Thorough Investigations, Plage Questline (4/5)

Oras had spent the rest of the afternoon, and evening, thinking about what they had learned thus far about this deadly plague that seemed to slowly invade the land.  First he went over the simplified details.  Then he went over each of the pieces in detail.  Went over the summary, and started over again...  And again...  And again...  He was missing something, but he couldn't see it.  There were details, pieces that were missing.  Areas blurry, questions that would undoubtedly lead to more questions.  It was clawing at him, almost torturing him to find the answer to this puzzle.  Which was why he went over this information so carefully.  The simplified details were thus:  There were three major pieces to this riddle.  There was the weeds, which was the first to emerge from the shadows.  The cloaked figure who was the second to reveal himself.  And now the Fungi that infested living organisms.  The weeds were far from simple.  They used their roots to burrow through anything at all, and would resurface later.  Anyone who touched the weeds would be drained of their magic energy and their physical stamina, sent to the hospital from a single touch.  The cloaked figure was listening in on their conversation and had a coin with a skull on one side, a hand on the other, and runes that he could not make out.  Finally there was the spores which seemed to invade the mind of an organism, giving them the one thought and urge:  Seek out energy.

Oras sighed as he returned to the scientist's house.  It was morning now, and he had risen before Amora to gather his thoughts before moving to the next step.  He had some theories as to what was truly going on, but he could do nothing, nor test any of these theories, until he gathered more information.  He walked into the building to find Amaline and another individual.  He wore a lab coat, had gray hair, but his eyes were like gold.  He turned to Oras and smiled brightly.  "You must be the wizard Amaline told me about!  Please, come in sir Verus!"  Oras grunted at the 'sir' title and moved over to the wall, leaning against it as he nodded good morning to Amora.  Amaline turned to them.  "Right, so Graled here was just about to explain what he'd learn."

Word Count: 393
Total Count: 393

I had spent the time of last night after the bear incident trying my best to help Amaline collect her thoughts, and to try and be calmer. To help her go through this, and to also kind of help her acknowledge that this was a rather dangerous situation do to the fact that we don't know what can come next in terms of animals, or what other things these plants can do. After having confirmed she was fine i then went to bed to rest and to relax doing as Verus had asked and to try and calm down myself after all of what had transpired yesterday. That their will be more to come, and more will suffer from whatever these things can do. I can only look up to the ceiling and wonder what else will come from this one event, and what else will be layed before me in the future in terms of handling other types of jobs if doing a simply one like what Verus had done led to this. I shake my head to clear the thoughts as i close my eyes to put my troubled mind to sleep. A peaceful night's sleep is what awaited me which i am very grateful for when i awaken.

I wake up in my room as i quickly make my way to the kitchen with a smile wanting to have some breakfast, or something of the sort to eat since it is morning now. I see Amaline with a guest and i just stand off not joining them at the table since i'm sure i would just confuse myself, and i would feel a little bit awkward from not knowing how to deal with two people having a conversation with words i would have no idea what they would mean. As i see you enter the home later i smile happily at that as i relax a bit more and i gave a happy wave to your nod of greeting. I do however worry if you did get any sleep since all i know you went out yesterday and now you're walking into the home now in the morning. That being the only things i know for certain have happened.

Amaline gestured for the man in the lab coat, or Garled, to share what he had learned from the mysterious plants. Garled nodded and placed his hands on the table as he prepared to speak. "Right. So what do we know of the plants currently?.. Well, the first thing we have learned about them is that they drain mana and stamina from any living thing that touches it, whether it be man, plant or beast. A single touch can send you to the hospital. These plants burrow their roots through the dirt, but not just dirt. They also burrow through any other physical element known to us, tested carefully. I've tried using stone, iron, crystal, water, glass, enchanted iron, even a chunk of titanium. All of it was broken down into dust as if it were nothing but dirt. A little ironically, the enchanted iron broke down the fastest, probably due to the fact that the mana that sustains the enchantment was absorbed by the roots, giving it more strength. These plants have a very particular range in between each other, and don't randomly decide to sprout a new plant. They appear within seven meters of each other. No farther, no closer."

