Tripping over vines (Strago, PM to join)

[darkunslint]

Rellen had been walking through the jungles for quite a while now. This Deep jungle just had no end, she had so far been able to avoid the creatures but now the fear was starting to set in, she was alone, and afraid. Of course, she wouldn’t show this to anyone, then again… she had no one at the moment.

The reason she had gone into this god forsaken forest in the first place was to try and get some more synthesising materials, it reminded her of the gem forest near her home which grew the jewels that she required to make keys and locks. She had obtained quite a few so far; her bag was about three quarters full.

The purple hair wafted as the breeze began to pick up, the jungle had become dark, as the trees completed blotted out the sun above in a canopy of leaves. She heard something nearby, it sounded like a growl, her head snapped around and she looked for the source whilst still slowly walking forwards. “ Who’s there?” she called. “ I’m not afraid of you” she called out again, still slowly walking.

Thud thud thud, her heart… or was it her footsteps? Either way they both came weary, as there was a moment of shock. Her foot hit something; just as her back fell down she glanced and saw the vine stepped up. She was falling, she expected the floor, but she kept falling and falling, next thing she knew she was in a river, being flooded along it, the stream carried the girl along, she called out again and again for help, but the water entered her mouth, she decided now was the time to stop calling and start hoping for a miracle, she forced the water out and concentrated on trying to keep her head above the water.

On the bright side whatever made that growl was gone.

[gorrad]

Strago had volunteered for this mission. He'd been through more jungles than he could count, but this one was amongst the most labyrinthian of them. He kept feeling that he was going around in circles. Still, this would be the ideal place to find Gau, so he kept searching.

Then the call for help came echoing through the trees.

Running as fast as his left leg would allow him, Strago reached the water's edge quickly. A young woman was drowning! Grabbing a vine, he swung out to as close to her as he could before extending his Mythril Rod out to her. "Grab on, miss!"

[darkunslint]

This is it… Out of all the dangers I’ve faced back on my home world… The thieves of heart that have attacked the castle… the paladins that risked their lives every day to defend us… Surviving the death of my world… travelling along the worlds… I’m going to drown from a river. At least now… I wont have to worry about the heartl—

Rellen was pushed under the waters surface, her eyes flickered open, she could finally see the sun above the waters edge, it seemed so peaceful, a nice place to die if such a thing existed.

Will I become a heartless? No… I wont allow it… I CANNOT DIE! Her energy less arms flayed against the waters currents, she pushed herself higher, almost at the top when she heard a shout.

"Grab on, miss!"

A rod of a bluish hue was extended nearby; she quickly grabbed hold of it, would she be saved? The water washing through her face had all but blinded her to who was holding the rod; she just hoped he or she had a good hold of this. She pulled on the rod, yanking her to the surface before she saw the man on a vine, quite an old man, she wondered how someone that hold had such agility about him.

Using the rod as a guide, she dragged herself to the bank, clambering up seemed a lot easier than trying to swim in the rapids and she collapsed on her back upon the grassy bank, coughing up several buckets of water.

After the nastiness of the coughing of water she glanced around to find her hero.

“Thank you. I owe you my life sir”

[gorrad]

Jumping off the vine, Strago landed slightly uneasily in the shallows, using his Rod to steady himself. As he walked slowly back to the shore, he noted her appearance. "No thanks needed, Miss. Anyone else would have done the same. My name is Strago Magus, adventurer now of the Returners. Judging from your appearance, I daresay you and I are of a similar persuasion?"

He looked around at the lake. Nasty work. A few animals swam in and drank from it, but no heartless or monsters. Certainly no Gau.

[darkunslint]

"No thanks needed, Miss. Anyone else would have done the same. My name is Strago Magus, adventurer now of the Returners. Judging from your appearance, I daresay you and I are of a similar persuasion?"

“ My name is Rellen, I was the queens locksmith at the castle of Ruhr. And you sir are a life saver” She smiled sweetly before shakily getting back to her feet and extending a hand. Brushing the dust off of her cloths slowly she glanced up at the man “ A Similar persuasion?” she queried him “ And what persuasion would that be sir?”

Then the query flooded into her mind like the water into her mouth… her bag. Quickly she dropped it from her back, the sodden thing had somehow survived without splitting but was completely soaked, increasing its weight tenfold, she opened it up and was amazed as water poured out of it, he shambled around inside checking. Thankfully all of the gems were in order.

“Well kind sir, there isn’t really much I can give you in return, I have little munny and unless you use these” by these she lifted up the bag to show a variety of different glimmering shards and crystals “ Then I doubt there’s much I can repay you with. However, if you need a lock? A key? Something such as that making, it is yours, you need only ask.” She smiled as she shook the bag causing the gems to clatter off of each other and making peacefully jingling sounds.

“So, anything you need making? And by the way… what are you doing in here?”

[gorrad]

Strago took a low bow and took the extended hand in his. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Rellen. From your clothing in this location I assumed you to be an Adventurer, like myself." As he straightened back up, he took his cloak and began wringing the water from the bottom.

As he spied the contents of his bag, his eyebrow raised. Keys and gems? Perhaps this woman was more like Locke than like himself. "I need no repayment. A good deed is its own reward, I always say. Though have you perhaps seen a small boy in this jungle? Green hair and rather eccentric garb? My group, the Returners, is dedicated to finding people and returning them to others of their world. The boy I'm looking for, Gau, was once a member of ours but was lost at Worldbreak. We thought he might be here."

