Embedded in the pure black canvas, those white shining veins slightly pulse like the breathing of a sleeping beast, a pattern resembling the caustics of an unholy black sea, the only remnants of light peeking through fissures as if it were sealed and aching for freedom. That texture coils around the root standing upright, though it's not the only as another stands beside it, facing the same direction though at a slight angle away. In fact, there are many more of those same roots spaced out, each of them at outward angles more intense depending on how far they are from the center, all of them featuring the same veiny material. They aren't all side by side though, for there are several layers, some of which overlap each other and cross over one another almost like a web when viewed top-down.
Between the roots facing down, the larger canvas is not black but rather green, where moving down it are blotches of darker greens among a blue, white, yellow, and brown.
That green canvas is in fact the grass of the forest, and those blotches are the hikers wandering through it, the five survivors dressed in green cloaks among Meditat, Kokei, Dana, and Ekitai. They walk down the grass in a cautious stroll, their steps blanketed mostly by the soft blades they crush beneath their feet, just the sound of scrunching which is covered by the whistling winds which trigger the rustling of leaves above. That rustling attracts Meditat's attention, who raises his head up, his azure goggles beaming as Ekitai and Dana swivel their heads to scan the space in front of them.
What stands in front of the group, which they directly approach beyond the tall black root –which branches into thinner tubes that branch into even thinner tubes–, is the field of thick white trees supporting tree building structures connected by bridges, forming a sort of village or complex, one that has been overrun by the infestation of roots ripping through bridges and floors. While most of the bridges connect from one balcony to another to connect the buildings themselves, a few of them are only attached to a single balcony, and instead run down to the ground, supported by branches which results in them functioning as ramps. While a couple of these ramps have been penetrated through by roots, just at a glance there are several unharmed, perfect entry points to get up to the buildings. The closest of these unharmed ramps is Pine's destination as he walks straight for it, though Meditat turns to face Alder before he determines calculatedly, "You all should wait here, we'll examine the area for any people or leads. It shouldn't take long, we'll divide and conquer." He turns to face Dana to outline, "Like before, you'll take Kokei to the-," before Pine takes a step towards Meditat and asserts, "We're going up there too, no way are we just sitting here."
Meditat halts the briefing to turn towards the boy and explains, "This area is unsafe given the infestation, we'll need to tread cautiously in these-."
"Hey, you said you'd be helping us, that was the agreement," Pine again interrupts, taking one step towards Meditat and facing up to glare straight at him aggressively. He then mutters, "So don't try holding us back, or we'd be best without 'your help.' Trust me, we've been surviving just fine before you all showed up and broke everything, we know this area and what's safe or unsafe. So we're going up there, that's that." He then turns his head towards the survivors and calls, "Come on Alder, everyone, we don't want to waste time." He turns his whole body to face the ramp before resuming his stroll towards it, rolling his shoulders and tugging the straps of his backpack for comfort adjustments, beginning his own mission to which Meditat sighs before facing the boy and pleading, "Wait!"
Promptly Pine pauses, an eyebrow raised in intrigue before turning to face Meditat whose cape waves gently from a passing breeze. He lets out another huff and glances from Dana to Alder, turning around to face the rest of the survivors before hesitantly proposing, "We can all go up if that's what everyone wishes. We'll form pairs to cover ground most efficiently while ensuring all of our safety: Dana will go with Aspen, Kokei with Maple, Ekitai with Hemlock."
He turns to face Alder, then Pine, before facing back at Alder to conclude, "I'll move with Alder and Pine."
Despite the compromise that was clearly undesired for the proposer, Pine releases a huff before indicating, "I thought you said pairs, I can just go on my own anyways, I don't need a supervisor. That's more groups too."
Meditat faces back at Pine, as does Alder who is the one to calmly persuade, "Come on Pine, you're right, let's not waste time. We'll be quick, but we can't be reckless either."
Pine chuffs and clenches his fists, furiously glaring at Alder though he ultimately lets out a sigh before relinquishing, "Fine, let's just get on with it then."
Lastly able to proceed with the mission, Meditat nods to Alder before summoning, "Let's get a better view of the structure before we designate routes," followed by him beginning his march towards the ramp, passing Pine who grits his teeth in irritation.
The rest of the Bellators and survivors follow behind, Alder among them who pats Pine on the shoulder, prompting him to follow after flashing a scowl. Nonetheless, the whole party approaches the ramp, following the man whose black cape waves.
First to step foot on the ramp is Meditat, his black boots touching down on the wooden plank composing the path, for the bridge is composed of these striped planks attached intimately by rope to allow them the ability to bend though maintaining a structure solid enough to be walked on. The plank does however creak on his step as does the next plank the following step takes before the next, that same creaking being applied when Dana next starts her climb up, her golden clawed feet if anything resulting in a heavier creek from greater force being applied down. Behind her, a few of the survivors with suede leather boots follow with steps that do creak though not to the same extreme, among whom is Ekitai with the long brown shoes and Kokei whose whites separate from the rest, all members on the ramp which is miraculously carrying the full weight.
Up the ramp which slightly depresses down from the weight, not enough to question its integrity but to identify its engineered limitations, the group led by Meditat climb carefully as the lack of railings require them to better focus on their balancing.
It doesn't take long for them to reach up to the top where the ramp attaches to the flat balcony also composed of striped planks but ones that aren't connected by mere rope, giving them a far more rigid strength that doesn't at all flex upon taking Meditat's weight, for the most it does is creak. At the very least the balcony does have a railing that only opens up for the connecting bridges and ramp, surrounding the porch whose main purpose is to support what resembles a decently large shed, the size of a typical suburban house's garage at least.
