Private - Searching for the treasure of the elves

Darkness ruled the land and shadows stretched in every direction while the moon held its dominion in the heavens. Right then however the sun slowly began to rise up and challenge its celestial counterpart for dominance of the skies, color splashed into view on the dark skies. Dark reds and fiery oranges played together as if they were placed there by the brush of a master painter, with this scene the world below began to come to life.

Off deep in the woods the wild deer began to stir and rise from their slumbers, their daily search for the greenest most luxurious blades of grass to make their meals about to begin. Birds taking to the air in search of the juiciest worms that only emerged from hiding during this time of day, however it wasn't just the wildlife that was stirred into action with the coming light. The many different humanoid races that could be found in the various towns across the world began to rise and set about their daily lives.

Joen was one of those people that was stirred into action by the mornings light, stretching out and stifling a yawn the silver haired Yladian male crawled his way out from the tent that he had set up the night before. Blinking sleepily a couple of time he surveyed the area around him, the crystallized substance that was everywhere reminded him that he was at the edge of the Zalra region of Yladia. Another yawn escaped his lips and he shook his head trying to wake himself up, Joen had brought @Brant Dugal along with him to head deeper into the Zalra region to explore the area hoping to find something that they could use in their efforts to rebuild Yladia.

Now that the sun had begun to rise up Joen wanted to get underway and head deeper into the region, there was story after story that told of this area holding ruins from days of the ancient Yladians that still held their secrets and treasure. Joen more than anything wanted to learn what happened to the ancient Yladians and why their society crumbled and disappeared. When he first started playing this game it was to help him as a writer better understand what drove the characters in his books do what they did but as time when on his motivations had changed. He never would have imagined that he would begin to care about the Yladian history as much as he had, how they had been historically oppressed far away from their homeland.

Turning Joen made his way back to his tent and retrieved the white robes that he is so commonly known to wear with their distinct and elegant silver design upon the shoulder area. Turning his head he looked over to where Brants tent was "Brant, you ready to move out?"

 

Originally, Brant had started playing this game as his own little way to help people. While it was still a big part in why he was still around, he also began to enjoy this place for what it was. A grand escape. Here he could get away from the pressures of normal life. Stop worrying about how to properly talk with certain people. Stop looking in the mirror and always being disappointed in himself. Mason could simply be Brant.

He had encountered the fellow Yladian after he had sent out a message saying that he was the new king. Brant didn't understand it at first as to why a player was proclaiming such a thing, but he didn't mind. The guy seemed nice enough and in his opinion he fit the image of an elven king.

It is because of this that Brant was surprised when he was invited to help survey the area in Zalra. He didn't see himself as very dependable, especially because of the fact that he was fairly new to the game in comparison to his peers. However, he still jumped at the chance to assist his new king. It was refreshing to do the following once in a while.

In the confines of his tent Brant was sleeping soundly. That is until he heard the sound of Joen calling his name. With a yawn he sat up and stretched his arms wide as if to embrace the world around him. He had a strangely content smile on his face as he got up for his first mission in Yladia. "Of course, sir. Just a minute.", he said in reply. Brant slowly got up from his makeshift bed of cloth before equipping himself for the journey.

"Cloth armor? Check. Staff? Check. Status? Ready to go."

Brant exited his tent and waved toward his superior. Hopefully, this join would prove to be worth it. He didn't want the two of them to come all this way for here to be nothing for them to gain from it all.

"Ready when you are."

 

Joen tilted his head back and allowed his eyes to close as he inhaled deeply and took in the scent of the early morning, the smell of the moisture in the air, the dew that clung to the grass filled his nose and caused a small smile to spread across his face. The cool morning breeze licked at his skin causing him to feel both refreshed and awakened before he finally opened his eyes and once more scanned the area with his silver optics. The morning light fell down and struck the crystallized flora of the Zarlra region causing it to flash and reflected everywhere, it was indeed a very beautiful sight to behold for one brave enough to adventure this far from civilization.

