Setting: Grassy hillands of Pormont
Time: 3:45pm
Weather: Sunny, warm, breezy

The sun had already passed the pinnacle of its travels through the heavens signaling to all who knew who to tell time by this means that it was past midday. A single player had been making his way through the grassy rolling hills of Pormont, if one had to guess based on appearances alone it would be an easy guess, long pointed ears, flowing clothe robes, this player was a Yladian Sorcerer by the name of Joen Panelis. Joen had been traveling alone ever since he began adventuring in the amazing world of Terrasphere, in all that time he hadn't come across a single Yladian other than himself and it appeared that most other held some sort of prejudice against the elven race of the forests and this Joen preferred to travel alone.

Joen came to a halt and closed his eyes feeling the faint breeze blow across his face, the wind causing the grass to sway gently, forced the leaves of the few trees to dance with them and when added to the buzzing of the insects created a perfect natural symphony that cast an air of tranquility to the rolling hills. On the breeze the scent of rains off in the distance could be picked up indicating that a storm would reach them at some point in the future, the amount of detail that was put into this world always amazed him, he had to be careful lest he forget that he was in a virtual world and not the real one.

However the tranquility of the scene was shattered by the sound of a man screaming and cursing to the heavens above. Turning his head in the direction that the cursing came from Joen altered his course and made his way towards its origins in a hopes to learn what had caused the man to release such filthy words, it had to have been something terrible indeed. It didn't take Joen long before he came across a small farm that wasn't to far from where he had just been standing and he could see the farmer standing next to one of his livestock that had been killed in a rather gruesome way. As Joen approached the farmer he had to take a couple of steps back quickly as the man spun around and brandished a shovel in his face "You better not get any closer, now what you doing on my land?"

Joen held his hands up to show the man that he meant him no harm "Sorry sir, I was passing by and I could hear you screaming so I was wondering if there was something that I could assist you with", the farmer eyed him for a second before lowering his shovel with a grunt seemingly satisfied that Joen wasn't going to cause him any problems before he turned to look at his slain animal "Its this damn bear you see, it keeps killing my livestock. I know where the damned thing lives but I'm not strong enough to kill it myself" Joen looked at the sight of the animal and nodded his head slowly "Don't worry sir, I'll kill the beast for you" hearing his words the farmer turned to Joen a surprised look upon his face "You sure mister? I don't have much in the way of a reward but I would be eternally grateful to ya" Joens only answer was a nod of his head however inside he was wondering if a new player such as himself would even be able to kill a bear.

 

It wasn't often these days that Gwyn found herself south of Stokbon. She had found greater dangers to the newer, northern regions and she had more than enough reason as of late to avoid Falderen territory. She had, after all, just assassinated their king. The Princess had made it clear it was necessary and many people had been terrified by the slow shift of power at the mad king's will and the changes some of their family members had gone through. The relics that had given him control of the populace were gone now with the hole in the world shadow. Things settled. Peace reigned. For now. Just like the time after the initial siege on Fort Dormont. That had ended. When would this peace end?

Gwyn didn't intend to stick her nose in it when it did unless it was to preserve the lives of the innocent civilians getting caught up in it. Politics were a poison, one she'd had enough of from even her peripheral involvement. And so she'd heard of a large shipment of food that was to be moved from one of the northernmost cities in Dunnstads. People would starve without it in winter and those people were deserving of her help. The Yladians had no power over their own that Balthas didn't give and it was only his kindness to them that had saved him an arrow or two in the back.

Paradis, however, didn't care about supply shipments or getting there in a timely manner. She had ridden the main roads too many times and seen it all. The mare had nearly bucked her off and whinnied up a storm until Gwyn pulled at the reins and led her down a smaller trail. They'd take the backroads and open fields between villages. She had high hopes for making good time with their current route, but the sounds of someone making quite the fuss caught her heightened hearing. Fuck. Gwyn sighed heavy and clicked her tongue to correct Paradis' course. The curious blanket appaloosa didn't mind in the least.

