About a week had passed since his encounter with Blighters Vine in Tolgalen, as well as the invitation that came to draw him into the west fiore trading company. Not being much of a Guild person as he hated being told what to do by a bunch of bureaucrats, or anyone for that matter, Solmar had ventured back to the Greenscape for a while. As a portal had been made within the most forest-rich area of Tolgalen, he could use the natural world as a means of traveling between Tolgalen and Fiore, since the other portal was located deep within Sakuramori. Though it was not something that should be used as such, Solmar currently being the only person who was aware of them meant he was the only one who could make use of such a trick. Besides, it also allowed him to check up on the small bits and pieces of the Greenscape he wandered through, making sure everything was alright on the other end too. After all, he had a lot more responsibilities back there than he had over here in Earthland, or at least that was what it felt like to him.
When he re-emerged on Earthland through the Sakuramori portal however, he smelled something that had most likely been laid out as a means to trick him. It was without a doubt the same thing he had smelled after both he and Gangting took out a monster used to breed other, smaller monsters in an attempt at devouring the beanstalk and thereby destroying the village built inside of it. The scent in particular belonged to the man… or rather the thing that posed itself as a human priest and had planned to start sacrificing people to the gods of nature that had blessed them with their beanstalk. As the thing the priest worshipped was in fact not something that had anything to do with nature at all, but was rather a thing that would see all life corrupted and devoured, he had known the gig was up when his behemoth had been slain. Showing himself to the two mages responsible for killing it, the priest proved that he was a monster too, just not of the massively overgrown variety, though equally ugly. Showing his ability to take the shape of people he had killed, he made it clear to Solmar and Gangting that others like him had infiltrated society and would bring about its destruction from within.
At first, Solmar had spent some time wondering why the priest would tell him such a thing when he, at the time, could have clearly been able to keep his mouth shut and probably kill the two mages in their weakened states to boot. Though the past three months had made him a lot stronger and in control of his magic and his abilities, he was still adjusting to it and the fact that it constantly adapted to other magics used around him. Due to this ever evolving manner of growth, truly adjusting was something he might never truly be able to do, though it had made certain things easier for him already. One of these things being his slayer senses, which allowed him to track this otherworldly scent across the woodlands of Sakuramori all the way to the Phoenix mountains. As both areas were quite familiar to him as a result of his hunts and other escapades within the region, he did not have a hard time following the scent. At times, he was sure he could see the priest up ahead, though always out of his reach. At other times, he could swear he heard an eerie laughter carried upon the winds, all clear signs that it was messing with him and clearly wanted the young mage to follow.
By the time they got further up into the mountains, the harsh winds and occasional snowfall at times nearly killed the scent, though it lingered just long enough for Solmar to follow it into a small village on the far side of the mountain. While he had been to the village at the foot of the mountain and had ventured into the mountains themselves, this was a place he had never had to visit up until today, meaning he had no idea what would await him once he entered. Luckily for him, it seemed to be a very calm and quiet place, or maybe that was merely what it was meant to seem like that were the case. After all, something wicked was pulling the strings here and had willfully drawn him to this place, not knowing that the black haired mage had gone through quite some developments of his own since the last time they met. Doing his best to follow what remained of the scent, he turned around a corner and saw but a single person wandering about. Normally, he might not have thought to much of it, but the fact that he had been led here all the way from the woodlands made him believe that the priest, or one of his followers just might hide themselves as a green haired woman. After all, it stood out quite a bit from your normal black, brown or blond hair.
Trying not to stand out too much as he normally stood out plenty when he didn't even try, he put his hood down while keeping the rest of his body hidden beneath a thick fur coat. With his shaggy black hair and fairly tall stature, he would walk towards her with his golden yellow eyes fixated on his targets. As he did, his pupils contracted from their normal round shape into a more reptilian slit, finding it hard to contain any anxiety he felt towards potentially ridding the world of a larger threat to society. So as he closed the distance between them, he was ready for either of two outcomes. It was either going to be an ordinary human being, or he was going to step on the toes of a cosmic being that had been waiting for him to get her for whatever purpose that might be. As he drew ever closer, only time would tell what would come up next.
(1037)
When he re-emerged on Earthland through the Sakuramori portal however, he smelled something that had most likely been laid out as a means to trick him. It was without a doubt the same thing he had smelled after both he and Gangting took out a monster used to breed other, smaller monsters in an attempt at devouring the beanstalk and thereby destroying the village built inside of it. The scent in particular belonged to the man… or rather the thing that posed itself as a human priest and had planned to start sacrificing people to the gods of nature that had blessed them with their beanstalk. As the thing the priest worshipped was in fact not something that had anything to do with nature at all, but was rather a thing that would see all life corrupted and devoured, he had known the gig was up when his behemoth had been slain. Showing himself to the two mages responsible for killing it, the priest proved that he was a monster too, just not of the massively overgrown variety, though equally ugly. Showing his ability to take the shape of people he had killed, he made it clear to Solmar and Gangting that others like him had infiltrated society and would bring about its destruction from within.
At first, Solmar had spent some time wondering why the priest would tell him such a thing when he, at the time, could have clearly been able to keep his mouth shut and probably kill the two mages in their weakened states to boot. Though the past three months had made him a lot stronger and in control of his magic and his abilities, he was still adjusting to it and the fact that it constantly adapted to other magics used around him. Due to this ever evolving manner of growth, truly adjusting was something he might never truly be able to do, though it had made certain things easier for him already. One of these things being his slayer senses, which allowed him to track this otherworldly scent across the woodlands of Sakuramori all the way to the Phoenix mountains. As both areas were quite familiar to him as a result of his hunts and other escapades within the region, he did not have a hard time following the scent. At times, he was sure he could see the priest up ahead, though always out of his reach. At other times, he could swear he heard an eerie laughter carried upon the winds, all clear signs that it was messing with him and clearly wanted the young mage to follow.
By the time they got further up into the mountains, the harsh winds and occasional snowfall at times nearly killed the scent, though it lingered just long enough for Solmar to follow it into a small village on the far side of the mountain. While he had been to the village at the foot of the mountain and had ventured into the mountains themselves, this was a place he had never had to visit up until today, meaning he had no idea what would await him once he entered. Luckily for him, it seemed to be a very calm and quiet place, or maybe that was merely what it was meant to seem like that were the case. After all, something wicked was pulling the strings here and had willfully drawn him to this place, not knowing that the black haired mage had gone through quite some developments of his own since the last time they met. Doing his best to follow what remained of the scent, he turned around a corner and saw but a single person wandering about. Normally, he might not have thought to much of it, but the fact that he had been led here all the way from the woodlands made him believe that the priest, or one of his followers just might hide themselves as a green haired woman. After all, it stood out quite a bit from your normal black, brown or blond hair.
Trying not to stand out too much as he normally stood out plenty when he didn't even try, he put his hood down while keeping the rest of his body hidden beneath a thick fur coat. With his shaggy black hair and fairly tall stature, he would walk towards her with his golden yellow eyes fixated on his targets. As he did, his pupils contracted from their normal round shape into a more reptilian slit, finding it hard to contain any anxiety he felt towards potentially ridding the world of a larger threat to society. So as he closed the distance between them, he was ready for either of two outcomes. It was either going to be an ordinary human being, or he was going to step on the toes of a cosmic being that had been waiting for him to get her for whatever purpose that might be. As he drew ever closer, only time would tell what would come up next.
(1037)