A Farewell to Nillork

After an incredibly tiresome and disastrous night, everyone managed to get some semblance of a good night's sleep.

Eventually, everyone got up and met for some breakfast for what would be the last time before the group went on to Hynesgar.

As the group are outside, Virra begins preparing her cart for the journey with help from some of the guards, getting some more provisions loaded on, making sure the wheels aren't chipped, etc.

At the door to the estate, Gilla and Sydna are standing together, holding one another's hand. Oliver and Kova are also there, but Oliver stands on Gilla's right whilst Kova stands just to the left of Sydna.

"So, you're travelling to Hynesgar?" Gilla asks.

John is the one to reply. "Yeah. We need to find someone to take us to the Skygrabber Mountains for the mission we're currently on."

The next question comes from Oliver. "What is your mission, if I may ask?"

Most of the group along with Sydna and Kova are hesitant to answer, however, Terra gives a quick answer. "We're heading to the mountains to deal with a group of monks that have apparently made their home up there."

"Holvaeth Tarron is sending his daughter and his friends to meet with monks in some treacherous mountains? Must be quite important." Oliver comments.

"More than you could possibly know." Terra responds, leaving an ominous tone in the air.

The ominous feeling only lasts for a few brief moments as Gilla begins to speak. "Before you all set off on your journey, I should warn you about a group of raiders that roams the roads just outside Nillork. From the reports I've received, it looks like they call themselves the 'Banished Brood.' Apparently, they draw travellers in by pretending to be traders, guards, or even injured common folk. I've even heard that they'll just straight up ambush caravans on the road and kill the poor souls who become their targets. I haven't been able to do much in terms of stopping this supposed Brood since they're not in my borders, but there's been talks of sending combined units from multiple prefectures to stop them."

"Fantastic. Another creepy ass cult thing." Amilia remarks.

"I'm afraid so." Gilla responds.

Just then, Virra walks over to the group. "Hey, we're ready to get going."

"Well, time for the goodbyes." Sydna says.

After those words, the soon-to-be travelling sisters hug the two that are staying whilst Gilla shakes he groups hands. As Gilla gets to John, she says, "It's been a pleasure, John. You and your friends have to visit on your way back. I owe you all a celebration."

"Don't worry, Amilia won't let us forget that there's beer on the way back."

"Damn right." Amilia adds.

Gilla chuckles. "Good to hear. I will make sure to order the best of barrels for your return."

The sisters end their hugs with kind words and as many well wishes as there are Tarron family members.

Eventually, the group get to the cart and get seated with Virra in front, Kyuala sitting diagonally behind her, so she can be the scout for any sign of trouble while the rest just sit wherever they can put their asses. Virra then starts the autocart, and the group begin to head down the street.

The group and the others all see Gilla, Sydna, Kova and Oliver waving to them, and the group wave back for a few moments before turning the corner.

As the cart heads down the road, Terra asks, "Is there going to be conflict everywhere we go?"

"I believe so." Kyuala quickly responds.

Lani is the next to talk as she asks, "John, did you ever have stuff like this happen to you back on your home?"

John promptly replies with, "Hell no. The most excitement I'd get was when a milf would ask me where the scented candles were."

Amilia is quick on the draw with the next question. "Did you ever bang one of them?"

John then replies to that by saying, "I wish. The closest I got to boning one of them was when I worked the deli counter and gave them a rack of ribs."

The group then start to laugh as they begin to embark on the second leg of their journey.

A FEW DAYS LATER:

The group are travelling down a long stretch of road in seemingly the middle of nowhere. The difference in terrain after just a day out from the borders of Nillork is crazy to say the least. The land in Nillork is mostly grassland, but it never gets incredibly long.

However, the outside of Nillork has been a completely different story.

The first few hours was spent sparsely shaded by trees, and was met with a kind breeze that would barely spin a pinwheel, but that would all change once they entered the wetlands.

At the moment, the group are currently travelling through what appears to be a never-ending swamp. The air is viscous and pungent as it swirls around the dark, moss-covered trees. The worst thing about the current terrain isn't the horrid air or even the mud that keeps sticking to the wheels, slowing the cart down. No, the worst thing about the swamp is the amount of coverage that any potential threat has to use against the group. The warning of the Banished Brood is still fresh in everyone's mind, and their current surroundings doesn't do anything to help quell those fears.

When the group entered the swamp, they decided to keep a close eye on everything around them, so Kyuala, Virra and Amilia began covering the front while John, Lani and Terra started covering the back. So far, the group haven't seen anything yet, but the hairs on their collective necks have yet to go down.

"Did you guys hear that?" Virra asks.

"All I can hear is those fucking bugs clicking." Amilia responds, obviously annoyed.

Lani is the next to speak. "What did you hear, Virra?"

"I could've sworn I heard leaves moving. It felt like they were following us."

Just then, the cart comes to a sudden halt, jerking everyone towards the front of the cart.

"What the hell happened?" John asks.