She came across a familiar scene, able to see a massacre of a carcass not unlike the ones that had once sent her hunting down a manticore in Astorea back when the region was simply Adecus Forest. It was just different enough to make it clear it wasn't a big cat's work and the farmer speaking to what was likely another player settled it. "Afternoon and uh, pardon the interruption. That's some nasty work for a regular bear and I'd be happy to help if you're alright with the company." The huntress gestured at @Joen Panelis at the question before looking back to the NPC with a wry smile. "And a reward isn't necessary. If you've hay and water, I'll take that for my horse here while we hunt in return."

 

As the wind blew along the rolling hills the flaps of Joens robes blew gently along with them, his equipment gave him away as a beginning character as all he was wearing were the robes the game had generated for him the very first time he signed on. The sound of the rustling clothe was all that kept Joen from completely as he stared at the carcass of the creature, the wounds were rather large and deep leading Joen to believe that this wasn't an ordinary bear and he may have just bitten off more than he could chew.

However his pondering was interrupted by the appearance of another player, lifting his head Joen looked at the female and could instantly tell that this player had vastly more experience in the world of Terrasphere than Joen did. She radiated an aura of power and knowledge and when she offered to help him all Joen could do was bow deeply and nod his head slightly "That would be great thank you. I am Joen Panelis and as you could probably guess I am a Yladian sorcerer. I haven't been around all that long so all the assistance you could give me would be appreciated" chuckling softly Joen reached up and scratched the back of his head as he looked at the female who had offered to help him "How exactly does one track a bear anyway?"

 

Gwyn swung a leg over the saddle and dropped her boots to the packed earth, taking care not to get caught in the stirrup with eyes on her. Paradis tossed her head for a moment, but settled quickly with a pap or three to the strong column of her throat. The NPC agreed readily, happy to be free of players and to possibly find himself free of the creature mauling his livestock on a nightly basis. She let the mare roam, content to explore for the time being without supervision. The fence for the livestock would hopefully be enough to keep the wily beast contained for a while.

The ranger rubbed her hand against the leather armor curled over her thighs to free it of grit before holding it out to the other player for a firm handshake. "Gwyn, Gwyn ap Herne. Uh, archer, hunter, tamer, and puncher?" She'd just leave out the mage-hunting Spellbane part. "It's always good to see a fresh face when you've been playing as long as me and it's really no trouble, you get used to stopping to help. The point of a game like this, really." She waved dismissively and shifted her gaze to the corpse. Even without the active abilities, she knew enough at a glance to piece together part of the puzzle.

Gwyn dropped to a crouch and held a hand just within the open chasm of the beast of burden's chest cavity. Not too warm, but not cold. Hard to tell with the sun up and beaming, regardless of the chillier season. Definitely not a kill from the previous night. Early morning hunting trip for their odd bear in question.

"Alright, bears are generally a pretty easy tell because they like to have fun with it. They maul their prey pretty heavily and open up the carcass at the stomach. Throw the intestines all around because they aren't interested in them and go for primarily the heart and liver. The kill method is a little odd though." She paused to dig her fingers through the course hairs along the creatures neck, feeling for wounds before checking along the spine. "Bears either bite the neck or grab onto the sides and crush the livestock they've caught hold on. Neither of those happened. It looks like it just got bowled straight over and dug into like an all you can eat buffet." She huffed and looked around it. "Ground's really packed too. No footprints? Just divots from claws. Big ones. Guess it's foot is large enough to spread out the weight and padded with hairs between the pads. I'm glad I caught you before you tried to go after this. I'm guessing he's going to be a bit big."

Gwyn glanced back up at the mage with a wild grin suddenly blooming on her face. This was going to be fun. She chuckled and leaned forward to stage whisper, "Just a lil."

 

Joen stood there and watched as the woman lowered herself from her saddle down to the ground and allowed the majestic creature to trot a short distance away to enjoy its freedom while the two of them completed their hunt. The gentle breeze blew through his hair causing its black strands to gently dance within its playful grasp as the female introduced herself, reaching up he took hold of the hand that hand been extended to him and shook it firmly. As Joen shook her hand he could feel the callous that had built up from her time in the game using a bow and nodded his head "Indeed us players got to help one another out, but again its appreciated".