"We know all of this already," Oras stated. He had gone over this information himself over and over the previous night, as well as this morning. He had hoped this man would have noticed something new, however he was not doing any more than a recap thus far. The man nodded with a grin. "She said you might be impatient, yes... My dear friend, there is more to it than just that. These weeds.. Amaline said that you two can feel magic energy within it even though it does not emanate it.. Well you are both right and wrong at the same time..." He pulled out a small device from his bag and showed it to them. "This is a device very specifically designed to determine whether or not there is magic energy within something, or someone. As well as how much. Whenever I have scanned the weeds, it always comes out here. Just as much energy as you would find in the air. The energy isn't in the plant, it's being transported somewhere else. Where to I have no idea however. I expect it would be somewhere in the woods. I may be a wizard, but my magic is specifically to research and experiments, not defense. We need more samples, so I would like the two of you to see if you can find any more. I'll pay you afterwards, but this needs to be done." Oras thought about this for a moment, realizing that the scientist was right. He nodded. "Right. Amora, follow me. Let's see if we can find anything else."

Word Count: 466
Total Count: 859

I listen to the man talk and explain what he has done, and even i roll my eyes a little bit at hearing all of what we know already. Figuring we could skip over this and go over new information since just listening to the old information just wastes our time that could be spent trying to solve this problem. However, listening to the distance is new to me since i haven't payed as much attention to the plants as you have since i haven't gone out to see and observe them since i have stayed within this home, or in a inn so far not having much chance to observe the plants carefully. I look at the man with curiosity as he starts to explain further as i hide my amusement at you telling the man to get on with his explanation since i feel the same way, but i try not to let the amusement show on my face since i don't have a mask to hide the look.

I tilt my head at this man saying we're both right and wrong as i listen intently to his words clearly intrigued by what is going to be said. As the man goes to explain i grin a bit at hearing this as a theory is in my mind right away as he explains what the plants are doing, and by proxy what the fungus are doing. The only thing left to figure out in my mind is how the fungus can transfer energy to wherever that needs to be transferred to. I nod my head to you as i follow you out of the home of Amaline with a smile on my face. Seems like we get a possible reason for these plants Verus. These plants take magical energy, and things similar to that most likely to provide the death hand magic for something they are planning. I say with a nod of my head throwing my theory out their in a low tone of voice. Knowing that letting others hear or being to loud could be bad if the wrong group of people over hear what i say. The only thing is to figure out is if my idea is right what would they need so much magical power for if they create plants for it, and how do the fungus that grow on animals transfer the magical energy to where it needs to go like the plants do? I say as i look to you.

I smile a bit hearing that you agreed with me on my idea of what these plants are for, but at the sametime i also feel dread at that fact knowing this could be horrible for the balance of this area if this is true. I can only hope that the plants can survive without this mess on them after all of this or this little town will need to relocate if the trees and plants all die. For if that happens this town would be without wildlife for a wild, and will have to hope they can get their supplies by asking for things from other towns to be able to survive onward. I hear your advice and puts on gloves like you request me to as i look at all the infection and gasps softly as i just stare at this. I feel a mixture of shock, anger, and grief at what i view as part of my home turned into this mess. I look to you with such a look as shock rather quickly fades away to just anger, and sadness at the sight as i quickly turn my head back to the forest. If we find the leader i want to be the one to hurt him the most. I say in a voice that is overfilled with emotions of anger and sadness. just from how i am acting showing i am most likely in the greatest of mindsets at the moment towards this death hand business.

However, even with these emotions i do move towards one of the trees and looks sadly at it i then use one vial to harvest some of this slimy moss from the inside of the tree. Forming a small claw over the gloves to pierce the tree enough to get the moss from the inside. Once getting enough that fills about enough in my mind. I then tap the ground as i create a wall to move up towards the leaves of the tree that have gained this moss like substance. I get another vial and collects that doing so separately encase the two substances serve different purposes since one is on the inside and one is in the exposed air. After collecting them i carefully make my way to the ground by using my claw gauntlet hand to dig into the wall to be able to move down slow enough, and safely enough to avoid breaking the vials in my position.

