Blooming life [Closed, Sugar]

[jack]

Lush light filtered through the highest leaves of the green thicket which was the woods of the morning, the small break between the encroaching day and the brisk cool night, animals stirred in their sleep with their natural alarm slow to waken them from their peaceful dreams. The landscape was thick with green in every which direction that could be seen, small tracks left in the moist dirt where the only signs that life was nearby, gently placed into the soil they created a pathway for those that knew what they were looking for to follow. Dull sun light drifted across the hazy, mist like vapor that hovered in the air, the warming dew droplets that clung to nearby leaves slowly disappearing from sight as they seemed to melt back into the air from which they had came. It was the ideal place for a forest, the ideal image one might think of for a early morning woods.

Through the morning air and mist walked a lone stranger, he was apart from the world that currently surrounded him though he knew of it all to well, his black suit sticking out from the rest of the dying shadows as they crept away from the strength of the ever looming sun. Crafting every movement that he made over in his mind his advance was slow but well formulated, there was no real reason to cause any alarm to the creatures of the lands this early in the day, they, just like himself needed rest; a grumpy animal was not one of which Jack wished to confront. Usually his mornings were spent wrapped up well in a soft warm blanket reading pages from his grimoire or simply enjoying the sun force as it illuminated night into day, melting icicles they hung to the edges of buildings. The lust for a hot cup of tea would have been greatly appreciated but he feared that such greed would get the best of him in time, work should always become first before his personal wants. Sighing softly at the thought his feet slid across the forest floor, making his away across a clearing his eyes darted back and forth, in such an obsessive fashion that made it clear that he was looking for something in these woods. Setting out this morning he wondered if he should have just bought what he needed at a local shop, he knew that the best things always came from hard work rather than from wealth, but with such a wide and not well versed area it was possible that he would not see the comfort of an building till his clothes were torn and his cane well worn.

Clutching Samuel tightly in his finger he nodded slowly to himself, the need to continue his search burned in his heart though his head already wished to be back home, reading under the warning sun light rather than being miles in dense, bug infested woods. Having spent some time traveling here in the dark Jack still held a cleansing aura around his body, still appearing as though he had magically appeared here without snagging his clothes once or falling towards the freshly made patches of mud; along with his own abilities as a sorcerer he held one amazing ability to dodge dirt without thinking twice about it.

"Very well Samuel.... I have no doubts in your sense of direction." Jack spoke, though to another it might appear as though his words where only but to himself and not to that of the cane he gripped in his white gloved hand.

Pausing in his tracks Jack slowly slipped in his inside his jacket pocket as the texture of his chest moved softly with his hand shifting about underneath. Prying loose a small pocket watch with a hint of a laugh Jack adjusted the nob till the casing lid popped open revealing the time, barely past seven though with the season's changing like they were it was of little shock to him. Jack thought it odd that it was unnatural warm today, not even a gust of heat shimmered from his mouth as she spoke, no frost on the leaves, even the air seemed like a fine spring day. Times where changing rapidly, maybe the world around them was shifting into a new age as well? More than likely it was just the mere fact that this was a off day, cold days in summer, and warm ones in winter, these where indeed strange times. Glinting golden in the morning light Jack flipped his hand as the pocket watch swiftly disappeared from sight, only for it to reappear inside its home, nestled against his chest.

[Deleted]

The blonde fox tail stifled a yawn, her petite hand half covering her mouth as little water droplets spread across her eyes. It was early, much too early, in her opinion to be awake. Her small frame wobbled as she made her way, barely conscious, down the uneven pathway towards the Windsor Greatwood. Her feet dragged across the stones and dirt as she forced herself along. She had stayed up much too late the night prior researching for her day today. When the alarm she had set went off, she was half tempted to forget the entire thing but, she had planned this for a reason. “Ah, wake up, Artemisia…” She smacked her cheeks with a loud clap and shook her head, her blonde pigtails flopping around her. She was nearly to the edge of the zone and it wouldn’t be smart to be half asleep inside there.