Passing the dusty windows, Meditat approaches the far end of the porch where the railing opens up to lead to a bridge, though he stops beside said bridge to instead place his hands on the railing, continuing to face on. He waits as the remainder of the Bellators and survivors reach the top of the ramp, spreading out over the porch to allow space for those behind them until Pine and Alder reach the top, the last to do so. While the group is given wider space unlike the narrow ramp, they all huddle towards the other end of the porch where Meditat stands, most of them facing him to watch as he straightens his posture and turns around to address them.
Behind Meditat and beyond the railings is the whole block of white trees holding buildings, however not all the buildings are perfectly aligned on a single layer, but rather some trees in the distance house their buildings higher or lower than the porch the group stand on, and in fact there are several trees that house two buildings stacked over each other with those higher buildings being above the group, each of them connected to the web of bridges, the two levels connected by a few bridges scattered across the block. Given the range of width and height of the supporting trees, there's a similar range in size of the buildings, fitting in resemblance from small sheds to dutch barns.
Meditat faces the team and survivors before explaining, "There are two levels to this complex, so we will be dividing our four subgroups to have two focus on this current level and the other groups on the upper level, Dana and I will be handling the higher level. For each level, one subgroup will start on this side we're currently on, whereas the other will start at the far end of the complex. We will both move towards the center, covering our side thoroughly, I recommend a meandering route. I will start at the far end for the upper level as will Ekitai for this one, I'll carry them to their starting position."
He then focuses on the three Bellators to remind them, "Remember, use the Links if there's a finding, and please use them if you're in danger, anything brief will work but make sure to alert us in any such case."
He turns his gaze to the rest of the survivors to advise, "Avoid contact with the roots at all cost, we've discovered that physical contact may trigger a horde. For this reason, do not rush yourself at the expense of caution, this is unsafe territory and we must tread lightly. Avoid bridges that have been struck, and navigate cautiously around infested buildings. If an area is covered, have me alerted and I'll try scanning it at the end, but do not take avoidable risks. If any of you make physical contact with a root or even believe you have, declare it immediately, regardless of how minor you believe the exposure to be."
He again focuses on his team to demand, "If anyone in your group may have made contact, alert the network immediately, and we will instantly make a swift retreat. Me and Dana will retrieve the closest pairs below us, the highest priority of this operation is the maintenance of safety."
He drifts his gaze to the full group to conclude, "Do not drift from your pair, remain in constant proximity, assist each other, remain safe. I cannot overstate the significance of your safety, do not put you and the whole group at risk, judge your situation and if you do not feel comfortable with a certain task then have it routed to me and I will assess it myself. Understood?"
Like a wave, the group nods back to confirm comprehension, the Bellators as well as the survivors, which Meditat observes with a slow pan to determine every member's acceptance, including Pine's.
Pine however does not nod his head, but instead grunt before whining, "Let's get on with it then, we're wasting so much time just talking."
At least receiving a response from everybody, Meditat nods back and declares, "Bellators, begin the operation." He then turns to face Alder and Pine before panning to Ekitai and Hemlock, focused on where they stand. He turns away from them to face the railing just as his back projects four translucent blue cables, one attaching to each of the four.
Ekitai shows little reaction given his familiarity though both Hemlock and Alder show surprise to the attachment, Hemlock raising an eyebrow as Alder places his hand on the cable, feeling it bend down as if a physical object. Pine similarly interacts with the cable, grabbing it with both hands as he raises his head to Meditat and demands, "What is this-," just as Meditat launches himself forward, bounding over the railing which leaves Pine screaming in terror. He passes over the balcony and raises his hand to one of the bridges above him, firing a blue cable onto the underbelly which he swings from, releasing the cable at the end of the swing to fire two cables from his hips which attach onto different branches to reel himself further ahead before dashing to the right in avoidance of a black root that has penetrated through one of the bridges up to the upper level. Using a combination of zips and dashes, Meditat navigates down to the other end of the field, approaching the last white tree in the cluster, all while the four others cling on securely as the wires don't bend much at all, the three survivors physically clutching the wire whereas Ekitai just lets his hands free.
Zipping over bridges and dashing around roots before zipping off other buildings, Meditat swiftly reaches the furthest building where his hips fire two more cables but orthogonal to his path, immediately suspending his body right above the porch, the four passengers dangling just a few inches off the wooden surface.
Both Ekitai and Hemlock's cables then vanish, allowing them to drop on their feet, raising their heads up to Meditat who glances back at them before wishing, "Good luck, stay safe." Those two orthogonal cables still attached, he raises both hands onto a porch above him, firing two wires onto the bottom to then release the two hip cables and boost himself forwards, swinging around that porch as the wire itself coils around the balcony floor and railings, letting the remaining three swing all the way above the porch, flinging over the back railing which is when Meditat releases those wires, firing a final two from his hips down onto the surface of that porch, guiding the landing exactly onto the balcony, the two others touching down the instant after.
