[IC] Plague-Hunters

[LHG100]

In Rielach, there's a single, ancient forest covering most of the continent known as Kiruth. There's a hallowed, just-as-ancient stone path leading from the nearest town, known humbly as Oakstown. Halfway through the path is... a small camp, and a sheet just a short jog away. On the sheet, an older man is sitting, having a picnic, and seeming to converse with... some sort of giant wasp? "When do you think they'll arrive, Thorn? Most of them said today or tomorrow, but things happen. I hope they won't take too long. Or get killed by wolves. Or bears... Eh, they probably won't, I trained them all pretty well, I think. What say you?"

Obviously, no reply. "Aww, you're too kind. That Schulze one too, hmm? I barely needed to train him! I can tell he's seen some things best not talked about, though. Well, I think so. That half-elf as well, seems a bit... passive to be a hunter, but I assume he'll grow out of it." Joshua sniffed at the air, and saw three people in the distance closing in. Schulze, Alex, and Eresing. Perfect. Joshua stood up, taking a bit longer then usual due to his failing age, and waved at them, beckoning them to sit next to him. "You three! Just on time, lovely! Please, Please, sit down, I prepared a camp and some food, you all must be hungry, it's a long jog!"

[M127]

Iṃgor, having heard Joshua's invitation, speeds up slightly, and sits down on a nearby root, not saying a single word.
His eyes emit a short pulse of light every 30 seconds, as he does a routine 'minor conditional tracking'(about 20 meters range to conserve mana), searching for any lifeforms with increased body tension(usually an indicator for the intention to fight or flee), in order to detect anyone/anything with possibly hostile intentions.
Iṃgor then waits for everyone else to settle down.

[Eklispe]

Alexander grabbed a seat pleasantly surprised that food had been prepared. "Thank you, what is on the menu?" he asked eager to dig into a good meal as he set his naginata down next to him. "It was very kind of you to set up camp for us, though I am curious, when are we going to learn how to obtain a familiar of our own?" he asked excited to learn.

[agentmanatee]

Nickolaus, the last to join the small group including the ancient Joshua, leaned against a nearby tree and simply nodded, taking out some dried food from his satchel, "I would prefer to eat my prepared food, sir." As he ate he scanned nearby trees and brush for any movement, prepared to launch into combat should the need arise. "I share the elf's question, when will our familiar be gained?"

[LHG100]

The large wasp hid behind Joshua as he spoke, "To answer all of your questions: I have some dried, salted beef, chicken, and other such things, and I also have a turkey prepared, some apples, oranges, and.. well whatever that is, and some bottled drinks if anyone gets any thirsty. In any case, your familiars will be chosen by you, I'll teach you the rune in a bit, my legs honestly hurt after such a long jog, myself! Hehehe...

"Oh, If no one here is familiar-... Heheeheh... that was funny and you know it Thorn.", the man turned to the giant wasp behind him, before facing back, "Anyway, Yes, if no one is familiar with what lurks in these silent forests, you can ask me! I'm not an expert, but I do know a thing or two about the creatures here. However, do note that beasts occasionally lurk here, nothing 'Resurgence' level, but a few smaller ones are still around. Of course, feel free to just yell for help if you encounter anything strange, I may be old but I'm not that old. Of course, I do hope you'll all work together."

"...OH! I forgot, I bought a cake to bring, if I think you did particularly well, you can have some cake. So be on your best behavior, and don't get decapitated! Especially by those Ironback lizards, those are hardy ones. Would be a great choice for a familiar, by the way."

[M127]

Iṃgor bites into an apple while taking one of the bottles and strapping it to his belt, dehydration is the quickest way to die if deprived of resources; besides, water in general is really useful when preparing food.
He then asks Joshua in a rather silent, but polite tone: "If you don't mind, I'd like to know how to gain familiars rather quickly, and currently see no reason why eating would interfere with teaching. If there is a reason, please let me know."
While speaking, his necklace reflects some light into Joshua's eyes.

