[IC] Artifacts of a Lost Civilisation - ( Kitsune & NuttsnBolts )

[NuttsnBolts]

Our journey starts in the small town of Ravenwall, a farming village that happens to be nestled into the highlands of Ryhmbrook Gully. For most of the year it is usually fairly warm with the exception of the winter months where a thin layer of snow would settle down on the town giving the village a misty and almost majestic look. Fortunately for the locals the spring equinox was soon approaching and it meant that everyone was heading off at full speed to prepare this year's food crops. For Alyon however it marked the beginning of her real adventures.

When Alyon set out for her journey to find an Artifact she made sure that she left at the end of the winter months, mostly to ensure that there was as much time as possible to search the ruins and archaeological sites before the cold would eventually creep back into her travels. Even at the moment the nights still had a bite to them, but the warm sun during the day made the days so much more bearable.

Alyon felt the sun on her back as she looked up at the village notice boards. There she examined all the flyers and bulletins that had been nailed to the timber slats. Many of them advertised various items for sale; including furniture, food supplies, the occasional odd contraption, and even a job opportunity. She took a curious glance at the available work before giving a light snort and muttering to herself, "We earned more at the Fruit stand than that."

Feeling a bit disheartened she ran her right palm across her cheek, using her middle finger to lightly rub her eye before gently combing her hand through the side of her hair. Even the work pay in a town so far away from her own was worse than what she was used to. Upon seeing that she began to turn and step away when her attention was drawn to a partialy crushed page that was well hidden behind the others notices. It was piece of paper with signs that it had been up for a while due to the weathering and fade lines of the other pages that were placed on-top. As she leaned forward and tore it off the board she saw the clear heading indicating that it was a missing poster for someone who hadn't been seen since before the winter.

Alyon wasn't too concerned about who the individual was that had disappeared from Ravenwall but what caught her attention was how the last few lines mentioned their last known destination, Ryhmbrook Gully Crypt. She smiled lightly, folded up the paper and slipped it into her pack.

"Fraya! I think I found somethi... Fraya?" Alyon spun around to look for the girl that she had accompanying her only to find the crowds of strangers migrating from one destination to another. She stood up on her toes in an attempt to survey over the other people, but her efforts came with diminished results as she just couldn't quite get the height that she needed.

"Fraya?" I swore she was next to me a moment ago.

[Kitsune]

Ravenwall was a sleepy little town with the only uncommon sights being the travelers that stopped by to resupply on their adventures, however no matter how many races there were in the world nothing could have prepared them for something like the girl sitting by the fountain...

Fraya dug her fangs into the cooked fish and tore a piece off, seemingly ignoring the three kids that had surrounded her by this point, each of them checking out her unique features. One was sitting on her shoulders and holding onto her horns while another was stroking her feathered like arms and of course the last was hanging onto her tail as he was lifted up by its idle swaying giggling away as he was. The adults may have been weary of her but the children just saw someone harmless, as did the mother of the children who was sitting off to the side enjoying a talk with her friend.

It would not have been long before Alyon found the commotion, though normally it was wise for her to hide her features she had decided that it was fine since it was such a out of the way place, besides she was far to prideful to keep hiding her beautiful markings like that for long. "Ah Alyon! I have discovered something new called babysitting. All I have to do is sit here and I get fed for free. These children are keeping me company." Clearly she didn't understand what kind of job she had accepted to take care of the children for a little while...

"Are you her friend?"

The little girl sitting on Fraya's shoulders asked Alyon, though she did not have time to get a answer as she stood up from the fountain, the fish still latched in her teeth as she finished it off whole. "Did you find something for us to do? We need this money thing right?" While she asked this the other child that had been attached to her tail was swaying back behind Fraya.

[NuttsnBolts]

Fraya gently swung the child back and forth with her tail before he let go and splashed knee deep within the water. He smiled with glee as he leaned over to scoop up some water with his hand and flip it up at the other two children. They screeched as they began to run around in circles. Looking at them it was quite easy to see that they were playing along because every time they ran away the children would quickly turn back and try to run towards the edge of the fountain and touch the lip before getting splashed by another cupful of water.

Alyon watched, not knowing if Freya would make a good babysitter or not. The children were having fun, Freya was having fun and she even earned herself a free meal out of it. The only concerning part was Freya was a little too relaxed about her appearance in front of other humans as Alyon didn't know how much some of these people would appreciated a, whatever she was, playing with their youngin.

