1175/When Trees Attack

When Trees Attack
Date of Scene:	19 December 2014
Location:	The Cavern of Life
Synopsis:	Plants have been attacking Union and Unaffiliated parties in the Cavern of Life. Is it tied to Confederate activity in the area, or merely a coincidence?
Cast of Characters:	132, 573, Ayako Hasekawa, 635, 636, 650, 651

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Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
For the past couple days, Union supply caravans and research expeditions in the Cavern of Life have been suffering hostilities and nuisances from the local plantlife. While that is not necessarily unheard of in this massive region, given there are countless varieties of plant and animal life all over the everywhere, the fact that vines and plants have been consistently attacking Union facilities and workers, as well as anyone at all who comes within range of certain locations, may be enough to raise eyebrows at Union HQ. Based on the pattern of attacks, and overlaying them on a map, there are three locations in particular that seem to have the most aggressive foliage. The Union has sent out Elites to investigate.

Likewise, since even unaffiliated parties have been under attack, there are those unassociated with the Super-Factions who want answers, and are willing to pay for them - and any termination of hostilities that might be rendered over the course of investigation. Of course, some might just be in the area because Reasons and decide to get involved for Other Reasons. Who knows?

On the Confederate end of things, a secret operation is underway, headed by Madara Uchiha, to see if the properties of the Cavern of Life might be suitable for his purposes - purposes that would be of benefit to the Confederacy. There are three sites where Madara is harvesting various plant life, with the aid of Confederate workers.

TEMPERATE AND TROPICAL SITES: Confederate activity in this area is the most widespread, with two different sites split between one of the forests and one of the jungles. The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description. The TROPICAL SITE has a sweltering, tropical jungle, with giant cypress trees that span miles upon miles, vines and palm trees, and a plethora of bugs, predatory beasts, and brilliantly-colored plants.

SUB-TROPICAL SITE: A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

At the center of each site, there is a burnt, blackened tree, and various tents and basic accomodations for the workers. Communications equipment, weaponry, vehicles, and small warp gates for easy departure or arrival.

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     Somewhere in the rich jungles of the strange cavern... is a monkey. Just a regular, ordinary monkey, swinging from branch to branch amongst the trees before stopping upon one of the highest branches of the overgrown foilage in order to look at the strange thing it just found.

     It's a shotgun. Yes, the monkey has a shotgun.

     ANd he's not the only one, as not too far away, another being is swinging through the trees in pursuit, with a look of indignant rage on his face.

     "GET BACK HERE YOUR CHEEKY LITTLE MONKEY AND GIVE ME BACK MY SHOTGUN!"

     Yes, it's Beelzebumon, leaping from limb to limb in search of his purloined shotgun, "When I catch you you filthy little simian, I am gonna peel your FACE like a banana!"

     Naturally, seeing an enraged Demon Lord coming it's way, the monkey wisely decides to flee further into the jungle.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    If there's paying work to be found, then the Syndicate Network will get word of it sooner or later. Kono Eiko's picked up what should be her first big gig since joining it, and in the interest of making sure things go smoothly, has even poked at both the Syndicate and Alexander Academy to find some party members, in exchange for an (uneven) share of the pay.

    Since the Academy also has a Confederate presence, there could be problems with that approach, but of course, she doesn't know that's even relevant. Who would guess that subtlety might have any importance in picking up a publicly available quest?

    NEARING THE TEMPERATE SITE:

    "Okay, I think we're getting close." She's got backpack, a sword, and a map--which is to say, she has a map app, and her phone is telling her that the coordinates mentioned in the job are pretty close to where she is. "Hey, what do you call GPS if it ain't 'global,' anyway?" She's also distracted by the fact that an accurate multiversal map app is a thing that exists.

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    The Union's a big, big group. What may fall into the lap of one person, another might never even hear about. But Quentyn also keeps an ear to Syndicate channels and when an adventurer Quentyn recognizes from the dungeon qualifications asks for help... The student isn't about to turn away a chance to make a little money on the side. Perhaps luckily for Eiko, it doesn't take much to buy this white mage's help.

    Possibly a combat situation. This means Quentyn has his ridiculous rifle with him (slung across behind him, with just a notebook in his hands for now), and before they've set foot here, Eiko's received a full complement of protective spells: Protect, Shell, Stoneskin, and Blink. For now the white mage simply, contently, yet alertly, walks alongside Eiko, pausing only to tilt his head (listening to something on a radio under his hoodie?).

    "I wonder if they're here for the same thing we are..?" Just a murmur, as Quentyn speculates to himself.

    In a more direct answer to Eiko, "Um..." He adjusts his glasses slightly as he thinks. "MPS? For multiverse?" He gives an awkward, lopsided smile to go with a lopsided shrug.

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Ryu tromps through the frost and snow of the sub-tropical region. An orange scarf is wrapped around his neck, the tail of it wiggling in the breeze behind him as he walks. He moved in from a warpgate near a scouted Union location. His boots crunch at the ice below them, thankfully designed for all kinds of terrain. His gold eyes turn to focus on whatever he happens to spot, mostly the rare bird or two. However, the distinct lack of animal activity is actually unnerving him.

    He climbs a rocky hill to get a better vantage, staring out over the expanse, looking for anything unusual. As always, he's expecting some kind of hostility, having equipped both his handgun and his sword for this little trek. "I don't get it," he murmurs softly, as he rubs the achy leg, still freshly healed from that battle with Madara at the Factory and likely still weakened because of that. It's a good thing he's a dragon, or he wouldn't even be able to walk yet.

    The thought makes him scowl, partially obscured by the scarf on his face.

    "Ayako," he says, glancing over his shoulder for the one likely to be following him, "What do you think? Which way should we be going? This forest is pretty big." After that, he looks up, and squints at the sky... a sky that he knows only exists because of how utterly huge this cavern actually is. The thought creates excited butterflies in his stomach, putting an uneasy look on his face behind the discomfort of the cold.

Mihk Lihzeh (573) has posed:
    There's something to be said for working with plantlife. It's quite relaxing! The Miqo'te /is/ still recovering from a broken leg, and thus is hobbling around the area on crutches with her left leg in a cast. "Bring me those new specimens. I'll log them and have them shipped off." Her movements have been hampered, and field work made near impossible by the tropical jungle location, undergrowth and other concerns limiting the scholastic feline to the camp and its immediate surrounds without escort.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TROPICAL SITE

The TROPICAL SITE has a sweltering, tropical jungle, with giant cypress trees that span miles upon miles, vines and palm trees, and a plethora of bugs, predatory beasts, and brilliantly-colored plants.

BEELZEBUMON is here.
A MONKEY WITH A SHOTGUN is here.
MIHK is here.
A bunch of CONFEDERATE WORKERS AND TROOPS are here.

As Beelzebumon chases a thieving monkey through the tree tops, yelling loudly, his voice wars with all the other cacophony of the jungle. However, if he carries on as he is, he may alert others in the area. As it is, from his vantage point, if he can see down through all the thick foliage, he may spot tents and temporary structures below and in the distance. While camouflaged to be difficult to spot from the air or ground, he may have the means available to him to detect it regardless - especially if he gets close enough to see the less-well-camouflaged workers, the excavation and cataloguing they are doing, or the soldiers pacing and hiding along the perimiter, keeping an eye out.