They stumble forwards as the two wires holding them vanish, freeing them to regain their balance as Meditat faces forward to the other end of the field, watching his golden friend rise beside a bridge, one tentacle from her back coiled around Aspen. That friend dashes backwards to the porch that the bridge connected, her feet expelling a brief boost to soften the landing before her tentacle gently places Aspen on her feet. It uncoils and retracts into Dana's metal back before she faces the other end of the field and waves to Meditat, having noticed his gaze. She then turns around and walks towards the shed on that porch along with Aspen, leaving Meditat to take in a deep breath for confidence before turning around to face Alder and Pine, the latter of which takes an extra second before finding his balance. He chuffs with an irritated face, but turns around to face the open rectangular doorway leading into the garage-size building. Both Pine and Alder approach the door as does Meditat, his cape waving gently in the breeze as they begin.
Beneath their porch, past a few branches jutting out of the white trunk, is another porch on which is built a structure larger than a garage, near about the size of a moderate urban townhouse whose open door stares back at both Ekitai and Hemlock who stand side by side.
Staring at the doorway with a subtle frown, Hemlock releases a burdened sigh before admitting, "I know I let myself go along with all of this, but I was planning on taking a break from this one, I'm still tired from all the digging earlier. But I guess here we are, may as well just go along with it."
Beside him, Ekitai shifts his calm, yellow eyes to face Hemlock, frowning now too given the admission to which he contemplates before suggesting, "Aw man I feel that, well I could always just go on ahead and check these spots, I think as long as you just stay put in front of each door you should be safe. Just, find somewhere to sit, ideally not on one of those roots."
That last jest warrants a chuckle from Hemlock who shakes his head before deciding, "I wasn't going to, but anyways it's fine. If this all goes to plan, it'll only take a couple days to get out of this forest anyways so what the heck, I'll do the workout. It'll make my nap after all this all the nicer."
Scrunching his forehead on that note, Ekitai ultimately dawns a casually accepting expression and shrugs his shoulders before advising, "Well okay, sounds good to me. Just don't strain yourself too much, I'm not going to carry you down these bridges."
With that, he strolls on ahead, walking through the doorway to enter the first building, leading Hemlock into what they find to house an interior oddly resembling that of a studio apartment in that there's an open space furnished at the other end with casual equipment such as two sofas facing each other, separated by a table, all of which stand on physical, wooden legs. Hemlock ambles towards that sofa almost immediately as if excited by the offer for comfort, leading Ekitai to scan the room himself, finding that in the very center of the open space, burst through an island counter table is a singular black root, about as thick as the salmon trees they walked past, those white caustics being the only break from the pure black bodies. On that same table strangely lays a few firearms, rifles with physical grips though their triggers are attached at the butt end with a curved handle.
Noting the presence of weapons along with the present danger, which at least is stuck at the center of a table therefore is easier to avoid knocking into, Ekitai resumes his panning survey to find that next to the island, along the wall is another countertop, this one longer with a ditch for the sink along with cabinets beneath the surface. At the end of the tables is a doorway to the one interior room which has another table inside with two cabinets, though Ekitai's attention drifts to the other side of the room which he begins to approach as he wonders, "So this must be another home, right? Interesting decor, especially the guns, but it doesn't look too uncomfortable."
After reaching around the table, he finds that while part of the far end has been walled off as part of the other interior room between the tables, there is space for which resides a single queen-sized bed, which a few metal crates containing a pile of other rifles clearly sit on, depressing the mattress. The blanket, while present, has been scrunched up, and against the wall next to the bed is a wooden wardrobe which has been left open to reveal spilled clothing among a few pistols of that same streamlined style that was being carried by the survivors.
His yellow eyes intrigued by the strange occupancy, he stands in front of Hemlock who is now seated on the sofa with his arm slung over the back, facing past Ekitai before explaining, "Well, it used to be a home, but that was long ago, maybe more than a century.. I'm honestly a bit surprised that it's been held up this well, my grandfather used to live in these kinds of places, he talked a lot about how nice it was and I don't blame him."
Ekitai's forehead scrunches and his eyes sharpen in contemplation, pondering before he turns to face Hemlock before theorizing, "Let me guess, he was driven out by the pirates?"
Such a guess warrants a chuckle from Hemlock who nods his head before congratulating, "Well damn, guess you just bit off half my story, I'm surprised a foreigner like you would know."
An uncomfortable grimace washes over Ekitai's face from the hidden past that had carried him to such a conclusion, for it was a sight he was far too familiar with as being part of the cause. He frowns and turns back to face the table, shrugging his shoulders before justifying, "Well I guess most people don't cover their homes with these kinds of toys, well…some special people do…but I figure that's not common here. I guess it is surprising that they bothered to keep this place this nice. But huh, I'll admit I didn't know you all had…somewhat normal looking houses. I mean I still see the tree obsession but at least it's not just in one."
A depressed sigh passes out of Hemlock who lowers his head, his hand tapping on the back of the sofa as he recounts, "Yeah well, thing is these houses were too easy a target, with all these elaborate bridges and big boxes it all sticks like a sore thumb, especially the bigger ones. The people who survived the invasion had to get creative, and what's a better hiding spot than just hiding in nature itself?"
As Ekitai walks around the table to explore what resembles the kitchen space, bending down to inspect the open cabinets only to find more firearms laying around among crates of what resemble batteries like the ones they collected in their bags before departing, Hemlock continues: "So that's what they did, and I mean I guess it works, it's livable, but my grandpa always complained about it, said it just didn't look like a community. Funnily enough, the rock roads that probably gave away the villages were sort of us getting comfortable and maybe a bit lazy, but hey at least we never got caught by them. I'm not sure if…these things," as he points to the giant root in the middle of the apartment which Ekitai turns to, "saw us or just grew randomly. But anyways, all that mattered is that we were surviving, and hey, the kids now are used to it. Can't miss what you never had, right?"
