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lettersnorth · 6 months

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Lend a Hand

In light of Heartwood’s…unfortunate state of affairs, the workshop had become a de facto hub for anything that might need some sort of power source. The bank of generators and aetheric cells were designed to resist a lengthy outage, redundant systems left in place by a paranoid Florus once upon a time. Now a myriad of cables ran this way and that across the shop floor, a veritable rabbit warren resisting any of Aislinn’s attempts to corral them into order.

Sergius currently leans idly against the workshop’s large terminal, his synthetic gaze silently following Aislinn around the room as she steps over cables, ducks under wiring in a weird, complicated dance as she goes about trying to get things ready. She’s not speaking but she’s obviously thinking because she bites her lip and squinches up in her eyes in a way that said whatever had crossed her mind had her suppressing an emotion.

He logs the expression but doesn’t ask her what caused it.

N'yami came stomping through the halls of the Heartwood estate, more or so walking so fast to the point it looked like running. It was project time! Once the door was in sight the Seeker kicked it open, and gave a small salute to the two in the room already. "Heyo! I'm ready to start bulidin' and blow som--little too early for that nevermind." She paused once noticing Linn was pacing. "Yer goin' to carve out a path with all that pacin'. Do ya need a snack? Or did ya drop somethin'?"

Yayaji Yaji absolutely was running in order to keep up with the hyperactive Miqo'te, though she would be lying if she said she wasn't also feeling the excitement. Building robot arms was her favourite! So many cool knickknacks that can be shoved up in there, and Yaji was planning on shoving them all. "Hello hello! What a wonderful day to be back in the Heartwood estate!" Yaji cheers, despite the wreckage they had just passed. "It is wonderful to meet you both! Quite wonderful!"

Professor Meowitzer putts in the air behind her, examining the room carefully with mechanical eyes that eventually fall on Sergius... and stay there. It's mouth opens and a gutteral <ME-OW> is released, prompting Yaji to pat it on its head happily

Sergius and his ever present drones seem to swivel as one to the door as it’s kicked open and N’yami announces herself. Aislinn is weaving her way back to the drawing board and doesn’t appear startled by the noise, she only flicks her gaze at Yami with a slight smile as she leaves her thoughts. “Hmm? No. No, just…trying to clear things up. Mind the cables. And the wires. Just…be careful.” She says as she wipes down the drawing board. Best to start with a clean slate for this. Her motions do halt, however, at the sound of the new voice. “Ah. Good to meet you, miss…” She trails off but then shakes her head. “I’m Aislinn. Glad to have another head in on this project.”

Sergius doesn’t feel the need to add anything. As far as he was concerned, Aislinn had the social exchanges covered.

"Yayaji Yaji, enchante! My wonderful friend slash boss has told me much about you Miss Aislinn, though she did not mention you had beauty to match the brains!" Yaji says, flashing her best business lady smile, then turns to Sergius. "And you as well good sir! You have an air of mystery about you, perfect for the debonair type that I'm positive you must be. The Professor seems quite taken with you! Do you like cats?"

N'yami made a beeline for Sergius. "Boop." She said while reaching up to boop him on the nose then going straight to Linn at the drawing board. "So what's goin' through that brain of yers? Are we puttin' a gun in it? A hidden blade!?! Wait...maybe we should start with the metal that we're usin'. I heard this guy is havin' a kid so we gotta figure out the part of havin' the metal mimic his body temperature. Oh! Gotta worry about rustin' too!" Some of Yami's ideas spewed out in a word vomit. She was talking so fast, and no she didn't have coffee or sweets before this. "Should we make it so it can detach? Man, I'd pay to see him pull his arm off and beat the shit out of someone with it."

Aislinn blinks at Yaji’s silver-tongued flattery. Aside from a certain roguish pirate, it wasn’t something that had often been turned in her direction. “Um. Yes. Well, thank you?” Sergius, for his part, stares blankly at Yaji. “I don’t have an opinion on them.” He tells her, cutting through her chatter and addressing the question. He does this while swiping an arm out, seeking to guide N’yami’s boop off to the side before it can reach him.

“Right.” Aislinn steps back from the board and takes a breath. She tilts her head at Yami’s ideas. “Knife. That’s interesting. Maybe? Probably not a gun.” She stops and clears her throat. “As I’m sure you all know, we’re here to see what we can do to create a prosthetic for Yakih’ra. One that will allow, as much as possible, for him to regain sensation, which means connections to the nervous system. And…if possible something waterproof that will resist rusting.” She glances at Yami, her lips quirking up in a smile. “Then. We can see what we can do about weapons. You all have various experience with this kind of thing so I’m thinkin’ that putting all our heads together will be Yakih’ra’s best shot.”

N'yami’s tail whipped with excitement behind her. "Buildin' the arm is a different thing for me but actually settin' up the wirin' with the nerves is somethin' I won't know too much about, what wires would we use for that? I assume you and Ma will be doin' the attachin' of that?" She asked with a raise of a brow towards Linn. "Don't think ya want me in the surgery room. We should also make a piece that covers the part where he lost his arm, little detatchment part. Plus if a wire needs to be replaced pop that bad boy off and take a look under the hatch see what's goin' on. Hm...gotta worry about water gettin' in there."

Yayaji Yaji: "You're all in luck! As a matter of fact, I have built a prosthetic arm before for a fierce pirate during my time in the roguish city of Limsa Lominsa! Of course, that arm exploded a few weeks into use, but that was on purpose and I was long gone by then! I'm sure the fundamentals remain the same!" Yaji explains proudly, meanwhile Professor Meowitzer putts on over to Sergius and begins rubbing its cheek against his leg. The sound of grinding gears can be heard from inside its metallic frame, vaguely reminiscent of purring

Something flits across Sergius’ expression, barely noticeable before the blank wall smoothes back into place. “Connecting a prosthetic into whatever nerve endings remain is painful. They have to be awake to facilitate alignment between the biological and mechanical systems.” At least, that had been his experience with Rhua. Aislinn shoots Sergius a troubled look at hearing that particular bit of news, but then nods to Yami “Aye, we should try and make any maintenance or repair issues easy to navigate.”

She begins drawing a rough schematic on the board. Sergius stares down at the mechanical cat but curiously, doesn’t stop it from doing what it’s doing. “Hell if I know about waterproofing. It’s better to start out with a water resistant metal and figure shit out from there. You’re going to want Allagan wootz and that’s not cheap.”

“Right. Well. No built in explosions, this time.” Aislinn says in reply to Yaji, without halting her drawing as she speaks. “That would be…counterintuitive.”

N'yami Synch: "Well let's hope this arm doesn't blow up! That would fuckin' hurt like hell. Just think yer walkin' along one day and BAM. Arm blows up!" Her ears perked up at Sergius' comment. "Never fear! I know where to get allagan wootz from! Well, gotta see if the old man will allow me to have some of his supply but in this type of situation I don't think he'll say no. I'll use the puppy dog face on him, then have Yaji steal it while he's distracted."

Yayaji Yaji gives N'yami a thumbs up before addressing Aislinn again. "Come now, I would *never* give an exploding arm to a friend! However, what are the patient's opinion on gadgets? Any weapons of choice? I've been tinkering with this flamethrower device you see, and..." Yaji is cut off as Meowitzer lets out another <ME-OW> as it looks up towards Sergius. "Oh ho! The Professor really likes you! Careful now, it has a habit of spontaneously combusting when it gets too excited!"

Sergius studies Yami as if he can’t decide if she’s serious or not. His drone drifts towards Aislinn and circles around to check her expression but no, she didn’t look like she was laughing at anything Yami said. Instead, she looked relieved. “Oh good.” She breathes. “That should shorten the timeline up if we already have the metal on hand. If he’s upset, tell him we’ll replace it. It’ll just take some time for my source to make a run.”

Sergius’ attention returns to the cat as he attempts an exploratory ping. Did the creation even have that functionality?

Aislinn passes Yaji a subdued look, recalling Yakih’ra’s explosive rants in the midst of his turmoil. “He…wouldn’t be opposed to weaponry. I question how healthy that might be in the long run but…” Aislinn trails off. Because wasn’t that just the pot calling the kettle black? There had never been a moment she had regretted what she had done in vengeance.

N'yami was 100% serious about stealing the wootz from her old man. "No worries, I'll take the fall for anythin' related to that so if he asks none of ya had anythin' to do with it." Her ears perked. "Flamethrower would be a nice touch!" Yami took an extra marker and started writing off in the corner a list of supplies they'd need, and features that came to mind to be added. "Alright, gonna start makin' a shoppin' list. What else we needin'?"

Professor Meowitzer is absolutely not designed for spontaneous combustion, however the sheer amount of explosives and weaponry that had been stuffed inside the small cat chassis was definitely a fire hazard. The bot seems to reply to the ping as well, starting to fly circles around Sergius excitedly. Yaji however was too busy thinking up what cool new weapons could be placed into a robotic arm. "Ah, revenge! The perfect motivator for innovation! Now, ah, perhaps we should talk finances? Who will be paying for all this work, and how much exactly?"

“He’s angry right now. He has a right to be. Cultists attacked his home and took his arm. I’m thinkin’ he’s dealing with a lot right now.” It was an understatement and Aislinn knew it. A lot of guilt. A lot of wanting to do something about it. A lot of wanting to get even. And damned if she didn’t understand that perfectly. At Yaji’s assumption of payment, Aislinn tilts her head to Yami. “This was trauma dealt on the job. Your boss will send an invoice to Heartwood.”

"Wonderful!" Yaji declares with a grin and clasps her hands together. "Judging by the impressive stature of your estate, that must mean your boss will only want the very best! Yami and I shall deliver exactly that, have no fear, young Yakih'ra will be most definitely get all the revenge his wonderful heart desires!"

"Never fear Yaji! It'll be a nice Starlight bonus for the Synch forge!" She grinned at the lalafell. "From the damage I've seen around the estate I can imagine that he's out for blood. Revenge does crazy things to ya, hopefully he doesn't fall too far into it." She thought it over for a moment as if thinking about shit she's done in the past related to revenge. "Annnnyyywwaaayyysss." Her ears flicked as her brain went back to focusing on the arm that needed to be made. "We'll get this all sorted for him, with us four workin' on it Yakih'ra will be back to normal in no time. He'll just be 15% metal is all." She shrugged like it was a normal thing.

Sergius’ system makes a handshake with cat-bot’s own and begins to make an ID query. “That’s not what Aislinn meant.” He stated right on the heels of Aislinn’s own sigh of “That’s not what I meant. Don’t load this arm up with all the bells and whistles he needs to go and get himself killed. He’s a desperate hand looking for a gun.” She turns her gaze to Yami. “I can do the intricate biometric wiring that’ll need to feed into his nerve endings. The connectors are going to be touchy.”

She cut a glance to Sergius. “No need to reinvent the wheel, can you get me schematics for the connectors on Rhua’s arm?” There was a fraction of silence before Aislinn’s terminal on the bench beeped. “Sent.” He told her. Aislinn turned back to Yami and nodded. Then, because she thought it might bear repeating. “No flamethrowers. Not yet. We can always modify it after Yakih’ra’s in a better headspace.”

N'yami looked between Aislinn and Sergius then she heard the beep. How did he do that? "Hold on, are we not gonna talk about how Sergius sent you files without movin'? How in the hells did he do that?" Her gaze locked onto Sergius. "Aislinn's right though, should wait on the weapons till everythin' is settled. Don't need him settin' off one of the weapons when he doesn't even know how to function the arm yet." She said all this without shifting her gaze.

Yayaji Yaji sighs and shrugs. "Fine, fine, the customer is always right I suppose! We will defer to your expertise, my lady!" Yaji says with a polite and sweeping bow. Meowitzer meanwhile pings Sergius back. <Designation: Robon|\|//PROFESSOR MEOWITZER COPYRIGHT YAYAJI YAJI DO NOT STEAL|//\?yan>. It then curiously pings Atreus back for his ID

Sergius shifted his gaze to somewhere in N’yami’s vicinity. “All this aether magic shit people do around here and -that’s- the thing that trips you up?” he returns. Through his feed with Professor Meowitzer, he shoots a reply //Sergius-IV.// It seemed anything else about copyright wouldn’t be forthcoming. “That’s another good point.” Aislinn said, moving along as if Sergius wasn’t the oddity in the room. “It’s going to take time for Yakih’ra to learn his new arm. If we do our job right, physically, the arm should sync with the body quickly after the connection is made but mentally, it’s going to be an adjustment.”

Yayaji Yaji: "Aside from working hard to ensure the tactile sensors are properly attuned, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to help in that regard. The boy will need someone to talk to for certain, perhaps someone with experience of wearing a prosthetic. I am sure that won't be too difficult to find amidst this rabble of adventurers though!"

N'yami: "Sure is!" Even with his grumpy attitude it didn't stop the Seeker from wanting to befriend the grumpy man. "You'd be surprised at the amount of weird ass aether I've run into." She made a disgusted face at past memories of people she's run into. "Yyeeeppp." And back to focusing on Linn. "We'll have to do some physical therapy with him, well, whatever you want to call it. Might have to make adjustments when it's attached so it feels comfortable." She thought for a moment. "Only person I've known with a prosthetic is Nys but that's just her eye. So I'm out of options for ya."

Aislinn hums in thought as she studies the board, turning Yaji and Yami’s words over in her mind. “I don’t know of anyone with a prosthetic either.” She frowns. Sergius may have been a machine but there wasn’t anything biological about him. But he did know someone like that. The viera that had dropped in while Aislinn was repairing him out in Garlemald. Even as she carefully edged her attention his way she could feel the foreboding rolling off him in waves like he had already pegged her intention. So that was a ‘no’. She sighed. “I know you both will put it through its paces before you bring it here but the sooner we get this going, the sooner we might soothe a bit of Yakih’ra’s mind. We’ll just have to help him figure it out in lieu of anyone with any real experience being where he is.”

Aislinn turns one of her barely-there smiles on Yami and Yaji. “G’lewra and I can handle that. If you can both handle the engineering part.”

Professor Meowitzer suddenly stops its rushing around, bringing its little arms up to its neck like its choking. Horrible noises arise from its throat, coughing and retching before finally tilting forward and barfing up a... grenade. There is a moment's pause, but thankfully the pin remains inside and Yaji walks over with a sigh. "I told you, if you rush too much you'll cough up a hairball! You never listen to me!" She sighs as she plucks the grenade up and pops it into her pocket.

"Whatcha say Yaji? Time to pull our famous all nighters? And totally not steal somethin' before headin' home." She watched Meowitzer cough up the grenade as if it was a normal every day thing. "Don't worry, Linn! We'll handle the engineering part! We may call with questions though but other than that we'll let ya know what we come up with."

Sergius watches the exchange as Yaji pockets the grenade and he backburns the alert that went off in his systems. “That seems like a design flaw.” He states.

"You must really like this one to be so riled up." Yaji gives the cat a pat on the cheek, earning herself a <ME-OW> before something more is output from the robot's mouth, this time appearing to be a small slip of paper. "Hmm?" Yaji accepts this, reads it over for a moment, then pauses... "...Hmm." She repeats again, but in a different tone, and looks up to Sergius. "My dear... Has anyone told you how beautiful you are..?" She speaks, sounding actually genuine in her compliments for once.

The little lalafell barely cleared Sergius’ knees but that didn’t stop his proximity protocols from threatening to go off as she approached him. There was a tonal shift in her voice he couldn’t identify. Her question appeared to stymie him. He immediately shifts to Aislinn for assistance but she’s already lost in designing the delicate wiring roadmap that will be needed to make contact with what remained of Yakih’ra’s nerve endings. “I’m going to go with no.” He tells Yaji, unable to make eye contact with her. To be fair, he didn’t make eye contact with anyone really. “I’m going to get back to repairing the clinic.” He states. Aloud. In case anyone was wondering.

Yayaji Yaji: "Oh my... My dear... This is truly a crime, for your beauty has truly swept my heart into an uproar... Please, allow me to assist with your efforts to repair the clinic! I am... er, certain the Professor would like to spend more time with you!" She insists, the robotcat giving an approving <ME-OW> from behind her

N'yami’s gaze shifted to Aislinn and then back to the two in front of her. She was finding this rather amusing.

Oh hell no. There’s a measurable spike as his systems plot an escape from having to deal with any more interaction he didn’t have the bandwidth to parse. This time, Aislinn does seem to pause long enough to attempt to intercede on the poor A.I.’s behalf. “Yaji, I think we need your talents with building this prosthetic. This is a tight deadline.”

"Hm? Oh. Well. I suppose that is why I'm here." Yaji says, sounding saddened. The soot-covered Lalafell offers one more bow for Sergius, "Until next we meet then, my dear. It was truly a wonder meeting you." She says, then begrudgingly rejoins Aislinn and N'yami's brainstorming session

Aislinn cuts a meaningful glance to Serigus. He was free to go. And go he does, making a rapid exit out the door. “He’s a touch anti-social.” Aislinn murmurs as she turns back to the board. That might have been the largest understatement Aislinn had ever made. And she made them in droves.

N'yami: "What a nice fellow."

Aislinn snorts as if N'Yami had just made a joke

Yayaji Yaji nods a few times absent-mindedly, then leans in to N'yami only after Sergius had left for the clinic. "Er... Yami, I may have need for your advice when we get home. I appear to be in love."

N'yami: "I will give you all the advice you need!"

Aislinn's marker streaks wildly off course on the board. "Wait...what?"

#ffxiv rp #balmung rp #rp snippets #Hubris of Peace #These four crack me up #Right off the rails #N'yami Synch #Yayaji Yaji #Aislinn North #Atreus Sergius

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pocketninja-ffxiv · 4 months

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Wake up.

Why wasn't she waking up? Mom you need to wake up!

N'yami shook her mother's lifeless body she held in her arms, G'lewra wasn't responding to anything. The two were enjoying the fresh air outside while they waited for the group to return. Telling stories of how the Synch kids were growing up do fast.

All while doing this N'yami could feel the tug on her mothers aether increasing, Yami’s own aether battling with the dark entity that had latched on to the Scholar a couple moons ago. Even with how much she was battling to keep her mother's aether within her body it felt like Yami was grasping at smoke, and all she could do was watch as it slipped between her fingers.

And then it happened.

Without warning G'lewra collapsed, and N'yami had been quick enough to catch her mother before she hit the ground.

“No….nonononono! MOM!! They're comin’ back! Dad's comin’ back to help! He always does! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME!!”

N’yami wasn't a healer, she didn't know how to fix this. She's just a damn blacksmith. Learning healing was pointless in her eyes because G’lewra was always around to patch her up. But now she was gone.

The Seeker's breathing picked up as she felt the swirls of emotions erupt from her dark aether, red aether flickered around her while her ruby gaze gave off an ominous glow. A blood curdling howl escaped her lungs as he shouted towards the sky as the emotions took over, the pulses of aether coming off the Dark Knight becoming stronger with each passing moment.

She needed help. Dad knew what to do with this sort of thing, Tynos wasn't a master of aetherical manipulation for nothing. N'yami fumbled with her linkpearl for a moment then let it spring to life.

"I NEED THE OLD MAN NOW!" N'yami's panicked voice shouted over the linkpearl. She wasn't able to steady her breathing, quick and hurried breaths as her body was heading into a panic attack. "She's gone!” And with a final attempt she tried calling to her mother again. “WAKE UP DAMNIT! MMMOOOOMMM!" Her breathing became more panicked as she tried to think of who else was there that could help. Aislinn. "LINN!" Crying out to the hyur like a younger sibling that needed protection.

With the last effort, N'yami clicked off the linkpearl as she cried over G'lewra's form, clutching to the lifeless body as if her mothers body would slip away from her just as the aether did.

“You know how to fix this.”

She tried to drown out the voice in her head, the voice that always came to life when it was a fight or flight situation. N'yami’s body didn't understand the meaning of flight, and so this voice always came around to encourage the Seeker to keep fighting. No matter what.

Looking up with tear stained cheeks N'yami saw an image of herself standing in front of her clad in armor that put the shadows to shame. Spikes jutting out in random directions, and the red aether made cracks along the armor to empower it.

“There's one right here, and she's the cause of all this, right? Actions have consequences.”

Xha.

A low growl rumbled through N'yami while her grip on G'lewra's body tightened while thinking about the ex cultist.

“They're allowing her to walk freely, and yet we still lost someone. She took mom away from us. It's her fault. You FOUGHT with everything to keep her here and NOW SHE'S GONE BECAUSE OF THESE CULTISTS! They don't get to live!!!”

The more the aether spoke to N'yami made the glow in her eyes brighter, with so much emotions you'd expect to see those feelings flooding her ruby orbs but they were hollow. So empty but yet so dangerous to look at. The look of a killer, and the voice in her head was winning. There was no one there to calm the Dark Knight. Usually she did so well to contain these emotions, use them to protect those she loves. But now one of them was gone, and she blamed herself for it.

“She needs to die…” Her voice barely above a whisper and sounding as though she had just gargled nails from all the screaming she had been doing.

“We can't lose more.”

“N'yami!”

Looking from the aetherical form the Seeker's attention slowly turned to the new voice, and there she saw Aislinn standing on the other side of the barrier the aetherical formed had put around them to talk.

All she could do was stare blankly at the Hyur before looking back to where her aetherical form once stood. It had vanished just within the few moments of looking away.

N'yami still held G'lewra close, but the barrier started to break into pieces, and it crumbled to the ground before mixing in with aether around her. She could hear Linn talking to her, trying to reach her, but it sounded so muffled. So far away. Her head lazily lulled to look back in Linn's direction but that's when she caught sight of Augusta carrying a limp Tynos back to the Heartwood estate, and she felt her world crumble all over again thinking that not only had she lost her mother but also the man that didn't hesitate to adopt her as his own. So lost in her own world crumbling around her N'yami didn't even notice how Riylli had stood in the background watching Linn talk the Dark Knight down.

“Alright, Yami, listen to me. I know what this looks like. Hells, I know what it feels like. Like the world’s stopped and the earth might as well open up and swallow you because you can’t see how there’s any way forward from here. Anything to stop this from being true.” Aislinn knew grief. Life had given her plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with it. She knew people liked to say it was something you got used to. Like jumping in a cold lake. But damn if it wasn’t a shock every time. “I understand but right now I need you to help me. We have to get her inside. Hey, Tynos’ll be alright. He just went and overdid it out there. But listen. You’ve gotta let me take a look at her. We don’t know for sure what’s happened and until we do we can’t give up on her. Right?”

N'yami tried to focus on Aislinn’s words, trying to hear them over the commotion happening within her mind.

“Ok…” she sounded so defeated but Yami knew she could trust Linn. She had become one of the Seeker's safe places. That rock a younger sibling needed.

Her arms were shaking as she let go of G'lewra so Aislinn could do what was needed. While the medic worked Yami kept out of the way but kept close, without thinking Yami's hand had reached out to hold onto Linn's coat tail. She needed grounding but also wanting to stay out of the way.

That aether.

