• Closed • The Fountain of Youth (Pt. 2)

[Tio Silver]

Scaltoth Jungle
27th Ymiden, 717
Early Morning

It was understandable why Tio had mixed feelings about entering Scaltoth Jungle.

The last time he'd been here a crazy old guy had tricked him into going into a cave and then locked him in it with a walking skeleton that'd tried to eat him. When he'd finally escaped from said cave he'd had to walk underneath the hot jungle canopy with no food or water for breaks, being pestered by all manner of weird insects and plants, until he'd finally found civilization. In the space of a few trials he'd been bruised, beaten and bitten more times than he could care to count, and had been scared witless so often that for the next season he'd been unable to look at certain types of trees for too long without feeling weak at the knees.

As first impressions of places went, that one hadn't been the best.

But despite that the lure of eternal youth was one he was hard pressed to resist, which was why he had gotten up bright and early that morning to pack his things for the journey into said jungle in search of the rumoured Fountain of Youth. He'd packed his camping equipment, five trials worth of supplies and two sets of clothes in his trusty backpack, along with his spelunking kit and Taboo mask in case the situation called for it. Since he needed them easily on hand but still concealed Tio had packed the bones of his favoured thrall, Risas, into a closed rucksack which he dangled off of the side of his backpack with a short length of rope, and had purchased a set of three large and three medium sized vial with rubber stoppers from a chemist's store to put the fountain water in, which he kept inside his inner jacket pockets along with his newest thrall Raton.

He'd debated on whether or not to bring more things along with him, as he honestly had to idea what to expect would be waiting for them in the jungles, but had decided against his other stuff in the end. In the end it would just be more weight to carry after all, and he was already expecting the trek to be hard enough work as it was.

He sat on a rock by the edge of Scaltoth Jungle closest to Scalvoris Town, flicking a silver nel coin up and down as he waited for the others to arrive. He hadn't had the presence of mind to ask last night but he was hoping that one of them had more experience with surviving out in the jungle than he did. Otherwise this might end up being one very short journey...

[Veyre]

Jumping off the cart, Veyre dusted off herself and called out a thank you to its driver.

The young woman had been trudging through the streets of Scaltown when the older man had spotted her and asked where she was going. Even before she told him, he immediately guessed that she was heading towards the jungles. Veyre supposed it was fairly obvious from the way she looked – hair braided into a bun, wearing a loose shirt and sturdy boots, and carrying quite a massive bag. He told her that he could drop her off there and told her to hop into his cart.

Perhaps unlike most inhabitants of Scalvoris, Veyre never got the chance to explore its jungles. She had no skills whatsoever regarding survival in such a place and the last time she had ever been in any sort of wilderness, she had been lost. Last night, the young woman had even taken the time to visit The Spirit of Adventure in order to gain some supplies. Having little to no experience in adventuring, Veyre had mostly inquired the shopkeeper about what she might need. The man kindly told her that the basics were food, drink, and shelter. Sounded obvious enough. She had ended up buying a large backpack, a bedroll, a canteen, and some dried rations.

Those were the supplies Veyre had lugged around, in addition to her waterskin and first aid kit, as she tried to find any one of her supposed companions. It was quite heavy, to be honest, but nothing she wasn’t used to. Even from its edges, the jungle looked quite intimidating with their wide trees and thick foliage. The knife hidden in her boots would probably useless if some wild animal decided to attack her. She wondered if they should have asked someone more experienced to guide them into the wilderness. It wouldn’t even be too difficult, for there were always some adventurers looking to make some extra nel in town.

It took several bits, but Veyre finally spotted a familiar blonde figure Tio seemed to be somewhat lost in thought, playing with a silver coin in his hand. The man had claimed to be a treasure hunter, so she hoped that he knew what they were doing. But then again, Tio had arrived at the island not too long ago.

“You don’t look too excited,” the young woman commented as she approached, tugging at the straps of her bag.

