Paths of the Chosen

Ysbail
The Realms
Secondday, 4th week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1
Early Afternoon
The Labyrinth, First Stratum: Viridescent Treetops

"Shit!" Ysbail barely got her sword up in time to deflect a spray of fluids from the monster. She didn't know what would happen if she got drenched, but it wouldn't be good. Breath weapon attacks never were. Sure enough, when she flicked her blade to the side to clean it, the tree started to sizzle where the spray of liquid landed.

The creature scuttle-slithered towards her, dragging itself forward on its spindly legs while its tail pushed it along. It wasn't fast, but its sheer mass meant that it would flatten anyone who tried to get in its way. Normally that would call for having Anwn and Wulfryn wear it down with ranged attacks while she, Ceirios, and Labhruinn kept out of its reach, but that acid spray attack meant it could respond in kind. They also didn't have much room to maneuver around it, especially without heading into unexplored territory and risking hitting a dead end.

"Fall back!" Ysbail called. The decision was a hard one—she burned to clear her Quest after so long—but there were too many risks. This monster was entirely new to her, so she had no idea what to expect from it. Coupled with its oppressive Aura, she wasn't confident that her party could take it without suffering casualties. Powerful Auras didn't always mean powerful monsters, but it was a tighter correlation when applied purely to predators.

Arrows whizzed by over Ysbail's head, puncturing the monster's pale, oily hide like toothpicks into a marshmallow, and without any more apparent effect. Wulfryn's shadow zones weren't faring any better; the crushing tendrils couldn't seem to get a grip around the creature's bulk. "Retreat!" Ysbail shouted again, then wheeled and followed her own order. Everyone except herself, Labhruinn, and Ceirios's golem were already inside the tree trunk tunnel, and a moment later, only the summon remained outside.

Seconds later, a thousand-fanged maw appeared at the tree's exit. The monster screeched and wailed as it tried to force its way into the tunnel, but it was simply too large to fit. Anwn fired a pair of arrows down its throat, but that didn't seem to bother it any more than her earlier attacks had. Ysbail waved the party around the bend in the tunnel, not wanting to risk the monster spraying acid in such narrow confines. "Ideas?" she asked.

"It is resistant to piercing attacks," Anwn observed, "inside and out. My arrows are dealing a tenth of their usual damage. I am afraid that, unless we can find a way around that resistance, I will not be much use against it. It is named an Arboreal Devourer, by the way."

"It is not very fast," Wulfryn offered. "We could just try running past it once it gets bored and wanders off." Her statement was undercut by another shriek from the Devourer.

Ysbail nodded. "We could, and we might have to, but I do not like the idea of running past a dangerous enemy into unexplored territory. Lady Brighid did supply me with an Escape Token, so we would be able to escape a dead-end path, but I would rather save it if possible."

"Did not see any eyes on it," Labhruinn noted. "Ears neither. It might be possible to sneak past."

"Ooh, wait," Wulfryn exclaimed. "It noticed us when we came out of the tree, but it only attacked when you stepped on the leaves, Captain."

Ysbail frowned and reviewed her memories. She was right; the Devourer hadn't moved from its resting place until she'd approached it. "I wonder," she mused, "does its passage make the leaves fall as well? We might be able to trap it."

"Or we could simply leave it be," Ceirios noted. "If it is acting in defense of its territory, then there is no need for us to fight it. It destroyed my golem in two hits; I am not entirely confident in my ability to piece all of us back together if it came down to it. You and Labhruinn might be able to trade attacks with it, but the rest of us would be in bad shape at best."

Ysbail nodded. "We need to remember that this is a Dungeon, not an ecosystem. This Devourer may be a warning to unwary adventurers that fighting is not always the solution. Something tells me that we will see more of them as we go deeper. Alright," she started to say, then paused while the Arboreal Devourer screamed at them again. "Alright, if we can get this thing to back off, we can try to sneak past it. Maybe if we fall back far enough, it will give up its attempt at pursuit?"

In the end, they had to retreat several hundred feet before the Devourer's bellows ceased. The party waited another few minutes to be sure before doubling back. Sure enough, when Ysbail peeked, the spider-leech rested in its original position at the corner of a patch of leaves. Further, the canopy looked considerably more barren than it had at first, with the nearest section bare of leaves.

Ysbail looked back at the group, placed a finger to her lips, and gestured them onward. As soon as they stepped out onto the branch, the Devourer perked up, and its oppressive Aura enveloped them, but it made no move to attack. They hurried past it, more than half-expecting it to scuttle after them, but it remained passive. The branch split into a T-intersection, and after a moment's hesitation, Ysbail led them south and through another tree. Wulfryn's Darksight Boon gave them the ability to see through the gloom, and she was pretty sure she'd spotted the other end of a shortcut here earlier. Sure enough, the branch ended in a bridge, which they wasted no time tipping over to secure the route.

"That was nerve-wracking," Ceirios complained, shivering.

"Good information, though," Labhruinn added, "and we can bypass the beastie now."

"I think the other way leads to the stairs!" Wulfryn cut in, voice full of excitement. "I took a peek as we passed by."

Ysbail smiled. "Well, shall we go see?"

 

 

The "stairs" were actually a long, curving ramp that spiraled down into the darkness within the tree's trunk. Finally, after almost five minutes of walking, the path leveled out and emerged into the gloomy forest once again.

 

 

"Wait, it wants us to fight three of those things?" Ceirios asked.

Ysbail started to reply, but Wulfryn beat her to the punch. "No, the objective is not to kill them but to nullify their threat. There must be some way to pacify or control them."

"Well, if you have any ideas on how, this would be a good time," Anwn said, gesturing to the path in front of them. The branch they were on dipped under a leafy patch before curving around to the south—and another Devourer sat in the northwest corner. They would have to step onto the leaves to progress, which meant the monster would come after them.

"Sorry," the harpy looked down and pulled her wings in tight against her body.

"No need to apologize," Ysbail said, patting the girl's head. Ooh, soft, she thought, taking a moment to run her fingers through the girl's blue-black crest. Wulfryn froze at her touch. "You are right; the Quest does not call for us to kill them, although I would bet that would work. Unfortunately, I do not think we have the information needed for the intended solution yet, and I still have no desire to fight them. This one is not positioned to block our way forward—" she frowned, looking at the path again, "—but it may impede our return. I will leave it up to the rest of you: should we continue, knowing that we might have to use the Escape Token to return home, or call it a day?"

"There is a shortcut across the way," Anwn noted. "If we can find our way there, it offers us a safe route back."

"I—" Ceirios started to say, then swallowed and continued, "I still have the resources to continue, although I would not mind being done for the day."

"I want to keep going," Wulfryn said. Ysbail realized that her fingers were still running through the girl's feathers, and she jerked her hand back to her side. Wulfryn glanced at her, then blushed when their eyes met and looked away. "I still have a lot of Concentration left, and we still have a long way to go, right?"

"We do, but we have time," Ysbail confirmed.

"I vote we head back for the day," Anwn said. "I can keep going, but Born-of-Thunder and Watches-the-Sun-Rise are getting hungry and restless." The two wolves sat beside Anwn, panting with their tongues lolling out of their mouths.

"I could take a break," Labhruinn admitted. "I think it is up to you, lass," he said to Ysbail, who looked over her team.

She wanted to press on, to dive as deep as she could. Her Prestige Class Quest had been taunting her for years now, and now, finally, she had a way to complete it. Ysbail wanted to cut loose, leading her party to glory and renown, but she had to consider the others. Ceirios, in particular, despite saying she could continue, looked like her nerves were shot. Wulfryn was eager to proceed, but something told her that the harpy wasn't one to pay much attention to her own limits. She was the type who would push themselves until they dropped from exhaustion—not unlike Ysbail herself in that regard.

"We accomplished my objective for the day," Ysbail conceded with a sigh. "And we do not have much room left for loot anyway. Alright, back we go. We can schedule the next trip once we get back into Ceallach Macht."

Wulfryn looked disappointed but voiced no complaint other than to say, "Does that mean we have to walk all the way back up that ramp? Do you mind if I fly up and meet you at the top?"

Ysbail chuckled and waved her on.

 

---

 

Ysbail
The Realms
Secondday, 4th week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1
Mid-Afternoon
Ceallach Macht, Mistvale Highlands

"Ah, the sun, my mortal enemy!" Wulfryn exclaimed as they emerged from the tunnel into Caer Macht. "It feels like a week since you dared bare your face to me!"

Ysbail chuckled and shook her head. The kid was having fun, and she'd done well in the Labyrinth; let her have her eccentricities. "Good job, everyone," she said. "I think we can all agree that today was a success. We will not have the benefit of Lord Aidan's map going forward, however, so progress will be slower. With that in mind, I would like to set up a regular schedule for our continued delving. Any objections?"

The others shook their heads. "Anwn and I have obligations to the Council," Ceirios cautioned, "and our own business to attend to. How frequently were you thinking?"

"How about every Secondday, Fifthday, and Seventhday until Lord Aidan returns? Is that too frequent?"

The two Councillors shook their heads. "It will mean I cannot roam far from the city," Anwn said, "but I am still learning the lay of the land anyway."

"That should not interfere," Ceirios agreed, "as long as nothing unexpected comes up."

"Well, you just ruined it, lass," Labhruinn laughed. "That right there guarantees some fresh crisis will strike inside a week." The rest of the party joined him in his mirth, even Ceirios.

"Next order of business: loot! Does anyone have any particular use for anything we found? If not, I can handle it all this evening and give you each your split when we meet next." They hadn't found anything of practical use in their trip aside from a few potions in a chest, which Ysbail declared party resources rather than loot. Everything else came in the form of crafting materials.

"Nah," Labhruinn said, "not much of interest to me. You can just add it to my tab, Ysbail." The others gave similar responses.

"Alright, then we are done for today. I will see you all an hour after dawn, three days from now." Anwn, Ceirios, and Labhruinn said their goodbyes and headed out into the city. Wulfryn, however, stayed put after the others left.

"Um, Captain?" she asked. "What should I do until Fifthday?"

Ysbail blinked at her. "Whatever you want, Wulfryn. I have no say in what you do outside the Labyrinth. And why are you calling me Captain all of a sudden?"

Wulfryn bit her lip and looked up at Ysbail through her lashes. "Major Cynehild detached me to your command, so that makes you at least a Captain. Until you are done with me, I do not have any other jobs. So, um, orders, ma'am?"

"Heh. Go find something fun to do, kid. Life is not all orders and structure."

Still, Wulfryn hesitated. She stared at Ysbail until a tremble made its way through her, and she blurted out, "Please train me!" Wulfryn leaned forward, a torrent of words spilling from her now that the floodgates were open. "You were so amazing in there! All woosh and schwing and kapow! And that Devourer did not intimidate you at all, I could tell, even though it made me want to run away! Please, Captain, teach me how to be like you!"

Ysbail arched one of her eyebrows. This was unexpected. Still, the girl had potential, and it would be good practice for her—and a diplomatic coup for Lord Aidan if it worked out well. She grinned at the raven-winged girl and laced her hands together, rolling her shoulders as she cracked her knuckles. "Alright, Wulfryn, you asked for it. You get to be the second person through Ysbail's Ultimate Badass Training, results guaranteed as long as you see it through to the end."

Wulfryn looked both ecstatic and a little frightened. Good, that was the proper attitude. "Yes, ma'am!" she replied. "Um, who was the first, if I may ask, Captain ma'am?"

"Why, me, of course!" Ysbail answered with a laugh. "Now come on, we have plenty of time before the sun sets."