The fact that the wall had been partially destroyed mere moments from her scaling it really did help. While the stone colossus was preoccupied, she fully scaled the crumbled remains of the wall, before swinging over to the other side, quickly out of sight of any prying eyes from the giant.
What she didn’t expect as she began to climb down was that Malphas was still there, and he was pilfering her book. “Hey! Where are you going with my stuff!?” Narkissa yelled from up top, annoyed at the little man’s audacity to just randomly pick up things that fell from the sky. Hurrying to scramble down from the wall, she yelled at him again before finally jumping from a safe height. Grabbing her fallen sword, she ran right after the erstwhile cult leader, before trying to snatch the book from his stealing hands.
“It would behoove you not to pick up every random thing that magically appears in front of you.”
Novak reacted swiftly, dashing to Nobunaga’s aid with his blade bared. With skill more than a novice, yet less than a practiced hand would have, he thrust the blade forward towards the creature's neck. The blade dug into tough hide, enough to pierce its neck. It hissed, losing focus on its first target as its head rammed into Novak’s abdomen, knocking the wind completely out of him.
His blow was effective, however, and Nobunaga would end the beasts life swiftly with a expertly thrust sword towards the creatures side. Her Katana dug once more into the creatures unarmored abdomen, and what followed was a complete disembowelment. Blood and guts seeped from the wound, a pitiful cry as the creature staggered backwards from the wound. With an exhalation, the creature fell onto its unwounded side.
There was an audible exhalation of relief from the gathered hunters.
“Aahahah!” The large hunter that had approached Nobunaga earlier laughed heartily as the beast fell. “You’ve got skills, outsiders.” He walked back over, now that the immediate danger was gone, perhaps now would be a good time to get to know this particular man better - he seemed to have some leadership here. “Don’t stand there and gawk, clean up! Bring this to Bolcha and have him butcher it.” He cast a glance over to Misaki and Lazhira as the men started shouting and organizing who was going to be doing what. The latter, of which, quickly ducked slightly behind the former.
“Eh? Really? You’d want to help?” Lazhira grinned. “Ehe, I knew you were the helpful sort. Um, I have to make myself scarce for a bit. The Kadisht - er, the chief of sorts is probably gonna be coming here anyways. I’ll come find you guys later.” Before Misaki could stop her, she was gone, sprinting off in the direction of the eastern side of the village towards the forest, before she lost sight of the girl after she disappeared behind some houses.
“I hope that one didn’t cause you any trouble, travelers. She can be a bit headstrong and childish, but she’s a good kid. I’m Akando. A sort of leader for the hunters, here in Dawn. If your not too busy, I insist you come to meet Enli”
The group cautiously approached, Donovan bringing up the rear and making sure not to get too close to the plant. As he gazed at it, something began nagging at him. The feeling of that strike before, the obviously divine power.
As he gazed at the flower, he didn’t feel as though he himself was in danger. In fact, he felt comforted, safe.
Ability gained: Whispers of a Nameless God You have made contact with a currently nameless God. You know little about them, save for the iconography of the Serpent and Star. The only thing you know, is that when you invoke its abilities you sense an ageless, unfathomable, yet comforting and fleeting presence. Underneath however, lies an ancient, furious anger silently watching and judging you. Whatever the case, you seem to be able to channel small divine miracles related to purification with some effort.
Upon Isidore’s approach, Octavia tilted its head curiously, not leaving the smaller flowers side.
The larger flower was at first silent upon Isidore’s approach. It was a simple plant after all, so how could it communicate with humans? It had no mouth, and unless they were infected in some manner, it could not commune.
Yet, perhaps it could make use of those thralls.
One of the creatures that had stumbled too close was suddenly ensnared by vines, violently dragged towards the group, until it reached the well of tar, where it was unceremoniously dragged into. The tar splashed and bubbled, the roots and vines holding the creature under its surface as it struggled until it ceased moving.
The vines jerked upwards, pulling the creature back to the surface and dropping it not far away from Isidore.
It jerked back to its feet, unmoving after.
“Reeeee-biiirth.” It wheezed, a voice befitting a corpse. “Huuunger...one...spoke. Freedom.”
It wasn’t exactly speaking with the grace of a master writer. Was it speaking of what it wanted? Hunger, rebirth, freedom?
Augusta’s eye would suddenly relay something else. She almost swore she could hear an annoying little voice with it.
Hey, listen! Remember what I said about not getting involved? Well, truthfully, I'm glad you did. It's going to be much more interesting watching you deal with this thing. Try to make it extra entertaining, will you? Ta-ta and don't diiiie~
“...not let it...die...seed...done...” The thing continued. “Wilting, rotting...dying...green, fields...liiiiiife. Know...way out.”
Leannah leaped, drawing upon whatever inner power she could muster.
A well of intense heat filled her body, radiating outwards from her chest. It took only a moment to build to a crescendo, unable to be contained within her body. There was a flash of light, a jet of fire propelling her forwards from the giant, its hand barely just missed grabbing her.
She however, didn’t have much control over her current leap.
A solar powered cat-girl zoomed past Narkissa, past the exit and slammed into a pile of snow somewhere just behind Malphas, the snow quickly melting into a puddle from the lingering heat. Soon whatever she had done would die down, leaving Leannah just feeling dazed and exhausted.