Joen watched as woman made her way up to the carcass of the creature and shook his head slightly as she bent down and proceeded to shove her hand into the opened chest cavity of the creature, there would have been absolutely no way that Joen would have ever stuck his hand in there. It took Joen everything he had to suppress his gag reflex at the sight, closing his eyes and taking a deep breathe in before exhaling slowly and reopening his eyes as the woman began her explanation. Her words caused Joens eyes to widened slightly and a look of interest to spread across his face as he nodded his head "I had no clue bears were such gruesome creatures, they sound almost as if they kill for the simple pleasure of killing", when she said that it was going to be a large bear the excitement inside of his stomach rared to life and became like a bonfire inside of him.

Joen turned his back to the woman and scanned the areas around them, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thought about the limited knowledge he had on bears "Well bears like to live in caves right and from what your saying about the size of this bear it would have to be a rather large cave, and since it attacks the animals on this farm every night then that cave can't be that far away from here, I don't think it would make a long trek every day when there would probably be food much closer", Joen scanned the area around them before his eyes landed upon a small cave in the distance raising his right hand to point at it "Perhaps that cave?"

 

Her new found companion didn't seem to care overmuch for her investigative means. Gwyn snorted in amusement at his squeamish reaction. At least she had the sense not to touch the blood and viscera. That'd just be unsanitary of her. She had all she could get from the poor piece of meat. The huntress straightened up as Joen said his peace. "They're smart, but not smart enough to be cruel. At least, not normal bears. They just know what works and how best to kill so that it conserves energy. A big bite to the neck or head takes down most things and crippling prey by using their weight saves them a chase if they can't get a bite in. As for the gorefest? They have to dig through a lot of organs not worth their time to get to the good stuff. Easiest just to throw it out of the way."

Gwyn toed one of the loops of what looked like the large intestine with a grimace. "Bears are just animals. But the smarter an animal gets, the more it has the capacity to be mean for mean's sake." She caught his eye. "Prime example? People." She had learned that well enough by now and for just a moment there was a cold-hearted man in armor and an authority who demanded torture and a father-king-monster with his sword buried so deep it had almost cleaved her in half.

She shook herself free of the thoughts before they spiraled and nodded along to Joen's words, who had forged ahead in the conversation while she drifted in the moment. The warmth of the sun helped ground her. "Most bears will live in dens they dig and line with softer materials, but something this big will definitely be forced to live in somewhere more sturdy." The woman narrowed her eyes, the blue of both iris turning a violent white as she activated her Inquistive Eyes skill. "Huh, good catch. Odd it would den so close. Dangerous, really. It means it isn't scared or considers itself threatened. We'll head up there then and try to stick to the most recent tracks just in case it isn't home. Don't want to head straight there and it walk in the door behind us."

She waved the mage after her and headed along. The energy drain of maintaining her skill wasn't what it once was and keeping her eyes on the tracks and the terrain around them offered little difficulty. While she had been worried it would be off wandering the wilds, the tracks led them almost directly there. Gwyn lifted a hand to still Joen as she slowed and took a knee to peer ahead of them. Nothing outside. "Now, I haven't seen it so I can't tell you exactly what it can do, but if it's anything like a normal bear? Whatever you do, you fight. You don't run. A regular bear? 35 miles per hour sprint. One thing big with a bunch of extra mass for momentum? I don't want to find out what kind of charge that is. Play it slow, quiet, and safe. We scout first. Try to ambush."

 

Joen stood there looking at the cave off in the distance, his mind was fixed on it to the point of almost not noticing that the female behind him had rose to her feet. His mind running wild with all kinds of thoughts as the excitement welled up within him, what if they got to that cave and found that the bear had been mutated and enthralled to do its bidding by some kind of evil warlock? Sometimes having the mind of a fantasy book artist was a bad things as dozens of other fantastic scenarios ran through his head.