Looking away from G'lewra and Aislinn for a second, N'yami saw the one she thought was responsible for all this. Xha stood in the yard staring at them, and all the Dark Knight did was stare the Keeper down with a murderous intent before she was pulled from her thoughts. G'lewra needed to be carried inside, and N'yami didn't hesitate to carry her mom inside for Aislinn.

“The hunt can wait, mother needs us.”

Heading inside the clinic, N'yami placed G'lewra on one of the beds closest to Tynos. God's. He looked like shit was the first thing that went through her mind.

She let the medics work, and stood out of the way but close enough to her parents to look after them. N'yami found herself mindlessly following Aislinn around the clinic like a duckling, clutching onto the other woman's coat when the Hyur was at a stand still. She felt so lost. Mind numb and not knowing what to do so she latched to the next family member.

“Oi. There you are, Yami!”

Her head peaked out from behind Aislinn, it paid to have a taller sibling it seems, and there stood her husband Neville. There in all his smiling glory.

“We're having a sleepover in the workshop, and I already got the kits set up. Better hurry before they take yer spot.” He was grinning the whole time while talking to her. N'yami wasn't sure how he was able to smile in such a situation or how he knew he was needed here. But before the Seeker left Linn’s side she pressed her forehead against the medics shoulder in a pathetic attempt of a headbutt, even with G'lewra gone N'yami remembered how her mother told her how Linn had issues with physical touch and to not overwhelm her with them. She wanted to show appreciation but still respect the boundaries.

Slowly making her way towards Neville she paused for a moment before looking back at Linn, and a few tears slid down her cheeks. Not only was Yami's mom gone but so was Linn's.

And N'yami blamed herself for not being able to keep their mom safe.

Here she was falling apart where Linn was probably going through the same thing. How selfish she was being.

Looking back to Neville for a moment she went to back to Linn for a moment. Her hand glowing a bright red, and when she opened her palm a flat stone almost resembling a ruby sat in the Seekers palm. But the aether that swirled within flickered between the colors of red, black, and purple. Almost mimicking a storm.

“For when yer….overwhelmed.” N'yami's gaze shifted around as she tried to explain it in her emotional state. “I can…feel the emotions. A way to vent to me…without words if they become too hard.”

Leaving the stone with Aislinn and returning to her husband's side she let him guide her to the workshop where her children greeted her. Falling into the pile of blankets and pillows N’yami gathered her children close to her, and of course her obsidian carbuncle Whackara that was a gift to her from her mother curled on top of her chest for pressure therapy. Neville had curled around his family to keep them close, he knew this was something N’yami needed. Thankful their wedding bands kept them connected aetherically.

It took N’yami awhile to fall asleep, everytime she closed her eyes all she could see was her mother falling before her.

“You need to sleep. A hunt awaits for us.” The voice returned to lull the Seeker to sleep. But the voice was right, and there was one thing that crossed N’yami’s thoughts before she finally let sleep take her.

Which target was first?

#ffxiv #balmung rp #ffxiv rp #ff14 #n'yami synch #aislinn north #tynos riller #G'lewra Riller #ffxiv dark knight #dark knight #Neville Synch #Riller Family #riylli aliapoh

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heartwoodventures · 3 years

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Primary Access Required: Testing, Testing

In which Heartwood heads back to (bloody) Coerthas in order to test Aislinn’s aether dampener and catch themselves a spidery bioweapon!

Aislinn arrived in Heartwood’s front hall after a quick rest and a change of clothes. Seeing Rising near the tanks, she walked up and peered into the aquarium. "How's your friend?" she asked, doing away with any preamble.

Rising was eyeing the smaller fish swimming around the bottom of the tank as Aislinn approached. "Seems like he's doin' alright! If he ain't been eaten yet I don't think he will."

Aislinn gave a brief smile as she caught sight of the little bugger. "Looks like he's one of the team now. Good on him." she nodded before turning and taking a seat to wait for things to get under way. "How about yourself? How's things?"

Cravendy slips out from her room and joins the others by the couches. Once seated, she immediately begins to fiddle with her gun, double and triple checking its parts on repeat.

Riylli lazily waves to Cravs as she enters and takes a seat near her. "Hey! Have we always had this many Miqo'te in the company? Why'd no one tell me?"

"Still need a name though." Rising rubs her chin as she was clearly running through suitable options in her head. "Crimble I suppose seems alright, an' can't complain here, yourself? Carve anythin' neat yet?"

"Crimble." Aislinn tried the name out a few times, murmuring it under her breath. "Aye, that fits. Tiny-sounding. Like a crumb or a thimble." At Rising's question though, she tilted her head. "I'm getting really good at spatulas. And kindling. Lots of kindling for the fire." she replied in a deadpan way before shrugging in wry amusement. "So it goes."

"Well then after you start your fire with the kindlin' you have somethin' to flip your food at least! I guess next thing ya should work on is a fork or a plate eh?" Rising plopped down on the other chair, cursing a moment later. "Shite, we're headin' to Coerthas right?"

N'yami moved through the estate with a carbuncle following right behind her, the Seeker chose to stand next to the railing and eye the group that had showed up. Ears flicked at the mention of Riylli's comment then offered a small wave. "I tend to hide out in my workshop, only come out when I'm either needed or dragged out."

N'ana Firesong stretches.

“I always figured ye cat-folk kept to yourselves...” Cravendy dips her head at N’yami. Case in point.

Riylli waved back to N'yami and flashed her a quick grin. "Well, it's nice to finally meet ya then. My names Riylli." She said, before her friendly attitude turned on a dime as she turned back to Cravs. "Don't call us cats." She said, her voice cold and clearly annoyed.

Haila meanwhile, merely remained silent. She could see new faces being involved in this particular case, and it didn't bring any relief more than worry. Having more people meant bigger risks of losing someone again, or at least, such was the case in her eyes as she glanced around with a small frown.

N'ana Firesong simply dusted her legs and made herself comfortable.

Evelyn Blazewing laughs and shakes her head upon hearing Riylli's comment. "Fufufu... this vessel is merely temporary. But I suppose I am still /technically/ a Miqo'te..." She brought her bandaged right hand up to cover the left side of her face. "I much prefer the company of my familiar than I do that of mortals. But, I figured I should at least come out every once in a while to converse with the commoners..." She smiled smugly to herself with her last comment.

Riylli Aliapoh raised an eyebrow at Evelyn's comment, then looked around the room to check everyone elses reactions only to find no one looking as confused as she was. "Erm... Right. Well, nice to meet you too... I think."

N'yami Synch: "N'yami, ya ever need somethin' fixed lemme know and I'll lend a hand." The carbuncle next to the Seeker jumped up onto the Seeker's shoulder to wrap around her like a scarf, the summon wanted to feel a part of the conversation. "Oh, and this is Whackara before she hits me for not introducin' her." The summon puffed out her chest with joy. "So I'm sure the rest of ya are as excited as I am to head out to Coerthas and deal with that cold hell."

Cravendy Hound grunts, but obliges to Riylli’s request. She was used to hanging out with pirates whose conversations were often thinly veiled insulting contests, and old habits die hard. “Right...Mee-quote-tay. Not cat.”

Aislinn was about to open her mouth to reply to Rising but quickly shut it as N'yami started talking. She turned her attention to the miqo'te and simply sighed. Damned bloody Coerthas.

N'ana Firesong: "What is in this Cold hell ye are dealing with?"

Haila Wetyios: "The reason we're short three people within the Company right now..." was all she'd comment, choosing to allow N'yami to take the floor on this one.

N'yami Synch: "Allagan spider creatures that some crazed scientist made to drain aether from living things...." She paused and thought it over for a moment. "I think that about sums it up." The Seeker shrugged. "I just got pulled into this recently."

Evelyn chuckles to herself. "Ah, are you all going out? I, Evelyn Blazewing, third incarnation of Lord Blazewing the Phoenix, the Eternal Ember, shall accompany you. You said we are headed to Coerthas, is that right, mortal? Fufufu... a phoenix not need worry about the cold. You should be most glad that I'm tagging along! My prowess with fire shall prove most useful to all of you there... i-if you'll have me, I mean." She looked away a bit at her last statement.

Rising Lotus grumbled more as their location was confirmed, shrugging as Riylli glanced at her. "Don't have my damn cold gear with me..gonna be a fun day." she sighed and slumped down a bit in the chair.

After casting an askance look at Evelyn and her declaration, Aislinn murmured almost to herself. "I'll have to grab my bleeding coat before we head out." If Aislinn hated anything, it was the cold.

N'ana Firesong: "Well then meh blade if for ye then. Don't know much of whatever these spiders are but aye am always willing to test meh metal."

Riylli grinned. "Finally, I've been waiting to go after those spiders ever since I joined this group! You can't just lead with that then make me build up some town for moons instead. I'm built for smashing, not building!"

Haila snapped her eyes towards one of the newcomers. "Pride won't do you any good in this, nor recklessness. These things have casters as their primary targets each and every single time we've come across them." she said, immediately sighing afterwards as she raised a hand to her forehead. "It goes without saying that magic should be the very VERY last resort in this expedition you're all about to go." she added, this time glancing at everyone.

Cravendy Hound: “Are ye all ‘earin’ what I’m ‘earin’? Or am I ‘avin’ some kind of...” Cravs shakes her head in confusion at Evelyn’s remarks. But it was all very curious to her, and she found herself wondering about the curious character. “Aye, let’s bring along that one.”

N'yami had a very confused look on her face for a moment but it vanished as soon as it appeared. "Well, I believe Aislinn had a device to help us?" She perked a brow when looking over to the Hyur. "Last time we talked we were goin' to use me as bait for pullin' the creature in while the rest of ya bring it down."

Haila Wetyios: "All of this while keeping the spider as intact as possible. 'Tis all I'd ask to finish cracking the data and communication they all share."

N'ana Firesong: "So we are studying them, not slaying them."

Riylli Aliapoh breathed a sigh of relief that someone else was hearing what Evelyn was saying, and that she had not just gone insane. But she had another concern now, turning to Haila, "Wait, we can't use magic? No one said anythin' about not using magic."

Aislinn nodded to N'yami. "The aether dampener, aye. Did you remember to grab it from your mother's desk?" she asked. "Like I said before it. ..*should* mask a person's aether signature a great deal. But, you can't get something for nothing. In return, it makes using aether far more difficult. Like training with weights on. Should being the operative word. I've tested it out here but it's never really been field tested before. And not against those bioweapons." she added.

N'yami’s ears went down for a moment, that's right she was supposed to grab it. But never fear Whackara was on the case! The carbuncle swatted Yami over the head before opening her mouth to show the object they were talking about. "Oh yea! Gave it to ya to protect." Holding her hand out the carbuncle just dropped it in Yami's hands like it was no big deal. Clearly this wasn't the first time the carbuncle was used for storage.

Cravendy‘s frown deepens at the mention of N’yami being bait. “It sounds like ye ‘ave all the pieces aligned, but that sounds risky. If it looks like yer in trouble, then ye’ll ‘ave to forgive me for trashin’ the enemy.”

"We've lost three people so far, all of them having a specialty somehow tied to conjury or white magic. We can't take extra risks again." Haila paused, turning over to Riylli.

"When the first person went missing, a group of three assembled secretly and went to try and find them without telling anyone... Needless to say, only the one person that wasn't exactly magically inclined came back. Those creatures are an army of machina to say the least."

Evelyn Blazewing sighs. "Fine, mortal. I shall hold my magic unless it is absolutely necessary. You needn't worry regardless, for a phoenix always rises from her ashes!" She struck a small pose, leaning back in her seat for a moment before returning to her usual position. "So we're letting it live? Perhaps it is best I not use my magic after all..." She sighs and shrugs. "I will simply find another way to assist you all, then. I shall exercise extreme caution so you do not worry, viera. Does that help ease your nerves?"

Riylli Aliapoh peaked up from over the back of her couch to listen to Aislinn explain. "Well... I should be able to work with using less aether, but you won't be getting me at my best! I was hoping to show off proper this time too, since no one could see anything during that dodo fight..."

Aislinn nodded in thanks to the carbuncle for remembering. She looked back to N'yami. "Once you're ready, just cuff it to your wrist, the stone and circuitry should do the rest." she once more eyed Evelyn with a wary gaze.

Haila Wetyios: "As long as you keep your own distance, I won't complain." she merely stated with a serious tone, though from her voice, it was clear that she had her own reservations or even personal feelings about this entire case.

Rising Lotus raised her hand "Going with what Cravs said, in case things start to go sour, we ought to have a signal or somethin' to switch from catchin' to smashin' and gettin' outa there."

Aislinn turned her attention to Riylli. "Unfortunately, I only had time to create one prototype." she jerked her chin to the one in N'yami's hands. "The rest of us need to be careful."

Riylli groaned. "Great... Guess I'll just... Play defense, or somethin'..." She muttered, totally pouting over not getting to fight the spiders properly

"Should I put it on now or wait till we get there?" N'yami eyed Riylli for a moment, an actual caster would be better playing bait but the Seeker couldn't bring herself to letting the others getting injured if things went bad.

Aislinn does her best to hold her tongue in the face of such idealistic exuberance. The gravity of the loss of Heartwood members in the face of these bioweapons hadn't truly sunken in for the new recruits. Sometimes experience was the best teacher. She looked to N'yami and took a refocusing breath. "Depends on if you think you're going to need to call upon some aether between now and then."

“Scream once if yer in trouble, twice if yer just foolin’ with us.” Cravs dryly advises N’yami.

"What happens if I do it three times?" N’yami grinned, joking of course and an attempt to lighten the mood. "No worries, if things start goin' bad I'll let ya know guys know."

Evelyn: "Ah, is that what our signal shall be? Primitive and simple, yet effective. The success of our mission is all but assured regardless if we take the necessary precautions."

N'yami nodded. "So." N'yami clipped the item onto her wrist. "Who wants to hold the Carbuncle? If things start goin' bad she'll let ya know." The summon’s ears perked up and pitch black orbs looked around the room to determine who her Coerthas buddy will be.

Evelyn raises her hand enthusiastically. "I shall care for thy familiar, mortal. Choose me, and you shall not regret it."

Cravendy Hound tries to lean into N’yami’s confidence, and tries to tell herself this mission will be smooth sailing. But an ever familiar anxiety sets her heart pumping. Cravs huffs, and moodily looks to the corner of the table.

"Whackara is connected to me, if I'm in trouble her fur will bristle so just keep an eye on that." The carbuncle jumped down from N'yami's shoulder and went to sit on the arm of the chair where Evelyn was, a paw reached out to rest on the red heads shoulder as if to say 'Buddy'.

Evelyn grinned quietly to herself and chuckled. "The pact is complete, then. I shall guard this one with my life. You needn't worry, I will simply resurrect should anything happen to me. Your safety is all but assured, friend." She reaches a hand out to softly pet the carbuncle.

Rising Lotus "We have somethin' to catch it or keep it too right? Or should we jus' break it's legs an' bring it in?" she crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair. "Granted I don't know anythin' near enough 'bout them as Haila, but I do remember ya sayin' it can call other ones too right? Do we have some way to stop that?"

Haila turned over to Rising, "No ways to disrupt it yet I'm afraid, 'tis one strong signal, but the best would be to drag the straggler you mean to capture as far away as possible before it calls reinforcements."

N'yami hummed in thought for a moment. "Could use wires? A barrier would just be absorbed by the damn thing, but we would need a couple people who would want to volunteer to just jump the damn thing and tie it up."

Aislinn let her gaze drift over to Rising and Cravendy

Evelyn sighed and looked around. "Unfortunately, this vessel's arms are quite frail, otherwise I would love to volunteer... are any mortals willing to take the lead?"

“Seems easier to just break its legs. We won’t be needin’ those to do whatever we need the spider for, right?” Cravendy looks around, suddenly wary of another’s gaze on her. “Jump it. Beat it up. Been there, done that...”

Rising Lotus grimaces "Ugh, alright. I don't wanna see a wave of them things again if I can help it." she glanced at N'yami as she offered her suggestion. "..that sounds like it'd work, sure Cravs is a right fine knot tie-er too. " she looked toward Cravs.

Riylli raised her hand. "I could probably incapacitate it with my magic pretty easy, depending on how strong the thing is. Would give me something to do too..." She said with an overexaggerated sigh

Haila Wetyios: "As long as it gets the job done, I have no quarry with it. Breaking the legs should do the job, but if all else fails, I'll take a broken spider."

"Ah, are you not joining us, mortal? A shame, your apparent experience with these spiders would be quite the help." Evelyn said, turning her gaze to Haila.

Haila Wetyios shook her head. "As much as I wish I could, I have my reasons for not going... 'Tis been by mere coincidence that the spiders didn't pick up on me the other times. But I can't risk a third one. At least not if I want a few plans of my own to work."

N'yami Synch: "So who's ready to go catch us a spider!? That's a dumb question no one really is but hells we need the bloody thing so let's go punch it in the legs."

N'ana Firesong gave a small sigh. "Why spiders" she mumbled.

Cravendy glances back at Rising. “Can’t say I’ve ever kidnapped a spider, but there’s a first for everythin’. But the idea would be the same. Lure it away to some lonely corner, away from pryin’ eyes, and tie it up afore it knows what got ‘im. Or beat it till it’s broken.”

Riylli gave a concerned look to the pirate Roe, unsure if she was joking or not

Rising Lotus: "Well lets play it by ear then. If we have a chance to bind it lets do that, if not we'll smash it's legs off, and as a last case option we'll kill it all together."

Evelyn stands up and strikes a pose with her staff. "Let our operation commence. The Goddess of Victory is on our side, so long as we err on the side of caution. Now, let us show these spiders true despair..." She held her bandaged right arm up to her left eye again, folding her left one across her body. She let out an enthusiastic "Fwahahaha!" and shook her head afterward.

Aislinn nodded and rose to her feet. "Seems like we have a plan in place." Roughly, but it was still a plan. "I'll go grab my bloody coat." she shook her head and retreated briefly back to her quarters.

After the group made the walk through Coerthas back to the area where they knew the spiders would appear, with some grumbling cause of the cold of course, N'yami lead them through the snowy terrain. Stopping in her tracks the Seeker looked around with perked ears. "Where exactly were you all ambushed before? Perhaps that will be the best spot to look for one."

Riylli kicked at the ground below, trying to keep her shivering to a minimum. "...Hate this stupid place... Grounds all frozen... Terrible to work with..." She muttered to herself as the rest of the group did their thing

N'ana: "Aye hope we finish up quickly. As much as aye enjoy mountain trips in Othard this cold is a different story."

Aislinn looked to Rising and Cravendy to answer that question. She hadn't yet ventured out to meet these spiders head on. For obvious reasons. Heartwood still needed at least a semblance of a medical staff until they could get G'lewra and Vanriri back.

Rising Lotus huffed as they exited the cave, rubbing her hands together as she was a tad underdressed. "I think it was a bit more down there, near the bridge right?" she glanced at Cravs, keeping her body moving to build up some heat. It then dawned on her the Cravs was kind of not there at the time, but maybe she knew somehow?

Evelyn shivered quietly, holding Whackara in her arms. "F-Fufufu... this cold is n-nothing... you m-mortals always complain about the silliest things..." she posed again in her usual fashion.

Cravendy feels her gut sink as she remembers a time when...it was before she woke up, and yet. She groans, but answers to the best of her ability. “Yeah, I remember it was by that hill, and we crossed a bridge at some point. Over there?” Cravs points down south.

N'yami Synch: "Works for me." She offered a shrug and just started walking down the path, they'd eventually run into the blasted thing right? That's how it usually worked from what she heard. "Time to give this damsel-in-distress thing a try I suppose."

"I-If these things go after magic users, how 'bout we just start channelling and wait for it to show up?" Riylli offered, getting sick of standing in one place freezing her tail off

Cravendy lightly elbows Evelyn as she passes her. “Phoenix-lass, right? Ye think ye can ‘eat up the poor sods who’re freezin’ their arses off?”

Rising Lotus looks at the river over the hill. "This is lookin' familiar, bridge ain't too far from here." she pointed across it. "They all came from the other side of it, and we fell back to the bridge." she pointed to the left down the path.

Aislinn heard Cravendy and looked over her shoulder. "I'm good. No need to light me up or anything."

Evelyn Blazewing 's eyes open wide. "Sh-Share my warmth? With... e-everyone? F-Fwahaha, I certainly would if it were possible. Touching a mere mortal with my body temperature s-so high would incinerate them to mere ashes!" she quietly mumbled to herself. "B-Besides, I'm kinda using it right now..."

Cravendy nods to Rising’s statement. “Some of ‘em were underneath the snow too, so watch where ye step.”

Aislinn took a few steps back at that. "Great." she muttered as she peered down at the frozen ground around them.

N'ana Firesong: "Ye seem ye can mix a drink right now, Phoenix."

Evelyn: "I would be happy to mix you a drink were now a good time, mortal. Ask when we return home and I shall happily oblige."

N'yami looked around for a moment as they paused. "We'll stick around somewhere safe so the rest of ya have a place to hide while I drag the damn thing out." The Seeker pointed over at the boulder sticking out of the ground. "Go hide over there while I call it out. Rising, and Cravs, get ready to launch yerself at it once it comes out."

Rising Lotus: "Aye, pulled...uh.. someone off one before it got her, then it called it's friends." she tapped her boots on the ground to shake some snow out of her sandals.

Cravendy: “Aye. Come on Rising, we got a boulder to snoop behind.” She starts to walk over.

Heartwood runs into another RP FC also RPing (Riylli Aliapoh) (feels like two rival gangs are passing) (Aislinn North) ((Throwdown)) (Haila Wetyios) Oh snap)) (Rising Lotus) We have to intimidate them, everyone make yourselfs big)) (Cravendy Hound) OH?? )) (N'yami Synch) PUFF OUT)) (N'yami Synch) I think we win)) (Cravendy Hound) omg haha )) (Riylli Aliapoh) (as big as you can get) (N'yami Synch) Lol one of them is a friend of my so I whispered yelled at him to get out of my swamp xD))

Rising Lotus nodded, pumping herself up before tailing behind Cravs, drawing her spear on the way.

"I can help too y'know..." Riylli muttered as she stomped off to hide behind the boulder

Aislinn murmured to N'yami as she gestured to the device on the miqo'te's wrist. "If your plan is to take that off to lure a spider, I'd suggest snapping it right back on the moment you get one on your trail. As it is we're going to have a hell of a time shutting it up before it calls any others." she nodded. "Watch yourself, aye?"

Cravendy ducks behind the boulder and peeks out, as sneakily as she can manage. But she’s half-distracted by Rising, who to her...does not look dressed for success, in this weather. “Nophica’s teats, ye askin’ to catch a cold again?!” She harshly whispers.

N'yami Synch: "Cravs and Rising, pull Riylli with ya when the thing comes out, the faster we bring the thing down the better." The Seeker looked over to Aislinn and offered a short nod. "I can defend myself pretty well, if you know someone else needs it more I'll be fine without it."