Ekitai glances back at the cabinet with a sentimental frown, taking a breath before standing back up straight. He lets out a sigh before reluctantly agreeing, "I guess you're not wrong, at some point the past becomes history that people just acknowledge existed but don't really consider as what once was real. I take it that the pirates are just using these old spots as outposts, trying to take control of as much land as they can snatch."
Nodding again, Hemlock confirms, impressed, "Right you are again, you got a fairly good idea of how those guys operate, huh? I always figured people like you wouldn't have an idea."
Grimacing again with gritted teeth at the following strike concerningly close to the truth, Ekitai just releases a nervous chuckle before chalking up to, "I guess, like I said, the weapons. But anyways, there's nothing really here to go off of, we should go onto the next building."
First taking in one more calm scan of the apartment with a solemn smile, Hemlock lets out a disappointed sigh before agreeing, "I guess so." He lifts himself off the sofa with a grunt, standing up on his feet and finding his footing before appending, "Don't want the others waiting too long for us now, do we?" He gestures his hands towards the door to request, "Lead the way."
Ekitai nods his head, and after also turning around to take a scan of the apartment with a frown at another home claimed by those he once was a part of, he faces back at the doorway and approaches it, taking his exit and leading Hemlock out to do the same, as the two continue on their path.
Beyond that door, not only that but past the railing, bridges and trees, closer to the opposite side of the outpost is another railing over another porch with a shed that has another door which Kokei enters with her fists remained curled, her eyes faintly gleaming. As she strolls inside the building, maintaining cautious surveillance of her surroundings, she notices firearms lined up against the wall beside crates storing other equipment such as smaller boxes and batteries.
Leaving the doorway behind her clear, there's room for Maple to step inside next, surveying the space as well with a fascinated gaze, focused but not nearly as concerned as her peer. She comments gently, "Huh, I always knew they were armed, at least more than we'd ever be, but this is like an unnecessary amount. I mean, are half of these ever used?"
At the far end of the shed is a work bench accompanied by a stool, where on that bench are a handful of tools, screwdrivers, flashlights, and strangely enough a microscope at least in the general design of the contraption. Also occupying the workbench are pouches of bronze pellets beside rods and rifles, most of them resembling the standard style that she's seen in the pirate ship, mostly traditional with physical triggers akin to Ekitai's weapon. Her eyes shift to the stool in front of the work bench to notice though that there's another rifle, one that catches her attention more than all the others due to the significantly smoother body, a rifle sure but one that lacks a physical trigger, and while it lacks a physical scope it instead has a holographic projection which functions as one, emitting off what resemble iron sights. In fact, it was perhaps one of the few to incorporate cleaner technology to this extent in comparison to what she's seen in a while, something she would have expected more back in Versepolis.
Behind her, Maple raises her head in perplexity to the extended silence, no response to her inquisition, which is when she notices Kokei's fixation. Also intrigued now, Maple strolls to Kokei's side and looks down to that same rifle, an eyebrow raising before she remarks, "Huh, I've never seen something like that before, damn that's nice. I kind of want to take it now, though I'm sure Pine would try to steal it from me…and I do not want him anywhere near something like this…."
Kokei's forehead scrunches in deep thought before wondering to the both of them, "Is this…something I should be relaying to everyone else? I mean it's not like I found anyone…or even really a clue that they were here…but I mean this still feels important I think."
Maple shrugs her shoulders and admits, "I'm not the 'Bellator' here, that's you. Do what you think is best, the only downside is I can't surprise everyone with it."
Releasing a sigh from the jest, warranting Kokei to flash a glance at Maple with a sarcastically denouncing head shake, she ultimately faces forward and decides, "I'm going to do it, give me a second." She then raises her head before thinking, "Link Network, so uhh I just want to first say that I didn't find any other survivors or like anything they left behind or whatnot, I just wanted to make that clear, which I hope is okay."
"Link Network, go ahead," Dana invites gently, her voice echoing in Kokei's head.
Maple just stares in utter bewilderment at Kokei just standing in silence, though Kokei nods her head and responds in thoughts, "Link Network, alright, I just wanted to mention that I saw a gun here that just looks different from what else is stockpiled around here, like it's something I'd find more in Core Worlds, like I said it's sort of a small thing but it just stuck out to me. I don't really have much else to say on that though."
Maple waves both hands as she's only more confused by the lack of observable actions, but Kokei seems oddly focused on nothing as she waits before hearing Ekitai respond, "Link Network, I mean pirates get their supply from all over the place, sometimes they strike lucky and get their hands on something from the Core Worlds. Honestly you have no idea how hard some have tried to get their hands on the E.G.A's new guns."
Kokei frowns at that explanation, sighing out loud before acknowledging in her head, "Link Network, that's fair…yeah okay. Just wanted to throw that out there, I'll continue on now."
She then turns to Maple and nods before reporting, "Done, we can go onto the next place now."
Even more baffled, Maple just throws both hands forwards and exclaims, "But you didn't even- but whah…huh…," before ultimately accepting, "Sure…I'm not even going to ask what happened…I won't understand it anyways. Let's go, yeah." She watches Kokei nod and walk towards the exit door, prompting her to spin and follow her as well back out with her hands to the side.
