Trouble with a Tribe, Pt IV [Job/Solo]

Job Name:Trouble on the Plains, Pt IV
Job Rank: B
Job Location: The Plains
Job Rewards: 200 XP/15,000 Huang
Job Prerequisites: Pt III
Job Overview: When you report the Golems to the Elder, he becomes even more concerned. The forest is the main source of income for the tribe but it seems nothing there wants to be disturbed. After much deliberation on the part of the Elder, he asked you to search deeper but he cautions that you should be very careful, as the legends surrounding what you have found so far indicate a great danger.

---

When Lexi rode back into the village, the people of the tribe gave her curious looks, wanting to ask if the forest was free of danger or not, but none approached her. Her face was a mask which was unreadable as she made her way to the Elder’s hut. The older man was inside chatting with Liam when she entered and the younger man brightened at seeing her. She could see the look of longing in his eyes but she ignored it in favor of settling on her knees in front of the Elder as she waited for the two men to finish their conversation. Liam pushed to his feet and caressed her back with a too-familiar touch and it took all Lexi had not to react to his hand. They had only spent a single, drunken night together and she was not at all ready to deal with his feelings right now. The Elder did not speak on the touch and instead waited for her to report her findings.

Lexi quickly went through an explanation of what she had found, everything from the hulking stone creatures to the fact that the forest seemed to be devouring her previous foes, returning their bodies to nature. The Elder listened with a concerned look on his face, never having heard of such a thing. As she finished giving the details of her investigation, he frowned, giving her a desperate look.

“Miss Lexiara, that forest is vital to this tribe. We use the wood and furs to trade with other tribes, it is our only source of bartering. The fishing is not good enough in the streams to support the tribe and the forest has always provided for us. We were always careful to be respectful of the land, never taking the saplings or the cubs of the creatures. We took the old, dying trees and the mature animals to feed us. Why now has the forest turned against us?”

Lexi sighed, shaking her head.

“I can tell you first-hand just how cruel Fate can be, so do not ask why. Right now, you need to be asking how to take care of the problem.”

As she spoke, a flicker of rukh, stained black as night, flickered around her, though none were likely to notice it.

“I will push deeper, but the danger is great. I cannot promise that I can solve this for you, I do not know that I am strong enough, but I will try. I may return unsuccessful… Or I may not return at all. All I can do is try my hardest to get to the root of the problem. For now, I need to rest and get something warm in my belly. I will set out at first light tomorrow, I have no desire to get myself lost in the forest at night. It is hard enough to traverse with the sun out.”

The Elder nodded in understanding before dismissing her. She ducked out of the tent, tensing immediately when she saw Liam at the door of the hut. The young man followed her, similar to a puppy chasing its owner. She made her way into the hut she had been staying in, Liam hot at her heels as she tested the temperature of the stew swaying over the fire. She did not make a comment as she sat on the floor after scooping herself out some of the nourishing gruel, Liam following her actions and resting so near her that their knees touched. She blew on the stew and took a bite, chewing on the chunks of meat and swallowing before turning to look at the young man. He was her age, though his youthful face clearly showed he had been spared much of the trauma she had experienced in her life. When she spoke, her voice was quiet.

“You should not get attached to me, Liam. I am not going to be staying here long and people around me tend to die.”

“You could stay, though. The Elder would have no problem with it!”

“I will take care of your problem in the forest, but then I am moving on. I have things I must do and I must do them alone.”

She added the last part to keep him from offering to leave with her. She could not handle a relationship right now and no good would come from this boy falling in love with her. They finished their meal in silence and Lexi retired to her bedding. When Liam slipped in behind her, she thought about rejecting him, but the embrace was comforting. Just one more night and then she would leave.

---

The next morning began early and she was riding towards the forest before Liam had even woken up. She was more familiar with the path into the forest now and her silent steps carried her deeper and deeper into the unwelcoming haze. As she passed the bodies from the day before, she noticed that they, too, were being consumed by the forest floor, but she ignored the oddness. The lighting grew dimmer and she looked towards the sky. Between the rustling leaves, she could catch glimpses of clouds and she frowned. She had no desire to fight in the rain so her steps quickened. She kept a sharp eye out, expecting more of the camouflaged creatures to harass her. What she was not expecting was the large, obvious creatures that came lumbering out of the brush. These creatures, while covered in moss, made no effort to hide themselves in the forest. Along the wooden looking skin was strange, glowing markings and the eyes shimmered like emeralds.

She did not hesitate to pull arrows from her quiver, using Boom to try and ignite the two creatures. The moss along the two creatures’ bodies seemed to shimmer and grow, protecting the two with a Wooden Shield. The attack had been one of her stronger ones and it had been easily ignored, making her frown. Within the span of a breath, she pulled back another arrow, Death Shot flying straight and true to bury into the side of one of the creatures. As it fell to the ground with a shriek, the other creature seemed to shake and shiver, releasing Spores into the air and making her Dash backwards to avoid the cloud, close enough to the edge of its span to escape. The creature seemed to groan and growl, lumbering towards her but it fell to the ground as she pulled back another arrow, the strength behind the draw of her most basic attack launching the arrow. The skin of the creature splintered like wood as the arrow struck it, felling it.

The Kimeer girl stood and stared at the odd creatures. While she could picture the previous opponents as being natural inhabitants of the forest, these two were obviously not made of nature in the slightest. The unnatural glow of the markings did not fade even as the last breath left their bodies and the glimmering eyes still shone in the dim surroundings. Whatever had brought these things to life had to have been quite powerful. The razor-sharp claws were purely offensive in nature, intended to do nothing but harm. Most animals in this area had claws designed for defense but these claws were almost shaped like swords and had kept the creatures from being able to move very quickly. They did not appear to retract in the slightest, making running impossible. The moss that had covered the wooden bodies had returned to its normal state when the bodies had collapsed and she could see that the skin did not just appear to be wood, it had the same texture and frailty of wood as well.

Even the horn on the creature’s head was intended to maul and injure. Lexi began to think that this was not a case of the forest turning against the nearby humans. No, while animals were intelligent, they did not strategize in this manner. Something with human intelligence was behind this and had to have influenced the creatures in the forest to act in such a hostile manner. The only people that Lexi could think of that would have that kind of power would be the magicians of Magnostadt and she frowned at the idea. What reason would a magician have to scare other people away from this particular forest? Perhaps there was some great source of power buried deep in the trails of the forest. Or perhaps there was some great danger they were trying to protect people from.

The questions floated in her mind as she examined the bodies. It was her hunter’s instinct to look over the creatures and figure out all she could. When you hunted, you had to know your prey, inside and out, so she knew she needed to catalogue whatever these were. She sighed, patting the wooden body as she began to question if she should even be trying to make this forest safe for the tribe once more. It pained her to destroy things of nature, but while these creatures appeared natural, there was just something unnatural about them. This eased her guilt a bit, but it still lingered in the recesses of her mind. Perhaps the forest would be better off without the interference of humans.

[Ammo 24/25]
[Stamina 220/300]
[1500+/1500]

Abilities Used: