Horizon Odyssey, Chapter 1, A hopeful fresh start

[FrankerZ]

Victor took a deep breath. Here, he found himself strangely at peace. He felt like he was standing at the entrance of the Laagard labyrinth. He was even half expecting to hear Tobias start barking orders. A moment passed. Victor remembered this wasn't Laagard, he wasn't with his friends and he knew very little on what he was up against. Victor shifted his gears.

"Alright team. Let's not do anything stupid alright? We'll stay on the visible path. We don't know what's behind or in foliage 'walls'... And you, kid. Stay close to me. If you die, it's not gonna be because I let you do somethin' that got you killed. Got it?" He said to Aaron. Victor's voice was confident, and his words seemed to be trying to impart that same confidence in everyone else.

"I want everyone to stay on point. If anybody sees anything, they say something. And I don't know about you all, but I'm no doctor... of course we'll go as far as we can but..." He added. "if things get dicey, we get goin'. Can we all agree on this?" It was clear he was trying to assert control. He hoped the others wouldn't see that as a bad thing.

He thought he certainly acted the leader part. It would certainly make his life easier if he could run the ship how he wanted. He looked at Ezekiel for a moment. If this Ezekiel fellow had labyrinth experience like Victor did, he might try to assume control as well... and Victor may see that as a problem.

With a cheerful smile, Victor went on to say "Alright, let's get started. You're mapping correct Ishan? I've got the medicine and warpstone. Let's get to it."

[CD-Man2021]

The inside of the labyrinth wasn’t exactly what Aaron was expecting. Though to be honest he didn’t really know what to expect at all. He ignored nearly all of Victor’s comments not out of rudeness, but because he was so fascinated with the woods that surrounded them. Just to his right there were plants whose leaves the alchemist recognized as a part of a healing agent, though they naturally couldn’t be used on their own. To the right, a large tree that no doubt housed insects and small animals that he could only imagine. Plants, animals, and monsters. Can’t forget about them. Aaron told himself as he snapped himself back into focus. As much as he wanted to take the leaves or any other samples, he knew he was too inexperienced to simply grab something. Doing that could make it easier for anything to jump out and attack him, thereby putting the whole group in peril. And he wasn’t about to do something stupid during the first trip.

Still, the alchemist saw the potential this place had. Not only were there wells of information to drink from, this was only the beginning! The mere starting point of the labyrinth! Who knew what else waited for them deeper inside, and Aaron, for one, could not wait. He lightly tapped his pockets. All the chemicals he needed were right there, in an easy to reach location and sorted out to his specification for easy access. He had even had the reactions for a blast of fire already set into his gauntlet so the first attack would be effort less.

[Rothene]

Pressing eastwards, the members of guild ITL chance upon a sight for some to remember.

In the centre of the clearing, you hear a few gentle calls of canine pups as they bark to each other in the innocent sound only found in the young of all mammals. There are five of these small beige coloured cuddly things frolicking around what looks like a massive deer that is long dead. With great zeal, the little creatures, barely taller than an explorer's knee height, sink their tiny yet sharp teeth into the carcass and start ripping apart flesh with great gusto.

One of the furred creature notices the group and starts advancing towards the least armoured of the group with...a strange glint in its eyes. Curiosity? Hunger? Awe?

Those who glance at what lay beyond the pups would notice an exit on the far eastern end of the clearing, which requires moving through the creatures. But to the south of the clearing there is yet another exit.

For Ezekiel:

[Straybow]

Ezekiel watched with morbid fascination as the tiny creatures devoured the deceased deer, feeling a faint hint of nostalgia as he did so. "It feels as though I've seen these creatures before. No I know I've seen them before but where...?" Caught up in his thoughts he almost didn't notice one of the pups approaching the group. It was then he remembered from where he recognized the pups; they were the spitting image of the wolves in Etria although much smaller and seemingly harmless. Had it not been for a certain mission issued to the guard corps by the Radha to eliminate the wolves he would be fine accepting that they were harmless; however he knew that despite being pups, and arguably easy to kill, they were still dangerous.

