[SE] The vines are lava!

Before reaching King's End, Edmund found himself traveling through the Oerwoud. Although he had been to the area before, the Tanglefoot was new to him. Even so, he had a feeling the jungle depth wasn't supposed to be this dark. Exploring the area as he went, Edmund kept his hands out. But then something slithered along his arm and the young Ancient flinched. Glancing over he saw a shadowy vine before being hit by a wave of dizziness. Yanking his arm free, Edmund's tail lashed. "What in the world?" Looking around he noticed more of the dark vines. Hearing footsteps nearby he called out, "Be careful! Don't let the vines touch you!" Edmund Reborn In Fire

Sohalia

They were on their way to King's End, and to get there, they were traveling first through the Oerwoud. There were some strange things happening, some odd rumors circulating, and it seemed better to investigate them than to ignore them. So here she was, traipsing through the wilderness, which had almost always been kind to her, with Tarak perched precariously on her shoulder. They hadn't been back to the region since she'd found Tarak as a hatchling, and he peered curiously around as they traversed the undergrowth.

It was quite dark, darker even than Soh remembered the area being when she'd last been here. And quiet - so very, very quiet. It was almost spooky, and Soh was not one to scare easily. She crept forward tenderly, her staff gripped in both hands, her silver gaze flicking this way and that as though she could make out whatever stalked them through the undergrowth. But it was too dark.

Then there was a shout, and Soh felt something brush against her leg, and she shrieked in spite of herself as she stumbled backward. Tarak leapt from her shoulder to breathe fire towards Soh's assailant, and she was surprised to see that it was simply a vine. But this didn't look like the sentient vines of the Oerwoud. No, this was darker and more sinister, and Soh mentally called Tarak back to her shoulder, keeping him away from the angry vines. "Who's there?" she shouted. "If we work together, we can get past the vines!"

Asra grunted as she snagged Trouble away from one of the ominous vines. The young griffin let out a burst of fire and the dark vine writhed angrily before retreating. Something was deeply wrong here and if there was more space, the Attuned would have shifted into her griffin form to set the rest of the vines ablaze. As it was, there were too many vines and other flammable flora around. Beyond that, the darkened vines were too big of an unknown.

Trouble let out a trill at the unfamiliar voices as Asra called out, "I'm here." I'm here, echoed in the bond in case the strangers were fellow Attuned. The voices were young, maybe even teenagers. Letting out a sigh, Asra added, "Come to me."

asra

Patience is a virtue

The voice that called out initially was familiar and Edmund eagerly responded, "Edmund! Is that Sohalia?" He didn't recognize the second voice, nor did they identify themselves. It made the Ancient wary, but the stranger was in the same direction as his guildmate. Dodging another vine as Splat floated erratically to do the same, Edmund made his way forward. "How should we do this? Should we group up and move forward as a unit? That way we can watch each other's backs." He wasn't sure what the best tactic would be but working together would be their only advantage. Splat tried to eat a vine and the young Ancient made a sound of incredulity as he batted his companion away from the flora. Edmund Reborn In Fire

Sohalia

The voice she'd heard was Edmund. Though she didn't know her guildmate as well as she might have liked, she trusted him, and she immediately began trying to fight her way towards him. "Yes, it's Soh," she called back, batting at an angry vine with her staff. Gods, what she wouldn't give for a glaive right about now! Although she'd been considering upgrading to the bladed staff, she'd yet to do so for fear of hurting herself by trying to advance too quickly in her training. Now, though, she regretted her hesitation.

A second voice called out to them - this one, though, Soh didn't recognize, and she immediately paused in her battle to get to Edmund to consider. She was a rather trusting sort, but in the choice between her guildmate and a stranger, she'd always choose her guildmate first. Maybe if she could make her way to Edmund, then they could work towards the stranger together. "Yes, let's try to group up!" she shouted. It would have to be better than taking on the vines alone.

A fraction of tension left Edmund's shoulders at the confirmation of Sohalia's presence. At least there was one person present he knew he could trust. The Luminary agreed to his plan and the young Ancient began to cut the vines in front of him with a drawn dagger, "Alright! I'm heading over, meet me halfway?" The sooner they were united, the easier it would be to fend off the vines. Following the sound of Soh's voice, the young Ancient let out a hiss as one of the vines brushed him. Ripping his arm away, Edmund shook his head to clear away the lingering dizziness. These things were potent. They whipped angrily as he cut them, and it would be a lie to say that the young Ancient wasn't at least a little fearful. Edmund Reborn In Fire

The two youths seem to know each other. Well enough to follow each other's lead at the very least. Turning on her heel she calls out, "My name is Asra. I'm making my way over as well. My companion can burn us a path through the vines." Trouble perched on her shoulder with a pleased squeak, letting out a huff of flame at a vine that got too close. From his previous attempts, it seemed like fire was still a weakness of the vines, regardless of the corruption.

