Dungeon Core: Bugged Ascension

~Wildfire.

Even though I wouldn’t say it, I’ve actually been grateful for the furlough. It took some time to fully evolve, but ever since they worked on my heart, my Insight has been growing stronger and harder to turn off. After we got back to town from that first delve, I was holed up in our room for days as Bond worked to design something to lessen the strain on my eyes when Truesight came into full prominence.

Eventually, we settled on a simple measure that’s been working rather well, even if it still leaves me vulnerable to being overwhelmed, it doesn’t actually require any magic to maintain. So, now I wear a strip of cloth over my eyes. Like I’m some Priestess to Justice.

Still, despite the evocative imagery and fashion statement, it has been a tremendous help. Though it is still just a temporary solution while Bond and Sid work on accumulating more information on how to control the growth of a Perk. There are stories told about how some higher members of Justice’s Clergy would have to sew their eyelids shut, or the fables of the Seers who would gouge out their own eyes in order to no longer be plagued by visions.

I’m not so arrogant to believe I could handle something of that magnitude on my own, nor so prideful to not seek help. Yet, after that initial development there hasn’t been an increase in sensitivity. And while I’m still unable to look around unfettered except in mundane environments, I am improving how much I look at. Even if I still can’t influence how much I see.

So far, Truesight has been more of a burden than boon, yet as far as Legendary pressures go, it will certainly suffice. My flame-rope practice has been a good means to push myself on watching the flows of magic in a controlled setting. The extra feedback is intense, but I have refined my technique further as a result. All of which I’ll need if I’m going to get myself out of the rut that is the Tempest Class.

While it has served me well up to this point, or well enough, going forward I’ll need more than raw firepower. Because the higher the climb, the less effective the simple things become. And as the {Glutton Birds} during the Unclean fight showcased, being vulnerable to siphoning is a massive disability for the kind of battle where simply being rendered moot is the least of the consequences for losing control of one’s magic.

As for today. We’re heading around the full range of |Thermal Spring Mountain| to check if the Scryers work on estimating the new borders holds true, as well as looking for other viable locations for establishing the outpost. Also, to just make sure that our old maps of the surroundings haven’t been too affected by all the magical upheavals.

Of course, it is also busywork to allow more delves to be completed. After the incident with Beryl and Garnet, for which we decided to allow Azure’s story to remain uncontested, the Guild wants to ensure our success isn’t solely a Favored status.

Keeping the secrets are weighing heavily on Alex’s sense of Duty, which is only further taxed by the insanity of what happened to Ruth. All of which to say, that back when I sought my friend’s help in movement exercises to try and tame my magic, I wasn’t expecting my mornings to become a torment of constant stretching and exhausting practice.

Now, with the tri motivations of a dungeon to grasp ample power, the lingering threat of her Quest hanging over us all, and the added complication of my eyes… Becoming an outlet for her frustrations all the while learning and adapting to the escalating workload has seen me make leaps and bounds away from being ‘just’ a Wildfire Tempest.

“Water. Please, let me at least have some water, Alex,” even if part of me wishes the leaps and bounds were more spiritual and less physical expressions made all the harder to complete correctly by my trembling and spasming muscles.

Her response? To sear her light into the few places where I’m not a handsbreadth away from collapse and she guides me through yet another set of poses. And after she seemed to ignore my pleading, I thought I could at least rest my aching eyes, but after they flutter closed for longer than a second, that same light stabs into them as well, “I already told you. Eyes open. Since you can already read the wind, you have to adjust yourself to how it blows.”

Despite the scene of two scantily clad women, dripping with sweat and moving through a series of athletic displays, none of the men even so much as glance over. Even if Bond’s first penalty session wasn’t quite enough to dissuade him completely from watching, his attention is being held by the Mu’Reign researcher that was tasked alongside us, “But you told us that was the last step in your training. I’ve only been at this for a few weeks!”

A searing line of pain slices against a quivering leg as my slip of attention causes my form to falter, “I was still Sleeping when I learned these things. You’re Epic. Now, stop whining or we’ll start over.”

I hold back my whimper, knowing she’ll follow through on her threat.

The next few minutes, I managed to make only a handful more mistakes before I’m finally released from the light binding me and allowed to fall to the ground. Fortunately, I’m only made to wait a few seconds before Alex calls for Bond to attend to me. That particular lesson was carved deeply into him when he had to have a refresher that standard combat etiquette applied to my new training as well.

