Safer Travels

The group follows after John into the clearing where the mana was visible even to Aktlass who started to cower nervously from seeing the fae lights and mana flowing like fog with fireflies. Karma takes his hands and rushes him to the large tree that stood in the center of the mist as it made way for them like a vail. Tunda could see more than just the fae lights dancing in the fog as if he was walking into a popular tourist attraction for spirits. he shakes his head and goes in with Rodneharts and his team following close behind him, looking around in awe, while the cleric preyed as they moved. Vajor relaxes as his ears twitch and turn as he steps up next to Sarale who absently waves at one of the spirits that stopped to watch them as she follows after everyone.

VAJOR:

"Place kinda reminds me of home."

Sarale glances up at him.

SARALE:

"You'll have to tell me about it when we have time."

He grins at her, his ears high as he takes her hand and pulls her towards the group gently.

VAJOR:

"definitely."

Inside the hollow of the tree, the space was much grander and more spacious than anyone could think it to be for a single fae. The entry they passed through led to a large, rounded dining hall with a round table in the center and a few spare cushions seats along the walls where the rest of the guild sat waiting for everyone with John making his way on top of the table to sit in the middle of it, with a few seats left for the party to take a place to sit. Vajor finds a place to get comfy among the seats and Sarale takes her seat next to him quietly. Everyone follows after to find seats for themselves and John starts to talk to them.

JOHN:

"Welcome, welcome everyone. I'm sure you're all wondering why I thought to bring you here, where the souls of the fallen, forgotten, and lost gather to rest. It's actually really simple. I no longer have a need to be here, so this place now belongs to the druids once pretty Dovely there sends a blessing through this place and corrects the course of mana here to help them rest in peace. Of course I will help with that as a sort of farewell to this place. Any questions?"

The room is quiet with a few disinterested brow raises.

JOHN:

"... o~kay... then let's get straight to the stupid shit. I have been informed that the material plane is in danger of an invasion from the underdark due to them getting invaded by some fiendish degenerate from the abyss. the gods have asked me to inform the world of this threat, in the hopes of their chosen children, if only one of them, of this issue. one of those said children just happens to be here with her weird ass party."

KARMA:

"you ain't got no right to be sayin' that."

JOHN:

"meh meh meh, shut up. I ain't done yet. The gods have a message for the chosen child's party. asking you to continue growing stronger to help her with the battles to come because they'll get worse the more you find. so be wary of your travels and continue to press on with the path you've chosen... now I'm done."

RODNEHARTS:

"I'm guessing that we won't need to be here then."

JOHN:

"No not really. only her people can stay here to hear the rest of this stupidity."

John waves his hand and a space opens up for them to leave on the other side of the room.

JOHN:

"You guys are free to go home and tell the town its free of all it's dangers. including me."

GM:

"... fair enough."

The guild master stands and beckons the others to follow, making them leave to inform the town.

JOHN:

"Mkay. so for the last little bit, diamond."

TUNDA:

"yeh???"

JOHN:

"you and Dovely are the ones in the most trouble for this shit."

JOHN:

"For now, I will be taking you to the next village away from the dangers here in the remaining area. There are more revenants after you two because of the cult assholes so I've been volunteered as your guide through the woods to a safer place until they're cleared out. if you think you have something to do before we get you all out of here, tell me now so we can get it done."

TUNDA:

"... I want to get more mark covers for my tattoos... and a Shadar kai mark for Sis. to show that we're related."

JOHN:

"I can do that for a trade."

TUNDA:

"... I'll let you come to me for *almost* any favor."

JOHN:

"specify."

TUNDA:

"I won't help you with anything that could put anyone in here in danger or separate us for longer than a day."

JOHN:

"done. any favor i call you for will not put anyone that is currently in this room with me will be put to no harm during the time of the favor once active. I will return you to your friends within one day of the material plane time."

KARMA:

"hey! you're not gonna call him to some other dimension are you!?"

JOHN:

"I will return him within one material plane day. One southern hemisphere day that I am able to traverse is one minute here. The opposite can be said for the northern hemisphere where a day here is an hour there. I will take him for no less than one day in the material plane. that is the deal."

KARMA:

"Shit! Tunda!"

TUNDA:

"I'm fine with this."

KARMA: "Why!? You don't know where he'll take you and a lot of shit happens in one fucking day!"

JOHN: "oh calm your tits, fireball. the most he'll be doing is helping me advertise."

KARMA: "Advertise what!?"

JOHN: "I'm not telling you if you keep yelling at me."

KARMA: "grrr....!"

Sarale sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose and rubs her temples as the start of a headache begins to build.

SARALE:

"We don't really have a say, Karma. This is Tunda's choice."

She sighs again and looks up at John and Tunda concern creasing her brow as she fidgets with the fabric of her trousers.

JOHN:

"you will let us know when you take him with you, right? So, we don't needlessly worry?"

Vajor watches her and reaches for her hands to stop their worrying, squeezing them gently. John simply smiles at her then looks at Tunda.

TUNDA:

"... A day in the material planes and a day to prepare."

JOHN:

"a day in the plane and a day to prepare... mkay. you will get a dream the first hour of the day before. how does that sound?"

TUNDA:

"Done."

JOHN:

"I'll Let you know when I need you."

John holds out his hands and two small bags appear in his palm with two small characters hooked to his fingers.

JOHN:

"two twin marks and some hand crafted ink cover cream. put the cream on first before you put on the mark. yes, dovely has to put it on too to match your complexion completely. you can bathe with it to get a full body cover."

Tunda takes them and hands Sarale her set of items. Sarale takes them and studies them before sniffing the cream experimentally and looking up.

SARALE:

"How often should we use them?"

JOHN:(shrugs)

"up to you."

TUNDA:

"can I guess as often as my tattoos appear. So as often as needed."

JOHN:

"If you need more, you know who to call."

TUNDA:

"aye..."

SARALE:(nods)

"understood."

VAJOR:

"We should get you set up for tha' blessin'. Is there anythin' you'll need?"

SARALE:(shakes head)

"I shouldn't. Blessings are rather straightforward and usually require nothing, but intent and prayer. It'll take some time to fully correct the course of the mana so you should all get comfortable."

SArale stands and starts to head for the exit.

SARALE:

"I'll need to be alone, somewhere quiet with no distractions."

JOHN:

"I got a basement and spare rooms. under the watch of the gods I am obligated to care for you until we make it to the next destination. so... mi casa su casa, people. have at it."

Sarale turns towards him and folds her hands behind her, appearing more as a holy paladin in that moment than the young woman whose sense of self was in shambles.

SARALE:

"Lead the way."

John stares at her for a second with a raised brow before standing, ready to guide her around his hobble to the basement. He waves his hand to create small trails of lights on the walls.

JOHN:

"you guys follow the light to any room you want to rest in."

Karma, Tunda, and Aktlass go to follow the lights for the night. Vajor watches Sarale and John before nodding and following the lights. Sarale waits for John so she can follow him to the basement for the purification rite. John guides her to the basement through a wide spiral hall, small wisps of light dimly lighting their path as if guiding them through the darkness until they make it to a small room with two floors, roots hang from the ceiling and trace the walls, lighting room as soon as they enter.

The floor is slightly flooded purposefully to feed the roots that trace the walls of the room. The top floor they'll enter from will be lined with books and scrolls from around the continent and the bottom floor walls are covered in cases of collectables, from herbs and preserves to weapons and trinkets. all gifts from travelers that would recognize his efforts to guide them through the forest. Sarale looks around curiously as she follows John. Her desire to inspect everything is intense, but she refrains to honor his privacy and keep her mind in the task at hand.

He takes her to the lower floor where she could better see the items and trinkets up close. Some of them were carefully crafted carvings and statuettes of different gods, well preserved and cared for in a special case along the far wall in the open space.

JOHN:

"All yours. do what you want. if you need anything, take something to use from the upper shelves."

Sarale nods as she approaches the center of the room and kneels in the pool of water.

SARALE:

"This will take time. If there's something you need to do, go ahead. I'll be fine."

JOHN:

"Cool. Imma go sleep then. All this fighting and saving people has me beat and annoyed."

John goes to one of the roots and vanishes into it, leaving Sarale to herself in the room. Sarale closes her eyes as the room lights up with holy light. The tree roots reach down and grow across the ground to coil around her as she focuses her mana and allows it to flow through the tree and into the surrounding forest. Her task takes well into the next night as she performs the rite of purification. A task she'd performed many times, but never at this scale. By the time she was finished she was exhausted and the roots retreated to their positions on the walls. When she goes to stand she collapses back into the water with a splash, her legs numb from being still too long, as the pins and needles set in Sarale sighs out her tension and massages her legs blinking back her exhaustion.

