Winter 60, 124
[Obligatory imprinting writeup: Fluffy's tiger pounced on a guard who was doing a patrol. It tore off the head and ate it. Fluffy told it to stop and hurried over to dig out the liver and ate that too. She smiled as she slowly started to imprint and shapeshift into their form. She quickly changed clothes and came up with an excuse as to why it was all bloodied up. The tiger ate the rest of the remains.]
Fluffy remained motionless at the end of the barracks with her hands glued behind her back. She was wearing the form of one of the various low importance guards in this section of the woods. This little outpost wasn't all that important, but she was doing her best to gather intelligence. She generally sucked at this task, so Kage had told her some basic instructions. Now? She was just trying to blend in. That was the whole job. Keep yourself from being killed, gather information, eat livers when you could manage to.
The neat uniform she wore felt awful and stiffy. Her polished insignia showed she was high enough to give her some level of leadership authority while still being quite low on the totem pole. The person she was impersonating was supposedly someone really good at combat and she simply couldn't replicate those feats so she was faking an injury.
The day went on unremarkably. She would have to attend to various crises hour after hour until her social battery was completely depleted. Then, when it was time for bed, she laid and whispered to the treant in her ear to relay her progress to Kage.
"You've done well," Kage whispered to her. "I am already in Jian. I took the portal and will be heading your way… it will take me some time, however."
Fluffy blushed even though there was nobody around to see it. "I'm glad. And… I'm trying. It's… harder than I expected."
"Good," he said bluntly. "If it were easy, everyone would do it. Keep at it."
Far away, though in the same region, Kage walked stealthily through the forests of Jian. He was in the female form he called Galinn and appeared to be a pale skinned Jin'Norai. He was only going to be here for a short while, maybe a week or two. That was the plan anyways.
He was armed with his whisper bow, a normal shortbow, and arrows along with a set of black and red armor that would hopefully protect him from danger. He knew all too well the dangers associated with this place. Dryads were his primary concern, but he supposed the shorter lived humans were also worth watching out for. Walking around in a druid's grove was unnerving to say the least.
He did have the advantage of being able to see easily in the dark, however. The life around him stood out like a sore thumb. He saw a couple dryads walking about and chatting. They likely knew that someone was in their grove, then again that really didn't mean much when your grove spanned an entire country. Being able to detect those in your grove didn't let one tell where they were, thankfully.
Kage crept from tree to tree, then when he had a good shot he used his shortbow to shoot the dryads right through the head in rapid succession. He prescribed to the technique of holding the arrows you wanted to fire in your firing hand and rapidly shooting them. The dryads dropped dead. Good.
He looked at the tether that led to Fluffy. It was miles and miles away – he likely wasn't going to get there tonight. That didn't mean that he couldn't have any fun tonight. He had a long way to go and there were many experiments to carry out… so many people to fight.
Kage crept up to the dryads and put his hands on them. A surge of energy flowed through his fingertips and threaded branches into their bodies, making treants of them and healing the skin so it wouldn't look like they'd been shot dead.
"Now let's get you armed," Kage said as he formed a longbow for each of them along with some arrows. Armed minions were better than unarmed minions. "Now, let's go."
Kage used the dryads as a forward force as he lurked behind them. They were all a fairly quiet group given how they were just as stealthy as he was. The dryads weren't going to be terribly good shots, but 'good enough' was what most of them tended to be. They could only replicate a certain level of competence, after all.
The goal was to build up an army. Nothing massive, as he couldn't get caught using this particular brand of magic, but still enough to make himself feel safe moving throughout the area. There was a thrill to being in a foreign environment and knowing he was somewhat vulnerable.
Everything was going swimmingly for several hours. They managed to avoid running into anything dangerous looking… but then shit hit the fan. A dryad pranced into view with a quizzacle look on his face.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, clearly recognizing one of the dryads. The problem was that they were dead and couldn't talk. Kage quickly commanded them to fire their arrows, but he wasn't quick enough to kill the newcomer before he could act.
Arrows streaked through the air and whizzed past their mark. Meanwhile, the dryad was charging at them with a drawn sword in one hand and an outstretched palm in the other. He let out a shout of anger and adrenaline as roots ripped out of the ground and wrapped around one of Kage's treants and squeezed them tight. With a flick of his wrist, a shield formed and blocked the next couple arrows that the free dryad fired.
However, the attacker didn't know that there was a third anomaly in the forest. Kage had aimed right at their head, and one arrow was all it took to slip past the shield and push right through their head. Things didn't stop there though. The noise was drawing attention. Some more dryads gathered around. One got shot in the side by the remaining treant. Kage commanded it to run away in the opposite direction.
