Author: Attie, Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:58 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Attie couldn't think of any good names. The most that she was able to come up with was a mix between baby and kid, Kaby. It didn't sound right to Attie and she preferred the name that Chrys had come up with. She silently watched as Chrys came up with a locket that held items that would lead the child back here one day. An idea popped into Attie's head as she pulled out her journal. Attie knew that a child would want some words of encouragement in the future, as orphan often felt alone and didn't have any guidance. She wrote down the note and folded it up before tucking it into the baby's swaddling cloth. 

The note read, 
-Life is going to get hard, no matter where you end up. But there is always a good side. Don't let the darkness of the world tear you down. Let your own hope and dreams push you up.-

She began to walk with Chrys, waving goodbyes to the baby…to Helen and Brandon. Attie turned back to Chrys, wondering what they ought to do next. Perhaps the village that the guards went to would need help? Or perhaps they should go find a new village? Whatever they did, Attie didn't want to go alone. Having a friend at her side made everything ten times easier. 

"So where to next?" Attie asked. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:05 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Chrysanthe thought for a while. Normally she didn't mull over things for too long, but names were special. A good name was said to influence a person's life, and there was some truth to that. Peeking at the little bundle, she smiled at the little one's warm orange hair and brown eyes. Her life may have began with tragedy, but it shouldn't always be that way. Finally the blonde girl decided. "…Helene. I think that'll be a perfect name. May her life be always sunny and bright, just like her smile." Surnames were only for people who felt they needed them, a given name was often enough. There were many cultures who didn't use surnames, especially small communities where everyone knew each other. Surnames were often tied to the occupation of one's ancestors. Chrysanthe wanted this girl to live free from the loss of her family. The terrible grisly scene she and Attie had walked into back at the village was still fresh in her mind. It was a good thing the baby hadn't seen anything. Since she was so young, there would be plenty of time for the memories of hearing whatever happened before they arrived to fade. 

"Please take good care of her, Mister Brandon. Helene still has a long life ahead of her. Despite narrowly escaping death, I hope this will be the start of her new future. If she ever wants to retrace her roots, I want to leave her something as a memento." Taking a thin woven cord, she slipped on a small clasped locket. Opening the locket's compartments, Chrys tucked in a dried yellow flower and a piece of mangrove bark behind the glass. None of these things had any real material value, but they would act as clues to lead Helene back to Onnen if fate brought her to live in the other continents. Identifying the bark would point her towards Kikuyu's latticework of rivers. This was all that she could leave for the orphan. Gently tucking the necklace into Helene's swaddling cloth, she gave her final goodbyes. "Goodbye Helene, I hope we can see each other soon in the near future!"  

Author: Attie, Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 9:16 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

While Chrys was going off to do her thing, Attie was holding the baby. She looked at it, wondering what exactly she was supposed to do or say. Suddenly, the baby opened its eyes and Attie started to panic on the inside. Was there a magic word for babies? Should she start up a friendly conversation? Or did she need to rock the baby like she'd seen mothers do in her old village? The baby reached up towards Attie's face and grabbed onto her hair, pulling it as hard as the baby could. Attie winced in pain and tried to free her hair from the baby's iron grasp. Eventually, she was able to free her hair from the baby hand of doom. This time she held the baby lower so it couldn't attack her hair again. The baby was holding up its arms, reaching towards something. Attie realized that the baby was reaching towards her teeth and claw necklace so she took it off and dangled it right above the baby, just far away enough so the child couldn't actually grab it. The baby treated this like a game and kept trying to catch it. 

"Who's a good baby?" Attie cooed, "You are! Yes you're a great baby!"

She was cooing to the baby like it was a dog. Suddenly Chris returned and Attie stopped quickly. She put the necklace back on and walked over to her friend with the baby. Chrys' plan ultimately sounded like a good idea, so Attie was fine going along with it. Even if the handkerchief was gross. Attie looked to the baby and smiled. Even if they were going different ways, Attie wouldn't forget the child. She wasn't intending to adopt the kid since her own life was far too dangerous to be able to have a kid in it. Attie was being thrown off a cliff every other week and adding a baby to that situation would just make things worse. Still, she was glad to have met the baby and seen another side of life that she had never thought about before. 

"Alright. Lets head over." Attie said. 

She walked with the baby over to Brandon and held out the baby to him. The man carefully scooped up the child and looked to the two with a warm smile. He carefully inspect the child to see if it had any injuries. After the inspection, he nodded to Chrys and Attie. 

"By the way, do you know the child's name?" Brandon asked, "I'd hate to have to call her a baby the entire way. If you don't know her name, do you want to give her one? In case you want to check up on her later."

Attie looked to Chrys and gave her a shrug, as if to say I don't know what to name the baby. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 5:17 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Chrys was thinking while Attie went to gather information. The idea of checking his credibility wasn't wrong, but it would be difficult to actually confirm anything without anyone to investigate deeper. She waited patiently according to Attie's instructions, listening to anything she could pick up from the nearby plants. Unfortunately there was a lot of noise and not much helpful details. The girl couldn't blame them though, they were rooted to one place and could only hear what passed by them. Attie returned after a while and told her everything she had asked and what the man named Brandon had said. Now was the challenging part–deciding how much they should trust this person they had just met. "Thanks a bunch Attie, you were really thorough. Let me see the names he gave you on those orphanages. Even if we can't confirm them now, I can pass on this information to my mom and her cousins to double check." She didn't say anything about Attie's observations of Brandon's behavior during the questioning, and although everything seemed to sound alright she still had one more thing she wanted to do…

This time she wasn't going to tell Attie everything she was planning. Even if this man was telling the truth, she wanted some way to track him down if they wanted to see how the baby was doing later. Asking wasn't going to do much good, so Chrys instead wanted to obtain 'something' from him in case the worst happened. It would require a little ingenuity, but she knew it would work. Looking to her friend after thinking for a while, she smiled. "Alright, now it's my turn to ask him. I'll be back in a jiffy!" Handing the baby over to her friend, she waved before going her own way to throw off possible pursuers. She took a more roundabout way of familiarizing herself with the camp before going to where the orphans were. Acting natural was something she'd practiced as a kid. In her pocket she had a handful of seeds notoriously known for causing mild hay fever. Tossing them onto the wind, she watched as they drifted and settled around the tent where Brandon was. Working her magic, the seeds sprouted and developed into mature plants, which started to release their pollen. With the amount of wind in the area, soon there would be sneezing and a slight runny nose. 

"Hello there!" She peeked into the tent where Brandon was caring for the children, waving with a smile. "I heard you were offering to take in children who were recently orphaned?" From the sounds of sniffling, the plants were working like a charm. "Yes, that is correct miss. War is the hardest on those who cannot fend for themselves. How can I be of service?" Brandon said before turning away to sneeze. "ACHOO! Oh, excuse me." Quickly Chrys rummaged through her pockets to pull out a handkerchief. "Here, you can use this!" The man gratefully took it as the situation of his nasal passages became incredibly urgent. Clearing his nose, he was relieved. "Thank you, oh though allow me to repay you for that. It would be rude of me to return your handkerchief in this state." She held up her hands as if to stop him. "No, no that's alright! It's fine! Sometimes an emergency pops up when you least expect it. You don't need to pay me anything, really. I'd feel bad if I accepted money from someone who's already working hard to help other people." 

Her genuine attitude and well-timed wording won the man over, and she got her handkerchief back. If it hadn't been clear from the start–this was the 'something' she wanted from him. Kind of a gross way to go about it, but she could have a diviner use this to find him no matter where he went. They talked more, with Chrys having successfully lowered his guard with the handkerchief. She asked similar questions as Attie had, and he gave the same information. Looking contemplative for a moment, she then allowed herself to have an expression of epiphany. "That's a relief. I almost thought I wouldn't be able to find someone who could take care of a child I found with a search party. I'll leave them in your care mister, I'll be right back!" 

She returned to Attie and the child, nearly out of breath. Faking that enthusiasm sure was tough, but nothing she couldn't handle. "I'm back. I asked him again and he told me the same information. Also I got this–" She held up a used handkerchief. "It's kind of gross, but I made him have a small bout of hay fever so I could get him to use my kerchief to blow his nose. Even if he wasn't lying to us, we can now track him with the right people." Ultimately based on her gut instinct, she felt there was a good chance Brandon was alright. "I think letting him take care of this baby for us will be alright. It's hard for me to let go, but allowing others to help where they can is the best way." 

Author: Attie, Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:24 AM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Attie listened to Chrys as she explained what they ought to do next. The guards should be able to handle searching the village, as there were more of them and the guards had been trained to fight against these monsters. So, Attie followed Chrys towards the guards and let Chrys explain where the village was. Attie would help in the explanation but she hadn't paid attention to directions or how they got there. She just flew in the area that Chrys had told her to fly to. Attie looked up to the Mamlak woman and her eyes grew wide with admiration, as the lady looked like a tough sneaky warrior in that leather and chitin armor. When Chrysanthe pulled out her Wayfinder's Widget, Attie's surprise grew. She had never seen anything like it and was quickly fascinated by the invention. After they were done, Chrys mentioned to Attie about her suspicions and worries about the man. Attie nodded her head, realizing that her new friend was right. They couldn't just let the baby go with anybody!

"I'll go first. I'll meet you near the supply tent when I've got all my questions answered." Attie replied. 

Attie then walked towards a sleeping tent and around it before heading towards the orphan tent, just to throw off anybody who was watching them. She hopped onto a barrel and looked at the man with curious eyes. He was busy trying to calm down a little boy who was whining about missing his mom. The man was holding the boy and rocking him gently, trying to get him to either sleep or to help him feel better. 

"So, whats this place?" Attie asked abruptly. 

"Oh." The man looked up in slight surprise, "This is the orphans tent. Any children who have lost their parents are supposed to go here. We take care of them until a group of Rosenites come and pick them up. The Rosenites then send them to orphanages that are away from the war." 

"How come I've never heard of this group before?" Attie asked. 

"It's new." He explained, "A group of Rosenites were worried about the children who's parents would die during this war. After all, this is one of the worst wars that Revaliir has ever seen. So the group was formed to move the orphaned children to safer places. Normally the Rosenites handle everything but they are needing some volunteers so I decided to help. All of us are spread thin already so we haven't had the time to promote ourselves much." 

"What about your credentials? Got anything to prove to us that you aren't gonna do something bad to the kids?" Attie questioned. 

"Unfortunately, we don't have any." The man said with a sigh, "With the war going on, all the Rosenite queens have been busy. I've been told that most Rosenites were too busy fighting and there was a lack of time for an official court to verify our group. Though, that is really on us since we only decided to form this group after the war started. But we do have the Rosenite word and we allow anybody to come with us to verify that the children are safe. We also give the public full access to the orphan tents and anything that they want to investigate. We can even give you the names of the orphanages we have dropped children off to so far. Oh and my name is Brandon. In case you need it to verify anything."

Attie had no idea if this was good credentials or bad. She would have to ask Chrys about it later, as Chrys was a Rosenite and probably knew more about this type of thing than she did. Having received enough answers, Attie decided to head over to the tent to send Chrys in. If anybody would pick up on any lies, she knew that Chrys would probably be the best at it. Attie walked over to the supply tent and went over to Chrys. She explained everything that Brandon had told her, including the bit about how he was offering for people to follow him to the orphanages. Once Attie was done, she looked to Chrys to try to read her expression. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2019 11:05 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Chrys wasn't one to think badly about someone on a first impression, however you could say her Rosenite instincts were strong. Rosenites were known to be protective of their children and didn't take kindly to others getting too close to their mates, though the second bit varied on the person. This baby was completely dependent on her and Attie since they left the village; who could say that other people would treat this little one kindly despite not being blood related? There were people out there who took in abandoned children and used them, sold them, or even worse. Unless she was absolutely sure this man wasn't one of them, she wasn't going to let the baby go. "Attie, let's find some of the guards and tell them about the village we found. It's not too far away from here so if they hurry they might be better equipped to help anyone left or take care of any remaining Twisted. After that, I want to ask the man over there a few questions." Giving a small smile, the blond girl hid her internal worries well. Once they were far enough away she would tell the other girl more about her concerns so they could come up with a plan to check that man's credibility.

Shifting to hold the baby more comfortably, she went to find people who looked like they were part of the camp's scouting group. "Hello sir–are you part of the camp's defense? My friend and I just came in from the marshlands down south. There's a village that was attacked by Twisted recently in a small grove of mangroves surrounded by the water. We almost didn't make it out from a Chomper attack, and we found this child all alone. There might be more survivors still there, do you think you could dispatch a unit to check and see? We would've done so ourselves but we wanted to bring this baby here as soon as we could." The person they were speaking with was a tall Mamlak woman with leather and chitin armor, dressed for agility and ease of movement. Her dark skin was patterned with bright war paint, drawn in crisp lines. "South you say? About how far south? We can't overlook any possible rifts that might have opened nearby, so we'll gather a party to investigate. You can never be too careful out here, especially now."

Chrysanthe pulled out her Wayfinder's Widget and brought up a map of the area she had recorded before helping Attie escape the jaws of the Chomper they killed. "Here, this is just the general area of the marshes around the village, but I can tell you of the landmarks and geography we passed on our way here." She went on to give a more detailed description of what she observed during Attie's flight, which helped the Mamlak woman narrow down where the village's location was. After thanking them both, the woman went to inform others to begin their preparations. Then Chrys took Attie aside, whispering in her ear. "Attie, I know it's a terrible thing to say, but I think we need to check if the man giving out coats is really helping on behalf of an orphanage. Since he's already seen both of us with the baby, maybe we should split up and go ask him individually to see if he's telling the truth. Either you or me will go first, and then we can compare information. When you go I'll hold the baby out of sight, and when it's my turn I'll hand the baby to you."

Author: Attie, Posted: Wed Oct 9, 2019 5:21 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Attie could see everybody was tense due to the Chompers and the other Eldritch beasts, along with the war. There was a line of refugees waiting to get through the guards and each one of them were clearly scared of what may come. There was an elderly woman with a bag of supplies, a father cradling a baby, a few injured soldiers, and many others who needed to get through. Attie looked around, curious of who might be a monster and who might be real. She also hoped that they would allow the baby through, as it was only a baby and wouldn't be able to use magic. They approached the gaurdswoman and Attie let Chrys go first, as she was first in line. When it was Attie's turn, she walked up to the guardwoman. 

"Can you use magic?" The guardswoman asked. 

"Yes." Attie responded

She didn't even need the guardwoman to ask for a demonstration, as her hand was already on fire. The guardswoman saw the fire and allowed Attie to go through the checkpoint. Attie stopped her flames and searched to find Chrys. It didn't take her long to find the girl and the baby. Their next step was to find somebody to take care of the baby. Finding a Rosenite or somebody like a Rosenite would be in their best interests as Rosenites were more likely to help a baby. 

"Yeah. Lets find somebody." Attie agreed with her friend. 

Attie had not forgotten that they still had to return to the marsh to continue looking for survivors. Suddenly, Attie spotted something in the distance. Next to a camp was a small group of children with an older man who was busy handing out coats to them. The man looked up to Attie and Chrys with a smile then called out something. 

"Orphans are to come here!" He called out, "If there are any orphans let me know. Our group is meant to help bring them to safe orphanages away from the war." 

Attie looked to Chrys to see if she was thinking the same thing. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Wed Oct 9, 2019 2:14 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

There were so many people outside, trying to get in. Soldiers were everywhere with weapons of all types and in full armor. She understood the desperation from both sides; after all they were trying to keep as many people alive as possible. With the baby in her arms, Chrysanthe casually looked around to know who was nearby. Aside from Attie and the baby, she couldn't be sure that anyone wasn't a Chomper or Corrupted. Tensions were running high as people were trying to force their way in, only to be blocked off by shields and magic. But also there were people who didn't seem worried or upset at all, so it was hard to guess who was dangerous and who wasn't. Trying to calm herself down, the girl was being alert for all three of them–after all didn't they say Chompers were only in disguise until your back was turned? As long as one of them was paying attention the hidden Chompers wouldn't act just yet…

When it came to their turn to step forward in the line, they were all inspected through a large group of people one by one. A pair of mages took the baby from her and carefully checked, causing it to start crying. It was hard for her to watch as they cast a sleeping spell on it, knowing they were just doing their job. It didn't make things any easier though. "Can you use magic?" A guardswoman asked her. "Yes, I can. I can make plants grow more quickly and understand what they are saying." The woman then motioned to her, replying: "Please give us a demonstration." While some might find the interrogative questions offensive, Chrys knew it was just part of the routine. Chompers couldn't use magic, that was one of the ways you could tell if someone was replaced by or turned into one. Taking out a pocketful of seeds, she tossed them on the ground and cast a spell. Small sprouts began poking their way out of the earth, growing into mature flowers within seconds. A look of relief came over the guardswoman's face. "Thank you for your cooperation. You can enter." The infant passed the checkpoint as well, and was handed back to her. She met back up with Attie so they could search for Rosenites or other people willing to adopt the orphaned baby. 

"Attie! Now that we're all back together, let's see if someone can keep this little one safe for us." She didn't forget they still had to return to the marsh to continue their search of the village for survivors. The inspection at the gate took much longer than she had expected.

Author: Attie, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 5:48 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Attie followed the air currents and flapped her wings to keep altitude. The air was a nice break from all of the fighting below. It was also a nice reminder of the peace and happiness of what would soon come again. Attie didn't know for certain if they would win this war. There were many beasts and many foes in their path, some that even the gods and goddesses feared. There was no guarantee that it would turn out well but Attie hoped for a better future. However, if they did their best and kept fighting she knew that they could do anything. Even defeat an Eldritch monster that wanted nothing more than to destroy the world. Suddenly, Attie received a hug from Chrys. The hug was a small comfort to Attie and she couldn't help but smile. Then she realized something. This was the first hug that she received from a friend! Attie's happiness increased. A few moments later she spotted the safe zone. It was a large encampment with hundreds of different species. The camp had high protection and was far enough from the battle to not worry. Attie landed at the front of the encampment and waited for everybody to get off her back. Once they did, she would transform into her original form and wait to go through security. There were soldiers at the entrance who had to check to see if anybody had gotten bitten by an infestor and check if anybody was a Chomper in disguise. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 4:35 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Once the wind slowed to a gentle breeze and they were above the clouds, all her worries seemed to evaporate. This was why she chose to fly, even when most Rosenites were deathly afraid of being separated from the ground. It was something you had to experience in order to understand. The weightlessness, the freedom, feeling like you're lighter than air. Feeling better, she gave Attie a hug from behind, and then saw the baby was now asleep. 'Prepare for the worst but hope for the best'–that was her motto in life. They had a moment of peace while they navigated through the air, a much-welcomed break from what they would have to return to once they had the child in good hands. Chrysanthe now was focusing on memorizing as much of the landscape below them as she could. Knowing the relative distances of places was vital in path-finding, and it would give her a mental map in case they were forced to travel on foot. The most she could put to memory would be details on terrain, climate, and potential resources. Your chances of survival were tied to knowing what you had to work with.

Author: Attie, Posted: Sun Oct 6, 2019 7:57 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Attie spotted the large leathery winged creature and dove towards it from the sky. She didn't realize that the friend mentioned was a lot bigger than what Attie first thought off. They landed and Attie maintained her Hippogriff form as the bundled infant was secured on her back. Attie waited for Chrys to finish speaking to the beast and watched as it lowered its head to hear the instructions. It was clear that Chrys and the kalangitan had been close friends for a long time, as they were able to trust one another. Chrys came back and explained to Attie what was going on and Attie gave a nod in response.

Thousands of questions were building up in her mind but she was unable to ask any of them. The questions would have to wait for later. She waited for Chrys to get on her back then began to flap her wings and runt o build up speed for the takeoff. Attie flapped her wings and kept her eagle eyes out for any threats. But she could also sense Chrys' uneasiness since animal forms were far more sensitive to the emotions of others. Having to focus on flying, Attie couldn't do much to cheer her friend up but she did have an idea. Attie continued to raise their height until they were above some of the clouds. The sun was shining and the sky was a shade of bright blue, showing that even in the darkest of times that there was still light. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Sun Oct 6, 2019 4:26 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

"We're almost there! Look, there she is!" Chrysanthe pointed straight ahead, at a very large creature with leathery wings. Her 'friend' was also her mobile camp and transportation, as the massive wingspan of a kalangitan made its point. Attie's hippogriff form was like a mouse next to a dog in comparison. Once they landed, Chrys was careful to secure the bundled infant to Attie's back before sliding down. She sprinted up to the great Bakulaw beast, and it lowered its head. Patting Strelitzia, she whispered instructions to the great flier, giving it another reassuring rub. Backing away to give some space, she returned to Attie as the kalangitan began to lift its wings. "Alright, I've told her to fly ahead to the safe zone she and I came from before we landed here. And if that area isn't safe, I told her to find higher ground and stay away from monsters. Hopefully she'll find my brother and stay with the healers, otherwise it'll be harder for us to find each other until the world is safe again."   

Climbing back up onto Attie's back, Chrys did her best to keep her smile. Even when things were so grim, they had to keep their hopes up to weather through this storm. When the winds were turbulent and thunderclouds were raging all around, the only way was to fly through. That was what flying taught her, and she was sure with everyone's efforts they would be able to protect Revaliir. "Ready for takeoff!" She said, signaling Attie that she was ready to go. The baby was in her arms, safe and sound. It had quieted down, probably tired from crying. Strelitzia took to the air and cast a large shadow over them until she disappeared behind the clouds. Chrysanthe swallowed back the lump forming in her throat. It was hard to watch her good friend go. The pathfinder held on tight as her new hippogriff friend carried them to the northern camp.

Author: Attie, Posted: Sun Oct 6, 2019 10:03 AM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

After ensuring that Chrys knew it was her, Attie bend down to allow Chrys to get on her back. She listened to Chrys explaining that they needed to make a detour to a friend who was waiting. Attie was unable to speak human words with her beak so she chose to make a chirping noise to indicate that she understood and was excited to meet whoever this creature or person was. The hippogriff stretched out her wings and began to trot to give herself some speed. In a matter of seconds she had taken off into the skys, far above the trees and land. However, Attie was careful to follow any directions that Chrys would give. Attie couldn't communicate with Chrys easily so she would have to listen intently to everything her friend said. She flew right above the trees, looking for any sign of Chrys' friend. The hippogriff's wings and eagle side was a mixture of brown and auburn while her horse side was a pitch black. This form was strong but agile and although she couldn't carry over two people, she knew that there was strength in this form that many other forms didn't have. Attie gave out a small inquisitive chirp to Chrys to ask her if this was the correct direction. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Sun Oct 6, 2019 12:18 AM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Chrys didn't have to ask to know if it was a good idea. "Sure thing." Taking the backpack and then the baby, she watched as Attie began to use some sort of magic. She had an inkling as to what it was, then she saw it. Shapeshifting–just like her older brother was able to do. Though his was a bat, not something as rideable as a hippogriff. "Attie, that's perfect! Let's go! Oh but before we head to the camp we need to make a slight detour. Strelitzia is still waiting for me, she's a flier like what you are now but a lot bigger. I just need to tell her to fly ahead and we'll catch up with her. I think you'll like her a lot!" With how enthusiastic Attie was when it came to learning, Chrysanthe figured seeing one of the biggest Bakulaw beasts up close would be a real treat. Also Attie's hippogriff form was much more agile than the kalangitan, better for a quick escape. Using her memory, she directed Attie to the large winged beast's resting spot in the midst of the marshland. She wasn't hard to spot, as there weren't many patches of solid land stable enough for something of that size.

She threw one last glance at the village, taking note of any landmarks and the general distance of them from this area. They would be back soon, hopefully before the golden time of rescue was up. Looking down at the little baby she did her best to hush its crying by gently rocking it as she held it close. "Shh, don't cry. You're safe now, and we're going to have you meet people who'll love and care for you soon." Maybe she should bring the child to the Rosenites. When it came to children, there wasn't any race who treasured them more than the proud people of the northeastern desert nation.  

Author: Attie, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 9:44 AM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

The smell was terrible and Attie had decided to try to surprise her natural senses as much as possible but since she could smell like a bear, the smell was dreadful. She did her best to ignore it as she moved with Chyrs out of the house. Relief flooded through Attie as they were out of the dark and small house. Like Chyrs, her magic worked better when she didn't have to worry about her surroundings and had free range to move. Attie realized that their plans would have to adjust as they needed to get the baby to safety as quickly as possible. 

"Yeah. And this IS a baby. The longer we have it the more that it…he or she will bring monsters to us." Attie said, "I kept the clothe in the baby's mouth in hopes that will help muffle its sobs but I bet these monsters can smell it. We can't safely go anywhere until it is somewhere safe and away from these monsters."

The baby was still sobbing but its voice was muffled by the clothe in its mouth. Attie carefully took a blanket out of her bag and wrapped it around the baby, trying to ensure that it was warm. She began to think for a moment. There was a safe zone that had been developed for the healers and escapees that was to the north. The path there would be long but they would be able to get there fast enough if they flew…

"Chrys I have an idea." Attie said, "I'm going to need you to take the baby and my backpack tho. We are going to want to get to the safe zone for healers as fast as possible to drop off the baby. And the fastest way there would be to fly. So.."

Attie attempted to hand the baby and her backpack off to Chrys. If she succeeded, she would take ten steps back and hold out her hands. Her hands began glowing with a soft blue light that grew more and more every second. Suddenly, the light swirled from her hands and began surrounding Attie until it covered her like a cocoon. Then the magic faded away, revealing a Hippogriff in the place of where Attie used to stand. The Hippogrif had the front of an eagle, backside of a horse, but most importantly, she had wings. Attie lowered her head to Chrys, to indicate that she was friendly and still Attie. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 12:21 AM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

The smell hit her nose before the sight came into view. Both of the girls were apprehensive and on edge after narrowly surviving a Chomper, and they weren't taking any chances. With Attie's fire, they saw something horrible. Whoever this cottage belonged to, they were dead now. Chrysanthe only knew that the corpse had been a female from what she learned of anatomy from her mother. The Chomper had gotten to her before Attie stumbled upon it. The soft sound of crying was hard to spot, but they found it. She let out a sigh of relief that it was a baby, not another creature pretending to lure them in. Carefully Attie took the orphaned child in her arms and looked back at her. Without saying anything, they knew they needed to bring it to a safe place. Chrys motioned for them to leave, still having her arrow ready to fire. As much as she wanted to check the other houses, things had changed now they found an infant. She hated the idea of leaving potential survivors behind, but it was just the two of them and Strelitzia. 

When they were out of the cottage she felt a bit less tense, as they were out in the open. Fighting in close quarters was one thing that put her at a severe disadvantage, especially in a dark house. "Attie, maybe we should go and bring the baby to the healers before checking the rest of the place. I hate the idea of potentially leaving people behind, but I'm worried. It's just the two of us out here, I don't have my family or Uncle Walter with me to keep watch. If we leave the baby with Stretlizia, she won't be able to protect herself or it if she's attacked." Chrys whispered, still not sure if they were totally safe. She wasn't sure if Attie would agree, but communication was crucial when it came to survival. There was no point in hiding anything when they needed to rely on each other. Again, there was that regret that she didn't have Lys' pak-pak. In the worst case scenario she could at least order Pasque to take the bundled infant and fly high out of the marshlands. 

Author: Attie, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 7:50 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

As they made their way back to the house, Attie was careful to watch her step and to keep an eye out for any other monsters. They didn't have much time as they also had to go help Chrys' friend. Attie didn't bother keeping the flames around her since it would take up too much mana to be worth it. Her magic would be quick enough to activate if any monsters showed their ugly heads. When they got to the house, Attie carefully made her way to the door. She looked to Chrys and gave her a nod to let her know that they were about to go in. Then she opened the door. The house was dark and there were soft crying noises. Attie, aware that this could have been another trick, carefully activated her firemagic and opened the door further with her feet. Using her fire as both a weapon and as a light source, she stepped into the cottage. Inside there was a small bed, a rug, and a little kitchen area. Near the bed, blood was smeared all over the walls, furniture, and floor.

The corpse of a young woman laid in the middle. The corpse held deep claw marks and some of her body parts were missing. Her legs, left arm, and half of her face had been eaten. Though, that wasn't where the crying was coming from. Attie headed towards the kitchen area and noticed that there was a baby tied up with cloth stuffed in its mouth. The baby was sobbing but the clothe was muffling its cries. It was clear that the Chomper had been saving the baby as a snack. Attie's fire magic stopped as she walked towards the baby. She untied the baby but left the clothe in its mouth, as she didn't want to draw any other monsters to the scene. Looking over to Chrys, she realized that they now had to deliver the baby to an orphanage or somewhere safe in addition to getting Crys' friend. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 6:59 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

It was a risk, but they should take it. "Sure, let's go. I'll be right behind you. If something moves, I'll shoot first and we can ask questions later. Not how I normally do things, but we can't be too careful if these things are that good with mimicry." She made sure to switch to her stunning arrows this time, to preserve the elemental ones for emergencies. Either way they would pick out the real people from the fakes, as Chompers couldn't keep up their disguise if they were sleeping. Chrys followed carefully after Attie's lead, arrow notched and ears alert for anything close by. They also had the flooding banks to worry about, as the height of the stilted houses were any indication. The girl noted the marks on the wooden supports where the water level had reached from previous seasons, double checking with the surrounding mangrove trees to confirm it. Getting caught in water with a Chomper was the last thing she wanted, as if four-legged 'chompers' weren't dangerous enough. There didn't seem to be any signs of tracks other than the ones the now-dead Chomper had made after charging out of the house, and she identified a few that belonged to Attie. She assumed the dark-haired girl had gotten here using other means which would explain there being less prints. Her heart was pounding. What if there were more Chompers hiding, lying in wait for them to poke their heads in? 

Author: Attie, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 1:40 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Attie rapidly started writing down all the information that was pouring out of Chrys' mouth. Her quill moved rapidly to write down as much information as she could while it was still in her mind. Though, Attie had yet to forget anything that she had learned over her travels. Drawing a sketch of the plant was a bit difficult as plants in general had such intricate details that were essential when identifying them. The resulting sketch looked less like the plant and more like a plant monster. But there were enough details to connect it to the Lunaris Drainer. Attie also wrote down the information that plants didn’t need names like people do. Chrys began to ask questions about the Chomper and that situation.

“Well I’d join you but I want to investigate the house first.” Attie explained, “I’d like to figure out how the Chomper got into the house in the first place and to see if there are any survivors. Do you want to come with me? You might be able to help me out in case there are more monsters.” 

She was leaving the option of going together to the house up to Chrys.

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 11:23 AM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

"That's right! And I can talk to plants, it's sort of a thing I got from my mom. Plants are pretty chatty once you get to know them. They can help in a pinch too, like just now." The sudden burst of questions were a lot to take in, but Chrys didn't mind. It was nice to have somebody to chat with out in the wilds every now and then. "I can probably answer most of your questions, so let's start from the beginning. I got this plant from my mom, she studies rare and exotic ones like these since she can talk to plants too. The Lunaris Drainer is parasitic, but specifically targets other creatures only when it wants to reproduce. So in comparison to mistletoe, it's much more opportunistic. It's most active at nighttime, hiding itself during the day from natural predators who have thick skin or scales. I'm not really sure where it grows naturally, I'll have to ask mom. But it's pretty easy to take care of; it's like any normal plant after it takes root in an animal's corpse. A little water and moonlight is all it needs."

For the other questions Chrysanthe didn't really have a good answer. "Well…I don't think plants normally have names unless somebody gives them one. They probably don't need them since they're not like people who have to have names to tell them apart. In general they separate themselves by lineage, so they could tell which ones were their parents and seedlings that they produced. They also can tell you what other plants are nearby them, and that's about it. Every type of plant has its own 'personality' based on their life cycles and habits." Shifting her backpack she looked around at the houses. "It's so quiet now the Chomper's dead. Do you think anybody's still here? I have a kalangitan who's waiting for me a little ways over there. If no one turns up, want to come along?" The blonde girl motioned in the general direction of where Strelitzia was resting. The great flier had plenty of space to carry a small group of people when needed, and she knew of a safe place where refugees were taking shelter.  

Author: Attie, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 9:10 AM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Relief flooded through Attie's mind as Chrys sent the arrow plant thing into the Chomper. The flower spat seeds into the Chomber and suddenly blooms began to emerge from the monster. Attie, realizing she didn't want to be near the plant while it was attacking, freed the Chomper from her whip and took a few steps back until she was safe from the flower. Attie watched with fascination as Chrys began to dug flowers out of the Eldritch abomination corpse. She remembered that she had read about this flower in one of the books in Adeluna library. Her eyes glittered with fascination and curiosity as she walked over to Chrys. 

"Thanks! I'm Attie. You did great too!" Attie said shaking Chrys' hand, "Thanks for helping me out. I would be chomp food if it wasn't for you!"

She glanced to the flower with a curious look. 

"So where did you get the plant? It's a Lunaris Drainer, right?" Attie asked, "I remember reading about the plant in a book. Is it true that you can communicate with it? How difficult is it to take care of? When did you meet the plant? Does it have a name? Does it need a name?"

The endless questions poured out of her mouth as she pulled out her journal from her bag to record down any answers that Chrys gave. Attie knew the basics of this plant like the name Lunaris Drainer but otherwise the plant was still mysterious. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Thu Oct 3, 2019 11:10 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

When she felt she was almost unable to breathe, the other girl took her chance to draw away the Chomper's attention. Her voice rang in her ears, and Chrys threw a look backward to see it was entangled in a whip. Grateful for the short reprieve, the blonde girl wasted no time in finishing the monster off. Taking another flaming arrow, she attached a strange flower with a wrapped up root ball onto the arrow head and let it fly. It was a direct hit, but not enough to put it down. At least the arrow wasn't, but the little flower on the other hand… Immediately the flower spat seeds into the Chomper, and within seconds new blooms began to emerge from it. It took less than a minute for the invasive plants to rapidly leech the creature dry of every last drop of life energy it had. With a large patch of greenish tulip-shaped flowers growing from what was left of the Chomper's corpse, Chrysanthe slumped against a tree and took in deep breaths. "Thank Reverie I had that on me…" She said between gasps for air. Who knew being able to talk to plants would be so useful? 

In the few seconds she had, the pathfinder communicated with the Lunaris Drainer that she would be sending it towards an enemy. 'You can burrow as many seeds into it as you like.' She had said, and it was more than happy to enter its cycle of reproduction. When she had caught her breath, she shouted to the dark-haired girl who had helped. "Thanks! You can let go of it now, and don't get too close to the flowers! I need to tell it not to attack you, and then I can take them back!" So far she was down to only twenty-three arrows from her elemental quiver, not too bad for a single target. Next time she'd have to use her other quiver first, as that one would refill once it ran out. Walking over, she whispered to the flowers a thank you and dug them out of the monster's corpse. It wasn't the prettiest sight to see, but she still needed them. Also it would be safer if she had the Lunaris blooms instead of leaving them out in the open where they might hurt other people. When the flowers were packed up, she looked up with a smile. "I'm Chrys, nice work back there!" She held out her hand towards Attie.

Author: Attie, Posted: Thu Oct 3, 2019 9:07 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Just as the beast was about to attack her once more, a flaming arrow hit the back of the monster. Quickly Attie bolted from the tight space and ran to find some sort of higher ground. The beast was too distracted by Chrys and the arrow in its back to take notice of her escape. The Chomper leaped after the new girl with chomping jaws and a fury as massive as the sun. Attie had made it to higher ground but now the other girl with the bow was being chased by the monster. Flames swirled around Attie as she ran to catch up with the both of them. The girl had saved her from a teeth chomping. Attie would not abandon her! 

