“That’s what we’re all trying to figure out,” Rahni sighed.
“What we do know is that whatever is going on, the Beasts around here have started behaving much more aggressively, the predators especially.
It’s taking all our regular manpower just to manage the situation, but we’re also having more wounded pile up.
It’s why we sent out a hunt request to begin with.”
“Are there any signs of oddities in the aether flow?” Syr suggested.
“Magic Beasts are incredibly sensitive to shifts in it, so maybe a sudden shift has made them act up?”
“Well… take a look at this,” Rahni upscaled one of the images, a display of foliage.
But there was an oddity about it: The array of trees was coated in something.
Whatever it was, it looked inky black, tinged by red.
“We’ve gotten some samples of this substance while investigating, but we still have no idea what it is.
But the assumption is its tied to the sudden aggression.”
“Odd… not some kind of mucus…” Syr looked at the image closely, taking in the details.
“This looks… more like Aether residue?
I can’t think of a Beast that produces that though… and its hard to tell from the image alone.”
“Part of this job is going to be investigating what that substance is,” Rahni reached under the desk, pulling out a polymer case and setting it before Syr.
With a quick flick of its latches, the top popped open, revealing a set of items snugly laid into the thick foam interior.
“This here is a hunter’s kit; you’ll probably want it while you’re out there.”
The first item was set into top of the case in two spots.
A large, wide bladed dagger no doubt meant for carving.
Syr spotted some runic inscriptions on it, likely to help with its durability and sharpness.
In the lower section were three more pieces.
Two were identical metallic, leather clad cylinders with glass panels to show the interior, no doubt meant for secure sample collections, the lids sealed tightly by solid looking latches.
The last item was a dark leather pouch with a furled utility belt wrapped around it.
Not quite flashy, but certainly sturdy enough for direct field work.
“Well, this all looks handy,” Syr closed the case and lifted it from the counter, glancing to Soren.
“You get this too from your first hunting trip?”
“Well, I’ve had a while to fine tune stuff,” Soren drew the right side of his armored jacket away, better showing the black and blue utility belt situated around his waist at an angle, the back holding a clearly custom made carving dagger – Syr assumed it was no doubt forged by Branmek – and a few extra pouches of his personal supplies with the sample containers just peeking out near his right hip.
“The Grand Guild makes it a policy that all Freelancers, regardless of division, are provided standard issue equipment for any situation… handed out on a situational basis whenever they find themselves at a suitable location anyway,” Rahni put a hand behind her head while Syr gave her a bemused look. Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.
“Easier on supplies to hand out the gear when you’re heading out for that first job than without context they say… plus bases like this have plenty of spares anyway.”
“I suppose it makes sense,” Syr shut the case and hefted it off the table.
“Anything else we may need to know?”
Rahni shook her head.
“The only thing is the location of the Plains Raptors’ nest, but I uploaded that on your map.
You should be able to share it with Mr.
Ragnvald through the link function.
And, good luck out there!
And Mr.
Ragnvald, do make sure your new friend doesn’t come back a mess.
I’d hate to see another newcomer… you know.”
“Don’t worry, she’s more than capable.
She wouldn’t have gotten to start at LR2 if she wasn’t,” Soren chuckled as he headed for the entrance.
“Well then Syr, reader for your first proper job?”
“Hehe, let’s go,” Syr nodded as she followed after Soren, a glint of excitement and anticipation shining in her eyes.
For Syr, being able to trot her way through a forest was like getting a return trip home.
While it was certain that their current locale didn’t quite compare to the grand, towering trees of her homeland, she certainly found something familiar about being able to bound her way through natural canopies and ground strewn with all kinds of natural vegetation.
And to the Alf’s surprise, Soren was well and able to keep up with her quick movements as she led the way to the destination that Rahni had marked for them within the forest, making their trip nice and swift.
“So…” Syr decided to strike up a conversation.
“What’s this region of the plains even called?”
“Can’t really say it has particular name,” admitted the senior Freelancer.
“Its not really a big enough forest to gets its own name, its just another region of the Emerald Plains far as most are concerned.”
“That’s surprising, considering a city like Clearharbor and such…”
“Ey.
It’s one thing when you’re sectioning off a city to keep things in order, it’s another when you’re talking minute locales in a whole region.
Besides, not like every tiny pocket of different biome in Vanira gets a special name either.”
“Pff, it’s just more fun if something has a name of its own!”
“Well, guess I can’t argue that one.
So, how much until we reach the search area?”
“Only a bit further.
The markings that Ms.
Rahni added to my map are getting closer.”
Soren nodded as they continued along, Syr remaining in the lead as they bounded on through the trees.
After some further distance, the dense thicket eventually broke away to a more spread-out region, giving way into a lush meadow split by a clear river and some rock formations of the plateau, painting an idyllic image one would no doubt get joy out of painting were things a lot calmer at the time. This chapter was taken from novelping(.)com without permission.
The noted absence of any Herbivores to graze or drink was certainly a sign of whatever unease had struck the forest.
“No time to admire the sights, huh?” Syr sighed as she and Soren scanned around the meadow.
The Alf approached the river, dipping a hand into the cool water, closing her eyes for a moment.
“Hmmm… water is still pure, meaning there’s no corruption or pollution that could be causing the predators to behave oddly.
So whatever substance is, it hasn’t gotten into the water supply.”
“You can tell that much just by touching it?” Soren wondered, Syr chuckling as she stood and shook her hand free of any droplets.
“I know Alfs have a hell of a connection to nature, but…”
“For us Alfs it comes naturally.
We can tell a lot about a region based on what we can feel from it all.
The state of the water, the health of the plant life, even the drifts of aether caught in the wind.
And, well… we Vanalfs are especially sensitive to these things even among our cousins across the world.”
“Well, if the water is fine… what’re the winds telling you.”
“Let me listen…” Syr shut her eyes, flicking her staff out and taking it into both hands, holding it before her.
Air began to swirl around the mage, a soft glow in the drifts surrounding her as she maintained a steady breathing pattern.
And concerningly, while most of the aether drifts gave off a soft emerald glow, some were… tainted.
Edged in harsh red and black, just like the mysterious substance that had been shown to them.
“What the… what kind of feeling is this?” Syr’s brow knit together as she tried to hone in on the sensation of it, trying to trace it to something that could show her the source of all of it and why things were going awry.
“The feeling of this aether… this isn’t something from-AH!”
Syr reeled back as the flows turned into a sudden spark, jolting back as her concentration was sliced through, the air crackling with black sparks from where she had stood.
“You good?” Syr nodded as Soren stepped over, both staring at the fading sparks of power with concern in their eyes.
“I take it that kind of backlash means things are far from normal.”
“Definitely not normal in the slightest,” Syr looked around, her eyes then falling to one tree right across the brook.
“There!
I’m feeling traces of that strange aether coming from around that tree.”
The two leapt across the river with easy bounds to check out what could be present.
Searching around, it wasn’t long before they came across the first of their objectives.
As one side of the burly tree was marked in that same, mucus-like slag, darkening the bark it was coating to a worrisome black, and yet at the same time not at all seeming to be rotting it either.
“Well, that’s step one,” Soren was careful as he drew out one of his sample containers and carving knife, taking care to ensure none of the substances came into contact with him as he started scraping portions off the tree and into the container.
“Though by the looks of this stuff alone… I’d say we’ve got a few things to worry about.”