The World's Breath (MeTheMe & GeneticMess)

[MeTheMe]

Skai did NOT like the sound of that... but... he was also right, the dragon had to be stopped! She got in the boat with Avery's help, and Som-Som shoved the off, back towards The Cat's Eye. "I... I guess you're right, and I still kind of owe you, so... I guess I'm in for stopping Fimbulvintr."

"Fimbulvintr." Som-Som repeated the name. "The Elder Dragon of Ice. Along with the Dragon of Fire, Armageddon, the Dragon of Earth, Ragnarok, and the Dragon of Wind, Cataclysm. Luckily we've only got one to deal with, but... if he awoke, we could see more of them later, not to be grim, but... it's a serious threat." Som-Som got them back to The Cat's Eye, and the crew pulled up the away boat, and got the group back onto the ship, as it sailed back into the port.

Knifetail came up to him. "Well... hate to be a downer, but if you were looking to stop a dragon, ya didn't. Not that I blame ya! Dragons are tough, and it's not like I could stop one!" She clarified, as they docked. "Before you leave, take this." She traded him 1000 gold. "Your share in the loot, thought you'd want it before you chase after that scary dragon."

[GeneticMess]

Avery was notably disheartened hearing of the presence of three other dragons... luckily not awake yet, but still out there. He was quiet, looking at the water as they rowed. Again, this felt so real! He had to keep reminding himself this wasn't real... partially so he wouldn't break down in fear in the presence of a super boss. He looked away ashamedly as Kinfetail reminded him he didn't exactly succeed. "I was trying to stop them from waking up in the first place. Too late for that." However, his spirits were notably lifted by the nice chunk of gold he was given. "Oh yeah, right. Forgot about the whole pirate thing already. Thanks for your help."

First order of business, spend every last piece of gold getting some good items and equipment. He'd need it...

[MeTheMe]

Dawnport was... basic, for lack of a better word, any sort of basic equipment he needed, he could find it, and relatively cheaply. Any weapon he wanted to try, the four basic elements each had a spell he could buy, along with magical implements. Metal, leather, cloth armors, so many selections, but all of them very basic, allowing beginners to try any sort of character they wanted to be! If he thought he wanted to try it, he could, and probably buy it as well! Skai and Som-Som were given gold as well, and Skai got herself some light leather armor, and short sword. Som-Som did very much the same, but...

He looked over at Avery, and waved him over during their shopping montage. "Listen... Avery, without Nip-Nip, the clan is... well, at a bit of a loss, at the moment, lacking leadership, even with Tuk-Tuk there, and I think, now that I've been to Dawnport, maybe... I could lead them to a better... way of living. Peacefully, with the town of Dawnport, so things like your farmhouse don't happen again."

[GeneticMess]

Much time was spent by Avery meticulously looking over every option available to him. What kind of build did he want to go with? Ideally, he'd want his priorities to go into defense and speed, important for staying alive and trying to talk things through or otherwise neutralize opposition. He got himself some light, but padded cloth armor, along with a wind spell, figuring he could find some other practical applications for it besides fighting. Soon enough, his attention was snagged by Som-Som.

"... I see. Your clan probably really does need your right now..." Avery was hesitant, but decided to let the kobold go back to his people. "Thanks for all your help so far, it's really been appreciated. Tell Tuk-Tuk that I'm still working to save Nip-Nip, too." He paused, and then smiled a little. "And you can have a couple more of my chickens. Maybe a cow, too. But don't get too greedy."

[MeTheMe]

Som-Som chuckled. "If that's all you want to give us, we'll take it... you're about to go chasing a dragon across the country side though, so... I figured your farmer days are done. If you're serious, I'll have a couple guys go tidy it up every now and then just in case you come back. Even if you never pick up a pitch fork again..." He shook Avery's hand. "... I expect to see you again someday. Be safe, and good luck, Avery!" Som-Som waved as he headed back towards his clan...

Skai chuckled. "Man, I could eat a little something myself, when you start mentioning live stock." She grabbed some food at the next shop. "So... what's the plan? I don't know much about these lands, and only a little about the seas, my time as a pirate didn't... teach me much." She grimaced a little, looking towards the town gates, leading out into the Greenpath Forest.

[GeneticMess]

He... wasn't sure if he was keeping his farm. He was chasing dragons now, after all... but before he could think more on the matter, he was waving good-bye to Som-Som. Hopefully they'd meet again soon, some day...

He joined Skai once she grabbed something from one the stores to eat, getting a fill while they were walking. Maybe he should've just eaten Steelfeather and save himself from a hungry belly and a moral dilemma.