It was a bit late for Alyon to tell Freya to cover up, so she just put that thought to the side for now and spoke about the notice that she found. "I did, it's a missing person poster. It doesn't say much about any reward money, but apparently they visited a crypt before they went missing." She pulled out the paper and showed it to Freya not realising if she understood what it said. "It seems odd as to why someone would go missing after they visited a grave site, but my father did say that Artifacts usually turn up in the most unusual of places."

Alyon looked up at Freya and smiled. Unusual places... The first Artifact that she came across on her trip turned out to be housing a surprising secret that she could never have imagined. It could have been an Artifact that could have been used for nearly anything. Casting fire, slowing down time, even turning stone into gold, but instead it held hidden away from the world a dormant creature from a past lifetime.

"It might be a bit of a hike and I don't think we will be able to get to the crypt in one day. I've also got my camping gear but I never really planned for more than one person." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few gold and silver coins."This might be enough for another blanket and some food."

[Kitsune]

Fraya wiped a few fish scales from her mouth as she listened to what Alyon had discovered on her search of the town, her eyes peering back for a moment to check on the little human and elven children that had been playing with her a moment ago, just to make sure they did not hurt themselves. However when the mention of a crypt came up she could not help but look confused, it was yet another word that she had not known the meaning of it until recently and even then it did not make sense to her.

"A crypt is the place where the dead are laid to rest correct? We did have this kind of thing." It would make sense as to why next to no bodies of her race had ever turned up before, and the ones that had turned up were mostly preserved thanks to their tough nature, but how long they lived for was a entirely different matter.

Taking the poster she scanned it over a little, just as to the reason why she had been able to communicate normally to Alyon she had discovered a while ago that certain languages used her own as a sort of root.. Though letters and reading were a little hard for now so she just took Alyon's word on it. Even if she would never admit to needing such help but still.

"I do not mind the walking, I can easily make such a trip I suspect." She was saying that but she didn't really know given that she never had to make such long trips. She looked a little sad when she looked down to the amount of gold, there was not much and a good blanket may be costly depending on where they were. "It is fine, we only need food. I won't be that cold." She gave off a confident toothy smile, besides more food meant more eating so it was a win win for her.

[NuttsnBolts]

After the small discussion on their plans to venture off to the Crypt, Alyon and Fraya proceeded to wander through the town marketplace and browse through all the different types of food that they could take for the journey ahead. Alyon kept a close eye on Fraya as she could tell that her innocents on how the current world operated may tempt her into taking a bite into something they hadn't paid for. After gathering a few items and picking up a couple of baits for live animals, the two came to the conclusion that they had prepared as much as they could without over extending their limited budget.

"So where are you two girls heading off to?" the shopkeeper asked as he picked up the strips of biltong and laid it on some brown paper, ready to roll into a nice, neat package.

"Only down to the river at the base of the gully," Alyon smiled at those words knowing that any of the rivers at the base of a gully were always beautiful. The warmer temperature and higher humidity often created lush environment, rich with plant and animal wildlife.

"You two aren't grave robbers are you? Heading down to the Crypt. Looting from the dead!" his words came across with a slightly sinister feel with even the way he looked at them changing to match.

"What? No" I don't think I am? "Well, it would be interesting to check out the grave site, but we're not going to steal from it!" The innocent lie came out of her mouth in an effort to hide the fact that they two of them were Hunters who were looking for Artifacts. Truthfully, she hadn't thought of herself as a grave robber and she didn't know if being known as a Hunter was better or worse.

The man's expression relaxed a little as he handed over the packaged meat. "Just be careful if you do decide to pay your respects. Many folks have gone down there with ill intentions, and none of them have returned," quickly he turned to the next customer and waved them over in order to make the next sale of the day.

Alyon began to walk away from the stand in the direction towards the edge of town with her final parcel of food in her hands. She paused for a moment and looked forward to see the see the landscape before her and wondered how many others must have travelled to the Crypt on order for rumours to spread through town. They were ready for the trip, but the question was were they ready for the destination?