Outside once again, Kokei keenly scans the forest in front of her to judge the next location, as there are three bridges leading out of the porch they stand on, providing a choice. As Maple steps out beside her, Kokei makes her decision and begins approaching the leftmost bridge, leading Maple to as well who raises her head before wondering, "Oh yeah anyways, so you guys call yourselves the 'Bellators' right, just to make sure I didn't mishear. I guess like what The Shield used to be? I've just not heard it before so I wasn't sure."
While walking down the bridge which subtly depresses due to her weight though doesn't have any significant wobble thanks to impressive build strength, Kokei keeps moving forwards but turns her head back before answering cheerily, "Oh yeah, that's like our team name, it's fun. I'm not surprised you haven't heard it though, we only got the name semi recently…well I guess technically it's been a while but I mean not even a year so it's fair. Besides, I don't think we've really hit the status that The Shield had…."
Maple turns to face the trees beside the bridge, taking in her surroundings as she reflects, "Yeah, that makes sense, also if it's not even been a year then no wonder, also I guess it helps that like the first big thing the Shield did was in the Rim. People wouldn't stop talking about the time just four people took down all of Novum Reges, I think it basically made them legends overnight. It is a bit of a shame that they moved on to focus mostly outside the Rim though…but guess we can't hog them forever."
Reaching the other end of the bridge, stepping onto a different porch housing a building similar to the studio apartment, Kokei pauses past the bridge with a frown, giving Maple the time to also step off the bridge and reach her side. Kokei turns to Maple and remarks timidly, "Well…a couple weeks ago I guess we did sort of declare war on the pirates, I'm not at all sure how we're supposed to do anything like that because to be honest I still don't think I'm anywhere on par with that other team, I'm surprised they've even put up with me for all this time. But I guess if that all goes through, maybe after this you'll still see us around!"
Maple turns to face Kokei and tilts her head in stupefaction, her jaw hanging in shock as she takes a moment to process what was just declared. She then just awkwardly nods her head a few times before assessing, "On the pirates…like…all of them? Well I mean…damn hey if you can actually do that, I think that'd make you more than legends, I think centuries from now people wouldn't stop talking about you guys. But hey, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing you all around more, I guess I haven't really heard of you before but you're cool, I didn't really expect people like you to be so…casually dressed."
Kokei opens her mouth to rebuttal, though freezes in contemplation, tilting her head both ways in consideration of the statement. Ultimately she releases a defeated sigh before weakly diverting, "Let's…just check the next spot." She begins walking towards the door of that studio apartment to which Maple giggles before apologizing, "Sorry if that came off wrong." She then chases after Kokei, remarking: "I mean if you want ideas for a superhero costume, I used to draw them when I was a kid!"
"Come on, come on," insists Kokei in a sudden switch to being more authoritarian, though her voice has a sarcastic tone that maintains the air of playfulness between the two. They enter the next building to continue with the inspection, for there are still many more left, and as stated before, time can't be wasted.
Above that building being entered next is another bridge on the upper level, one that Dana steps off of as she leads Aspen towards another porch, this one supporting a building the size of a garage. Somewhat concerning is that one of the corners has been covered in a stream of roots, each one definitely thinner than even the trunks of the salmon trees, but with many more which result in wider coverage than the single thicker root. The corner that this infestation sits on is at the very least in the back, only visible as some of the roots aren't contained inside the house, and the ones that do happen to penetrate through the roof.
Aspen shows concern to this sight, though with a mission still underway, Dana takes a breath of caution and advances nonetheless, approaching the door which is just the size of any other, wide enough for one to step in at a time.
First to enter the building is Dana, whose eyeless gaze is quick to begin scanning the interior for potential danger, her hands open but tensed to prime her claws, her arms tensed as well to swing. Upon entry though she finds no motion or presence otherwise, neutral or hostile, yet she still maintains that air of wariness which Aspen adopts as she steps inside next.
While there's no humanoids inside the building, what Dana does find is what resembles a workshop in that there are several tables inside the room, whether out in the open space or against the walls, and on the walls are white boards with scattered holes which seem to support the weight of firearms as they're simply sat against it. On the back left corner is that nest of roots, entering through the floor and exiting through the ceiling, covering that corner as the stream has the radius of a few feet though at least it's easier to just avoid that area.
Intrigue leads Dana to keenly inspect the interior, noting physical cabinets functioning as the legs of some of the tables, those tables holding a collection of tools, metal parts, and complete rifles. Many of those rifles however have been disassembled, leaving open barrels and bodies lying around among batteries.
Frowning at the sight of the militarization, Aspen observes in a somber tone: "I guess they really made this their home…huh? I couldn't even tell what used to be here, it's been changed to something else, the thing that keeps us hiding ...."
Walking alongside one of the tables with her head turned to examine the disassembled weapons, Dana hums electrically before noting: "It'll be nearly impossible to determine if anyone's passed here earlier today, and we can't exactly go off of messiness since…well it definitely looked like this well before. Maybe the other group didn't pass through here…which would be unfortunate if we're just…no…we'll find something."
Aspen sighs while aimlessly wandering the workshop, her eyes then setting on the weapon board which she approaches. Stopping at the table in front of the board, she raises her head to stare before wondering out loud, "Huh…maybe…we should take some of them anyways. I mean, we've been stuck with some pretty bare pistols from older drops, but I don't think I've ever used something like this. Only thing is…lugging it around would probably be a bit of a pain ...."