[NanoFreakV2]

Sapphire arrives quite late in comparison to the rest of the group still catching a glimpse of the ongoing conversation about local fauna. She sits down on log that is fairly distant to the rest, obviously not wanting to sit down next to anyone. As everyone is in the process of bagging the supplies offered by Joshua she decides to skip the snack prepared by him.
She quickly packs one of the bottle drinks and some dried food.

"So...uhm... what kind of flying creatures are we expected to find ?" she asks in an almost whispered tone that would've gone completely unnoticed if any ambient sounds like the wind would've been a bit louder. As she says this she averts half hood covered face towards distance, not looking at anyone in particular.

[LHG100]

"... I'm beginning to think I brought too much food... BUT YES! The exicus rune itself, allow me to draw it... does anyone have a marker or ink on them?" Just as he asked, 'Thorn', his familiar, reached into his back pocket and brought out a quill, and planted it into his hand. "Oh, thank you Thorn!". He found a relatively flat rock, and began drawing a perfect circle on the biggest, flattest side. Then, a circle half its' size in the middle of it, and a square in the center, its' edges meeting the larger circle. He then wrote 'letters' that appeared to be weird fusions of a W and a J inside both the square and the smaller circle, in a triangle formation. "Aaand that should be it, 'Turn Familiar'. Remember, this'll only work once, so make sure what you chose is absolutely what you want. Of course, you're supposed to place the creature you wish to turn into your familiar inside the center here, but that's obvious enough. It also won't work if the body of the creature is covering any of the letters, those are vital."

He then asked, "Hmm... Excuse me, did any of you see a young woman on the road here? Around twenty, usually wears a cloak? she's another of my pupils, I'm wondering where she is.". Amusingly, he then notices Sapphire and jumps, not expecting her, "Sapphire! Lovely seeing you, I was just wondering where you were! And yes about flying creatures, there are some giant eagles flying around, large enough to carry a man off to its' nest! And there are minor Wyrms too, lizards with wings, like the ancient dragons, but much smaller in comparison. Of course, the ancient dragons were gigantic while they were still around, so the 'minor wyrms' are still roughly person sized..."

[M127]

A littlebit intruiged by the spell, Iṃgor asks: "Is there any way to delay the activation of the spell? For setting up a trap utilizing it for example. Also, are there any special creatures living in this forest, apart from the standard fauna I mean."
He proceeds to use his tracking spell again, this time to look for any creature he knows, that he judges to have a 50% chance of killing or severely wounding him in a 1 on 1 fight, which are within 200 meters.

[NanoFreakV2]

As Joshua finishes answering her question she looks at him for just a short moment and nods then finishes packing her supplies.
She then stands up and heads towards the nearest tree. The fact that she stood up and left the immediate area of the camp site goes almost unnoticed by anyone as if she were hidden in plain sight.

Once at said tree she pulls her cloak to her side revealing her trusted Kris that she’s been carrying around since she can remember. She grasps it with a gentle touch and raises it to her chest simply examining it, for a few moments clearly contemplating deeply.

She snaps out of her deep thoughts and with new found confidence she proceeds to straighten out her hand seemingly taking aim at the tree. For a mere moment it looks like she’s about to throw it at the tree but instead the Kris is flung vertically into the air. As this happens, Sapphire pulls her right hand back next to her head which is the same one she used to throw the Kris into the air. The Kris starts plummeting and the instant it’s in front of her hand she thrusts it forward. Apparently without even making contact with her hand the Kris is sent flying towards the tree, in the end merely grazing it and deflecting the Kris into another nearby tree.

Sapphire lets out a faint sigh as she disappears behind further vegetation to retrieve her weapon.

[Eklispe]

One corner of Alex's mouth curled up slightly in appreciation of the pun and grabbed a chicken leg eagerly consuming it. He would've eaten more but he had a feeling he would want to be able to run when they were looking for familiars. He grabbed an apple and a drink as well, better to have and not want then to want and not have after all. He frowned as he examined the rune carefully, it was rather complicated and took some time to draw. In addition you had to entirely encircle your familiar of choice. This might be more difficult then he thought.