Ledger

Large, heavy duty, waterproof bag (with shoulder strap) = 1 GN 4 SN
Bedroll = 5 GN
Canteen = 5 GN
Three days of dried rations = 1 GN
Total = 12 GN 2 SN

[Pash Raj'oriq]

No, Pash had no jungle experience whatsoever. He was a seafaring minstrel, not a jungle exploring one. He knew taverns. He knew his sloop. He knew chords and melodies. He knew how to please a body.

He knew he’d never trust a guide again in a long, long time, not after his last one turned out to be a Plague-Bearer and tried to kill him. Nope. He’d rather not repeat that experience.

He also knew he was walking into more than just trouble in front of him—he’d left trouble behind him, too, sneaking away from his own sloop and Kali’rial without explaining at all what he was doing or where he was going. After the Immortal’s Tongue, after the past several trials, here he was, doing all the things he knew he shouldn’t be doing alone. He’d promised secrecy to Tio, but he’d also promised himself to keep the Sev’ryn safe, though he wasn’t quite thinking straight about that, either. What he was really doing was trying to keep his heart safe and hurting her in the process, whether he knew it or not—the consequences were not going to be soft-spoken or pleasant. He would have to face them all later.

Still, he left town behind him anyway, leaving behind someone he cared about because he didn’t want anyone else being foolish, the silvery scar on his left bicep, hidden under his sleeve a hand-shaped brand—a reminder of where foolishness could have gone too far. The tall Biqaj could protect people, too. There was more than one man on the whole island capable, surely, and Pash was determined to be counted in that number instead of just chalked up as careless riffraff lost and without purpose. No, he was more than that and he would prove it, so long as the jungle didn’t try to kill him, of course.

It probably would.

He’d dressed much as he had a few trials ago in his usual shirt, pants that tied at the knees, and his worn sandals, though he didn’t bother bringing a cloak. He’d tied his hair back and tucked his sleeves into his leather bracers. He had the same rucksack with a few basic supplies: waterskin, some rations, his daggers. He’d left his lute again, a sure sign to that he was off doing something he normally wouldn't be. He wasn't busking in the Square or off to Almund for a gig. No, he was on his way into the jungle, chasing a rumor and hoping to avoid monsters and tribes and poison darts and insects and plants that would most likely want to eat him.

Pash was the last to join Tio and Veyre, slow only because he had to go unnoticed, to slip from the embrace of someone warm and safe and slink away like some creature on the prowl. The other two most likely did not require the kind of deception he’d just forced himself to practice, aware that his very choice was already hurting someone else despite his own motivation to search for this Fountain and keep others from ending up hurt or worse by its existence. Nah, judging by their faces, they most certainly did not share his burdens.

Clearly, his state of mind was in question, but he wore it well, invisible under the surface, hidden under an easy smile and lagoon blue eyes,

“Glad y’ two decided t’ wait on me.” Pash said as his greeting, strumming up cheerfulness from the mess of his own tangle, though the calm he exuded was a strange contrast to how he felt on the inside, “D’ we even have a direction we should be headed?”

[Pegasus]

There is no doubting it. It is good to be prepared.

Whether this particular little group met that criteria or not was very much still open for debate. As they started off on their trek, the verdict was very likely to be that no, no they were not.

Did they have a direction to be headed? Well, no they didn't. They had no guide, no survival skills and a very big jungle in front of them. On the plus side, it was beautiful. Truly, beautiful. A herbalists dream, the range of flora and plant life here was obvious to even the most unaware. The trees towered over them and the deep undergrowth looked lush. There was the sound of birds and there were signs of animals here which even this bunch of woefully unprepared folks would recognise as such.

Entering in to the jungle itself, a few things happened pretty simultaneously. It grew darker. Not dark, but darker as the soaring trees and beautiful plantlife blotted out a lot of the sunlight. The smell of the place was different, too; the moisture in the air was noticeable, as too was the warmth underfoot. Just like in Scalvoris town, the ground itself was warm. It was also covered in roots and branches, leaves and debris, of course, but still. They might expect that there would be less noise, but there wasn't. Yet, the sounds around them changed. Birdsong, the rustle of leaves in the wind, that kind of thing.