"A nice little distraction," Kage thought to himself with a smile as he sneaked off towards Fluffy. His treant didn't make it more than a mile or so before Kage knew that it was going to get caught. Sure enough, one of the dryads was able to smash its body with the trunk of a tree. They had been useful little pawns while they'd lasted.
He wondered what they would think upon investigating the bodies. One had been squeezed to a pulp and the other had been smashed flat. He supposed their first thought would be that they had simply gone crazy, turned into spies, or at worst were commanded by a necromancer. Either way, he allowed the dryads to worry about that issue. He, on the other hand, now had a clear path to move through the forest. He kept going until dawn until he found a small town to rest in.
The next morning started with a bang – literally. There was something akin to an explosion in the far-off distance which startled Kage. Strangely enough, the locals didn't seem that surprised.
"It's the war," said the innkeeper. "You not from around here?"
"Oh, that," Kage said, rubbing his temples. "No, I'm not, but I was aware that there was some conflict going on."
"Always some conflict 'round these parts. We're not that far off from the front lines. Where are you headed?"
"I'm not sure," Kage said somewhat truthfully. "I have a companion I'm trying to meet up with. I'd hazard a guess that she's about ten miles east."
"Hmm," they said in deep thought. "Not much over there except an outpost. Near the front lines, that is. You sure you want to go out that way?"
"Haven't got much of a choice, unfortunately. Tell me more about this conflict anyways. Who's fighting?"
"Oh it's mayhem. The Huo bastards are trying to push into moonflower territory. Forests being set ablaze and gunfire all around. It's damned disrespectful. They'll get what's coming to them though."
"I see," Kage replied. "Well, I should be off. Thank you for the meal." He placed some payment onto the table and made his way out into the woods again.
"Fluffy what's going on," he whispered through his treant.
Kage finally listened in and heard a lot of footsteps. "We're marching East," Fluffy said in a hushed voice.
"Alright, I'm coming from the west. How many are you with?"
"There's ten of us. We'll be making camp soon"
"And your tiger?"
"He's following us at a distance. I told him not to bother us unless I whistle for him."
"Hmm okay. I am heading West so we'll meet up soon. I'd like to avoid conflict if possible. Maybe we can have the tiger come in and cause a distraction while we slip away."
"I'll volunteer for first watch, that way we won't have to make a commotion."
"Good idea."
Kage regrouped with Fluffy not too long later. Though it was night time, the battle nearby raged on. Fires were started, put out, and the roars of dying dragons were clearly audible even at a distance. How anyone could rest knowing that they were probably going to die tomorrow… Fluffy would never understand. She reverted to a different female form when she saw Kage approach the clearing. Then the two of them rode atop the tiger that took them towards the conflict. It was time to see just what kind of opportunities were available to them.
Making it to the battlefield was a relatively simple endeavor when one was riding atop a massive tiger that could run fast enough to make one's eyes water. Kage thought it was rather fun but he could tell that Fluffy wasn't in the same mindset. She looked visibly distressed.
"What are you so worried about?" Kage asked.
"Oh, nothing."
Kage looked her up and down. He could tell that her formality had dropped off a little in the past season. Ever since she'd become stronger she'd had a sort of independence about her. He still felt that he could control her and even have her sacrifice herself for him… but she wasn't as mindless a servant as she used to be. It wasn't the first time she'd gone through one of these phases. Over the years Kage had experimented with how to handle her and bring her back into subservience and each time taught him a little more about how to manipulate people to his will. For now he would let her be a little more independent. He hoped it would serve them both well to have her thinking about survival rather than pleasing him when they were in a battle zone.
"It's okay to be nervous. Stay near me and I'll keep you safe," Kage reassured. "And don't be afraid to flee. If we get separated, head to the largest city in Huo territory. We will meet there."
Fluffy wanted to ask why he was so interested in going there, but she held her tongue. Partly because she knew better and partly because they came into a clearing where battle was taking place.
The sound of gunshots echoed as dragon mounted gunmen swooped down to attack a group of swordsmen. The volley of bullets richocheted off of the armor plating of their massive targets. Even still, one of them fell to their knee. A lucky shot had lodged itself into their side. Surprisingly, that very same man stood up again like nothing had happened.
The shooters had flown off before anyone could even retaliate, then less than a minute later they were back to shoot another volley. This time they were even less successful as the defenders had taken to the trees to hide. The Huo response was to tell their dragons to destroy the damned place. A piercing jet of water sliced through tree trunks and killed four in one massive burst of energy. Another dragon set a section of the clearing on fire. A third looked like they were going to do something but when they swooped down they were knocked down by something.
