a long, dextrous sticky…tongue lashed out, latching onto the injured, downed wolf and pulling it into the treeline, the wolfs whimpers being cut off abruptly.

Through the trees it was hard to see what exactly it was, despite the somewhat good visibility but they got the distinct feeling they were being watched.

Arrows slammed into her, bolts of pain hammered into her flesh, but Atzi was no meager deer, no mangy wolf. She was a force of fury all on her own, and every shot that struck only furthered the flame within. After all, in the short-term, any arrow that didn’t kill her was not worth considering.

Atzi rose up the hill with a flurry of kicked-up snow, hardly even registering the strange garbs of her foes. Padded armor? What of it? Masked faces? What of it?! They were enemies enough, bastards that tied up the pet of a dear friend and tortured it for days on end! They were unknown figures in richly-colored garbs and possessed by ill intent! For all she knew, they were responsible for the disaster that befell Dawn recently, for the misery and the chaos, the immeasurable losses that everyone sustained and the emotional labour that weighed down on Achel!

“Don’t FUCK with me!”

Three charged with blades drawn, while two stepped back, nocking their arrows back for more shots, but Atzi was already upon them. With one swing, she tossed her cloak upon the closest, before clenching her fist and delivering a haymaker right in the tangled man’s face. More pain shot up, microfractures in her knuckles, but she felt too, the glorious sensation of cartilage rending, of teeth, of bones snapping. He flew back three meters, and did not rise back up. The other two paused at this display of ferocity, but with archers at their backs, they couldn’t exactly retreat as Atzi rounded upon them, the lioness baring her teeth!

Blades glistened in the dying light, but sharp weapons did surprisingly poorly against a blunted instrument. She met the first one straight on, slamming her wooden club and letting the honed edge of her opponent’s blade bite deep into the edge, before a flick of the wrist disarmed him. He stumbled back, stance thrown wide open, and before a recovering could be made, Atzi’s foot swung out and up. There was an audible crack as his testes were pulverized, and he lurched forward, collapsing as vomit spewed out from the sides of his mask.

But Atzi’s single-minded focus allowed the remaining fighter to circle around her, lunging forth with his blade while the archers finally seized their opportunity, releasing their arrows in unison. At this range, it was impossible to miss such a large target, but even then, they would aim at center mass, to maximize the chances of striking an organ. It would, indeed, be fatal.

Fatal, that was, for the one behind Atzi.

Snow exploded beneath her feet as the woman leapt upwards, drawing her knees up against her chest as the arrows barely grazed past her legs and slammed into the fighter behind her. One in the chest and another in the arm. He fell back a couple steps, letting out only a gasp, before Atzi landed on top of him, sending him definitively into the ground.

And, well, if he’s already dead, he may as well be put to use.

With the frontline cleared, she wrestled the corpse out of the snow and thrust it in front of her, creating a shield of flesh as she rushed towards the remaining two archers. With all luck, Vammy could clear out the five that targeted her, but even if the demon didn’t, that was fine. The barbarian was going to run the riot and get her ten pounds of flesh, no matter what.

---

When they got back to town, Gideon had elected to just wait at the church for the other hunters to return. After all, he had much to think about. Aside from the logistics behind any operation he planned to do, he also needed to figure out his 'sales pitch,' in a sense. It was good that Akando seemed receptive to his ideas, but Gideon was not sure of how the other hunters would react. After all, he is an outsider in the end, and he is well aware that there are those who believe it is not an outsider's place to tell them how to do the things they normally do. The sage was not quite vested at speaking to others, being something of a literal robot when it comes to interpersonal relations, an irony not quite found on the Raam due to his metallic skeleton or his calculator-like blessing.

Before Gideon could truly get to thinking about how he wished to converse with the hunters, he was approached from behind by one of the village's other residents, one that he had a hard time remembering at least based off of voice, alone. It was a strange thing, especially since Gideon was capable of matching voices with faces pretty well. The woman's groping of his back did little to startle the Raam, as he had been victim of far worse in the past by more... curious parties.

Her questions, however, were more quickly met with a response.

"I had visions of this village, visions given to me by the Forgefather." The Raam responded, doing well not to go too deep into how he seemed to have become a 'person of interest' among other powers beyond his control. Having some time to think on it, it was quite strange that the Raam had been chosen by the Moon Goddess. It was not because of why he was chosen, or because of his current beliefs, but how he was chosen instead. What's more interesting was how the Moon Goddess had appeared before him. While he was sure it was a futile effort to compare communication methods of the divine, the way Delpithi had made herself known before him was something foreign and alien, something of an out-of-body experience, at least compared to Grams. Whenever the Forgefather spoke to him, it was as if they were connected, as if Grams was truly a part of Gideon. A much more natural experience, at least as far as the supernatural is concerned.

Perhaps it is because the Forgefather is an actual father who had essentially 'raised' him, while Delpithi felt like a distant relative who had gone out for some milk prior to his creation.