There was, they would be pleased to note, a path. When we use the word "path", it is a somewhat loose definition of the term but it was there. It made its way into the jungle and went on for about a half-break walk at normal speed. There, it separate, forking into a left path and a right one.

To the left, there were trees, undergrowth, plants, birds and animals. To the right, however, there was...well, actually, much the same, really, although the sound of water might be coming from over there, too. If you really strained you ears, then that kind of sort of sounded like maybe? So, our intrepid adventurers were faced with their first choice.

Choices, choices....

Life is full of choices. Some of the ones I will present you with here have major repercussions. Others, less so and some are really completely irrelevant.

Your first choice is simple. left or right? Vote at the end of your post, and we'll go from there.

[Tio Silver]

The first of their merry band to meet him was Veyre, all packed and ready for the little adventure they were about to depart on. Her pack was quite large, no doubt containing all of the medical supplies she might need to keep them alive on their journey, and for a second Tio wondered if perhaps they should a brought a horse with them to keep their equipment on. In the end however he decided against it, after all the rumors said that sleeping on the forest floor in Scaltoth was akin to suicide, and horses couldn't climb tree branches.

"Sawbones! You're looking well this morning! Ready for an adventure?" He asked, perking up significantly now he had company. He shot a dirty look over to the jungle behind him. "I have some rather unsavory history with this place unfortunately, so I can't say I'm too thrilled to be back. But for a prize like eternal life I'm willing to put anything behind me, so I'll try not to let it get to me."

Pash was next to arrive, the Biqaj bard seemingly as happy and carefree as ever. He was the only one of them visibly armed, sporting two mean looking daggers among the rest of his supplies, and Tio found himself hoping that he knew how to use them because they immediately made him the most useful in a fight. Had he a weapon of his own he would have brought one too, but sadly his preference of flight over fight had meant he rarely had need for one.

He smirked at the minstrel's greeting. "Of course, we can't be going off into the woods without a bard. Who else is going to sing the tales of our epic deeds to everyone when we return successfully?" He joked, hopping up from the rock he'd been sitting on now that they were all here. He pointed to a patch of the forest nearby where the vegetation seemed a little bit thinner than it did everywhere else, the beginnings of what could loosely be referred to as a path. "Now I don't know about a particular direction or anything, but there seems to be some kind of animal trail or something over there. As Ocelo couldn't tell us where exactly we can find this fountain my plan is that we follow that path to wherever it takes us and keep an eye out for anything... fountainy. Sound good to you guys?"

Providing they were fine with his plan Tio took the lead, going down the trail first and picking up a large stick roughly shaped like a staff to push the various plants and other vegetation that hindered them out of their way with. As they went deeper into the forest and the jungle canopy above them grew thicker the light began to fade, concealing much of the already sinister looking forest in darkness, and the air grew thick and musty from the increase in moisture. Fortunately the trail was indeed the beginnings of a pathway, and thanks to that the three of them weren't forced to stumble their way around blindly in the dark.

As they continued down the path Tio took in the sights and sounds of the jungle around them; the weird, colourful vines and bulbs of plants he'd never seen before, the tweeting of strange birds that were probably unique to this strange ecosystem. He hadn't come far enough in the last time he'd been here to really appreciate it, but Scaltoth Jungle really was like a whole other world.

"You know I'd be tempted to call this place beautiful if it wasn't so damn spooky." He muttered to the others quietly, deciding that conversation might help to keep them all encouraged but not willing to talk loudly in case something unfriendly heard.

They soon came across a fork in the path, with both directions leading towards more unending expanses of forest. As they stopped to consider which direction to take the sound of trickling water, or something similar to it, coming from the right path caught his ears.

"Do you guys hear that? I think I hear water coming from the right path!" Tio whispered excitedly, his eyes lighting up with anticipation. "Maybe that's it. We should go right!"

Off Topic

I think it might be rest if we ran this like other moderated threads and do one post per moderator post with no regard for posting order. Is everyone cool with that?