A chuckle escaped his lips as she heard her say that people can be mean just for the sake of being mean and nodded his head, a fact he knew all to well back in the real world. Turning away from the cave in the distance he re-affixed his attention back upon the corpse of the beast of burden and flicked open the spell menu, he was still new enough that he needed the assistance from the in game assist program. Flicking over to the illusion magic spellbook he pressed a spell named Locate, the assistance program taking over and forced him to recite the magical incantation needed for the spell, a sensation that he still hadn't gotten used to, his lips moving and words exiting his mouth against his bidding.

What this spell did was allow Joen to detect the shape of the bears footprints much easier and to help him follow them the illusion altered his sense of sight so that particular shape appeared as a bright yellow to him. Turning back to the female he listened to her as she educated him on the living habits of bears. He couldn't imagine the wealth of knowledge about the animals of Terrasphere that this woman had acquired during her time within the game, what she knew about bears alone astonished him.

As the duo finally set out Joen kept his eyes pinned to the ground, the trail of the bears footprints were much easier for him to track now thats to his spell, otherwise he more than likely would have had no idea what it was that he was even looking for. It didn't take the pair very long until they arrived at the entrance to the cave, inside possessed a dark so deep that is seemed to draw in and devour all the light around it. Joen scrunched up his nose and shook his head as not only was the cave extremely dark it possessed a foul odor like death itself lurked inside, Joen took a single step forward and came to an immediate stop when he heard something snap. Looking down his eyes widened slightly as he noticed the bones that were littered around the entrance of the cave. Joen turned his attention to the female once again as she educated him further on bears causing him to nod his head "Fight no flight, got it" and with that said Joen turned and pressed into the darkness slowly.

 

She scoured the entrance to the cave as they approached, keeping low and nearing on a crouch with the curve of her back. With slow purpose, she pulled the gilded longbow from her back and used her firing hand to test the string. Taut. Ready for the fight. There were countless depressions in the ground at their feet from the heavy beast's movements. Gouges traced from the mud and sand outside to the stone within. Every bit of it was littered with the bones of prey it deemed fit to drag home and devour. Or foolish enough things to draw too close to its home. They wouldn't count themselves among them if she had her way.

The smell was horrid, but not unfamiliar. It sought to wreak havoc on her heightened senses, but the huntress was no stranger to the scent of death. She had caused it many times. Stood in fields of rot after battles while looking for the fallen. She had even returned to the mountain's base in those early months to see if it was true that player bodies persisted. One didn't easily escape the sight or scent of their own face have caved in as flesh fell away.

This beast's domain was nothing in comparison to other, greater nightmares.

Delays could only last for so long before the chance of it catching onto their presence became too high. Gwyn continued the slow creep forward, eyeing the gouges she'd seen before mirrored in the stone as well. It was strong. Too strong for the area, frankly. She wondered if any of the bones outside belonged to newer players not expecting something powerful enough to cleave through rock in simple passing. She checked over her shoulder to keep an eye on the other before entering at last.

There was nothing but silence and the shift of air in and out of the cave. The stench was less rot and more the smell of dirty fur and musk past the entrance. It didn't care to eat inside then. Or its own scent was strong enough to overpower that of its prey. It should have been plain as day in the relatively shallow cave. She should have seen it a breath before.

A massive form rose from the wall of the cave where it had been sprawled out in the shadows and whirled with surprising speed. "Duck!" The giant paw, five black nails curving from the end, swiped by her with enough power she swayed along with the air it disturbed. Her mobility, honed reflexes, and heightened senses were the only things keeping her from losing her head to the creature's slap. Gwyn snarled up at it as it pulled back to rise onto two legs with a roar loud enough to knock stones loose from above.

​

 

With every step into the black abyss of the cave Joen began to wonder if he had bitten off more than he could chew, the depressions left behind by the creatures massive feet were only one sign of just how massive this creature truly was. He had originally started to play this game because he thought that it would help him better understand the characters that he wrote about in his books, and it had indeed done just that but it had become something more to him. The thrill of the adventure, the feeling of the adrenaline coursing through his veins at the thought of the danger of the quest, the sense of empowerment he got when casting a spell, all of these sensations were what continued to bring him back to this virtual world.