The researchers and laborers carry out their work, or do as instructed by their Elite supervisor and head of operations for this site. Anything she requests is given to her. Though none would dare to insult her by implying she is weak enough to need help, there is one young lady who seems to be eagerly hovering around wherever the Lihzen is, ready to make the Ensign more comfortable, if she needs it. A cold drink to deal with the hot, humid air. A folding chair if she needs to sit. Shoulder massage, or painkillers, if she needs assistance with the physical strain.

Whether she is just suffering from hero worship or trying to earn herself a promotion is unclear, but the young aide seems to be taking her duties seriously, at least.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
SPOOKY FOG AND NOISES are here.

As Eiko and Quentyn advance through the area, they are either about to enter or already within the vast, chilly forest, with its tall, dark-green evergreens, and its low-hanging fog that practically makes it seem like they are walking through a cloud instead of across grass and dirt and pine needles. There's a sort of ambient noise in the background that is hard to place. Kind of like distant traffic in the city, but there's little evidence of motor vehicles here. Still, they may be moving in the right direction if that sound increases in volume, even without their guide.

However, occasionally OTHER sounds may be heard. The noise of some beast snarling briefly in the distance in particular may be noticed, before all goes quiet again. A large, unseen crow caws raucously overhead, somewhere in the branches, before taking off.

Spooky.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako is dressed as a Witch with a water drop motif today, and is riding sidesaddle on a floating broomstick. Of course, before setting out, she has casted Water Bubble on them both. Best to setup something like that beforehand, after all.

    Water Bubble is a simple bubble of water that vanishes after it's cast. It's a very weak barrier; all it does is negligibly slow down incoming attacks. But it is the foundation for Ayako's other barriers!

    As for Ayako herself, she's floating right next to Ryu... her amber gaze quickly taking in the area. She has absolutely no problem floating up the hill after Ryu and takes a look from the same vantage point. "Hmm... I don't quite get it either... for an area full of life, there sure aren't many animals here..."

    When Ryu rubs his aching leg, Ayako cups her hands in front of herself and concentrates. "Healing Water!" Water with a reddish tinge fills her cupped hands. "Still a little stiff, Ryan? Here you go." And she pours the water on the leg, relieving the ache quickly.

    When she's addressed, she inclines her head to the side gently. "Hmm... well... when in doubt... play the game 'One of these things doesn't belong!'" Ayako giggles and gives Ryan a ball of water. "Look through that!" She swiftly yanks the stick of her broom back and floats higher-and then abruptly stops. "Uh huh... well... see for yourself!" Another ball of water appears in her hands and she points it in the direction of the pine forest.

    Displayed in Ryu's ball of water is the reflection of what Ayako's water ball sees: one extremely suspicious burnt, blackened tree standing out of the rest of the forest. The tends, communication equipment and other things aren't visible, though.

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     Monkey and Demon Lord each continue their mad scamper through the jungle, climbing up one tree and down another, hurtling themselves through the air to reach the next set of branches, criss crossing their merry way across the terrain.

     Eventually though, the monkey with his ill gotten loot make their way to ground level and scampers across a relatively open clearing to try and reach safety... and a moment later, Beelzebumon comes hurtling through the air like a missile and catches the simian mid-dive, before rolling to his feet.

     "Gotcha you furry little bastard! Now give me that!"

     With a snap of his arm, the Demon Lord grabs his shotgun. Then stops, and slowly turns his head.

     No more than ten feet away from where he is standing is some rather surprised workers.

     Slowly, he turns his head in the other direction to see even more surprised troops staring his way.

     Yeeeeeep, his frantic pursuit of the monkey has landed him smack dab in the middle of the excavation site.

     "Weeeeeeellllllll... fuck."

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
SUB-TROPICAL SITE

A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

RYU I MEAN RYAN is here.
AYAKO is here.
NO ANIMALS are here.

Ryu and Ayako, in addition to their usage of scrying that reveals the blackened tree, are also on a vantage point where they may be able to see tracks in the snow, in the distance. Perhaps in the same direction as that tree. Something that may give Ryu an extra bit of discomfort is a strange sort of 'presence' that - while very faint - was felt relatively recently somewhere... But where? It seems to be lingering all over the general area. Ayako may likewise pick up on it if she has the ability, though with life energy surging everywhere, it may also slip her notice. Her healing magic is strengthened here, at least.

Mihk Lihzeh (573) has posed:
    Mihk mostly waves the aide away, telling her to 'go do something productive' as she moves back to the main tent. She slumps down in the chair, and goes over the days findings, cataloguing the new discoveries and adding to the previous days tally with duplicates and additional findings from the same sites. This is the kind of work she prefers, not throwing herself into battle, but assisting those far more capable of combat than herself with the less glamourous tasks. She's chattering away over the radio, heedless of a very powerful and aggressive Elite closing in.

    And then Beelzebumon drops right into the middle of camp, and all hell breaks loose!

Eiko (650) has posed:
    There's a significant chance that Eiko is actually in over her head, here, so it's a good thing that Quentyn has all those buffs on hand. Not that there's a chance in hell of her showing appreciation past the level of "Yo, good stuff." Hey, she's done SL1 runs before, how hard can it be to deal with some giant spooky monsters or whatever without getting herself killed?

    "You hear that?" She doesn't specify what. "Might be going the right way. SOMETHING is over this way, anyhow. Let's find out what. Worst case scenario it's a totally unrelated quest to the one we picked up, yeah?"

    The phone is put away, and her sword is actually in her hands, now, though she's still yet to draw it. She's also muttering to herself.

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn's hand brushes across his rifle and then his PDW, as though to make sure both weapons are still there. Well, with the rifle's size and weight, it would be hard to not notice that. Startled, he jumps a little at the first caw and clutches his notebook close to his chest... and the other noises just lead to the student tensely peering into the depths of the forest. Or what can be seen with that fog.

    Despite all this, he does sometimes take a moment to scribble something down in that notebook. Is he reluctant to actually draw one of his weapons?

    "Yah." He looks over towards where the noises are coming ofrom. "Um..." Quentyn then looks over to Eiko, keeping his voice hushed. Something about the atmosphere just seemed to demand it. "Do you have any, um, wide area detection magic or anything like that?"

    "Um." Even quieter.

    "Do you think we're being tracked?"

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TROPICAL SITE

The TROPICAL SITE has a sweltering, tropical jungle, with giant cypress trees that span miles upon miles, vines and palm trees, and a plethora of bugs, predatory beasts, and brilliantly-colored plants.

BEELZEBUMON is here.
A MONKEY WITH NO SHOTGUN is here.
MIHK is here.
A bunch of CONFEDERATE WORKERS AND TROOPS are here.

Mihk's aide does as she is told and goes to make sure no bugs have crawled into the Elite's personal tent since last she checked. There are bugs everywhere in this place. Speaking of which, a huge one just arrived! Wait, no that is a demon.