Riylli's ears perked up, her pouting interrupted. "Wait, me? I mean, yeah! The grounds a bit frozen, but I'm sure it'll be fine" She finished with a confident nod, back to her usual self

Rising Lotus was peeking around the other side of the rock, spearing humming away as they waited. "I'll be fine, been through here lots of times dressed like this. Build's character." she shivered a bit as she said the last part. " 'sides fightin' will keep me plenty warm."

Aislinn shook her head and snorted. "I'm not playing the lottery like that. You're going after the spider, you take it. I'm just saying." she turned and went to stand with the others.

Riylli kicks a bit off snow onto Rising's exposed toes. "Builds hypothermia is what it does. How are you gonna fight when you're frozen to the ground?"

Cravendy: “Might be awhile ‘fore we’re fightin’.” Cravs looks back at N’yami and watches the miqo’te like a hawk. Her breath coming out in chilly plumes, she mumbles something under her breath. “Feh, character...Personally, I’m done buildin’ anymore of that.”

N'ana Firesong keeps a watchful eye over her surroundings.

N'yami unhooked the device from her arm for a moment, and that's when the rest of the group would feel a surge of aether crash over them. The group would feel a wide range of emotions hit them, the strongest one they felt would send a warmth through their cold bodies. Raising her hand in the air the Seeker summoned a ball of aether and shot it off in the air, one after the other like a show of fireworks and each one burst in the sky. Red aether mixed into the white winds that were carried off to call upon the creature they were looking for and with how much the Seeker was giving off did the group hear an echoing screech off in the distance. Those who had met the creatures would know the sound all too well, it was coming.

N'ana Firesong knelt over, feeling the warmth take over her body and shivered. "Thralls balls!"

Rising Lotus shot Riylli a glare, flinging the snow off her foot, about to retaliate before N'yami started and she focused up, tightening her grip on her spear. She grit her teeth as they had garnered hopefully only one's attention.

Evelyn recoils a bit, reeling from the emotional surge she just felt. She then turns her attention to the sky, and back to N'yami. "An excellent show, mortal, but will it do the tri-" She's cut off by the screeching, which causes her to smirk. "Fufufu... it seems your ploy worked. Everyone, ready yourselves. Our enemy will be upon us soon." She mumbled to herself again. "I-I think... that's our enemy..."

Aislinn stumbled back as the aetheric emotions hit her, the warmth flowing into her body triggering a sense of alarm. No. Not now. But it soon passes as she realized it was only N'yami and not herself. She breathed and tried to shake off the feeling. "That'll get them if nothing else." she said low, her voice wavering slightly.

Riylli glances over to Evelyn. "Hey, crazy lady, how hot can that fire of yours get? Y'think you can thaw the earth a bit for me when we jump out?"

Cravendy grunts as she weathers the wave of aether, sets her jaw as foreign emotions flow through. When it passes, she finally takes a gasp of air. Without knowing it, Cravs had been holding her breath. But she could not breathe easy, not yet. They were coming.

Evelyn glares at Riylli. "I am not crazy, mortal. My flames are the hottest in the realm. I would be more than happy to assist you, however." She sighed. "So, my talents shall simply be used to thaw the earth? Fine, fine... I came here to offer my assistance, after all."

The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard as the beast came crashing through the snowy plains, this one was the perfect size to carry someone off and with how much aether it detected it seemed determined to catch whatever was creating it. At the last possible second N'yami slapped the device onto her wrist again to dampen her aether, and that's when the Crawler stopped in front of her. The familiar whirring noise was heard as it scanned the Seeker for the aether source.

Aislinn North From her hiding place behind the boulder, Aislinn tensely watched, her breath trapped in her lungs. She sincerely hoped her device wouldn't fail now, of all times.

Cravendy‘s eyes widen at the sight of the machine, but any hesitation is quickly pushed down. Cravs shuffles over the boulder and charges at her target, hoping to knock it off balance with a low blow to one of its many legs.

Rising Lotus "Great, a big one..." she hopped out from her hiding place and charged forward, taking a great big swipe at it's front left leg as she got in range.

Riylli Aliapoh hopped up onto the rock, shouting out to Evelyn. "Time to shine, crazy phoenix lady! Help me get the earth under it's legs!" She commanded, and began to swirl aether around her as she commanded the earth to reach out and swallow up the spiders legs, though as she suspected the ice made it difficult to manage. However, with Evelyn's help…

N'ana Firesong: "Take out it's eye!"

Evelyn sighs and smiles, bringing her rod close to her. "Fufufu... behold mortals, the purest of flames, the hottest of cinders! This is a gift from Lord Blazewing himself! To ash do we fall, and from ash do we rise... now!" *she launches a small fireball, which then explodes into a larger flame that consumes the ground around the spider. "Hell's Maw!"

Aislinn reached into her coat, white-knuckles wrapping around the grip of her pistol as the others charged. She wouldn't use her aether but she would shoot if things began to take a dire turn. For now, she watched and waited, fighting the frustration that rose in her.

Despite the several attacks aimed at the spider, it seemed as only a selected few even had an effect on it. Riylli's rocks for once, managed to at least ground it on the spot. It's metal legs though, were stronger than the ones that they'd faced before, that much was clear from the fact that it's hindleg barely took any damage from Rising's attack. The edges of it's fleshy limbs suffering very slight charring as it detected the aether sources around it. The fire spell becoming it's first target as it had been the biggest display of aether out of all of them, with the earth rocks being a close second.

Aislinn North can see where this is going and cursed harshly under her breath. The weapon was already assessing and zeroing in on those who had created a display of aether. "Get ready to scatter." she warned.

Finishing it's scans of it's primary targets as well as potential threats, the mechanical spider made several whirring sounds, had it been a smaller one, it would have surely attempted to call for backups already. This one though, was big enough to attempt it's own attacks. Lifting the few legs that weren't trapped in stone, it attempted to free it's other legs as it hurled rocks around at the closest people within it's range whilst smaller spiders dropped off the big one, rushing at the people in the back.

N'yami watched as the crowd charged at the Crawler and watched the chaos start to form, the Seeker waited for the right time to interfere and if needed she would join the battle. Her ruby gaze kept flicking down to the device on her wrist, debating to take it off to act as bait again, that's why she was here right?

Riylli pumped more aether into her spell, refusing to allow the spider freedom so long as she could help it. "Gonna need you guys to keep those things off me! Can't exactly multitask right now!" She called to whoever might be able to help

Ready for it, Aislinn dashed out from behind the boulder as the smaller spiders charged toward them. She fired off a few shots as she went, hoping to pick a couple off before they swarmed the others.

Rising Lotus managed to dodge the stones that were throw at her, grunting and gripping her spear tightly. With a mighty shout she jabbed the tip of her spear right between where the leg meets the body, twisting and pushing open a gap towars the now exposed and vulnerable shoulder mechanics! If someone could aim several shots in there it would sure do a lot of damage!

Cravendy Hound: “Umf! Shit, thing’s built like a brick ‘ouse!” Why did she think that tackling a thing made of solid metal was a good idea to begin with? Now her shoulder felt all kinds of wrong. She rolls to dodge the flurry of rocks and, out of the corner of her eye, she sees the smaller spiders rush at the party’s backline. A bitter cocktail of anger and anxiety sets her heart alight. Not on her watch!

Cravendy grins when Rising serves her an opening on a silver platter. “Thank ye, flower. Now!” She whips her gun out and sends a flurry of shots aimed directly at the exposed circuitry.

N'ana stabbed at the smaller spiders around her. slashing and kicking the ones too close to her.

Evelyn targets the small spiders approaching her, readying another area fire spell. Without giving a small speech this time, she simply readies and casts another area fire spell, hoping to get rid of the smaller spiders coming after her. After launching her attack, she mutters "Calamity Blaze." and strikes a pose.

Relatively assured that she hadn't made herself a target for the smaller spiders, Aislinn continued to fire off shots to drop the bastards before they could reach the ones casting aether about with abandon, pausing only for the scant seconds it took her to reload. Her precision as a sharpshooter on display, she rarely seemed to miss her marks.

Riylli grit her teeth, trying to hold on as the spider did everything it could to free itself from it's bindings. "I ain't gonna be able to hold much longer! Do whatever it is you gotta do, and do it fast!" She called out to the front lines, swearing under her breath. "'Take it alive' huh? Easy to say when you aren't the one holding the damned thing..." She mutters angrily, before pumping another dose of aether into the earthen shackles

Rising Lotus grinned as Cravs fired several shots into the hole she made, twisting her body around to try and spear the other front leg, aiming for the first joint from it's body and thrusting hard, hopefully she'd continued to have good results aiming for those points compared to hacking and slashing

Cravendy feels that telltale burn of combat. Of blood boiling, of time slowing. Given her proximity to the large machine, Cravs decides to try to grab hold of another leg and directly press the end of her gun at its joint. Squeeze, and fire.

The onslaught of attacks took it's toll, for a moment it seemed that the large spider had underestimated it's targets. Such was the issue of programming it's priorities. The leg that Rising and Cravs had worked together to damage caused several circuits to go haywire. The spider had to pause for a moment as the rest of it's legs too, started taking damage from the shots, the spears and the rocks keeping it grounded all causing damage beyond acceptable parameters, the creature attempted to step back to no avail, it's smaller spiders being taken one after the other with the group work from everyone attacking it. Upon finishing it's damage calculations, it buckled down, almost compacting part of it's body for a moment as it emitted a deafening sound alongside static that was nearly palpable in the air. It wouldn't damage it's opponents as much as it would deafen them briefly, but it was for sure calling for nearby backups.

Riylli just kept channeling really. Nothing to see here. She wasn't getting tired or anything. It's fine. All fine.

Cravendy recoils at the explosive sound blaring right next to her ears. She searches for the source of the sound but can’t quite focus with this ringing in her head, so instead she opts to continue her assault. Cravs aims her gun at the spider’s chassis and fires several times. If it’s broken, the racket’ll stop, right?

N'ana shook her head feeling a bit dizzy and off balance from the noise. She put the sword inside its holdster and then drew it with a blinding light of power on one of the spiders back legs.

Aislinn staggered to the side and clapped a free hand over one ear as the blaring beacon went off. Damn it all. That thing simply needed to -die-. Gritting her teeth against the painful noise, she did her best to keep watch on the casters, and pick off any of the smaller spiders that still remained. "Someone shut it up, fast!" her words barely heard over the blaring siren.

Rising Lotus braced herself as the screech blared, bracing herself while she gazed over the ugly thing. Things usually make sound from their mouths, so she thrusted right under it's glowing eye, hoping that was where it would be? If it had one?

N'yami Synch placed her hands over her ears as the creature called out for help. Why did it need to be so loud? "Take it down now! We need to get out of here fast before the backup arrives!"

Riylli Aliapoh huffed, feeling neglected out there in the backlines, watching everyone else do cool stuff. She was not one to enjoy taking the support role, and suddenly a very stupid idea dawned on her. She grinned, "Alright, time to end this!" She called out, suddenly thrusting her arms out to the sides and pumping in every last bit of her aether, the earthen shackles that had been binding the creatures legs suddenly flying out in opposite directions, ripping the spiders legs out with them

Evelyn Blazewing covered her ears and crouched down in recoil from the harsh noise the spider emitted. "I-It's worse than the wails of the damned... shut up!" She stood up, braced herself, and fired a ball of flame at the mechanical arachnid, yelling out "Flames of Ifrit!" as she did.

Cravendy Hound brings her arms up in time to guard herself against a shower of earth and ice. “By the godsdamned Navigator! Warn me next time ye use yer magic!” But, seeing as the spider was now rendered legless by Riylli’s efforts, it seemed a good opportunity to grab and go. Cravs stumbles to the other end of the machine and tries to lift it. They had to get this thing, and themselves, out of here fast.

While incredibly risky and stupid, Riylli's idea worked, the sudden pull from the rocks alongside it's already damaged legs nearly ripped all of them off on the spot. Only one leg remaining, which was the one N'ana kept attacking as the blasted thing started to squirm as much as it could. Several smaller spiders dropped off it's insides, clearly confused as the signal it was sending out to them was not going off well thanks to the damage caused by Rising and Crav's shots.

N'yami bolted towards the giant spider and went to lift it with Cravs. "Let's go go go." The carbuncle grew in size to be big enough to ride and trotted up to Riylli incase she needed to be carried home. "Those who can lift get over here."

The large spider was rendered defenseless, and most of all, it was half intact.

Riylli fell to her knees, aether spent and body exhausted. She grit her teeth and picked herself back up, using her staff to keep her balance as she didn't want people seeing how wiped out she was. "What else could 'time to end this' mean!?" Riylli shot back to Cravs, before carefully trying to crawl her way off the boulder she was dramatically perched on. Maybe exhausting herself right before it was time to run... was not the best plan

Rising pulled her spear back just in time to watch Riylli pull it's legs off like a child would do to a bug, and probably Riylli to a bug too honestly. Quickly returning her spear to her back, she made her way to the front, squatting down and preparing to lift it with the others.

As the limbs come off the spider in a mighty pull of earth, Aislinn wasted no time rushing towards the downed bioweapon, taking out the small spiders that wandered around in confusion. "Alright. N'yami's right. Let's take it and run." she holstered her weapon and made ready to lift along with the others.

Evelyn applauded Riylli's display, a proud smile on her face. "Excellent, truly excellent work, mortal. Your prowess with the earth is quite remarkable..."

Cravendy grumbles something under her breath about being more specific, that “time to end this” should clearly state -how- as well. But it was all bullshit and Cravs knew it - couldn’t expect people to say all that in the heat of the battle. Didn’t stop her from complaining the whole way back though.

Riylli gave a tired grin, always ready to accept some praise. "Best geomancer in eorzea, you can bet on it! You were a big help with that fire though. Couldn't have done it without ya." She said with a nod, before noticing the large carbuncle seemingly waiting for her to pass out. "Oh, hey... you. You offering a ride?" She asked, giving a shrug as she hopped on and did her best not to look so relieved.

As Heartwood managed to take the giant Crawler back, hopefully Haila was fine with the size of it, the group successfully completed their mission and even managed to escape the backup before they showed up but now the real question. How are they going to get it through the door?

#ffxiv rp #balmung rp #ffxiv crystal rp #Heartwood Ventures #Heartwood plots #Primary Access Required #Cravendy Hound #n'yami synch #N'ana Firesong #riylli aliapoh #rising lotus #aislinn north #haila wetyios #Evelyn Blazewing

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pocketninja-ffxiv · 9 months

Text

N'yami shenanigan like always.

@lettersnorth Thank you for putting up with my hyper active child.

#balmung rp #ff14 #ffxiv rp #ffxiv screenshots #final fantasy 14 #n'yami synch #Neville Synch #aislinn north #Bribing Locke #Locke I'm so sorry for when you meet N'yami

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lettersnorth · 2 years

Text

The Commission: Complete!

Neville was at the work bench the four "guns" were already on the table what was in front of him was the aether infuser, it was a small box that looked perfectly normal to keep at ones side for cereluem, however there was not even an ounce of it much to Yami's sadness, As the man's goggles were zoomed in four times akin to an old man as he had a tiny allag rod in one hand as he started to adjust some of the inner mechanics. Neville Synch: "Almost got it again.. This is why we can't have you test these.. your aether just makes holes in the target dummies.. I swear.. you need to control it more.."

N'yami was sitting off in her 'grounded' chair for blowing up another dummy after trying to test the weapons. "Not my fault the dummy couldn't stay standin', maybe the carpenters guild should make dummies that can actually withstand aether blasts." Legs kicked up on the table Yami hand her arms folded behind her head while balancing a screwdriver on her nose while Neville worked. "Yer the one that also asked me to test them so really whose fault is it?"

Neville: "Yer supposed to be able to control yer aether better than that.. And Don't you put it on the poor dummy, you went all "LETS REALLY TEST THESE OUT" And channeled enough of your aether to rip a head off."

Neville used a variant of her excited voice for the LETS REALLY TEST THESE OUT.

Having got word from Yami that her weapons were ready, Aislinn peeled herself away from her work at Heartwood with a rush of excitement. After being let in by one of Neville and Yami's children, she made her way downstairs in time to hear the exchange. "I dunno...making holes in things is what I want to do with these, right?" she said in that way of hers that made it difficult to decide if she was joking or not. She lifted a hand in greeting as a subtle smile crossed her face. "I received your missive. Are they truly ready?" Neville: "Ah Ey Aislinn, Yes, Yes, just have to re-adjust the main aetherical converter.. I even out did myself this time, Yer old ones you brought in I modified the back crystals with Allag Linking protocal, auto adjusting of course, I've added a ring to em as well so if you want to control em manually rather then purely through aether the option is there too."

"The back of em is the real trick, The crystal housed there will create a linking invisible ley line with the converter here, and I've added slots for up to eh.. six or so crystals.. so most of the aetherical types, I worked with Kaiya the former heartwood medic a bunch and was her test subject so I remembered a lot of the scholar shit, rest I hired an adventurer i helped before.. course feel free to use your own augments but I have the standard glyphs on each crystal.."

N'yami leaned forward so the screwdriver landed in her lap. "See? Ya know how funny it would be if she threatened someone at Heartwood if they weren't listenin'? I'd pay to see someone ask Aislinn to test that theory."

Neville continued on, "And if you want to get extra fun, you can place just good ol regular crystals and fire off multi elemental blasts as well.. Course you'd need to bring some extra crystals with ya as it wears out fast."

Neville finished the adjusting and then gently covered the precise mechanics with a heavy shit of garlon steel, and sealed it, the outer shell was ornate but there was heft and if this thing fell or was even shot it'd likely not be damaged. Aislinn was no slouch when it came to technology but even she had to take a moment and work through all Neville had just explained to her. "Manually." she grabbed onto that word. "You mean in a pinch, I can shoot one of them off like a traditional firearm?" she liked the sound of that. Mostly because it was what she knew and what she was used to. She was under no delusions that learning to control these instruments on aether alone was going to be a learning curve. "It sounds like you thought of a hells lot more than I was expecting. Assuming I can get the handle of these, I shouldn't need much else to get the job done." She slid N'yami a sidelong glance of amusement at her comment. "Pretty sure you needn't pay for it. It's only a matter of time, the way they carry on."

Neville nodded his head, "They have their own aetherical supplies that will last a bit of time, but the ring lets you control their course of action, and.. because Yami was part of this project, he walked over to a small switch on the ring, and pointed," If you get in a pinch and aether doesn't work, I've loaded 4 slugs into each of em that if you ran your inner finger across these, You'll be able to swap from casting to well.. Ya know.. Blasting someones head open."

Aislinn looks at N'yami with something akin to deep affection

"They'll still float and all that so just move the ring around and aim yer finger at em, It's like finger guns.. but ya know....More deadly."

N'yami made an explosion motion with her hands and made the sounds for it. "Gotta be prepared for all things."

Neville: "You'll really make a point in combat with that."

Aislinn a huff of amazed laughter escaped her. "Finger guns. I never imagined that'd be a viable tactic, but here we are." She watches the way Neville points out the details, committing it to memory. "I'm assuming you tested them...hence the obliterated dummies but did you find them hard to get a handle on?"

Neville: "Thats a Yami question my aetherical prowess is that of a dead fish."

Aislinn blinks and opens her mouth but refrains from asking the question. Recognizing at the last second, that despite her curiosity, it would be rude. Instead she nods and looks questioningly to Yami.

N'yami "Nah, took me a second to get used to them since I've never worked with four weapons at once but after some time ya get used to it and it'll feel like second nature to ya. So don't feel discouraged the first couple tries!"

Neville: "The converter is key to get used too, if you can get quick at swapping shit out.. The guns will work perfectly. Course you can use em normally as those Sharlayans too.. But thats normal and boring."

A touch of relief eases into Aislinn’s expression as she eyes the weapons. "That's good to know. It's been awhile since I've had full use of my own aether, I'm honestly a touch nervous about it but from everything you two have told me, there's so many modifications made to these there's more than enough ancillary backups should things go sideways." Reaching out she lifts up one of the guns, turning it over in both hands, the heft and weight reassuring and close to what she knew. Smiling a genuine smile, she looked at both of them. "I really can't thank you enough for everything you thought of."

Neville: "If you think of something or want something more you can yell at us.. it was a pretty interesting project. I've never created a link like that.. The one between the guns and the converter."

Aislinn scoffs in a good-natured way. "More?" she asks incredulously. "I'm not sure what more you could do them."

N'yami: "He's the one that came up with everythin'." She said tilting her head back in Neville's direction. "I got grounded from the project after testin' them sssoooo....I just helped get supplies mainly." She laughed as if it were a normal thing when she got grounded from projects.

Neville: "I could add a magitek rocket launcher to auto seek targets if the slugs run out.. An ancillery.. Magitek Ishgardian shielding device to the converter.." Neville Synch: "An ADS node's programing to auto select different glyphs.. Need The old mans help with that one.. That sort of thing.. But I didn't want to overload ya.. and Yami got angry at me for dipping into my own budget.." N'yami: "Aislinn would be the most feared healer in Heartwood if she had a rocket launcher, like to see someone run away from healin' after bein' threatened with that."

Aislinn laughed along with Yami, though the way she saw it, Yami testing things was how she ended up getting good ol' regular slugs added to her weapon, so she wasn't opposed. But the resulting damage Yami usually left in her wake wasn't /normally/ Lin's problem either. She blinks, eyes going wide at Neville's rundown of further modifications. "You honestly had me at rocket launcher." she held up a hand.

N'yami seemed to start vibrating in her chair and eyes went wide like a child on Starlight. "Let's make a rocket launcher." She sounded way too excited about this.

"Let me get used to these as they are...but that ADS system sounds interesting and a way to further streamline the process. I may be back." Aislinn chuckled.

Neville nodded his head," Aye.. The old man spent.. nearly six or seven months cooped up between Gubal and his own studies figuring that shit out. Some madness about using Asya Llha primal recreation machines to simulate aetherical travel through an immense void or some shite. It goes far over my head, but the end result was him figuring out how to manually program the lil drones."

"In truth, it goes too far over mine as well. Not to mention I've enough sense not to mess with the void." An understatement. It freakin' terrified Aislinn. "I've not met him but if G'lewra sees something in him, he must have more than a decent head on his shoulders."

Neville: "He's an idiot."

Aislinn bursts out laughing

N'yami: "He's...yea a little bit."

Neville: "That says something when Y ami says it.. considering how she is."

Aislinn: "Then I suppose there's a different appeal."

Neville shrugs

N'yami slowly turned to look at Neville and gave him a questioning look. "Whatcha mean considerin' how I am?"

Neville: "Yer an idiot too. Just look how you treated our Dummy."

Aislinn North looks down at the weapons once more. "I should get out of your way. Is there anything further I should know before I make off with these and get to training back at Heartwood?"

Neville: "Couldn't resist, Ah right, Go forth and bring healing pain to all those who stand in yer path.. And Yami will work our whatever she wants to charge ya."