A quick look around would reveal the same sight Nobunaga and the others saw upon leaving the area. The ruins were gone, replaced with nothing but rubble upon a cliff. A large black obelisk with a moon carved in its top. South, impossibly large mountains pierced the heavens just across a bay. North, the beach extended far, with east being a dense, vast forest and east holding nothing but the gentle caress of the ocean.
The sun just was starting its slow descent across the sky, having just passed noon.
Nick quickly ducked down, the plant blade just barely shaving a few centimeters of hair off the top of his head. In turn, he struck out with his own blade, albeit in a somewhat clumsy manner. Yet, luck seemed to be on his side. The edge of the blade sunk into the creatures abdomen, back blood spewing from the wound as it stumbled backwards giving Nick precious time to make a mad dash for the exit.
The creatures, however, seemed vastly more dangerous than the ones he had previously encountered. He managed to evade two of the ones who were just waking up, but the moment would be short lived. A loud growl, a creature leaped from his left, cutting him off and one of its blades barely grazing his side.
One between him and the exit, and a group of at least five, likely more, waking up behind him.
Yes! The strike succeeded, drawing black blood from its abdomen! It stumbled backwards and allowed Nick to flee unimpeded. There were a couple others on his way but he weaved through them without much problem. The exit was there, it was close!
But alas, he was cut off. Another creature blocked him off, coming at Nick from the left with a loud growl. It swung its blade but Nick moved out of the way at the last moment, his side grazed by the weapon. He felt pain, but there was no time to check. The creature in front of him was the only barrier from the exit, and doubtless the other creatues behind him were catching up.
No! He was so close, this wretched experiment had to ruin it all! Was this gonna be it for Nicholas Gallagher? Dying not even a day passing in this new world? No, he had to get home! This was a second chance at life provided to him! He cannot let it go to waste! Fear boiled into anger which then turned into action. With fire in his eyes and adrenaline in his blood, Nick let out a scream and charged at the creature in his way.
He had no plan to attack though, Nick was going to wait for the creature to make the first move. If it goes for another swing, which Nick believed it probably would, he would swat it away with his blade and use the opening to seize the creature by the neck and hips before lifting it into the air and then throwing it at its equally wretched brothers. Nick would summon all his strength for this action. He would need to, he was not falling down here!
Should his plan work, Nick would resume his course to the exit. To safety.
Novak's attack struck true, his sword stabbing into the creature's neck. It didn't slow the Kyrinth down, but it definitely drew its attention, and Novak found himself on the receiving end of a powerful headbutt which knocked him to the ground. Panic set in as he strained to breathe and simultaneously tried to pull himself to his feet through the considerable pain. Being unable to draw breath was harrowing enough, but his proximity to an enraged, man-eating beast was a much more pressing matter.
Fortunately, the Kyrinth never got a chance to follow up on its attack. Nobunaga struck a disemboweling blow on the creature's vulnerable underside while it was distracted, finally putting it down. The fight was over, and the beast was finally dead. From the look of it, they had gotten off pretty lightly. Novak's injuries didn't seem too serious, and Nobunaga didn't seemed to be slowed down by the blow she had suffered. The lead hunter approached to commend them on the feat, and gave out orders to the villagers. Novak, still winded from the Kyrinth's attack, wasn't exactly in a position to come up with or give a reply.
First chance I get I'm learning to dodge.
While everyone got to work, Lazhira dashed away, leaving the three of them to be addressed by the lead hunter. At this point, Novak was breathing semi-consistently again, and was once again able to think clearly. The hunter introduced himself as Akando, and invited the group to meet someone named Enli. Was that the chief that Lazhira had mentioned before running off? Either way, it didn't feel like they had much of a choice, since Lazhira and Akando were so far to be their only contacts in the town.
"Sure, we're not busy," Novak finally replied. "Who is Enli?"
Isidore did not turn his gaze from the flower bud up above, even with the flurry of violence and the deathly voice that emanated from the corpse. Perhaps it was a pointless display of fearlessness to such an alien creature, but his old habits died hard. In the face of danger, he cooled down as others tensed up. The man kept a tight grip on his sword, kept an eye on his surroundings, and then spoke up, bold and clear.
“What can you offer us in return?”
“Speak...difficult. You want...away. We know out. Lead. Or...reestrain the stone.”
Its disjointed speaking was likely hard to follow. Perhaps it was proposing it knew a way out, or that it could hinder the giant in some way? Of course, helping to revive an obviously demonic being couldn't possibly come back to haunt them at any point in time. “If...disapprove. Then must...feed. Hunger. Satiate. Must grrrrrow.”
Don grimaced at the demon’s offer. Were this creature anything else, he himself may have even been perfectly happy to cooperate with such a deal… But planting a brand new demon factory? Hell. Fucking. No.
It was bad enough that this hellish garden was threatening to spread beyond the prison; as the guardian would most likely be able to outlast whatever limited food and other resources the garden had access to. Taking a fresh seedling to plant in an area where it could actually thrive? That was just asking for trouble.
"Augusta." Don hissed to the elf in a hushed tone as he brought himself close to her; his eyes scanning the many vines around them for any signs of movement. "I think yah missed somethin’ on meh earlier. Could ya take another gander?" Hopefully, between her eye, and his newly acquired powers of purification; the girl would understand what he was suggesting.
