[Jean] Chapter 14: Escape from the Treants

Throndir · May 29, 2019, 12:22:26 PM

"The dryads... I'm not sure." Dalina admitted. "There were stories of how the dryads are always listening whenever one is in a forest. But if they'd actually respond back? Dryads and treants are known to exist of course, but they are extremely rare to see according to the books I've read."

pringerbeam · May 29, 2019, 12:27:50 PM

"Always listening..." Murmured jean as he looked at the trees around them. "Well here goes... Hey!" He shouted. "Parlay or whatever it is I need to say to get you to show yourselves if you're out there!"

Throndir · May 29, 2019, 03:14:19 PM

There was no response from the trees.

pringerbeam · May 29, 2019, 03:33:46 PM

Jean waited for a second, continuing to look around for any signs of life. "That how it's going to go down? You fucking cowards going to just send your minions to do the dirty work? The earth goddess's servants must be pretty pathetic! Traitorous too if you would deny me an audience asked for in good faith!" He waited another silent moment. He looked to Ren and Dalina. "I don't think this is working."

Throndir · May 29, 2019, 03:50:31 PM

Dalina shook her head, while still on Gust, she then turned towards the trees you had shouted towards. "The Goddess of Air's people are much more nicer than you jerks! Minions of the Goddess of Earth!" Dalina shouted, her eyes glowing mischievously. Gust chirped a few times.

"No Gust, I'm not going to be smited by a flying boulder." Dalina replied back in a whisper. Though she did look towards the horizon out of concern.

pringerbeam · May 29, 2019, 04:11:55 PM

"See? That's the spirit!" Said Jean with a grin. He walked over to Dalina and lifted her up to sit on his shoulder. She was almost as light as a feather to him now. "Yeah, come on assholes! Prove your worth!" He yelled into the cold air of the mountain. The cold air, while he didn't feel it was affecting him much, was starting to cause him to shiver. "We might need to take Ren up on her offer soon if we just stay up here in the cold." He said as he let Dalina down from his shoulder. His clothes were hardly winter wear but he felt warded from the cold by his robe. He took off his leather jerkin and offered to to Dalina. "Here, maybe it will help. It's a lot colder here than on the island even though I think we're lower in elevation."

Throndir · May 30, 2019, 12:11:54 AM

"W-whoa!" Dalina exclaimed as she was lifted up in the air, she didn't really try to get off or resist however. "Yes... you... umm... assholes!" Dalina called out right after you, grinning all the while.

Dalina nodded when you mentioned the cold. She too had been shivering. "The Goddess keeps our island's temperatures habitable for us... Well..." Dalina paused for a moment as she thought about things. "I guess that might actually be Marina's doing too..." Dalina took the pro-offered leather jerkin from you hesitantly, she looked at it for a moment, her cheeks turning a slight pink, but eventually decided to attempt to put it on. "Can you umm... help with the straps?" Dalina asked, still sitting on your shoulders.

Ren had been glancing at the two of you enviously for awhile, but a moment later she decided to wrap her tentacles around you and contented herself with that. You did notice that Ren was warm, and she wasn't particularly shivering at all from the cold like Dalina was.

pringerbeam · May 30, 2019, 12:50:36 AM

Jean let Dalina to the ground and tied the jerkin's straps together. Finishing the straps, he let out a deep exhalation. The breath misted in the space between him and Dalina. He looked her in the eyes. "Dalina, just because the island isn't powered by the goddess doesn't make her any less than what you were raised to believe her to be. Come on..." He said, peeling Ren's tentacles off of him enough to pull Dalina in for a hug. He wrapped Ren's tentacles around the two of them so all three of them were held in the same embrace. "I know you're having a hard time with it. I don't know how to make you feel better. I was never that good at these kinds of things. All I can do is be here." He said, with his head over Dalina's shoulder. He kept hugging her. "I'm sorry I've got you into this mess. I'm sorry that your life is in danger by walking by my side. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do more for Anja. I'm sorry I'm not the hero you wanted. I'm sorry I'm not the hero you needed. I'm sorry I'm not the hero you deserved. I just... I'm trying my best but it's not enough. Now I've probably started a war with the forest and I don't even know how or why or what I can do to stop it." He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the ability to hug Dalina and feel her warmth. He opened his eyes to look out into the quiet woods. "Again, less than a day of actual heroics and I don't think I'm going to make it through this..."

Throndir · May 30, 2019, 02:52:23 PM

http://www.youtube.com/v/SeG21rq5QPQ

There was a tint of a blush on Dalina's features when she accepted the hug from you. "It's alright Jean. It's a big thing for me, but I'll be okay. You're right, the goddess is still around. Marina said so herself too. And Gust is living proof of the goddess as well. You're not going to convince me Gust's species is just a naturally born species of green types of birds who just happen to be attuned to the air element..." Dalina said watching Gust fly around her in his small form. She turned her attention back to you and the fact you had held her in an embrace. Instead of pushing you away, or even getting flustered like she was prone to, she let herself be held, and she didn't even complain as Ren continued to wrap the two of you into her tentacles.