"I'm with you there. I don't know of anything beyond my farm, the path here, and Dawnport. I'm even more lost than you are." Avery chuckled, even if that wasn't exactly something to be chuckling about. His eyes followed hers, and he saw the path leading to the forest. "That way seems to be our best bet. The dragon was flying over the forest, after all..."

[MeTheMe]

"I guess... we head that way? You're the boss, I'll follow. The forest does seem like the only path forward, but... we could also ask around, to see if anyone who lives here knows anything about the path ahead." She shrugged a little. If they asked around, they'd find out the path through the forest was a couple days long, and only a little dangerous, so long as you kept to the path. Straying off of it could see you become a play thing of fey, or a meal to the beasts within it. A guard could also give him a map, showing Dawnport, the forest, and a town at the base of the mountain past the forest.

The gates of Dawnport were tall wooden gates, large to let in carts and wagons, and led into the Greenpath forest. As far as they could see, it wasn't too bad, but it got darker, and the canopy thicker the further it went. Skai stood with him, peering forward. "Umm... y- you first, Avery."

[GeneticMess]

After asking around, Avery got a pretty good idea of what he'd be running into. Mischievous fairies, prowling beasts, maybe even an angry druid or two. He stopped by the shops one more time and bought a couple loafs of bread to split between the two, to help hold them over during the long trip.

Standing at the gate and just before the path into Greenpath, Avery took a moment to look into the greenery. And then he felt Skai beside and almost behind him, ushering him forwards. "... I was almost tempted to pull the 'ladies first' card on you, but whatever, let's just get going." He giggled, letting Skai lag behind him if she wanted as he started into the woods. For now, before it got dense and dark, it was actually quite relaxing in these parts.

[MeTheMe]

Skai lagged behind for a little while, before speeding up a little bit to stand beside him, wrapping her wings around herself. "S- Sorry, just... the open sky and sea are all I've known, and this is... well it's alright for now, but just looking ahead of us... that spooks me a little bit." She tried to giggle along with him, but... it came out as something kind of stilted and worried.

"So, it's a couple days travel, we have enough food to last us... no reason to be scared, he said the path was mostly safe, right? Sorry again, scared is... is almost my natural state, I was part of Steelfeather's crew for so long it's almost all I know, and that ship was... well it gave you reasons to be scared." The path was nice, for now, the trees beginning to thicken, the canopy beginning to darken, and soon light was only filtering down through the leaves in that canopy, darkening their path.

[GeneticMess]

Avery was less than confident in himself some times, he had a tendency to be hesitant and afraid of dipping his toes into new territory... but he was surprised to find another even more scared than he was, even if they were an AI. A rather complex AI, however. After her stilted laugh, Avery couldn't help but look at her with concern. Poor thing must be terrified...

As she talked, he casually drifted a bit closer to Skai's side, and then put a reassuring arm on her shoulder. "Just take deep breaths, okay? If you feel overwhelmed, we can stop for a moment so you can calm your nerves." He insisted, forcing an overly big smile to try and make her feel better. It sounded like the harpy was almost always afraid of Steelfeather for one reason or another, scarring her to some degree. It was getting darker and thicker down the path, but luckily he could still see. If it got any worse, he might have to bring out his torch... and possibly risk starting a forest fire.

[MeTheMe]

"Deep breaths... okay. Okay... thanks, Avery." She smiled at him, nodding. No, no, I'm fine... for now, but... thanks for the offer, I'll let you know, for now we have days ahead of us, and it'd be best if pushed ahead as long as we can." She brightened a little at his supports, adding a little more spring to her step.

Eventually the ambient light and darkness of the forest plateaued, staying at a dim, green light that pierced the canopy a little bit, though the dim light actually reduced distant visibility, and they were left seeing only about 30 feet ahead of them. Then something broke the usual noises of the forest, the chirp of birds, the sound of the wind in the trees, there was a growl, and mild roar, and the sound of something moving towards them...

[GeneticMess]

Content with her word and the smile on her face, Avery kept walking by Skai's side, lightening up his arm on her back as to not be too intrusive. Now that she was feeling better, he just looked ahead... eventually, only a very faint light illuminated their path. They could barely saw a few yards ahead now... but he was still fine. The forest calm, cool, and-

A growl. It was low, rumbly, and Avery couldn't tell where it was coming from, except that it was close. And getting closer. Avery stopped for a moment, and then looked to Skai with fear in his eyes. "Run."

He was not about to get mauled like he'd been the witness of a bear attack!

