middaeg | [open] i was just guessing at numbers and figures

Entry tags:

[open] i was just guessing at numbers and figures

Who: Zack Fair & YOU
When: First two weeks of the month of Aguril
Where: Outside of the city, The Wilde, The Residential District, The Harbour Disctict
What: Open log for the month of August after returning from a hiatus! If you would like something specific please feel free to find me at

michrure or drop down a starter!
Warnings: TBA

[A: wilde quest #1: outside of the city]

[Zack has been outside of the city walls several times now finding he’s better off when he’s doing something active and keeping himself busy outside of the hustle and bustle of magical-city life. Out in the Wilde, he can feel the heaviness in the air that the Cwyld brings due to his new sensitive senses. Having heightened hearing and smell has its uses being a part-wolf chimera.

He’s stationed at one of the smaller temporary camps outside of the city's Bright Wall where a group of infected people are trying to seek medical attention from Cwyld infected wounds. It seems some sort of creature has run amok in this area and left people injured or even killed in its wake.]

Any idea what the creature looked like when it came through?

[Some of the injured mumble and whine and only turn away from Zack and his questions. They look sickly with black patches of Cwyld scoring their skin. He frowns and runs a hand through his hair and over his ram-like horns in exasperation. He needs to find out some more information about what has happened here so he can help.]

The faster we find the issue and kill it, the better.

[B: wilde quest #3: supply runs]

[The job is travelling through the Wilde and to Smugha Cave to transport supplies and provisions to the Smugha Cave Reclamation Group. In his hand, he has three scrolled spells (minor healing, icicle, and paralysis) but being a monster he really has no clue how to use these temporary spells and will more than likely rely on his own strength and wits to get the supplies through the darkened cave.

They are encouraged to travel the caves in pairs and Zack is more than happy to work with someone in order to not only have someone watching his back but to talk with on the trip. The cavern is old and downtrodden and he hopes there aren’t any rockslides or sinkholes inside.]

So, we’re working together to move these goods to the group working inside?

[He greets whoever is going with him on this trip (maybe it's you?) with a smile and a friendly wave. Don’t mind the claws, wolf-tail and ram horns he has. Zack is a chimera and he looks strong to boot. Any creatures or shades they run into should be easy work for Zack. In theory.]

[C: a bird of a different feather]

[Somewhere in the early morning around the cottages area of the residential district Zack is minding is own business and going for an early morning run to the markets. It’s chilly for a morning in what is supposed to be summer. The weather has been fairly cold for this apparent time of year.

He turns the corner and suddenly lets out a painful yell as a sharp pain runs up his spine. He nearly stumbles and grabs onto a nearby fence post as this sudden pain rockets up his back and through his shoulders. It feels like hot shears are cutting into his bones.]

Aaaaughghhhh!!!

[He yells and drops to a knee which makes him drop the collection of food he has with him, apples and eggs toppling to the ground... Zack yells again as the pain become unbearable. Something is happening to his back and he’s not sure what. It feels like his bones are splitting from his shoulder blades so rapidly that he feels like he might pass out.

Just what he needs right now... More monster parts growing? This time out of his back? What is happening? He could use a hand.]

God... damn it!

[D: the sly seadog]

[Zack is fond of The Sly Seadog, a run-down tavern out in the harbour district. It reminds him of a lot of home or at least the run-down streets of the lower plates and slums in Midgar. Some of the best people and information can be found in places like these and the drinks are usually strong and great for the pain he occasionally feels in his head.

The chimera can be found in this tavern enjoying a drink and open to lively banter or meeting some new friendly faces. Zack looks fairly human aside from the monster traits he has gained such as the thick black ram horns on his head, the claws and wolf-tail...

And he seems to be growing wings now as well. A few sleek black and brown feathers litter the ground around the seat that Zack is sitting in. His wings are small now and obviously very new and look painful. Regardless of that Zack seems to be in a great mood. Why not get day-drunk to forget how much it sucks to have wings?!]

Hey, another round here!

[E: wildcard]

[got something else? throw it down!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He'll wave to the kid as they head off, before turning his attention to Zack]

Yeah...good thinking. If it's really a bear, it shouldn't be that hard to track. They aren't exactly small.

Yup. The bigger they are the harder they fall.

[Zack agrees with a nod. Just as they make for the edge of the dark woods another woman comes up to them with what appears to be facemasks much like hospitals use during airborne infections. She urges them to take one each and Zack doesn't have the heart to say no to one.