Augusta stood back and considered her available options. Of course, there was the suggestion the demon gave. Help it, it helps us. There was the inferno option she was sure Don was suggestion. Perhaps there was another option but she wasn’t thinking of it at the moment. Perhaps she could get more information out of it. A quick glance at Don’s information again showed a bit more information about something new but… Well, that wouldn’t help anyone involved.
“Personally, I have no concerns with helping.” The elven woman mentioned, looking fairly calmly between Isidore and Donovan. “My concerns lie after that, however. I wish to know why you were sealed down here, Flower Demon. I’d rather not get myself involved with something As Augusta glanced at Don once more, his information seemed mostly the same, except one little extra added detail in the status and ability section.
Whispers of a Nameless God
He has invoked the power of an ancient Diety that has decided to give him a bit of its favor, for now. As long as he maintains this favor Donovan can purify and protect to some extent------
This man's name is Donovan. Like you, he is a traveler from another world chosen by the Goddess. His overall abilities are comparable to yours. Like yours, his body seems to be naturally conductive to Magical feats. Like yours, his body has been strengthened through some unknown means. He is in peak physical condition. No status abnormalities. Aggressive and cautious towards something else.
It seemed like the ability had more to say about the whispers, but something seemed to currently be blocking Augusta's sight.that could end the world that I’ve just started to find my way in.” She crossed her arms with a seemingly different line of thought than the others.
Isidore’s eyes flicked from side to side, glancing at Donovan and then at Augusta. Though the proposal of the demonic flower was interesting, it was bland too, and the threat of death was pointless as well. Assistance in escaping from that oversized warden may be beneficial, but considering the movements of that stone giant, it wasn’t impossible to do so without demonic aid either. His hand moved upwards, towards his mouth, and then dropped down again. Right, no smoking.
“Two more things,” Isidore said, raising two fingers up on his left hand. “What happens to you when we take the seed? Is this dog more loyal to you or to us? The more you tell, the more...mutually beneficial an agreement we can form.”
“Before death. Lived. One was...buried here. Old humaaaaans, could not survive on surffaface. Lifeless. Kiiiiiled. Imprisoned. Experimented. Must...replant surface...only sssssource. Thought...purify? But not part of.” It turned its head back towards Isidore. “ Iiif leave...death. No food. Starvation. Wilting. No caretaker. But seed wiiiil not.”
While it seemed sociable, it didn't seem to know what exactly Isidore and the group wanted to know. Augusta already confirmed it had limited intelligence, likely only being able to relate what was a danger to it, and what would help it survive.
“Kkkr, What...does human wish to t-talk? Beast was...garden. Is garden. Part of. Only used to...talk.” If Augusta had remembered what it said about not owning octavia, then it was likely this 'Garden' was the one who currently had control over the pup.
Don’s brow furrowed as he rubbed his chin in thought. If the garden was indeed already dying-- then that meant sending away the seed was meant to be its ‘last hurrah’. All things considered; the large man had come up with a plan, one that would minimize any potential threats to the group, while still denying any further quarter to this monstrosity that sat before them. "Aye agreeh tah yer terms." Don said, nodding slowly. "Aye’ll carryeh th’ seed to fertile ground, and in rehturn you restrain th’ guardian. Deal?"
“With one addition,” Isidore said. “Relinquish control of the dog to us.” He could see the line, the boundary here, and would not trust another’s hound. Not if Donovan’s swift agreement meant the man planned to destroy the seed once they were out of this monster’s reach. “Augusta, any other demands to make?”
“Oh? Any other demands?” Augusta questioned, looking at the man who requested control of Octavia. “Perhaps just that if we do this, there will be no harm brought to the world above.” She was mostly happy with the demand Isidore laid out. “I can think of none aside that and what you mentioned. Octavia’s such a cute pup so I wouldn’t mind keeping her.” The elf mentioned with a smile. “But none aside. I believe that this deal would benefit us all, would it not?” She was sure to keep wary of Octavia after witnessing what exactly happened when one was infected with the black blood but it seemed to be a fine deal so far.
Leannah, dazed and rather tired as she was, did her best to sit up in the puddle of water she found herself in. Her clothes, what little she frankly wore at least, were intact at the very least. At least it initially seemed so when the sky stopped spinning before her eyes and her sight had recovered well enough. More so, she was most definitely outside of the now seemingly-disappeared ruins...wait, the ruins were totally GONE?!
The catgirl blinked slowly in surprise before a light shake of her head and gentle slap on her right cheek proved it wasn't a hallucination at least. It was all just rubble on a cliffside, with a suspicious black obelisk with a far too coincidental moon that happened to be carved at the top. Looking around, there were mountains that pierced the heavens, a beach in the opposite direction, and then east and west having a great forest and otherwise nothing but the expanse of the ocean otherwise in whichever direction. Also, that girl who'd hidden up on the second floor shelf had a sword and was trying to get a book from Malphas it seemed.
So those two had survived, it seemed, though Donovan was still missing...dammit. But they couldn't go back in, and she had to make sure she didn't die back there either to a big stone giant. It left a sour taste in her mouth at the thought of the man left behind, but considering he'd run in a different direction then perhaps he'd found a way to escape too? It was a potentially overly-optimistic thought, but all the same she held to that hope...even if it was for her own sake.
