The Ardent Roads

[Zet]

Common Difficulty: Normal

The roads that lead toward the capital. While normally things would be peaceful seeing as the particulars of the Land of Pride has things in an orderly fashion, recently there has been those who have become more agitated or aggressive. Movements made against the powers that be or the lack thereof. A turn is in the air, causing things to become more difficult for those traveling. For those who appear to be outsiders they have it easy enough, as they are likely uninvolved in the power struggle bubbling beneath the surface but can potentially get caught up in the crossfire of things should they approach situations without enough care.

The roads themselves are simple enough, having natural sights with hills and trees as nature and life live in harmony. However, curiously enough, the land appears to be more desolate and decayed as well...

[shast]

Jax puts the town to his back and begins through the Ardent road. While the tavern keeps tip may not have yieled any immediate results within the village perhaps out here there would be some mark of growth to go on. Better yet, the rogues themselves. As he travels Jax takes in the natural beauty of the landscape; rolling hills with lush flowers, trees peppering the land just kissing the horizon. Yet, a nagging feeling tugs at the guardian every half hour or so.

At first, Jax shrugged it off, but as he went the tugs became nags until he couldn't ignore it anymore. As he had been walking places that felt like they should have some element of life, a tree, a bush, a small stream, didn't. He also spotted several areas of browning grass or wilting trees. Was this place going through a drought? No where was this more promiment than where Jax had stopped and began to put these feelings in order. He had stopped at what he not only felt, but saw, there should be a pond. The remnants of a pondbed were still present. Dried mud that's begun to split and crack, fish husks, algae... Was this natural? Did some local predator just over indulge? Did mankind decide this specific pond needed to go? He stays here for some time tossing and mulling thoughts.

[Wraith]

To add even more to the cracks and seams of the thoughts that Jax mulled over was the muddied footprints left behind by what used to be people passing by. And then would be the sight of those fish husks and algae beginning to stir and move. The dried mud would push along with them, beginning to hurdle together to form a mass of some kind, two at that as they split apart. They were falling apart at the seams, unlikely to be able to stay together for long. They began to lumber out of the pond, moving up toward him as they slithered up the 'wall' made by the emptied location. The bones jutting from its form were massed together enough and sharpened to claw-like nature, those its intended use against the lumbering giant.

[Stalking Menace]

[shast]

The slog of a fight concluded Jax stamps his weapon into the ground to catch a breath. Without his companions to assist him battles would obviously take longer, but he didn't anticipate them being this grueling. The axe wielding warrior kicks a corpse over to get a better look at the beast and continues to rest. If creatures like this exist in this part of the world he may need to enlist Glenn, or another willing party. Perhaps more if the scoundrels that stole his circles relic were more ferocious than this. While pondering all this Jax continues to inspect the bodies for salvagable goods or something of worth aside from their loose, and randomly owned, coinage.

[Phen]

As the silent druid had left the town before, another traveler was just beginning to pass through the town itself, stopping just to purchase supplies before continuing on the main capital roads. Having already spent a fair amount of time in this country, he was taking a final short tour before leaving for the War Lands once again. Though the capital itself was a sight he only intended to visit momentarily, the roads here connected to several other smaller settlements where he could hear news from the capital at least while he stayed for a few days. Yet for much of the journey naught but the main path was needed.

Upon that main path then did this other traveler happen upon the aftermath of a long battle with undeath, coming into view just as the remnants began to falter. As he approached he stopped before the battle as Jax picked through his spoils. The man stood with a reed cloak covering most of his body, a blue and purple robe beneath, with a large hood. The hood framed his face which was partially covered in bandages on the left corner of his head, the right uncovered with a somber look as he eyed the creatures that had attacked Jax, "unfortunate.." the words slipped from his mouth before he looked to the halberdier himself. "I'd advise against looking too hard into those, dark magic has a tendency to be a little sticky." The man then stood by as if watching the previously reanimated corpses, but his head swiveled as his vision trailed off to looked about at the same decay Jax had been investigating prior to the attack before returning to gaze to Jax investigating additional spoils from the risen.

[Wraith]

The rapidly decomposing husk that was kicked off had left a portion of its residue on Jax's own boot, as the loose coinage could either be chalked up to folks who believed in placing their money in lakes or ponds for good fortune or the more tragic explanation that a random bystander had been engulfed by this creature at some point in an experiment as other things like leather and cloth were revealed from the decaying being. None of these were relatively revealing, as it finished its decomposition back into the various husks and algae that it was before it sprung to life for this entire ordeal. Between dark magics at work in a place that held no love for them and the strange circumstances of the area, whether or not they were correlated was up for debate as the two crossed paths here.