Oras watched her reaction as it unfolded, wondering how she would respond due to her growing up in the woods for so long.  In addition she seemed to have a respect for life despite the fact that she had to kill daily to survive in the wild.  Food was vital and other predators would be looking for food as well.  She would look like a very healthy morsel.  Whether this would be an extreme negative on her or not was yet to be seen.  He observed her facial reaction as she displayed shock, then extreme sorrow mixed with anger, hatred even, from what she was observing.  Oras, although he didn't show it, displayed similar reaction, though in a more detailed, reason and logic based feeling.  Why go through all this trouble to drain the forest?  Why not target a village, town or even city?  If this wasn't a terrorist attack then what was it?  And why create something that corrupted living organisms the way it was now?  Why design it this way, there wasn't any rhyme or reason to it...  When he heard Amora mention the leader he placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.  "I doubt you'd survive the leader's head followers, if he or she has any.  This is the work of someone who's been planning for a while..."

He watched as Amora moved to start gathering some samples from the purple mass that was growing everywhere.  Oras didn't need to remind her to be cautious with these plants, she already knew the consequences if she made a wrong move.  He made his way through the area, pulling out one of his vials and breaking off some of the weed, placing it into the vial and snapping it shut.  He was wondering if there was any difference with this plant than there was from the village.  It was in fact, surrounded by far more corrupted vegetation.  As he stored this vial he heard something come from Amora's direction and turned, watching as the moss she had collected broke down with incredible speed, turning into ash within mere two seconds.  Oras turned fully and came over to her swiftly and looked into the vial.  Pure ash, that much was absolutely certain.  He looked up to Amora.  "Be cautious.  We don't know what else these plants can do..."

If i can't survive it then i'll simply get stronger. I'll avenge my home. I say softly under my breathe as i look at what i had collected and i gasp in shock as i keep my hands on the vials though not wishing to lose it. As i watch the moss just turn into ash. Just nothing useful. I stare inside completely shocked by this as i wonder why would moss even turn into ash when removed? Is this part of the whole it cannot live without its source providing it energy? I shake my head and focus on collecting more, but i hear your voice and nods my head. I know Verus i'll go collect something else since it seems that these turn into ash. Though i wonder why? Is it because they cannot live without whatever these plants provide? Is this the plant killing itself because of what it can do? I question out loud since you could think through this rather well from what i can tell. You are a thinker, and know more about this magic stuff, so it would make sense i could question and you could think on it.

I look around the area for something else to try and harvest instead of this moss on the trees. I start walking around more into the forest as i form a dagger from the metal i have on my person encase their is anymore of these tainted animals about. I hear the gentle movement of water and finds a source of water as my eyes soften a bit realizing not even the sea creatures are safe from being corrupted possibly. I get another vial and moves it through gently the water towards the algae collecting a good enough sample and then closing the vial close. I collect two vials worth of samples to make sure their is enough of a sample to use for testing and investigation.

Oras was a bit puzzled as well in terms of the effects that seemed to occur when some of the specimen in the vicinity were cut off from the mass. And more importantly, why ash? Ash was a material that appeared after something was burned away, and yet the moss hadn't caught fire. Was it possible that it consumed it's own energy? And thus burned itself out by consuming its own bodily structure in an acid like way? Or it could just be a cautionary spell to prevent people from discovering how it works, or perhaps it was just to make cleanup better if they did try to trim the growth out. In addition to this however, ash was extremely useful when it came to dampening and removing certain illnesses. It was why lepers typically stayed wherever there were piles of ash. If this was an enchantment, why ash? Whatever the reason, it only warned Oras to be extra careful with this plague that was creeping through the forest. Amora asked him why the plants had died when she cut it off and he shrugged. "It could very well vary from a simple reason such as an enchantment placed on it by it's creators, or a rather complex manner in the sense that it due to it being disconnected from what I assume is a network, it tried consuming it's own energy to survive, followed by it's own matter, and thus became ash... Why ash though, that is what puzzles me."