Joen took a step forward his foot coming down with a very audible crunch which caused him to look down, the crystallized grass under where his foot was had been crushed under his weight. Zalrisis a mystical infection that caused organic matter whether it be flora or fauna to slowly be converted into solid crystal, this is just one of the many mysteries that Joen hoped to one day solve. Where had the disease come from, was it a natural occurrence or was it a side effect of a failed spell, was is permanent or could one find a cure for it? These were the question that raced through Joens mind as he stared down at the crystal grass.

If Joen was able to find a cure for this disease then maybe one day he would be able to return the Zalra region back into the beautiful forest that it was said to have been in days long passed. Non-Player Characters would be able to return to Zalra and settle there without the fear of getting infected with the disease and having to live their life with parts of their bodies covered in crystal. Even though his title of King of Yladia was only self appointed and not really official this was something that he cared deeply about, he wanted to do everything in his power to help the Yladian people return to their ancestral homeland and help them rebuild their society of old.

In order to further this goal Joen had sent out a message to all of the Yladian Player Characters asking for their assistance in his restoration of Yladia and more of them had arrived to lend their support that he honestly thought would. His companion Brant was one of those who had answered his call, not only did he seem eager to help in the restoration but he also seemed to accept Joen in his role as King which was another thing that Joen hadn't been expecting. In all honestly Joen wasn't a very experienced player in the world of Terrasphere himself, and he just assumed that with someone such as himself claimed to be a King that the other players would just laugh and him and pay him no attention.

So when Brant and the others had arrived and accepted his claim as King he decided that he would do anything in his power to protect them, they were his people after all and it was the Kings job to protect their people. Joen turned his head and looked over and Brant as he exited his tent and nodded his head and lifted his hand pointing off towards the south "We are going to be inspecting the parts of the southern region today, lets hope we are able to find something good. If not maybe we can run into some interesting monsters, then we could at least learn more about the creatures of this region"

 

Taking up a patch of crystallized grass, he inspected the vegetation for a moment before releasing it to the wind. He did not know much about the many different places here in Terrasphere, but this one so far was in the number one spot in terms of creativity. This place was so otherworldly in comparison to the rest of what he had seen of Terra so far. He wished he had a way to screenshot this sort of stuff. It would make for a great wallpaper. Maybe even a poster. He should ask Joen about that little feature once they are done with their assignment.

At the mention of monsters Brant inwardly cringed a little. It wasn't that he was afraid of dying, far from it in fact. Since this was just a game he would respawn again. He was more or less afraid of disappointing his companion. He hadn't gotten far enough into the game to say he was too great at his job as a mage and when he saw the spectacle Joen created upon their first meeting he was entranced. That quickly gave away to worry when he was asked to come with him on a mission into one of the more dangerous parts of the region. Arcanamancy was powerful, he had no doubts about that. However, his efficiency was severely lacking. Never the less, he simply couldn't say no when his King was asking now could he?

"Yes, sir!"

Brant honestly wondered why Joen was going as far as he was for Yladian people. They were not his own kind. They did not do anything to deserve his help as far as Brant knew. So why? Was it for the fame of becoming the one to restore the elven race? Was it from simple boredom and he had nothing else better to do? Or was he so full of himself that he thought he could be king just because he said so?

Brant simply didn't know for sure. However, if there was even a sliver of a chance that Joen simply did it out of the goodness of his heart then Brant would take it. He didn't know what it was like to be a good person. His entire reason for "helping others" was simply to lessen the guilt he felt. So, to find someone who did it out of benevolence made him a bit envious. 'How foolish.', he thought. Kings weren't exactly known for being nice. Even so, he would do his best to make Joen proud.

With an almost childlike glee, Brant began to speed walk in the direction specified by Joen. He usually felt apathetic about the world around him and what was happening, but he was unnaturally happy today. It was strange, but not unwelcome.