The only thing that kept Joen from being completely consumed by his thoughts was the overpowering foul odor that hung heavy upon the air. It took Joen every ounce of his mental fortitude to keep from emptying the contents of his stomach upon the floor of the cave, he had smelt some foul things in his life but nothing compared to this. The amount of detail that the creators of this virtual world had been able to capture was truly a thing of wonder, something Joen couldn't even begin to understand how they were able to accomplish. With every step into the darkness Joen noticed that the smell upon the had had changed, no longer did it possess the foul essence of death and decay but had become more musty and dirty fur.

While the presence of his more seasoned companion did bring Joen some sense of comfort he couldn't help but wonder if his lack of experience and skill would only slow her down. While he did have a lofty dream he was aspiring to, it was just that, a dream. Joens eyes widened in surprise as his companion yelled out for him to duck, however his reflexes were not as trained as hers and the massive paw of the creature connected squarely upon the center of his chest. The force of that connection propelled him through the air before crashing upon the wall of the cave and landing heavily upon its floor, the air had been knocked clear from his lungs leaving him gasping as he doubled over onto the caves floor.

It only took him a second to regain his breathe before he slowly rose to his feet, a look of pure anger had spread across his face as he looked at the massive shape of the bear. Gone were the doubts and hesitation that had plagued him before replaced by a overwhelming desire to kill the massive creature, lifting his hands Joen aimed them at the massive beast "Vigis soth pakliol nal!". When the last syllable of the magical invocation left his lips a rather large fireball roared to life between his fingers before it flew off and connected with the side of the beast setting a small portion of its fur ablaze "Stupid beast"

85 HP

MAX HP

95 EN

MAX EN

 

It was a mercy that the attack had been meant for her, seeing Joen fly back. He'd taken quite the hit for a newer player, but thankfully it was on the tail end of the AOE swipe. He wouldn't take a one-on-one with any kind of ease. She couldn't say for sure that he would have joined the bones outside though. The game offered many surprises and Gwyn had been part of more than a few of them.

That and there wasn't that acrid stench of fear in the air. He was struck and bit back with a burning fury. Good. He'd need that fighting passion.

For her own part, she knew she needed to keep it back from the caster. The ranger was just that. Ranged. But she had the health and the equipment to weather a close fight with such a beast. He? Oh, if he had no distance then she feared he would have no chance. The woman considered taming for a moment, but there was no prompt for it present. This creature didn't count as a beast, but as a monster. Fighting it was the only way and a way that Gwyn lived for down to the singing marrow of her bones.

The mage's sudden strike as the beast reared up to move forward with another attack earned her the time needed to charge her bow. It would down next to no damage in such close quarters, but that wasn't all it was for. In the blaze of the fire, the light cause oddities on the creature's pelt. Old paint, cracked beads, leather straps interlocking over the shoulders and torn away from the face and throat. Her eyes narrowed before she fired nearing on point-blank into its stomach.

Power Shot

The sturdy shot, lined behind in the tail feathers of an eagle, flew the short distance with concussive force driven into the gut of the enormous bear. It skipped back a few feet as the fire's low burning began to slowly dim. The DOT wouldn't last long, but she didn't need it to. With the extra breathing space, Gwyn put away her bow and pulled her gloves snugly to her hands. She whistled a shrill command and from the shadows the game delivered. She could hear to rasp of scales still hidden. It knew to wait for an open strike and Gwyn would be happy to help.

"Come get some." She snarled over to the beast she knew wouldn't understand anything beyond the lift of her lips to show teeth. "Let us find our measure against you!"

 

There was a dull throb within his back from being flung into the wall that served as a reminder that a sorcerer shouldn't engage in close combat however it was the pain upon his chest that got Joens attention. Reaching down he placed his fingers upon the spot where the bears massive paw had connected with him and pulled away to reveal a red liquid staining his fingers, blood and not the bears blood it was his blood. When the bears paw had connected with him, its claws easily cleaved through the rags the game had generated for him when he first dove into the game and sliced through his flesh.