Oras watched as she took a sample of the algae and thus he moved over to the vine like mass that, when observed closer, was similar to the mass on the bear in the sense that it seemed to be alive, pulsing ever so slightly. Not nearly the amount of the movement there was on the bear's hide, but then again, it was connected to a vast network, and the bear only had enough to cover the surface of it's fur. More than likely the energy in this mass was stretched out thin. His illusion emerged and attempted to harvest the mass while Oras himself held the device out, showing that it indeed had magic energy flowing through it, and it fluctuated consistently, ranging from short and steady amount, to sudden bursts in numbers, then dropping down again. Similar to the way the heart pumped blood through the system, though this one varied in strength with each pulse. He turned to the harvested vial and noted that it too had become ash. So they acted as a gathering manner. They gathered energy from nature, possibly from the air, and from organisms... But where did they store it? He turned to Amora and tossed her the device. "Amora. See if the algae has any sort of magical energy in it."

I nod my head as i listen to your own speculations as it just confirms that neither of us have any idea on how to actually figure out what these plant things are about for the time being. Or how they even function as they do so, but that won't deter me from keeping the collection going i look around for other different sources that haven't been attempted to take yet. As i look around i spot the weeds as i shrug and take out my dagger and tries to cut it out, but ends up having difficulty. I sigh softly in frustration as i then put my hand along the ground and forms a weapon from the dirt using a specific area of the dirt as i make a really big sword and then allows it to break apart. The sword having formed from the dirt surrounding the roots of the plant. Once done i then cut out the roots that held this plant to the circuit of other weeds as i nod my head and shrugs as i set the weed on the mound of useless dirt planning to form a bag for the now cut off plant to see if the roots connect again, or if this disconnected plant tries to reform into the ground. If anything it is just another variety to take back with us to study more.

When i hear you asking me to inspect the algae i nod my head taking a brief moment to remember how to do so. Once i do remember i then extend my senses towards the algae in the vials and nods my head.After confirming their is a presence i make my way over to you and says in a steady average level and tone of vocie. yes they do Verus. They seem to hold a little bit of magic within them. I say to you with a nod of my head not wishing to shout this encase their could be more eavesdroppers that are out my range of senses.

The fact that neither of them knew what was causing these plants to be turned into ash, nor any hints, or at the very least theories and thoughts from either of them, was gnawing at Oras.  He didn't like it, but he also knew that there would be subjects, events, and living things that he would not be able to understand.  At first that is.  He would need to draw his attention and focus to the here and now, and work on finding all the information he could about these plants.  Oras watched as Amora also decided to bring some additional weeds back to see if there was any difference with the ones they had already harvested and studied.  More than likely there would be little to no difference at all, however it was always good to look for said differences, despite the probability factor being low.  When he asked for information about the algae she answered him in a steady tone, stating that they indeed were holding magic energy within them.  He looked at the water as he thought about it carefully.  A new species of plants specifically designed to spread, gather, and collect magic energy.  It's hunger also drained the stamina and strength from it's victims.  The only real conclusion now was that someone needed a massive amount of energy.

The only thing left remaining was the purple, puffy looking crust that seemed to be exploding from the many trees of the forest.  He started by checking for magic energy, but there was none whatsoever.  He looked closely for anything that may be of danger to him but there was nothing on the crust.  He pulled out his dagger and started breaking through the crust, letting the pieces fall into the vial.  These pieces did not turn to ash.  "This crust doesn't do anything directly, however it's presence is suffocating the tree over time.  Most of this forest will perish..."  As he closed the vial he heard something in the forest.  He didn't move, but summoned his three, non physical illusions thirty meters away in three directions.  He used them to look through the forest, before seeing mounds of purple mass begin to move, silently and stealthily.  He recognized the movements.  He turned to Amora.  "Wolves.  Get ready."

Hearing that the forest will perish i sigh softly as i wonder how many animals will be forced to move somewhere else...will their be any animals even left after all of this? Sadly even i know that the answer is no, and that just makes me wish to harm and destroy whoever is doing this. To punish them for destroying an entire forest, and killing lots of animals through this weird weed growing properties. I look to the crust as i wonder why even include something that doesn't have a direct effect on things. Why create something that would suffocate the thing that it is drawing energy from? It seems like all of this is just designed to kill more and more people and things. I turn to you. If this is true Verus i can only see whatever all this is. That its goals are just simply to kill as much as possible, and to gather as much energy as possible. I get the energy gathering, but why kill so many things? I say just loud enough for only you to hear.