"So essentially we either have to knock out, immobilize, or befriend our target before we are able to use the rune. Hold on a moment," Alex took out a paper and a piece of charcoal painstakingly copying the design onto the parchment. "There." he said satisfied with his reproduction and putting his tools away. He could've just asked for the rock with the design on it, but that would've felt too much like mooching. He barely noticed Sapphire before she left. "So then are we free to seek our familiar?" Alex questioned. The whole thing was somewhat less formal than he was expecting.

[agentmanatee]

Nickolaus was a specialized hunter... or at least a soon to be specialized hunter. He was not so much surprised by the final arrival to the small gathering so much as he was surprised no one seemed to notice her. Joshua apparently had not even seen her sitting in the group for a short time. He had already known the familiar rune, or at least virtually known it. He was far more interested in the new arrival, as his training kicked in. The other soon hunters he had met before, and travelled long enough with them to know their abilities in theory, which was fine. But he needed to know the abilities of the new arrival more than he needed a "particular" familiar, and so placed the familiar as his second objective in his mind. After Joshua's explanation she got up and left, and no one else seemed to notice her do so... interesting.

The girls trick with the kris as interesting, and she disappeared into the forest after it. He quietly pushed off the tree, and spun on his boot heel, turning just to the right of where the girl had entered the deeper foliage. He quickly made his way into the woods after her, making certain the others made no notice of their similar direction. Upon entering the woods behind her, he kept off to her right side, stealthily observing from the shadowy edge of her vision, a familiar could wait, Nickolaus needed to know the other hunters skills... and the best way to know that was through observation.

[NanoFreakV2]

Soon enough, Sapphire is standing in front of the tree which has her Kris embedded in it. With that same gentle grasp she used before she takes hold of the Kris and pulls on it a few times but it becomes clear the she won’t be able to remove with the amount of physical strength she possesses.
She pauses for a moment then places her right hand next to the Kris, the inner palm pointing away from the tree slightly to her left. She then clunches her hand into a fist and a noticeable ‘woosh’ is heard as the Kris seems to dislodge a bit but still staying fixed and the tree.

“Of course . . .”, she whispers to herself.

She prepares to do the same action again but she suddenly stops and drops her hand next to her. A few seconds pass as she stands there apparently doing nothing, keeping her eyes closed behind that hood. To the more trained eye it would become clear that she’s attuning her exceptional sense of hearing to her surroundings.
A few more moments pass when suddenly she turns her head to her right looking in the general direction of her uninvited guest who has now stopped moving and is observing from the shadows. It is unclear whether she’s just scanning the area or staring right at said guest. She stares some more for a few seconds still not discernible whether she’s just spooked or has in fact taken notice of him.

Apparently satisfied with her findings she takes the tree in front of her into view once more.

“I know you’re there . . . so you might as well come out.”, she says in a low yet commanding tone, her confidence seemingly returning to her voice as well due to her no longer being near the large group of people.

[LHG100]

Thankfully, Imgor found no hostile creatures in a large radius, and Joshua answered Alex's question, "Yes, you can do that now, but please, please, work together on this and make sure you're all absolutely prepared, yes? The creatures here are no Plagued, but they're still mighty dangerous collectively. Especially in groups! The further you are from the road, the more likely you'll find something dangerous. But that might be what you want, hmm?".

"Oh, and Imgor, I'm afraid I have no idea how you'd communicate a delay to the spirits, I'm sure someone in Oakstown knows, probably the Duke's wizard or something. You could trail back really quick and ask? And about strange creatures, I have heard reports of some sort of 'tunneler' creature, 'Carrion Tunnelers' I think they're called. I have no idea what those are, but it sounds mighty powerful! I think you'll know it when you see it."

"Run along now, dominate or befriend whatever you wish!"