Turning his attention back to the beast at hand he forced himself to take a deep breathe in before exhaling slowly getting his anger under control, loosing control of his temper in a situation such as this one could be lethal. Joen watched as his female companion shot an arrow directly into the stomach of the beast at close range, it was weird to see a long ranged combatant engaging in close quarters but he supposed that is what happened when one spent enough time in this world, they managed to overcome their weaknesses. As he stood there he watched as his companion began to taunt the beast, her fearlessness amazed him, even in the face of such a massive creature.

It didn't take a detective to figure out that his companion was drawing the beast into close quarters combat to keep it from targeting him, he knew that she had a higher health point bar and better equipment than he did which would allow her a better chance at surviving in close combat than him. Joen smiled softly as an idea came to mind before he closed his eyes slowly "Digas tagolann vinaquirem!" as soon as he finished his magical invocation the air around Joen began to shimmer slightly before he became completely invisible to both the beast as well as his companion. Taking advantage of this Joen circled his way behind the beast taking extra care not to make any unnecessary noise that would give away his position "Nal kalipar akular shirak!" from the darkness behind the bear a stream of fire bathed over the creature back searing away fur and leaving behind serious burns upon the beast back which forced the creature to roar out loudly in pain. Once the stream of fire died off all traces of Joens location vanished once again as he repositioned himself to the south east of the beast and waited for his companions next move.

 

Gwyn stood with her footing a shoulder-width spread, the left side of her body angled toward the towering monster they faced. The maddened look in its eye was entirely stupid. There was a light of recognition, of expectation. It wasn't sentient, no creature who could communicate or advance. But it knew the hearts of things that did speak. That wielded tools. That hurt.

They snarled at one another and she left it an opening to fall into. Again, a massive paw swiped forward as the body of the beast jerked forward in a lunge. It still lingered on two legs, using the advantage of height to get past her guard. She let it. Savored the sting of claws raking over a few places exposed by her armor. It wasn't enough to stop her. It wasn't even enough to give her pause. She ducked under the arm of the bear and shot forward an open palm to slam beneath its open, roaring jaws.

Daze

Spittle flew from the force of it clamping its mouth shut. It reared back and raised both front paws defensively in front of its chest and head. The deep whine of pain boomed in her chest and proved the move had worked for the moment. It was reeling.

The ranger caught sight of the mage moving behind it and grinned, taking swift steps backward as the roar of flames burst to life at the man's command. The whine turned into a tortured roar and Gwyn took her chance once more as an opening appeared. The bear moved to get away and she pulled a metal contraption from her side, summoned by the game's skills and her prepared stock. It lifted a huge hind leg and the hunter threw the metal piece forward, watching with sharp eyes as it unfolded with a clatter on the stone floor. Just before the paw came crashing down into it.

Bear Trap

The wicked metal closed with a stomach-churning snap and Gwyn snarled a low noise back at the ongoing raging of the beast. It was having a very, very awful day and now? Now it wasn't going anywhere but the grave and both her and the mage would have the edge of speed due to the injury inflicted.

 

Joen watched the massive beast closely, with every failed attack upon his companion seemed to enrage the creature even further until it was in a blindless almost berserker like rage. The woman however was completely unfazed by it, she expertly danced the dance of mortal combat with the bear as if she had done it every day of her life and it was nothing more than a second nature for her. The beauty of it was something that Joen wouldn't soon forget.

As the fur of the beast burst into flames at his spell Joen tilted his head back slightly, the smell of burning hair filled their enclosed cavern and it was displeasing to say the very least. The roar of the creature vibrated off the of walls, amplified by their surroundings causing Joens ears to pop slightly and him to shake his head in discomfort. Joen watched as the beast moved to flee from its attackers before his companion threw out a trap.

The sound that the beast released this time was so much worse that when he had set it on fire. The pain its its voice was so great that for a second he almost felt sorry for the creature, shaking his head Joen rid himself of those thoughts. "Shirak alan ne!", the words of the magical invocation flew from his lips without a seconds hesitation and three spikes creatures from ice rose from the ground and pierced through the other three legs of the beast making it completely immobile. Nodding his head Joen smiled "That should be enough to make sure it doesn't go anywhere at all"