Still, escape from that place was only the first step here.
"Well, that was a hell of a first flight. Catgirl rocket booster, magic-powered edition."
Leannah muttered to herself as she shakily got herself to stand and looked over at Malphas and Narkissa. She then began to calmly make her way over there after getting her footing and such back.
"...What are you two doing?"
She'd keep walking towards them, but hell if she was going to sit around till' nightfall. No idea what would come around on this island anyways.
Malphas held the book up higher as he skipped in a wide circle, away from Narkissa while sticking his tongue out playfully. He then continued his light pace towards the beach this time, goading her to take it. Of course, he wasn't trying too hard to keep the book away from her. If she just tried hard enough, he'd relent. Now is not the time to hold malice for anyone, after all. Seeing Narkissa and now Leannah out is a cause for celebration. They had just escaped, and the world is now their oyster!
In any case, Malphas finally gave the book back to Narkissa with a mischievous wink once Leannah came to, less smoldering than before. Then, flowing like the wave of the ocean, slunk himself back to the ground once more, to relax again.
"Now that we're here, should we wait for our foreman? Were any of you able to see him on your ways out? Oh no, he must still be dealing with that behemoth, isn't he?"
Despite their rather abrasive introduction, Malphas shared a look of concern for Donovan. Malphas held a love for human life that others simply wouldn't understand fully, and the loss of one's own spark of potential is one indeed worthy to be mourned for. In other words, Donovan had a useful ability and Malphas was sad he couldn't use it for his own ends.
Of course, this prompted Malphas to look over his current allies to better comprehend what use they'd have. Leannah was a fighter through and through, and something could be said about the heat emanating from her during her landing... A joke could be made about the intricacies of cats and the word "heat," resulting in Malphas chuckling just a bit. And the other girl, Narkissa... She has a cool book, at least? Malphas will have to further observe what use she'll have later on. And besides, no matter what these two girls are capable of doing, one thing's for certain is if they didn't believe in Malphas's miracles before, they definitely do now.
Anything further to be gained from talking to Lazirha was immediately put to the side as Misaki watched Nobunaga and Novak fell the crazed beast, and though she instinctively winced as it unceremoniously fell to the earth, the victory that the two of her companions had brought forth was ample enough opportunity to give them some clout to those who had watched. Of course, the subsequent flight of the young girl who had guided them here meant that pulling any further information would have to wait, had the apparent leader of the hunters not introduced himself to the three of them. The foxgirl nodded her head as she watched the former run off, a half-smile on her face as she turned towards Akando. Of course, simple inference allowed her enough room to assume that Enli was the 'Kadisht' that Lazirha had mentioned, and though it was likely that Nobunaga was much more apt at any manner of diplomacy than either of them were, there wasn't any reason for all three of them to not go.
"I... Well, that's a bit blunt, I'd think," she said in response to Novak before scratching the back of her head. "Of course, I see no reason why we shouldn't go meet with them, so..."
Maybe it was a good thing that she looked as young as Lazirha; the possibility that the residents of the village could jump to conclusions about the three of them and their relationship dynamic could easily work in their favor. Of course, it was mostly up to Nobunaga to take the reins, but given who she was, that part wouldn't be too difficult to sort out.
Considering the fact that she had previously seen other people disappear from this spot in a rippling flash, Narkissa wasn’t extremely surprised when, in the middle of chasing after Malphas, the entire environment around her completely changed, literally warping them away from the peculiar stone prison.
“Bloody hell. Come here, you,” she yelled back, in response to Malphas’ playful, but irritating behavior. Considering the situation, she was in little mood to play games. Even once the book was handed back to her, she looked a little cross as she tucked the book safely against her.
Her personal belongings reacquired, she finally took in the area around her. The area they were in was surrounded by beautiful wilderness; from the cliffs, to the trees and mountains, and then to the shining sea, the view projected a majestic image fit for a painting. The ocean and beach part was the most interesting to Narkissa; even if it had killed her in the past, she still felt irresistibly drawn to the water.
“That big guy? I lost track of him a long time ago. Sorry.” While she wanted to make a beeline for the beach as well, as her adrenaline died down from the escape and subsequent book chase, she felt dead tired. So, she also sat down.
Seeing the cat girl had made it was well, she waved her over and motioned for her to join them. “Watching the ocean,” she replied, humoring her question.
“Kadisht Enli is our...chief of sorts,” Akando replied rather matter of factly. “Though he dislikes being called as such. He lets most of the village operate as hands off as he can. He still has sway though, and has final say in what happens in more dangerous or urgent matters.” The large man frowned lightly.
“I’m not sure what Lazhira has told you, but as you can guess things aren’t exactly going...well, for us right now, but Enli would be better at filling you in.”
Assuming they followed, Akando would lead them further towards the north side of the village with the long house they had seen earlier. A short walk, though most people still kept stealing glances at the outsiders. They were also of course, free to keep asking questions as they traveled. Or perhaps they didn’t follow Akando, and elected to go their own way.
Eventually they would reach the building, Akando slowly pushing open the door. Inside was for them, a warm relief. A large fire pit had been put in the middle of the room, smoke rising from it and out of a skylight in the roof. The walls were decorated with several tables, chairs, and a few what seemed to be hunting trophies. Several chairs were situated around the fire pit, along with tables.
