LiverisGood

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

@PaulHaynek

"Thanks Ibun!" Radiant shouted. The pain on her ribs dulled considerably with the Liberi's healing. "Medivac, you go on straight ahead! I'll come around!"

A rock flew just past her shoulders, narrowly missing her head. These savages were scarily accurate with their aim. Radiant rolled into cover behind a fallen log. She peeked out of cover and watched as Medivac pushed ahead alone.

Thwack! A shower of splinters fell on Radiant. Radiant quickly moved out of her position behind the trunk of another tree. "Damn, seems like Medivac wasn't able to draw that one's attention. That's some crazy strength!" Radiant thought.

Still, the vegetation around her was getting dense. It would be harder for the rock thrower to track her and hit her. Radiant weaved in and out between the dense foliage as she closed the gap between her target.

Radiant was now within rushing range of one of the rock throwers. She held her position, waiting for Medivac to catch up and cause trouble.

The rock throwers were now shouting frantically and the familiar and heavy footsteps of Medivac came into range.
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Thonk thonk! The rocks harmlessly bounced off his shield. Medivac readied his baton. It was a blunt device but the strength of a draco meant that it was a weapon that could easily shatter bone. One hit on exposed flesh would leave more than a bruising.

The rock throwers were now shouting at each other as Medivac cautiously approached. They quickly encircled Medivac with rocks in hand.

"A pincer. Not bad, my shield can only protect me in one direction after all. I've had worst odds. All I need to do is take one of you down." Thonk, thonk! "Radiant will take care of the rest." Medivac raised his shield and charged the rock thrower in front of him. Perhaps a broken leg was in order.

Radiant rushed out from her position. With Medivac going after the one in front of him, she went for the rock thrower behind Medivac. Radiant raised her blade, using the blunt side to knock out the rock thrower.

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

@PaulHaynek

"There's your answer Ibun! Get ready!" Radiant yelled, drawing her out her throwing knives from her side pouch. The sudden charge of these savages armed with nothing but sharpened sticks and rags for clothing made them easy targets for her. With a knife in each hand, she brought them straight above her head and like a butcher making a chop, let loose the knives as her hands came back down.

Two, four, six, eight - in rapid succession, the 8 knives flew through the air aiming to immobilize the legs of the chargers. Radiant drew her sword and prepared to intercept any of the other chargers.

Medivac stood tall and raised his shield to the chest. The ones running to them wielded what was essentially a spear. The longer range of the enemies, coupled with the rock throwers was a primitive but dangerous predicament. One rock hitting any of them in the head could be lights out.

"Let's push through," Medivac announced. "Radiant should have immobilized a number of them. Besides, we are sitting ducks here for those rock throwers if we wait for them to come to us."

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

How do these fight scenes work exactly? I just want some clarification before posting. What am I doing? Describing what the operators are doing and what they hope the outcome is going to be and see what your response will be?

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

@PaulHaynek
As the Archosaur boy slipped back into the forest, Radiant and Medivac simply stood there trying to process what just happened. "So there are decent folks in this place. That's very kind of him to go out of his way to warn someone of the danger," Medivac mused.

"If I was a cynic I'd say that boy is trying to separate us from Zasada. Then again, that boy did go out of his way to come all the way here to warn us about an impending danger. Hope he makes it out ok." Radiant turned to Ibun and Wu. "Alright, let's trust your new friend to handle Zasada. If Zasada heeds that villager's warning, I'd like to think she'll find someplace to stay rather than try to force her way through alone. Besides, she should know that we when we get this radio tower up and running, we'll be able to locate everyone else and confirm their status."

"Yes," Medivac agreed, "Let us make haste and get as far as we can before this forest 'wakes' up. I suspect that will be the time we encounter this miasma. How fast can you two go?" Medivac gestured towards Wu and Ibun.

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

I need to make some changes. For some reason

"We were supposed to just wait for Zasada to finish with the mayor before we head out east [towards the comms tower and bunker]."

I glossed over this so part of my dialogue kind of doesn't make sense.
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Made the changes

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

@PaulHaynek
Medivac gazed lingered on the dark woods. If Ibun and Wu's encounters with the inhabitants was met with such unfriendliness, then trying to investigate the well will be kicking the hornets nest for sure. Forget trying to understand what was going on with the originum in the area, all Haynek operatives would be in danger.

Medivac sighed. There was truth in their words. Getting the comm tower up and running would be an immense help in locating the scattered Haynek operatives, especially the leader for this operation, Blizzard.