N'yami: "Yea well! You married this idiot!" She huffed before looking back at Linn. "Think we went over everythin', if ya need repairs or need a small tweak to it just give us a call we're always around."

Neville: "And I love you my perfect idiot" He said with a toothy smirk looking back towards Lin, " Really though was a fun.. project, let us know if you want to add anything or add tweaks."

Aislinn dips her head as she accepts Neville's words of commission before nodding to Yami "I will. I'll give you an update after I've had a chance to warm to them."

Aislinn carefully collects the weapons, slipping them into a long leather knapsack made for hauling sniper rifles around. Because of course she had one of those. The ring she takes up and slips into her pocket before smiling and tipping her head in farewell. "Thank you both again. So much. Good luck with your other projects and let me know if I can do anything for you." she said as she turned to make her way out.

Neville offered a wave," Have a good day there Aislinn!"

N'yami: "Nah, thank you for lettin' us work on the project. Have fun and update us on how it all works!" She grinned at the hyur while offering a small wave goodbye.

#ffxiv rp #balmung rp #rp snippets #Lin's guns of healing are complete #and kick-ass #so kick-ass #Neville Synch #N'Yami Synch #Aislinn North

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lettersnorth · 2 years

Text

The Commission

With a sliver of a break in her work schedule, Aislinn had finally turned to a project she had been contemplating since her return from Sharlayan. The only problem was, weaponry was a -touch- out of her wheelhouse. And firearms generally weren't the sort of thing a person just wanted to 'wing'. Recalling N'yami's offer to help out on that end if she ever needed it, Aislinn made the trek to the Seeker's place of residence.

Stepping into the shop, she shifted the weight of a bulky bundle she held over her shoulder and took a moment to look around. She'd never actually visited the place yet, to be honest. The work on display in the blacksmith’s shop was impressive. Aislinn had definitely come to the right person.

"Alright there, Yami?" she greeted, spying the woman across the entryway. "Kinda dropping by unannounced. Got a minute?"

Neville had his shield placed down on the smithing table as he struck it a few times, refining an edge of it, His ears flicked as he heard the door open," Oi Yami.. Customer you got it?" He hollered from below.

Aislinn blinked, her gaze briefly dropping to the floor, from underneath which the disembodied voice had rose. The steady ringing of metal told her the smithing must happen somewhere below.

N'yami was going over the supplies in the shop to see if they needed to restock on anything, so far they were doing pretty good but Yami always liked having the shop over prepared incase something happened. An obisidian carbuncle stood next to her at hip level with a small Miqo'te child on it's back, two tails wrapped around N'kun's waist while the third supported his back. The kit looked exactly like his mother and at the sound of a new person in the house the kit offered a wave.

Another child stood by the counter, looking to be about nine summers the auburn haired boy looked at Aislinn with wide green eyes before jogging over to his mother to hide behind her. "I got it!" She called down to Neville then offered the Hyur a grin. "I always got a minute, N'kun you don't have to be scared of her bud she's nice." The small Seeker looked out from behind her before bolting to the giant door that slid open for him to go hide downstairs with his father. "Sorry he's shy."

Neville stretched, as he laid his tools down in a "neat" pile, as he walked up the steps, his hair slightly grimed and a few notches of coal on his cheeks, he looked to be relatively young 25 or so summers, one ear was piqued slightly,"Need me to take the kits?" He said as he poked his head out of the workshop area.

Aislinn watched as the boy darted off. If anyone understood the urge, it was the runty highlander. She shook her head. "Not offended in the least." she said with a huff of amusement. Remembering to resist the pull to get right down to nuts and bolts, she gave a small wave to the younger kit as she stepped further into the shop. "This is a nice place you've got here. How's business been?"

"Doing well! We usually get business from the Grand Companies when they need weapons, and then the usual repairs when someone breaks a weapon....which is usually a lot." She shook her head and sighed. "Don't understand how someone can break a weapon so much. But anyways! What can I do for ya?" The three year old kept staring at Linn and started making faces, giggling at his own antics. "Kits are fine, I think N'kusa is just shy at the moment, he'll warm up to Linn in a little."

Neville tilted his head, "Friend of yers..Wait Linn.. Hold on.. I got it.. Don't tell me.." He said staring and then he looked down as he held his chin,"You for sure have mentioned her.. And you said how someone breaks weapons.. so it's someone you don't want them to know you break weapons at a constant..So.. uhm.." He did a quick pace,"Yer either a grand company officer.. but the further comment doesn't make sense or something in the company she knows ye?"

Aislinn glanced over at Neville's sudden appearance. Ahh, a face to match the voice she heard earlier. The acknowledging nod she gives to him is brief, an upward tip of her chin. As he muses aloud, she quietly studies him, a subtle twitch tugging at the edge of her lips as he came to his conclusion. "I'm with Heartwood." she said in that quiet way of hers. "Afraid you've got the advantage of me though."

Aislinn shifts her attention to Yami with a jesting glint in her eye. "Haven't broken anything....important in awhile though." she added

"She's one of the Heartwood members that you can trust, and ya know, doesn't blow stuff up randomly." Granted Yami had nowhere to talk cause she was that one who blew stuff up cause that always solves the problem. "Wanna head downstairs? Can actually sit down and talk about what ya came here for." Walking over to the door the Seeker pressed a button so the door could slide open again. "Kusa is probably still hidin' down there."

Neville Synch: "That she'd tell you about, do you want me to show you the "Broken inventions box, Cause I had to make one." He said with a smirk,"Names Nev, I'm this ones husband and the kits dad, And the co-owner of this place, Pleasure and all that, and Ya sure you want to invite her to the mess..?"

N'yami Synch: "It's not a broken inventions box it's a 'I'll get back to it when I feel like it' box."

Neville Synch: "Oh sure.. The Giant gunblade shotgun, that you attached an imperial harpoon too as well that nearly took out Whack huh."

Aislinn just stares at Yami. She shouldn't be surprised, this is the woman that sets off explosions as a way to announce her arrival, after all. "See, this is why I came to you."

N'yami Synch: "That was one time! And it seemed like a good idea in my dream, and I learned....I'm sorry Whack." The carbuncle looked back at her with a long look that said 'I'll never forget'. This carbuncle could hold a grudge. "See! This is why she came to me!" She looked at her husband with a huge grin after Linn's comment. "I'm a delight."

"We are not responsible for any harm she pushes towards you..Nor are we liable if you hurt yourself in the workshop.." Neville said with a sigh," Then again, yer with Heartwood.. You've likely been blown up at least a dozen times..."

Neville Synch: "Likely eaten by a few.. strangely sized birds and animals too.."

Aislinn makes a noise of agreement in the back of her throat. "Duly noted. I see you're familiar with Heartwood." she dryly replies

Neville nodded ," I was the bartender and a member back in the day.. Technically..? I think I still am..? Never was fired.. just uh.. bar blew up.. And I was on hold.. and Kaiya handled most of my paperwork.. And she's off being.. " He paused,"Happy for Kaiya standards now."

Neville: "Twelve, Kaiya and happy.. Just doesn't come off the tongue well."

Neville: "Cmon Whack." As he lowered his shoulder and the carbuncle jumped up like a parrot.

N'yami chuckled. "Feel free to follow him down there, gonna close the door so no one else comes in randomly."

Aislinn tries hard not to laugh but it's there, held back by the barest of threads as she presses her lips tightly together. "The bar's seen some things, to be sure." she nods to Yami and makes her way downstairs.

Neville: "I'd say you shoulda seen it before, but when it was ya know.. the sauna and spa combo bar.. I saw things I don't want to remember.. " He said with a shake of his head," So recruiting Yami for some voidal goose chase?"

Aislinn hefts up her long, rectangular pack off her shoulder and sets it gingerly down on the table. There's the delicate sound of metal and glass tinkling against one another. "Not....at the moment. But I make no promises. Thank you, by the way, for the help with that aetheric amplifier you two deconstructed awhile back."

N'yami: "Yea, I think Nys is still mad when I broke the bar counter a few summers back....she did mention she wanted to remodel the bar so I just helped move things along." She didn't mention that she had suplexed someone into the bar and that's how it broke." N'kusa went to go grab his brother and they both went to the little bed to play with the toys that littered it, he seemed to be getting used to Aislinn being around and would look up every so often to see what the adults were doing.

Aislinn paused and glanced at Yami "Bar went through something like that not too long back. We've since rebuilt it though. Been broke so many times it's a wonder Nyscera still gets upset about it."

Neville: "I stay on Nys's good side.. I saw her and the old idiot fight full out.. I don't fuck with her."

"Smart man." Aislinn notes as she starts pulling the contents of her pack out onto the table.

N'yami: "How are ya scared of yer aunt? I'm not even scared of the old man cause all ya gotta do is fluster the poor bastard then book it, easily avoid the punishment of being bonked on the head by him." She shrugged, really just giving her husband a hard time, she too was scared of Nys but would never admit it. "So what are we workin' on?"

Aislinn: "So here's the thing." she begins as she extricates one long, almost blade-like creation from the pack. Except there's no hilt. The base is intricate metal plating that shines under the lantern light before it gives way to a crystaline metal tube that curves gracefully to a point. "Brought myself a souvenir back from Sharlayan. Nouliths. You familiar with these at all?" she asks as she produces a full set. Four in total.

Neville: "I'm not some aetherical conduit of aether like you.. My aether's fried.." He rolled his head," His eyes looked down as his ears perked slightly, "Oh those are the aetherical manipulation directly pathed multi-focusi aye..?" He said his entire deamnor changing in a near instant, as he flicked his goggles down, if Aislinn was familliar, the goggles seemed to radiate a soft aetherical hum, As he could never see aether, He had his ways around such.

Neville: "Never heard the name, but I have heard of someone people seein' em in some battles.." He mumbled quietly, "Not much though.. And also.. Hells, you made it into Sharlayan? ...Must of bribed some damn good pirates.." He mumbled as well.

Aislinn shifted her attention to Neville at the mention of fried aether. An issue she herself knew rather well. Perhaps that's why she recognized the soft hum of aetheric gadgetry. She had done her fair share of augmenting her dearth of aetheric ability, as the cuff of distinctly Allagan design on her wrist could attest to. "I wouldn't say bribe." she said carefully. "I know someone though, aye." She doesn't elaborate. Clearly, it'd be best if Neville didn't ask too many questions.

N'yami: "Ya know if ya ever want to go to Sharlayan just ask Ma or I to take you, gotta remember we lived there for some time, between there and Thavnair." She looked down at the weapons and gave a soft nod. "Heard of them, Ma had me make her a pair a while back but I haven't seen her use them yet, I never ask her what she's doin' just make what I'm asked."

Neville: "Wha.. You never showed me those! Did you makre sure the focusi were linked properly?"

N'yami: "Course I did." She wasn't going to mention how the first set exploded cause she used her aether to test it......she learned.

Aislinn bounces her gaze between the two as they banter. "So you're familiar enough with them. That's good. These are all well and solid but...they don't work for me." She looks between him and N'Yami. "That's why I'm here. Is there a way to take this principal and apply it to something I'm more familiar with...firearms, for example?"

Neville: "What kind of firearm exactly, I've already got crystal based ammo firearms figured out.. but what cha thinking you want to do with these exactly, and don't think we'll call you crazy or anything of the sort.. Just more of whatcha want in your head."

Neville moved forward without touching the weapons he leaned in and looked around em, his eyes not focused on her but she could tell the miqote was listening.

N'yami stared at the weapons and then at Linn, then back at the weapons. Her eyes lit up like lights on Starlight and the tip of her tail started to twitch with excitement. "I'm sure as hells gonna find a way cause that sounds like hella fun." She nodded to agree with Neville. "This is a judge free workshop, right kiddos?" Both kids looked up from their toys and held up their little projects in agreement, it looked as if Yami had taken scrape metal to make puzzles out of them to keep them busy.

Aislinn's glad he asked, she produces a thing folio she had tucked into her coat. Setting it down, she flipped it open and withdrew a rough schematic sketch. "Something like this." The firearm in question was like a long barreled flintlock. Minus the trigger and hammer. "I want it to do the same as these. Fire off aetheric shots, work in unison, create shielding, the whole nine yalms. Packing more of a wallop in the shot department wouldn't be a bad thing though."

Neville: "So ya want us to shove a scholar book into each of em with all you want to do.."

N'yami: "So wait...if ya use this for healin' too does this mean yer goin' to have to shoot people to help them? Cause if so I'm now fully in on this project." She could be such a shit. "No one warn Heartwood, let them learn."

Neville hummed as he leaned his head back, His eyes thinking through," Gonna need to use some of the old idiots allag pieces.. maybe an ADS reinforcements on the barrel.. Link em with a modified soul crystal... Might be able to figure out a piece since they'll be so small.." He mused as if he looked at her schematics and he was adjusting them in his own mind," I think we could do it.. Might take a bit.. some trial and error.. gonna need to make a prototype not to break what you gave us.. Also.. It'll be pricey.. Gotta used some of our shit in reserve."

Aislinn tilts her head. "Suppose it's really about making them a conduit for all that. I got the arcanist bit down." she glanced at Yami with amusement. "Not sure Lewra would approve of me shooting our members full of aetheric healing. Probably going to need to rely on old fashioned geometric calculations for that still."

Neville shrugged. "Lewra I think even gets tired of Heartwoods antics. and hells she's all shacked up with the idiot, she has to know how to take poor humor, cause twelve it's bad."

Neville: "As for the rest.. How familiar are ya with machnist's packs..? I'm thinking of minimizing one and linking aetherical conduits with chips of the crystals to allow for easier casting and faster.. but... just a thought.. It would allow ya to not have so much issues with on the spot calculations."

Aislinn: "Hmm...though I won't lie and say I won't be tempted to do so if they have it coming. Some of them deserve it." She listened intently to Neville's suggestion, the wheels of her mind turning along. "Fairly familiar. Honestly more comfortable around packs and firearms than whatever pretty piece of art this is." she waves at the nouliths. "Always making calculations though. How's this going to be different?"

Neville: "It' do it for ya, I'm familiar with Scholars diagrams.. I"ll etch a few crystals and stack em in a modified machinist pouch, and link em directly through a central soul crystal that is linked directly to the four focusi of the floatin guns."

Neville: "You'd be able to change out the etching's if ya like too, just would require a nicely refined crystal, think of it as using a different gun barrel for each crystal.. but with the firepower being yer direct aetherical input. Ya would just need to keep the crystals balanced, and reload em when you can as crystals will drain and become unstable or unaspected."

(Neville Synch) if ye just want normal thats fine too, Just throwing out nev's half baked schemes ~ (Neville Synch) He's a dork for inventions and gets fully invested near instantly when he's challenged with ideas. (N'yami Synch) Yami over here like 'Ah yes, he's making friends, good' (Aislinn North) ((Lin is all about these half baked schemes))

That was pretty bloody ingenious. The rise of Aislinn's brow more than said as much. "Aye, that'd cut down on time by a fair amount. Got more than enough crystals stored back at the lab." It was an understatement. For awhile siphoning off and storing her own aetheric energies was all but a necessity. "Sounds like it'll work."

Aislinn glanced between the two. "I know you said this'll get expensive. I've a bit saved up. Any way you could work up an estimate and shoot it my way when you have a better of idea of -how- expensive?"

Neville: 'Should.. Gotta figure out the linking between four different focusi.. Might use the olds mans research with using the base of a carbuncle crystal without the personality etching.. And modify it with a soul crystal to allow it to freely give aether.. mm.. got to watch out for the disruption.. But aye, We can handle the job." He said leaning up flicking his goggles up," Can't tell you the price up front, but likely be a large sum.. ADS mounting doesn't come cheap.. and we need the metal to be aetherically welcoming."

Aislinn nods "Rather not cheap out on a piece of weaponry I'll need to depend on. Worst case, I pick up a few extra jobs that come in."

N'yami: "Once we figure out a price for ya we can always work out a payment plan with ya too, since ya work for Heartwood we trust ya to pay it off, makes life a little easy for ya and since it'll take a little to work on this ya might get it paid off by the time we're done too."

Neville nodded his head," Aye thats fine.

Neville turned towards Yami," She seems pretty normal how the hells did Nys hire her.." He looked back to Lin," No offense.. Just Heartwood has a uh.. certain rep."

Aislinn glances at N'yami with a grateful look. "I'll probably take you up on that offer." She glanced down at the nouliths with a subtle, but undeniable smile. Her reverie was interrupted by a short breath of laughter that escaped her. "In that case, doesn't it make perfect sense that Nyscera hired me?"

N'yami: "Hell's if I know, I haven't done an interview for that place in so long, granted most of the paperwork I was given ended up in the forge cause I don't have time to deal with that."

Neville Synch stares. Eyeing Aislinn closely,"I think I might be scared of this one too.. She's one of those got something under the surface types isn't she?"

Neville: "Anywho we all got shit on the backend, Deal is made.. We can work out a prototype in what two weeks we only got a few sword and armor orders from the adders coming up.."

N'yami: "I'm just a blacksmith I don't know shit." She nodded in agreement. "With both of us workin' on it should be good, hells I could finish up the Adder's orders if ya wanted to start on this. Wouldn't be the first time one of worked on a project solo, just keep me updated on everythin' ya do with it."

Neville: "Gonna need your aether fingers. Gotta shove some aether around, I'll make the etchings clean nuff so you don't blow out a piece of the roof this time."

Aislinn glances upwards at that. Not that she could even see the roof from where they stood.

N'yami: "That was only two times!"

Somehow she's glad she's not going to be the one working on this project. Aetheric weaponry was delicate, touchy work. If evidence of how many explosions this place had seen was proof of the matter. "I'm hoping my idea doesn't bring on a third."

Neville: "Six if you count when we were testing the ishgard cannon and I said NO live ammo."

Aislinn North eyes widened at that. Their poor neighbors.

N'yami huffed. "Tellin' me to test a cannon without live ammo." She rolled her eyes with a pout. "No fun."

Neville hung his head in defeat, "Well get it done.. And with hopefully limited damage to the house.. And me.."

Aislinn could see the point. Just...maybe not close to or in the house. But again, this is likely why Nyscera hired her. That strange, out of place voice of reason. "Nymeia's Grace, let's hope so." She nodded to Neville and then Yami. "Thank you both for going along with this idea. I need to be heading back anyroads. Florus has me etching up some synthetic auracite for him."

N'yami: "No faith in me." She shook her head. "But aye, we'll get it started for ya and keep ya updated on what we work on or if you need somethin' added just come stop by again."

Neville: "Or if ye have any idea or modifications we stay around normally unless I'm running to save her ass."

Aislinn gives a low laugh. "If I think of any, I'll be sure to pop in. But it honestly sounds like you two know what you're doing better than me."

N'yami: "No problem, we gotta start gettin' the kits ready for bed anyways." N'kun had already passed out on the small bed but N'kusa was still tinkering with the small cube he was working on. "Just been a lot of trial and error for us is all, so we know what to look out for."

"Aye, that was my thinking." Aislinn smiled at Yami "Take care. Seriously." And then a nod to Neville. "It was good to meet you. I like your ideas."

Neville nodded his head," Pleasure is all mine, We don't really get many visitors so got more ideas we are happy to help.. normally we'd do it for free but this is gonna take a bit extra.. As for everything else stop by whenever again.. Yami, we promised em dessert and I am not dealing with the wrath of the kits.. We have rolanberry pops in the kitchen"

With a wave, Aislinn excuses herself and lets the two of them go about settling the kits in for the night.

#ffxiv rp #balmung rp #rp snippets #Nouliths sure #But what if they were guns?#Two weaponsmiths crazy enough to go along with her schemes #N'Yami Synch #Neville Synch #Aislinn North

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pocketninja-ffxiv · 3 years

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"There are those that fear me, and call me a ‘Monster’. I’ve learned to embrace it because I know at times I can become one when it comes to protectin’ those I care about.” - N’yami Synch

#N'yami Synch #FFXIV #seeker of the sun #miqo'te seeker #ffxiv seeker #void hunter #ffxiv dark knight #dark knight

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heartwoodventures · 3 years

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Primary Access Required: Run, Rabbit, Run

Aislinn made her way into the room, giving a wordless nod of greeting to those already gathered. She zeroed in on a chair and sat slowly and stiffly down onto it, letting go a breath as she did so.

Alexi took a glance around as he came down the stairs. "Oh! So there are others around. I was beginning to wonder."

Aislinn lifted her gaze to the Hrothgar as he appeared at the edge of the room. "Aye. Here and there. As I understand it, there's to be a meeting shortly." she said, her subdued voice barely carrying across the way.

Alexi quirks a brow and leans against the door frame, arms folding. "A meeting? What about?"

Haila glanced back to nod in greeting towards Alexi. "A discussion of a not so recent expedition that one of our members organized. But I'll wait for the news to be given more officially in a few moments."

From where he sat on the couch, Mivo'to flickered his eyes, his red companion finally coming to rest atop his waist after a handful of stern glances. "Business as ever. 'Twould seem Heartwood is not to be offered reprise by the Twelve."

Aislinn nodded, glad to let someone else do the talking.

"As much as I wished to call this business the usual... 'Tis not anymore. Not after the near endless time I had with our little mechanical guests to figure out more. But once more, time to wait just a tiny bit for those coming." Haila explained, sighing as she reached for a small canteen on her side to open and take a few sips. Of what, only she knew.

Alexi Grenasch: "Either way, I've been looking for M'shara. She left the Bozjan front before me by quite a while and I had hoped to find her upon my return this morning. She wasn't at her home, so I decided to just wait here for her."

Mivo'to offered a single blink before the Hrothgar's ponderance, his still expression drifting to the slumbering rodent atop his legs. Nary a twitch pulled at his lips, thoughts drifting elsewhere as he offered an idle scratch to the Panda.

Aislinn's gaze skated away from Alexi, also avoiding his words. She just didn't have it in her to say more.

Rising Lotus was mostly watching the fish swim about as she sat on the counter before the tank, she wasn't quite sure what the latest had been with the whole situation as of late.

Once more, Haila's ears twitched, this time at the sudden sound of the front door bursting open. She stood quickly and rushed to the lobby to check. Upon seeing Altani out of breath on the floor, she went to her side, gently tapping the Viera on the shoulder as if to let her know that they were there.

Alexi sat up straight, his ears perking up at the sound from the other room! With a grunt, he stood and followed...

Mivo'to followed the attention of his Panda as its eyes snapped to the thunder of the door, swiftly exiting from its brief slumber as it scampered forth. "Twelve's name..." He murmured softly, chasing after the inquisitive beast - Only to grind to a halt upon the scene.

Altani rolled onto her back curling her fist into a ball smacking herself on her chest another loud cough coming out of her, she stayed silent for a moment before sitting up glancing to the crowd facing her, she never did much like crowds and now it only made her feel even worse as she tried to speak up "W-We...Shite...W-We went l-look for Vanriri..." Whatever she was trying to say it clearly wasn't easy as she choked up looking down at her thighs.

