A Jaded Life Interlude - This is Wild... Magic!

-Tarrin's gaming vlog -

Today: [Road to Purgatory] - This is Wild… Magic!

On screen, a wolfman is slowly walking through a narrow valley, a bow in his hand, a quiver on his hip and a large wolf pacing along with him. He’s dressed in dark leather-armor, with a grey cloak helping him to blend with the rocks of the surroundings. For a mont, the cara pans around him, showing more people ahead of him, before panning back to show his face. The other people are a curious bunch, their heights ranging from a tiny, barely three feet tall being, to a massive centaur, who’s human head is almost three ters above ground.

The other two are humanoids as well, the view from their back making it difficult to discern their races, though their size is relatively normal, one of them around two ters, the other about two hands shorter. More details are obscured by cloaks similar to the one worn by the wolfman.

“Greetings, everyone.” the wolfman speaks up, his voice casual, once the panning shot is over. “As I’ve told you in the last vlog, I’m currently in a group with another Traveller and a couple natives, doing a quest in the mountains near Yaksha. Our objective this ti is to figure out why the Wind Raptors of the region seem to have changed a bit, their abilities shifted. To do that, we are travelling towards one of their most important breeding grounds, to see what is going on there.”

“As travelling these mountains alone, or even with just Arjuk at my side,” he reaches over to pet the wolf next to him for a mont before continuing, “would be a foolish idea, we are accompanied by Jarek, a Centaur Lancer and fellow Traveller, Kegrom, an Orc Fighter who will be acting as our heavy frontline, Glek, a Snowbold who is able to channel the power of the Sun, essentially a fire-mage, if I understand correctly, and Morgeral, a Bearfolk Druid, able to channel the power of the land, allowing him to heal and support us.”

“Well, and obviously, there are Arjuk and I, a Wolf-Beastman ranger and his companion, ready to take on the world. Or at least ready to take on the beasties lurking in these mountains.” he stops speaking again, the cara panning to hover behind him, showing where the party is going.

The valley they are moving through is shaded by the mountains on both sides, producing an eerie twilight until the valley opens up into a bowl-shaped area so distance ahead. The party continues moving, with everyone carefully looking around, making sure that nothing dangerous is lurking on the slopes ahead or flying overhead, Tarrik often turning to check the path behind them. Such a valley, with its steep slopes and narrow passage would be an excellent spot to ambush or attack, if there was anyone so inclined. Thus, every small rock rolling downhill, every whistle of the wind and every small noise is cause for caution, raising everyone’s vigilance to the maximum.

Luckily for the party, no such unfortunate event happens and they manage to traverse the rocky valley, until they reach the opening ahead. As they approach, it becos increasingly obvious that there is sothing going on, the dim light strangely reflecting off sothing ahead, creating weird, ominous shadows, as if there is a monster, with giant, sharp and jagged teeth ahead, just waiting for them to step into its maw, offering themselves up as food.

Looking into the valley, the reason for the strange reflection becos obvious, where the valley behind them, and most of the mountains they had climbed through, have been void of Ice, thanks to the warm sumr, the valley before them is obviously different. Across the valley, the deep colour of a glacier, pushing downhill, taking with it rocks and debris, is visible but that Ice is not the cause for the strange atmosphere in the valley. No, that is left for the jagged, almost glowing, remains of winter that linger in the bowl-shaped valley. Frozen spires and forms jut out from the frozen surface, as if carved by an insane artist, indiscriminately wielding their chisel, adding to the earlier impression of danger.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“What happened here? Why is it so cold?” Jarek, the Centaur, asks, looking at the seemingly chaotic field of Ice before them. Almost subconsciously, he reaches out to wrap his cloak tighter around his human body, suppressing a shiver.

“I’m not certain, but whatever happened here, I think we know why the Wind Raptors changed.” Morgeral replies, her voice a deep, pleasant baritone. “But now we need to figure out what is behind this change. Be cautious, for the unknown might hide danger.” she adds, looking around for a mont, before pointing her wooden staff towards the valley, the tip glowing with a vibrant, green light.

“I don’t like this, I don’t like this…” the small snowbold mutters, barely loud enough to be audible, just that single phrase, repeating again and again.

“What do you an, Gluk?” Tarrin asks, speaking softly, to avoid disturbing the Druid’s spellcasting.

“It’s cold, cold and dark. There’s no sun.” the snowbold replies, before continuing is muttering.

After a few monts, the druid slowly starts moving forward, softly chanting under her breath as she is channelling the spell she is using to gather more information. The party moves along, surrounding the druid in their midst, making sure that nothing can sneak up and attack the concentrating spellcaster.

But, after they have crossed most of the valley, the situation suddenly changes, when Gluk whirls around, focusing on a distant shard of ice. With an angry yelp, he holds up a dark, black object, that looks almost like a piece of charcoal, and monts later, a beam of fiery radiance lashes out, the cold air hissing from the sudden change.

“Monster!” the small Snowbold curses, the beam intensifying for a mont, shattering the distant Ice and creating an explosion of steam. For a mont, everyone, even the Druid, focuses on that distant spot, before they turn back, making sure nothing is coming at them from another direction.

“No, no, no…” the small Snowbold starts whimpering, as the valley seems to turn darker by the second, the steam turning to a fine, suffocating mist.

“There's sothing out there!” Kegrom, the oldest and most experienced, of the group shouts, readying his mace and shield to receive whatever monster might lurk in the mist. But it is not him that is attacked first, when a strange, jagged shape cos flying out of the mist, towards Gluk. Luckily, Arjuk, the wolf, noticed and managed to leap at it, snapping at the small creature and battering it aside.

For a short mont, the alien creature lies on the ground, stunned by the sudden impact, before it starts to skitter away. It looks akin to a weird mix of crab and spider, only made from Ice, glowing with an inner glow of blue and teal.

“What is that?!” Tarrin asks, after taking a short glimpse at the creature, before Gluk shoots out another beam of radiant heat, obliterating the creature with a sharp hiss.

More steam boils up, shrouding the entire valley in mist and other than the heavy panting of Gluk, all is silent.

But only for a mont.

Before any of the party-mbers can consider the question deeply, let alone answer it, scraping sounds start echoing in the valley, coming from all directions and the mist around them starts to move around, creating a maze of air and shadows. Direction quickly loses its aning, as the mist makes it impossible to see more than a ter or two, let alone back to the entrance.

“There’s a cave over there, my spell found it earlier!” the Druid shouts, the glow of her staff intensifying, adding a green tint to the dense mist around them.

“Let us take shelter, this is bad. This is an area of wild magic.” she adds, her voice almost panicking. With surprising speed, given her size and the calm, lumbering deanor she normally has, the druid forges ahead, her light guiding the way. The others, not wanting to get separated in the dense mist, follow along, working together to guard their flanks from the icy crab-spiders that leap out of the mist, trying to tear the warmth from their bodies.

The cave, a small tunnel leading into the mountain beneath the glacier, gives them a feeling of safety, especially when the frozen horrors outside seem reluctant to enter.

That is, until a blue screen appears, mirrored for the viewer, telling them where they are.

Dungeon entered!You have entered an instanced Dungeon, the Morainian Cave. Only those of your party can enter this dinsion from the outside.

“This might be worse…” Tarrin mutters, as the screen fades to black, the video ending.