• Event • Lost in the Cold Trial 2

[Ent]

11th Cylus, Arc 717

They had been walking all night, the search mostly fruitless, finding only the occasional foot prints protected by an extra thick tree trunk or tall evergreen bush. If it were another season the sun would be rising now but as it was Cylus they would be unaware of just how long they had been walking without finding much to go on. The group were, however, covering a lot of ground and making great progress, if they were to find anything it would certainly be soon.

Drenched through the group would be beginning to feel the worst of the Makubwa Lori. Throughout the rest of the arc the weather in the forest was quite agreeable, but during Cylus the place became a death trap. Walking through the freezing rain, although ill advised, was the only option for the four volunteers. Thus far they were all coping well, besides Asari, she had not dressed quite well enough and now her exposed head and hands would be freezing. Her pale skin was red as it was blasted by the cold droplets and also blushed to try and counteract the cold and it would be icy to the touch. However, she was still going strong, even if she should be beginning to become a concern of her companions.

As for the other three, they had been well prepared and although the rain was beginning to get the whole way through their clothes. Even if that water would be relatively warm, it would make them feel sticky and uncomfortable. This uncomfortable feeling would most likely make them become more on edge. The mix of the tiredness, the pressure they were under and the discomfort, would be enough to make anyone frustrated and short tempered. Just the trial before there had been a small altercation between the two ladies in the group, one would only hope that another did not break out now. If one did it may not be as little a problem, making sure there were no fights would be important now.

"We must getting close, me no believe she make much further and be live. She must hide somewhere near or we find body." Kata was beginning to lose hope, they had come so far and small amounts of proof had continued to be revealed but that had kept them going before. Now in this wet and cold state Kata needed something more than some rare footsteps, he needed more fur or a shoe, anything if he was to keep his mentality positive. "Maybe Vega be good, we call her maybe she call back." He looked at the woman hoping administering her idea now was not too late of a solution for finding the girl.

Off Topic

Please reply to this within the next 3 days. Anyone who misses this reply will be skipped but can still continue the thread in the next round. If there are any serious reasons you could not reply let me know and I may be able to wait for you. Please only one post between mod posts. Enjoy!

[Vega]

Trial 2

       

It was cold and wet and miserable going and they'd been going for breaks. Vega had shared with any who wished it the small flask of whiskey she had, in the hope that small sips might keep them warm. It wouldn't keep them dry, but at least three of them had done as much as they could to keep as dry as possible, but this place was a death trap and then some. The freezing rain soaked through everything, she was cold, hungry and the kind of sticky-unpleasant soaked to the skin which made her really irritable.

She'd kept an eye on the others in the group throughout the night, just glancing at each of them and watching out for them, making sure that they were still standing, moving alright, noticing any changes in them. Asari was doing the worst of the four of them but Vega said nothing about that, keeping her thoughts to herself. She'd shared them when she thought they'd be helpful but now, they wouldn't be so she said nothing.

When Kata spoke, though, Vega jumped slightly and her eyes were a deep rose pink flecked with dark purple as she looked at him. "She's alive. This is rescue, not body recovery. Why? Because I say so and I'm grumpy and cold so I must be right. Best case scenario or bust, tally ho and hey nonny nonny. Alright?" Whatever half of those things meant, she said them with a very genuine smile on her face as she looked at Kata. "Don't you go losing hope, you're the one that we're all following. She's alive and close by and we're going to save her. Xiur is the Immortal of Hope. Of stars, too, and Biqaj, we know the stars in ways you land folks don't. So, by Xiur's light and in his name, any other one you fancy but he's the one for me, Rin'ea is alive and I'm gonna carry her home, or you're gonna carry me, alright?" She raised an eyebrow at Kata and motioned to herself. "And not only am I taller than you, but I have been likened to an elephant just lately, so you don't want to be carrying me. She's alive."

As she had done in an entirely different circumstance Vega stood and gave herself a shake. She'd been allowing herself to get into a groove of just one foot in front of the next foot. The only difference to the Biqaj girl between a grave and a groove was the depth and so she spoke. "Xiur and U'frek are our guiding lights on the water, sea and stars. He's clouds and dusk and he's those people who do not give up hope even at the darkest moment. My mother worshipped him, so I'm told, and I'm figuring that we do this in his name. So no one mentions dead bodies again or I get testy, and Arlo here will tell you, I'm a handful when I'm riled." She grinned at Arlo, as much in an attempt to garner some support and chivvy along this moment.

As for calling, she nodded. "Silence is bad for us, bad for her. She hears us and you know what? If there's animals then we sound like there's more of us. We sound stronger than we feel. Bring them on." And so, shout her name as loud as she could every time, count to ten, next person shouts. Vega was once again determined and she stopped putting one foot in front of the other and started walking purposely to make sure that they found the girl. Always keeping an eye out for tracks, either Rin'ea-sized ones or others, clues which might help or things that could be clues but weren't.

 

[Arlo Creede]

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Arlo couldn't remember a time that he'd been quite so miserable. Soaked through nearly to the skin, somehow a rivulet of ice cold water had found its way past the hood on his cloak, had skirted around the brim of his hat somehow and had trickled down his back, making him shudder.

He wouldn't ordinarily have accepted a swig from Vega's flask. But then she wouldn't ordinarily have offered it to him. The only whiskey he'd ever taken had been a splash of it in his cooking. But desperate measures and all. It helped.

If he'd been unusually quiet at points during the long search, he was still engaged though he might not seem it. Lyova, immune to the cold and weather, had kept up a nearly constant chatter that only he could hear. It helped too, and well the fairy had known that it would. He glanced now and then at the others, partly to keep them in his line of sight. But also to make sure that no one had stumbled or fallen too far behind.

He stopped only briefly, once, and pulled a small trinket from his pocket. One of the large, curled teeth from the beast he and Vega had killed some trials ago. He'd strung it on a rough strand of leather taken from its hide, and there in the miserable rain he looped the thing on a small branch beside the path. An offering to Cassion, or maybe for another traveler to stumble across, and he offered up a small prayer to the Immortal before moving on.

Cassion wasn't exactly the patron Immortal for nearly hopeless causes or lost children. But if he was feeling charitable, he might at least look on kindly enough to nudge their feet and send them traveling in the right direction. Maybe he'd even join up with Xiur and U'frek. It didn't hurt to ask and when Vega glanced his way, he shrugged and grinned. He could only agree, it didn't pay to rile her.

At any rate, hopefully her efforts had done their guide's outlook some good. And so the young man would carry on, calling out when his turn came and listening in between. And all the while, searching for any sign on the ground or around them. Some sign that might tell them the girl was nearby, or had passed the same way before them.

[Asari Rosacea]

The night had been long, and daunting. Cold and tired, Asari had continued to search with the others- constantly wishing she could have been in her true form, but stubbornly remaining human. The only relief from the cold was when Vega offered whiskey. Approaching her for it, observing her strange, slightly glowing skin, Asari gave a sheepish smile as she took the flask. A swig of the warm liquid made Asari sigh, giving an appreciative nod as she handed it back. As she turned and walked away, returning to her distance, the night continued on.

As dawn came, Asari could feel her feet beginning to drag. As a result, at one point she tripped over a root, and almost immediately fell down into the mud with a grunt. Her pants and hands covered in the mud, Asari blew her bangs out of her eyes with a sigh of irritation. It took her a minute, wary from all the searching, to push herself back to her feet and keep going.

Break after break, they searched. Asari began to sniffle, nose running from the cold. But she pulled her sleeves down further over her hands, and every so often rubbed her face, keeping her circulation up. She was hell bent on not letting herself slow them down. She was also making a plan to go clothes shopping when they got back to Desnind, for gloves and a coat that had a hood.

As the morning wore on, and they all began to get hungry, Asari decided it was time to bring out what she had. She had brought apples, in case Rin’ea was hungry, but at this point she knew that they all needed the strength of some food. “Arlo, catch!” She called out as she tossed him one, followed by Kata, then, finally, handing one to Vega, who she was closest too. Luckily, she had exactly four, and she bit into hers with a crunch.

Listening as Kata began to give up hope, Asari’s spirited plummeted. She didn’t want to believe that Rin’ea was dead. She wanted to believe that, by some miracle, the little girl had found shelter and kept warm. But she also knew that this was the deadliest season, in one of the deadliest places. Even she, with her job as a Herbalist, never ventured this far into the forest alone. It wasn’t until Vega spoke that she had to try and keep her hope up. If she started giving up on Rin’ea, a bad result was even more likely.

“Vega is right.” Asari spoke up, giving a smile to the redhead. “You pray to Moseke, Kata?” It was a natural assumption, given he was a Sev’ryn. “Well, she covers life. If you want that little girl to be alive, ask Moseke. Personally, I’m praying to Audrae. That little girl is in the dark somewhere, and if she is somewhere light can’t reach in these big, dark woods… well, shadows is Audrae’s domain.” Of course, Audrae approved of shadows, but… she was just someone Asari instantly thought to pray to. Perk of being a Naerikk, she supposed.

They kept moving, with the exception of Arlo pausing to leave his offering to Cassion. Asari picked up the calling, waiting, calling, waiting, calling. After another break or two, the Naerikk was plenty frustrated. Maybe we’re not calling loud enough. She thought- more out of spite that they’d been going so long and finding nothing.

Bunching up her hands, when it was time for her to call again, Asari summoned all the air she had, and she shrieked as loud and as shrill as she could. “RIN’EEEEAAAAA~!” Probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but Asari wanted to find something, to get some kind of response- anything. She fell silent as her loud, long scream echoed through the forest. Her heartbeat quickened, holding her breath as she listened in the forest.

And her shoulders slumped, a hand coming up to rub down her cold face, eyes closing warily.

We’re never going to find her with just the four of us in this massive place.

[Ent]

Kata accepted the apple from Asari as the rain poured around them, his hope was all but gone and he welcomed the distraction it gave him. The sweet juices that were contained within the hard shell were certainly something to take your mind off of the freezing cold around them. Apples made him think of warmer seasons where fruit was more readily available. He did have some food in his own pack, but he was not hungry enough yet to go through those rations. "Thank you, Asari." He said as he began to devour the offering.

Kata could find no words to reply to Vega's short speech, and instead just nodded. He would have appeared dumbfounded by her sudden outburst, it was like she had become someone different. To him she appeared more like the leader of the group than any of the people there. Her words managed to bring up a small ounce of hope that had been hidden away somewhere and so he returned to soldiering on with the rest of them.

They would soon see something seem to materialise out of nothingness. The darkness of Cylus often did that, things that were seconds before invisible would appear out of thin air. It was a somewhat large rise in the ground, lower than a building but clearly some form of natural hill. As they approached they would soon discover its true identity was a small hill with a large cave opening in the front.

"I never see cave before, I guess new land for me here." Kata looked into its opening curiously as he faced the rest of the group. He closely examined the floor of the entrance, noticing some small footprints, they were made in a dry and hard dirt and he could barely make them out in the darkness. Yet from touch he managed to come to a conclusion that they were either the small girl or some small animals footprints. "Look" He pointed to the tracks and smiled.

His hopes were rising again as he looked to the other three companions. "What you want do, I say go in she may be inside, hidden in dark protect from elements." He seemed happy and excited not only from his tone but from the liveliness and fidgeting that came over his body.

[Vega]

Trial 2

       

She nodded her head and smiled when Asari gave her an apple. "Thanks," was all she said, but her smile was genuine as her pink and green eyes watched the woman. Vega's personal determination to keep going was very much in force and when Kata just nodded at her, she took it as a sign that he was behaving himself and wouldn't be carrying her home. She smiled at him, encouragingly.

As Arlo knew, Vega has a somewhat unfortunate tendency to say it how she saw it and that was often the cause of her being brash to the point of obnoxious. But in situations like this, sometimes that was no bad thing and so she just stubbornly held on to what she believed.

When the cave came into view, Vega gave a smile and she looked at the tracks. But then, when Kata suggested going in, she shook her head. "No. No rushing in now. We have to be sensible to keep her safe. If she's in there, then she's heard us shouting. So why hasn't she come out? Might be she's injured, or asleep. But it might also be that there's a twelve foot tall thing with claws in there and if we charge in and spook it one of us might get hurt. Or Rin'ea might. So we play it smart."

She suspected Arlo knew the tactic already, but the others didn't. "Right. I've got a sword, you've got a whip, you two are ranged. I know you've got a sword, Arlo, but you're better with the bow, yes?" Vega considered and then said. "What I suggest we do is we go in, but not together." What use a whip would be in combat, Vega had no idea and she figured that it would be as likely to hit her as anyone else at close range. At range, though? Then it could be useful. "So, you're both ranged. Kata, I think you are too." Vega would prefer it if they went in pairs, to be frank, but she couldn't fight well enough to kill something beastly and protect someone else. They had to keep focused.

"Kata. You're range only, yes? So you three stay back, but only so far back that you've got the range you need. I'll go in front with my sword," which she was pretty good with, in fairness. Getting better by the trial, too. "And we hope that we never needed to plan it." With a smile in case anyone decided to argue, Vega pointed out the other thing which, to her mind, made this entirely logical. "Also, I'll take off my coat. You can see the glow of my blood. Makes me easier to spot. We stay in eyesight of one another and if there is anything big and bad in there, we fight it till it's dead." No one alone, no one out of sight. That was what she wanted to make sure of.

She shot Arlo a grin at that, he knew her inclination would be that, if she fell, he ran and that would almost certainly translate to the others here. She didn't put that forward as a viewpoint, though, preferring to keep it focused. Looking at the three of them, unless there were any objections, Vega would do exactly that. "And I'm gonna call her. Because with us shouting, anything in there has heard us, too. Weapons out, ready to battle and pray we don't have to."

 

[Arlo Creede]

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"When Asari offered him the apple, he took it and thanked her. Then polishing it a bit on his damp cloak, he took a bite or two while they walked. The natural sugar helped to revive him just a little. Though there was no chance of drifting off on his feet in such miserable weather.

It was all the time spent along with the misery, without finding much worthwhile. That was the thing that could get to anyone hoping for better results than they'd gotten so far. Clearly it had taken its toll on Kata. But it didn't surprise him that Vega spoke up and stepped forward. It was her nature, something that Arlo knew all too well. And it had served them all well, he realized when they happened upon the cave.

With rivulets of water running off the brim of his hat, the young man crouched down on the balls of his feet and examined the tracks. Was there one set, or more? Either way, it seemed reasonable that the girl was in there somewhere.

Or at least had been at some point. Now Vega's idea was a good one. Except that Arlo disagreed. But of course he did. Would she have expected anything else? "No one goes in alone, right? That includes you," he insisted.

"I'm a fair hand with a bow, but I'm just as good at grappling and even better at maneuvers meant to distract." She'd remember he was sure, the beast they'd taken down together. And mostly, it wasn't a bow that had done it. "Two by two," he said, meaning that he was going with her, whether she liked it or not. "Look here, Kata, I've got a lantern." With Vega lit up in the dark and him with Lyova to see by, the guide might not need it. But just in case they became separated, he pulled the lantern out of his rucksack, lit it with the aid of the shelter provided by the cave's entrance, and handed it to Kata.

But if Vega was leading the way, whether she liked it or not, Arlo was going with her. Him with a readied bow in his hand, and Lyova, who he encouraged to go ahead of them just a little for a light to follow, and maybe report back to him what she was seeing.

[Asari Rosacea]

When they came across the cave, Asari had just finished her apple, swallowing a large chunk of it that slid painfully down her throat. A dark cave in the middle of this dangerous forest… Right, no need to be scared or anything. She thought as they came to a stop, frowning into the darkness. Don’t get her wrong- Asari loved the dark. There was a comfort in it, she supposed. Yet as she listened to her companions talking it over, she could feel her own dread. Even as Arlo brought out a lantern, Asari could see very clearly how this could go wrong.

If they were to lose that light when in the midst of darkness- like if the lantern went out or was dropped from his hands or something- Asari was nervous on if it’d be dark enough to force her to change. Even with Vega’s glow… Even if it was enough to not force her to change, it would be awfully tempting. Especially if they came across a nasty creature- fighting in her shadow form was always better. At least, in her opinion. She felt more… invincible. That was far from the truth, but it was the comfort of being in her natural form that gave her that opinion.

Even so, Asari frowned at Vega. “I know how to fight with more than just my whip.” She defended her own abilities. Not only did she know how to use her hands, but Asari rolled up one of her sleeves just enough to show the glint of a hidden dagger, strapped to her arm with a spring loaded mechanism. “Don’t count me out just because I’m short and cute. I have a few tricks up my sleeves, as they saying goes.” She joked lightly, pulling her sleeve back into place.

Asari couldn’t help it- she rolled her eyes as Arlo insisted on going with Vega. Regular boy hero over here. She thought absently, commenting, “Chances are, we won’t find anything thing. But if we’re going to risk it anyway, we best get going.”

With that in mind, the Naerikk took a deep breath, pulled her barbed whip off her belt to have it ready and in hand, and followed them into the cave.

[Ent]

Kata had little say in their choices and he gave little comment to any of them. He had no better options himself, all he saw before him was a cave and the footprints of the girl. There was no doubt in his mind, even if he had to go alone he would go into the cave to find her. "We go together, no stay out no go alone." He made an executive decision there, seeing as Arlo was the only one with light and the outside was just as dangerous as inside.

"Let us go." He waved for the group to enter and he would in this case take up the rear carrying the lantern Arlo gave him. Being at the front of the group inside the cave was not a sensible idea for him, his bow would be no use if something jumped out. However, he did take it from his back and knock an arrow ready for use. He wanted to be ready even if useless at too close range, the only possibility for him would be to use his arrows as stabbing weapons if any unsavoury types got close.