However, thoughts get cut off as noise is heard as i quickly hold my dagger ready to fight off whatever is going to be coming from the forest. Wherever they could be coming from. Their is only the matter of deciding where they are. I hear the slight noises more attuned with nature, and the slight noises that it makes as i just move within range of the wolves and then quickly activates my earthen skewer. Multiple spikes shooting up from the ground right under where the wolves would be sneaking. Hoping to catch them off guard since their goal would be to move slowly thinking we wouldn't notice them.

Oras listened to what Amora said, how she could only see this plague's purpose as nothing but to kill and destroy. As much as it could touch, as far as it could reach, anything and everything. That was her theory. She made it clear to him that she could understand the purpose behind gathering energy and storing it, but was totally lost when it came to killing. She was confused, so he would clarify for her. He did, after all, have a rather well thought out reason for this particular area. "The plants aren't deliberately attempting to kill the tree. It's a side affect from their original goal, which is to reap and harvest all the energy they can. Think of it this way:" He pulled out a leather pouch and filled it with water. He held it in the air for her to see before he squeezed it, forcing the water out. "The water is the tree's energy, and the pouch is the tree. The plague is trying to take all the energy it can, and thus forces it out of the tree. However," he shook the pouch and she could hear the water splash around. "There is still some that remains." He began to compress hard on the bottom of the pouch, bringing his still constricted hand upward until he forced the last of the water out of the pouch. "If the plague choked the energy out, it would successfully collect every inch of it. The unfortunate side effect is that the tree dies in the process due to a lack of any energy at all. So while it's not attempting to kill the tree, it happens anyways."

He noted that she held tightly onto her dagger as she prepared to fight whatever was going to attack them. When she became aware of the danger and launched spikes from the ground below them, they could hear a help at first, but afterwards the monsters shot out from the shadows to attack them. Seven wolves from all around. Before they could strike either of them, which three were only one foot from Amora, their teeth bared, they all went limp and fell to the ground. Amora would note that there was a magical triangle that was placed, the three illusions vanishing before she could see them. Oras summoned three physical illusions and with them, shot at the wolves, hacking his daggers through them multiple times before finishing them off. The fungi and the mass on the wolves slowed down to a stop. He turned to Amora. "We should head back to the town now. We won't find anything else here."

I nod my head as i listen to your explanation as it makes sense sadly. That for all fo these weeds and corruption to squeeze out as much as they can it would take for them to squeeze and suffocate what they are covering to try and get as much as they can from them. It saddens me greatly even knowing the purpose since this is my home that i know and love, and wish to protect as best as i can do so. Since if i can't protect my home how can i do so later, but sadly even though i wish to protect the forest i know i can't do so. Since the forest is so large i can't protect but it won't stop me from trying to protect what i can. With this forest being my current home that is my job to protect as much i can. Even if it means killing off all the life in this forest. To kill these animals, and to not even honor them by using their parts to protect my home.

I hesitantly look at the wolves contemplating to bury them with my powers. However, i don't know the side effect of burying these creature so i just leave them here. May you find peace in the land beyond wolven brethren. Be at rest and know we will make sure this will stop. I say soft enough for not even you to hear me. I then start to head back towards the town as you had requested since their is nothing left for us here. I can only hope that i can stop this corruption from spreading to far out towards the other towns that are out their. Even the one where my familiar was murdered doesn't deserve this. To have their lives destroyed by this plague. They don't deserve that, but the rioters deserve to be punished and i will find a way to do so legally within these laws that people have set up.

I continue my way to beanstalk in silence just thinking on what this forest is going through. That every thing will suffocate and die without any real purpose that is known to us. That it will die without reason, or if their is a reason it won't be any good reason for it to happen. Only for the greed these people seem to show each other. That they only care for themselves to try and improve themselves without much care for what they destroy in the process. I just look forward and keep my senses aware of everything around me encase i need to attack something at a moment's notice. Not willing to allow myself to be jumped by anyone, or anything. I turn my head to you for a brief moment before returning my focus back onto the path ahead.