[Kitsune]

Fray was busy peering down to the counter and trying to prevent herself from drooling over the nicely seasoned dry meat that had been laid out for them. However she did make sure to keep a ear on the conversation beside her, from what she could tell many had done down to raid the bodies of the dead for some reason, did they really need to do such a thing? The concept of keeping their peoples bodies around was strange enough but did they really bury them with their most valued things?

After their food had been packed up and passed off to Alyon she started to follow the girl who now had their rations towards the edge of town. "People do not seem to welcome the prospect of us heading down to the crypt do they?" She asked and peered back towards the town, a little sad to be leaving the place since it was one of the first places that she had seen of the other races.

However the sight before them was so much grander in scope than anything in the small village, still she could see Alyon was over thinking something. "Well then, let's go?" Reaching out towards the girls back she gave it a few pats as encouragement "You could have used finding a missing person as the excuse you gave to that man. Much more noble don't you think? hehehe" With that she started to follow the thin river, the cool breeze and nice warm sun making toward all the more better for traveling. "Oh, by the way~ What did you get to eat~" She smirked happily.

[NuttsnBolts]

"Well then, let's go?"
Alyon blinked for a moment as she felt Fraya's friendly touch on her back. Without realising she had gone into a slight trance, getting lost in her thoughts and wondering about what tasks laid before them. She looked at Fraya and gave a small nod of acknowledgement with a short, "mm'hmm," before following the girl down towards the Ryhmbrook river.

"Maybe..." Alyon replied in return to Fraya's query, "I wasn't really thinking much about that missing person when the shop owner asked if I was a grave robber. These Artifacts have been something I've always wanted to find so, well... he kinda caught me off guard." She carefully avoided the topic of stealing from the dead. Mostly because she wasn't sure if that would be a decision she would be willing to make when the time came.

Tearing off a small section of paper, Alyon opened up the top of the food package, pulled out a single strip of meat and handed it towards Fraya knowing full well that her eyes would light up at the sight of more food. "It's seasoned meat so it won't perish after a couple of days."

As the women continued down the edge of the river they would occasionally come across a section where a second or third creek would merge into the main stream, increasing the overall berth. With each new water source came a increase in foliage density until they reached a point where they weren't walking through the open landscape of the gully but instead the light vegetation of a forest. The worn pathway they were following still existed but it didn't follow a set direction. Instead, it snaked it's way around the trees, occasionally coming up to a rocky climb and even towards an old log that made a makeshift bridge across the river.

With the sunlight shining overhead and the leaf canopy protecting them from the heat, Alyon wondered if they should start to think about setting up a camp for the night before it got too dark for them to see. For the time being however, they could press on in order to make as much ground as possible but if they found a safe location, setting up early may be a good idea.

"Fraya?" she asked as she stepped over another branch that happened to fall across the beaten path, "What do you actually remember about your kind? Besides the possibility of finding something in a library, or asking one of the creatures of old, I don't think anyone really knows what you are."

[Kitsune]

Fraya idly pushed back a branch out of her way, the thickening forest around them becoming a little bothersome to travel through for the being with a tail and horns. "Fraya?" Stepping onto the branch below and cracking it a little Fraya could not help but tense up just a little when she was asked what she remembered about her people. Really she had hoped to avoid the topic until the time she had fully regained her memories but it was unavoidable...

With a small sigh she started to share what she did know "I do know some of their rites and culture. Along with how to read and speak of course. For instance we did not bury our dead like you did, getting rid of the bodies was our number one priority for some reason. The few you do find likely died in other ways and away from a column, a device that was used to destroy bodies and send their ashes elsewhere."

As they followed the river it suddenly spanned outwards into a pond of some kind though the river followed soon after it was clear that the pit that made the pond was not a natural formation. "I also remember a name too. Your people just call us the 'old ones' right?" Peering around Fraya slipped the strip of meat into her mouth, ripping off a piece with her mouth. "The name I remember is Reazai? Though I know it is not the name of my race so where it comes from is odd to me."

Suddenly the trees from beyond shifted, the sounds of thundering steps could be heard as a huge turtle was coming from the direction they were going, though Fraya did not seem worried as it just happily made its way towards the pit and sunk into it. The running water cleaned the giant turtle rather well when they were inland hence the hole that was made by them ages past. "These things were around too. So were humans if I remember my history right." She mentioned in a off handed kind of way before turning to leave, planning on continuing to follow the river.

[NuttsnBolts]

Alyon listened intently as Fraya discussed the past of her people and some of their traditions. Compared to the first moments when they initially met she had remembered quite a lot, but in the overall scheme of things it wasn't much at all. Still, it comforted Alyon knowing that with each pasting day Fraya was beginning to have her identity return to her. It wouldn't be too long before the memories of why and how she ended up asleep in the ruins returned as well.

The two continued down the river for a little while longer, away from the large body of water that held the bathing turtle, before deciding that it would be best to set up camp before the night closed in on them too quickly. They pulled off to the side of the track into an area that had a bit of a small clearing. Alyon dropped her pack on the ground and started wandering round the area in order to collect timber for a small fire. "Once I get this started I'm going to cook up a nice, warm potato and leek soup!"

As the flames flickered in the fire the small metal pot sizzled with the scents and aroma of a filling dish. Cooking was one of the skills Alyon picked up at a younger age after both the death of her mother and growing up surrounded by food stores. As she stirred the pot she wondered who this Reazai character was. It wasn't a name she was familiar with and pestering Fraya with more questions would only create friction between the two females.

"We shouldn't have too long now until we reach the Crypt," Alyon spoke as she poured the soup into two small bowls, "I'd say about half a day." She sat there by the fire with her blanket wrapped over her shoulders, not because it was cold, but for the comfort and sipped from the bowl.

[Kitsune]

Fraya could not help but agree on the prospect of stopping and setting up camp, even her tail swayed back and forth happily as the promise of some of Alyon's cooking. That cooking was the first thing that she had eaten when she woke up after those thousands of years being within that damn vault, and she couldn't complain in the least. While Aylon went off to find firewood Fraya made sure to set up the camp, something she had learned after just the week of having watched Aylon, though it was far from perfect it was the starting blocks that her companion could fix when she returned.

"Still half a day to go? Why is the crypt so far away from the town?"

She asked idly as she reached out, taking the bowl of nice hot food, making sure to place the half of the strip of meat she had into the soup as well so that the dry meat would adsorb some of the lovely soup. By this time the sun had hidden itself behind the horizon, the crimson sky slowly giving way to the starry night that was to follow. Above them many ethereal creatures of twilight started to shift awake from their slumber, most not coming anywhere near the flames as they had their own perfect pray to hunt.

"This world is certainly unique... Even after all I have forgotten this is nostalgic. By the way, why do you hunt my kind?"

[NuttsnBolts]

"Still half a day to go? Why is the crypt so far away from the town?"
Alyon had picked up her bowl and cupped her hands around it before answering Fraya's query. "Sometimes grave sites are built on sacred ground where people believe the spirits will protect their bodies and souls; it could have been the resting place for a famous leader and built as a place of honour and respect; or occasionally when the local inhabitants move, let's say from the bottom of the gully up to Ravenwall, they keep using the same place of burial out of tradition and old habits." She took a sip of her meal and felt the warm liquid flow down her throat into her belly, "Burial and death might be a bit different to us when we compare it to your kind. For us, death is completely permanent. No one has ever survived past the end of their life, or even reawaken centuries later."

The two sat there for a moment watching the night life dance amongst the treetops. It was both peaceful and beautiful to watch with the subtle glow of the stars lighting up the sky. Fraya spoke of how beautiful the world was and Alyon completely understood where she was coming from, that was until she dropped that bombshell of a question.

Alyon began coughing and spluttering as she was halfway through a gulp and felt the liquid tickle her windpipe. Why do we hunt her kind? Was she referring to the Artifacts or something that happened long ago in the past? Did humans do something terrible and cause the extinction of her civilisation? "Why do *hack* we hunt your *cough* kind?" She breathed in, gave a firm cough before attempting to answer the question with a better response. "I don't think anyone alive has even seen your kind before. I don't understand, how are we hunting you?"

Alyon licked her lips for a moment, with a little confussion. The residue of her meal in her mouth had suddenly changed flavour as it became tarty and woody. She looked down at her bowl and began to see the colour darken to a deep green from the edge where her lips touched. Quickly, without warning, she reached over and grabbing Fraya's arm in order to pull her hand and bowl aside so that she could have a look at her meal. No colour change? As she let go of her arm, Alyon reached down and scratched a slight itch that had formed on her lower leg, pricking her finger as she did so.