Beelzebumon crashes down in the middle of the site with his monkey friend/eternal rival, right after getting his shotgun back. To the credit of the Confederate soldiers, they don't hesitate very long after spotting an unrecognized intruder. The ones nearest raise their weapons and take aim on Beelzebumon. They make the mistake of commanding him to 'freeze' and 'surrender', however, instead of just opening fire. While Mihk may prefer not to fight, she is still the one in charge here, and quite promptly she will be informed of the situation, in one way or another.

The blackened tree at the center of the site remains right where it is and does nothing.

Mihk Lihzeh (573) has posed:
    Mihk frowns as she's informed of Beelzebumon's arrival. She hauls herself up, and, while calling it in over her radio earpiece, heads out of the tent to confront the Demon Lord. "All troopers hold your fire." she knows as well as the next Elite that normal firearms are largely ineffective, and by the look of this being, they'll serve only to tick him off even more. "What is your name, and why are you here?" she asks, trying to stand as tall as possible, while on her crutches.

Ryu (636) has posed:
    The red healing water shone over Ryan's leg, and he looked down at it with raised brows, surprised by how soothing it was to the pain that still twinged through his muscles when he walked. "Thanks," he murmured, probably muffled a lot by the scarf.

    Ryu squints at the image in the bubble. He is suitably impressed by how much utility Ayako has with those spells, and smiles behind his scarf when she spots the one thing that is worth checking out. He motions for her to follow him, and tromps down through the snow and down the rocks with some ease. "I like this place," he thinks aloud, "We should clear out whatever is causing this as soon as possible." A cavern of life? It's pretty much a light dragon's natural habitat. He doesn't quite realize that.

    "Tracks." He gestures for Ayako to stop, and then he pulls out his handgun and begins to follow the tracks toward the blackened tree, looking for the people at the end of it. He frowns behind his scarf, unhappy that he might have to fight people who are just following orders.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
SPOOKY FOG AND NOISES are here.

As Eiko goes looking for the source of the strange noise in the background, the evidence that she and Quentyn are not alone out here continues to be presented in the sound of strange sounds, and now... Movement! A bush nearby shakes suddenly just off to the side, followed by soft footfalls that fade into the distance, as something goes running off. Likely a smaller animal, startled by their presence.

Then there is a bizarre, distorted, scream-like noise, that - if anyone has ever heard before - is a sound a rabbit makes. That scream is cut off in the middle, and there is no sign of what may have done so. The fog just thickens all around, turning the forest into a pale soup of uncertainty. In short order, unless magic or other tools are employed, it may become quite easy to simply become lost. Everything looks the same. Tall, off-grey poles that are really trees, indistinguishable until they are seen up close. Low, dark shapes, that may be bushes, or rocks are also barely-visible, though sometimes not until they have been run into.

However, in this fog, they may seem at first to have strange shapes... The mind playing tricks and making them seem like people or animals.

But always, when addressed or gotten close enough to, they are only typical foresty objects.

That same snarl heard earlier is heard much closer, perhaps within a couple hundred feet at the most. Still not right next to them, but worryingly close. The humming sound in the background is a bit louder.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako smiles cheerfully in return. "You're very welcome." And nods her head when Ryu motions for her to follow. She pushes the stick downwards and floats back down to Ryu's side. "Eh heh... I like this place too... so full of life! Yet at the same time..." Her head inclines to the side gently. "Something feels... off about it too."

    She blinks her eyes quickly when Ryu motions her to stop and floats slightly back in relation to Ryu's position. Ayako nods her head slowly... when Ryu notes the tracks. She's no ranger or tracker, so leaves the trailing to Ryu. Upon noting that he pulled out his handgun, her amber gaze flits about nervously...

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Nope!" Eiko has an inside voice. She's not inside, so she is not using it. "Nothin' like that. Only can count on the Black Magic, man." There is an extremely high probability that her Black Magic has no relation to Quentyn's idea of Black Magic. If you expected her to pick up on and explain that point, you have likely not been paying attention.

    Movement! Sounds! She turns to look--and hears a scream! "The fuck was that?" She has not heard an actual rabbit at any point in her life. Woe.

    "Hey, you think this fog is natural?" Okay, /now/ she's lowering her volume. "Related note, you got any spells of the particular or similar kind to what you just asked if I had? 'Cause I could do /something/ here but it wouldn't be pretty, believe me. Better if we don't have to deal with that."

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
SUB-TROPICAL SITE

A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

RYAN is here.
AYAKO is here.
NO ANIMALS are here.

Ryu tracks the tracks, with his pain soothed. Ayako floating along after him, the two gradually make their way closer to the blackened tree somewhere in the forest. And when they get within a certain range... A huge load of snow falls off a tree, right down on them, from above! If they are not fast enough to avoid it, they may get partially-buried!

...Which is a bad condition to be in, when one of the evergreen trees suddenly reaches down with its fast-growing branches and tries to grab the pair as though its limbs were hands or tendrils of wood!

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn *really* startles at the rabbit scream, clutching his notebook to his chest one more. He takes a few breaths, pushes his glasses up on his nose a little, and slides the notebook into his bag. Then he unholsters his PDW and flicks the safety off.

    "Black magic's good. Um... I um, don't..."

    One edge Quentyn has is the gift of the Ramuha. A keen sense of air pressure, and the pressure waves that move through it. As he slowly raises the PDW's ironsights to eye level, he's actually fairly accurately pointing the gun towards where the growl came from. Accurate enough to do something as precise as land a bullet at that range? Probably not. But he's aiming that direction. The white mage also slowly sidesteps until he has a sturdy tree to crouch and lean against.

    "Um... it might be, well, maybe outworld weather is different, but... um, if this was my world, the conditions wouldn't be right for this." All of this is in a soft murmur. Although Quentyn's breathing is carefully controlled, 'cool and collected' isn't how he looks.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TROPICAL SITE

The TROPICAL SITE has a sweltering, tropical jungle, with giant cypress trees that span miles upon miles, vines and palm trees, and a plethora of bugs, predatory beasts, and brilliantly-colored plants.

BEELZEBUMON is here.
A MONKEY WITH NO SHOTGUN is here.
MIHK is here.
A bunch of CONFEDERATE WORKERS AND TROOPS are here.

Mihk is alerted to the disturbance, and makes it known she is in no condition to fight. While she had many soldiers to do it for her, if this is another Elite, then an Elite-level response is warranted. The blackened tree at the center of the site, suddenly starts to peel like a rotten banana, the charred wooden bending outwards and down towards the ground, and revealing there is someone or something at the center of it.

At the same time, there is no reason to risk losing all this work. It would be smart to start packing up the most critical specimens and research and getting it through the warp gate. And Mihk, being smart, can probably get that going faster than if it was just left to the normal researchers who are total non-combatants and lack the authority to give orders except to their assistants.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako inclines her head to the side as she continues to float after Ryu, not wanting to get in his way and doubly so not wanting to get attacked by anything. Then her amber eyes quickly move upwards. "Hmm?" She points upwards suddenly when a huge load of snow falls off a nearby tree the load of snow just floats there above the pair. "Okay... that was odd... almost as if-" Ayako says to herself as she balls up the load of snow and has it float behind her.