I wonder why you seem to not react much to things that happen or don't care that much do to distrust. Their is only curiosity to try and figure out why you distrust others? Is their something i can do to prove myself? I think over that and can only come to one conclusion of trying to prove myself different then other people by doing an act that would be drastic enough to show that. I know you view people as ones who only care for themselves and will eventually betray the other for some kind of power. I guess i can only prove myself by showing i am better then that, or at the very least try to do that once action that would shatter that idea on me that of distrust and caution. Knowing that is their since you still haven't given me your real name.

Soon enough the village was in view, though Oras' mind was far from it. His thoughts were focused on his current position with Amora, whom had made it officially clear that she would not be leaving him no matter how brutal he treated her during training. Why was she so persistent? Was she this desperate to find someone to work with? Or a friend or two? Or was she truly wanting someone to train her in this manner? He wondered if she would leave him if she discovered the existence of other mentor's who taught in a much more merciful, and steady rhythm. He'd have to remember to drop this information in a way that didn't seem like he was testing her to make sure..... But what then? What if she was being totally honest with him? Did he just change his life schedule forever so he could train her? When would she ever be fully trained? And how should this work at all? If he did end up trusting her, how far should he actually go? This was an issue that needed confrontation.

They entered the building and the scientist looked up with a smile. "You've returned! Did you get some samples for me?" Oras handed his vials, including the ashen remains. The scientist took these and also took Amora's if she offered them. "I'll be a while so you may as well get comfortable ok?" With that he went into the research room where Amaline was waiting.

As we enter the village i look at all of the people for only a brief moment before ignoring them as they don't understand the danger they are in, or the danger that will be coming to them after this whole mess will be dealt with. Their only means of survival being basically that of relying on the other towns or even the capital for assistance since their animals will die off in this area preventing proper meat gather. The land will basically be dangerous and risky since the water supply, and the food supply is going to be tainted for land and crop growing. These people are nervous that much is obvious since they have had the weeds and now a wild animal covered in the same purple substance. I can only wonder if these people understand the true risks of what is around them.

As we arrive at the house i open the door having noticed Verus is in one of his thinking moods once more. Once inside i close the door and hands over to the scientist and hands her my own vials including the two that have the ash in it. I nod my head in understanding as i go and sits on a nice comfy chair to wait as i look at my dagger as i put it into my pocket before letting it return back to its base form of pure metal without a form.

Oras waited patiently for the scientist to complete his own experiments. Said experiments would take quite a while, possibly hours so Oras moved a seat to the corner of the room and sat in it, staring into the candle on the table as he thought carefully. The plague and the possible organization could wait until the scientist finished his experiments. His thoughts were on Amora, and her alone. Why her, why did he have to run into her of all people? Well he had actually run into three people now. Moon, who was like him in the sense that he was analytical, but far from him in the sense that even when he agreed to work with someone, he did not actually work with him. He tried doing everything on his own with Oras on the sidelines. There was Ruvel who was more open and kind, however was very childlike and reacted very rashly and emotionally. He also had around a thousand aspects that were so vague and mysterious they begged Oras to investigate and learn their secrets. However it was clear that said aspects were a part of Ruvel's life that was not only very private, but extraordinarily sensitive. Therefore investigations there were not an option.

And then there was Amora. Amora was a kind and naive, ignorant young woman, yet she was also fierce when she needed to be. At the same time she was far, far too trusting. She also seemed to deem companionship a value above most other things, including her own survival. While it was true that their partnership helped keep the other alive, it was becoming clearer that she just wanted to interact with another human for a change, as all her life had been spent in the wilderness in fear of humans. He confirmed he could trust her in some aspects, however there were others he was not yet sure in. Such as... He continued to think along this train of thought until either the experiments were completed, or Amora spoke up.

Soon the scientist ran into the room, a pale look on his face. "Please, we need your help!"