[MeTheMe]

She stiffened as the roar reached them, and rustle of the forest startled her. His commands gave her pause though, if they ran ahead, they'd just be trapped in the forest with whatever it was... though defeating it might be needed, on the other hand, if they wanted to get away for sure, back towards town would be better. "Run? Which way, back or-"

There was little time for an answer, as from the side of the path, knocking down a few smaller trees, a feral bear burst forth. It should have been a bear at least, it had brown fur, but seemed to have some kind of perma frost over it's body, and the hair on the back of it's limbs and back was spiked back into blue ice spikes. It's eyes glowed blue, and a chill air filled it's presence. It toppled poor Skai, who scrambled to back away from it, but pinned one leg with a giant paw, growling and drooling...

[GeneticMess]

"I-I don't know, I just think wereallyneedtoru-!"

In a hurried whisper, Avery tried to explain, but it was far too late as a bear burst out from the woods. It was looking more like a polar bear than a forest bear, but now was not the time to be playing zoologist. He intended to start running quickly, in what ever direction from the bear as long as it classified as "away", but stopped before he could even start as it pounced Skai. Hurriedly, and without really thinking, he shot his palm forwards at the bear and tried to use the wind spell he'd just acquired. He didn't use it before now, but from what he could gather, it was supposed to do some small damage and push the target away. As long as he could get this thing off of Skai...

[MeTheMe]

The spell went off well, hitting the bear in the face, making it close it's eyes and shake it's head after the small bit of damage, and being pushed off of, and away from, Skai! The harpy got up, her wings spread, and she prepared to soar, right through the canopy if she had to! The bear's mouth opened though, and a blast of frigid air roared from it, and while she had scrambled into a standing position, the air hit her feet talons, and they were frozen to the ground! The bear then turned it's focus to Avery, as Skai pulled her blade and began trying to break the ice and get out! The spell went off well, and along side his health bar, he'd find his magic bar! He had enough mana to cast a couple beginner spells, but mana always regened slowly, so it was alright. He'd have more max mana the more he exercised his magical prowess! For now though, the bear was beginning to bear down on him as well...

[GeneticMess]

And now the bear was growling at him! Avery froze again, but not entirely, keeping some of his wits about him. If he had to bet, this bear was corrupted by the ice dragon's presence... ice coming off of, or out of your back had to be painful. The feral creature wouldn't listen to reason, so Avery knew he had to fight. He had a neat little magic bar now, briefly flashing that he had some basic powers at his disposal. Slowly stepping back to keep his distance, Avery shot his palm out again to try a different spell. He tried launching forth a wind spell with more punch and less push, which would maybe tell the bear they weren't worth messing around with.

[MeTheMe]

He had a little control over the spell, but it being so beginner not a lot, but trading some power for push worked a little. The bear didn't look happy about that, but was pushed back, and decided to finish the prey it was next to, the panicking and flapping her wings and attacking the ice! It grabbed her wings, and shoved her head into it's mouth! It began to pin her wings down, and work it's way down her struggling body. "MPH! Avery help! It's eating me!!!" She was stuck, and in no position to fight back now! As the fight progressed, he might notice it was leaving trail wherever it went, a light coat of frost on the ground, that pulsed with odd vein looking shapes in it.

[GeneticMess]

... Fuck, this was kind of hot. Avery felt horrible for thinking that, with Skai writhing and struggling in fear, but he was getting feelings similar to after he defeated Tuk-Tuk. Maybe once he finally saved Nip-Nip, he could get her to eat h-... That's not important right now!

"L-let her go!" He yelled, throwing out his tensed hand and tried to launch a wind attack with all power and no knockback. It would be way too easy for the bear to just eat Skai and run off into the woods with her if he didn't fight! Or even worse, it could eat the both of them and get them wildly off track...

[MeTheMe]

That spell was the last of his magic, for now, but he could see the bar slowly regen in real time, and he'd have a minute or two before the next cast! The bear had worked it's way down her body, and took the attack to it's face, and it was starting to look a little wounded now, the crash of wind magic into it's body was beginning to take a toll. That didn't stop it thought, it's jaws broke the ice around her feet, and poor Skai disappeared into the icy bear, bloating it's stomach out. It let out a huge belch, sending icy wind his way, before it began to bear down on him again! The bulge inside of the bear began to shift and struggle as Skai panicked and fought to escape, in vain, once inside of a creature, it was very difficult to escape!

[GeneticMess]

Things were going downhill fast. Avery was out of magic for another minute or so, Skai had been swallowed by the bear, and now it was coming after him! He quickly cycled through his inventory, and after some hesitance, took out Steelfeather's Cutlass. It was the strongest weapon he had on hand, even if he wasn't super agile, and if there was a time to use it, it was now. He held out the blade, ready to strike the moment the beast tried to pounce him.

Assuming the pounce didn't end up knocking the blade out of his hand. But he had some confidence in his grip, at the very least!