The Ghoul, The Bad, and the Undead - Strange Magics

[CautionCat]

"Mmn... It seems we are creating an unbalance to their power, and they are panicking. The sooner we get these places turned, the better." Rolling out his bedroll, he turned on his crouched legs and sat onto the padded fabric, sighing, and started to unlace one of his boots.

"I know the island has a lot to do with the undead, but usually they're so much more passive... Makes me wonder if that dwarven camp encountered the same troubles as this one. We still need to check that one out..."

[Ancelas]

"The one near where the possible hag was seen," Vanya noted as she pulled out and unrolled her own bedroll. She sat down with a sigh and followed Verdi's example, unlacing her boots and taking the time to use her magic to clean and dry them before setting them aside in a neat little corner.

"She may know something about what's happening in this region... if she can be persuaded to share her information." Vanya stared at her boots for a long moment. "They are evil creatures. Edith... She has come a long way to redeem herself, and I'm still learning about what the path required of her. It is unwise to approach one without accepting they must be... dealt with."

Despite the matter-of-fact way she spoke, it almost seemed she was trying to convince herself.

[CautionCat]

Verdi tilted his head as he set his boots aside, listening to Vanya as she spoke. "Mmn... They're unpredictable. We would have to bargain something to get information... And hope we don't get lashed for it."

Verdi looked down at his socks, wiggling his toes some as he thought. Tail tip gently thumped on the bedroll, before he looked back to Vanya. "Maybe Edith will have some ideas. She's... well learned."

[Ancelas]

Vanya nodded and looked over at Verdi, flashing him a tired smile. "She is. It's worth asking. I think she likes being consulted on that kind of thing too. I don't think she'll admit it, but I think it makes her feel like she's making amends, in her own way."

She reached down and unbuckled her belt, then began unbuttoning the neck of her dress. "There seems to be a lot of distress in the vicinity of the camp. Isn't there supposed to be a dragon in the mountains near there? Or dwarves that chased away the kobold tribe?"

[CautionCat]

"Something like that... According to the kobolds we found, anyway. Plenty of things to investigate on this island. Feels like everything happening at once, now." He chuckled some, but it was nervous. What was going on? The fey wilds, dragons... Undead becoming more active...

"I wonder how those little mushroom people are making out..." He decided to change the subject, a little, but he was genuinely curious. "I think we put them in a very nice spot to populate. Maybe they can serve as protection of that ziggurat, seeing how they had large guards down that cave, too. That would be something..."

[Ancelas]

"I'm sure they will thrive. Between the humidity, darkness, and magical nature in the depths of the temple, they're sure to spread. The Kobeloi seem like the kind of creature that would enjoy a symbiotic relationship with them." She moved to the buttons on her sleeves, then stood to tug the cuffs down over her hands so she could pull her arms into her dress.

"It was a very pretty place. Thank you for showing it to me - we've already seen so many wonderous places on this journey south, I can't imagine what others might lay ahead."

[CautionCat]

"Wait until you see the caves we found the elemental plane on, where we let the Barroth go." Verdi smiled, thinking of that staff he had commissioned. Soon...

"The drawings I showed you don't do it justice. It is... mesmerizing."

[Ancelas]

"I'd like to... to see it," Vanya said, tugging on her dress, shimmying to get it up and over her head. She let out a sigh of relief and gave it a few quick folds before setting it down on one side of the tent. Beneath her dress she was wearing a dark shift - a light cotton that helped mitigate the jungle heat pressing against her dark clothes. It was low cut and fell to her mid-thigh, and she seemed far more relaxed outside of the dress than she had been in it.

She sat down cross-legged and ran her hands through her hair. "I have to admit, I'm in dire need for a warm bath and a soft bed, though..."

[CautionCat]

Verdi didn't get out of his clothes, but would have removed his armor. That would take some time, but he would set it down with his things.

"Ah, yes, there will be both of those things in New Haven. A hot bath would be nice... I do not get to have those, often." He chuckled, and rolled his shoulders some. "I am mostly in the jungle, after all. A pond and a bar of soap."

[Ancelas]

Vanya glance sidelong at him and let out a little laugh. "We all certainly deserve it, after tonight. Come here - you look tense." She shifted closer and moved to sit on her knees as she reached out toward Verdi's shoulders, motioning him closer so she could give him a massage.

[CautionCat]

Verdi blinked, and by her gesture, would move in position for her to start rubbing his shoulders. He was a little tense, at first, but relaxed quickly. "Ah, yeah. All this is... well, honestly, overwhelming. I'm excited to have you travel with me, but the dangers... I did not expect it to be like this."

He frowned some, ears flicking a little, his tail swaying at the tip. Relax... Some down time would do him some good. "You must think I am in danger all the time. What a first impression." He chuckled, and fiddled with the fabric of his pants.

[Ancelas]

Vanya began to massage with surprisingly strong, dexterous fingers, applying enough pressure to work the muscle without crossing into the realm of painful. She was surprisingly good at providing massages, though she seemed mildly annoyed by Verdi's shirt.

"To be fair, I've always known you flirted with danger regularly. Perhaps I underestimated how much danger... but then, I never expected to be in such similar situations. Or being at your side while you faced such things.

"Mn... your clothing is in the way. Would you be comfortable taking off your tunic?"

[CautionCat]

Verdi nodded, slowly enjoying the attention. He wasn't quite used to being touched, but it kind of reminded him as a child when his mother would rub lotion into his skin when he was outside for too long.

Blinking, he was a little taken back by the request, but it wasn't unheard of. She had helped him apply creams to his scars from when he was attacked, after all. Nodding, he grabbed the hem of his top, and pulled it off, laying it into his lap. She could see the deep scars across his back from when the King of Feathers went after him. It was a deep gash, that never quite healed right with not getting medical aid right away. It was, however, softened from the treatment she helped apply to him all those years ago.

"Well, yes, but... it never seemed this dangerous. Well... for a while, at least. But yes, it always has been... more dangerous than staying at the port... Maybe I am a little too used to different levels of danger. But this... this is alarmingly different than what sort of danger I am used to... if that makes sense."

[Ancelas]

"It does. Lay down on your stomach, please." Vanya guided Verdi onto the bedroll and leaned over to resume the massage, murmuring under her breath to conjure some heat into her hands. She was accustomed to the scars, but now felt a stronger twinge at the kind of pain he had been through.

"I don't recall you ever going this deep into the jungle before. It certainly seems like things have... rotted, in a way, in the core of the jungle here..."

[CautionCat]

"Mmn. No I haven't been too deep since... you know." He laid down, and folded his arms under his chin. His tail swayed, a rumble coming from his chest as he murmured a happy grunt.

"But I am also with people who are more reliable. They came into port with me when I returned from Aegise. So much happened between then and now... I'm a Black Guard. Something I never thought I'd achieve... I've always done just little tasks, gathering things, going from the coconut farm back to port... Well, I did more things when I was younger. I wanted to update the map of Te'Kal. That took some time, getting what I have now... Before you came to the island. I was quiet, but I feel like I was more plucky back then..."