He rushes over with a cooling damp cloth to place on my forehead and cradles me in his lap to help me carefully sip from a waterskin. I smile at the pride I see radiating from him as well as the simmering appreciation of my body as he bathes me using a washcloth and the basin of clean water prepared beforehand. Both of us wishing that these quiet, gentle moments could blossom into something more. Though, considering the presence of our guest and our strict schedule, we limit ourselves to anticipating when we’ll next have privacy.

As he massages my aching body while trying to make sure I get something to eat we listen in on Sid briefing of today’s expedition. We’re more than half-way through the cartography we’ve been asked to check on and so far, the Scryer predictions have been remarkably accurate. Even if the older maps themselves have shown their age and perhaps lack of professionalism.

Still, I’m expecting something unusual coming up soon. Over the last few days, I’ve seen more and more streamers seemingly floating in the wind. I initially expected they were just some random effect of the land that I just hadn’t been able to notice before, as each time we’ve delved DNA it seems like we make substantial advancements. That was until the Mu’Reign reached out and grasped one and then brought it to Bond’s attention, “%Antenna. From Haunt. Crude and not particularly receptive.%”

Using whatever method that allowed him to grasp ahold of it allowed Bond to better focus his own spells on it, “Not an antenna, not really. I think it’s actually a strand of hair. Though considering how far away we are from the border’s edge, much less the dunge- haunt itself, that is certainly strange. But I guess, strange is kind of what DNA does.”

“%Hair. What purpose does this hair serve?%” as he gives it a gentle tug but the strand breaks away easily. The fragment held in his hand begins rapidly fading away while the main strand whips itself into the trees, the tiny filament lost amongst the foliage.

We look to Alex as our resident medical expert, but she shrugs her shoulders, “Look, I don’t know everything. I know it helps with thermal regulation and protection from harsh sunlight. It certainly has some sensory properties.”

I look between the members of our group, and the degrees to how put together our outfits and looks are, “Among humans it also has some, at least cultural properties, in mating rituals. Good looking, well-maintained hair is attractive.”

Gesturing at the nearly disintegrated follicle in his hand, “%Is this a good sign of mating, or bad? Because I’m not in a high enough position to accept propositions from a Haunt. Surely Gods at minimum or perhaps only Progenitors should do that.%”

There’s a moment where each of us processes the absurdity of that straightforward response before we erupt into laughter. Even Garn gave a few hearty chuckles at it, though Bond was quick to assure our guest that we weren’t laughing at him.

Though as I was recovering from it and getting my breath back, I really thought about what and why DNA would grow out his ‘hair’ and my haunting question resonates through the Party Link. Sid had a convincing counterargument, but ultimately I think we all just tried to push the thought of a dungeon seeking a mate out of our minds.

Today though, I’m pretty sure we’re going to deal with something… different, “Guys? I’m not really sure how else to describe it, but his hair is a different color up ahead.”

Not particularly wanting to stumble across something strange this close to the higher density areas for actually dangerous creatures, the group takes its time to analyze what I spotted.

While the nerds are busy casting their analysis rituals Sid brings up, “The Border is closer here than it should be. The Scrying estimates have been pretty good so far, but whatever it up ahead is causing the Leyline to bulge out towards it.”

I pull down my blindfold to take a better look, taking care to stay away from the spells being cast and just Seeing the hair itself, “I think something snagged his attention. Unlike all the free-floating stands that have been expanding outwards, these almost seem woven together, in addition to their coloration change. Maybe a once dormant Spring of some kind, or perhaps a nest of creatures he’s trying to lure in?”

The intensity of the viewing gets to be too much and I close my eyes, startling at Alex’s hand landing on my shoulder as I fumble to put my wrap back on. She takes it from me and without needing to ask doubles it up after securing an initial knot, “Considering all the magic he’s been pouring out into the ecosystem, it could be anything. A vein of minerals, a crystal formation, a random catalyst-“

Interrupting Alex’s musings, “%Poison. Not random. Definitely something poisonous, toxic, venomous, etc. Powerful too. High Epic grade at least. Based on our party composition, I wouldn’t expect us to be able to retrieve it. If it even ends up being something portable.%”

Bond adds his confirmation through the link, “Yeah. Unless we’re lucky, and I feel uncomfortable relying on something like that, especially being both so near and yet so far from DNA. Our best bet will be trying to map out the area with a cautious preliminary investigation. Much as I dislike admitting it, Azure’s team would more likely be ideal for fully exploring something of that scale and powerset.”

Nonetheless, we set off towards the disturbance and as we do, I notice the strands growing thicker and more intricately braided. Without having the extra blockage on my vision, I don’t think I would have noticed the pulses being sent down the lines, even as the color deepens- likely to reflect whatever magic source is up ahead.

I take my time watching the pulses and try to catch a better glimpse of what’s going on when I finally recognize a familiar signature. By this point, we’ve already begun encountering Poison Affinity wildlife and everyone’s on high alert, so I signal a gentle halt before sharing, “Thing is doing something along the endpoint of these threads. I’ve seen steady pulses of their power, but it’s only ever gone out, nothing has come back. Other than the color. It’s definitely getting more vibrant the closer we’ve gotten.”

We huddle up for a bit to discuss our strategy. It’s decided that with the escalating toxic presences, it would be better to do a stealthy scout than risk continuing to dive deeper in the Wild. So, we bivouac and rest up while Sid heads in by himself with Bond and Alex closely monitoring his connection to the group.

Having a bit of spare time, I take myself through some of the katas Alex has taught me and try to weave my flame-rope meditations into them as well. Her glance at me sends a shudder through me as I realize the horrible mistake I’ve made, mixing my magic practice with the physical training. The brief sparkle in her eyes and that smirk tell me my morning routine is about to become significantly more taxing.

Too late to back out now, I continue through the poses, slow and steady and get through quite a few exercises before his return, “It just keeps getting worse the farther in you go. I’m pretty sure I got close enough to spot the center, but if the pool of burbling Mako soup isn’t the source, I’m not sure it really matters.”

He takes a moment to ask for a quick burning purge and I oblige, keeping up my katas now that Alex is watching me more closely, “We’re going to have to be careful how we write up this report. Because I agree with Bond, that based on what you’ve said Sid, that ‘Authentic Ambition’ is likely to be tagged for the follow up mission. Assuming their second delve fixes that haunting spectre from their initial encounter with Thing.”

I roll my eyes, “I still say we should have chosen a better team name than ‘Fits’. It’s ridiculous.”

Alex walks over and takes a more guiding hand in the last few poses, “You were outvoted. No one else agreed that ‘Apocalypse Biting Cannibals’ was a better name. Not even Bond.” I grumble about them being no fun even as she works with me to refine the last smooth movements to finish the set. Her bright smile doesn’t fool me though, I know come morning, I’ll hate that smile at least a little.

It’s Garn that picks up the previous conversation and succinctly ends it, “The Guildmaster won’t send them if they aren’t ready. This is an oddity, but DNA’s possible involvement aside, it is still a guild mission that needs to be fulfilled. Have faith.”

Though her instructions and guidance through the last of the movements continues smoothly, I see how she accepts the humbling at her disparagement of our rivals. Her bastion of quiet resolve used to make me jealous of her upbringing compared to mine. But even if I hadn’t already come to terms with our different lives, these last few weeks of her training me would have opened my eyes to the diverse nature of suffering. True nobles endure hardships just the same as everyone else.

She nods at me with a smile as I finish up, “Okay then. Let’s skirt through the interior of this bulge and stick to the expected borders. When Azure or whoever they send comes back to deal with the nest, they can remap the node. Let’s make sure there’s nothing else weird going on.” We chuckle quietly at the idea that even a survey expedition around DNA would fail to be ‘normal’.

The rest of the journey passes with only a single other hitch. As we were about to head straight back to town after completing our encirclement, there was a rumbling from the border. Rather than the steady storm bank of territory making its barely perceptible progress onward, it shuddered and frothed amongst itself for nearly an hour. Each of us taking careful note with our various instruments or perceptions and recording the anomaly.

After waiting another couple of hours for observation after it settled back into the old routine, we decided to make swift progress back home. Even the Mu’Reign was willing to put up with the ‘indignity’ of being carried by Garn so we wouldn’t be slowed to his Awoken pace. Getting word back of the various reactions we’d recorded was deemed more important by all of us.