"I have no idea." Virra answers. She then leans forward, looking down at the wheels. The elf then lets out a pissed off groan. "Augh! Damned front wheel sunk into the mud! Kyuala, can you use some of that strength of yours to help me get the wheel out?"

"Let's do it." Kyuala responds before the elf and orc carefully disembark from the cart, and head to the front left wheel.

The remaining four on the cart begin being even more vigilant as they're in a very compromised position with two of the group focusing on getting them out of the hole.

Terra then moves up to the front, taking over Kyuala's position as she mutters. "I don't like this. It feels like we're the livestock waiting for the monster to emerge."

"You really know how to bring the mood up, pointy." Amilia jests.

"I agree with Terra. I've got a horrible feeling about this." Lani adds, nearly quivering with worry.

"Just keep your eyes open. We can't be focused on how uneasy we feel right now." John says, trying to keep everyone focused on their current surroundings.

Kyuala looks down at the wheel, seeing that the wheel has sunk into the mud a fair amount. "Do you have something to shift the mud?" Kyuala asks Virra.

"Should have." Virra says before looking underneath the bench. Just a moment later, Virra pulls out a shovel. "Let's get this bitch out."

Virra quickly begins to shift away the mud as best she can, trying to free the wheel so Kyuala can lift it out of the hole.

Up on the cart, Lani is looking out to the left, trying her best to look for anything. Everything in Lani's eyes becomes a threat for a second before she realizes that it's just a bush or a branch. Lani then keeps scanning the treeline, praying that Kyuala and Virra hurry up and free the wheel.

Just then, a shadow darts between the trees. Lani's eyes then go wide. "Guys! There's something out there!"

The group immediately rush over, trying to see what Lani witnessed.

"What was it?! What did you see?!" Terra asks.

"I don't know! I couldn't see it properly, but something's definitely out there!"

"Hey, you two need to hurry the fuck up! Wings is seeing freaky shit!" Amilia says as she leans down.

"Do you want to dig this shit out?! Cause it's thicker than your skull!" Virra retorts as she continues to dig away.

"Both of you shut up and focus!" Kyuala barks, stopping the argument and getting the women to focus on the situation. So, Virra begins to try and dig a little faster whilst Amilia focuses back on the trees.

The shadow then darts amongst the trees once again, but this time, it's Terra and John who see it. Terra then calls it out. "It moved to the left!"

The shadow quickly moves again, heading to the far right, then back to the middle and then to the left once more. The shadow seems to be almost toying with them at this point, and Terra realizes it.

Terra then decides to go with a bold move. She charges up her staff before saying the words, "Grüünda." Just then, Terra points her staff towards the treeline and suddenly, the trees begin to shake.

The rest of the group on the cart all look, wondering what the hell is happening. They then quickly see what Terra did as some of the ground behind the trees begins to crack open as it violently shakes in what appears to be a contained earthquake.

The shadow begins moving faster, trying to find a way to escape. Eventually, with **** left, the shadow leaps forward, landing in the area just in front of the group. The shadow thinks they've just escaped ****, but unfortunately for them, they've fallen right into Terra's trap. The shadow then looks up, and is greeted with the sight of six beings ready to strike at even the slightest twitch.

"Try to run and the orc will crush your essence into a fine paste, echoling."

The echoling squeaks, knowing it's been bested. It quickly admits defeat, so it kneels before bowing its head. "Em soory! Me no mean harm! Me jis wan play!"

"You wanted to play?! I'll show you how to play you little shit!" Amilia says as she draws a dagger.

Terra quickly snatches said dagger away from Amilia. "Hey! You don't need to do that. It's already caught."

"Who gives a shit?! It was going to kill us!"

"Noooo! Me no kill! Me nice! Truth! Truth!" The echoling pleads, hoping that they don't end its life.

"We're not killing it, alright?" Terra asks with a semi-stern tone as she hands back the dagger.

"Fine." Amilia relents, putting the dagger back in its sheath.

"Good." Terra says before turning back to the echoling. "Now, you. You were following us, hoping to steal our stuff, weren't you?"

"Wes." The echoling admits.

"Of course. It is in your nature I suppose." Terra starts. "Now, since we wasted valuable time looking out for you instead of getting out of this muck, you're going to help us. Understood?"

The echoling then asks, "Iffa I do, me go free?"

"If you help, and don't try to steal anything, you are free to go bother the next adventurers who come through." Terra answers.

"Beal!" The echoling says before moving towards the cart.

As the echoling moves closer to the cart, John gets a better look at their pursuer. The echoling is almost quite literally a shadow figure. It's tall, slender body is coated in darkness with bright white eyes, the only reason they can see the figure is because of the shadows that form its body actually move around. John can see that its legs are freakishly long and if he were to make a guess, he'd say that if it was fully standing up instead of crawling, it would be at least nine feet tall.

John's examination is then stopped as the echoling plants its huge, spindly, slim fingers on the bottom of the cart before it and Kyuala begin to lift the cart up with ease.