John steps into the room and causes the water to ripple as he approaches her quietly with his hands behind his back and a curious head tilt.

JOHN:

"Ya done?"

She nods and yawns, pausing her leg massage to cover her mouth.

SARALE:

"yeah. What time is it?"

the roots start to move as tiny lights gather around her and John as if making a path from the roots. soon after little trees rush to them and gather around Sarale to lift her off the ground and make a bed of leaves and moss under her with their heads, using their wooden arms as a way to cage her in so she doesn't fall off.

JOHN:

"Time for you to sleep for a while, Dovely. you did wonderful work for the past two night falls."

Sarale yelps in surprise before relaxing with a contented sigh and snuggles into bed they'd made her. Her eyes grow heavier than they had ever been as she curls up into a ball and snuggles in.

SARALE:

"So soft, thank you."

JOHN:

"Nah... Thank you. I can leave this place in peace now."

John guides the bed back up and takes her to a room to rest.

Aktlass wakes to the sound of humming, rustling leaves, and whistling winds. When he opens his eyes the dim darkness is softly lit with green and gold bioluminescence, allowing him to look around to find the walls moving around him while he finds himself in a green bedding of leaves and moss caged in by branches like a well crafted bird nest. Aktlass sits up to check why he was moving and sees John trotting along in front of him with other moving nests around him with his friends inside them. As soon as he rolls over to get a better look, Karma groans from getting a face full of his chest. Karma taps him and he quickly moves off to be greeted by their giggling and a hug.

KARMA:

"pfft. heehee. mornin', darlin'."

Aktlass smiles at Karma and pets their head before looking around again and allowing them to sit up and stretch.

KARMA:

"Hrmn~!"

Naleth looks at the two from his bed and greets them.

NALETH:

"Good morning."

KARMA:

"hm? mornin'. where are we? what's going on?"

NALETH:

"The Wanderlust Fae is giving us an express ride to the next town so we can stay rested."

KARMA:

"oh? okay. Where is he?"

NALETH:

"in front, seemingly in his own world though."

Karma looks around and sees John guiding them with a song in his heart. Tunda wakes next with a stretch and groans as he rolls over in his bed and looks around. "hmm~. that was a good nap."

KARMA:

"Mornin', Tunda."

Tunda:

"hm?? Karma? Where the fuck??? What's happenin'??"

Aktlass:

"John is moving us."

Tunda:

"What?? oh. Right he did say he'd take us to the next village."

Vajor yawns loudly and stretches before realizing the much smaller woman next to him was using him as a fuzzy body pillow. She whimpers in her sleep and rolls over curling into a ball and mumbling under her breath.

SARALE:

"ale's not good for puppies, duh." 

He snickers and goes to sit, looking around.

VAJOR:

"mornin'."

Karma and Aktlass look at him and Karma waves.

KARMA:

"mornin'."

TUNDA:(Nods)

"ya rest well?"

VAJOR:(nods)

"yeah, you?"

KARMA:

"Oddly enough, better than I thought with these weird beds."

AKTLASS:

"It feels nice on my scales."

TUNDA:

"Good for you, bud."

NALETH:

"I'm surprised she's still sleeping. it's good that she's so relaxed now."

Vajor snickers as he looks down at her.

VAJOR:

"did ya know ale ain't good for puppies? I swear she says some of tha weirdest things when she sleeps."

Naleth simply smirks with his brows raised. Karma and Aktlass smile at his words, knowing this was normal while Tunda smirks and tilts his head, this being the first time he's noticed this.

NALETH:

"That's nothing new. You should hear her talk about how frogs shouldn't be swimming in strawberry milk while wearing suits and drinking from mushroom caps. That one was my favorite because she kept refusing to drink from one herself about four different times. What did she call it? A toadstool gimlet?"

VAJOR:(snicker)

"sounds like a party. I still think my favorite was her sittin' straight up in bed lookin' me dead in tha eyes and sayin it's okay honey it's just the light. You don' really look like a girl. I was so confused. Until I realized she was still asleep."

Tunda shuts his eyes and sighs while rubbing his temple, still smiling.

KARMA:

"pfft. you should hear her when she's drunk sleeping. She acted like she was in the clouds in the fae realm talking about rainbows and dancing gazelle in a prairie. she suddenly got up and started dancing and Aktlass had to save her from falling down the stairs when we first started traveling together. First thing she said to him when she noticed him was why are you not wearing a coat? you'll poke someone's eyes out with those breast sticking out."