 

With every step that Joen took the crystallized grass under his feet cracked and crumbled audibly much to his annoyance, it would be next to impossible to have any form of stealth in a terrain such as this one. That was something that could work both for and against the two adventures, while it would alert them of anyone else trying to sneak up on them it would also give them away to any creatures in the area. Thinking about it Joen wondered how the creatures of the Zalra region were able to move around so stealthily despite the terrain and their partially if not completely crystallized bodies, something that he would have to look into at a later date.

Step after step the scenery remained unchanged, a rather plain grassy field, the only thing out of the ordinary about it was the fact that all of the grass had been completely crystallized. However not long since they had begun travelling for the day the terrain began to change, trees began to dot the landscape occasionally until finally in the distance the could see the beginnings of the Crystal Forest. Thousands of trees that had been completely converted into crystal sprouted up from the ground making one of the most beautiful scenes that Joen had ever seen in his life both in the game and real life as well.

Normally when one found themselves in a forest, the sunlight became hard to be seen because of the foliage, the Crystal Forest was a different story all together. Once the duo had entered into its borders the sunlight reflected off the many different crystallized surfaces making it blindingly bright and almost impossible to see in several places. Joen raised a hand to cover his eyes in an attempt to lessen the glaring effect hoping to be able to see where he was going a little better, it helped but not by much.

Turning his head Joen looked back at Brant to make sure that his companion was handling the terrain alright, he knew that Brant was a relatively new player so all of this was probably completely new to him. "How you holding up Brant? You doing okay?", the words left Joens lips before he even had time to register that he had said them, why had he said them at all? Brant was a grown man and it wasn't like he needed a babysitter although Joen had remembered when he first came to this enchanting world and all the help that other more experienced players had given him.

As he stood there looking at his companion waiting for an answer Joen felt the hair on the back of his neck slowly begin to raise up, his heart began to beat a little faster and he could feel his palms begin to sweat. All of these sensations were involuntary natural reactions to ones body somehow sensing that something was watching him, narrowing his eyes slightly Joen scanned the area looking for any sign of what was out there. Slowly he raised his hand and brought a finger to his lips in the universal signal to be quite as he once again brought his attention to Brant "Something it watching us".

A shadow moved slightly catching Joens attention but he lost it quickly in the glaring reflecting light of the trees. Standing there for a second he looked around searching for the source of the shadow once again but was unable to pick it up, until it was to late that was. Something slammed into his body after launching itself at him from behind a tree and tackled him to the ground forcing the wind from his lungs and left Joen gasping upon the ground.

Holding his arms up to keep the attacker from being able to do any damage, Joen found himself staring directly into the monstrous face of a Moonstone Werewolf. Its yellowed fangs only inches from his face, its foul breathe slamming into his face and filled his nose with its stench which was almost enough to cause him to gag. Pain shot through Joens hands as the werewolves crystallized fur cut deeply into them causing Joen to growl slightly as he held the fiercesome attacker at bay.

"Ithikitalkus kair tasarak jalaran!", the words of power that flew from Joens mouth seemed to echo around the forest until he had uttered the last syllable and the spell took affect, a tree vine extended down and wrapped itself around the werewolves throat before it shot upward and propelled the monster off of Joen and through the air. However the creature landed on its feet and darted back into the tree cover, its monstrous laughter echoing around the duo. Groaning slightly Joen rose to his feet and looked around trying to locate the creature once more "Don't let your guard down Brant, this thing is deadly"

 

Walking through the crystal plains was an infinitely calming experience for Brant. It's beauty would be something he would remember for quite a long time. When he was asked how he was doing Brant made sure to respond promptly.

"Yeah, I'm doi-" At the signal and mention of something possibly being in the forest with them Brant went on edge. His calm demeanor went away and he clutched his staff tightly in his hands. For a split second Brant thought he saw something in front of him until he heard his companion being attacked. He whipped around and froze on the spot for a split second at what he was seeing. The creature looked like a werewolf, but it was clearly different from how he usually depicted them. It's body was covered in crystal growth and it's eyes were unfocused. A parasite?

"Joen!" Before Brant could get to his friend the beast was yanked off by one of the monarch's spells.

Without any more hesitation, Brant readied himself where he stood. There was no telling where that thing was going to come from next. That is until he heard the soft crunch of the crystalline grass behind him. He knew that he would not be able to turn around in time to cast his more accurate spells, so he used one of his more experimental ones on the spot. He stabbed his staff into the ground and gathered mana for just a split second before making his move. At the same time the werewolf was already leaping for Brant's exposed back.

"Roar!"

With a burst of blue energy, the spell caught the werewolf mid-flight. It crashed through one of the trees and howled in pain. Before Brant could get a good read on it the beast growled and returned to it's cover behind the trees. Unfortunately, the specific spell hasn't been optimized yet. It took up a solid 10% of his energy just from such a small use. He would have to rely on something else for the time being.

"Oh no you don't! Ready, steady, fire!"

A blue light encircled the tip of his staff before 3 bolts of arcane energy shot outward. They each struck a crystal tree before exploding, leaving a noticeably open spot in the forest. It was at this point that Brant got a idea. He began to use the spell at random, trying to destroy as much as he could in a short amount of time. Suddenly, the beast bolted from it's hiding spot, slashing him across the arm. Brant fell to a knee and sucked in a sharp breath before continuing his work. He didn't bother checking for what his current health was, no time.

"I'm going to destroy this thing's cover. Try to find an opening."

 

A growl of annoyance slipped through Joens lips as his eyes scanned the area looking for the werewolf, it was a powerful monster and a tricky opponent. It seemed to possess some level of intelligence so maybe it was only recently turned? All the stories that he heard about other Moonstone Werewolves were that they seemed to have lost their minds, arguing with themselves about who was going to get to eat what organ on their prey as if there was more than one of them.

This one however was different, its moves were deliberate, thought out and planned before they were executed. What irritated Joen was the most was the sense that this monster wasn't just attacking the, it was hunting them, judging their abilities and trying to see how strong they were. This stupid monster was just a wolf and it needed to learn its place, it may have been a human being at one point or another but now it was nothing more than just a stupid beast and Joen had had enough of getting played with by it.

Attacking him was one thing, but this werewolf had dared to bare its fangs at Brant and this he could not allow, as a person in a position of authority it was his responsibility to protect those who served under him and right now he was failing. Brant had had the right idea, the wolf had been using the trees as a cover to attack them from so by destroying the trees it would open up their field of vision and give the wolf less places to hide. However since the trees in this area had been infected with Zalrisis and converted into crystal, every time one of them was destroyed it sent a could of dust into the air and had the opposite effect of what was intended.

"Hakon suh kini idish!", the words of power fell from Joen lips and echoed mystically around the clearing until the last syllable had finished coming from his mouth and the mana that had been built up was released and the spell took into effect. A circle of fire appeared around the duo before roaring to life and completely encircled them in a wall of flames, hopefully this would be enough to deter the wolf from attacking them for a few seconds.

However his hopes were short lived as the wolf burst through the flames towards Brant. Joen growled slightly as he lunged forward and pushed Brant out of the way and a yowl of pain escaped his lips as the wolfs claws racked across his back, each one opening a deep cut on his back from which blood began to rush. Joen had his pain setting set to realistic so he felt exactly what that would have been like in the real world, his breathe now coming in pained inhales as he narrowed his eyes looking around.

Finally his eyes picked up a shadow on the other side of the flames and Joen could only assume that it was the wolf getting ready to attack them once again. "Shirak dolibix ne vimi!", once again words of power fell from Joens lips just as the wolf burst through the protective flames once again, this time however it met the business end of Joens spells. A large and thick wooden spike burst through the ground and impaled the wolf down its throat killing it instantly, with their enemy now deceased Joen allowed the flames to die down by stopping the mana that he had been feeding to keep them up before dropping to his knees and inhaled deeply from the pain that the action caused "Damn this hurts"