    And then one of the evergreen trees starts to MOVE! "The tree tried to dump this on is." Ayako finishes flatly... and then eeps and stays with Ryu, ready to dodge with him if need be!

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Ryu looks up in vague horror as snow tries to drop on his head. He was not looking forward to the idea of being caught in freezing-cold powdery snow at all. But then Ayako deflects it, and he blinks once... and laughs aloud at how AMAZING that is. "Good job!" he compliments her, holstering his handgun for a ebat. When he spots the tree moving, he stops seeming so cheery. He draws the Bonebreaker from its scabbard and does his best impression of an Amazon explorer.

    Ryu does wide two-handed chops at the branches with a decent amount of strength, his blade thankfully being built for fighting this exact kind of threat. If it isn't too thick, he can chop through it with a maximum of two strikes without the blade getting stuck. Each swing is accompanied by a grunt of effort and a loud WHOOSH, telling of the weight behind the weapon. It's quite clear it is much heavier than the standard longsword.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
SUB-TROPICAL SITE

A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

RYAN is here.
AYAKO is here.
NO ANIMALS are here.
OH F*** TREES are here.

As Ryu chops through the fast-growing branches, and Ayako balls up all that snow and keeps it floating nearby, a second tree animates behind the pair, bending over with a noise of creaking wood, as it tears its own roots out of the ground in its attempt to practically throw itself onto them! A third tree animates while that is going on, on the far side of the first, and then two more back the way they came, and then another three to the north - in the direction of the blackened tree.

It would be an exaggeration to say the entire forest has come to life, but it sure may feel like it, surrounded as the Unionites are. At least Ryu's sword is effective at chopping through wood, it seems!

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
SPOOKY FOG AND NOISES are here.

As Eiko and Quentyn keep quiet and hunker down, Quentyn even accurately pointing his weapon in the direction the snarls came from, a low dark shape, one of many in the area that have repeatedly proven to be rocks and bushes, simply stands up from where it was crouched, stationary, and walks away with an odd, gangly gait. It appears to have something like a humanoid form, and to be quite tall. Further, it may well have been watching them this whole time in silence. Whatever it is, it doesn't appear to want trouble, and catching up to it in this soup without magic or special senses like Quentyn's may be a trial.

And less of a priority than when the sudden noise of a large, heavy body pounding its way through the forest reaches the pair of adventurers, followed shortly after by a white-furred, thick-coated wolf as tall as either of them, bounding out of the fog and lashing out with a snarling bite!

Its eyes glow red - and black. Because at the center of each eye is a small Sharingan imprint that probably doesn't belong there.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako blinks her eyes quickly as she hears the sound of creaking wood coming from all around her. Her head turns slowly as she quietly notes all of the trees suddenly... getting up. "Uh oh... Ryan! Time to get your lumberjack on!" She takes a deep breath and then then thrusts her palms in Ryu's direction. "Whirling Maelstrom of the Sea's Depth!" Suddenly, a violent whirrling water barrier materializes around Ryu and travels with him!

    Whirrling Maelstrom of the Sea's Depth is a barrier dedicated to strengthening cutting attacks going out from it! In addition, the whirlling waters help deflect attacks that try to get in!

    Once the barrier is in place, Ayako glances about and calls out enemy positions and ETAs!

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Aw, shit!" Eiko is, fortunately, as quick to react with something /useful/ as she is to curse the turns of fate. She doesn't go for the immediate parry, because that would be stupid without seeing how the thing intends to fight. She--

    --get caught up immediately by the great thing's bite--

    --wait, no she doesn't. Some kind of shadowy after image is torn apart. Can everyone see that? Eiko herself has dodged back, getting some distance and tugging at her sword. It seems to be stuck in the sheathe.

    "LIFE is kinda on the LINE you--" The remainder of her statement is not fit for public consumption, but let it be said that she knows language more colorful than the average youth. There is a burst of static from her pocket. "THANK YOU."

    The sword is drawn. It is, like its sheathe, entirely unremarkable in appearance. Her stance leaves something to be desired, to anyone with an eye for proper swordsmanship. She is at least holding the thing up in a way that makes it difficult to get at her without coming near it.

    "Quentyn! Shoot the damn thing!"

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!

    Quentyn shoots the damn thing! The Gunner's actually ready for it, and he gives a controlled burst at the general area of the wolf's head and throat-- but that doesn't mean the beast doesn't scare the teen. If it still doesn't die? MOAR BULLETS!

    ...of course, this is a dead giveaway to their position. The PDW's rifle-calibur and not exactly silenced. But the student glances quickly to Eiko, letting out a quick breath of relief when Blink takes care of the attack. The stuck sword thing gets an odd look from the other youth but Quentyn's focused on situational awareness at the moment. One wolf? No others? Does it need more bullet medicine?

    Chasing after that odd figure doesn't cross Quentyn's mind... For one, that's the sort of thing for party leaders to decide. Buuuut his sense of pressure and air movements might be good for sensing things moving, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Ramuha can handle potentially treacherous footing in very poor visibility better than average. And most importantly in Quentyn's eyes... can't leave the party behind, even if it's just one other person.

    "Y-You didn't take any hits?" the white mage calls softly to Eiko, just to confirm he didn't miss anything that just happened. He's trembling just a little, from being shaken up or just from adrenaline is hard to say.

Mihk Lihzeh (573) has posed:
    Mihk isn't going to take chances. "Guards, get the scientists and samples through the warp gate. The site is compromised. I will remain here until the teams are through." she orders, shifting her weight and dropping one crutch to pull her tome.

    Once the last trooper is waiting at the gate, she backs off slowly from Beelzebumon, and exits the area, leaving whoever, or whatever was in the tree behind to 'deal' with him...

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
SPOOKY FOG AND NOISES are here.
A DEAD WOLF is here.
CREEPY HUMANOID THINGS are here.

As Eiko blinks backwards out of range, leaving the wolf to bite down on thin air, Quentyn fills the huge beast full of lead. It may have grown large by the life energy that flows through this place, but it is still just a wolf. And though it may possibly have been controlled, it also appears to be the only one. As it falls to the ground, bloody and quite dead. Its eyes revert back to those of a normal (if huge) wolf, no sign of the glowing red and black symbol that was there before.

Right behind Eiko, another low, dark shape stands up. This one was definitely a bush. Even in this dense fog, that was easy to determine by sheer proximity and scratchy twigs. But it rises up out of the ground, a body of coming out of the bottom of the shrub instead of roots, and aside from that rustling of foliage, that appears to be all the warning she gets before long-fingered, malformed 'hands' attempt to reach out and wrap around the Contractor's neck with hideous, inhuman strength.

Other bushes in the area also begin to quiver and shake. One of them reaches out and grabs the dead wolf and starts to pull it into the hollowed-out pit that it has been planted in all this time, so it can decompose into food properly.