"Ow!" she yelped, glancing down to see what had cause the pain. Her eyes opened in fear as she saw a vine carefully wrapping itself around her leg, using the thorns to pierce the skin and dull her sense of touch. "What the hell is this!" she screamed as she attempted to stand not realising that by this point her leg was completely numb. Alyon fell, and rolled onto her back to see vines that held her leg captive extend out deep into the forest. My sword! Where's my sword?! She looked around frantically and saw it next to her pack where she left it as she was making dinner. Using as much strength as possible she pushed up with her hands and attempted to make a frog leap for her weapon, however upon hitting the ground she felt the vine tug against her body and suddenly retract back into the forest it came from.

"Fraaayaaa!!!" she screamed as she saw the light of the camp fire rapidly diminish into the distant with the rush of dirt and leaf matter whipping past her faster than galloping horse at full speed.

[Kitsune]

Fraya could not help but look confused at the girls sudden coughing and surprised expression, did she say something wrong when she questioned as to why Aylon did what she did? "Sorry maybe I used the wrong word? Maybe search for our kind would be better? We are looking for my peoples past are we not?" She may have learned how to speak incredibly fast but there were still a few points here and there that she could get wrong at times.

Lifting up the bowl of food to her mouth she was suddenly stopped from taking part in the food, a action that almost caused her to snap her teeth until she saw the worry on Alyon's face. "Whats the matter?" Her qrestion was answered as within mere moments the vine had pulled her companion down to the ground and though Fraya shot up to her feet and tried to reach out to her it just as suddenly pulled her off into the dark forest beyond!

"Alyyoonn!!"

Fraya screamed back as she watched her only friend in this era being dragged off away from her, however her outstretched hand slowly clenched into a fist and the sound of her own scales under stress could clearly be heard in the now quite night...

"I'm coming..."

[NuttsnBolts]

For what felt like hours Alyon got dragged over the dirty forest floor before being whipped up into the air as she dangled by one leg from a high tree branch. She rapidly looked around to see where she was but the night darkness made it too difficult for anything to be made obvious except for her imediate surroundings. Through the silent air she heard a creaking and groaning sound of heavy, thundering footsteps as a being grew closer to her. Alyon attempted to slowly swing herself towards the nearby tree trunk, but with every bit of movement that she made, the vines wrapped around her leg tightened.

She looked forward towards the source of the footsteps and could see a large shadowy figure that stood about 3 meters tall, carefully inch closer before it lowered it's head down to examine it's freshly caught prey. It's strong, woody face came into focus as it approached Alyon and it started to light up a glow from deep inside it's fractured skull.

Hider

"A woodland spirit..." Alyon whispered as she remembered folklore tales of beings that lived in the forest as living trees.

"And another treacherous human," it replied as it examined the girl that it had captured. His eyes glowed with an orange light that was both hypnotic and fearsome. "You creatures are nothing but thilth! Needlessly chopping down my brothers and sisters, burning us in your fires, turning us into your weapons of war, and leaving our home scarred and empty."

As it spoke Alyon could feel the spit of sap come from the creatures mouth and land on her body. She held up her hands in a way as to try and reduce the amount of tree slobber that landed on her face, but it did very little. "No, no, I'm not like that. We don't want to harm your home! We're only heading to the Ryhmbrook Crypt, to look for person that went missing before winter." Alyon tried the excuse that Fraya suggested earlier of being a part of a search party that was looking for a missing individual. As she expressed her concern she could feel her body rotating while it was suspended in mid-air. From the expression that Alyon saw on the woodland spirit's face, she could tell that it didn't seem to go well. The woodland spirit instantly grabbed Alyon by her limp leg and began to wander off with her in it's grasp. Crap, wrong answer again?

"That human was after the Stone of Blight. I will not allow you to enter that cursed land and spread that disease!"

[Kitsune]

*CRACK*

The sound of splintering wood echoed out as Fraya crushed the wooden bowl that was in her hands, her footsteps snapping the twigs under her feet as she strides into the woodland spirit's domain, her tail swaying angrily as she approached. One had to think that Fraya had to sprint all the way here with both the backpack and sword strapped to her, and despite the head start that the vines had on her she managed to keep up! "You..." She said, forcing her way past the weak vines that attempted to stop her form passing.