Dana turns to face Aspen after hearing that rise of interest, and after staring at her stare at the wall of weapons, she provides the suggestion: "You could always just ask Meditat to…make you something. I mean…well knowing him he'd probably give you something non-lethal but honestly it'd still be way better than this stuff. I mean pirate tech isn't bad…it's just…," though her voice trails off as her gaze trails towards the back wall in notice of a surprisingly great number of holes, as while the other structures had a few, this was notably severe.
Aspen turns towards Dana to acknowledge, "Oh that's right, heh I guess it does feel a bit weird asking him to just make me a weapon on the spot but…I mean he could do that. Then again I guess I have you so I'm not even sure if having better weapons would make much of an effect at that point."
Dana's attention though doesn't reflect back at Aspen, but rather she concentrates on that wall ridden with holes, holes she had originally chalked up to simple messes that pirates were bound to leave behind especially when handling so many weapons.
A heightened interest now carries her towards the wall near the infestation, keeping a safe distance from those thin roots, focused primarily on those holes in the walls which do in fact resemble bullet holes in shape and size. What's more, upon a closer examination without eyes, Dana notices that the rim of those holes are black, charred, and she slowly raises one of her hands towards it, only her pointer finger extended which is the part that approaches the hole. She doesn't press her finger against the hole though, as instead her finger extends a small wire, a tentacle about half her finger's thickness, which is what attaches to the charred rim of one of the holes, clamping on with short claws like the ones she uses to climb.
Behind her, Aspen takes notice of the odd fixation which also leads her to approach that same wall, tilting her head in perplexity, though her unspoken questions are answered as Dana suddenly determines, "Huh…these were made about three days ago…before this infestation but after…the Cull."
She then detaches the small tentacle off her finger and turns to inspect the rest of the holes, only needing to with her head to analyze, "It's the same with all the others, this wasn't just an accumulation of incidents, this all happened around the same time. It's more like someone shot this place up…but why…?"
Reaching Dana's side, Aspen inspects the holes as well, perhaps unable to examine them with the same meticulous calculations Dana could perform, though with that same conclusion she too now contemplates its meaning. She faces Dana before theorizing, "Do you…think maybe the pirates went to war with each other? I've never witnessed a skirmish but I know full well that it's fairly common for pirates to fight over land they've 'claimed.'"
Tilting her head from side to side, Dana ponders that theory for a few moments before at first corroborating, "I could see that being the case, and maybe with all that's happened, some pirates saw it as a chance to tip the scales. But…hmm…with what Kokei also mentioned…something feels off…."
Aspen raises an eyebrow in greater puzzlement, not entirely following Dana's line of thought as it's only provided to her in disjointed bits, for Dana seems separated in her own world as she begins taking several steps back, turning her head to glance at the other holes left in the other three walls composing the building. What she notices though is that there's a distinctly greater density of bullet holes towards the back end of the workshop in comparison to the side close to the door, leading her to the conclusion, "This was hardly a fight…it was a slaughter. I guess there's a lot I don't know but this doesn't even look fair…."
Trying to follow the bits of conversation between silent thoughts, Aspen shrugs and proposes: "I mean…I guess they could've been caught off guard…but I see what you're saying…."
Dana shakes her head and alerts, "I'm going to relay it to the rest, give me a second," before she raises her head and speaks not out loud but through her own thoughts, "Link Network, I just came across a building ridden with bullet holes, they all seem to have been made about three days ago. Has anyone been seeing these kinds of holes?"
Beside her, Aspen begins wandering aimlessly around the workshop again, eyeing the infestation in the corner warily, all as Dana stands in place to wait until Kokei responds in her head, "Link Network, I mean I guess I've noticed a couple holes in some of these houses, I think there might've been a couple in that shed I found the gun in. We just thought it might've been pirates being pirates though, sorry if I was supposed to say that ...."
Dana faces Aspen and nudges her head towards the door in a silent message before she turns around and starts approaching said door, heading on to the next sight which Aspen follows after taking one more glance at the weapon wall.
Ekitai answers next, "Link Network, I've been seeing those too and to be fair I also didn't say anything, three days…yeah that's weird. I do know pirates love their fights…but I keep thinking about what the others were saying about that new faction…it doesn't even make sense for a pirate group to come up from this, or at least already be a threat so quickly."
After turning to face the door, Dana begins approaching the exit as she concludes, "Link Network, that's a good point, it's something to keep in mind. I'll keep searching for signs of the other group though, let me know if anything pops up," before she leads Aspen out to the next building for inspection.
Past Aspen and Dana, through the door, beyond the railings, bridges, trees, and buildings, towards the center of the outpost there is another party exiting the door to a building, though this one is smaller, more akin to a shed. The first to step out of that door is Pine, followed soon behind by Meditat in a hurried walk as if to catch up to him, the exposure to the wind immediately messing with his cape though he continues onward, approaching one of the bridges which Pine notices, leading him to take the same bridge. Last to step out of the shed is Alder who hurries behind Meditat, the last to also walk the bridge, keeping a steady balance given the weight induced on the walkway.
The wind grazes them from the side, prompting Meditat to face towards the current, his parallelogram-shaped lenses staring through the winds, and by facing that direction he is presented the view of many branching roots risen from the lower levels, like unholy black pine trees in that they all point to the sky, sprouting out of a single origin. One of those clusters sits through a bridge almost parallel to the one he walks on, having broken a hole straight through the wood, completely blocking the path. Other clusters reside behind him too, digging into the white trees and through buildings like a knife up the chin, for it seems the nest is denser by the center of the outpost, the heart of the storm.