Well, that explains what happened to the rabbit. Another noise is added to the mix, a metallic clang in the distance - very faint, but in the direction that the humming is louder in. While maybe not the most pressing of things to focus on at this exact second, the incongruity of metal being banged on in the distance may be enough to make an impression.

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Without Ayako here, Ryan would've been forced to take on his dragon form much earlier. Her support lets him cut through the wood much more easily, and thanks to the way water resonates with light, he uses a few chops to cleave the trunks of a couple of living trees with his sword imbued with light magic. The tree that tries to fall on them receives this treatment, making both pieces fall on either side of them.
    Exhausted and his hands stinging from the effort, he resolves himself to advance toward the blackened tree instead. "We need to get to the center," he tells Ayako, and with her help pointing out enemy locations and movements, he begins moving down the path of least resistance toward the blackened tree, his shoes making loud THUMP THUMP noises as he jogs in that direction. He only stops when he really needs to deal with one of the living trees.

    One of the trees gets a good smack on him, almost bowling him over before he chops it into firewood. Grimacing from the bruising it causes, he keeps his pace and fights past the fresh pain of the impact.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
SUB-TROPICAL SITE

A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

RYAN is here.
AYAKO is here.
NO ANIMALS are here.
OH F*** TREES are here.

Ryu, boosted and protected by Ayako's magic, manages to slice throuh the towering pines as they converge on them, and penetrate the veritable wall of them to the north, despite taking a hit. The pair are able to push forward, emerging into...!

Some sort of camp site with cold-weather tents and temporary shelters, Confederate troops everywhere, and a black, charred tree at the center. There are yells of surprise, as the soldiers start to shoot at the intruders, but thanks to Ayako's magic the two may be able to fend off this assault as they get their bearings after coming right out of 'attack of the trees'. Even so, it should be pretty obvious something is going on here.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TROPICAL SITE

The TROPICAL SITE has a sweltering, tropical jungle, with giant cypress trees that span miles upon miles, vines and palm trees, and a plethora of bugs, predatory beasts, and brilliantly-colored plants.

BEELZEBUMON is here.
A MONKEY WITH NO SHOTGUN is here.
MIHK is GONE.
A bunch of CONFEDERATE WORKERS AND TROOPS are GONE.
MADARA UCHIHA is here.

As Mihk and the other Confederates evacuate, the blackened tree continues to peel and rot away, revealing a figure at the center of it. He steps down, and stands ready for combat - unless, of course the intruder decides to run for it. Either way, this mysterious individual appears to be... Madara Uchiha. And he buys the time that Mihk and the others need to get all that valuable information and speciments to safety.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Totally hunky-dory!" Eiko calls back immediately, though there's a heaviness to her tone and at least a trace of sarcasm. The situation could be better, but she didn't get hit, no.

    Geez. If only Onikaze Kenshin had been the sort to offer mystical tips of instant power-up and success. Then she could have something more effective in her hands than just a sharp piece of metal that /would/ be incredibly deadly in the hands of someone with the proper training to use it. She'd gone to get some 101 time, as he and that demigod Setsuko thought would help, but demon wolves might need a more practiced hand than that.

    Oh, nevermind, it's dead. Then what is this terrible forboding--

    There follows yet more cursing, but it's cutting off pretty quickly for the fact that it's her neck being assaulted. The ambush worked, for this one, and she's in a real pinch. She does have a couple advantages, though--namely, that Protect and Stoneskin laid on her earlier. If she could just get away, Blink might still be working, too. No chance to dodge when caught flat-footed.

    Eiko isn't quite restrained, nor is she quite asphyxiated. For reasons that would be mysterious without a good understanding of how her magic functions, this is unfortunate. She is being choked, but the pieces just aren't quite fitting together. Something's missing that her mind is trying to find and latch onto.

    In that very instant in which she's attacked, before the plant can crush through her buffs and lack of armor to snap her neck in two, she turns, lashing out with her sword in a move lacking finesse, and forcing yet more bruises against her tender, all-too-human flesh. The seemingly unremarkable sword proves to be, at the least, as sharp as any blade of storied history, cutting easily through twigs as it does flesh. If her blow had true strength behind it, it would be over just like that. Alas, it did not.

    "Ahhhh!" More cursing, now that she has her breath. She struggles back. She swings and swings and, given the slightest opening, bashes and slices until she's either separated from her target or it's rendered thoroughly inert.

    If there are more of those things--and there are--and they're also hostile--as they likely are--her distraction may prove yet hazardous.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako spares a few moments to watch Ryan cleave his way through the moving trees with his sword and notes the light magic as well as how good Ryan is with his sword! She claps her hands together softly. "Oohh... you're really good at this, Ryan! Let's keep up the pace!"

    And then he starts advancing twoards the tree. Ayako nods her head slowly while continuing to keep her amber eyes peeled for any more reinforcements. Her gaze quickly turns towards Ryu when he gets solidly hit by one of the trees and winces-she's about to decide to heal him when the sounds of surprise and alarm sound from the soldiers by the blackened tree! She gestures around herself with her hands, "Bullet Maelstrom!" An odd horizontal whirl of water forms in front of Ayako!

    Bullet Maelstrom is usually an equally offensive and defensive barrier. Usually cast to people with guns to boost their bullets, it can also be used to deflect bullets trying to pass the boundary of the barrier to hit the person within! While it can be used to increase the power of guns fired from the other side, it's not like Ayako has a gun! So it's simply being used for defense.

    Ayako then swiftly floats into position to protect Ryan from the bullets with her barrier! "There's Confederates with guns over here, Ryan!"

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    "Did you see..." Strange eyes themselves don't attract that much attention from Quentyn, for all he knows that might be normal here. But the change... the boy's eyes linger of the wolf's for a moment. "Watch out!" Quentyn calls, for all the good it probably doesn't do. And then there's the bush, and more strange sounds...

    "Um, run or fight??" Quentyn urgently asks Eiko. But he's not sitting there doing nothing. Aether gathers around the white mage and he casts Banish on the newly risen being, briefly enveloping it in destructive white light. Quentyn's not a very powerful caster of offensive spells but Banish is especially effective against undead or dark-aligned creatures. Maybe, just maybe, he'd get lucky. Or not but, between that and Eiko's cutting, it might let go of the girl.

    Quentyn pauses momentarily to tilt his head, left hand rising to but not quite touching his hood-covered ear. "Feds!" the white mage hurriedly undertones to Eiko.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
SPOOKY FOG AND NOISES are here.
A DEAD WOLF is GONE.
CREEPY PLANT THINGS are here.

Eiko slashes and slashes, cutting through a body seemingly made of tightly-woven and interconnected vines, wood, and plant fibers of various kinds. Water sloshes out of its wounds in place of blood, and when it has been thoroughly sliced until it can no longer fight, it lies still.

The Banish spell, while powerful, seems not to directly damage the creature, unfortunately. Even if likely unnatural, it seems to at least not be undead, unholy, or dark-aligned. Just plants altered into something else, and controlled into attack - possibly by some form of instruction or 'programming' that was already there.