"Give her back, now."

Her voice had a softer than normal tone to it, also strained by the intense emotions she was trying to keep back at that moment. One of the vines even wrapped around her leg also to try to numb her, however the thorns were no where near strong enough to pierce the armored hide of the girl, and as she rose her head from the ground she stared directly towards the spirit,her glarealmost a attack in of itself!

[NuttsnBolts]

The tree spirit, holding Alyon, turned to Fraya and looked at her with curiosity. It lifted it's arm towards the trees and gently let go of the human, just as the vines began to wrap themselves around one of the branches. Alyon hung there upside down unable to do much other than watch what was about to unfold.

"And what sort of creature are you to be travelling with a wretched human?" it spoke with a gravely, judgemental tone. It stepped towards Fraya, close enough to be towering over the girl while also gently lighting up the front of her face from the spiritual flame inside it's body. "Do you too want to take the Stone of Blight from the cursed land?"

While the two were confronting each other, Alyon reached around and grab her hunter's knife. Using as much strength as possible she lifted her body up and reached towards the branch in order to grab it. As she held on, she placed the edge of the knife onto the vine that was extending down towards her leg and began to run the blade back and forth over the soft, woody surface.

The vine broke and the bottom of her body fell limp as she held onto the branch. Using the remainder of her strength she pulled herself up onto the branch and rested against the trunk of the tree before gently unwrapping the paralysing tentacle that had grabbed a hold of her earlier that evening. All she had to do now was wait for the feeling to return to her leg.

[Kitsune]

Fraya listened to what the spirit had to say to her, though while she was doing so she was removing the backpack and sword from herself, placing it down onto a near by rock so that it would not be damaged, that was if it all did come to blows. "To be honest I don't know what I am either." She commented since the spirit asked what she was, and it was the truth but she did have at least some kind of lead "However I heard the other races call my people the 'old ones'. Still this matters very little to me right now."

Looking back towards the spirit Fraya made her way back over, her height may have been much lower than the towering tree spirit before her though she did not show any sign of weakness. Her tail swayed slowly back and forth like a wild beast facing down a rival she would not back down from this. After all if she did then the spirit may have noticed Alyon freeing herself from her bonds, which would have been bothersome.

"I don't know what this blight stone is, but you took Alyon and that has put me in a very bad mood... You better have a good reason for this otherwise I am going to have to take her back by force." Flexing her clawed hand she expected that the spirit was not going to be intimidated by the slight threat of force. However once again this was all to buy Alyon that little bit more time that she needed, though she had to restrain the urge to just smash the tree into splinters.

[NuttsnBolts]

Upon hearing Fraya's stern threat the Woodland Spirit lowered itself down towards her face and eyed her off, trying to see if it recognised the body structure and features of the creature that she was. "If you are indeed an 'Old One' then you of all creatures should know about the Stone of Blight. It was your race that created it in the first place."

The Spirit turned towards Alyon, noticing that she was now sitting up on the branch unwrapping the vines from around her leg. It made little effort to care about her actions knowing that the paralysis would only last a few more hours and thus she wasn't a high threat. "Ever since the 'Old Ones' created their Artifacts humans have always been tempted by their power. For centuries they searched for what they do not understand and continually interfere with the balance that was set a lifetime ago. Artifacts, like the Stone of Blight, should not be allowed to enter into the hands of a human, and for over ten winters I have been protecting this stone ever since I caught that wretched human trying to steal it."

Carefully he reached up towards Alyon grabbing her by the chest and lowering her to the ground. "I have no intention of harming a human, especially if that human has befriended an 'Old One'." He lowered Alyon to the ground and let her stumble her way towards the edge of the tree so she could prop herself up. "A dual with an 'Old One' over the life of a human," it chucked to itself, "Now that would be a sight to behold."

Alyon finally spoke up, demanding an answer from the Woodland Spirit, "I don't understand, you tell us that you don't want any human to take this 'stone' but you have not told me, or Fraya at any point what this stone can do!"

The Woodland Spirit growled at what it believed to be Alyon's ignorance as it turned towards the edge of the forest and held out it's arms. The trees in the direction it was facing all bowed away, leaving a long passageway for the three of them to look down. It followed up by breathing a large, heavy gust of air that expelled the glow from within it's body, revealing that it's light was created by a hive of fireflies that lived within the spirit's woody structure. As the insects flew off into the distance the landscape began to light up. Fraya and Alyon watched as they witnessed a desolate wasteland with a large rocky formation in the center, and sitting proudly on top of this formation was a tower, a possible part of the crypt that laid below.