Aktlass flinches and blushes from that memory and covers Karma's mouth.

AKTLASS:

"No."

Tunda snorts from imagining it and falls forward snickering with flushed cheeks, getting a glare and growl out of Aktlass who was also rosy in the face. Karma snickers at his reaction as they pet his arm to make him let go. Vajor clears his throat and breathes through his nose as he chokes back his laughter.

VAJOR:

"tha's a good one."

Naleth covers his face as tears start to well up in his eyes from the thought he had of that moment, sharing in Aktlass' embarrassment before clearing his throat.

NALETH:

"Yes, well. We all know that she has quite the imagination when she has a good day to dream. you have to admit, it makes you realize how truly adoring she is in moments of peace like this."

Sarale twitches and groans and she rolls over and sighs. Her eyes blinking open before she sits straight up startled and looks around to find everyone having a good time. She sighs and stretches with a yawn.

SARALE:

"What's so funny?"

Tunda gasps for air as he calms himself down and sits up again. Naleth and Karma simply smile at her. While Aktlass huffs in annoyance.

Aktlass:

"Don't worry about it. Did you sleep well?"

Vajor snickers at his reaction and reaches for her hand. She nods as she gives him her hand and leans on him blinking tiredly.

SARALE:

"yeah, still tired though. That rite took a lot out of me."

TUNDA:

"I bet. you were down there all day since John took you down there. It's already been a few nights since, before he brought you back to us."

SARALE:

"Yeah, he said something like that… right before little tree men came out of the walls and made a bed for me. Was I dreaming that? Or did that really happen?"

Karma opens up their arms to show the situation they were in.

KARMA:

"See for yourself."

Sarale looks down and touches the soft bed before smiling and looking up with a childish glimmer in her eyes.

SARALE:

"It's so fluffy!"

Aktlass finally breaks and starts laughing after seeing Sarale's reaction. Karma smiles and Tunda nods in agreement.

KARMA:

"I know, right?"

TUNDA:

"Jee, I wonder why that is?"

SARALE:(giggle)

"I don't know. You wouldn't think trees would be so soft and fluffy."

Vajor laughs and shakes his head.

VAJOR:

"yer adorable."

Sarale's eyes widen and she looks away as her face flushes.

SARALE:

"shoosh."

Karma:(giggle)

"she is, ain't she."

Naleth:(Smiles)

"Couldn't agree more."

Sarale sinks down into the fluffy bed and whines in her throat as she covers her face in embarrassment.

TUNDA:

"Hey, it's better than what everyone else was talking about."

Sarale shakes her head.

SARALE:

"I don't wanna know."

Vajor chuckles and rubs her arm before crossing his legs and pulling her into his lap to wrap his arms around her and rest his head on the top of her. Sarale pouts and refuses to look at anyone, her face a lovely shade of lavender.

John finally returns to reality to address everyone.

JOHN:

"everyone, please be ready to stretch your tired limbs and ready your eyes for the morning light, we are about to make a stop at our first checkpoint of gathered travelers. be ready for any assholery and tomfoolery to come from your fellow adventurers and shitheads and have fun picking fights wrecking their shits. hahahah!"

TUNDA:

"John!"

JOHN:

"What?? It's true. there's nothing but assholes that gather at this checkpoint, so be careful since a lot of them will be careless lower rank nobles."

SARALE:(groans)

"great. I didn't get enough sleep for this shit."

VAJOR:(chuckles)

"Don' worry Dove, anyone fucks with you and I'll kick their asses."

Karma and Tunda seem to go quiet with more serious expressions as they look at each other before Karma smirks after finally coming to a conclusion to their thought.

KARMA:

"Hey Johnny boy?"

JOHN:

"ah??"

KARMA:

"You wanna make a deal with me real quick?"

Sarale looks over at Karma and raises a brow as Vajor's ears perk up.

SARALE:

"this outta be good."

John looks back at them.

JOHN:

"... what you got for me?"

KARMA:

"some good entertainment?"

John smiles childishly with a knowing look.

JOHN:

"What's the plan, little devil?"

SARALE:(sigh)

"Oh gods preserve me. What is this about?"

The hall was now full of curious ears as Karma started to speak to them about what they plan to do.