The members that are still on the cart quickly grab onto the edge, trying to make sure they don't fall off.

Down on the ground, Virra watches as the wheel emerges from the mud, making a wet plopping sound as it becomes free. Virra quickly shovels the mud back into the hole before Kyuala and the echoling then place the wheel down.

"I didn't realize echolings were so strong." Kyuala says.

"Oh wes! We strong! I kin poosh down trees!" The echoling happily replies.

"That's totally not worrying whatsoever." Amilia mutters under her breath, but just loud enough for John to hear.

Virra then gets up onto the bench and grabs the wheel. She then pushes the lever forward slightly, and the cart carefully moves ahead. After a few seconds, Virra says, "Alright. Looks like we're back on solid enough ground. Let's get going."

Everyone promptly agrees as Kyuala heads around, getting on the back of the cart with help from the others.

As Kyuala is taking her seat, Terra digs into her pocket. A moment later, she finds what she was looking for and look at the echoling before saying, "Catch."

The echoling catches the item Terra tossed towards it, and sees that it's a coin pouch. The echoling then jingles it, and realizes that it actually has some coins inside. What seems to be a smile creeps upon its face as it jumps around, "Tank you, tank you, tank you! Elf is kind ladee!"

Terra chuckles. "Not everyone will be as kind, so be careful who you meet next time."

The echoling nods, understanding the warning. The cart then begins to pull away and Terra looks back to see the echoling scurrying back into the trees. Terra is the next one to smile as she sits back down.

As the group are once again on the move, John asks, "Okay, what was that thing?"

"Oh! That was an echoling! They are a part of the echo family! They are native to swamps and marshlands. Essentially, if the area is dark and has some water along with trees, echolings will always flock to said area. They also only come out at night as the sun weakens their forms. They are also slightly affected by laterns and torches, but it's nowhere near as effective. However, if need be, they are extremely weak to flame attacks." Lani explains.

"If you're worried about it coming after us, you needn't be, echolings aren't necessarily dangerous by nature. They're more, what you would call, tricksters. If you were to characterize them, calling them childish would be an apt description. Echolings are mostly enticed by shiny trinkets and anything that looks interesting to them, but you can mostly avoid them by just dropping a few coins. Now, there has been some echolings that have caused a few adventurers deaths, but those are mostly caused by the tricks they attempt to try and get their hands on whatever catches their eye. I don't even think there's been a recorded incident of an echoling physically attacking someone."

"That doesn't necessarily mean that they haven't killed though." Kyuala adds.

"True." Terra replies.

As Terra and Kyuala finish talking, John recalls back to what Lani said just a few moments ago. "Lani, you mentioned that echolings were a part of the echo family. So, what are echoes?"

Lani then begins to explain. "Echoes are shade creatures, just like echolings, hence the connection. It's funny because echoes are small, floating orbs if you will and are deadly while echolings are the larger of the two, but they're non-violent. Echoes are created using dark magic, becoming a somewhat familiar to the creator. They attack by biting a target, but they travel through shadows to sneak around. Echoes are usually used for traps, so we should always be cautious if we're chasing a magic user through a shadowy house or somewhere dark."

After that explanation, John begins to think about the amount of dangers this world has in even regular environments. You can't even risk sleeping in your room with the lights off without potentially getting your dick chomped off by a shadow version of Boo from Super Mario, or at least, that's what John imagined them to be like.

As John is wondering about all the places an echo could strike, Amilia decides to ask Terra a question. "So, pointy, what the hell was that spell you did back there?"

"Oh, that was earth magic, specifically called Grüünda." Terra answers before continuing. "It causes the ground to shake and split open, usually with the intention of trapping the person or people inside before it closes back up. It's quite a grim spell when you think about it, but it's effective. The spell itself is incredibly hard to control as you need to try and gauge the amount of power you need put out into the spell, so, the more power you use, the further the spell travels."

Terra then gets an idea, and so she turns to John. "You know, we should get you a staff at some point. I believe it will be a big help with learning how to properly control your output with your spells."

"Maybe I should get a wand. It'd be easier than constantly carrying a staff around all the time." John jokes.

Terra quickly retorts. "A wand? Don't be ridiculous. You're in a world of magic, John, not one of make believe."

John immediately wants to laugh. The thought that magic, monster-girls and everything in-between is reality to these girls, but even the thought of a magic wand is somehow preposterous is incredibly amusing to the second human that's ever been on Fucknowswhat.

As the cart continues on, moving toward what they hope is the end of the swamp, John starts to think about what's coming in the next few days. They're going to meet giants to try and strike a deal to save an elf from a curse that would turn her into a giant. As far as quests goes, this kinda borders on batshit, but then again, batshit has been the only word John can think of to describe his time since the drop.

The next step in this plan of theirs is to meet someone to take them up to the Skygrabber Mountains. The group all believe that person is going to be Braxxas, but John remembers the promise he made to Myssera. He has to find this member of the Emberskiln, not only to protect him, but to protect the girls from the giants as well.