Just how bad is the cwyld out there that they need facemasks?]

We better take one each, Elliot.

Oh...

[He watches the woman offering the masks, taking one politely like Zack is and putting it on his face. He makes a worried look up at Zack, because how bad is it that they think they need these?]

Will this actually stop the Cwyld...?

[A disease this magical, a facemask feels a little bit too simple]

[Zack shares the sentiment.]

Can dark magic be inhaled?

[The women seems to look at them like she doesn't want to say yes or no to the question. She just urges the masks into the boys hands wordlessly.]

Alright... If it makes you feel better.

[As Zack holds the mask and the woman pats his wrist for it she suddenly starts to cough. It starts off small and grows into a wet sounding hack. Her shoulders tremble and she hunches to cough. Black liquid splatters from the inside of her mask on her face...]

Hey- Are you alright?!

[!!!!

Oh, oh that is very bad. Elliot looks very alarmed. That is a clear sign of infection if he's ever seen one. This poor lady.]

I think she's infected....

[He gulps a little, giving a concerned look through his eyes]

You should really see the healers, miss. That doesn't sound good at all. Do you want us to escort you?

[The woman continues to hack and cough for a moment and she brings up a handkerchief to pull away the mask and wipe her mouth. She mutters something incoherent before she turns away to leave. Zack could be mistaken but for a split second he swore he could see that her teeth were rotted down to sharp points--

Ugh.] Let her go... There's not much we can do here besides getting rid of the source.

[Zack lets out an uneasy sigh. Just how bad are cwyld infections in general? This is the first time he's seen what he assumes is an advanced case. But true to his word Zack goes back to the task at hand and starts for the dark woods.]

Hope you stocked up on fireball spells or something, Elliot.

[Elliot misses the teeth, being at an angle where he can't see the woman's mouth. It's still so worrying, and he watches her go with blatant concern on his face. The people out here need more help than they're getting.]

Y-Yeah...I guess so.

[He bites his lip a little before following after Zack. The healer in Elliot wants to stay behind and help, but he knows his powers are so limited right now. He still need to learn how to cure Cwyld before he can be any help in that. The best he can do is assist Zack.]

A-A few. I can also make a light source if it gets too dark to see.

[He nods. Right now it is fairly overcast but who knows how dark it will get with the cwlyd shadowing the air. As they walk deeper into the woods Zack can already smell the stink of it in his nose.]

How much do you know about the cwlyd, Elliot?

Probably not much more than you. A magical disease that corrupts living things. Incurable if left alone for too long.

[He follows along. He can't smell as well as Zack, but there is no doubt that there's something off about this forest. Nothing sounds as it should]

I've been studying how to treat it at the infirmary, but it'll be awhile before I can do anything.

[Zack nods.]

At least witches can learn to help. If there's anything more I can do to help, I want to do it.

[That woman. That child. He wishes there was more he could do for them. Aside from ripping to shreds the creatures that make it worse, of course.

It's not long before they will feel the magic get heavier, darker and almost sting their eyes as they blink. A trail of dark smoke slowly leads them to a small cavern just up ahead nestled on a mountainside. It's inside.]

The creature has gotta be in there.

Hey, there's plenty you can do. I know there's no way I could take this thing on without you.

[And he means that. He is a squishy mage who couldn't possibly solo a giant infected bear.

The darkness of this place was almost suffocating. He's been in dark places before, but this one felt unnaturally so. Elliot conjures a light to guide them, a ball of light that lights the way. But even that doesn't light things nearly as far as it should]

In there huh? So what's the plan?

[That makes him grin and pat a hand on Elliot's shoulder.]

The plan is let me keep the thing distracted, then. While you fire out as much damage as you can.

[He's worked with Chandra enough that it's a good system. He tanks the big meanies while the witch dishes out the explosions.]

[Oh he knows this plan. This is a very familiar plan to what he normally does with his friends, so he gives a nod]

Okay, I can do that.

Just lemme know when you're ready.

[He himself readies his staff, moving into a battle stance]

[Zack gives a nod and inside they go. Honestly, the cave isn't all that deep. It really looks like something a bear might use to hibernate for the winter season. It's dark enough that Zack is careful where he steps but he can smell something foul the farther they go in.

They're eventually met with deep yellow eyes. Are they eyes? It's hard to tell. But a shadowy figure starts to coil up into a large mass until there is the shape of what appears to be a bear staring them down. It's dripping dark liquid like poison.]