N'yami ears flicked as her ruby gaze turned towards the Viera who came bursting through the door, pushing herself off the pillar the Seeker turned to see what was going on. Why was Altani out of breath? The hell's happened? The confusion was clear on Yami's face, maybe she needed to come around the house more to keep up with everything.

Aislinn pulled herself to her feet, her expression blank as she followed in the others' wake.

Rising Lotus followed suit, wanting to see the commotion her self, and it felt kind weird to just be sitting there alone.

Mivo'to Laaski twisted his figure around, eyes falling upon the recently vacated study. With a raised finger, the Keeper would gesture forth, ears flapping through the air. "Pray, might we make arrangement for the Miss? She is clearly in a state of shock." He spoke, attention trailing to and fro between the trio and their newly arrived Viera. "I shall fetch water - Poor Miss is probably running on naught but willpower."

Haila Wetyios 's expression turned rather grim, so the news she'd suspected and found data on were probably about to be confirmed. She looked up towards Mivo'to and nodded. "Aye, bring some water quick. And you, take a breath first... We'll need you to tell us what happened with a clear head."

Aislinn stared at Mivo'to a moment, as if it was taking her time to process his words. Then, with an inhalation of breath, she pushed herself forward towards the Viera. "Can you stand? Do you want to come sit down?" she asked with perfunctory calm, eyes moving critically over the woman, looking for any glaring injuries.

Alexi just stood back, letting clearer heads and more careful hands tend to the woman. He just watched. He'd been waiting all morning for M'shara after he'd returned and been told she'd gone out to help someone. Now, he was getting a bad feeling from this new arrival...

Altani shook her head after a few moments, listening to reason for once she tried to simply breath, but as Aislinn spoke to her she gave a light shrug "I-Im fine...j-just-" She coughed again her throat was probably akin to a desert at the moment, but at a glance she seemed to be fine more or less, her boots were caked in mud and her clothes were drenched as she reached up pulling her goggles down around her neck, a clear ring of dust and grime surrounding her eyes "N-Not good news ive got..."

"Aye... Such seems to be the only thing that comes through these doors these days. Here, can you stand?" Haila offered a hand to the woman, then nodded towards the library." I think everyone present needs to hear what you've been through." she added, still looking intently at the Viera.

Rising Lotus inched in a bit closer to hear the woman speak, keeping enough distance where she wouldn't be in the way. She had only spoke with Haila breifly about the whole big thing they were dealing with early in the week, so she was curious what the latest was.

Aislinn's lips twitch downward at that. The only sign of any sort of expression at all. Haila was right, and though Aislinn had no idea what news Altani brought she could only wonder how many hits Heartwood would be required to take. Awkwardly, she pulled herself back to her feet, trying to be mindful of her injuries that were still on the mend. "Aye. She's right." Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Mivo'to had reappeared and made way for him.

Mivo'to reemerged after sometime, a swooshing wooden tankard clasped tightly between his palms. "Apologies, apologies, nary a clean mug in this-" He rambled, taking a plunging step forth to present the tankard of water before the Viera. "Easy does it, my Lady, easy does..."

Altani glanced away from the gaze but she took the hand shakily standing slowly pushing most of her weight onto Halia slowly wandering wherever Haila took her, but at the sight of the tankard she didnt wait a moment before grabbing it from Mivo'to chugging it down in seconds not even thinking as she dropped it the the floor "O-M-My bad..."

The uncanny speed at which the tankard had been down at least brought Haila a brief smirk. Altani didn't seem injured, that was enough for her. "Don't worry about it. Come along.." she said, leading the Viera back into the library area for her to take a seat.

Aislinn trailed after them and returned to her seat, watching Altani with a note of trepidation. She knew she had best steel herself for whatever was coming next. Mivo'to positioned themself far from the scene, arms folding upon his chest as an askewed gaze met the two Viera.

Alexi was the last to follow, taking his previous spot against the door frame. His tail tip still flicked harshly back and forth, telling of his anxiousness.

Altani let out a quiet sigh, knowing everyone's eyes were on her as she leaned back, she new it was pointless to beat around the bust so she simply let it out "...Vanriri, M-M'shara a-and...G'lewra were all...taken by the u-uh..the spider shites....allagan things...a-ate em or something...?" She didnt really know how it worked or what the hells she'd seen "T-Think they arent dead though like...ate em weirdly...pulled em into its guts with lie...m-metal tendrils or something..."

Haila nodded slowly as Altani spoke, even opting to cross her arms as she leaned absentmindedly against the couch, piecing together Altani's tale in her mind. "It took them then." she merely commented, waiting for the rest to process what had been just said before sharing what she knew.

Mivo'to lifted a brow, lips parting as an ever concerned breath passed between his fangs. 'Ate', was it? He had little knowledge on their machinations, but such a description can hardly mean anything pleasent. "Miss Haila? Any trace of what she may be describing?" He questioned, turning to their resident expert.

Aislinn tensed as she stared at Altani. So that's where G'lewra had gone. Rushing headlong after Vanriri. She shot a glance to Haila, recalling the dissection they had previously performed. "Wonder if that's what the thing's blasted cavity is for. Hauling people."

"I wouldn't put it past it's design. Who knows, maybe one of Dellont's projects for the future was to design a creature that could carry the injured back into safety like that.." Haila then shook her head some, clearly the woman had disdain for all these machinations. "How twisted can something get from it's original intention? But then again, it wouldn't have any Allagan in it if didn't do that..."

N'yami's tail tip flicked and her eyes narrowed into slits, the corner of her mouth twitched as if wanting to curl into a snarl but she controlled herself. She wasn't mad at the Viera but mad that the allagan bastards had taken those precious to her.

"They're eatin' folks now? Wern't they jus'..." Rising Lotus twirled her hand around as she tried to remember "Drainin' em before?" she shifted a bit at the thought of being eaten by one of those things, shuddering a bit.

"They were probably secured after being stunned." Haila explained as she heard her name being called, then glanced over to Altani. "Did they all fall in combat? Or was something shot akin to a lightning shard that made them fall and unable to move? Or did you see anything like I described?"

"Mayhaps it is a method of entrapment, Lady Lotus. A means to save them for a later date?" Mivo'to offered.

"I 'spose they are spiders...sorta...an' real ones do that too, web 'em up an' all." Rising Lotus replied.

"I can only fathom why - Least they are in need of a sudden surge of aether." Mivo'to paused, a chill creeping upon his neck as a shudder passed over his shoulders, head shaking to and fro as he turned centerward. "I would rather not ponder the possibilities of such a cause..."

Alexi tensed as soon as he heard M'shara's name. His lips peeled back slightly and every exhale of breath carried the low rumble of a growl. His gaze flicked between Altani and Haila. "Took them? Took them where?"

Altani nodded softly at Halia "They seemed to be uh...sleepin I guess, was to busy running and all to look...but uh...they were headed for Coerthas...n-now that im im thinkin about it..." She shook her head for a moment "W-well...honestly think its was a trap...soon as we found Vanriri they were on us..." She cursed herself, in hindsight it seemed so obvious to her that it was some sort of trap she'd done similar in the past now she was falling for the same trick.

Haila nodded once more, then looked down at the ground for a few moments. Where to even start? First, she looked up at Alexi, the one who probably needed the most answers now. "So the team that G'lewra assembled a bit recklessly didn't go too well... As far as we know, those creatures prey on any that have a gift for magic. So no doubt they had a field day.." she told him before looking back over to the group. "I won't bash G'lewra for going off like this, she must have had a plan to be tracked---at least... But are we all in agreement that no groups will be formed to go after them unless we have a clear countermeasure to their stun shots and the hordes in which they come?"

Mivo'to pursed a bottom lip, fangs pressing softly into its purplish flesh. It was clear the Miqo'te was in thought, off-colored eyes raging with one another as Haila's words echoed upon his pointed ears. Sit back? How could they? Every hour, every minute might very well stand as the last, a fate let pass. "I doubt we can sit idly by. I have no intention of rushing headlong, but surely there are measures that can be taken now - Learn our enemy's weakness, locate where our friends are kept."

"It does seem out of character for her, to be so reckless." Aislinn allowed. She didn't really need time to consider Haila's words, to her mind it was just logical. She nodded in agreement with the Viera. "I think that only makes sense." she turned her attention to Mivo'to. "Most of us recall rushing headlong into a fight not too long ago with no idea what we were dealing with. We'll work fast, but we need a plan." she told him.

Rising Lotus nodded, as much as she was generally all for jumping head first into danger, a whole swarm of was a bit out of her comfort zone, and Haila knew what she was talking afterall. "Before they only went after folks that used uh, healin' magic right? Or mostly seemed, so does that mean they've gotten a bigger...appetite?

Alexi calmed somewhat as Haila gave him her brief explanation, his fangs retracted though that growl in his tone of voice persisted. He gave a slight nod to Haila. "Agreed. We wouldn't want to walk into another trap..." he said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Though I WILL be assisting in the rescue effort. And anything else I can do to help prepare, I will."

N'yami kept her mouth shut as she listened but not only was her mother taken but so were her friends, her tail flicked behind her as plans started form in her head and what she could possibly do to save those that were taken. She would need to go track down her husband after this.

"We won't stand idly no, but at least it would be better to have countermeasures. At least a suit that is impervious to their stuns or a disruptor of the signal they all exchange." Haila commented, looking over to the Miqo'te. "If no one was drained of their aether there and then like the bodies reported around Coerthas, we can assume everyone that was taken is needed alive at the very least."

Altani stayed silent for a few moments as she recalled what all had happened, she then recalled something G'lewra had said "They did somethin odd, they just ignored me, as if I was a rock in the middle of a river they just went around me, even if I was fightin think its the only reason im here right now...but Lewra said it was my lack of mis-er Aether...?" She didn't seem so sure of herself as she finished speaking "Maybe...could send some of us...non spell casters lovers in to scout around...?"

Mivo'to offered a silent glance upon the room, an idle hand draping free of his chest, and upon his hilt, squeezing upon its worn, sturdy pommel. "Would it be unfounded to say your previous specimen has provided all it may, Lady Haila? Such a scouting party could also look to procuring another - Preferably intact."

"If that's the case, that they just flat out ignore those with lower registers of aether, then that might be best." Aislinn sighed. "As it is, I only have one aether dampener prototype ready to go."

"It's...given me quite a lot of data yes. We currently have three in our posession, two that I've almost finished fixing, and one intact. But they're all rather small." Haila informed them. At Aislinn's new information though, she glanced between her and Mivo'to. "While I would be opposed to you trying to find one by yourself given that you can be a target for them as well Mivo.. If you had a way of cloaking some of your aether, that would change things. A medium sized one would come in handy right now. Even if to establish a stronger connection to their base."

"How do you capture such things, aside from jus' smashin' 'em. Is there some way to jus' turn them off?" Rising Lotus asked.

Mivo'to trailed his gaze between the studious Haila and Aislinn, a faint hum occupying his throat. One, two, three blinks before he parted his lips, a rush of air passing between them. "Have you any means of baiting such contraptions out?" He questioned, furthering a nod to Rising's own inquiry.

N'yami raised her hand. "Can use me as bait." She said speaking up for the first time since the meeting started. "I have a lot of aether but it's not exactly aether they'd want to get their hands on."

Aislinn considered that a moment. "I would think a large discharge of aether in the area of Coerthas we know them to be should do it." she mused. "If the party is made up of those of a less magical bent, crystals might work." she stopped and looked over at N'yami. "Ahh...even better."

"As far as I'm concerned... Only aether draws them out, and they seem to be expanding territory too. Unles..." Haila trailed off, ears perking at a reckless idea that didn't seem too bad anymore. "Unless you use the smallest spider in our posession to send a signal to bring in a bigger one. You'd need to be aware of where their territory ends, but it could work. As for disabling them, while I don't have full access to this scientist's signals, the core is allagan, faking a signal from their original creators could work."

Haila glanced over to the volunteer for baiting. Her gaze softened a bit with a glint of worry. "You must be G'lewra's daughter right?... If only our reasons to meet were brighter than this..."

"An' if that don't work at least we could jus' break it's legs off, probably not too much important in those right?" Rising Lotus nodded confidently at her idea, cocking her head a bit as she thought it through a bit more. "..Though they could probably still call for it's friends if the main part is still squirmin'. Only if the first part don't work then."

Altani got a rather dumb idea but she spoke up anyway "Could get a uh, cage split it in half stick on of you in one side and the spider thing in then other? Dunno how strong the cage would have to be though." Alt shrugged lightly glancing around the room "Dunno about the things calling for its friends though...suppose just have to be faster then them? Or could bring a carriage?"

Alexi was doing his best to follow along, just listening to what the others were proposing. "Hm... if you already have specimins, broken or not, why do you need another? How will it get us into their lair to free the others?"

"'Twoud be a swift operation, nary a Ilm for failure. It would serve well if both our 'bait' and our poacher be familiar with Coerthea's terran - Or, at the very least, capable of quickly traversing the snow." Mivo'to openly pondered, flickering his attention to Altani. "Aye, holding a party in reserve would be in good order - Provide a swift getaway, and ensure the path is clear." The Keeper agreed.

"Probably wonderin' how in the hells someone so gentle and well spoken ended up with me as a kid." N'yami sighed softly to more or less collect her thoughts. "But yea, I'm her daughter, but from what you and the Old man has said these things detect aether and they go for ones with large amounts of it. If I can get a decent sized one to come after me I should be able to lock it down."

Haila nodded towards N'yami, "Aye, that would be of great help." she said to her before turning over to Alexi. "Because I need a bigger one to test their abilities... And because I may be able to snatch more data from their creator from here already." she explained, clearly reluctant as she stepped forward and opened up her strange tome as she set it down in the middle of the room. Holograms and formulas coming to life as very blurry images started to project among a constant flickering. The images in question being brief sights of doors and tubes, yet their contents were too blurred to see, one would say it wasn't even enough to call it proof of their friend's whereabouts. "I managed to get this from the smaller ones, but I can't clear the images or any recordings yet... There's also unfinished words encrypted, but I need more data to decipher them."

Alexi stepped closer as the display lit up, resting his hands on the back of the sofa and leaning forward to try and see better. He breathed a sigh as it all seemed to sink in. "Apologies, this is all quite new to me... So, we don't even know where they've been taken, other than somewhere in Coerthus?"

As Aislinn watched the flickering images a furrow formed between her brows. She couldn't be sure of what it was she was looking at. "Are these...visual recordings from the bioweapons? ...spiders. Old footage of their return point?"

Rising Lotus watched all the information float around, eyes darting around from image to image but not really understanding much of it.

"I'd say recordings, or images exchanged with the other ones. But we might be able to see where they go if we snatch a more intact and bigger one. Their signal reaches so far that even from here I can catch small bits of it. But yes, all we know so far is that it's somewhere in Coerthas, and a tad deep into that land at that." Haila said.

Alexi takes another deep breath and lets it out slowly to try and calm himself. As much as he wished it wasn't so, this plan was their only chance. "Sorry to interupt. My worry seems to be getting the better of me. Please, continue."

Altani squinted at the floating images, not really being able to make much sense of any of it she simply listened along whatever it was from the sounds of it it was promising, trying to not let herself fall asleep as her exhaustion caught up with her

Mivo'to trailed his eyes through the rough visuals, lips parting in a silent murmur, seemingly in a deep reflection with himself as he made note of what he may - Which, admittedly, was hardly much.

Aislinn nodded. "Alright, so if I'm understanding this, we need another one of those bioweap...spiders in order to collect more data and pinpoint where our members were taken. Then, the plan is to send in a team made up of non-spell casters on a rescue mission?" she asked for clarification. Just to be sure she was following all of this. Admittedly, she hadn't been her best lately.

"You've all the right to feel like that. I just wish I had more answers for now. But the images I got are very little right now." Haila said, nodding once as she waved her hand at the images, some of the clearer ones coming into view. There was a clear vision of a snake in one, and another one showed wings, and then a random scalekin that you could find anywhere in the land. "Tis the plan I can offer, at least for now. Lest I choose a more reckless option."

Aislinn made a low, uneasy noise in the back of her throat. "Well, let's try not so reckless first."

"I doubt we are short of volunteers for our first undertaking...Tis only a matter of who we choose to send." Mivo'to said.

Rising Lotus looked to Aisllinn "An' like you said, we only got one uh...anti...magic...thing, that we can use. Shouldn't be too hard to choose the non-magic folks, it's jus' that one we need to be considerin' a bit more."

"It wouldn't hurt to have a backup group watching over those that go and try to bait too..." Haila added

"Of course, I volunteer. Aside from ammunition imbuement, I've little in the way of aetheric skills or magick." Alexi spoke up.

Aislinn looked over at Rising. "Aye. Just the one. And like anything having to do with aether, it comes with a price. Can't get something for nothing. In this case, it'll dampen a person's signature but in return casting anything is that much harder. Like wearing weights." she paused. "But if it's needed, we have it."

"So you or N'yami could do it then..." Haila said, trailing off.

"Makes sense...Jus' like usin' armor I guess." Rising turned her attention back to Haila. "I can help out too, I'm used to travelin' over there, an' I ain't ever really done much magic ever."

Mivo'to curled his digits across the hilt of his blade, a rhythmic 'slip' sounding as he idly removed and insert the blade from its sheath. "Should you be in need of a soul to physically render the target null, I would like to volunteer. Familiar enough with those snow-touched wastes to make a swift departure."

Haila glanced between the two new volunteers. "That would be good then.. I'll have a device ready to try and disable the spider, at least on a small scale. I doubt it is possible to down the whole horde unless it's a direct command from their creator." she sighed. "I wished I could be of help there, but all I can do is give the tools. Lest we give that mad man more reasons to toy with Heartwood." "Probably goes without sayin, but well I can help, figure I can just scout around or whatever's needed, done a few jobs in the area so I’m a little familiar." Altani said.

"You also were the last person that saw how far they've reached into the Shroud if I'm not wrong. Drawing a small map of the route G'lewra's group did could help, as well as noting down where any report of dead bodies has taken place." Haila noted as she nodded once more. "I won't accompany you, so I believe you all who wish to go should decide on the roles each one will play. All that I ask is that no one is reckless and to withdraw immediately if more than one spider shows up."

"We've a plan, and we have our players." Mivo'to said, a previously lost spark returning to their tone as they lifted their arms, a closed fist punching into an open palm. "Let's get our girls."

Haila couldn't help but smirk a bit. "Aye, time to get everyone back safe and sound."

Alexi grunted and gave a nod to Mivo'to, then looked around to the others. "Agreed. Our friends must come home."

Rising Lotus grinned at Mivo's enthusiasm. "Aye, we'll get them back in no time, an' squash any of them things that stand in our way!"

"But I do get the ok if a large group of those spider things come that I get to at least blow up a few, yea? Don't worry I'll make sure the large one stays safe." N'yami asked.

"As long as you don't let them overwhelm you. Or get anywhere close enough to shoot a stun bullet at you, I won't complain. A whole horde coming at you isn't pretty, and I wouldn't doubt that the man behind this would still go for someone with aether related to one of his captives."

"Might be smart to have someone high up watching over everything, so if a horde of em shows we know before theyre all over us." Altani said.

Aislinn gave a single nod of her head. She turned to pass N'yami a look over her shoulder. "Before you go, the prototype is on your mother's desk." her gaze faltered a moment. "Just... cuff it to your wrist. The stone will take care of the rest."

N'yami offered a small nod. "I'll be sure to grab it, if any of ya need me I'll be in my shop off in the Goblet."

"When do we leave? Tonight? First thing come morning?" Alexi asked, eager to get moving.

"I'd say first thing in the morning. Give Altani some time to rest at least." Haila said, nodding towards the half dozing Viera. "The quicker the better, but as always, don't rush in, that goes for everyone involved."

"Agreed." Aislinn added firmly.

"Plenty an hour for rest - With such an undertaking, I would do well we all approach as alert as we may be. Our present optimism can turn head in a mere moment." Mivo'to nodded.

Alexi gave a nod and a grunt. "Then I'll be staying here to be as prepared as I can be for the morning."

Haila nodded "There's a few guestrooms open, and more than enough supplies to stock up on before leaving."

"If no one has much to share, I'd say we're set for now. I may need to find an extra hand on Allagan work though if anyone has any good contacts to put to use..."

"I can take ya to the Old Man one of these suns, he's been workin' on one of those spiders as well and he's been researchin' allagan for gods knows how long." N'yami offered.

Haila Wetyios blinked in surprise. "Please do... Two or three heads are better than one, especially when this is getting more and more personal with each loss."

If Altani had much to say she wasnt going to be saying much as she slumped over on the couch a low snore could be heard as she dozed off.

"Pray, if I may trouble you for your notes later this evening, Lady Haila. I would much prefer to know the workings of a contraption I will be so 'intimately' close to." Mivo'to asked.

Haila nodded, "I'll be sure to pass them onto you as soon as I can."

Alexi huffed out a breath. "If that's it then, I'm going to retire for the evening. I'll be in one of the guest rooms if anyone wants to go over strategy."

Mivo'to nodded, adjusting his coat. "May Twelve grant you their blessing - Heavens know we will be needing it."

N'yami pushed herself off the wall and gave a small stretch. "I'm gonna head back to the Goblet, if any of ya need weapons to pierce through the metal those things are made of give me a call and I'll work on somethin' for ya."

Rising Lotus looked to be mulling something over during the tail end of their meeting, but seemed to shake off whatever she was thinking of. "Tomorrow then, spider catchin'. Spose I ought to make suer everything is in workin' order."

Alexi quirked a brow at N'yami. "Are their hides any tougher than Garlean steel? Because I have no problem with that."

N'yami grinned. "In my shop there is, ya wanna come to the shop? I got extra beds so ya can crash there if ya like and we can work on somethin' for ya."

As the others worked out the details of their plan of attack, Aislinn rose from her seat. They appeared to have it from here and she still wasn't 100%. She needed to find some rest. "Just...try to all come back in one piece. Aside from the obvious reasons, of not wanting to lose another person, the clinic is short-staffed." she said as she made her way out. "Be safe."

Mivo'to lifted the Panda of his shoulder by its scruff, setting it beside his boots. "Pray, should any update arise, reach for my shell - I shant be but a hour's travel away." He spoke, drifting from the study.

N'yami offered a small wave. "Take care and get some rest."

Alexi nodded to N'yami, the first hint of a smile cracking the corners of his mouth. "Sounds like a much better option. Lead the way."

Rising Lotus started her way off. "See ya'll tomorrow then, I'll should be up in time otherwise jus' come get me."

#ffxiv rp #balmung rp #ffxiv crystal rp #Heartwood Ventures #Heartwood plots #Primary Access Required #n'yami synch #Altani Misair #Haila Wetyios #Mivo'to Laaski #Alexi Grenasch #Rising Lotus #Aislinn North

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pocketninja-ffxiv · 3 years

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Sworn Protectors

After the two left the Heartwood Estate N'yami and Alexi ventured off to the Seeker's workshop off in the Goblet, N'yami was quiet for most of the trip and if Alexi tried talking with her it would be short replies. The look on her face showed she was deep in thought, and she was probably forming multiple plans on how they could locate those that were captured. Once at the house Yami opened the door to let Alexi in first then followed in. "Probably head downstairs and chat."That way I can also work on blueprints for that blade of yours."

Alexi wasn't much for conversation either as he followed N'yami to her shop. While she was working out plans, he was busy worrying about Shara... He almost walked right into N'yami when they arrived, not noticing they had even reached her workshop! "Oh, thank you," he said, stepping inside and taking a glance around the place. He nodded to her suggestion without looking at her. "Of course. I just want to make sure my weapon is up to snuff, considering I've never faced one of these creatures before." After a bit more admiring of her shop, he followed her down to the lower level.

N'yami walked over to the metal door and pressed a button to open it, once they were both through the door would close behind them to offer more privacy. It was mainly there to cancel out any sounds while the Miqo'te worked in her shop, pray to the twelve if her kits ever woke up during nap time. That was a battle of its own. "Make yourself comfy anywhere, and sorry for the noise, I know it can get a bit loud down here."

Alexi shook his head. "It's no bother." Drawing his gunblade from his back, he set it on the table between them, handle pointed towards N'yami, so she could inspect it if she wished. "Have you ever fought these spider things before?" he asked, settling down into a nearby chair but not quite looking comfortable. It wasn't the seat, he was still just anxious, his thoughts dwelling on the missing Shara…

N'yami reached forward to inspect Alexi's blade, she was careful with it and the way the Seeker looked it over was as if one was examining a piece of art. "I haven't, but it's not my first battle with allagan tech, I'll go off to Azys Lla sometimes to get cores for projects so I know how to get them down." Her gaze shifted from the blade to the Hrothgar in front of her. "And from the sounds of how these bastards work they drain one of aether, well, they're not gonna want mine that's for damn sure. But the pressure of it will have them comin'."

Alexi grunted and sat up, arms folding over his chest. "You're the one going to be using the dampener though, correct?" he asked, leaving the mechanical blade in her capable hands for as long as she wished.

"Sounds like it, we'll see how that goes." She offered a shrug before placing the blade carefully back onto the table. "I'll be honest, I'm not a patient person, even though we were told not to go out on our own I can't exactly just...sit here and do nothin'. The longer we wait..." Yami paused in thought and her brows furrowed for a moment at the possibilities of what could happen to those captured. "I don't want to think of what's happenin' while they wait for us."

Alexi grunted and his brow knit, showing his restrained frustration. "I agree... But while I want nothing more than to get my Shara away from those things and safely back home, as they said, we don't even know where they are." He breathed an exasperated huff and slumped back in his seat. "As much as I wish it wasn't so, this is our best bet... Though I'll fight like hells once the time comes. How dare they take my..." He cut himself off and just huffed again, glancing away for a moment…

"That's the thing, what if I told you I've come up with a plan to try and find the base?" Leaning back in her seat Yami crossed her arms and sighed softly. "It's a dumb plan and I know it but they took Ma, and Shara's a good friend of mine. I don't know Vanriri but I'm still willin' to blow shit up for that lalafell. We would go after Heartwood's little outin'. See if we can get any information where the base is and if so, well, I'm goin' whether you come or not. I plan on goin' to Coerthas and gettin' one of those buggers to come after me, essentially I'm gonna get myself captured and your gonna follow it. I'll be safe don't worry, I'm not exactly someone who gets taken out easily."

Alexi growled slightly at the plan. It was dumb! And so reckless! ...but it had piqued his interest. "I can see why you wouldn't have brought this plan up with the others... What makes you so sure you'll be fine if you get captured? How could I track you if these things are swarming?" His foot had started to tap anxiously. He did want to just storm their nest and free all of their friends but it still sounded so risky!

"They mentioned stunning darts are used, I can make a barrier on my skin to take most of the blow and just play dead so they take me. Once we're close enough I'll take care of the horde then get us in." The Seeker leaned forward and held her hand out so Alexi could see the red aether twirling around her fingers, it settled upon her skin and a quick shimmer ran along her skin. "As for trackin' me, I'll get ya a crystal filled with my aether, the closer ya are to me the brighter it glows."

Alexi watched the aetheric demonstration with interest, leaning forward and rubbing at his chin. "This... is so dangerous... It's a terrible plan... But I think it's better than waiting around." He gave a nod. "I trust you to take care of yourself but still... I'm relying on you to lead me to my... to our friends."

N'yami couldn't help but let a grin curve her lips. "I think it's cute how much ya care about Shara." Of course, she had to tease him about it. "And don't worry, this isn't my first time doing somethin' stupid but if we get them out we don't say a word we just come up with a lie on how they came out cause I don't know about you but I want to avoid gettin' yelled at. Cause I also have the Old man to worry about comin' after my ass for doin' this." Yami didn't care if she got yelled at. She usually just tuned it out while daydreaming about other things.

Alexi snorted. True, he wasn't hiding it very well. "More than we let show in public. Shara means the world to me and it took all of my will to not charge out of the house when I heard she had been taken," he said, that low growl returning to the tone in his voice. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "I don't care what any of the others say. If we can get them back ourselves, let them talk and scold. The only thing that matters is getting them back."

"Seems we're on the same page then, we'll still tag along for the outing and once we get that info we need we head out, you can crash here I got extra beds and I plan on stayin' up late to work on upgrading yer blade for ya. If ya find you can't sleep can always help me with yer blade."

"So, once we're out with the others to try and trap one of those things, that's when you want to let yourself get captured. I follow your aether through your crystal and once we find the nest, I break you out and we find the others. Correct?" The Hrothgar questioned.

N'yami offered a small shake of her head. "Once everyone starts headin' back we'll say we're headin' back to my shop to work on yer blade upgrades, but we'll just linger until everyone in Heartwood has gone back to the house. Then we put our plan into action."

Alexi nods with a grunt. "Fine. I'm in all the way. I just pray you're not going in over your head here. You'd better be able to resist. The last thing I need is an aetherically drained partner or another captive."

"I've never been drained of aether in my life if anythin' I can drain those bastards of aether." The Seeker grinned. " Trust me when I say I don't go down easy, I've been by Shara's side with void huntin' and we always came back."

"I'd ask her if she were here. Forgive my skepticism, but I've never seen you in action to find out. Just know that I'm putting all of my trust in you."

"Eh, yer fine, and I understand, I've been hidin' out in my shop lately so no one has seen me in battle for a while. But I promise ya we'll get them back." N’yami always kept to her word, she would make sure they go those missing back.

Alexi nodded. "I'll hold you to that." He glanced around, then stood up and rolled his shoulders. "Well, without plan set, I'm going to take a bit of a walk, and then I'd like to see the guest bed if you don't mind. I don't promise I will sleep well, but I'd like to at least try."

#heartwood ventures #Heartwood #Heartwood plots #n'yami synch #Alexi Grenasch #Heartwood: Don't do something dumb.#Yami: I'm gonna do something dumb.#ffxiv rp #FFXIV Screenshots #ff14 #balmung rp #balmung

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heartwoodventures · 4 years

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A tour of the newly remodeled Heartwood House! Including our statement making front entrance, cozy bar area, rejuvenating garden, medical clinic, library and training room! After a hard day’s work this is where the Company members come to wind down and/or get stitched up.

#ffxiv rp #heartwood ventures #FFXIV Screenshots #ffxiv housing #balmung rp #we work hard and play harder #our designers are amazing!#Crific Storm #Zorah Velaceras #N'yami Synch #G'lewra Ajra #Aislinn North

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heartwoodventures · 4 years

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If You Go Down to the Woods Today Pt. 2

Part 1 here!

In the utter silence of the forest glen Zorah's whisper seemed unnaturally loud. Several of their number craned their necks up to peer high above them. Nazyl slowly released his blade from its holster. Bird, demon, or whatever it was, he was ready for it. Aislinn slid a hand up to the grip of her gun and tensely waited, all the while stepping back to the relative shelter of the trees.

The group didn’t have to wait long. The sound of beating wings grew loud, and louder -- the closer it got, the easier it was to pick out a sort of ungainly, awkward gait to the flapping as though the creature was struggling -- the silence around them was abruptly shattered as something massive crashed through the canopy, and came in straight for the forest floor!

The three on the front-lines managed to scramble out of the way *just* in time; though no one could escape the smell. The overpowering, sweetly rancid scent of rot rolled through the clearing as the creature righted itself. Nazyl kicked away from the creature, putting distance between him and it to get a good look at it while Zorah managed to have the grace to step back when the creature fell into their view, her hands at her sides forming the aetheric discs she relied on in combat. Though both were able to miss being hit, that putrid smell was unbearable, causing the miqo’te to silently gag and cover her nose and mouth with the back of her hand.

"Seven Hells." Aislinn coughed as both she and Vanriri scrambled backward, but there was no reprieve from the choking smell. It was almost a certainty that scent was going to find its way into the hyur’s nightmares.

A sharply beaked head lowered to screech indignantly at the party that had dodged it -- or perhaps it was lamenting its own clumsiness. Empty sockets stare balefully at the gathered adventurers as it reared back, unfurling a massive pair of leathery wings.

Aiswyda answered the creature’s eyeless gaze with a mixed look of disgust, shock, and confusion. “Is this the guy? Ugh, this chicken is far too large.” she took a moment to shake out her fists and then, “Care-to-enlighten-us-on-what-this-oversized-bird-is?” she managed to get those words out with lightning speed -- to the point where it could be misinterpreted as a very strange and drawn out battle cry. Without a moment to lose, she dashed ahead and aimed a punch right at the creature’s beak.

With its head extended from its screech, Aiswyda’s fist connected easily with the creature, crunching bone and softened cartilage. It squawked in protest and reared its eyeless head back, shaking it as though to recover from the impact.

"I've not fought maneh o' these....livin' or dead." Nazyl wrinkled his nose at the scent. Undead beast. Great. Necromancy at work. While it wasn't the worst thing he'd ever smelled, it wasn't exactly pleasant either.

N'yami turned her head to the side and a small crack was heard from her neck, her carbuncle made a noise that sounded as if to argue with the Seeker, clearly she was about to do something stupid. "Someone has to make sure it doesn't fly away."

Bolting towards the weird bird-like creature, N'yami jumped up to grab it around the neck then held on for dear life. She was attempting to grapple the massive pteranodon's neck, but as she leapt up to grab it, its partially rotted flesh sloughed away under her grasp, sending her tumbling back to the ground nearby. With a very nasty prize. She slopped down to the ground with some very unpleasant.....flesh on her.

"Well....I've had worse on me I suppose." She shook her hands to try and rid herself of the gore.

Nazyl wretched at N’yami’s failed attempt to keep the ptero held down, "Try its wings first, it's a scalekin. Or was." He took his holy blade in both hands and leapt up at the unfurled wings, cutting down at the arm in an attempt to sever, or at least break it. What was this creature even doing way out here?

His blade sliced straight through the undead pteranodon's joint like butter, the severed edges turning to ash where the sword had struck. The limb itself collapsed to the forest floor nearly on top of N'yami as the undead abomination reeled backwards, dragging its bloated carcass with rather surprising agility. Nevertheless, one faulty flap of its remaining wing reveals it was almost certainly grounded.

N'yami watched as the wing almost fell on top of her. "That would've been unpleasant." She said while rolling and pushing herself up into a standing position again. She was met with a whack to the back of her head from her carbuncle, trying to get her friend’s head back in the game. "I know I know."

Aiswyda gagged as flesh and wing rained down right in front of her. She was just, so upset. The smell. The everything about this.

While the others got in their attacks, Aislinn spared a moment to pull a bandana from her hip pouch and hastily wrapped it over the lower half of her face. The smell of death and decay was making her stomach churn and she had no desire to spill her dinner all over the forest floor. Too embarrassing. That done, now it was down to business. She yanked the handgonne from the holster at her back and leveled it at the creature. With a head full of calculations, she aimed for one of the empty eye sockets and fired off a round, her back heel digging into the dirt from the kickback.

The pteranodon swung its long neck about to screech with seeming indignation at its missing limb just as Aislinn fired off her shot; though it doesn't catch the eye socket directly as she'd intended, it does glance across its already charred and softened beak where Aiswyda had struck it earlier, taking out a chunk of what charred flesh remained and shattering bone.

Meanwhile, Vanriri remained almost plastered back against the tree; she had the sense to pull the quarterstaff from her back, but her hands were shaking where she held it. Swallowing, she tightened her grip on the staff and charged recklessly into the melee, swinging her staff at the other wing's vulnerable joint. It was a good hit. Her staff cracked against the elbow with considerable force, but the impact was mitigated somewhat by the layers of leathery, undead flesh that squelched uncomfortably beneath the blow.

With sudden and surprising agility, missing limb or no, the pteranodon swung its bulbous bulk around, jabbing its sharply beaked head down at the two lalafell while its lengthy tail snaked out to trip up the miqo’tes.

With a dancer’s agility, Zorah flexed her fingers, the aetheric discs sparking as the aether rose in the air around her. It trailed along her feet and hands as she stepped back, out of the pteranodon’s reach, turning and moving with graceful, deliberate steps that lead into her hurling both discs toward the creature. The brief glow of aether lights up the area as they criss-crossed into the creature both into him from front and back, returning to her hands.

For her own part, N’yami wasn't quite as quick enough to dodge the tail that came slamming down, with an 'oof' she was sent back to the ground where she was before. "This bastard." With a groan she pushed herself back up to dust her coat off of any fleshy slime.

The pteranodon's maw closed on Vanriri like a bird plucking up a particularly juicy morsel, its teeth slicing easily through her leather armour as it proceeded to fling her back and into a nearby tree. She hit the trunk and slid down, unconscious or stunned, her staff falling from her hands halfway between her and the hulking undead creature. Losing no time, it swung its head around to Nazyl to do much the same -- though thankfully his armour largely prevented it from getting a good grip on him, and instead it settled for the satisfying crunch.

No one had bargained on the thing being so fast with so much of its flesh missing, but they should have, considering how fast some skeletons can move. Aiswyda watched in alarm as Vanriri soared through the air on impact while Aislinn could only curse under her breath as the lalafell hit the tree with an unnerving ‘thunk’. Nazyl moved quickly to stand between Vanriri and the beast, settling into a protective stance. He didn't need to watch someone die today. There was little more they could do in the moment. It did, however, give them a sense of urgency. The faster they could down the beast, the better.

Aiswyda continued to focus her punches at the creature’s head. One, because she thought it would do more damage, and two, because she didn’t really want to have her fist sink into the bird’s mushy torso. Her flaming fists succeeded in collapsing part of the pteranodon's skull, its motion began to seem a little more sluggish as the fire charred its flesh and blackened bone.

Back on her feet now, N’yami turned to her summon. "Whackara, ya wanna go for a little ride?"

The carbuncle flicked her tails and already knew what was coming, with an excited squeak the summon prepared herself as N'yami held Whack like a ball in her hand. "And....go!" And with that the carbuncle went flying right through the pteranodon's body. The carbuncle made a whistling noise as she flew and like a boomerang came back to the Seeker to smack into her face....while covered in rotting flesh.

"I hate you." the miqo’te muttered.

As the carbuncle returned to N'yami there didn't really seem to be any effect at first, save that the pteranodon shifted slightly and began winding up for another tail swipe at the group. Then its midsection began to expand slightly, a flicker of aetherial light glowing from the slices Zorah had carved in the bulk of its middle earlier. It screeched once more -- a sound that is abruptly cut off as an impact ripples through the clearing from inside the beast -- and promptly splattered everything and everyone within a 10 fulm radius with gore as the aetherial bomb Whackara had left behind exploded.

Nazyl prepared himself for the inevitable attack, digging his boots into the dirt and raising his shield....only to me showered in a mess of rotting flesh and viscera. Gross. He exhaled slowly, staring at the ground some in quiet contemplation, before beginning to wipe the gore from his person, "Twelve, could ye a have killed it without...explodin' it?"

As the creature wavered, Aislinn saw her chance and rushed to the fallen lalafell to make a hurried assessment of her condition. Just as she had knelt at Vanriri’s side, however, the undead exploded and Aislinn simply hung her head in resignation as she was splattered in gore and rotten flesh. Yet another coat, ruined.

"To be fair that wasn't my plan." The carbuncle moved to the top of N’yami's head, each little foot squished through the flesh stuck to her. "I blame, Whackara, that was all her."

Aiswyda had been knocked over by the meaty impact, hidden under piles of miscellaneous viscera. From where she lay silent prayers leaked from her lips.

"Uh huh, blame the construct." Nazyl dryly replied.

Vanriri was roused by the sound of the explosion; and as Aislinn approached it was clear she had some wounds that would need tending, but she seemed to be shaking off the worst of her trip. At least until she was suddenly and unceremoniously splattered with viscera which left her gaping in speechlessness.

Surprisingly unfazed by the shower of gore, the highlander’s hands began to move as though writing in the air just above the lalafell's torso. As the arcane equation takes shape, Aislinn can feel the gemstone bracelets under her gloves heat as they release their aether, dulling the pain and redirecting blood from the injury site. It was a patch, at best. All she could do.

She took in Vanriri's speechless face. "Surprisingly not the first time we've left a job like this." she says by way of explanation.

“WHACKARAAAaa!” Aiswyda called out. A fist rose from the meat pile, followed by the rest of the Sea Wolf. She was covered head to toe in things that thankfully remain undescribed.

Vanriri relaxed just slightly as Aislinn's healing aether stemmed the worst of the bleeding, though she couldn’t immediately tell what was her blood, and what was the pteranodon's.

"Hey lass, ye alright? Ye took quite a hit there." Nazyl asked as he turned to Vanriri with a grimace, still wiping himself down.

"Mhm!" she squeaked immediately. She did not look alright.

"Right. Yer gettin' medical attention eithah way, in case that thing had some nasteh disease. I'll likeleh need a look too..."

Her expression said everything she didn’t as she looked at Nazyl, horrified at the idea he had just put in her head.

"It doesn't feel great either." N’yami pulled on the front of her coat as if to try and keep the flesh off her skin that had slid down with Whackara. "Someone throw me in the river."

“Nymeia's Blood, that's a good idea.” Aislinn murmured.

Aiswyda lifted a hand and observed it. The limb is covered completely, stained red. The Roegadyn let out a sigh so long that it seemed to physically deflate her. “A river, right. We’re all going to need a good hosing off. Again!” She shook her head. “Again!”

Vanriri scrambled unsteadily to her feet, doing her best to ...not look traumatized. She looked traumatized. This was her first rodeo, guys.

Nazyl smirked in amusement, "Ye new ta this? Careful, wait too long n' ye might become a zombeh yerself!" He laughed, shaking his head, "I jest. Though, ye could get some nasteh infections if we don't get those wounds cleaned."

Vanriri did not look mollified by Nazyl humour. ".....Oh dear."

Aislinn nodded in agreement with Nazyl. She gave Vanriri a gentle look. "Could be worse. Let's get you back to the Company house."

"I'm gonna go home and shower, someone let Ma know injured are headin' to the clinic." N’yami said, still shaking out her coat.

"Y-you have a qualified chirurgeon?" the petite lalafell asked plaintively.

Aislinn did her best not to show her amusement at the question. "With a group like ours? Indeed we do."

"Welcome ta me world." Nazyl snorted. "I deal with this daileh."

“And you never get used to it, unless your name starts with Naz and ends with ‘yl.’” Aiswyda gave Vanriri a tired, but amused look.

"I was...perhaps unprepared for this eventuality." Vanriri said, trying not to sound as anxious as she felt.

Nazyl smiled, more warmly than before, "I don't think anehone expected a bloodeh scalekin zombeh out here in the woods. I'm curious as ta why it was here in the first place..." He glanced back at the fleshless corpse, "Mayhaps we can research that latah. Fer now though, we've succeeded, n' the Shroud can sleep easiah."

Aislinn nodded and gestured to Nazyl. "As he said." she looked around at the others. "I'm going to head back and let G'lewra know you're coming."

Vanriri cleared her throat, nodding. "I--indeed. I will report the, ...success of the hunt to the Wailers on our way through Buscarrons that they might clean ...this... up before someone stumbles..." She trailed off, spying bits and pieces of what was perhaps the pteranodon's last meal in amongst a nearby pile of gore. "..."

She quickly averted her gaze up to Aislinn. "Thank you."

Aislinn gave a single nod in reply.

“Shh. Don’t think about it too much.” Aiswyda groaned, and began to make her way out of the clearing. Presumably back to Heartwood. Their job was done. The beast slain. More gil for the Company coffers. The Shroud a measure safer for those who lived within its boundaries. And, most important of all, every one of them had managed to walk away at the end of the fight. There wasn’t any better proof of success than that.

#ffxiv #ffxiv rp #balmung rp #Heartwood plots #heartwood ventures #N'yami Synch #Zorah Velaceras #Aiswyda Nuthalwyn #Nazyl Tharazyl #Vanriri Vanri #Aislinn North #Explosions #carbuncle's fault

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heartwoodventures · 4 years

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Heartwood ladies ready to kick names and take ass....and also there’s Nazyl.

#heartwood ventures #ffxiv rp #balmung rp #ffxiv #Wyda's wordplay #Aiswyda Nuthalwyn #Elanie Luciole #N'yami Synch #Nazyl Tharazyl #Aislinn North

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heartwoodventures · 4 years

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If You Go Down to the Woods Today Pt. 1

The latest posting pinned to Heartwood’s job board had seemed like any other. Something had been terrorizing the people around Buscarron’s Druthers. Some unfortunate soul would go missing only for their body to be found days later in the woods, bloody and broken. As the Company was inclined to do, they took on the job, assuring the Wood Wailers they could solve the problem. Honestly, to most of them it sounded like nothing more than a hunt for a wild beast that had gotten a little too comfortable around the forest settlement. Easy gil.

So, with the collective ease of people who had been down this road before, Heartwood’s mercenaries started drifting into the yard of the Company house at the appointed time by ones and twos, ready to meet the client and get on with it. Aislinn, sitting on a nearby bench had her head bent over the handgonne laying across her lap, forever making little adjustments to the finicky firearm as she chatted amiably with Aiswyda, the towering Roegadyn’s sunny disposition belying the grim reason for this gathering. The two of them had joined up at nearly the same time and yet Aislinn couldn’t pinpoint when this mercenary business had become like old hat to them.

Khora and Zorah stood nearby and now and then snippets of the miqo’te couple’s flirtatious banter drifted across the yard. Nazyl arrived looking perennially serious and ready for business, but then again, he rarely passed up the chance to rid the Shroud of any evils, perceived or not. Finally, N’yami came out from the house hurrying to meet them, her topaz carbuncle trotting happily in her shadow.

This is how one Vanriri Vanri found them as she determinedly made her way towards the estate, relieved to find a group already assembled. She schooled her expression into one she thought serious enough to befit the situation, but not grim -- and climbed to the top of the stairs, clearing her throat.