[M127]

Iṃgor looked at his current companions, while sighing in disappointment, as his sweep returned no creatures he'd immedeatly want as a familiar.
After a second of observation and thought, he nods in the direction of Oakstown, with a look on his face as if he was asking a question.
Seeing as Saphire probably desires one of those giant eagles, he initiates another tracking spell, looking for oversized eagle nests, which still appear to be in use.

[Eklispe]

Alex nodded, working together would certainly be safer and it would be easier to subdue or otherwise deal with any creature they came across. It looked like Sapphire and Nick had already left, no doubt working on finding a creature and working on taming it. Well he was off to find a familiar then. Alex grabbed his weapon and began walking into the forest, "Thank you, good luck Imgor." he called as he left. Of course he was observing his surroundings carefully and making sure he only went in one direction so as to easily find his way back. Every so often he also left a slash mark on the trees he passed. He supposed he really should work with Imgor but he felt confident in his own skills, besides he felt like this was something better down by yourself. Besides if he really needed help no doubt the others were within shouting distance. Alex would continue walking until he found something, weapons at the ready and the words of his spell already running through his mind, ready to be released if necessary.

[M127]

Seeing everyone else head for the forest, Iṃgor heads back to Oakstown. Only a fool walks into a fight without knowing as much as he can know.
As he walks away, he thanks Joshua for the supplies and information.
Once arrived, he quickly searches for the duke's wizard, inquiring how it would be possible to delay the activation of 'turn familiar', until the caster desires its activation, without having to edit the rune.

[agentmanatee]

Nickolaus contemplated remaining where he was, perhaps she would... no, he had no real reason to hide, he could observe her either way. So, he stepped out from the his haven of shadow and straight up to her. He quickly looked the girl up and down, then noticed her Kris in the tree, "My apologies, I did not realize your senses were quite so keen that o would be discovered." He then approached the tree and, rather casually, removed the Kris from the trunk.

He turned it around in his hand, examining its wavelike blade. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary or remarkable about it he handed it back to her, holding the so she could take it by the hilt. "As I don't believe we have met, allow me to introduce myself. Nickolaus Schulze, and you are?" Time to see if she possessed knowledge of hid family, the more he knew about the hunter the better.

[NanoFreakV2]

“Sapphire Amaryllis” she responded without any emotion resonating in her voice while taking her Kris back. The Kris promptly disappeared behind her cloak. “Shouldn’t you be stalking your future familiar instead of fellow trainees?” she asked with a slight frown visible on her face. Before he could answer she continued, a more blank expression returning to her face. “I once ran a few errands for someone with that very same last name. . .” she paused for a moment recalling the many encounters she had with various distinguished figures and prominent family trees while living her life of solitude on the streets.

“. . .So tell me, what did you have to go through to prove yourself in your training ?”, she continued with a far more grim tone in her voice hinting that she was aware of some practices of the Schulze family. She then turned her head slightly to the side, letting more of her hood cover her face.

[LHG100]

For Imgor:
He returns back to the path to Oakstown, and after quite a while he arrives. As the name implies, most of the town's housings are made of wood, harvested from the silent forest. It's not that large of a town, usually hovering around a hundred people taking residence, but that's understandable considering it's proximity to the dangerous forest. You walk down the central road to the local Duke's small castle, walled roughly in the center of the village, yet the guards at the outer most gate inform you that they're not taking visitors currently. They also ask you why you need to speak with the Courts' Wizard anyway.

For Alexander:
As Alexander walked further into the forest, he'll start hearing things in the distance. The chirping of birds, the footsteps of vermin... It's marvelous how alive this forest is. After what feels like a half of an hour of wandering, (and making sure to leave a trail), he thinks he sees a fox in a bush somewhere eating a prey animal. Before you can see what it was hunting, another loud noise, but it sounds less natural... Almost like a firearm, or an explosion? Amaryllis and Nickolaus would hear it too, but much less so, sort of merging with the rest of the forests' natural noises.