[Pash Raj'oriq]

“Well, I don’ write a lot ‘f epic ballads, but I s’pose there’s no trial like to-trial t’ start.” Pash smirked, tide pool gaze not missing how he was, indeed, the only one who’d come armed. Tio, clearly, was always armed with his wits, which were sharp but not necessarily enough of a defense against the strange small creatures with poison darts Ocelo had ranted about that lived here. Veyre, perhaps, had more secrets than just being able to hide in the shadows, and so perhaps could handle herself. Or, she couldn’t. Either way, he would do what he could if the jungle turned against them along the way. The tall Biqaj wasn’t quite sure his daggers would matter much, either. Maybe he should have brought Moe, his little mossy leftover reminder of the Immortal’s Tongue. On the other hand, no, dwelling on that misadventure wouldn’t be helpful, either, no matter how kind Moseke’s moss had been to him in saving his life.

“Fountainy. Aye.” He laughed, shaking his sun kissed head. He wasn’t a planner, either, it was true, but this was probably bordering on the madness. Kali was going to have every right to hunt him down with a quiver full of arrows if he lived.

The trio followed what they could only pretend to be a path, Tio leading and Pash willing to let Veyre be between them, taking up the tail of their little line. The jungle darkened as they traveled deeper into it, the fecundity of steamy green growth something Pash had never witnessed before as one who spent his life mostly at sea. His thoughts strayed to Moseke, praying she still liked him enough to protect him, if only for just this trial more. He did his best not to touch anything, drawing a dagger to fend off dangling vines and thick leaves that clawed and crowded their path, though careful not to hack away so much as carefully part and push, lest something he touch be venomous or otherwise dangerous.

Unlike their sharp-tongued leader, Pash did not find the jungle at all spooky. Even though he knew—knew—it had to be incredibly dangerous, it was also overwhelmingly beautiful. The sounds, especially, that were everywhere, barraged his musical senses with their unique newness: the many variations of birdsong, the rustling of undergrowth, and the hum of insects. The seafaring minstrel wanted to commit it all to memory, straining the limits of his mortal hearing to listen to the details of each new note and rhythm, and so he walked along, looking out to watch his step, but mostly listening as though he was part of an audience at some fine orchestral performance.

If he heard the sound of water first, he didn’t speak up right away, pausing at the fork in their path and holding up a calloused finger for a moment of quiet. Closing his eyes for that bit, he carefully focused on what he could hear, and while the sound could have indeed been water, it seemed strange that their journey in search of a fountain would be so easy and so short, so lacking in opposition,

“I don’ think this fountain o’ special watery stuff’ll be found followin’ flowin’ water, considerin’ it may be a source all it’s own.” He kept his eyes closed for a trill or two more, baritone voice hushed before his lagoon blue gaze washed over both paths, “But, it can’t hurt t’ look, I guess. I’ve gotta feelin’ we’re gonna need t’ go a bit deeper than jus’ half a break into this place.”

That said, Pash didn’t really have a suggestion of what path to take. He rolled his broad, sea-built shoulders in a shrug and looked to both his companions, “It’s m’ nature t’ say go left, jus’ t’ be me. But, I can’t disagree that checkin’ out all sources o’ water for comparison’s sake ’s a really good idea. Right works for me, then.”

Off Topic

I like this style (obviously—sorry for jumping in, Veyre). No order, just so long as you get your one post in before Peg mods. Sounds good to me. Go with your inspiration!

[Veyre]

Veyre smiled at the man’s greeting. When Tio said he was not thrilled to be back, the young woman raised an arched eyebrow. At least someone had been in the jungle somehow. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised, considering he was a treasure hunting – of course he would have gone treasure hunting into the wilderness.

Before she could inquire him about his previous visit, Veyre spotted the approaching figure of Pash. He certainly seemed slightly more cheerful than Tio – perhaps it was a trait expected from a bard? Oddly enough, the sight of him seemed to wash her with a coolness that she could not quite place. At his question, Veyre turned toward Tio, figuring that he was probably the one who knew more.

“Now I don’t know about a particular direction or anything, but there seems to be some kind of animal trail or something over there. As Ocelo couldn't tell us where exactly we can find this fountain my plan is that we follow that path to wherever it takes us and keep an eye out for anything... fountainy. Sound good to you guys?”