"You are the adventurers assembled to aid in the--" She paused. Too much alliteration, better quit that. "The hunt, in the Shroud, ...for the Wood Wailers, yes?" Was that too specific? No, no, better she confirmed.

Zorah smiled warmly by way of greeting, “We are, yes. Ready to go when you are."

Content that her weapon was indeed good to go, Aislinn rose to her feet and slid it into its holster over her back. She studied the lalafell that had just arrived before nodding in wordless agreement with Zorah.

Nazyl glanced over their client. Another Lalafell, hopefully it wouldn't go like the last two times... "Alright..."

“Yup! Ready to kick names and take ass.” Aiswyda cracked her knuckles in a playful gesture, unaware of her mix-up.

That caused a wave of reactions ranging from amusement to confusion to ripple across the faces of the rest of the group but no one corrected the Seawolf.

"Wonderful!" Vanriri beamed at those before her, then seemed to realize that might be a little too chipper a response considering the circumstances, and quickly cleared her throat again. "Er, that is, the Wood Wailers extend their gratitude." She held up one finger, faltered slightly at Aiswyda's words and very severely pressed her lips into a line to keep herself from laughing. "A-ah, ahem, I've been instructed to bring you to an area near Buscarron's Druthers. If you are all prepared, of course!"

This set off a chorus of answers in the affirmative.

"I'm set to go."

"Ready as I'm going to get, I think."

"South huh? Mm." Nazyl mused. Of course, he thought of his most frequent haunt, and its countless horrors, "Alright, I'm equipped then."

Zorah glanced to Khora silently, looking him over and deciding he was good to go. "We're ready." She nodded toward Vanriri.

Khora’s ears flattened somewhat over his head. "Yes I am ready mooom..."

"Don't you start with me."

"I never stopped."

"Then let us depart!" Vanriri glanced skyward briefly. "The attacks have largely occurred from dusk 'til dawn, which should fortunately line up with our arrival." She turned on her heel as each one confirmed their readiness, and led their trek.

As the adventuring party made their way through the Shroud, dusk settled in early as the sun dipped beneath the thick canopy. Buscarron's Druthers rose up to meet them at the end of the path -- though it was much quieter than normal; commonly a buzzing hub of activity even at this time, there was barely a skeleton crew of guards stationed at every entrance. One posted at the main road nodded to them as they passed and approached the settlement proper.

Aislinn took a moment to sweep a glance around the area. "Know what kind of attacks, exactly? Any idea what we're up against?" she asked with a note of curiosity.

"No one has strictly seen the creature," Vanriri answered, glancing over her shoulder at Aislinn, "but the ...leavings from its victims have been-- ah, gruesome, if revealing in their nature. They appear to have been kills of opportunity, and have seemingly been dropped from a considerable height. ...According to reports from Stillglade Fane on the condition of the remains."

Looking off into the thicket, Aiswyda tilted her head, thinking aloud. “Dropped? Perhaps some manner of bird?”

Aislinn made a face that signaled her distaste before surreptitiously eyeing the skies above them.

The lalafell pointed further south. "By and large, victims have been found along the stretch of woods between here and Camp Tranquil, though none in the swamp itself."

"Egh, I don't like that. Issom-Har is in that area, n' all kinds o' nasteh things come from it. Closin' the door ta that hellhole has been an effort n' a half." Nazyl commented.

Vanriri nodded. "Indeed, the Wood Wailers have posited it may well be some manner of creature from the depths."

Zorah frowned as she listened, "One of those one-eyed demons, I imagine? Or imps. Grotesque things."

Nazyl narrowed his eyes, gazing south. Considering how it killed, it was either a demented tree climber or, as he assumed, a devil of some kind. They were known for their cruelty, "Imps hardleh have that kinda clevahness.”

"I am happy to defer to each of you on how best to approach; I can take you to the location of the last victim, if that is where you would prefer to begin?" Vanriri suggested.

Aiswyda turned to the lalafell with a nod. “We could find some clues there. Seems like a fine idea to me.”

Dropping her gaze from the skies, Aislinn nodded in agreement. "Aye, seems like a good place to start."

With a nod Vanriri began to lead them away from the settlement. Her back turned to them, she let a little of the dread currently turning her gut to lead to creep into her expression. Here she'd thought some kind of Shroud animal gone wild was bad enough, but fiends...

Nazyl continued to speak as they moved into the dark forest. “Imps are smart, but not enough ta keep hidden this long without bein' found out. B'sides, they're too small ta carreh someone that ain't a Lalafell.” he paused. “...A bogeyman might have that capabiliteh though..."

From behind him Aiswyda stared in uncharacteristic speechlessness at the lalafell’s back. She would defer to Nazyl’s expertise but in her mind, she wondered. But what if there were a whole troupe of imps?! The horror. She shivered.

Vanriri brought them to a halt in a forest glen that could have been any other glen for all that it failed to scream of the violence done here among the peacefully nodding branches and soft, moss covered floor. The petite lalafell pointed slightly ahead at a patch of earth that had been a little more obviously trampled. In the gloom, it was difficult to see -- but the earth bore some small sign of a heavy impact. Keen eyes might have been able to pick out bloodspill though it had, unfortunately, largely sunk into the loamy undergrowth.

Immediately, Heartwood got to work. Almost as one they fanned through the glen.

Aiswyda’s heels sunk in the soft earth, but that didn’t stop her from making her way quickly to the scene of the crime. One janky step at a time. “Hm, well. If something really was dropped from up high to here, I’m shocked it managed to make it past the canopy.”

Aislinn's eyes narrowed slightly as she sought to take in whatever Vanriri had pointed out to them but it was difficult in the waning dusk. She moved forward a bit and eventually made out the impact site. Logic had her glancing up to the canopy of trees overhead. "Maybe not just something that takes to the air, but anything that might drag a victim up into the trees?" She looked to Nazyl, wondering if he knew of anything supernatural that might fit the bill off the top of his head.

The void hunter stared at the shifted ground, looking up from where the victim would have dropped. Nothing less than lethal distance, that's for sure. But why? If for amusement, then they would have just left the body. He grimaced, by breaking someone this way it would technically make them...easier to consume. An intelligent man eater...? He couldn't determine the purpose of this bizarre ritual from sight alone, and his eyes kept to the treetops. He glanced at Aislinn, "I'm still unsure. I don't know maneh things that do this off the top of me head, but so far it's pointin' ta bogeyman. They're not fun ta deal with."

Investigating the scene was indeed proving difficult in the gloom, though Zorah was less hampered than most; she was able to make out a wide spread of blood from the point of impact, and the remnants of strange tracks besides; whatever it was, it was ...probably quadrupedal. The miqo’te’s ears twitched as she looked about, remaining silent for the time being. She had picked up on the scent of blood, that iron smell of which she was never fond. She stepped a bit closer, looking over the area, listening to them speak all the while.

"These are unfamiliar." Zorah finally spoke, gesturing to the tracks on the ground. She looked to the others, "Any of you recognize them?"

At Zorah's question, Aislinn turned her attention from the impacted earth and moved closer to where the miqo’te stood in order to get a better look but soon shook her head. The tracks were unlike anything she had ever seen. "But then again, I'm not a tracker. Either way, I say we see how far we can follow them."

Zorah smirked, "Sadly, I was one of the ones who never really got hunting and tracking down with my tribe. I spent my days in Radz-at-Han instead."

The canopy above this point was perhaps thinner than most -- broken branches and foliage were thin, and too weak to support whatever was dropped through them. Curiously, several of the branches are bent upwards however. A detail Aiswyda quickly pointed out.

“Huh. The branches here lean up. Perhaps the ‘thing’ flew up afterwards, or can emit strong gusts of wind?” She narrowed her eyes, thoughtful. But her mind drew a blank. “Sounds like a doozy.”

"Miss Vanriri Vanri, was there aneh othah reports regardin' these attacks? Sounds, tracks, anehthin'?" Nazyl asked.

Vanriri shook her head in reply. "Nothing conclusive. 'High pitched shrieking' was reported, but whether that was the creature or," she glanced pointedly at the impact site, "...otherwise..."

N'yami hung back and quietly studied the area, branches were pointed upward in an odd fashion, maybe the thing could come out of the ground? The Seeker looked over to her summon and gave a small shrug as if silently communicating with the carbuncle. Whackara chirped back at her and N'yami tilted her head curiously. Clearly she was lost in her own thoughts about this.

When the chatter and brainstorming from the group died down it soon became clear to all of them that the forest in this area was silent in a way no forest should ever be. The sounds of regular fauna were completely absent; even the buzz of vilekin seemed to be missing.

“Was the forest always this...er. Silent?” Aiswyda wandered to the edge of the foliage, searching for any sign of wildlife. She didn’t like the quiet. She was the type of person who got antsy in silence around others.

In reply, Aislinn made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. An unsettled feeling had begun to creep over her though she couldn’t articulate why. She wasn't the forest type and couldn't pick out the significance in the lack of noise but even she knew the sudden silence in a calm before a storm.

Nazyl felt a chill down his spine. "....Somethin' ain't right. There's nothin' alive here." A hand curled around Perdition, hearing his own heartbeat drumming against the silence of the forest.

“Cheeky bugger. We’re alive, aren’t we?” Aiswyda muttered. But she understood where the lalafell was coming from. Something felt different. Off.

Their observations made Vanriri stand a little straighter, apparently realizing for the first time the only sound that she could hear -- other than the group of adventurers -- was the uneasy thumping of her own heart. "Oh." She cleared her throat uneasily.

And then, beyond the gradual lull of the sound of leaves in the evening breeze far overhead came a distant sound of wings that began to echo from above...

Zorah’s ears flickered, picking up the subtle sound all too well. "Something's coming..." She spoke quickly, just loud enough for all of them to hear.

(What gruesome fate befell the forest denizens? Will Heartwood survive what comes next? Will names indeed be kicked and asses taken? Find out next time! To be continued!)

#ffxiv rp #heartwood ventures #Heartwood plots #balmung rp #N'yami Synch #Nazyl Tharazyl #Zorah Velaceras #Khora Velaceras #Aiswyda Nuthalwyn #Aislinn North #Vanriri Vanri

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heartwoodventures · 4 years

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Under the Mask

After landing with a thud Nazyl would feel slightly lightheaded from the sudden teleport, his surroundings different from where he once fought off the voidsent with his companions. From the way the trees looked, he could tell he was still within the Shroud but it was off, the pressure of voidsent was all over the area and even around the trees a fleshy substance was starting to form.

The sound of small cackling echoed throughout the area, masks floated around the area but one stuck out from the others that had made root into a tree that flesh was oozing out of.

“Dammit, I got careless…was bound ta happen one o’ these suns…” He reached up to brush at his chin, blinking some, “…Don’t think I’m dead. Hmph, devil probableh couldn’t find a way ta eat me…wouldn’t get anehthin’ outta it.” He spoke to himself, mostly to keep himself grounded as everything around him quickly turned to a hellish landscape, “Where is this…?” Getting up to get a better look at his surroundings, stopping on the mask rooted into the tree. A chill ran down his spine, panic suddenly gripping him…but no, that voidsent is dead. Gamigin is no longer. Something evil had rooted itself into the wood as a means to anchor itself here, "What the hells…”

The masks that floated around the area all turned towards the lalafell, their mouths opening and closing, making a clicking sound as if to communicate with one another. The larger mask on the tree had slits where the eyes would be that started to glow an eerie purple.

Nazyl may have developed an irrational fear of masks…though given what he had to go through before this, that was understandable, the moving and clicking causing the hairs on his neck to stand on end. Mythrite was drawn, and in his shield hand rested a bottle of holy water, “This where ye’ve set up huh?!” He shouted up at the masks, “Always got a place ta return ta eh? Not while I’m here ye don’t. Yer time here has come ta an end!” He pointed the blade up at them, winding his left hand back.“Hope the othahs made it out alright…they seemed green, but they can handle a single persona aye…?”

The larger mask’s mouth started to creak open and once it was fully open a banshee of a scream fell from its jaws, it rattled the area around them and the smaller voidsents screamed in delight as they darted through the air. A clear sign the leader had given its orders already.

Nazyl flinched, his eyes going shut from the shrill noise. That was it, the start, and the demons now flew around him. He was alone in an unfamiliar place, with darkness all around–the normal for a void hunter. He recovered, frowning and readying himself, watching the moving voidsent carefully, “…Wondah if that pearl will work here…” He mused, pouring a trickle of the water down his sword, igniting it in white flames.

Five small voidsent charged at the lalafell with great speed, their mouths opened wide and an icy mist could be seen forming within their open jaws. One after the other they launched at him like little torpedo’s, they weren’t aiming for any vital areas but mainly for his limbs.

The void hunter let the demons come for him…he was in his element here. With a turn of the wrist, the first was dashed across his shield, and with that motion he flowed into a flaming arc that parried another, metal against darkened fangs in a deadly, flashy dance that left him unscathed, affording no openings, and when they came about for another round, they were met with fierce counter strikes, another flowing dance that had the white-hot blade sever the lesser voidsent cleanly in two, bashing the others into the ground to finish them off, their cries music to his ringing ears. The butchering ended with their ashes, pointing the blade back up at the master mask, “Now ye’ve realleh done it.”

The lesser voidsent that remained clicked their jaws as they watched their brethren die in front of them. Each one turned to the tree as if wondering what to do next, clearly outmatched by the voidsent slayer. The leader opened its mouth again and inhaled deeply to suck in the lesser masks into its mouth, five of them in total went in and the leader snapped its mouth shut. The slits of its eyes grew brighter and its ‘mouth’ seemed to move as something formed within it.

Once it was done 'chewing’ its mouth opened and a large blob slid out of its mouth and dropped to the ground with a thud, something within seemed to be trying to punch its way out and seconds later five masks shot out and found its home on the body. Limbs shooting out just like the last one he fought back with his companions Nazyl was now faced to face alone with the same creature he once battled before.

Nazyl frowned. He couldn’t reach the mask above but doing this had to cost it some manner of aether to perform…in essence, it couldn’t keep this up forever. The question was…how long did he have to fight to get to that point? Even now it simply felt like a test, “Just ye wait…” He growled, stepping forward, but only to throw the bottle of sanctified liquid right towards the reformed persona, “Die damn ye!”

The Persona roared in pain as its body fell to the ground, its mouths clicking rapidly as its limbs sucked back into its body as if trying to hide from the void hunter. Its mouths opened and closed slowly as if it were trying to calm itself from the pain…..or was it really. Without warning the four tendrils that were its limbs shot out from underneath Nazyl in an attempt for a surprise attack. It was a crafty bugger and the lalafell would have to be quick on his feet to dodge its limbs.

The Lalafell squinted, mayhaps he should start with the holy tools first to debilitate it…and before he knew it, black tendrils whipped from the dark and struck him from underneath, lashing across his chest, legs and arms, forcing him back with his shield up, "GAGH! Bastard, had me fooled fer a nonce…” He spat, “Alright…” He held his now quenched sword at the ready, testing the defenses of the tendrils with quick, snapping strikes.

The tendrils swatted away the strikes and those that hit felt like small paper-cuts to the beast, the four tendrils waved in a frenzy as each one came slamming back down towards the ground to slam into Nazyl causing his shield to be battered away, forcing him back yet again with another lashing, dripping blood beneath him, “Tch…” He unhooked another bottle, “I shoulda waited fer Go Bi ta finish me blade…” He tossed the holy water towards the appendages and rushed to follow with a spinning strike, hoping to catch the flames on his sword again. Mayhaps he should try and back off if he could defeat this incarnation.

The limbs waved wildly as one was cut clean off and fell to the ground, wiggling as the flames swallowed it and soon nothing was left but ash on the ground where the tendril once was. The voidsent roared in pain as it lost one of its arms, one of the masks sunk into the body before reappearing on one of the tendrils, its mouth opening wide to spew a large amount of ice towards Nazyl, covering even the ground below the void hunters feet to make it difficult for him to move.

He dove to get away from the ice, kicking off the forest debris to launch himself towards the newly formed mask, spinning into an aerial sawblade to shred the face into pieces–the source of a persona’s power. Without that, it would diminish in power at least.

The mask slammed its head into the blade and a sickening cracking noise reached the lalafell’s ears, the mask had cracked from the blow but it would still be able to fight and that’s exactly what it did. Opening wide the voidsent clamped down onto Nazyl’s sword and lashed the man back and forth through the air to make the swordsman let go of his weapon.

Nazyl held fast, quickly clapping his other hand onto the mask to keep himself from being flung. it was here he used the opportunity to bash his shield into the mask repeatedly, in an attempt to shatter the rest of it into tiny pieces, “What kinda persona…are ye?! Ye got more fortitude than an aurochs!”

With a final blow from Nazyl’s shield the mask finally crumbled into tiny pieces and releasing Nazyl’s sword from its hold, and when that mask vanished so did that tendril however he still had two more to worry about and the voidsent wasn’t too happy Nazyl was out besting it. The last two remaining limbs started to rapidly smash against the ground in an attempt to squish its target.

Nazyl had its number now. His study of this strangely powerful persona had yielded some results, and that he could predict the movements of each tendril before it struck, deftly bounding out of the way and far from their reach, panting, “Definiteleh got a lot ta work with here…” He withdrew a silver knife and held it between his fingers, narrowing his eyes at the multitude of masks beyond the writhing black. He spun to throw it with heavy force, aiming to at least pierce one mask with it, reaching for his ear afterward to open the line, “Dunno if anehone can hear this, but this is Nazyl Tharazyl, stuck in a remote…part o’ the Shroud with heaveh void activiteh. I’m requestin’ assistance.”

As the knife flew through the air and at its target a small 'thunk’ was heard as it hit one of the masks but had done no damage to it. The swordsman would hear his linkpearl start to flicker with static as a voice spoke up over it. “Nazyl!? By the twelve I’m on my way.” The voice would be familiar to him and he could hear the sound of heavy boots hitting the ground along with the sound of a chamber door closing shut. “Whatever yer dealin’ with out there try and hide till I’m able to get to you.”

“Hm…Normalleh ye can’t hide from the void, but…” He stared at the tendrils and persona, “The seals might make me hidden aftah all…” He assumed a defensive stance, putting the shield at the front.

The tendrils shot back underground and back to its home within the voidsent, its arms returning to normal and it started to crawl its way around the area, mouths opening and closing to make the clicking noise that bounced around the area.

Nazyl held still, confused at first. Was he so invisible to it already? The clicking seemed odd…until he had a thought. It’s trying to locate him through sound. If he posed as still debris, he may be able to buy himself time…he could hope that the person on the other line knew where to find him.

Mouth clicking faster it faced Nazyl’s direction and at an alarming rate the Persona shot towards the void hunter, its hands digging into the ground to drag it across the ground and didn’t stop when it reached Nazyl. Its body went to slam into his shield with great force and the void hunter would either have to block the attack or move out of the way.

The lalafell went wide-eyed at the sudden lunge. He was right, it was trying to find him through sound. His body lurched to the side and he turned, now that that main body of the demon was here, he swung out his blade into the black mass to tear into it as it sped by. It must be able to find his heartbeat and breathing. “Yer luckeh I don’t got Atgalia with me…ye’d be dust alreadeh.”

One of the masks was quick to move in the way where the blade wanted to strike its exposed body, its mouth jittering as if laughing to mock the Lalafell for not being quick enough. Its hands dug into the ground and its large body rotated in a circle to slam into Nazyl, not giving the poor lalafell much time to catch a break.

Nazyl Tharazyl turned to meet the swiftly moving persona, too fast for him to react as it forced its whole weight onto him, slamming him into the ground. He felt his body shriek in pain, feeling fatigued and the damage begin to catch up with him, “L-laugh at me will ye…” He had a dangerous plan in this position…a last resort to keep himself from dying in this rotten hell. He grabbed the voidsent with one hand, and unhooked his last bottle with the other, only to shove it straight into the black mass and squeeze hard enough to shatter the glass.

One of the masks ripped itself from the body that held the shattered bottle and whatever contents were within it, flying off to a distance the voidsent started to shake before bursting into a million pieces. The last remaining masks moved over the body to make their main focus on the downed lalafell, they all opened their mouths in sync with one another but before they could do anything a blast was heard that took the mask off the voidsent and something slammed down onto it. “Not on my watch ya damn beast!” Gunblade stabbed into the void N'yami held the voidsent in place so Nazyl could gain his footing again. “Get up and move away if ya can while I have it locked down!” The voidsent thrashed back and forth to try to get the gunblade wielding Miqo'te off its back.

“Right on time…” He half chortled, turning to punch the ground, forcing himself up to move and gain his bearings. He fished for a potion, something to keep the pain away, for now, gulping whatever he had down, “I owe ye one.”

“Can owe me a drink once we get out of here.” N'yami grinned down at Nazyl before reaching into her pocket to pull out something marble shaped to toss within one of the voidsents mouth. Removing her gunblade from the beast the Seeker jumped down from the beast and snatched Nazyl off the ground. “Sorry sorry sorry sorry! Gotta move gotta move!” The sorry’s were a mixture of the discomfort she was probably causing for Nazyl's battle wounds and also for carrying him like a sack of popotos. It was with good intentions cause not a moment later a large blast went off that caused the voidsent to explode and the explosion itself caused a large knockback that sent the two tumbling to the ground to roll a few fulms. “Shit! Nazyl you alright?!”

Nazyl was ready to continue fighting…but the Seeker had decided otherwise, her arm sweeping him right up, a confused noise escaping him, “Wh-what?! HEY! We’re just gonna leave it here?! It’s–!” He was immediately interrupted by a massive blast, sending him rolling into the red floor. Slightly dazed, he waited until the world stopped spinning to sit up, “Urgh…” He groaned. “…..That bettah have killed it…there’s more….”

“What do you mean there’s more!?!?” Looking back over to the tree the Seeker noticed the large mask that had made its home on the large tree as it let out a shrill shriek. “Oh gods there’s more…..” Ears laid flat against her head N'yami had to figure out a plan to get them both out of here. “How much fight you got left in ya?”

“It got me a couple of times…drew blood, n’ near crushed me. I’ve dulled the pain some with some medicine, but that’s not gonna last ferevah. I’ll fight 'em 'till I draw me last breath, but I get the feelin’ ye won’t accept that as an option."Nazyl Tharazyl stood, dusting the blood and gore off, "I’ll keep fightin’ as long as ye can.”

N'yami Synch gritted her teeth as she stared at the voidsent, both of them were stuck in a bad situation luckily N'yami’s carbuncle Whackara was already heading back to Heartwood to report where the two’s location was. “Stick close to me, you owe me a drink remember? That means we’re getting out.” Sliding into position the Seeker took a defensive stance in front of her friend and the lalafell would feel an immense amount of aetherical pressure coming off her as her ruby orbs started to glow. Even the voidsent could sense it and the smaller ones started to dive down towards N'yami and Nazyl while in the back the larger persona started to shake and the roots of the voidsent popped up from under the ground.