Kage had to blink because he hadn't even seen the attack coming. In any case, the dragon crashed into the trees and was assailed by a dozen large combatants before it could get free. Its rider wasn't going to last ten seconds without help… and his friends were still circling. Thankfully, there were a couple of brave individuals inbound who could help.
"We're to aid the dragon riders," Kage told Fluffy before leaping off the tiger. He drew his sword with a flick of his wrist then buried it into the backs of the occupied futo soldiers. Kage had immense strength and even a thick layer of fat wouldn't be enough to stop him from driving the blade all the way into their body. If he was better with the sword he might have been able to aim for the spine. Alas, he could only slightly annoy these soldiers with a sword.
Fluffy's tiger had jumped onto one of the soldiers. The tiger was twenty feet tall and weighed at least 50 tons. A futo soldier that weighed 5 tons with their modified weight was still unlikely to be able to do much in the face of such a large difference in size. There was a satisfying crunch as one the tiger tackled the futo to the ground and used its sharp teeth to tear the body asunder. Blood spurt everywhere, making Kage feel like it was going to get a whole lot bloodier. Good.
Kage took out his bow and started shooting arrows. The sound of thunder BOOMed from his bow as he shot his ammunition into the futo soldiers. His arrows were double the hardness of steel sped through the air twice as fast as normal. It was plenty to punch holes into their armor and make it into their internal organs. Even with all his advantages, Kage still struggled to put them down. He could have made things easy by going for the head, but he kind of wanted to test out how strong these humans were. To be able to shot by such powerful weaponry and still function… it was impressive.
The dragons circled back round and there was another volley of bullets. This time they didn't circle around – they dropped to the ground and started tearing into the futo forces. It was pure chaos what with the roars and the booms and the screams. Fluffy's tiger took out at least three of the Futo by pouncing on them. They weren't helpless, however, they managed to cut into the tiger's flank and cause it to retreat from the fight.
When the futo were all dead, the clearing became eerily silent. Kage walked over to the rider who had fallen and helped him to his feet. He didn't heal the man, heavens no, but he did want to show that he was an ally.
"Who're you?" asked one of the other riders.
"A traveler. I heard there was good fighting to be had and I couldn't resist throwing my hat into the ring. I see you have guns and ride dragons… I take it you're part of the Huo clan?"
"That would be correct. If you came looking for a fight, then you came to the right place… and you helped the right side. Would have been a shame to have to kill someone as good a shot as you are. That bow of yours… it's incredible."
"That it is, and those guns of yours are quite fascinating as well. But perhaps we ought to get moving before reinforcements come," Kage said as he started going around and going through the process of retrieving his arrows. They were perhaps his strongest weapon in this land of dragons.
"No, we are establishing a perimeter. We will stay here. You may accompany Valsuki and his rider to the backlines." The woman nodded to the rider and dragon that had been knocked out of the air.
"Alright. Fluffs! Let's get going. Oh right, the tiger got injured." Keeping track of injuries was going to be one of his new jobs, he could tell.
Kage walked over and put his hand on its wound to heal it, then he climbed back up onto the tiger. It wandered over to eat ate the remains of some of the futo soldiers. Fluffy tried to talk to it but it was starving, having not been able to eat properly for days. These futo were massive and full of fat – a perfect treat for a massive tiger.
"Shame the dragon had to die," Kage called over to the rider who also climbed up onto the tiger. The man wasn't very talkative – he'd known that dragon for years and he would likely never share such a close bond with another one. Life wasn't even worth living without his mount. Alas, time pressed on and he had little choice but to report to his leadership and get new orders.
They got to the backlines without getting caught up in any more battles. There, Kage expressed interest in travelling to their city. He was quite competent at using supernatural abilities, as the Huo clansman was sure to advertise. Whether he was going to be allowed to go to their city was to be determined. He thought he might stick around for a little more fighting to prove how useful he could be.
Fluffy was going through a bit of shock. She hadn't been in combat like that in quite a long time. It was hours before she could finally get her mind to stop racing and fall asleep. The tiger? It was all too happy to get a break. It wasn't built to be running around all day. Kage didn't have any issue falling asleep. He was far too used to this sort of thing. Sure this place had its quirks, but conflict was conflict. He wasn't naiive enough to think that he could calm his thoughts. He had a few hours to get some rest… and he was going to take it.
3000 wc
Fluffy:
Imprinting x1 novice saol
masking x1 expert saol
seeming x1 novice saol
Kage:
deadsight – free
druidism – novice x6
vitae – raise x 2 novice
druidism – healing journeyman x1
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