The other bushes cease their quivering and shaking, however, and resume being quite still, leaving Eiko and Quentyn in the silence of the woods again, surrounded by dense fog, plants they know cand will attack them unexpectedly, possibly more hostile animal life, and now the news that the Confederates may well be involved in all of this.

What is to be done?

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Ryan receives a compliment about his swordsmanship. Really, all he was doing was wild chopping of any tree that got in their way, and he wasn't very tactical about it beyond clearing a path, so the remark caused him a brief instant of confusion more than anything else. It didn't last long, because they were soon in a clearing filled with Confederate soldiers. Confederates that immediately notice their presence and begin shooting. "I see them," he replies to Ayako.

    This is problematic, but thankfully he can avoid outright dying with some effort and a bit of Ayako's help. He draws his own handgun out, and begins firing bright explosive shot of flame at the easier targets, while moving to locate any cover that isn't made of plant matter in some way, probably a boulder. He'd keep on the move just so that the enemy doesn't have an easy time pinning him down and using grenades on him.

    He seems more intent on driving off the Confederate forces, because this bizarre activity tells him that something here is terribly off and he needs to get Union people out here to check it out more thoroughly.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
SUB-TROPICAL SITE

A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

RYAN is here.
AYAKO is here.
NO ANIMALS are here.
A bunch of CONFEDERATE TROOPS AND RESEARCHERS are here.
A BLACKENED TREE is here.

Ayako's magic assists in protecting both her and Ryu from flying bullets, but while they are under fire, and while Ryu is sending explosive flame shots at them and taking out soldiers, they seem to already be evacuating. Warmly-dressed men and women are fleeing through the Warp Gate with satchels and boxes and folders and so on, and laborers are trying to get crates out through the portal as well. The soliders are falling back as they fight, mostly shooting to keep the intruders busy, rather than because they are trying to force them out - though that would be nice too.

The blackened tree at the center of the clearing begins to crack, to peel, and to rot away, as blackened bark falls to the ground.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "I'm fine, I'm fine!" She doesn't sound fine. She sounds like she is, perhaps, overly excited. "It's a clue, right? The kind we have to CRUSH INTO LITTLE PIECES." Overly excited. "Wait, Feds? What? Ohh, oh no, that wasn't part of the deal!" Nothing in the quest description mentioned this was a faction hit!

    "I'm guessing you don't have, like, fire spells. I could go for one of those right now. Really could." Dammit. She could do so much with a little fire. Except start one.

    "Okay, okay. Let's see. Freaky plants. Lots of 'em. Big wolf. Did it look weird to you? Apart from being big. Okay. SOURCE of stuff. We gotta find where the central point is. This isn't our P.O.I. way out here, we're just on the edge. We gotta move."

    Uhh, crap. Which way? Which way do they have to move?

    "Shhh--I really didn't want to have to do this. Really didn't want to. Okay, let's go. Freaking sword, do your thing." She says that, but she doesn't do a thing with the sword--at first. She just transfers it to her left hand, balls a fist, and punches herself right in the face. She isn't cursing, now. Just making stifled grumbly noises as she smacks herself a second time, right on her eye.

    "Heal me /later/." She hisses. "Need this now." Black smoke winds out around her left arm, flowing down her sword's blade. It glows in an uncanny manner, like black light. She hisses one more word, but it's difficult to make out.

    The words don't really matter. It's her will that's pushing her magic into place. It grabs onto the BLINDED effect she applied to herself, enhanced by the thick fog, and mutates into something related but barely recognizable, a kind of SECOND SIGHT. She can still barely see, but what she /can/ see is all in the form of things that are hidden. She's seeing nothing but what's secret, whether it be paths, locations, treasures, or ambushes.

    It also hurts like hell.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako watches carefully from behind her barrier. "Ryan! The people are are evacuating!" She keeps an eye on Ryan and cups her hands together in front of her body again. "Healing Water!" This time, the water that forms in Ayako's hands is purple. The water balls itself up and floats out of her hands. Ryan's own erratic movement to avoid getting pinned down is noted too... and when he happens to dodge close to her, she quickly gestures towards him. The ball of purple healing water splashes against him and rapidly begins to heal the impact from the tree that he got hit by a while ago.

    Then the cracking and peeling begins. Ayako's amber gaze whips over to the tree. "Something's happening to the tree!"

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    And everything's calm. O... k... Quentyn looks around, just in case. Then back to Eiko. He shakes his head, "Um, fire bullets but not spells... The eyes did something weird." Aether visible gathers around the mage once more, but when she orders him not to heal, Quentyn lets it dissipate. He also looks her over head to toe, just to make sure there's no really obvious wounds.

    Quentyn also watches her very carefully as she inflicts that spell on herself, pushing on the side of his glasses for a second. If she has any sense of her immediate surrounds still, Eiko might pick up that it's taking some effort for the white mage to suppress the reflex, instict, desire to immediately undo whatever she just did. But he waits, eventually taking his eyes off her and back to the forest.

    "Um... I know no one likes being asked 'are you OK?' after stuff like that... but tell me if there are specific things I need to treat, ok..?" There are certain signs, subtle signs... it's in his tone a little bit, the way he slightly shifts his stance, the nigh-imperceptible change in his breathing... Quentyn's actually half expecting to get hit? He's got no history with Eiko so that can't be her fault...

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
SPOOKY FOG AND NOISES are here.
A DEAD WOLF is GONE.
CREEPY PLANT THINGS are here.

The fog is concealing most things, so most of it may be considered 'hidden' by the terms of Eiko's apparently loophole-filled magic. Navigating through the woods and towards the source of that sound, of machinery and metal working in the distance, should be much easier now. As long as they aren't attacked any further. Thankfully for the both of them, Eiko and Quentyn seem to be going without further ambush at the moment. As long as they avoid those shrub-people or whatever they are, they should be fine, and Quentyn shouldn't have to debate whether or not to heal further injuries for too long.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Yeah, yeah," Eiko sounds kind of impatient and like she's not really paying attention, but she still manages to answer more or less properly. "Had to blind myself to see. Gonna be blind when it wears off. Throat hurts, choker-plant did a number on me. THAT I don't need." She looks around studiously.

    "Alright, thissa way." She leads on, heading toward that metal sound. That's gotta be something important.

    She's not sure exactly how long this will last. Probably not too much longer. Her really useful tricks are also the most short-lived. She'll know when it is wearing off, at least, since there's hidden crap every way she looks. No ambushes, though. If something hostile ISN'T trying to ambush her, she probably won't notice it.

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn curls a finger and taps it on his chin. Well. It's pretty easy for him to heal a wound without messing with an affliction, at least. Aether visibly gathers around the mage again, and this time a green aura briefly envelopes Eiko. The regen spell. "I can um, fix the blindness when you're done..."

    "Ok," Quentyn agrees and follows. Not aware that they actually can't be ambushed right now, he keeps a careful lookout. As they walk, curiosity eventually gets the better of the white mage. "What does, um, that spell let you see..?"