"This again…“ Nazyl steeled himself for the onslaught, catching many of the smaller swarming demons with well-placed bashes and slashes, but fatigue caused him to slip, letting one through to strike him from behind, his tunic tearing, "Damn ye…”

The gunblade user twirled on her toes as her blade danced through the air to slice the voidsent that were unlucky to connect with it, the Seeker didn’t realize how fast the little bastards were one slammed into her stomach while the last into her back. She coughed up a pained noise but there was no time for the two to expect what was to come, large tendrils shot towards them while they were distracted by the smaller voidsents.

The tendrils grabbed them each by the leg and dragged them down, starting to slowly drag the two towards the tree to hold them hostage there. N'yami tried blasting the tendril with her gunblade but it seemed the thing wouldn’t budge even after the shots it took. “What in the seven hells is this!? Let go ya bastard!”

Nazyl repeatedly stabbed at the tendril, but without the holy enchantments his hunting blade had, he feared he wouldn’t be getting very far. Even with the silver he managed to draw and thrust into the devil’s flesh, it didn’t seem to be enough, and he had exhausted the rest of his tools, “What do ye hope ta gain with me eh?! Ye won’t get nothin’ outta me!” He glanced to Yami, a frown forming. She was far more at risk. He twisted his body, and with a roar he swung out in a large arc towards Yami’s captor, hoping to free her at least from the clutches of the demon. He’d be without strength to free himself…but the voidsent wouldn’t get anything from taking him alive.

Nazyl grunted as his blade didn’t cut through all the way, his hand slipping from the handle. He wondered if mayhaps he needed more training….this sword was impeccably well made, yet he found almost no use from it since he obtained it. That world did more to him than he had thought, “C'mon…” He caused the void quite a bit of pain, with a painful roar the tendril N'yami was held captive in thrashed in every direction. “I’m not a fan of this!” The Seeker squeaked out as she attempted to keep her stomach calm. “Not a fan at all!” N'yami tried her best to aim her gunblade at the spot Nazyl had cut into as she swung through the air, it was now or never so she took the shot and another scream from the mask echoed throughout the area and with one quick flick of its tendril the Seeker was sent straight into its mouth and all Nazyl would see is Yami’s final attempt to keep him safe as a ball of aether was sent flying towards him to absorb around him. The aether that covered the lalafell was comforting as if he were being hugged by someone to keep him safe. “They’ll be here soon just hang on a bit longer!” She yelled from the mouth before it slammed shut.

He watched in horror as the Seeker was devoured, “NO! Ye…yer the one who’s in danger from this!” he cried out, but it was fruitless. Nothing he could do now, when his weapon had fallen to the floor, and he was out of tools. His strength had waned, and he could do little but stare at the mask with sheer hatred. If the rest of them showed up, he’d make sure this thing wouldn’t go back to the void–he was going to destroy it permanently.

All the two could do was wait for help to arrive and hope that it got here quickly, the tendril brought Nazyl towards the tree to stick him against the flesh of the tree to hold him hostage. Will Heartwood make it in time to save their comrades?

#heartwood ventures #Heartwood plots #nazyl tharazyl #n'yami synch #ffxiv balmung #balmung rp #voidsent #ffxiv rp

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lettersnorth · 4 years

Text

The Crystal Man Pt. II

The small band of Heartwood’s mercenaries stood in a collected huddle at the edge of Witchdrop, staring down into the shadowy depths with a variety of expressions on display. Most of them the grim sort. Tracking their quarry through the frozen land had been enough to set several teeth on edge. A party of Seekers, Seawolves, Plainsfolk and Ala Mhigans, not one of them had ever known a cold like this. Even now, Aislinn edged closer to the arcane fire Khora had called forth into his hand. What had begun as a sputtering flame grew stronger the more composed the Seeker became. It was strong enough now to radiate a gentle heat.

“Damn this frosted place." Y’ahn muttered.

"Bloodeh h-hells ye can feel the void's chill....ye sure he’s down there?" Nazyl shivered as his small frame leaned over as far as he dared to gaze down into the depths.

“Void? Like...ghosts?" Aiswyda stuttered. She had only heard of this place before, but figured all the rumors around it were just that. Standing here now though, it definitely felt haunted.

"Any Elezen that decided to willingly wander down there wouldn't exactly be 'sane' in my book." Aislinn noted as she tucked her hands under her arms. “Not with this place’s history.”

Nazyl nodded, not lifting his gaze from the silent dark below. “This place is a breedin' ground fer 'em. Long time ago as it were, when Ishgard was less....acceptin', they'd throw anehone even accused o' hereseh down this hole."

Aiswyda turned to Aislinn with a worried glance, looking to her to figure out if she should be nervous or not. Catching the Seawolf’s eye, all Aislinn could do was shrug. The lalafell wasn’t wrong. Though there was little they could do about the Drop’s fabled history. If their man was down there, they either went after him or forgo the contract.

"Witchdrop certainly does have a dark history. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if all that negative energy decided to hang around. If the man's down there, we should be careful." she told Aiswyda in all honesty. She saw little point in sugar coating it.

There was talk of sending half the party down to investigate but in the end, no one was willing to be the cowardly sort that stayed behind while their compatriots did the hard work, so one by one, they slid down the embankment to a small ledge that ran down into the Drop’s depths. The world of white above disappeared the further the group descended, the darkness settling heavy and oppressive on them all as chatter slowly fell away until eventually they moved in wordless silence.

N’yami reached the chasm floor first and soon held up a hand that brought the rest of them to a halt. Eyes and ears straining through the gloom it soon became apparent they weren’t alone in the echoing depths. With a flick of her hand, N’yami pointed out the muted form of a duskwight, crouched down, picking at something in the snow. Edges of movement just catching enough light to make out the figure.

“Well. That’s a bit out of place.” she murmured.

Several of their number followed her gaze and watched as the duskwight eventually uncovered a frozen corpse and hefted it over his shoulder.

"The hells? Is he grave robbin'?” Nazyl sputtered in surprise. “Though I can't say those here would have a peaceful rest, but that don't mattah. OI!" He called out. Subtlety wasn't his forte.

The elezen swiftly looked up at the group, and approached with a smile. From a brief glance, he looked completely fine, and seemed to radiate a comforting sort of heat in the chilly weather. A detail, that while tempting to this group of warm climate folk, was nevertheless disconcerting.

“Ah, what a large group of people! What brings you down here?” The stranger said, still hefting the frozen corpse upon his shoulders with ease.

Nazyl quickly scanned the man's face. He didn't seem like he had crystal in or around him, "'Scuse us, what're ye doin' with that bodeh there?"

“These poor victims don’t deserve a shallow grave of snow and ice. Sometimes I come by to give them a proper burial, away from Witchdrop.”

The group passed each other a handful of looks that said down to a one, none of them was put at ease by this explanation. Nor were they sure of what to make of the man’s altogether calm and rational demeanor. This wasn’t the usual state in which they found those who had become crystal tainted and it set them off their footing. As Nazyl continued to converse with the strange man, N’yami turned to the rest of them, her ruby eyes glittering in the darkness.

"Is that the person we're looking for?" she asked.

Khora shrugged. "I don't know? Is he covered in crystal? Or is that snow?"

"I...Well, the intel does say we're looking for an elezen. And I'm assuming that not many people come down here for fun, so...yes?" Aiswyda ventured.

"They might send someone down here to clean up corpses from time to time?" Y’ahn proposed.

Aislinn reached up and quietly slid the gun from her back, regardless.

Koh followed suit, keeping his hands on his weapons, ready if need be, though he did turn back to the man, waiting for a lull in the conversation before asking, "Seen anything suspicious down here? Looking for an individual, would have seemed...out of sorts."

“To be honest, you lot are the most suspicious thing I’ve seen all week!” The elezen laughed, and strangely, the air grew warmer as he did so. “Though I suppose, there was that group earlier, that came down just to ask me how I was feeling. Otherwise, it’s the usual. Just a few like minded folks, but we mostly keep to ourselves.”

Khora ears fell over his head. He was beginning to grow impatient, a feeling expressed by that furrow in his brow. "No one in their right mind would come down here to 'see how someone is feeling.' And how long have you been down here? Long enough for two separate parties to venture down here?"

The man, who offered up the name Ifoux, dodged the question. In fact, he seemed very apt at dodging most of their questions. Something that soon grated on the more hot blooded among them. One heated argument and a report of gun fire later, the man hurriedly tried to make peace, smoothing the way by offering to continue this conversation back at his hut, where it was assuredly warmer than the depths of the chasm. He led the group back to his home in the wilderness where he made his living as a hunter. A hunter who apparently felt called upon to plumb the depths of Witchdrop and bring up the bodies from time to time.

After hastily burying the retrieved corpse in a freshly dug grave, the elezen ushered them all into his home though he continued to nervously look back now and again at Khora’s gunblade. Khora, for his part, was now quiet. Listening. Piercing silver eyes refused to leave Ifoux as less and less the Seeker trusted the elezen.

They all huddled around the small hut’s cooking fire as Ifoux poured them each a cup of hot pine tea. Several of their number politely refused but Aislinn wordlessly accepted a cup. Though she had no intention of drinking it, she let her freezing hands curl around the warmth it provided as the conversation continued, each one of them trying and failing to pin down the wily man who was either completely clueless to the strange heat he was putting off or he knew very well that it wasn’t natural and was doing his level best to fend them off. The last thing one wished to be this close to Ishgard was unnatural.

Nazyl quirked a brow at the man. "Have ye always lived here then?”

Ifoux took a dried karakul haunch off from a dangling string, and tossed it into a pot. “I’ve lived here for as long as I remember. It’s a simple life, hunting and living off the land.” He tossed in some garlic and popotos into the stewpot alongside the karakul. “...though things have been a bit odd, as of late.”

"So we've heard. What's the odditehs ye've heard about?"

“Something is...grave robbing my makeshift cemetery. The entire body goes missing, and all I’m left with is a hole. At this rate, eventually my cemetery will just be a collection of deep ditches.” The elezen stopped stirring, and looked down in defeat. “No tracks. It always happens at night sometime though. I’ve tried staying up to catch the graverobber, but I can never seem to stay up the entire time.” Ifoux looked at everyone with hopeful eyes. “You lot are adventurers right? Perhaps you could help.”

Aislinn North slid a questioning glance N'yami's way before looking back to the Elezen with a considered gaze. "Suppose...we could see our way to doing that." she spoke up.

Honestly, this entire venture was turning odder by the moment. Why not lie in wait for a graverobber to boot?

(To be continued!)

#ffxiv #ffxiv rp #Crystal Beasts #Aiswyda Nuthalwyn #Khora Velaceras #N'yami Synch #Koh Srenh #Aislinn North #Nazyl Tharazyl #Y'ahn Tsunhe #Heartwood plots #Aiswyda you're awesome

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heartwoodventures · 4 years

Text

The Crystal Man Conclusion

Part 1 Part 2

If it was at all possible, Coerthas was even colder once the sun had sunk low behind the mountains. As night darkened the land, there wasn’t much to keep the mind distracted from the frigid wind that mercilessly found its way through any opening of clothing, no matter how small.

Ifoux had found his bed bells ago but the small band of mercenaries had a long night ahead of them as they staked out the Elezen’s makeshift graveyard, waiting for these would-be graverobbers the man had insisted were about.

"B-bloodeh hells, I ferget how much I hate Coerthan nights...no amount o' clothes evah truleh protects ye..." Nazyl grumbled, all bundled up next to a crate. He couldn't possibly grow tired in this freezing weather even if he was on his last legs.

As if to add insult to injury a heavy snow began to fall, sending a wave of disgruntled complaints through the party. For a band that was supposed to be lying in wait, they were doing a horrible job of it thus far.

"There seems to be a good place to hide over there by the wood pile. Perhaps we should get into position?" Rolanda pointed out, ever polite, but the Au Ra’s underlying message was clear; ‘And keep quiet.’

Aislinn eyed the woodpile, noticing the roof over it also provided shelter from the snow. "Makes sense. No point standing around so close to the graves we're supposed to be watching." she nodded, as she stamped her feet in an effort to keep them warm.

"Anything’s better than getting battered by this god awful ice. I second the motion," Aiswyda managed between shivers.

While the rest of them tucked themselves in close to the woodpile, N’yami chose a different route altogether and climbed atop the roof instead. The Seeker laid down with her carbuncle snuggled under her chest. Within a few minutes the snow started to cover them, providing a nice hiding spot. "Keep a lookout, Whack." She whispered to her companion, and the summoned chirped in agreement.

Then, there was nothing to do but wait. The biting cold ceased any inclination to talk and time stretched to a standstill. The once white landscape steadily darkened, until naught was visible but faint lights from faraway settlements. With a new moon in the sky, there was not even the benefit of its silver glow this night, the muffled silence of drifting snow leaving each of them with only their own thoughts for company.

The wintry quiet made the sudden sound of glass shattering all the more shocking. A loud and piercing sound that came directly from Ifoux’s hut. As one, the band jolted with alarm, several hands flying to the hilts, grips and quivers of their own weapons.

"A thief?!" Tana hissed out.

Nazyl scanned the area. It didn't feel right to leave their hiding place...but the sound was concerning, "M-mayhaps someone should check on our c-client..." he said, his teeth chattering in the cold.

N'yami stood up and shook the snow off herself, dropping down from her hiding spot and drawing her gunblade as she started heading towards the house. Several paces behind her, firearms drawn, Aislinn and Rolanda wordlessly circled around the house to cover the Seeker.

"I'll s-stay here n' watch fer anehthon' unusual. Holler if somethin' happens." Nazyl said as loudly as he dared as the three disappeared into the night.

In the darkness, not much can be seen...but much can be heard. There came the sound of snow crunching underfoot and heavy, gusty breaths off to the right of the woodpile, in the exact opposite direction from where the three women had gone.

Nazyl jumped from the logs, letting his ears guide him towards the heavy footfalls, sword fully drawn. His eyes strained to find something to pin the sound on. Tana and Aiswyda, not far behind.

Reaching the hut, N’yami pushed the door open slowly, her ruby orbs scanning the inside of the house to see what had caused the crash, her carbuncle perched on her shoulder. "If this guy gets me killed we're taking all his rugs, Whack." She mumbled to the carbuncle.

The living room area appeared untouched, though the floor was unnaturally wet. Once inside, the Seeker noted it was noticeably warmer and even a bit humid. She pushed further in, heading toward Ifoux's bedroom, whose door was left ajar.

"Odd..." She took a couple more careful steps forward as she entered the living room, sending out a pulse of her own aether to sense for anything living or dead, using it as a sonar of sorts.

But as she crept her way into the space all that met her was a bedroom that felt as heated as a furnace and a shattered window. Ifoux was nowhere to be found. She stood there, puzzling over the sight until a bellow from outside grabbed her attention.

"Stop right there!" Nazyl shouted, "Ye'll go no furthah!"

From behind the hut a gangly man-shaped creature had come into view. Although hard to make out in the dark, the beast looked as if an Elezen form had been stretched beyond any natural limits. The thing now teetered on four spindly limbs as it crunched its way across the snow, lifting its head to sniff the air, blatantly ignoring the lalafell’s shouts.

"Have it yer way." Nazyl grunted as he aimed a strike at the creature’s legs. In the darkness his sword bit through empty air.

The creature paused long enough to tilt its head at Nazyl with a glowing, blood red stare. And yet something about those eyes and its face was familiar - a hollow echo of someone he once knew. With its long limbs, it stepped right over Nazyl and steadily made its way to the graveyard.

Rolanda rushed to join Nazyl and the others as Aislinn kept her post, her concern growing with every moment that N’yami failed to emerge from the hut. The minutes ticked by until she decided it was time to go after the Seeker. She had just taken a few cautious steps towards the hut’s door when N’yami came bolting out of the house, alerted to the sounds of the fight. Wasting no time, the miqo’te launched herself at the creature with a loud battlecry.

The dark cover of night added a sense of disarray to what was already a chaotic fight. Half the time the band was striking blind and hoping against hope they hit something other than empty air or worse, a comrade. There was an overwhelming sense of gratification when a punch landed solidly or a blade struck dark flesh, causing the creature to howl in pain.

"Shoulda stuck with our gut on this one. I -knew- that Elezen wasn't right." Aislinn muttered as she cocked her gun and stared down the sight, trying to target the dark mass against the shadowy drifts of snow in the night. After a breath and confident in her aim, she pulled back the trigger, firing off a single shot. The sounding report echoed off the mountain walls.

The shot hit a partially wounded limb, knocking it clean off. The writhing shadow howled in pain as a hot, black ooze spurts out from the area, staining the white snow black. The cool ice hisses as the liquid makes contact.

"The hell is this thing?!" Tana exclaimed as she jumped back to avoid the errant limb.

In retaliation, the beast struck out at the nearest person, N’yami, and took her in its iron grip, squeezing with a force that could knock the breath out of a man twice her size. The miqo’te felt the wind knocked out of her with a gasp as the creature tried to crush her. From up close, she could make out the shadow beast’s face. It was covered in a constantly moving, black slime - and every so often - something else peeked out from just underneath.

"Didn't yer mother teach ya to chew yer damn food?" she sputtered.

Nazyl already knew what was happening, the window break and the oddly familiar features...it was just as he feared, "Try not ta kill the thing. Cripple it n' disable it, but don't kill it." the knight shouted, running to the limb that held the Seeker, raising the blade high and cutting down with all his strength.

Nazyl’s swing cut at the beast’s arm, and it loosened its vice grip on Nyami, though it still kept her in hand. It seemed scared, but motivated by a fierce desire to live. With great effort, it splurted two more limbs from its body that hit the ground, wet and hot.

The Plainsfolk glanced around quickly, "Hey, who had that sleep juice?! Mighteh fine time ta use it I'd say!"

"Whackara! Someone has your friend!" N’yami cried out to her carbuncle.

The summoned that stood next to Aislinn slowly turned its head towards the beast, its aetherical fur puffed up in anger and the little ball of light charged in, ripping right through the limb so N'yami could be free from its grasp. The detached hand of the creature dropped to the ground, still clutching the miqo’te, though she could now wiggle free of the limb’s frozen grip.

Aiswyda hurriedly found the sleeping serum - a vial of glowing, blue liquid - deep within her coat pockets. Now she had to find a way to somehow get it IN the beast, with nothing but fists at the ready. She climbed the shadow, ignoring its scream and twisting attempts to shake her off, and felt around for anything that felt like a mouth. She managed to pour half of the liquid in before she lost her grip and fell back into the snow. The glowing vial landed a few fulms away from her and luckily, the remainder of its contents still sloshed around the vial.

With the sleeping draught aided along by a draining spell from Aislinn, the creature’s movements slowed and its glowing red eyes blinked several times, fighting back the urge to rest.

Its limbs shook, and finally gave, as it collapsed into the ground with a great sigh. The dark ooze that covered it jittered uncontrollably, and exploded in every direction as it repelled off of the beast’s core.

Most of the party hit the ground, allowing a majority of the black ooze to fly safely overhead. However, Aislinn and Nazyl failed to react in time, one knocked off the balance by the explosion, the other simply distracted. Black ooze slammed into both of them, coating their clothing and leaving a hot, foul residue behind.

"Lovely." Aislinn sputtered. "That's what I get for not paying attention." she looked down at the ooze dripping down her frame in distaste. As her heavy winter coat heated up to an unbearable degree, she hurriedly shuffled it off, putting some distance between herself and the affected clothing.

Nazyl fell backwards and landed on his rear "GGH! Ugh..."

"Well Nazyl you were complaining about the cold... here is some hot steamy goo to warm yourself with..." Tana gave the Lalafel a sly smile. "Is everyone ok?"

A chorus of confirmations rang out in the dark, though as Aislinn moved closer to the fallen body and the rest of the party, Aiswyda found she had trouble holding back her laughter. "By Llymlaen...is that you Lin? Can hardly tell in the dark and slime."

Aislinn shook her slime-coated head but gave Aiswyda a thumbs up. "Here...and in need of several showers." she called over to the Seawolf in wry amusement.

Though Ifoux’s dark skin made it hard to make out against the black snow, the naked duskwight elezen lay at the center of the explosion, deep asleep. Rolanda’s arrow was still embedded in the man’s back, and several bruises from Tana’s punches decorated his abdomen.

"....What a mess. He's injured." Nazyl said lowly.

N'yami hoisted herself up as her gaze landed on the Elezen. "Oh...he's naked." It finally hit her. "Oh my gods, this man is naked and needs a coat!"

"I think he needs a healer... it seems my punches did good work and... he doesn't look to be a fighter..." Tana noted.

"Would that I could be proud o' harmin' an innocent..." Nazyl retorted.

As Rolanda, Tana and N’yami saw to protecting the naked man from the elements, Nazyl turned his attention to Aiswyda.

"Who gave ye that serum again? This all just screams setup..."

"Ser Papachimo. He pretty much made this mess, and we're the cleanup crew," Aiswyda answered as she peered down at the sleeping elezen.

Nazyl scoffed under his breath. "Man's been aethericalleh altered it seems. Fallin' asleep makes somethin' else take ovah, n' if this is what this Lalafell caused, then I wanna have a chat."

Aislinn slid her gaze to Aiswyda, wondering what Papachimo would think of a chat with Nazyl. Though she blessedly kept her silence.

Aiswyda caught Aislinn's glance and responded with a knowing look. Papachimo had a lot to answer for, and she had a feeling Nazyl was going to lay even more justice into the man.

The lalafell glanced between the two women. "...There ain't anehmore like this, are there?"

"This is supposed to be the last." Aislinn answered Nazyl.

"I see." He paused, glancing at what was going on with the man beside them. The others had pulled a heavy rug from the Elezen’s hut and were currently bundling the injured man up within it, chattering all the while about the make and price of Ishgardian rugs.

Nazyl side eyed the rug-robbers with a sigh. Do they always take personal possessions? Mayhaps he should consider who he goes with in the future... "Bettah late ta the parteh I guess. Then that'll be me next destination. Wherevah that man is."

Aislinn nodded to Nazyl, understanding the lalafell's anger but she had already given Papachimo a piece of her mind on the subject. She looked to the Elezen, now snug in a rolled up rug. Odd...but protected from the elements?

They couldn't very well take the man to the Ishgardians. A shared look between them said they all well-remembered what lay at the bottom of Witchdrop and they had little faith he wouldn't end up joining the dead on the floor of the chasm if they left him in the care of those at Camp Dragonhead.

"We could take him back to the Heartwood estate so Y'ahn and Nys can take a look at him." N’yami stated with a firm nod.

Aislinn couldn’t argue with the logic. "Shall we get him back home?"

N'yami gave a curt nod. "Faster we get him there, the better."

Aiswyda agreed and stood behind the rug as to hide from public view the elezen that was wrapped up within. "What's done is done. Let's get out of this cold."

#ffxiv #ffxiv rp #balmung rp #ffxiv crystal rp #Heartwood plots #Crystal Beasts #Aiswyda Nuthalwyn #N'yami Synch #Nazyl Tharazyl #Rolanda Deschain #Tana Firesong #Aislinn North

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