Acting out of instinct he stepped between the approaching pup and his guildmates, slamming his shield into the ground in front of the beast and readying his spear as he did so. "Be careful everyone," he said in a loud whisper, hoping to keep the other four pups' attention off of them as long as possible. "These things appear harmless enough but those teeth will easily be the death of you. Not to mention their mother must be close by seeing as I doubt they downed that deer by themselves. We'd best avoid them if at all possible." Ezekiel said, eyes scanning the surrounding area looking for the pups' supposed mother. He didn't want to start off this labyrinth with a battle to the death with a variation of an old nemesis.

[FrankerZ]

Upon seeing the cubs Victor instinctively drew his side-arm and aimed it in the cub's direction. The pup seemed like it would be easy enough to take down, but the sound of his fire arms would likely draw the attention of the rest. He was on the cusp of firing on the approaching and he likely would have too had Ezekiel not stepped directly in his line of fire. He was rather surprised that Ezekiel stepped in as quickly as he did, but when Ezekiel mentioned the prospect of a mother; Victor quickly spun about face and did a visual sweep of the area.

It was clear as far as he could tell and he spotted an exit to the south. He returned his focus to the pup. In a quiet whisper he said: "Hey, see that over to the south? Let's head that way -slowly- before we draw the attention of the others or a potential parent... If it follows us we'll dispatch once it's far enough away from the others. Let's move." He commanded as he slowly started inching his way south.

[Rothene]

Seeing Victor's gun, the pup seemed to recognise it for its purpose and whimpered loudly. Immediately, the other pups paused in their feasting and looked at the group worriedly before whimpering loudly as they edged away from the group towards the eastern exit slowly.

All seemed quiet apart from the sound the pups make in their agonizingly slow retreat. Too quiet. And then they start growling at the group with the curious pup snarling loudest at Victor.

For Victor:

[CD-Man2021]

Aaron watched the scene unfold in front of him, too absorbed to act properly. The pups were so young, yet they had the jaw strength to rip the flesh from the fallen deer. If only they could capture one alive! He would be able to observe how they ate without the worry of a third party interrupting. As it was, he knew that would be asking far too much and decided to keep his mouth shut. One approached the group and caused Aaron to shutter. It was so disgustingly cute. Undoubtedly it helped predators drop their guards allowing the small pup to get in the first strike. Maybe he could look the bodies over once the group dispatched them? …That is, of course if they decided to attack the pups. Which probably would be a bad idea seeing as the mother would be somewhere nearby.

Victor raised his gun toward the advancing pup, and Aaron was surprised to see it react. How did it know what the gun did? Was this prior knowledge? How much memory were one of these able to hold? At any rate, it seemed as if the group was getting ready for any situation, so the alchemist steeled himself, watching the area with curiosity.

[Riseatrance]

sorry

For the most part, Reo had trailed along silently with the rest of the troop, taking into account his surroundings. The inside of the labyrinth, he had expected to be as such judging from the reports from his father and the other colelagues of his. He noticed that for the most part, Victor had been trying to assume control. The ronin had little problem with this, he didn't feel like talking during this particular part of the expedition. The foliage seemed quite nice though and the labyrinth's appearance within did betray the stories that one would initially hear. It did not seem to be too dangerous at all; Reo however knew better, he kept his blade by his side and ended up walking somewhat near the frontlines, but not too far out ahead of everyone else. As the troop approached the clearing, Reo and the others undoubtedly saw a small pack of canines feasting on the carcass of the deer, he could smell a foul stench but he was not so sure if the others could smell it.

A little pup made its way towards him, being the fleshiest of the group (he had very little armor compared to everyone else, and a lot of his skin was visible) but soon, that protector had placed his shield in the way and Victor readied his firearm; however he backpedalled as he realized the gravity of the situation. Reo stared and looked around.

"...Their grounds. Their 'cage,'" Reo said very softly in an agonizingly cryptic manner. "You're right, we need to go." he said, acknowledging Victor.

[Rothene]

Seeing Victor point his gun at its pups made the mother that had been stalking the foliage nearby leap into action, snarling at the gunner as it raced towards him. At the speed it is charging, retreating would lead be the sacrifice of an explorer as outrunning the beast is not possible.