That definitely did not sound good. Traveling into the jungle without any set of direction did not seem a smart thing to do in her sound mind. Glancing at the trees standing before them, Veyre had no doubt it would be difficult to see where they came from once they delved deep enough. It was very likely they would end up very lost. But it wasn’t like they had much choice. So, Veyre swallowed her doubt and pasted a wary smile on her face. “Best plan we got, I suppose.”

With the decision easily made, they finally stepped into the wilderness. Soon enough, Veyre felt the air change around them. She had spent her time in the city for so long that the quiet and stillness around her felt off. There was green wherever she turned and it was rather baffling. An old memory came to her, when the wilds had offered sanctuary and salvation from her life as a slave.

While they trudged through the vines and bushes, an idea came to her. Pulling out her knife, Veyre called to both of her companion to pause for a moment. She walked over to the nearest tree, running her hand across its rough bark. “Maybe we should make markings to find our way back?” As she talked, the young woman carved an arrow pointing to the general direction of where they came from. Not too obvious, but it wasn’t difficult to notice if you knew it was there. It probably would not help that much considering how endless the rows of trees looked, but it was better than nothing.

As they continued on their ‘path’, Veyre made her markings every once in a while, every time she felt like she wasn’t sure where they were heading. Consumed with her determination to memorize their path as best as she could, the young woman was probably the last one to notice the water-like sound.

“That sounds good enough. If we found a river of some sort, it could at least serve at least as a guide as we make our way through this place. So, right it is then.”

Off Topic

Works for me! And no worries Pash XD

[Pegasus]

The deeper into the jungle they got, the harder it was to travel. They took the right-hand path, but really notions of a path were spurious and scandalous and even the most optimistic amongst them would be hard pressed to define one bit of the floor as more, or in fairness less, path-like than any other bit. There were lots of roots to trip over, low hanging branches to bump into, that kind of thing.

Oh and there were the insects.

By all the Immortals, there were the insects. Within a half break of getting into the jungle Pash and Veyre had been bitten in every available place, and a few unavailable ones. Whatever it was about Tio, though, he didn't have a swarm of low-buzzing irritants around him. The other two, definitely did. By the time they'd chosen the right-hand path and started down it, they were being nibbled from all directions.

But still, they followed the sound. And after awhile (keeping track of time was very tricky in this place) they had just finished fighting their way through a particularly unpleasant bit of undergrowth when they emerged into a particularly beautiful glade. It was lush and verdant, with a babbling stream running through it, the sound of water that they had heard from a natural, low waterfall at one side of it. It was just beautiful there, low rocks and the sound of water twinkling and twisting.

And, as our unprepared, ill equipped trio emerged into the glade, there was a brief few trill of lovely. Just lovely.

Which, of course couldn't last.

It started with a low buzzing sound. Then, a glance of a large bird in the distance. Except, very quickly, it became obvious that it wasn't a large bird. It was a very fast moving, very large group of these

A swarm, in fact. Flying towards them.

Fast.

[Tio Silver]

Veyre's idea to mark the trees as they passed to help them find their way back was a simple but clever one, and Tio voiced his approval of her plan as she carved the first arrow into a tree. As the other two had probably realised by now Tio wasn't exactly a great planner; he could come up with tactics for getting his hands on things he wanted well enough if he had to, but he had a bad tendency to get so focused on how to get his prize that he sometimes forgot to consider other important things, like what came after he had it. In this case he'd been so focused on the idea of finding the fountain that he hadn't really considered how they were supposed to get back again, but fortunately Veyre had them covered this time. It was nice to have someone a bit more forward thinking in the group to counterbalance his improvise-when-the-time-comes attitude.

As they followed the path deeper into the jungle Tio couldn't help but find it just a little bit funny how the swarms of bugs bit at his two companions but left him alone. It was one of those things you knew it was wrong of you to laugh at but couldn't help it anyway, like seeing an fat person trip up and fall into a lake. Luckily as he was at the front of the group his back was to the others, and so neither of them would be able to see the amusement on his face.

