Roland pushed through the untamed forest at a slow pace, sweat pouring from his forehead. He had the advantage of traveling this area prior too, Astor, ascending the throne, back when it was merely referred to Acedus. In fact, he had hunted Oakhearts and Treants in this very area. Back then, however, it had been him prowling the area aimlessly looking for creatures as opposed to actively tracking his progress. Roland paused, eyeing the small map that appeared in the right-hand corner of his vision. It sparsely detailed, with the few larger bodies of water in the area, but luckily it indicated the exact coordinates of his position. Since he knew the coordinates of where he wanted to go, it was just a matter of moving in the correct direction to reach it. Unfourtantly the overgrowth of plant life made it harder than it should have been, as he was always forced to take detours from the straight path. "Tcht..." he muttered, "We're going to be late." Reluctantly Roland pulled up his HuD pulling an older weapon from his inventory and equipping it in his off hand. It was an older sword, one that Sera had made long ago. It served him well in many fights before he found something better, but now he needed it to clear a path. "Ok, we're cutting our way through now Kana. Make sure to stand back." With a huff, he swung the blade, separating a handful of branches from a tree trunk, let them fall before moving forward and repeating the process. It was an arduous process, but within a few swings, Roland fell into a groove, letting the game's auto-assist function, find the path of least resistance for him. For once outside of battle, it seemed mastering slashing weapons was worth something. Slowly but surely the pair moved forward, heading northwest, nearing the upper border of both Astorea and the Rutledge duchy. "To be honest," He announced suddenly as he cut a small sapling down, "I don't have that great of a plan for this scouting mission. I took a look earlier myself and couldn't find anything, but that doesn't mean anything I was never much of a tracker and usually worked as the muscle in quests involving hunting down targets. That said, I've managed to talk an old friend into joining us up ahead. She's a little rough around the edges, but she should be able to help us find at least a clue as to what's been happening here. I hope." Roland paused for a moment, clearly thinking before asking, "I'm curious though, you don't seem to be the fighting type, and yet you accepted the mission with the highest chance of combat. Granted, it was the only mission left, but you could have pleaded with Comet to join her group, rather than requesting me to join yours. Why?" Roland stopped, thumbing the edge of his blade, as he waited for her reply. As he feared the work was dulling the blade, it likely wouldn't survive much more of the trip like this. With a sigh, he sent it back into his inventory. It was too much of a keepsake to lose for something like this; they'd have to continue as they did earlier. "Sorry, seems we have to go back to dealing with the branches, we're almost there though." True to his word, after a few more minutes of travel, the forest gave way to a small clearing. Unlike in the clover field, this was handmade, as could be seen with the large dirt road that proceeded westward. "This is the entrance too Teritoria. Our next door neighbor. I'm not sure what road they will take to get here, but this is one of the few that connect." With a flick of his wrist, Roland retrieved a canteen from his waste, greedily sucking down its contents, as he found a nearby tree stump to sit on. "Take a break, we're a little bit late, but I don't see Gwyn anywhere, let me send her a message to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. With any luck, she ran into similar issues as us... and we can take a breather." Roland flicked his wrist once more, bringing up his UI and typing out a quick message that simply said, "We're here, waiting for you" before sending it out to Gwyn. @Kanashimi @Gwyn ap Herne
Astorea, one of the few places that Kanashimi had yet to visit and explore. Not that she cared much about it, yet due to the fact that it would one day be a bustling land full of humans she could only look forward to the very day. Yet, it did not go beyond the fact that for one to be successful, they ought to memorize every piece of land. The sight of Roland struggling, caused a small smirk to appear on Kanashimi's face. Despite his own focusing on the plants, she was sure he would not see it. Her own body having a bit less trouble as she weaved in and out of plants with delicate ease. It helped her that she was use to obstacles as a huntress. Yet it was also a help that her body was prone to being lifted by unexpected small winds. Her own abilities in Aeromancy seemed to benefit as she released nearly no energy to boost herself up when needed. Why not just cut through? Her thoughts echoed in her mind as she watched Roland seem to pause and think for a small time frame. As if to confirm her own thoughts, Roland pulled out a rather old weapon. Deciding to let Roland do the work, Kanashimi took a few steps back. Roland had then given her a nickname.. Kana... One nickname she had thought of while making her own character. This produced a small smile on the inside of her head. Finding the events with Roland served to be very interesting. I had asked the right things to get him to come along, it seems. It seemed rather slow paced, but the two finally seemed to be making good enough leeway to allow Roland to speak up amidst the quiet sounds of grunting and footsteps on the forest floor. The sound of his voice entered into Kana's ears as she digested everything he said. The idea of no plan for the scouting mission, cause Kana to grimace slightly. The expression of having a friend help the two of them made Kana quite curious. He mentioned her earlier.. But who is she? The thought of the matter of having another in their group set Kana into a spiral downwards. She was unsure whether she would enjoy the company of the other, and did not know if she could hold herself back from doing something she would regret later. On top of the fact that Kana surely was not that skilled, she surely was doomed in having this mission. "Pleading is not who I am. I do what needs to be done. As for why I asked for you and not Alric, which I assume is a question you have. You interest me. Even if just a little, you seem to be like me." Leaving next to no implication as to what she meant by what she said, she let Roland assume whatever he wanted to. It had been the most talking she had done in the group. Yet she had answered his question honestly. Despite how broad she had been. With a soft nod of her head, she began to weave around branches the likes as Roland put his sword away. The large dirt road that appeared in their vision made Kana think of what Teritoria was. With the name of his friend revealed, Kanashimi waited for him to finish up the message before she opened her own inventory. She brought out an elegant bottle of water and produced two goblets of the like. She poured water into the two glasses. "I took liberty to bring along some water. I am not offering you the alcohol I have, due to the fact that I do not know whether you are a lightweight or a heavyweight." Offering him one of the two identical fancy goblets, Kanashimi brought the other to her lips. Taking a sip of the savory water. "Before Gwyn gets here... Why would you agree to come with me? Why not tell me to go with Alric? I did say that if I had to, I would. Why choose to go with me?"