"You don't need to be sorry Jean... Without you being around things probably would have gotten worse... Anja would have still fallen, and no one would have been there to save her. She really could have died. We would have landed here at Mt. Velothia, with the demons attacking Amie's village... and a lot more of us would have died. I saw how easily you handled the demons... For a hero of only a week, that is an amazing feat. And don't say you're not the hero we wanted, needed, or deserved! That's just..." She paused for a second, thinking of the right words. "That's just cruel, not to you, but to everyone else. And you know, even if no one else thinks they need you... Well... I need you." She looked away and the tint of pink on her cheeks only grew. "Not in any weird way... but I mean..." She shook her head. "I can't really explain it... But all I know is that even without my duty as the priestess of the hero, I want to be able to help you in this journey. We can go to war with all the forests in the world, and well... I'll still be there for you."

She forced herself to face you again, her face being only an inch away from yours. The proximity was now only just getting to her, and you watched as her cheeks continued to turn more and more pink. Dalina tore her eyes away from you as Ren continued to squeeze the two of you tightly. "Ren..."

The tentacle girl didn't quite respond though, but she had a huge smile on her face. It wasn't the normally predatory smile she usually has however. It was a softer one, and one that looked like she was genuinely happy. Her tentacles had indeed surrounded the two of you tightly, and it was to the point that even if Dalina wanted, she wouldn't have been able to force herself away from the hug. You felt every curve of Dalina's chest pressed tightly to you, and as Dalina continued to look pleadingly at Ren, you knew that this fact wasn't lost in Dalina's mind.

pringerbeam · May 30, 2019, 03:24:50 PM

Jean could feel the warmth of Dalina's body, the softness of her breasts, the mist of her own breath across his skin. Something stirred in him, something that he hadn't felt for ten thousand deaths or more. "Dalina... I... Thank you..." He remained silent for a moment, continuing to hold her. Even when she asked Ren to let them go, he held her, resting his head against the side of hers as she looked the other way, he held her there with one hand gently holding the back of her neck, the other still around her waist. He held her and did not let go for fear that she would see as a single tear ran down from one of his eyes, leaving a tingling trail down his cheek. He let go and untangled himself from Ren and Dalina as he tried to keep his gaze away from Dalina, turning to look away into the woods. "I'm sorry. We um... We should focus on the problem at hand." He slapped his cheeks to get rid of any trace of the tear. "Eloise..." He whispered under his breath as he dropped his hands. The name said out loud no matter how quiet reminded him of what he needed to do, why he could not be stopped here. Refocused, he picked his spear back up off the ground.

"So..." He said as he turned back to his two companions. "What do we do now?"

Throndir · May 31, 2019, 11:18:23 PM

Heroic action point earned.

"If the treants are chasing us, and we can't fight them off... maybe we could lose them in the mountains? Another option might be to outrun them... At least until they decide to stop following?"

pringerbeam · June 01, 2019, 12:06:54 AM

Jean stood pondering their options for a second. "I don't think they're going to just give up. Alyona said that they don't really attack for no reason so there must be something they need to accomplish in attacking us. If only we knew what it was they were after..." He turned south to look into the distance. "We need to get back to the mountain somehow but at the same time we would only be putting everyone else in danger by leading the treants into their territory. That makes heading further into these mountains the better option but we would need to eventually double back and then we run the risk of just being run out of the forest yet again. So... What would be next?" He looked to Dalina and Ren. "How do we get back to mount Velothia? Can Gust carry all of us that far?"

Throndir · June 01, 2019, 02:04:27 PM

Heroic action point earned.

"Well... Normally Gust would be able to carry me, Anja, and one more. But Anja doesn't weigh that much... Plus Ren is... well..." Dalina glanced towards Ren, while Ren cocked her head to the side not quite understanding. "Ren, you're a bit heavier..." Dalina said. Ren continued to stare.

"Heavier is better? It means I can slice through demons easier." Ren said. She looked towards you. "Right master? Heavy is okay, right?" She asked hopefully.

pringerbeam · June 01, 2019, 05:57:40 PM

"She's saying you've got too much junk in that trunk Ren... Oh wait... Weight!" Exclaimed Jean. "Weight Control!" He said, decreasing Dalina's weight. He did the same for Ren, using a little more MP to decrease her weight an additional step then did the same for himself. "Now this should help us stay ahead of the treants and when it's time to head back we can all ride Gust." He looked west. "I guess now we're see how devoted to the chase they are. " He said as he resumed their course.

Using Weight Control to decrease Dalina's weight by 1 step, Ren's by 2 steps, and Jean's by 2 steps for 10 MP total.

Heading west at 40 ft. walk rate until either the forest gives way or we are unable to continue.

Throndir · June 01, 2019, 08:04:14 PM

You begin your westward march again. You kept it at a walking pace, preventing yourself from being fatigued from the trek. The elevation continued higher and higher, there were still many trees around you, but it did indeed start to thin out more and more the higher you got. You could see that at the top of the peaks, there were no trees at all, though it would be another couple of hours by your estimation.

QuotePerception requested.

Current journey
1 hour west, at 60 ft per round (hustle).
1 hour west, at 40 ft per round (walk).

[include u=2]1 hour west, at 60 ft (hustle)
1 hour west, at 60 ft (hustle)

Nonlethal damage taken: 1, Fatigued[/include]