In the back of the room, was stacked bookshelves upon which various scrolls and other written texts seem to be stored. Perusing the shelves was an older man, not much notable in the way of physical appearances go. He was dressed in a long, red robe with patterns - notably having the same symbol embroidered on the front of it as Lazhira’s tattoo. He hadn’t heard them enter, in his hands was a scroll he was currently perusing.
“Enli, I have bought visitors.”
“Hm? Ah, I heard shouts from here. Another animal attack?” The mans voice was definitely aged.
“Dealt with swiftly by our visitors here.”
“I see, well, you have my thanks travelers.” He placed the paper on a nearby table. “Come, you must be cold with how you’re dressed.”
“Kkrk, a-ceptable.” The creature gurgled, head tilting at an odd angle. ‘Octavia’ tilted its head up towards the smaller plant. A small tendril sprouted from the ground, briefly piercing the pup’s skin, but it didn’t seem bothered by it. It lasted only a moment, before the pup was released from its grip. “I have...released from this garden...Then...we have a deal.”
Whether it thought they would betray it didn’t seem to matter, or perhaps it wasn’t capable of such deep thinking. Whatever the case may be, the smaller flower at the base of the flower shuddered. Large petals opened, a sweet fragrance wafting from the newly bloomed flower. Within was a hand sized seed.
“Take. Leave. Hurry. Can only restrain...so long.” The creature the garden was puppeting fell lifeless.
The vines around the small pool retreated, revealing a path around the other side of the flower, back towards the unexplored doorway as well as the way back they had come. Notably, the creatures were all now on the side they had been so it should be an easy, straight shot back towards the area they came supposing nothing stood in their way.
Of course, it couldn’t exactly be so easy. Assuming they did go back the way they came, once they had reached the stairs they’d come to the sinking realization. The monsters that Nick left behind, were still alive and well, barring their path forwards. About five of them, in this cramped space.
The ground rumbled beneath them, vines and tendrils reaching upwards from the ground.
@Click This@Cu Chulainn@Crusader Lord Finally out of their ordeal, the group convened upon the beach. Making their way down the cliff and outcropping, they found themselves a serene vista. The beach gently crashing upon the land, the only thing breaking the peace was the sea birds loudly cawing and chirping from above, a siren call that could be heard from quite a ways away.
They had some time to themselves, it seemed. The only question was what would they do with it? Make camp? Explore the area? Head to the mountains.
As expected, the creature made for a swing the moment Nick tried to charge it. It lunged forward with a blade, Nick deflecting it with his own. In the next instant his free hand grabbed the creature by the neck. It hissed, grunting angrily as a second blade on its other arm sliced into Nick’s shoulder. A deep, painful gash was cut into him, a mild burning sensation aside from the pain as Nick lifted the creature and tossed it aside.
He was free, at last.
Nothing else stood in his way, not between him and the exit at least.
He would arrive back on the ground floor of the complex, but something had changed. The growth had started to visibly expand upwards, taking hold of the stone walls, finding any sort of crack or opening it could use to grow itself and slip into places.
The ground rumbled, shifting as something seemed to be clawing its way up from the depths.
Nobunaga straightened, flicking the blood from her katana and smoothly sheathing her weapon. The fight with the beast had played out largely as she expected, and now the corpse was left in the snow, exposed guts steaming as the hunters set upon the body to clean it and prepare it for consumption, presumably.
"I merely utilized my skills as best I could," she responded, to the leader of the hunters, a friendly smile on her lips, "To do any less would be poor conduct in a dangerous situation, would it not?"
Indeed, it would be. But more then that, the simple idea of her needing no thanks... not only was it likely to ingratiate herself to these people, but would begin the path she sought.
'This is someone we can rely on to help.'
But that would take more then a single incident.
Taking time to meet the village's chief was undoubtedly important as well.
As she entered the building, the thing Nobunaga took note of immediately was the embroidery on that outfit. The same as the tattoo on Lazhira's arm...
Asking about a connection, however, could wait until they formed closer ties.
"Thank you," she began, recalling how the hunter had stated that the chief preferred not to be called as such, "I must say, I'm happy to have been guided to civilization. We were in quite a predicament."
With a nod of understanding, Misaki quietly followed behind Nobunaga as Akando led them to the 'chief' that they had heard so much reference towards in the time that they had spent here. It was, admittedly, quite convenient that they could so easily see the person who was the de facto head of the settlement (hearing the words 'of sorts' twice when referring to him could only lead to her assuming as much), but rather than the man himself drawing her attention, it was the pile of scrolls and literature that caught her eye. A location like this did not exactly seem like a place for such things to exist, and if there was anything that she was used to, it was scouring through old documents for information.
In other words, there might be information about their current predicament that she could glean from those, if not at least more than a rudimentary understanding of the world that they had been thrust into.
Given that Nobunaga had more than enough reason to take the helm in these discussions, though, the foxgirl simply opted to simply wait at the warlord's side as she spoke. It didn't seem as if there was much else to say at the moment, after all...
Well, other than a few cursory words of thanks; it wasn't like she had actually done much in the last encounter...
His nose crunched up once more as the sweetness intensified, but Isidore grabbed the massive seed anyways, pocketing it. More of an egg than a seed, from his reckoning; even the great oaks back home sprung into life from something much smaller. He turned to the others, tilted his head in the direction of the exit, and strode off.
Forty five minutes left at this point. He’d have to make use of it while he could.
Tendrils and vines snaked upwards, the chambers and staircase rumbling as the demon flower moved to honor its part of the deal. With its child in tow, it had no recourse but to obey, after all, even if that meant challenging the warden that kept it locked in here. And as for Nick...through the enhanced eyesight that his own energies provided him, Isidore didn’t catch any sign of the brunette’s corpse amongst the five shambling monsters that laid ahead. More thralls of the garden, perhaps? The flower really didn’t keep its children well-disciplined.
He breathed in, but this time, only so he could speak.
“Augusta, Donovan, keep running. I’ll catch up.”
Those plant-like blades had been potent once, but now that his death-defying will was made manifest, it would no longer harm him. Not to the extent where he needed to play as safe as he did before. Not to the extent where the others will have to assist him in the slaughter.
Bringing his blade up, Isidore drew his left palm against the ancient edge, the ice-hot kiss of a cut further bolstering his armor’s defenses as scarlet stained the arming sword. That scarlet turned a bright red, then burst to flame after, infused with the crackling heat of his soul. A sword of fire, straight out of fiction. What would his wife think, if she saw her husband gallivanting like this?
Probably yell at him for inflicting such a pointless injury.
Mirth flickered, then faded, the cold calm settling back on his features.
And then, Isidore launched himself, a flurry of flame and steel, his armored forearm concerned only with protecting his vital organs as he slashed at the parasitized experiments.
His plan of attack was successful, but not without cost. As he lifted the wretched experiment, it managed to swipe its other blade onto his shoulder and leave behind a deep wound. The pain was stinging and burning in sensation but he was still in the thrill of adrenaline. It was bearable for now as he threw away the creature and made for the exit.
Nick clutched his injured shoulder as he continued, soon reaching the first floor of the complex. With no threat in sight for a while now, his wound made itself felt. "Argh...!" Nick knew it was gonna hurt, but he didn't know it was gonna hurt this much. The feeling was heavy, weighing down Nick until he slowed to a walk. Blood freely flowed from his shoulder, his hand drenched in the crimson. He needed to find a bandage to at least stop the bleeding before things got worse.
And things other than his shoulder got worse. The stone room he was in was had those black growths that grew upward to cover the entire room. Each opening and crack came the black substance and Nick needed to get moving again. He did so, pushing through the pain to get himself out of there. The floor also began rumbling, as if something was trying to emerge, which just added to Nick's urgency to leave.
He would make for the snow-covered courtyard where Octavia materialized. Hopefully, that place would be far enough and safe enough. Nick still had that blade of his and he realized he could cut his shirt apart to make a makeshift bandage to cover his shoulder wound.
...Watching the ocean? If only. However, the thought almost amused the catgirl as she let out a low chuckle at Narkissa's invitation. If only. She had what could be considered a swimsuit on at this point, or perhaps some kind of faux-Egyptian sexy wear, so either way she was seemingly prepared for the heat in a sense. Plus no nagging museum director, no car wreck, and frankly no big murder-robot-golem-magic-thing trying to grab her and make her inside her new outsides. Almost dreamlike, really, with those things in mind as well. Also so very tempting, something that could easily allow her to hunt and fight and vacation for however long she liked until she died!\
But that all side, she had to focus on the matter at hand: Getting moving. They couldn't sit here forever, as much as it seemed like a survivalist's wet dream, and a good place and shelter and potentially finding other reincarnates or locals would be better than doing nothing. Especially by the time it got dark, as there was no indication what fantasy insanity might be lurking around dusk and through the night to find itself some food.
"Donovan was going in a different direction from us, so at this point I'd say there's always the chance. Seems like the type to not just sit down and die," Leannah said with a sigh, putting her right hand on her hip and running her left hand through her hair and between her (admittedly fun to touch) ears, before letting her left hand come down and onto the other side of her hips in turn, "I'd say we need to get moving to find either a good spot to camp, maybe some locals who don't want to kill us, or a friendly face who might've left before us before dark. Not sure which is best, but if we sit exposed we'll be vulnerable to anything that might crawl around here come nighttime."
Leannah looked farther down the beach, before glancing back toward her two current travel companions. A man who she was convinced was a cult leader, her belief in him pulling off some stupid but admittedly miraculous and admirable stuff by now aside, and a book-y woman who to her gave off an air of self-interest and book-loving tendencies (as far as she could toss a guess or two based on things so far). It wasn't perfect, but at the moment she had no other options and neither did they unless they all wanted to go solo and risk it. Frankly if they wanted to just sit here for some reason then going solo might be a good bet for her personally. However, groups were safer than going it alone in a general sense...right?
"Since we're by the ocean, let's walk down the beach some ways and see if we find anything or anyone that could be of help. At least that's what I'll be doing if you two want to come along. Of course we could always head to the mountain and see if we can get some high ground to get a better view of this place."
With that and a tired shrug, Leannah began to walk to go further down the beach. If the other two didn't come, they didn't come. She somewhat hoped they did to be honest, but was prepared if they didn't. They were 'burning daylight' as the old saying went!
Novak followed alongside his two companions, contemplating their current situation. Despite the peril they had faced so far, things seemed to be going pretty well. They had escaped that guardian, managed to find civilization before they could freeze to death, and had won some favor with the town by vanquishing a threat (admittedly, it was almost entirely Nobunaga's doing). According to Akando, however, things had been going poorly for the town, which no doubt meant that the local problems, whatever they were, were far from over.
Akando led them to the largest building, a longhouse of some sorts. The interior was pleasantly warm, heated by a fire pit in the center. Judging by the tables and chairs surrounding the fire pit, it was probably a place for dining or feasting. The back of the room, on the other hand, seemed to have a very different purpose. It was lined with bookshelves, and was probably either a valuable repository of knowledge or a boring archive of town records.
A robed man, probably Enli, was going through the records. The first thing Novak noticed about the man was the symbol on his robe, the same symbol as the one on Lazhira’s hand. Clearly, there must be some sort of connection.
Akando introduced the group to Enli, and mentioned how they had slain a monster attacking the village. Nobunaga was the first to reply, voicing her relief at having found civilization. Novak said nothing, considering Nobunaga's reply to be sufficient for the time being. He had many questions, but they could wait until after Nobunaga had broken the ice.
Augusta was content with the exchange of promises. Take the seed with them and the Garden would allow them an easy escape. It was nothing but a win for them, and they keep Octavia! Of course, it was her hound after all! She watched as Isidore pocketed the seed and motioned for them to leave. Considering the words of the flower at it not being able to hold the guardian for too long... That likely was not a bad idea. "Octavia, follow me~" She cooed at the demon dog as she followed Isidore out the new opening.
As they escaped back the way they came, she wondered what became of Nick. Since he'd been perfectly fine if he followed them, she wondered what he sensed that was just that bad. Was it, perhaps, that since the gift was from the goddess and she seemed to hate demons... She'd rather give him a terrible warning about the giant flower demon than some wretches? It was peculiar to her, though not surprising, for the most part. The bright side, she hadn't seen the young man's corpse anywhere so far as the whole area was rumbling.
The plant was definitely keeping its part of the deal.
As they ascending from a sickly sweet smelling hell, they ran into something rather familiar. Wretches. Five of the same bastards from earlier. Her first thought was, This is going to be easy, but Isidore's words caught her off guard. He wanted her and Donovan to keep running. She knew his power was strong for taking a hit, but it should be fine to wipe these things out quickly. "Come now Isidore. There's five of them cluttering the hallway." She raised a hand and shot a firebolt from it, blasting one of the creatures. "Unlike you, I don't feel like taking an injury today from trying to run through these guys." She fire another bolt out at the same creature.
"Octavia, would you be a dear and help out? Donovan, think you can handle one?" She was confident in the dog's ability to handle one, since it easily did so earlier. She just knew Donovan only had a shield so it might be a bit difficult to actually end one, though he did use that odd magic earlier that she wanted to bring up later. Regardless, these were fairly weak creatures so it should be fine to dispose of them quickly.
Happy to have gotten out of that horrific garden, Don made sure to watch the small party's flanks as they headed back the way they came. Even if the garden itself had spared them, that didn't mean the plant zombies would do the same, as it wasn't shown how much control the main entity had over the shambling abominations. Don grimaced as the group approached the hall full of thralls, even if he couldn't see Nick amoung the bodies; that didn't mean the lad wasn't horribly wounded. The large man scoffed as Isidore suggested they run ahead and leave him behind, "Aye dun enuff runnin fer today lad. Protected er' not-- there ain't no need to fight these things alone."
Don readied his hammer and shield as he took a deep breath. Focusing his magic, he called forth the 'whispers' once more, guiding as much energy as he could muster into his shield. In his mind's eye, the image of the serpent's star burned hot, and bright; a brilliant beam of starlight burning through the void of nothingness, and directed at the creatures before them.
It was probably a good thing Isidore had grabbed the seed, Don thought as he charged; shield first, at the nearest creature that hadn't already been engaged.
“Hm...” A slow smile spread across Enli’s face. “Curious about them, are you? The scrolls, I mean.” He said, looking towards Misaki. “Feel free to peruse what I have here, as a small thanks. They’re mostly just records and a few personal accounts of previous Kadisht. Our ancestors once worshiped the God of Knowledge, you see, but after he left our village people simply...forgot.”
The older man took a seat in a chair located towards the center of the room near the back.
“But I won’t bother you with a history lesson.” He chuckled. “You have my thanks for dealing with that animal. We're currently dealing with a bit of a problem, but I will extend our villages full hospitality to you in any way I can.”
Were Misaki to take him up on that offer, she’d find the scrolls to be filled with mostly as he said. Journal entries, accounts and a few what seemed to be passages of worship for this ‘God of Knowledge’, referenced as ‘Iva’Kroha’ or the ‘Illuminator’ in most cases. There was also a reference to a place of worship within the forest some distance away, where the God apparently used to reside.
Perhaps she would be looking for something more specific.
"...Enli, perhaps it would be best if we ask for help. The black haired girl is skilled."
"They are our guests, Akando. They have no business interfering in our affairs." He stated rather firmly.
"Something needs to be done about Kyrnith-"
"That is enough. We'll talk when we're not in front of guests."