As the group entered something did happen to catch Kata's eye and while the rest of the group continued unaware he stopped. Turning around and stepping back to the entrance, kneeling and examining the floor as if he saw something. It took him a few bits to truly realise what he was looking at, and his eyes widened a little as his mind struggled to work again. He couldn't find the words and suddenly even if he could have he wouldn't have wanted to shout them into the cave.

Meanwhile unaware of Kata's delay or what he had found the three volunteers had continued further into the cave, following vega's faint weak glow, barely existent as the few remnants of light made it down the cave. However, even with the little glow it was dark, without it pitch black even and as they walked the three would soon come to a split in the path. If they examined the ground they would find footprints down both paths, they would also realise that Kata had disappeared. Whether this would affect them much was up to them, but they would want to remember that out of the whole group he was the most likely to be safe, he was experienced and if he hadn't entered the cave then he was in little danger.

Now the group would have to make a decision, stick together and double the time it would take to search both tunnels which could potentially go on for miles or split up. Without Kata this would mean that someone went alone, but that might have been a worthy risk if it meant that the girl was found safely.

[Vega]

Trial 2

       

Vega managed to look entirely unimpressed when Asari showed her a dagger. "There's close range, and there's too close. Your finger nails are longer." That was assuming the woman could use the damn thing to begin with. Save her from short people who thought that jumping around with a pen-knife was a good plan, she thought to herself but she bit back the comment. Although she would have said it to Arlo without hesitation, Asari was far too volatile and emotional in Vega's eyes to be able to take that kind of thing.

"I'm not counting you out because you're short." Vega spoke with her usual bluntness. "And you're kinda bedraggled and blotchy, love, not cute. But it's good to have a good strong self esteem. Good for you." Vega had never met anyone who referred to themselves quite so positively, but it explained a lot. It was good to have a good ego, Vega was sure and that might well be why the short woman had taken a suggestion to dress for the weather with a flounce. It made sense, explained things which had made no sense to Vega at the time, but now really wasn't the time to consider it. In the right now, Vega thought, they'd agreed, they were going in, her and Arlo in front, Asari and Kata behind, but all in sight of each other, not anyone outside whilst others were in. That was good and she was happy with it.

"You're like a wart, you know that?" As she whispered that to him, Vega shot Arlo a glance that was half frustration with him for not doing as he was told and half pleased for the company. "Irritating and hard to get rid of," she added as pleased to see him there won out and she shot him a smile. It was as tense a smile as it ever got, in fairness; Vega didn't like this one bit. Still, the light from the lantern was there for them and they moved forward.

Quickly enough, though, they came to a split in path and Vega frowned. Looking at the footprints, it was impossible to tell where was the best in terms of picking a direction. She crouched down on her knees and examined them, but was no clearer. She looked up then to ask Kata and a frown darkened her expression. "Where's Kata?" Vega looked at Asari as she asked the question, because the two of them were moving together, but when she didn't know either, Vega let out a brief stream of Rakahi. It didn't sound happy.

So, it was three of them. Vega sighed as she realised what this meant. There was no point cursing any further, so she spoke in a tense and clipped tone. "Well, we said at the beginning that we wouldn't slow down for any one of us. So, the way I see it there are decisions to be made now. First is whether we stick together or split up." Because that, in itself, opened up new avenues and new decisions. "If we split up, do we go two and one, or one down each path and one to find Kata."

Her irritation at the situation was evident, they'd lost one of their number and she had no intention of losing another. "I say together, all three, one path. It'll be slower, but I'd rather slow and alive. That's my vote. If the two of you both vote to split up, then we will. If that happens, I vote we go two and one and hope that Kata stays safe. Personally, I think that's a phenomenally stupid plan." She wasn't good at beating around the bush on the best of trials, but the only person who knew the way back had disappeared.

"If, because the two of you outvoted me, we go with that plan, as the only person with anything resembling a decent skill with a sensible weapon long range and short, I'll go alone and you two stay together." Vega shrugged slightly. "So my vote is together. What about you pair?"

Whatever they decided, Vega would do. She would not be one bit happy about splitting up if the others outvoted her and she would not simply accept one of them going alone. If they both voted that either Arlo or Asari went alone, that was going to prompt some lively discussion. Hopefully, she considered, they both had the sense they were born with and they stuck together.

Off Topic

To clarify, for Ent's ease.
1. If they have a majority vote for sticking together, Vega is happy and goes along.
2. If they have a majority vote for splitting up
- if it's split into 2 groups, she's the 1 and Arlo/Asari are the 2, she'll go along with it.
~ if it's split into any other combination she absolutely will not and will want to discuss it further before any action is taken