[shast]

Jax stood back up and nodded at the other travelers words. The rapid decomposition was definitely solid evidence to agree that these were especially unnatural. He ground the residual sticky sludge into the dirt in an attempt to get it off while looking at the expanse another time with his bandaged guest. Presuming that because he came from the same direction and thus might be going the same direction as himself. Jax gestures behind him towards the capital, shrugs, and takes a step as to imply movement.

[Phen]

"It does seem we are headed in the same direction." The man nods as he moves along the path to walk in step with the silent warrior. "It has been a while since I had a walking partner" he says with a smile visible just beneath his hood, though it later fades as they begin to further the path to the capital. The man makes no effort to question Jax, who seemed averse to conversation from the start. From time to time, the man surveys the area once again much like Jax had, taking a scope of the unnatural decay that dots the land with the same initial somber look. "Deeply Unfortunate" he lets out after the third stop of the same.

[Wraith]

With this strange happening with the dark arts in a land far from renown for them, they would be on their way on the road more often traveled. While there were other notes of such activity off and on, whether they approached it to further investigate each individual case was on the two travelers. What would hinder them on their way towards the capital would be up to the investigations performed on the side as otherwise they would be unhindered on their way to the capital, each with their own respective reason to help one another out while they made their way about.

[shast]

(Sorry, grad school + fulltimejob = not enjoyable)
As the trail goes on and with each passing decay riddle showcase Jax becomes slightly more irrate. He had been with the druids most of his life and while they preached that growth and decay were a natural ebb and flow for each other he felt that was somewhat irresponsible. Especially these patches that must be artificially made by this dark magic his new companion mentioned.

At his companions third stop he too stops, sighs, shakes his head, and then shoots a thumb in the direction of their discouragement. Signaling he had an interest in attempting to dig for clues yet again.

[Phen]

"Oh?" he says as Jax points toward the most recent instance of decay they had happened upon, he had been about to leave onward but it seemed his companion wanted another closer look. "Alright then." He turned once again back toward the blight they had been observing and followed Jax's lead as best he could. Though he knew not the target of the search, he was mostly keeping an eye out for the potential of additional risen dead around the duo.

[Wraith]

(School is a full-time job so may as well count both as full-time endeavors that aren't enjoyable)

The particular patch of choice was what would have been a forested area. The trees were withered, showing a clear decay as the forest near it was fine. This patch was not, as it looked as if the trees had aged several generations until they ran out of life. And just as the other was looking out for, there were no sign of new risen at least. There was a different sign instead as the leaves were decayed and gathered in an area, though looking as though they were undergoing autumn changes. The leaves were all different colors, leading to one tree that wasn't withered and also had all of its leaves still attached even in the sea of withering around it.

[shast]

Jax perks his eyebrow up as he and his compatriot wander through the withering forest. The bunched leaves possibly acting as some form of ritual compotent or a conduit to siphon energy? Regardless it was this was doubtful this was the work of his circles relic, or the work of dark magicks... So what could cause this rapid shift in the area? Acting on his first thought Jax takes his bardiche and flicks a small grouping of leaves. Should there be no reaction he'd bend down to pick one up.

[Wraith]

Moving the leaves didn't seem to do anything at first. Except for when the leaves began to swirl through the air after being flicked and the tree began to stir. Trees moving of their own volition certainly was out of the ordinary, and it looked as though it sucked in the vitality of all the things around it to gain this sudden sentience. The branches moved as the body itself did the same, the treant that was given life through nefarious means now primed to engage any who had come into the area that it was still left within, in this case being the two wanderers who were here now.

[Stalking Menace]

[Phen]

The man would disengage from the Treant, expecting it unlikely to follow given its normally rooted nature. Luckily for him the suggestion to his companion rung true enough, but it was still not particularly clear what he was looking for. Regardless, they could plan to deal with it later if needed, not really something that's good to leave on the roads even if it was off the beaten path slightly. Having just come from a small village, the man hadn't had the chance to stock up on supplies yet as they had little in the way of surplus. That was the plan when they reached the capital itself at least. Once they returned to a safe distance, the man turned back to Jax, putting his hood back up and pulling out some additional wrappings.

"Not sure what you're looking for here friend, but if you think we're going to keep encountering things like that and those bodies from earlier then maybe we'd be better off getting supplies from the capital first?"

(HP): 257/375
(VP): 120/120

[shast]

It's fortunate such a blight remains stationairy but it's only a matter of time until it snatches up someone else. Swatting off the residual bark that had embedded itself in Jax's armor as he reaches the road Jax nods at his companion in agreement. As he(they?) move onwards Jax takes a moment to assess the abilities of his ally. He had only briefly saw it but the magick was clearly felt and dark in nature. Perhaps he may know something or someone related to the thieves. The silent warrior takes out the detailed rendering of the relic from his coat and makes a small gesture to the wind.