After another moment of half-asleep shuffling, her destination was in view. Spread out before her was the lush fields of the Greatwood. There were patches here and there of thick trees, creating perfect hiding spots for a variety of creatures. One such creature, the Frenmic Rabbit, was her target for today. She had heard that this particular creature was common in the area and after stumbling upon a delicious sounding stew in a book, she was determined to attempt to re-create it. It was also a perfect opportunity to continue to sharpen her skills as a Sorceress. She estimated she needed about five of the rabbits for practicing her meal but she intended to spend several hours out here, testing herself on the variety of monsters available. Some boar meat wouldn’t be so bad to have as well, after all.

As she stepped off the pathway and into an area where she could be attacked by any number of beasts, Artemisia’s body reflexively straightened and her eyes widen. Her right hand tightened on her staff, prepared to retaliate should the need be necessary. Her earlier drowsiness was quickly fading and being replaced by the awareness she needed to hunt down her agile target. The rabbits would take some patience to find and hunt down but in the meantime… “No matter how many times I see them, I still think they’re kind of cute…” Artemisia smiled to herself as she saw a Dull Green Slime wiggling its way across the brush a half dozen or so feet in front of her.

She locked her vision on the creature, her fox ears twitching and swiveling around to listen for any other approaching threats. The monster before her was weak, even compared to her not-exactly-impressive level. As she watched, two more Dull Green Slimes appeared behind it, each one bobbing and jiggling along. “Orb of Lava,” Artemisia raised her free left hand, starting up the casting for her multi-target fire attack. The use of mana piqued the attention of the slimy trio and they turned towards her. Almost as soon as they had turned their little black eyes onto her, the fireball was hurled from her hand. It landed on the first slime and immediately began bouncing on to the next, inflicting damage to each one in turn.

“Oh?” She turned her head half to the side, seeing several more Dull Green Slimes slinking over out from behind a nearby bush. The attack spell must have caught their attention, drawing them to her location. In the middle of them was one stronger, regular Green Slime. The cool down on Orb of Lava had not run its course yet so instead she activated Spellwalk, taking a few steps towards the approaching slimes. Orb of Lava was her best choice for this but until the cool down ticked down to zero, she would settle for the closer quarters necessary for her attack Inferno Strike. By the time she reached the first Slime, the end of her staff was already glowing red and emitting embers. Artemisia glanced up quickly at her mana gauge, it had dropped about twenty percent from the consecutive spells but she was still well within a safe range to continue. She could see the slow but steady replenishment feature fighting against her usage.

Fire spit at the low level slimes nearest to her as it arched off her staff. They were not aggressive creatures but if she turned her back on the group, they would certainly out number her. “Bye bye~” She grinned at the green ball at her feet. She twirled her staff between her fingers and, treating it much like a golf club, she smacked the little monster and sent it hurling off deeper into the thicket. More than likely, the impact of her staff and the crash against whatever it was sure to land against would dispel the creature. “One down, seven to go,” Her eyes scanned the small group of Slimes. Only a few more seconds until Orb of Lava would be back…

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Notes: Artemisia shouldn't be too far off from where your character is, so you are welcome to have them encounter each other, she will be fighting these Slimes for a little bit longer. I sent the little slime flying off just in case you wanted to use that as your opening to find her. All of the monsters I talked about can be found Bestiary if you would like to check that out. This is just to kill time, if you have a specific plan for this thread let me know and we can move towards that.
Words: 823
Tags: jack
Spells Used: Orb of Lava, Spellwalk, Inferno Strike

[jack]

Crunching of the dull dry leaeves beneath his leather strapped boots Jack knelt over cautiously as his eyes fell upon a lone plant, resting against the base of an old oak tree the still, almost lifeless plant rested their peacefully. At first glance his heart had nearly stopped, jumping into his throat at the mere sight of it, but as luck would have it he let a long winded sigh through his lips with a close examination. Removing one of his white gloves Jack draped the backside of his index finger down the length of the green leaf that prodded out from the stem of the flower, smooth to the touch, almost like silk but with a touch more of a rustic, naturalistic feeling; while it was a lovely specimen to behold up close and personal it was not that of which he had been searching for. The sight of the unbloomed flower had triggered his senses into over drive but as unfortunate as it was his search wasn't going to be over as quickly as he would have hoped for it to be. Picking himself back onto his two feet Jack yawn softly, his out stretched arms reaching out towards the high leafs of the trees nearby, if he were a tad taller he might have been able to jump, grazing them with his fingers. Such a thought got him wondering if perhaps any local fruits might have been nearby... though with the cold weather out and about it was unlikely he would find little more than dried nuts, or a few unripe berries. 