"This is what happened 10 years ago when that wretched human attempted to take the stone"

[Kitsune]

Fraya relaxed a little as the spirit took to her intimidation rather well, her tail slowly drifting down to the ground below and brushing against the soft grass. However the tension soon returned when it mentioned how her people, the so called 'old ones', had been the very ones that created the thing known as the Stone of Blight! Another lost remnant of her people and yet it sounded so evil in comparison of what she could remember, was it really that horrible?

She was put a little on edge by the spirits approach to Alyon but thankfully nothing came of it "She is right, we don't know a thing about what it could do." From what she could tell people of this age were awfully imaginative when it came to danger, so maybe the simple act of giving it such a bad name just made everyone assume it was bad? It only this was the case... If only...

"H-How.... Why? Why would they make such a thing?"

Stepping forward towards the wasteland Fraya was in shock as she witnessed the landscape that seems almost like it had simply been whipped clean of all life... She sniffed at the air and she could tell now what that strange smell from before was, it was the scent of sterilization "This is unbelievable... So when he tried to steal the stone this is what happened to the land?" Looking down for a moment she gripped her hands tightly "I need to see this stone, It looks like I have no other choice." She had a sense of duty well up within her, a sense that she should do something if her people really made something like this!

[NuttsnBolts]

Alyon sat there against the tree and watched Fraya as she stepped towards the open and desolate wasteland. Fraya's expression alone was enough to see that she was severely distressed by what she was observing. A sterile land, a place that was simply absent of life itself bar the few corpse pickers of creatures. It almost looked like a cancer when compared to the beautiful forest that they have been venturing through recently.

For Alyon, she felt very disheartened and foolish. Her dream, her aspiration, her desire was to obtain an Artifact and now that same Artifact had revealed it's full hand. The apparent power that one of these devices could produce was simply unimaginable. To think that something could have the ability to poison a landscape so much that even after a decade nothing looked like it was beginning to grow. Alyon could see why the Woodland Spirit was angered by the presence of humans. How many humans did it encounter during it's time? After a while one would see them as a greedy species if they continually tried to take what they didn't understand.

She took a deep breath and smile gently in reminiscence of what she had been through over the past week or so before speaking up, "I agree with Fraya. We need to see this stone." She put her hands on the ground and repositioned her body so that she was a bit more comfortable. The feeling in her leg was beginning to return but it would still be a little while longer. "Fraya is living proof that something is amiss. If she was a part of a species that desired destruction then why would they go to the same effort of preserving one of their own kind. Even after death their bodies were cremated. It just does not add up."

The spirit turned towards Alyon as it somewhat understood where she was coming from. In it's expression Alyon could see that it was still harbouring distrust towards the her, but the distrust for a race and the distrust for an individual were two completely different things. "You will be able to travel there in the morning when the toxins have left your body."

[Kitsune]

Purpose and Passion

Fraya could not help but smile when she heard Alyon agree that they had to go and see the artifact, though most would have been afraid to even get near it after seeing its effects Alyon had chosen to press forward. With a ruffle of her feathers the girl turned back towards her human companion and the spirit, a big fanged grin across her face "We all friends now? Wonderful~" Starting to walk up to the pair, her tail swaying like a puppy about to ask for something from its caretaker, Fraya's belly gave a small growl.

"Heheheh... After I chased you all the way here I seem to have worked off the food you made me. Ah, since you are the one that interrupted our meal I guess it is your duty to feed us huh?"

She was as blunt as ever towards the tree spirit, demanding food for the meal that she had interrupted back at the camp and the fact that she could not bring the tent or the pot of remaining food meant that they also needed a place to sleep for the night which of course she was expecting the spirit to take care of.

Meanwhile...

A sickly green glow bathed the room as the artifact reacted, its primal mechanisms detecting something close by something that it remembered but was it a enemy or friend? The cogs of fate had finally started to turn, if they would follow the path set before them or not was not the problem, but how the old and new worlds would collide was. For now it would remain here, dormant, waiting for the one to awaken it once more.