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Ryu grunts as the Confederate soldiers seem to be fleeing. He only fires at those who seem to be continuing the engagement, and moving closer to the tree as the battle continues. Ayako's comment gets a wave of confirmation from the young dragon, who makes his way closer to the tree, and uses it for cover as the rest of the enemy soldiers make their escape.

    He frowns at the big tree, and digs through his pockets looking for something to keep a sample of it in, thinking that it would be useless if it rotted away before actual intelligent people could get here to look at it. He found a plastic bag with a sandwich in it -- his provisions for the trip -- and dumped it out on the icy ground immediately. Using a survival knife off his belt, he peeled a chunk of wood off the tree and stuffed it in the bag, zipping it tight. That is provided the tree doesn't assault him or something while he's doing this.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
SUB-TROPICAL SITE

A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

RYAN is here.
AYAKO is here.
NO ANIMALS are here.
Some CONFEDERATE TROOPS AND RESEARCHERS are here.
MADARA UCHIHA is here.

Some Confederates are injured, or otherwise out of action, but many are simply just retreating through the Warp Gate. The rate of this exodus increases significantly when Ryu, getting close enough to try to take a sample, has a front row seat to the tree revealing what lays at its center. There's a creature... Or a person...

...No, it's both, and neither.

It's Madara Uchiha. And he is looking right at Ryu, with his Rinnegan already active. That's what that presence was. Madara's Chakra, his foul, cold presence that is carried upon his very spiritual energy, is what was lingering in this area.

And Madara reaches out for the young dragon while the tree continues to fall apart around him.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
A BLACKENED TREE is here.

As Eiko and Quentyn navigate the forest, avoiding the creatures that are hiding in preparation to attack, they eventually come to camp site. The fog has been thinning out the closer they get, until eventually this clearing is here and completely free of the stuff. Definitely unnatural fog.

It appears this site is recently evacuated, there even still being canvas tents up, wooden tables laid out, several running generators that may have been the source of that humming sound, and an inactive Warp Gate, with a wrench or something in the machinery. It keeps clanging every time the workings of the device bang into it. It's obviously a temporary measure to slow pursuit, rather than true sabotage.

People were here, and recently. Someone even failed to take something with them, it seems... A tray on one of the tables with various ferns laid out on it.

There is also a BLACKENED TREE at the center of the site.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Hidden stuff. Important stuff. True Sight, man. Only like, without the regular sight bit. Would be nice to have both at once, but them's the breaks." Eiko doesn't mind talking. Keeps her mind off how much terrible pain she's in from deliberately striking herself in the eye. "Don't see any treasure. Too bad. Seeing some ambush points, but nothin' we can't step around. Might be one up ahead we can't, though, still. Plenty of secret path crap. Can sorta see stuff that's just like, generically hidden by the fog or whatever. Harder to see if isn't important." She shrugs. Her explanation may not actually be totally perfect, but it's her understanding of the thing, and is probably close enough.

    Once they finally reach the place, sadly, she is very nearly blind. Either nothing here is hidden or her magic ran its course, and can't hold that unnatural advantage out of her self-inflicted Curse anymore. Possibly both. Probably just the latter.

    "Eugh, okay, can use that heal now." She's blinking. Her normal sight is coming back on its own, but it's slower than she'd like.

    "What have we got?" Honest question, given that she can't tell. "All I made out clear was that wrench in the thingamajig over there."

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Ryu may have been really gungho about getting ahold of that sample a second ago, but the moment he saw Madara, the bag was stuffed away in a pocket and he retreated as fast as he could manage it, backpeddling away from the shinobi. He may not react quick enough, but he sure tries, and the hand that reaches out for him is met with a swipe of the Bonebreaker sword with one hand as he tries to prevent getting caught in a melee with a very, very dangerous Confederate Elite.

    "AYAKO WE ARE LEAVING!" he shouts as he turns tail to run as fast as he can manage. He fights against the urge to turn into a dragon again, just from the sheer amount of panic this man causes in him. He does not want to be caught with only a pacifist to assist him in this fight. Which is a damn shame, because he'd have an easier time getting away at higher than just a human sprint.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Eiko has to add. "Also, there's a guy over there." Over where? That will still have to wait until she can figure out what she's pointing at. Vaguely in the blackened tree's direction.

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn grins (not that there's anyone to see it), "That's pretty neat." Fiddle with glasses. "And useful. Um. Thanks for being um, willing to do that..."

    Quentyn trails off and his eyes are drawn to the abandoned encampment as the duo arrives, but as soon as he sees the blackened tree he stops dead. He looks around suddenly but carefully, as though looking for someone or something. Then back to the tree. Then the encampment again, eyes resting on the clanging wrench, the abandoned ferns, generators, and all else. And back to the tree.

    Still distracted, he nods to Eiko. The usual hallmarks of spellcasting surrounding the mage, and he puts a palm on her shoulder to impart the spell to remove the blindness: Esuna. Then the white mage repeats it to refresh the Regen spell, just in case.

    And finally back to the tree. "Um... the others, they um, found a tree like that too and--" He looks, trying to find the figure. But Quentyn simply doesn't have the kind of vision Eiko does. "I don't see..." He trails off and asks instead, "Do you um, want to go near it?" It sounds like Quentyn's hoping she'll say no.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
A BLACKENED TREE is here.
SOME FERNS are here.

For the moment, at least, the camp site remains quiet, except for the hum of generators and the clanging of metal on metal. Based off of what Eiko said, and what the others found elsewhere, the BLACKENED TREE might be bad news. Those ferns, though, are still available to collect. And since the job they were hired for was to find out what the cause of the attacks was, and to put a stop to it, it might very well be that collecting evidence they can take back, or possibly destroying the place, could make this trip worth their while.

On the other hand... Weird BLACKENED TREE.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Phew! Okay, back to seeing. "Man, that esuna thing is super useful. Wish I could do that. It'd had a whole new dimension of Not Sucking to my magical strategy." Eiko's still blinking, getting a look around. No comment on the willingness to hurt herself bit. She's too used to it to remember clearly how weird it might look to someone else.

    "Ah. Huh. What's up with that tree, anyway? Pretty sure the dude was like... right /there/." She points again in its direction. "Some dude. Right there. Uh. In the tree?"

    Okay, real question time. What constitutes completion of the investigation? Oh, right. Duh. The investigation of a scene is complete when you've picked up everything that can be carried off, obviously.

    "RIGHT. Let's look for some important shit and jack it." It's LOOTING TIME. If the only thing that catches her eye is the ferns she'll stuff that in her backpack (unless Quentyn has something better on her hand) and be kind of disappointed.

    "Don't think fire would work on that thing. Huhh. Hm. I gotta make a call.

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn can't help but grin. "Um, in Galianda that's why we go out in parties... cover each other for stuff like that." But the grin dies again as he looks back to the tree. "Is there like um... necromancy but with trees and plants?"