But why were the comm towers down in first place? Even a place as remote as this one would want to keep contact with the outside world. And why was the bunker abandoned? Lack of personnel? Something was off.

"Radiant, change of plans. We will wait for Zasada and see what the situation is in the village before we make our next move. What we were about to do won't do us any favors with the locals and may jeopardize whatever it is Zasada is trying to do. Right now we are blind and that is deadly for any operation. Waiting for Zasada and seeing what she has to say would be the most prudent course of action." Medivac replied firmly.

Radiant bit her lips. She agreed with Medivac's action but time was not on their side. "Medivac, I don't mind waiting but can we actually wait for her? She'd have to go through the woods to get here. You know, the woods that is apparently evil and spirited away 3 people that we know of. And you two can correct me if I am wrong but from the sounds of it, she's coming here alone?" An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air.

Radiant cursed under her breath. "I don't doubt the strength of an Ursus but even that may have trouble against whatever it is we are facing. Ibun and Wu, how soon do you think Zasada is going to arrive? Do you have any idea?"

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Made some edits

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

@PaulHaynek

"Wait, what?!" Ibon sprang up at the answer. "A corpse at best?! What abomination are you talking about?" The Medic Operator demanded from Medivac and Radiant. "What happened with you two on the tractor? And you didn't answer Wu's question on what happened to the woman you're carrying." It seemed the party was not going anywhere until Ibon had her answers.

"She just got up, pushed me down and ran into the woods when I tried to get her to answer some questions. Was holding really tightly to this key too. Where she went, your guess is as good as mine." Radiant replied with a sigh. "By the time I realized what happened, she was long gone. Couldn't risk chasing after her and split us up even more."

Radiant paused to consider her next line. Should she mention the visions she saw from the key? She frowned; Ibun's nervous demeanor would probably not take it too well. Best to leave that out.

"From what we gathered over at the tractor with that infected boy, the villager believes Hanuska gave birth to a demon. Her husband was killed, her house was burned down, and her newborn was thrown down the well. And given the state of the burned house, I'd say it happened not too long ago. So, either the village are raving lunatics harming innocents, or they were justified in their horrific actions." Radiant shook her head. Such acts of violence were not unfamiliar to her but it still rolled her stomach at times.

A tired Wu was the next to speak. "I'm not sure if you guys want to head to the main village. I mean, it's alright if you're not Infected like Zasada but if you are, then it smells bad. Really bad, like something's rotting for days. We've heard from a local source that it's what's keeping the the forest's evil away... and I guess Originium." He explained. "The locals call it the 'Miasma'. Supposedly, it comes from the mayor's mansion. Zasada's there right now talking to the town mayor."

"Ah, you haven't met Zasada yet, haven't you? She's an Ursus and works as a researcher." Wu said. "I'm pretty sure you've heard of her. She's pretty infamous in Haynek Institute."

Medivac was intrigued by this 'miasma'. "What a coincidence, the well we are looking for just so happens to be near the mayor's house. This warrants an investigation don't you think? While we are there, we can also look for a certain Mr. Jan for a key. Zasada is there too? I think it would be prudent to meet up with Zasada, we can share information with each other."

Radiant looked back at the chicken house. The stench couldn't be worst than the stench at the main village, right? "Gotta wonder how our locked up lady is handling this," she thought to herself. She turned in the direction of the two tired operatives. "By the way Wu and Ibun, what were you and the others coming here for? Did you have an objective here? I don't recall the reason if you did give one."
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About Zasada's relation ship with Radiant and Medivac, I'll write about that after this post. I don't know how close they are yet.

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

“Don’t ask about Will o Wisp?” Radiant said angrily. “What do you mean don’t ask about her, we’re now missing 2 of our own! What the hell happened here? Where did Will o Wisp go?!” Radiant began to yell as she grabbed the collar of Wu.

Medivac grabbed Radiant’s shoulder and gently nudged her. “Let him go Radiant. When they are ready to talk about what happened to Will o Wisp, they will talk. We need to talk about our next move.”

“Well, judging from Wu’s words, we just lost 3 people to the woods in the blink of an eye! Will-o-Wisp, Dragonheart, and that woman, Hanuska! They are all gone!”

“And as I told you, you need to calm down,” Medivac stated bluntly as his grip became tighter.”