"... Ah, yes. You required aid... Achel, was it?" Gideon replied to Achel after what seemed like an age of self-reflection, realizing she was standing before him for some time. As far as first impressions go, the Chiralta was quite... peculiar, to say the least. While they were among the people he had traveled the most with, it was rare to have met one who chose to settle in a small village, especially one who dressed in the matter the grave keeper did. In other words, a weirdo much like himself. "Sorry. What you said describing my fate had me ponder on a few things I did not quite have the time for just yet. We should get going"

"Geeeeeh.... It's hard to focus when you don't shut up and get so excited..." Vammy complained, trying to hold back the demon's emotions from influencing her mind so much. "We need to take one alive~ After all, don't you wanna know why some dumbasses are out here, tying up dogs and wearing some really unfashionable robes and masks while loosing arrows at a beautiful lady?" Her tone slowly turned from a fake happy to a more irritated, "I really do want to rip them apart" tone. Well, standing here wasn't going to help her really, not when there were a number of idiots still shooting arrows at her.

"Still, it's nice that they think I'm enough of a threat for five archers... Though they'll need more." She readied another fireball, this time it was armed to explode quite readily, ready to scorch one or two the archers. It seemed the same general size as the last balls at first, though, as it traveled it would slowly grow a couple of sizes before impact. Vammy smiled a sweet, sickly smile towards all the archers as she toss the fireball. It moved at a surprisingly fast velocity and started to increase in size as it moved. It was aimed towards and area near enough one archer towards the middle of the group. The intent of course was chaos.

After loosing the spell, Vammy made a break for the archers using her magic to increase her speed by releasing small explosions under her feet to propel herself forward. She was ready for a bloodbath mixed with a nice roast, though she worried that the roast might be overcooked. "Come here little ratties~ I'll rip you limb from limb~" Obviously, the demon's bloodlust had influenced Vammy as she made her mad dash.

A grin stretched across Lissa’s face as her hits found their mark. If a mere pair of wolves gave her reason to break a sweat, then she would have never made it this far from home. Really, the wolves should have known better than to have launched their attack like that. In the corner of her eye, she noted that the third wolf had been bloodied against Nylah’s light spears. Good; that was one less person and wolf to worry about.

The ribbon-less girl turned to the wolf whose face she had kicked in—the one that she gored was out of the fight. Raising her sword, she prepared to end the fight with one last slash when the ground began to rumble.

An earthquake? Now? She had experienced a few such tremors in the past. One of them had been bad enough that she had the fortune to experience the thrill-inducing adventure of having to dodge flying bricks from a building collapsing next to her. As unique as that experience had been, Lissa had not enjoyed the aftermath of poking around looking for survivors in the rubble.

The reaction of the wolves, however, told her that this was no mere seismic activity. Literal alarm bells began to ring in her head as her instincts told her to run, and she immediately began backing away from the forest, just as the remaining wolves began to sprint away.

“You guys… I think we should leave,” she began, voice unsure for the moment.

When a tree was knocked aside, and a wolf disappeared into the treeline at the lash of a monstrous tongue, that uncertainly coalesced into stone cold fear and then into a firm course of action.

“…Run. We’re leaving. Get to the village!” Sheathing her sword, she jumped backwards, latching onto Haruno’s light-stretcher. Mustering all her strength, she began to pull it along with her as she ran back in the direction of Dawn, hoping that Nylah would follow, or help her with the bed.

Whatever remained behind the trees was not to be tangoed with.

---

A-A giant tongue? But what could a frog be doing during this season? How big was this-...never mind. Actually, thinking about it was not something she wanted to do at the moment. Whatever it was, that was the same direction the deer cries had come from. Not good. Not good at all. It was something she didn't need to ponder more as the injured wolf was snapped up like a fly in the air. It was enough to make the other two wolves run...the hungry, likely starving wolves run. Nylah jumped onto the dome of her floating light stretcher as Lissa tried to pull it, sending her remaining light spears back in the direction of the tongue. She didn't care at this point if they did hit.

The one thing about this spell was it's ability to be moved along, either pushed or being made to move by the caster. In that vein the Mothraki girl immediately pushed all she had into making the stretcher move. Fast. Speed. She knew it was capable of this, as she'd perhaps run one into a tree some months back when trying to practice the idea with Miss Calra early on. Hard. By accident. But now was not the time to think of the landing.

"GRAB ON AND HANG OOOOOOOOON!!!" Nylah shouted, all the stretcher very suddenly begin to move rapidly. Rather rapidly. Increasingly rapidly, in the direction of the village. All whilst Nylah was clinging on to it for dear life.

Gone was the bravery in the face of the wolves, the life of her patient on the line, as the panic of wanting to not die came into the equation. Stone cold fear of something far beyond themselves settled in rather quickly, and the instinct to survive was at its most raw in a situation like this. Maybe. She hadn't had a situation like this before, in all fairness, but she'd rather crash into the village than get eaten. Or let Haruno get eaten. Or let Lissa get eaten.

Getting eaten was not the way she wanted to go in general! So she'd push herself and her magic to make this stretcher move as fast as possible if it meant avoiding death. Even if it left her exhausted in the process.

Further, she would ultimately give the tiny goddess on the screen her imaginary headpats. Seemed fitting for her being nicer for a moment. And for giving them updates like this. Information was good. The warning was a bit redundant, though, but still appreciated.

@Click This@Rune_Alchemist