Alright, buddy. I hear you were causing issues in this part of the forest.

[Zack's hand flexes with his claws. And then he leaps forward to attack with a sweeping rush.]

[Elliot follows along, knowing to keep quiet so it's easier for Zack to keep the bear's attention on him. There is no doubt that this bear is infected, with the dripping black liquid coming from it. It reminds him of monsters he only sees in the most remote or strangest of places. Extremely dangerous, at that.

He had do his best to support Zack.

As Zack rushes forward, Elliot readies his own magic. A ball of fire forms in front of him, shooting out and arching around to hit the bear in the side so it won't hit Zack. Fortunately, Elliot's been doing a lot of magic practice to get control of his spells]

[The fire damage hits the bear and while it recoils from the attack it tries to swipe at Zack first since he's the closest target in range. Zack dodge rolls to the side and then growls as he comes in again to slash at the bear. It roars loudly which nearly deafens Zack for a moment. His claws slash a heavy wound into its chest area and thick black cwyld leaks out of it like it's a balloon full of it.

It's taken a lot of time to adjust to fighting like this but he's still got his brute strength to rely on. And that's also why having a witch friend around is also a good bonus.]

[For someone still adjusting to fighting in a new way, Zack is doing well for himself. Like a healer would, Elliot is keeping an eye on Zack as much as he is the bear. He's not stranger to team combat, luckily. And so when there's an opening, he'll launch another volley of fire at the bear. It aims for the wounds that Zack just gave- as if trying to cauterize those injuries before the black liquid leaks out too much]

[The blasts of magic are powerful enough to weaken the creature enough that it staggers. Zack grins wolfishly as he goes right for the thing's throat with his claws. He digs into that darkened flesh and rips at it sending chunks of cwyld-infected goo splattering everywhere.

Alright, being a chimera isn't always glamorous. Sometimes it's a messy job.

But in his frenzy, Zack misses the creature swiping at him and Zack gets a paw-like claw to his face. Blackened gashes across his cheek. He snaps to the left and growls in pain.]

[Sometimes it's a messy job and he's very thankful he's developed a strong stomach from fighting because holy crap Zack. He's trying to stay back just to avoid the infection splatters, but then Zack gets hit]

Zack!

[That's bad. He holds back on a healing spell since Zack still seems to be up, but boy is he worried about that infection getting in open wounds]

Maybe you should back up, we can't risk infection.

[Look, he can't hold a broadsword with these kind of hands so he has to make due! Another upside is that his new chimera attributes make him very durable. He ducks out of the way of another swipe, taking a step or two back but keeping his gaze on the bear creature that is starting to lose steam. It growls angrily and waits to counter Zack.]

I'm alright, don't sweat it.

[He has no idea what a would infected with cwyld will do but that's what he's saying!]

[Elliot is unsure about this, but it's not like he can pull Zack away. They need to take care of this bear before it attacks anyone else. ]

Okay...

[Focus goes back to the bear, and he notices that it is losing its steam]

I think it's weakening! If you can make it lose it's balance, I'll do a follow-up!

Got it!

[Make it lose its balance? That means give it a good old rough football tackle, apparently. Zack goes for it with a loud growl, head, shoulders and horns barreling into the mass of the creature with a loud smack.

It tries to claw at Zack but it's pushed off it's feet and thrown hard on the ground.

Finish it! Hopefully without hitting Zack-]

[Elliot waits for his opening, and the moment the bear hits the ground he jumps forward. He swings out his staff, the orange gem lights up as it releases a water projectile attack. Which okay, looks like bubbles, but does does a lot more damage than you'd expect.]

You're finished!

[The spell hits the bear and seems to shock it with magic damage. It seizes up, before it lets out a dying roar and collapses - dead.

Yeah. You just saw something die by bubbles]

[Did Elliot just used Bubblebeam?

Zack can't really complain about the effectiveness. He lets out a satisfied huff as he moves a step back from the dead creature. It fizzes audibly under the effects of watery magic and turns into a very unpleasant pile of black goop.]

Done... Damn. [Zack messily brushes a palm across his cheek.] Wasn't so bad, I guess.

[But if this is only a small fry he wonders what the bigger baddies will be like...]

[Yeah he sure did.

The pile of monster is very unpleasant, but he still breathes an audible sigh of relief when it does down]

Y-Yeah...he put up a fight though.

[That said]

Lemme check your injuries. I'll heal them up.

(no subject)

activatingcombatmode - 2019-09-07 19:53 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only