Unlike the pups, its mother's once white coat was very tarnished by dirt and the white's were few, hence why it was not as obviously spotted among the foliage despite its size. The large canine beast looked like wolves out in the world, but the difference lay in its sheer size. Easily a head taller than a full grown human and sporting fangs the size of daggers, the massive wolf was a terrifying sight to behold. Its only remaining blood red eye full of fury did not help make it any bit nearly as endearing as its offspring.

Due to the cautious nature of the group and that the beast seemed to have intentionally alerted them as it started its attack, the group had ample of time to reorganise their positions to brace for its attack and maybe let off some ranged attacks of their own before it reached them.

OOC:

[Curry-Kohai]

((I'm the worst ;;))

Ihsan had been following the group, sandwiched between Ezekiel and Reo, using her tools to map out the way, placing the pen into her mouth when the ink got too cold, and tapping on the compass and double checking it's directions to make sure it wasn't tilted or incorrect in some way, the price to pay for getting such faulty materials, it was at a steal though, so she bore with it, making sure not to show the difficulty in using the tools to the rest of the party. When the party saw the wolves, Ihsan furrowed her brow as she stepped backwards defensively, the desert never had wolves with such haunting white fur, and it was unsettling to her, to say the least.

When the wolf jumped from the thicket and attacked, Ihsan reflexively jumped backwards, shouting out in surprise as she drew her scimitar and shakily held it out in front of her, her knees nearly buckling with fear.
"What is that thing!?"
she stammered out, breaking into a cold sweat.

[CD-Man2021]

Nature, though sometimes predictable, could still be very frightening. Aaron pointed his wand at the beast that was rapidly approaching them. He shot off three fire balls over the front line's shoulders in a V shape. The center fire was aimed the farthest and was meant to hit the beast, but the side ones were aimed closer to the group so that if the beast dodged the first one by jumping to one side, it would run into a different ball of fire.
"Watch the pups!" The alchemist yelled as he launched his attack. "They might try to help the mother!" He felt the sudden rush of adrenaline run through his body, his breath deepen slightly, and the sudden odd mixture of fear and thrill that ran through his body. His hands, however, were more steady than he had ever seen them.

[Straybow]

Apologies been busy

Ezekiel seized up with awe as the mother wolf made herself known. That wolf looks far too familiar to a certain wolf from Etria... His light stupor broke when he realized that the beast was charging straight at Victor. "Look out!" he yelled as he placed himself in-between the gunner and the charging wolf, planting his feet firmly on the ground to prepare himself for the wolf's incoming attack as well as gripping his spear and shield tighter. "Come get me!" he shouted at the wolf, pointing his spear towards the closest pup, hoping to draw the wolf's ire from Victor to himself.

[Rothene]

Being blind in one eye made it hard for the mother wolf to notice that there were indeed more than one ball of fire coming at it and thus it leaped straight into one, causing some of the fur to be singed. The wolf howled loudly in pain as its fur made it more susceptible to fire based attacks, continuing to burn long after the initial blast.

Catching sight of Ezekiel threatening one of its young, the mother leaped straight at the protector, closing the gap too quickly for him to ready the spear against it. Clamping down on the shield with its jaw, the mother wolf yanked it as hard as possible, with enough strength to lift both the shield and its wielder a foot above the ground if the protector still clung onto it.

[Straybow]

While Ezekiel had faced wolves in the past he had yet to come across one that made him truly fear for his life, until now that is. Being lifted one foot off the ground, staring the wolf's one red eye, his mind raced though multiple scenarios of what would happen to him. Most of them included dying; being thrown at a nearby tree by the wolf, letting go of his shield only to be made vulnerable to further attacks. Not wanting to die this particular day Ezekiel thrust his spear, as well as he could while being held in midair by the wolf, towards the wolf's chest. With any luck he'd get something vital or wound it enough for it to let him go.

[Rothene]

Anticipating an attack to its last good eye, the mother wolf's jaw twitched in such a way that put the spear tip as far away from the eye as possible. The spear jabbed part of its snout causing blood to start trickling from it as the wound was shallow. The damage was something the beast could live with.

With one paw, the wolf swiped at Ezekiel's spear the force strong enough to beat a human's grip on the weapon causing it to tumble to the ground. Feeling victorious the wolf prepared to slam the protector onto the grass and intended to do so repeatedly, while its blood lust was rising and making it less...perceptive to its immediate surroundings.

OOC: