Quest - CSI: Brisshal II | Page 2

His Investigation Mode-Vision was not enhanced as @Aria's, but just staring at their menacing appearances of the Blood Hounds was enough to him to be aware of their strength between them and their party. His guess was that these monsters aren't meant for lower-leveled players like him. Just attacking them blindly would mean their death and the quest's failure. So he thought @Cain Darlite ordering to flee instead of facing them on was the best move for them. Their objective was to head over the PKer's intended hideout, not fighting against the monsters in this area.

Without a word, Jace nodded to @Solaria before he followed her with his staff in hand. He didn't bring most of his camping gear out due to his focus on drying his robe beforehand, so he managed to pack up fewer items before he fled alongside Solaria and @Aria. Despite his less athletic disposition, he managed to run without losing his allies out of his sight until he also felt the fatigue that caused him to stop for a breather.

"No clue. Considering their hounds, I might guess they have high speed and power in terms of their combat stats. Maybe they even exchange speed for power and vice versa." He can't say the exact information regarding those monsters due to the limited features of his Investigation Mode. But from his experiences with RPG video games, he knew how weak or strong depending on the archetypes of the monsters inspired with. "Either way, as long Cain distracts them, they might not able to catch us up on time. Although, I shouldn't say that he might get out unscathed."

But just as he focused on forging on to escape, his eyes widen as he noticed a stray Hound about to attack Solaria. "No... Solaria! Look out!" In an attempt fend it off, he took out his staff and focused on his energy to conjure a spell. "Spiritus, release!"

Mana Blast

Then, a small ball of purple energy appeared near his staff's tip before he fired it in an attempt to push the Hound away.

 

Shit, shit, shit! Everything was turning into utter chaotic shit as the Blood Hounds were spooked by the intruders desecrating their den. The mothers, in particular, were extra aggressive due to the presence of cubs within the pack. "No shit!" The green-haired Felis squealed at Cain, she was not going to fight the mutated dogs even if the rest of the party thought otherwise anyway, let people think of her as a coward, she didn't care.

Fortunately, everyone was quite sensible as the Muse made a quick tactical decision. Whatever would make them get the fuck out of the cave ASAP really. Gods, she felt so bad about picking this cave now... then again, it was Cain's fault in the first place! Travelling through Norforva on a rainy night. Genius!

"Haaa...!" Sticking close to the sturdiest member of the party, Solaria, Aria's green eyes frantically kept up its Investigation Mode, updating the positions of the Blood Hounds with extreme fervor. She continued to back up, her bow pulled taut, hopefully intimidating the hounds long enough to retreat successfully. But of course, what could she expect from a bunch of savage beasts?

"Waaaah!" The Felis screamed as one of the hounds charged up at them, specifically at Solari-... no, Jace! "Kuh!" Launching her arrow at around the same time as Jace's arcane bolt, the Felis hoped for the best. A snarl of pain echoed in the cavern as both the bolt and arrow struck the oversized wolf. Not enough to kill it but it flinched, giving time for the party to leave the cave, back into the pouring rain. The awful weather ironically helping the party now as the water washed away their scent, preventing the hounds from hunting them down

---

"Huff, huff..." Her frantic breaths turned to gasps as she sprinted out together with the party. Alright... they should be safe now... "Oh-..." then the wet ground beneath them gave way due to the extra weight of four people. "Aaaaaah!!" Carrying the party with it. The small avalanche dragged them down as they tumbled and fumbled, wet dirt splotching onto their face and clothes. This shit just got shittier and things didn't look any better.

...or was it?

"Kuh..." Then, either by the strings of fate or a stroke of pure dumb luck, the party would find themselves facing a hidden camp. Who else would make settle in the middle of nowhere? As if they wanted to have a lair to retreat into after committing foul deeds... "Uh..." Aria blinked, dumbfounded, "Are we here?"

@Cain Darlite
@Solaria
@Jace Vale

 

A magical blast and an arrow shot was enough to knock away the first Blood Hound, while the others snarled, ready to give chase to those that turned and ran out of the cavern, breaking through the encirclement. Before the Blood Hounds did though, Cain flicked out a hunting knife and slit his arm, droplets of hot blood splattering onto the cold cavern floor as he grimaced. It hurt, to be sure, but the injury had an immediate effect on the pack. As the smell of rust and copper filled the cave, they turned to Cain, eyes alit with renewed hunger. These beasts were smart, in a way. They could understand the logic of the group leaving a lame pack member to ‘convince’ the predators to stop pursuing. It had happened before on these treacherous paths, and slowly, warily, the pack lowered their haunches, growling softly as they crept into the cave where Cain remained. If this was the sacrifice, so be it.

But this wasn’t a sacrifice, and the muse had no intention on letting himself get chomped to death. Waving his bloodied arm around tauntingly, the muse continued to slowly backpedal into the cave, leading the pack deeper and deeper. Had to convince them he had nowhere to go. Had to make sure he had the biggest head start available once he made the jump.

“C’mon, who’s hungry for the first bite…”

His back touched the end of the cave.

Sensing their prey had nowhere to run, the pack of Blood Hounds lunged forwards, a mass of hunger and lean muscle moving as one.

And as the pack descended, Cain smiled.

Snap.

The magic-cursed beasts smacked headlong into the stone wall as he disappeared in a flash of light, the muse reappearing at the mouth of the cave. Suppressing his urge to say a witty one-liner, Cain Darlite dashed down the muddy path, following the others as the beasts turned and gave chase. Oh, they were angry now! Without the protection of the cloak, the rain buffeted him heavily, steaming off his skin as his body heated up from physical exertion. Catching up to the others after a long run, the muse laughed despite himself, offering high-fives all around…when things got worse once more, the ledge collapsing underneath them all. It was another trip down the slope of the mountain, everyone more or less rolling and getting smacked by small rocks and having a fairly uncomfortable time, before ending up in a half-submerged valley, a flash flood having formed a small river that washed over their battered forms. Completely drenched and mercilessly cold now, the muse pushed himself up, eyes catching the same ‘hidden’ camp that Aria had.

“Well,” the midnight-haired muse said, surprised at their combination of good and bad luck, “Nice work, Aria?”

A pause. Eh, he might as well take this as a chance to pat her on the head and scratch the Felis behind the ears for good work in being the first to notice this.

“So, who needs healing?”

 

It was rare that something so troublesome as rain could make the elf so happy for it's presence. The drowned out scent of blood was made her feel at ease, even after her teammates had to attack a wolf quite intent on her demise. She worded her thanks with a smile, hugging onto Jace and Aria when the adrenaline began to clear from the fight. Cain's arrival and offer of a high five led to yet another embrace, until she frowned, noticing the blood.

"They say hard work is a mix of blood, sweat and tears, but I don't think anyone intended it to be literal in this day and age..." Her words were muttered rather awkwardly, but they, like her breath, didn't last long. The collapsing ground below them caught her off guard, causing her to screech slightly in her rush of anxiety.

Upon landing, she let out a few hypertensive sighs, her chest clenching into her throat. "I think I'm alright...But Cain, don't you need healing more than anybody? You were already coated in-" She paused her words and looked around, glancing at Aria and Jace, and then at the secrets they seemed to discover.

"Is this what we were looking for...? Were the hounds trying to show us the way unconsciously?" No, they weren't that bright. But somehow, it happened to work out, didn't it? "Let's heal up and get some much needed warmth while we plan our attack. Everyone huddle. We'll warm up faster if we share our heat, and we can easily plan closer together without the enemy hearing us."

 

Thankfully, his decision on acting first was enough to save @Solaria from her untimely demise and without @Aria's help, his attempts would be in vain. Once they were out of the danger, Jace smiled the green-haired Yladian. "That's alright, Sol. The important thing is that you're safe." However, he was caught off-guard with Solaria's hug, much to his dismay. Thankfully, it wasn't very strong as it will remind him of his uncle's hugs whenever he returned for a Thanksgiving reunion.

Speaking of reunions, Jace smiled once more as @Cain Darlite rendezvous with them. But from what he can tell from his scratches on his clothes, the muse went through a lot in order to distract the Blood Hounds for him and the others to escape from the cave. Comparing to him though, all the damage that he took was during the fall from the landfall. "Well, I do need a few heals after that craziness."

However, their short reunion was interrupted when Aria noticed something. When he looked at the same direction as her, he gasped as he saw a hidden camp, which might be connected to those player killers. "I don't know. But if they do, then there might be a chance that they are expecting company." As he said this, his relief turned into his serious demeanor, realizing that the battle against those criminals will begin if they set foot inside. Which means that they got a lot of preparations to do before they can confront them.

Although, he was uncomfortable when she suggested that they should huddle up to warm themselves. "Well, not what I can call a great way to bring warmth, but I guess we don't have a choice, huh?"

@Pandora

Thrown die:

36