    While Quentyn might not be as eager to get looting-- he *is* from Galianda. No objection, the boy just follows along. He does have an ADVENTURE BAG (Ok really it's just a bookbag with gear), should Eiko wish to use him as a mule. On the other hand... his stature is about the opposite of 'sturdy' and he's already got that ridiculous rifle. Ferns are OK but he probably can't carry much more.

    Right. Looking for important shit. Possibly there's some conspicuous documents that reveal all the dastardly details of this operation? Or at least a clue on where to look next? That's the sort of thing Quentyn's keeping an eye out for (when he's not glancing at the tree nervously). The white mage may break away from Eiko just long enough to peek into any tents (especially while she makes a call?), but never for more than a few seconds.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Eiko takes out her cell phone, 'cause she said she had to make a call. Only instead of making a call, she turns on the camera, points it at the Blackened Tree, and then just yells at it. "Yo, jerkface, wake up. I got some magic junk for you to look at. Yo, SABRAM."

    The cell phone's screen is covered in static, which would be kind of weird under any circumstances since it's incapable of picking up any kind of video signal. It's still pointed at the tree. The static remains, and since she's got it on Speaker, a KSHHH is also audible from the sound piece.

    Then a sonorous, male voice intones, "I see it. I assume you wish to know of its Curse." It rumbles, then makes a dismissive sound, "Pfah, simplistic, when stripped of pretense. The puppet drains the tree's life. To what end, is a matter of natures outside My domain. That is all." The call is apparently over, because the static disappears.

    Eiko immediately starts taking pictures, in addition to checking for further loot.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
SUB-TROPICAL SITE

A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

RYAN is here.
AYAKO is here.
NO ANIMALS are here.
CONFEDERATE TROOPS AND RESEARCHERS are GONE.
MADARA UCHIHA is here.

Ryu's attack slices into Madara's arm, gouging it. The rest of the tree falls apart around him, and he begins to walk slowly, methodically, towards the retreating Ryu. Whether he just doesn't feel the need to rush after Ryu - taking his time because he feels he can chase the dragon down whenever he feels like it - or whether he has some other reason for taking it slow is unclear. But that BLACKENED TREE has basically crumbled into dust, and...

...Speaking of dust, that wound on Madara's arm doesn't appear to be regenerating. The dust and dirt that would keep flowing to him to repair his form whenever he was damaged before is absent. Is that perhaps what this is about? Is he here because Bahamut messed him up so badly he needs outside aid to restore himself?

Or maybe this is something else entirely? Who knows!

Unless Ryu and Ayako keep hanging around to ask such questions, however, they may not find out. If they do, then Madara prepares to actually fight them.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is here.
QUENTYN is here.
A BLACKENED TREE is here.
SOME FERNS were here. They're GONE now. (Because they were looted.)

Eiko and Quentyn successfully looted WEIRD FERNS x5. For the time being, it seems that, as long as they don't go near the BLACKENED TREE, it is not going to bother them (except by being weird and creepy). It's almost like there's something in the air here - a sort of tension or presence. It's subdued, mild, weak enough to possibly miss it if one isn't looking for it or already familiar with this specific sensation. But the longer they stay in the area, the stronger it seems to be getting.

There are some sleeping bags still in their tents, when Quentyn examines them. There's even a letter, apparently addressed to a Confederate soldier, from his (or her!) spouse, with a muddy boot print on it. It seems the people here got out in a hurry.

Further examination of evidence by Eiko uncovers a rations bar, several sturdy leashes sized for considerably large creatures, and a mostly-burned piece of paper that may have once been a map. Half of it is now too damaged to be read, but the other half seems to display the forest Eiko is in right now, and circled areas filled with red dots - possibly where those plant creatures are to be found.

That appears to be it.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Okay, so I've got no idea what that 'puppet' mentioned is but I'm gonna guess the thing is Bad News. We got our info and we don't have high explosives--I'm not that kind of Black Mage--and we've got our loot, so let's get the hell out of here. Also, you've got the paper and stuff, so you're writing up our findings. I'm just taking pictures." Mostly because writing sounds tedious and boring. The fact that the job can be traced back to Union interests and Eiko can't submit Union reports is also relevant. Just so long as she gets credited, she doesn't much care what else comes out of this.

    As to the loot, she takes the letter and the map, but not the leashes. She'll pass both to Quentyn for a look, too.

    Once they've gotten everything, it'll be time to get out.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako blinks her eyes quickly when there turns out to be a person inside the tree. And of course, she blinks her eyes quickly again when Ryan shouts out that they're leaving! "A-ahh? Umm... okay."

    Ayako shifts her sitting position on her broomstick, moving forward a good amount and lifting a leg up and over the broomstick to ride the broomstick in the traditional witch style. "Then let's get leaving!" A burst of mist comes from the brush of the broomstick, turning the usual slow-ish pace of the float into a decently fast flying. She flies quickly over to Ryu and keeps up with his retreat. "Hop on if you care for a ride, Ryan!"

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn doesn't read the letter, only looking a bit embarrassed if anyone happens to be watching him. When he comes back Quentyn shakes his head and starts to say, "There's nothing really..."

    Multiverse phones are /WEIRD/. At least, that's what Quentyn's expression says. A hand reachs into his hoodie to scratch the back of his head and he gives a weak smile. "That's pretty useful, to get help like that..." But his eyes drift to the tree once again. "So it is a kind of plant necromancy thing..."

    "Um, anyways, I didn't find anything useful..." He looks at the map curiously, but nodnods in full agreement, "Let's get out of here." The teen doesn't seem to mind getting pinned with writing up things.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
TEMPERATE SITE

The TEMPERATE SITE has towering pines and oaks - a forest of thick fog, dew-soaked long grass, and giant beasts of all description.

EIKO is GONE.
QUENTYN is GONE.
A BLACKENED TREE is here.

Eiko and Quentyn succeed in gathering their evidence and loot, and getting out, without further complications. Which is good, because that unpleasant feeling in the air just keeps ratcheting up an extra notch every minute or so. There's no way that sticking around would be good for their health, and with the map they obtained, they are able to make it out of the forest unmolested by any more plant-things. Though there is, at one point, evidence of a spider the size of a pick-up truck skittering through the woods.

...Nothing healthy about this place at all. At least the fog seems to be thinning out to natural levels.

Madara Uchiha (651) has posed:
SUB-TROPICAL SITE

A rather dim, twilight-hued sky hangs over this tundra-like area, with scrub grass, and smaller plants, though there is also a snowy pine forest, and certain anomalous growths. Animals in the area have mostly been chased off.

RYAN is GONE.
AYAKO is GONE.
NO ANIMALS are here.
CONFEDERATE TROOPS AND RESEARCHERS are GONE.
MADARA UCHIHA is here.

Madara observes as Ryu and Ayako depart with great haste. That is not exactly the preferred outcome. There were supposed to be no witnesses. But he does not have the ability to stray too far from this place right now. At least, on the way back, no more trees animate or attack the pair of Unionites. But with the threat of Madara just appearing at any time, that may be small comfort until they are way far away from here.

At least they obtained information in all this, and dealt with the threat of attack by trees.

Many questions remain, but the answers may yet be found in time.