Isidore lunged into the fray immediately upon reaching the next level. The experiments had their back to them, having all been focused on the stairway leading up. No sign of Nick, perhaps they had been chasing him up the stairs until just now? Useless to think about it for now, wasn’t it? Isidore ran his hand across the blade, blood staining the ancient edge crimson before igniting it in a sea of flame.
The first blade strike struck a creature square in the back, causing it to shriek in pain at the sudden assault. It fell forwards, shrieking and scrambling to the ground before suddenly turning around to face it's assailant. A large gash upon its back, black blood leaking and burning flesh mixing with the sweet air. A second one quickly reacted and lunged. A fireball from Augusta slammed into the side of its head, but not enough force to stop it.
It’s blade swung into Isidore’s forearm, seemingly surprised that it was being halted by his flesh. Donovan followed up next, the third creature nearest them barely having time to react as his shield slammed into his face. Another blast of energy invisible force, a ticking of a clock slammed sent the creature rolling across the floor. Whatever energy he was still channeling, seemed to immediately end the creature as its now lifeless body lay upon the ground, the plantlife shriveling and wilting.
Octavia swiftly bolted around the side, going for the ankles of one, only to be met with a quick, swift strike from one of the creatures, forming a deep gash upon the pups back. Octavia whined, but the wound quickly knit back together, allowing the pup to sink its teeth into the arm of the creature and drag it to the ground.
A brief moment of relaxation. A brief reprieve from the tribulations they had just endured. The only thing now, was to consider their next course of action. The forest would likely provide bounty and enough source of edible food, and the mountains while perhaps scarcer in that regard likely hand plenty of places of natural shelters. The beach too, wasn’t too far away and should they be able to fish, they would have a decent supply of food.
Leannah, it seemed, would choose the latter.
Whether her companions followed or not, the feisty feline began traveling north along the beach, the treeline just a short distance away. Soon they would notice footprints within the sand, obvious signs of human passage. In the distance they could even see smoke gently rising from the same nearby village Nobunaga and the others were currently occupying.
Something caused Leannah’s ears to stand on end.
Something was moving in the forest.
And it was watching them, yet if she happened to look, there was nothing, except for perhaps the lack of something. No animals. Not even any of those sea birds they saw out upon the waves or coast. She could, of course, decide to simply ignore it and continue heading into the town. It was likely nothing.
The creature didn’t go far, slamming into the ground near another, frantically trying to stand once again before its prey got away. Nick was too swift on his feet, however and soon he had left the lower levels behind, quickly emerging on the first level. Thankfully, the experiments here seemed to still be free of whatever malady the creature below had inflicted upon the others in the lower levels.
Soon, he would be standing once again upon the snow laden ground, fresh air and free of that cloying air that threatened to make one sick with its sweetness. Freedom, perhaps? Now all he had to do was worry about-
The cool air stung the wound on his arm. Quickly thinking, he cut a few strips of cloth from his shirt, intent on using them to bandage his wound. Noticeably, a black film seemed to cover the wound, coagulating around the blood. It was probably fine.
The surrounding area however, was not fine.
The ground rumbled. Somewhere on the other side of the building, just around the corner he could hear the earth breaking, splitting, cracking as ancient stone split open. Within the open area where the stone giant resided, just around the corner of the small courtyard where they met the pup, the earth simply fell.
Roots and vines moved stone, prying apart the earth from below as it demanded to be free from its prison. The earth fell into the garden below as it rose from the depths, the plant accelerating its growth.
The stone guardian of the place was quick to take note. It seemed...reluctant? Uncertain. It held its stone blade at the ready as the mass of plants quickly formed into a coherent form reminiscent of a massive venus flytrap - but with more teeth, and obvious intelligence behind it.
It seemed like Nicholas had time to decide what to do here. With that thing there, the guardian wasn’t likely to notice him. Perhaps he could make a break for it?
Enli noticed Misaki's interest in the scrolls and offered to let her look through them. Novak was a bit curious about them himself, but could he even read the script they were written in? The people of this new world seemed to speak his language- or was it he who gained the knowledge speak their language? Was his knowledge of the language of his previous, forgotten life lost and replaced with this world's language? If so, did it extend to comprehension of written text as well? He supposed that the only to know for sure would be to try and read some of the texts. He could do that later, however, because for now the more pressing issue was to respond to the man's offer to let them stay in the village.
"Thank you sir, we are grateful for your hospitality," Novak responded. "Like my companion said, we were very fortunate to have been brought here."
Akando suggested that they could help with the town's problems that both he and Enli had previously alluded to. The chief, however, shot the idea down, not wanting to involve the trio. Novak wasn't entirely sure it was out of distrust of outsiders or the notion that asking guests to risk their lives on the host town's behalf would constitute very poor hospitality. Perhaps it was a bit of both.
They mentioned the Kyrinth again. Was that thing we killed not the actual Kyrinth?
"If I may, sirs," Novak spoke up, "If that monster is any indication of the problems you're facing, then as long as we're here it's our problem too. The threat to your town is a threat to your guests, as well as anyone else in the region who might have the misfortune to catch this Kyrinth's attention."
Novak's motivation to help was indeed partially out of self-interest due to the fact that they would be affected by the local problems as long as they stayed here, but he also wanted to help these people. He wasn't sure how he could help, but perhaps he could learn how, and anything was better than cowering in a hut every time another monster came to terrorize the town.