Once she had caught up with them, she sent a blast of flames at the beast. The flames were enough to confuse the beast, as it had forgotten about her and was trying to catch Chrys instead. Attie snatched her whip from her backpack and targeted the Chomper. The whip tail wrapped around the Eldritch abomination and Attie pulled as hard as she could to trap the beast. Her eyes looked to Chrys as she kept pulling. The Chomper was caught in the leather whip side but was fighting furiously to get free. It took all of Attie's strength to keep the whip around the creature. 

"Kill it while you have the chance!" Attie shouted to Chrys," I can't keep this thing trapped up forever!"

She struggled to keep this monster from breaking free. There wasn't much time left before it would escape. 

Author: Chrysanthe, Posted: Thu Oct 3, 2019 8:32 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

"Strelitzia, I'm going to have to leave you here. The ground is too flooded further in and there won't be any safe places to land. I'll be careful, don't worry! If you see trouble, don't be afraid to fly–I'd rather you be safe than sorry." She hated to leave the kalangitan alone, but the marsh wasn't easy terrain. Strelitzia was too big for the mangrove trees and Chrys was worried she might drown if the river surged up again. Maybe she should have asked her brother to lend Pasque so she could scout from the air. Using seeds, she was able to create plant platforms that allowed her to reduce her time navigating. There were rumors of a fishing village here, and if the divination was right a void tear opening up here would leave the people trapped. Unpredictable waterways and a marshy bog wouldn't slow eldritch horrors down.

As the stilt-houses were in sight, she heard sounds of a struggle along with ones that definitely weren't human. Had the invasion started? Taking in a quick short breath she steeled her nerves as she notched an arrow to her bow while breaking into a sprint. There was no time to lose. If there were survivors, then she'd better hurry. Her sharp eyes spotted a girl with something like a fleshy alligator mouth on legs coming close, clearly in danger. Without thinking Chrys raised her bow and fired–sending a flaming bolt hurtling into the Void beast's backside. She had been briefed by her mother on the strengths and weaknesses of the monsters, and luckily for her she had plenty of arrows at her disposal. A sickening squeal told her she had hit her mark, but now it was her turn to run. As their name implied, Chompers weren't too keen on getting picked at from a distance and their primary way of dealing with pests was bringing down their teeth on it with a vengeance.

"Get yourself to higher ground!" She shouted to the girl, hoping she too wasn't another void monster. "I'll distract it as long as I can!" Chrys' legs were burning as she had her eyes locked on the nearest mangrove tree, hoping she could reach it before her adrenaline rush gave out. As long as she was close enough she could get to safety, and maybe trap the beast for a while. Whipping around she cast an earth spell causing a stone wall to burst out of the water, forming a crude obstacle to buy herself more time. It didn't do much against the ravenous creature, as it easily went around still in hot pursuit. But a few seconds were more than enough to give her a slight lead as she pushed herself to her limit.

Author: Attie, Posted: Thu Oct 3, 2019 7:00 PM, Post Subject: First Warnings [Event][O][R]

Attie flapped her little blue jay wings as fast as she could as she inspected the outer areas of the Copts Marsh. The village had already been warned and probably already experienced the Eldritch threat. However, there were still some houses and small farms on the outer sides of the marsh that needed to be warned. She soared through the sky and trees as she searched for any signs of travelers or private homes. She had already warned people in the Bohar Plains and had used a portal to get to Onnen. In addition to warning individual people, she had been telling everybody she had come across about what was going on in this war for their lives. All while travelling in her Blue Jay bird form. She had chosen that since it allowed her to stay safer in the skies and it would let her move faster than if she was on the ground. 

The void was a lost cause to warn about as it had been filled with monsters before the Eldritch came. Hardly anybody lived there so she was focusing her efforts on places with higher population. The war was just beginning and there were still people out there who didn't know. Suddenly, she spotted a small cabin and landed next to the cabin. Attie made her way to the door and banged on it as loudly as she could. 

"Hello? Anybody home?!" She shouted, "Open up! I have some important news! There is a threat and you really should know about it!"

There wasn't a single sound coming from the home. Perhaps the person who owned the home had already left? Still, Attie knew that she couldn't assume. If there was somebody there, she needed to get them out as fast as possible. Just as she was about to break down the door, it opened. Inside was a woman with a wide smile. The woman was dressed in simple clothes and she appeared to have been out of breath. 

"Hello dear." The woman said, "What's the matter deary?"

"I need to tell you about the Eldritch threat!" Attie explained, "You should evacuate as soon as possible!"

"Oh thank you dear for the warning." The woman said, "Would you like to come inside? Have some tea?"

"…No. I have to warn others about the threat." Attie said, "And you should probably be more worried about the Eldritch than having tea parties." 

Suddenly, the woman frowned and looked extremely pissed. Her form melted away to reveal a vaguely humanoid beast with a split torso. It was a Chomper. The monster leaped at Attie, trying to comp her in two with its jaws. Attie barely managed to dodge the attack and accidentally ran into a tree head first. Turning around, she held up her hands and flames began erupting from her fingertips. She had heard that Chompers didn't like fire, now would be the time to see if that was true.