The sudden sounds that rang through out the woods caused Jack to turn about in confusion, as early as it was he was surprised that anyone would be out in these part, but then again here he was, lollygagging about. With such clutter of trees and bushes around Jack's immediate vicinity his ears where having a hard time tracking just where the source of the noises where coming from, already the fierce sounds of battle seemed to liven up the Greatwoods quite a bit, already the sweet notes of songbirds could be heard off in the distant, low and off a ways, it was an odd mix with sounds of explosions close nearby.

"I wonder Samuel... what, or who, could be causing such a uproar." Jack spoke out loud once again to the cane which he was now leaning into as it sunk into the soft soil.

"I guess it would be in our best intrest, correct?" He questioned himself though he really had no exception for an actual answer.

"Yes, very well then. Unfortunate it is though I haven't the faintest idea in which it might be coming from...." Jack stated as his hand withdrew from the handle of the cane, placing his open palm against his chin he began to think of which direction he should go first. Without the weight of his hand on his dearest cane it began to shift in the loose soil, ever so slowly did it lean off to his right and stop once it did so. Taking notice of the small shift from where he had left it Jack coked his head to the side with a confused look upon it.

"Are you sure Samuel? Very well old chap, tally ho!" Jack picked up the cane as he took a large stride towards the direction in which Samuel had pointed out, surely soon enough Jack paused in his movement with the new sound of something heading his direction. For one reason or another a pinging thought in the back of his mind told him to move, dodge, more or less to get out of the way, obeying as he often did with these strange thought Jack took a swift dip with his legs spread out beneath him in a splits like fashion as a blurry greenish blob came soaring where he had just been. Slamming into a nearby tree the most unlucky creature bust into a shimmering cloud of bubbles, dying with little else left to mark where it had once been Jack shook his head at the sight.

"Ah death, the end of something beautiful. Rest in peace young one." Pushing himself back up on his feet once more Jack pushed the last few meters between the thick trees till his eyes where upon an open segment of the woods, though not nearly as large as the rest of the woods the open space was quite large, enough so that a battle was taking place on it right at the moment. Venturing lone by herself a FoxTail appeared to be taking on quite a large number of slimes, already she was well out numbered in this match... though slimes usually where non-aggressive, which meant she sought them out for some reason or another... interesting she was.

"Oh what, oh what shall we do here?" Jack question himself as he watched the battle before him, the logical choice was to step in and help, though if she had come all the way out here on her own she must be more than capable of taking care of herself... but still she appeared not much older than adolescent.

"Tis my duty to help others." Jack nodded his head firmly as he griped Samuel tightly within his grip.

Casting had always been a pain for Jack, always wishing to have the spell ready at hand at all times but magic needed time to flow, create, come into existence, after all mana held life to it as well. Flipping the cane over in his hand, it flipped wildly between his hands like a propeller on a plane till he could feel the heat burning inside him. With a seamless flow of the twists of his cane Jack spun about as it tip of the cane extended away from his body, soaring out like a rocket the Orb of Lava raced across the field slamming into its first target, though their levels where the same the impact force of the burning orb ripped into the slim tearing it into bubbly cloud. Taking off in another direction the orb sought another target with little malicious of who it might have been though considering the only targets here where slimes it was easy picking for him, with its final burst of power the orb slammed into its target though the effect was not as similar as it had been the first time. With an explosive force on contact the largest of the green slimes seemed less than appeased having been hit with such flames, while it had taken some damage it still seemed well on its feet... lack of feet....

"Hmm, well then, I was expecting that to have an better out come." Jack chuckled softly at the notion that the largest creature nearby had its sights set on him.