Well aware of his cautionary environment, Meditat faces forward to the building they're approaching, one that is significantly larger than even the studio apartments, so much so that it doesn't simply stand on the support of a single tree but rather is held up by three different ones, functioning as pillars to grip the building like a clamp for the building itself is about the size of a barn. The natural tree trunks and branches do support this building, the branches functioning like a foundation as the underbelly rests upon some, different from the other buildings whose centers usually rest against the sides of the trunks.
Straight through the center of the floor however are a few roots, some of them penetrated through the natural branches, sprouting just before making contact with the wooden underbelly, which exit through the roof, hanging over what was a home.
First to step off the large porch that surrounds the barn –also supported by the three trees– is Pine who tugs at the straps of his backpack, raising his head towards those looming roots. Meditat follows close behind, glancing at the same sight before focusing on the open doorway ahead which he continues to approach, passing Pine who for a moment freezes up. Behind him, Alder joins the pair on the porch, noticing his concern but unable to act before the boy resumes the stroll for the door.
Alder follows with a hesitant expression, also tugging the straps of his backpack, the three approaching the open door with Meditat now in the lead. As another breeze grazes them, his cape drifts one more time just as he stands straight in front of the door, pausing for a moment just to stare inside as Pine and Alder approach him, side by side. They then watch him enter.
Setting foot inside the barn, Meditat's head pans slowly to let his gaze scan the space swiftly, his black boots just ever so quietly creaking the wooden floor. While the room itself is decently lit with open windows along the walls, the shine of his goggles is better pronounced since it's not under overwhelming light.
As his cape comes to a rest, beyond the touch of the wind, Meditat examines the interior which sports a vastness unmatched, the ceiling itself, unlike most of the other buildings, being curved more triangularly than flat.
Longer than wide, the interior is composed of three columns, though the central is most definitely the widest, each column separated by a long wall with plenty of openings spaced down the column, allowing easy flow between. Furthermore the walls are only a few feet tall, giving the room a sense of openness, although even if it were to reach the ceiling it wouldn't detract too heavily from that feeling given that the major center of the room is without walls, but instead occupied by two columns of benches leading all the way to the other end, facing a podium atop a slightly elevated stage. On the opposite side, there's a low wall right in front of Meditat, not very long as it's in fact only about twenty feet long and up to his waist, aligned with the closest openings of the outer columns, though the wall is more like a table given its thickness along with the smooth flat top.
That said, even from glancing in by the entrance, that stage has several crates some of which are spilled open, all of them containing many miscellaneous items but most prominently being rifles and other firearms, littering the stage. While the building itself is built to be open, its current state doesn't hold as purely as all along the central column are roots, some of which rise straight up into the ceiling, but many more bend outwards, their branches covering parts of the benches many of which are riddled with holes, reaching nearly to those outer columns with some ends bending onto the ground as if grown from the elevated floor. Faced with this dreadful environment, Meditat's gaze sits in silence, staring at what almost resembles a black tree grown in the center of what resembles a church, for it may be one.
Both Pine and Alder enter the building, immediately entranced by the interior which their eyes jump around in as Meditat finishes his initial scan, raising his head to the second floor though it's difficult to discern the contents other than that railing.
After getting his own initial scan, Pine tugs on his backpack straps again before declaring, "Me and Alder will go down the sides and check the end, I'll take left, come on Alder," before he starts his stroll around the front barrier to approach the first opening to the left column.
Meditat's attention snaps down to the boy who he takes a step towards and raises his hand towards to protest, though Alder faces Meditat and sighs before reassuring, "He'll be careful, it's away from the roots."
Meditat faces Alder and freezes for a second, but ultimately drops his hand with a sigh, nodding his head and understanding, "Very well, but shout in case there's an issue or findings. I'll review the center, check if there's anything hidden."
Alder's eyebrow raises and he tilts his head before querying dubiously, "Uh…you sure about that? You said we're supposed to avoid touching them, right?"
Meditat nods his head and assures, "Correct, don't worry about me, I've dealt with sensitive environments in the past. If there's anything either of you want but is trapped near the roots, let me know, I'll retrieve it."
Clearly apprehensive but clearly accepting of the assurance, Alder sighs before wishing, "Ay ay, we know. He's stubborn but he's not stupid, he won't risk all of our lives. He's a good kid, really, just…likes hogging the burden of responsibility."
He flashes a confident smile before turning around and strolling towards the right wall around the barrier, following Pine's command, leaving Meditat by the entrance with nowhere to focus but straight ahead. He lets out a fatigued sigh, not out of physical exhaustion, but nonetheless marches forward, grabbing the surface of the barrier and throwing himself over, walking straight for the aisle down the center, in the direction of the roots.
Along the left column of the church, Pine keeps a tight grip on his backpack straps with a nervous expression, turning his head to the giant congregation of roots in the center, his gaze sliding along those roots and watching just how close they reach the aisle he walks down. Lucky that they always stop short, he faces down at the floor to confirm that fact before turning to his left against the wall, finding tables along said wall between the tall windows breathing light into the room, each one with a curved top like an arch. He focuses on the tables ahead of him, observing them to only be holding up miscellaneous gear like what he's already witnessed, batteries and tools, though one of the tables has a few plates and cups stacked strangely enough. There's nothing to hold him still though, for he maintains a steady stroll.