“Tch, fine. I guess you’re right Medivac. What’s done is done. Sorry Wu and Ibon. Whenever you guys want to talk about it…” Radiant released Wu’s collar and Medivac did the same for her.

As the tension relaxed slightly, Medivac cleared his throat. “Radiant and I met the a young infected man under the tractor. His condition is quite severe , calls himself the Musician, but he was friendly enough. Here’s what we learned. The Chicken Lady is apparently holding this man’s lover. He needs a key to access her room. We’re going to find a Mr. Jan in the main village. I imagine we’ll also find other Haynek operators closer to the main village.”

“Wait, he literally calls himself the Musician? And is that our plan? Helping an infected man get a key so he can see his lover?” Wu expressed in bewilderment.

“Yes, the infection has affected his mind a bit. Can’t recall his name. He said he would repay us in some way. I don’t have a reason not to trust him for now. And if we collaborate what he said with what the Chicken Lady said, the incident with the burnt house should’ve been quite recent.”

“We’re also going to investigate the well near the mayor’s house. It’s in the main village,” Radiant interjected. “The Musician told us the village was south of this house which was the same direction you guys came from. We might find signs of the others on our way back.”

“What’s in the well?” asked Ibon nerviously.

Both Radiant and Medivac were silent. Radiant looked at Medivac and extended her hand out as if telling Medivac to break the news.
“A corpse in the best case scenario. A sealed up abomination if what we’re hearing has been the truth,” Medivac answered.
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Action:
Begin heading south of the Chicken Lady house. Start their journey back to the main village and look around for signs of the others if possible

As they are walking back, Radiant asks Ibon and Wu if they seen any other team members separate from will o wisp and dragonheart

@PaulHaynek

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

@PaulHaynek

"If I find the key, yes I will give it to you. Could you describe it for me? Can you tell me where I can find Mr. Jan?" Medivac asked the Musician.

"Damn!" Radiant cursed as she pushed herself up. It was all too sudden. In the blink of an eye after seeing those visions, the mad woman suddenly roused herself and shoved Radiant to the ground before bolting towards the woods.

"Hey come back here! It's dangerous out there!" Radiant shouted." That shove completely took Radiant by surprise and by the time she got back up on her feet, the woman was long gone, hidden away by the forest, too far way to give chase.

Before hearing the answer to his questions, Medivac headed towards Radiant. "What happened? Why did she suddenly get up and leave?" he asked.

"Hell if I know. I just looked at her key, saw some...visions and up and away she went. You wouldn't believe how much strength she pushed me with Medivac. It was as if she got possessed by something. Damn, now that's two people who are now missing in the woods."

"Visions?" Medivac asked with great curiosity. "Did something happened while I was talking to the lad?"

"Yes, I saw some interesting stuff when I looked at her key. I saw the Chicken Lady house, then a house burning in the night. Inside that house was a charred man. There was a crowd watching, I think I saw her hiding in the woods as the house was burning."

"Interesting," Medivac mused, "That coincides with what the Musician was talking about earlier. And this key she was carrying, do you have it?"

"No. She was still holding onto it. A silver key...there's one more thing you should know Medivac. I saw the boarded up well. Didn't see what was inside it but I did get a very nasty sounding snarl."

"Hrm, I wonder if that was the key he was looking" Medivac muttered under his breath. "So, there may indeed be a monster. I know where our well is, it is in the main village near the mayor's house. Apparently it stinks if you're infected."

"So what's your plan Medivac? We have two missing people in the woods now. There is a well that may actually be holding something dangerous. We're still scattered from the rest of our teams. Then there's the issue with the boy and the Chicken Lady."

Medivac cracked his neck. "Let's head towards the village. I don't believe the Chicken Lady will be very receptive to us for now. We'll check for signs of the two missing people as we make our way through the woods and once we arrive at the village, we can come to the bottom of this mysterious well and what happened recently."

"Well, if there are any survivors of our team, I'd imagine they will be trying to make their way to the village too. Yea, this makes sense. Let's get the others. We can ask the Musician to guide us there. Less chance of getting lost too." Radiant said.

"Mr. Musician," Medivac called towards the boy. "Can you show us the way to the village? Or point us where it is?"

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Actions:
Medivac asks for a description of the key and where they can find Mr. Jan

Future IC:
I will have Radiant and Medivac join the 3 other operatives by the Chicken house and they will travel to the main village.

Arknights: The Dark Woods (PaulHaynek & LiverisGood)

@PaulHaynek

Did she run away with the key?