Tal met Alys's eyes and both his brows went up, trying to convey something, but there was no way to do it discreetly with everyone gathered right there. He pulled down his mask, pretending to scratch his nose, and mouthed a silent Later to her before going down the list of tasks.
He wasn't surprised when Sohalia took to the air, leading the winged Attuned and some bold climbers to tag the vines. As they darted through the canopy the rotting violet nether vines stood out amidst the return of the lush green growth that was the Oerwoud's natural state. The work was slow as they traversed the thick leaves of healthy growth, pushing through the networks of branches and normal vines that were returning to the area, but soon the Oerwoud was dotted with flashes of pink and cyan in the canopy.
Alys and her team had a more difficult time, even though their targets were the largest and should have been the easiest. The great trunks of the Void Horror that connected its vines and roots were surprisingly well-hidden behind curtains of greenery that masked their presence. She often had to wait for the vine crew to mark a collection of vines and then use those to pinpoint the trunk that they had sprung from.
And then there was Team Himbo. "Sure do--hey!" Tal looked over his shoulder at Alys, giving a helpless shrug as he was hustled towards the peepholes. "I'm comin', I'm comin'!" he assured his friend, slowing enough to throw an arm aroundKoa's shoulders as they headed down into the Undergrove to begin tagging Void Guardian roots. "An' I didn't know!" he protested once they were safely out of earshot. "Not til after I'd already told you. Are you an' her really that mad at each other?" In spite of the distraction of their conversation, the Void-infected roots were much easier to pick out than the vines and the boys made swift work of their own tagging expedition.
As everyone returned to their makeshift HQ a few hours later, Tal was unpacking the saws, machetes, and torches for their next task. "Okay, now that we've found 'em, we need to cut 'em all down and bring 'em all here," he instructed, handing out the tools. "Let's focus on th'vines an'roots first. Th'trunks'll be hardest so let's do those later." He looked around at the safety-clad team to make sure everyone was listening. "Th'last thing we want is Void-sap soakin' in more'n it already has, so light a torch an' use it t'seal off any cuts y'make as quick as y'can, okay?"
Looks like we've found all the pieces, now it's time to dismantle this thing! Split into two teams - one to take down the vines, and one to bring up the roots. Use fire to cauterize your cuts so the Void stuff doesn't bleed out everywhere!
He wasn't surprised when Sohalia took to the air, leading the winged Attuned and some bold climbers to tag the vines. As they darted through the canopy the rotting violet nether vines stood out amidst the return of the lush green growth that was the Oerwoud's natural state. The work was slow as they traversed the thick leaves of healthy growth, pushing through the networks of branches and normal vines that were returning to the area, but soon the Oerwoud was dotted with flashes of pink and cyan in the canopy.
Alys and her team had a more difficult time, even though their targets were the largest and should have been the easiest. The great trunks of the Void Horror that connected its vines and roots were surprisingly well-hidden behind curtains of greenery that masked their presence. She often had to wait for the vine crew to mark a collection of vines and then use those to pinpoint the trunk that they had sprung from.
And then there was Team Himbo. "Sure do--hey!" Tal looked over his shoulder at Alys, giving a helpless shrug as he was hustled towards the peepholes. "I'm comin', I'm comin'!" he assured his friend, slowing enough to throw an arm around
As everyone returned to their makeshift HQ a few hours later, Tal was unpacking the saws, machetes, and torches for their next task. "Okay, now that we've found 'em, we need to cut 'em all down and bring 'em all here," he instructed, handing out the tools. "Let's focus on th'vines an'roots first. Th'trunks'll be hardest so let's do those later." He looked around at the safety-clad team to make sure everyone was listening. "Th'last thing we want is Void-sap soakin' in more'n it already has, so light a torch an' use it t'seal off any cuts y'make as quick as y'can, okay?"
Looks like we've found all the pieces, now it's time to dismantle this thing! Split into two teams - one to take down the vines, and one to bring up the roots. Use fire to cauterize your cuts so the Void stuff doesn't bleed out everywhere!