On the other side, Alder similarly ambles down the aisle with his arms at his side, his body being briefly lit up by the windows as he passes them –each window lined up with the openings of the short walls–, but his focus is primarily set on the tables he walks past, though again there's nothing he hasn't already seen before: a dump of weapons and lethal gear, a desecration of such holy place in favor of a glorified armory. Firearms are just aimlessly placed either on tables, against their legs, or just littering the floor, careless, disrespectful. That in itself isn't anything new either, a home turned into an outpost, land claimed by raiders who saw communities as coins to fight over.
Cautiously marching down the center aisle, Meditat constantly turns his head to get a glimpse of both rows of benches, only able to take a brief look to judge there to be nothing of interest. Nonetheless he continues this tedious process, but his motion is broken up when his gaze focuses forward to notice an arched root hovering over the aisle, touching down on the benches. It's just enough that Meditat has to crouch his head down to duck below the root, but he's able to straighten his posture after passing it, continuing his side to side glances. While there's nothing interesting on those benches, just more rifles and gear that's been well associated with the pirate faction that had overtaken this area, his gaze does linger on the holes scattered in the back, remnants of a battle he can't quite shake off his head. Then again, some of those holes are covered by slumped roots, reminding him of the immediate danger, as he has to duck beneath another root, pressing on towards the main roots that grow out of the aisle he walks in, blocking his path up ahead.
Not needing to concern so much with those obstacles, Pine manages to reach the far end of the church quicker, finding the end of the separation which leads him towards the stage that the podium stands on. He turns to face the stage, finding that some of the roots have grown onto the elevated platform, slumped on the surface, bumps in the ground.
He winces but takes in a deep breath of courage before stepping up to the stage, inspecting the surface to find those crates of weapons, some toppled over, others still upright. His steps are steadier, clearly concerned about the infestation he now so closely explores near, yet he still keeps inspecting the ground for anything of note.
Across from him, Alder reaches the end of the other column, turning towards the stage as well which he next approaches naturally. Pine raises his head to glance at Alder but quickly lowers it back to focus on the ground, both to examine objects around him but also carefully plan his own steps, especially as he has to walk around one of the roots slumped on the stage, keeping distance from it with a dreadful face.
After getting around the root, he approaches the podium which he finds littered with holes, though his eyes sharpen upon noticing an object sitting on the podium stand itself, what appears to be a canteen in a green suede cover bag, one that snatches his attention as he begins approaching it with a sense of urgency, one Alder reacts to as he makes haste for the podium too.
It's Pine who reaches the podium first, snatching the canteen and frantically inspecting it, his breathing beginning to get heavier and louder, his eyes glued to the item. As Alder reaches Pine's side, the boy mutters in terror: "This…this is my dad's…this was the only one he had…oh my god…."
Alder's eyes widen in shock upon inspection of the canteen, and he turns to face Meditat who's climbing over a bench, moving next to the main aisle as it's blocked by the roots. His attention is brought up though when Alder shouts, "Over here, Meditat! Found something!!" Upon perking his head up, Meditat immediately throws himself over the next bench ahead of himself and dives forward before boosting himself straight to the stage like a bullet, rolling on the floor up to his feet.
He climbs up the stage and paces to the pair, his sights quick to jump to the canteen as the object of interest, held by the boy who places his other hand on his forehead while shakily realizing, "This was all they had…how far are they going to get like this? And the food…I took it…they hardly have anything for energy…why did he leave this behind? Did something…happen?"
Reaching the pair, Meditat stops beside the podium, facing the canteen and asking, "I take it that this belonged to the group you were with?"
Alder glances at Pine as if expecting him to answer, but instead finds the boy huffing in horror, focused on nothing else but his own thoughts. Thus Alder instead turns to Meditat and nods his head, elaborating: "It did, at least we know they did pass through here," while Meditat lowers his head to the ground beside the podium concurrently as Pine continues murmuring to himself.
Staring at the wooden stage floor, Meditat notices a slightly darker spot, a circle but splatted. He drops a knee to more intimately inspect the dark spot, attracting Alder's attention who tilts his head in intrigue to that dark point, watching Meditat who stares straight at the circle and briefly murmurs quietly as if just to himself: "Determine the age of this liquid spillage."
Keeping his gaze perfectly trained on the spot, he waits patiently for a few seconds, his body still, until suddenly he stands back up and declares, "Only three and a half hours, they can't be very far, we're on the correct track."
Alder only seems stunned by that sudden conclusion, but he nods his head and follows, "Well that's some good news, at least we didn't take too much of a detour back there."
Meditat faces Alder and nods back before advising, "We should depart now, I'm not sure if we'll be able to build a trace with any of our findings since not much can be done with water, but we have a general timeline, we may be able to devise an alternate route to intercept them. I'll alert the other pairs to rendezvous so we can resume the trail." He then raises his head and goes silent, leaving Alder with that information to then turn to Pine as he discusses, "Looks like we can go back-," before he notices the shaky state the boy is in.
Puzzled, Alder frowns before asking gently, "Hey…Pine? You good, kid? Come on, let's get out of here," as he reaches for the boy's shoulder with his hand, intending to hold him steady.
Immediately as his hand makes contact with the boy, Pine abruptly shrieks and stumbles backwards, freaking out Alder who jerks his arm back in surprise to such a reaction, also prompting Meditat to lower his head and turn towards the commotion in a delayed reaction mid conversation, facing the boy at the exact moment that his ankle strikes the root laid on the ground, causing him to trip backwards and nearly fall if not for the instant cable projected from Meditat's shoulder that grabs his chest.