[darkunslint]

“An adventurer? Well… I guess you could call me that, I’m more of a help you get through doors kind of lady though” She smiled elegantly before collecting a few gems from her bag.

Rellen listened carefully, she was placing the gems in a strange pattern on the floor, focusing on the boy’s description but already knowing that it was futile, she hadn’t seen anyone in days. “ I’m sorry… I’ve been here a few days, and I haven’t seen anyone or anything aside from the occasional heartless and quite a few animals.”

Seating herself in the middle she clasped her hands together tightly, closing her eyes. “ Might want to close your eyes a little, I always repay my debts, I hate feeling like I… Owe people things” With that she began muttering words in a strange language, the gems from the floor elegantly twirled into the air around her, spinning in strange patterns around her, twisting, spiralling, like feathers in the wind before all closing in towards her now cupped hands, the light started intensifying, brightening, almost blinding, it wasn’t unbearable, but was quite uncomfortable. She finished with a final sentence

“Seal… Bind, forever entwine”

The final flashed radiated outwards and she opened her eyes, standing p slowly, holding what was a small pendant. “ This kind sir, is yours” she smiled handing over the pendant. “ If you get into trouble and need to buy a few minutes of time, open the pendant, after you use it though, it’ll take quite a while to recharge without me near it, probably a week or so.

She smiled politely, noticing that she had used quite a few gems for that she returned to the man. “ If you find any of these on your walks please inform me, I would quite happily purchase these from you.” She began walking away when she suddenly came to a halt, remembering one very important bit of information… “ Erm… Kind Sir… Although this may be a bit to ask… I am kind of lost. Would you mind if I travelled with you?”

[gorrad]

Strago wasn't the least bit disheartened that she had not seen Gau. After all, the trick to finding him was nestled in the old man's backpack: a fresh piece of meat. While that had meant he'd had to fend off more wild animals that he normally would have, it also meant that Gau would come running from anywhere to get it.

He accepted the pendant gratefully, putting it around his neck. "You have my thanks, Miss Rellen. I would be a poor gentleman if I left a lady to travel this dark forest by herself." Pictures went through Strago's mind. Images of women like Rellen who had been in his village. Whom he had known for their entire lives. His daughter.....

"Well, shall we be off? The day is still young, and there is much more ground to cover!" Putting his Rod to the ground, he pressed on.

[darkunslint]

Rellen graciously accepted the thanks and bestowed a small bow upon the old man.

"Well, shall we be off? The day is still young, and there is much more ground to cover!"

“Onward!” She yelled before striding off after the man with the cane. The man looked old, yet something about him made Rellen feel like he was competent, after all, if he had travelled this far into the woods he couldn’t be the weak old man that some might assume, no, he must be powerful in different ways.

After walking along the imaginary path through the dense woodland, finally they arrived at a clearing, Rellen who had been following behind the man at all times made a few jogging steps and entered the centre of the clearing, the sun’s mid day light beamed onto her face, absorbing all of the Vitamin D that she could she let out a nice relaxed sigh.

“Ya know, there’s something I don’t like about the darkness, something that I just feel like im protected from when im in the sunlight, its so much more… relaxing.”

Her head flickered round as she heard a snap in the bushes behind her; turning quickly she was able to see a few strangely speckled spots on a strange yellow creature. “ What is that?” The tiger as it was unbeknownst to Rellen crept slowly, before two more joined from opposing directions encircling the pair in the clearing. “ Oh great. A trap!”

[gorrad]

((Might we need a world mod to run the tigers?))

Strago thought on that. "The darkness is cool, while the sun burns. There's a time for both. Stay in the dark and you get complacent. Work too long in the sun and you collapse. All is balance."

He tensed by instinct several seconds before the tigers approached. Monsters. "I doubt it. These ones don't look smart enough for a trap. They probably heard us through the trees. Protect!" He felt his pack glow warmly as Carbuncle granted him the strength. A warm feeling came over him as the barrier took hold. "Thank you, my friend' he whispered to the stone.

[Doogie]

((Been requested to make this post. Herby contacted meh! ))

The lions crouched in a group behind a tangle of bamboo and bushes, breathing lightly. This was their land, and nobody else's. These people were strangers who needed to be moved out of their land...but they looked pretty tasty...so why not just eat them? Two birds in one stone. They could be like Tarzan's parents! Not needed, and not wanted...and easy to kill.

The head lion turned its head slightly to make sure everyone was still around, and then, he started slinking forward silently through the bamboo and bushes, making as little sound as possible. Of course, there was still noise, and of course, that attracted the attention of the two people...but really, what good were two people against 3 lions?

The three of them circled the two people, getting ready to pounce. You could tell this by the waving of their tails. One quick move, or heck, any aggressive move from the two people, and they would be dead! ...Or so the lions thought.

[darkunslint]

Rellen was acute so much to magic, but even she could feel the barrier rise around them. “ Hmm, you can perform magic?” she noted vocally, wondering if she could perform this shape with a lock and generate another shield.

Rellen wasn’t much of a fighter and as the creatures approached all she could do was drop her bag and start collecting synthesising materials from it. “ I can’t really do much, my abilities lie in locks.” She yelled to the man, grabbing two of the crystals she threw them into the air and they began glowing white until they fused, from the shards dropped a long stick. “I wont be much help but ill try” with that she faced her foes… that outnumbered them…

What had she gotten herself into now, all for a little sunlight?