[Deleted]

The little green creatures bobbed up and down, gathering closer and closer together as they converged on the source of mana that intrigued them so – the fox tail girl. She was not afraid of the gelatinous creatures, their level was low. What would they attack me with, anyways? She wondered as they wiggled and jiggled in place. She mused about the idea of the slimes spitting their green goo at her and wondered about the possible status debuffs that may accompany such an attack. Would it slow her? Act like a poison? The more her mind debated the possibilities, the more she realized she was content with the weak monster in front of her. The image she had conjured in her mind was much closer to a giant, drooling blob of green which leaked poisonous, sticky fluid. Or maybe…? Her mind switched to the more humorous options, keeping the gentle disposition of the Slime. She could just imagine her petite body being sucked inside the rounded mass, floating around inside it as if it were an over sized chunk of like jello.

All the while, little embers had been bouncing off her staff, slowly but surely chipping away at the Dull Slimes in front of her. “Three… two…” Her green eyes watched the timer on Orb of Lava tick down, counting out the final seconds until she could strike again. “One…” She took a deep breath, ready to finish things. “Orb of…!” Before her lips could even form the final word and she could began casting, a fireball whizzed by her ear and smacked into one of the Slimes, taking a small bit of health away from each as it bounced along. One of the Dull Slimes exploded, shattering and fading away. It was the same attack she had just been preparing, except it came from behind her.

Artemisia whipped around, her pig tails fluttering out behind her. Her two fox ears flattened on her head and her eyes narrowed into a hard glare. She had been so distracted with her minds entertainment, she had not heard the approach of this man. She was put off that he had attacked the Slimes without warning but she was more irritated at herself for not noticing him. The wooden staff in her right hand spun around along with her body, immediately turning to point in the direction of the red haired person who had appeared in the clearing. The tip of it was still hot, bubbling over with miniature flames, showing that she had not yet cancelled her previous spell, Inferno Strike.

“It’s not nice to sneak up on others in an open zone like this…” She spoke evenly, her voice carrying the short distance between them. Immediately, she accessed the display to show her as much information about him as possible. Her shoulders relaxed slightly when she noticed his level – level one. Her right fox ear twitched, listening for any additional sounds approaching. She wouldn’t be caught off guard twice. Satisfied no one else was nearby and waiting to ambush her while her guard was down from the low level player, she lowered her weapon. It was a bit ironic for her to take such issue with being watched from a distance as she had done the same thing to a much higher leveled player when she was a level one. Perhaps curiosity was a trait that ran rampant among those who would find themselves trapped in a place like Elder Tale.

“My apologizes,” She ran the fingers of her free left hand half way through one of her thick blonde pig tails before flicking it over her shoulder. “I wasn't expecting to run into anyone else out here so early in the morning,” Her vision flicked back and forth between the man and the Slimes. There were six left, since he had killed one. “One second, let me just finish this up here…” She turned back to the small mob, one of her ears turned in the direction of the other Adventurer to keep tabs on his movement. Finally, she was able to cast the spell she needed. “Orb of Lava!” The fireball she had been waiting for burst forth and careened into the nearest slime, ricocheting off of it and into the next one. As it bounced from one to the next, it depleted the life of each Dull Slime, dropping its HP bar to zero and causing the monster to vanish, as if it were never there. One by one, until all that remained was the heftier Green Slime.

Artemisia frowned at it, disappointed she hadn't taken them all out. What was even more frustrating was that its health bar was barely hanging on, even an auto attack or two would finish it off. “You,” She looked over her shoulder at the red haired man. If he was smart, he wouldn't have moved in the few moments she was busy. “I’ll let you get the last hit on it, you’ll get more experience that way, and you look like you could use it…” She didn't really have a right to sound so high and mighty but it was her way of trying to make amends for her harsh tone and look earlier. “It’s really low so you shouldn't have any problem,” The small girl stepped to the side slightly, indicating that he should move forward and deal the final blow to the sole remaining monster.

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Notes: I'm sorry that took me longer than I planned! I hope you enjoy it.
Words: 907
Tags: jack