After taking the right path the group followed the sound of flowing water, which grew louder and louder with each step they took, and soon emerged into a glade. Tio had thought Scaltoth Jungle had a beauty about it before, but this place blew him away. It was teeming with plant life that didn't look dangerous, with a gentle little stream of clean water running through it and a few rays of sunlight breaking through the jungle canopy at just the right places to dispel the shadows that clung to the rest of the forest. It would have been a painter's dream to capture such an image on a canvas.

But then Tio's eyes turned to what lay up the stream, the waterfall. As he recalled Ocelo had described the place where the fountain lay as beautiful, and this glade here was certainly that. Perhaps if they followed this stream up to its source they'd find the fountain there? It was surely worth trying at least, after all had they got any better leads?

"Where there's water there's a source, and Ocelo did say the fountain was somewhere beautiful. Perhaps we'll find the fountain if we follow this stream." He said to the others, visibly growing more excited at the prospect of reaching their goal. "Come to think of it, if this water does come from the fountain then maybe it'll have the same youth-giving powers. How about I try some..."

He was cut off by a strange buzzing noise that seemed to be growing steadily louder, and spotted what seemed to be a perculiar bird in the distance coming towards them. As it came closer Tio realised that what he was seeing wasn't a bird after all, but a swarm of some kind of... feathery insects? What on Idalos were those things? Whatever they were they didn't seem at all friendly, and they were coming straight for them!

Was this perhaps punishment for him finding the others getting bug bites funny?

Should they run? Maybe, but would any of them be able to outrun a swarm? Somehow Tio didn't think so. They needed to get to cover somewhere, but where could protect them from a swarm like that?

"Into the waterfall! Quick!" Tio shouted, sprinting for the waterfall as fast as he could. As large as the swarm may be it was only comprised of insects, and none of them would be able to withstand the water pressure like they'd be able to. As long as they all kept their mouths facing down so that the water broke on other parts of their bodies they'd be able to breath, and then they'd have to wait until the insects grew hungry and left. It wasn't the most appealing plan, and if any of the others had a better idea he'd go with them, but it was the best he could think of.

[Veyre]

It had been bearable at first. Veyre had merely gotten irritated by the bites that slowly appeared across her arm. She hadn’t thought of the possibility of getting insect bites in the jungle and how annoying it was. While they continued their trek, the doctor tried to swat any oncoming bugs away from her face – not that it was very effective. But there were more. And more. She spared a glance at Pash, who seemed struggling just like her.

As the young woman pulled out her cloak and wrapped it around herself, she could not help glaring at Tio who seemed completely unbothered by the buzzing around them. “How is it the insects decide to spare you?” Veyre called out, making her tone sharper to show annoyance. With the fabric falling around her, the doctor tugged her hood down and clenched it tightly around her. She wasn’t sure if it would offer her much reprieve, but it should be better than exposing her skin, right?

She glanced up into the sky, trying to spot the sun and failed. The trees were too thick for too much for her to see anything but patches of the sky between their leaves. With a sigh, Veyre turned her head to where they came from. There was no telling how far they had gotten, to be honest, and it was rather worrisome. The young woman had even started to think that they might just wonder rather aimlessly until the night settled on them.

Thankfully, that was not the case. Once they broke into a glade, the young woman’s eyes widened in appreciation. Even if she was more of a city girl, Veyre could definitely appreciate the lush beauty of the wild. She sheathed her knife and tossed it to her bag, carefully taking a step further. They found the source of the noise they had following at least. A charming waterfall sat on the other side, rushing with clear water.

It didn’t take long until Tio started to say that he should probably try the water. Unfortunately, he never got to finish his sentence. Her head snapped up at the rather obvious humming, getting louder and louder. At first, it seemed like a cloud of feathers heading straight at them. Only a heartbeat later that Veyre realized that they were some kind of creatures.

Veyre had heard of the feathery creatures before. She had worked long enough at Dukahrn’s to have seen dealt with people suffering with stings from these varmints. “Don’t let them get close!” the doctor warned.

Tio was the first to react, heading directly towards the waterfall. Veyre had always been a thinker, but there was definitely no time for that. Wasting no time, the young woman bolted behind her companion.