Judging where Sohalia and Edmund roughly were, Asra worked to navigate her way over. Between her knife and Trouble's fire, they had minor trouble. A few vines did manage to get within touching range, but they were swiftly dealt with. Soon enough a burst of fire revealed the silhouette of a woman. "Sohalia, I assume?"

asra

Patience is a virtue

Sohalia

Gods, but she wished she had more blades than the short daggers she wore at her side! Tarak did his best to fend off the vines with his fire, but they just kept coming, more angry and more numerous as time went on. Soh had to admit to some relief when someone appeared by her side - even if it was the stranger rather than her guildmate. "That's me," she said with a grim smile. "It's nice to meet you, Asra, even though I wish it were under better circumstan -"

A vine wrapped around her ankle and jerked, and the girl fell forward, landing on her chest with the wind knocked out of her. Tarak squawked indignantly and flew to her rescue, torching the errant vine as Soh fought to catch her breath and sit up.

Edmund hears talking in the distance and speeds up to reach the others. He cuts through the vines just to witness Soh fall before he can catch her. Tarak deals with the threat swiftly and Splat happily eats up the rest of the dead vine. The young Ancient holds out a hand to help his guildmate up, "Are you ok?" He scans her quickly to assess for any injuries. Noticing Asra, he gives her a tense nod, "My name is Edmund." Eyeing the griffins an idea emerges, "I am capable of controlling fire. If the griffins and I work together, we can likely burn a path through for us to walk. If you two guard our backs, we can get out of her safely. What do you say?" It's not a perfect plan but it's a start. Edmund Reborn In Fire

So this was Sohalia. Wonderful. "Likewise." The vines do not let themselves be ignored for long and the Luminary goes down. Trouble shoots forward to help Tarak although the other griffin has it handled just as the last teen arrives. He introduces himself and Asra gives a sharp nod, "I am Asra."

She eyes Edmund's horns and gives another nod, "Very well. Your plan might work. We can try it." Trouble picks up on his bonded's intentions and flies over to perch on the young Ancient's shoulder eyeing Splat as he does so. Trouble would be angry if anyone touched his bonded. Who knows if the darkling is the same?

Curling a tail around Edmund's neck, Trouble lest a small puff of fire. He's ready.

asra

Patience is a virtue

Sohalia

Well, ending up on the ground wasn't the most dignified position for the young Heart to be in, but she'd take it over being dead. She hurried to stand, coughing slightly as her breath caught up with the rest of her. "Yes, I'm fine," she assured Edmund, blushing faintly with embarrassment. Gods, he must be thinking she wasn't much of a guildmate, if she couldn't even keep her feet!

Still, she nodded agreement to his plan. Tarak, returning to perch on her shoulder, squawked his agreement as well. And then they were ready. At the appointed cue, Tarak leapt from his bonded's shoulder to begin belching fire towards the vines. Soh kept her attention focused behind them, smacking vines as needed with her staff. When she got home, she was getting a glaive. It would be much better for this kind of work, and never again did she want to be this defenseless!

Edmund's only concern is Sohalia's wellbeing and with confirmation that she's ok, he lets out a sigh, "I'm glad to hear that." Both women agree to his plan and the Ancient sends Trouble a small smile at the griffin's enthusiasm. Splat sends waves of jealousy and angrily reverberates in a circle around the duo. Sending images of Splat eating vines calms the darkling down enough to enact the plan. "Let's go." Tarak gets them started and the group is off. Trouble supplies Edmund with ample fire and the Ancient works in tandem with the griffins to burn a path. Splat circles around the duo's heads, chomping any vines that get close enough for him to snack on. Edmund's still not sure if it's the best course of action but if it keeps the darkling from attacking the griffins, he'll allow it for now. Edmund Reborn In Fire

Sohalia is unharmed and the plan is quickly set into motion. Asra restrains a grin at the emotions radiating to her from Trouble. The young griffin is feeling quite pleased with himself and his important role in their escape, feathers practically puffing up with pride. The flickers of awe that Tarak inspires in Trouble are precious. It seems that Asra's companion has found a role model.

The older Attuned however doesn't let her companion distract her. She has an important role to play and as a vine strikes out to harm the others, Asra flashes her knife and cuts it down. It disturbingly lets out a hiss as it falls and the Attuned makes sure to step over its fallen form.

asra

Patience is a virtue

Sohalia

Sohalia was perhaps the least useful of their group. Tarak and Trouble breathed their fire, incinerating any vines in their path. Edmund joined them, and Asra hacked at the vines with knives. Even Splat chomped at the vines.

And Sohalia? Well, she hit the vines. With the blunt end of her staff.

Which, honestly, worked about as well as one might expect.

At first, it seemed to be going alright. She would smack at the vines, and they would retreat. But then, seemingly, they realized that her actions weren't actually hurting them, and they began to swarm for her in earnest. One vine was particularly intent upon her staff; every time she batted at it, it tried to wrap itself around the weapon and yank it from Soh's grip. Fortunately, opposable thumbs are more useful in holding onto things than vine tendrils, and the girl was able to keep her weapon.