Aristespha narrows her gaze out into the large city park of rolling green lawns and collections of outdoor furniture and searches the immediate vicinity. Sidestepping the bright orange and white barricades, she closes her eyes momentarily and reopens them to a glowing violet. She stares out towards the gentle hills, meandering sidewalks, extensive, vacant playground, and shady gatherings of older trees. Furrowing her brow, she glances down to the aetherphone in her ivory hand. "We certainly do have our work cut out for us here."

Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia filter in through the gaps between bold warning signs and underneath a web of plastic strip barriers. Blinking his eyes to a bright blue illumination, Bach searches out into the distance and blinks in a surge of surprise. "Oh... Yeah... Huh... Man. Looks like this place caught a lot of the weird stuff from that one maelstrom cell."

Cideeda glances over to Aristespha and Bach briefly and focuses emerald green eyes towards the scenery, surveying a few strange phenomena. Sorting through sporadic glimmers of light in the shade, flits of motion in the brush, and faint noises contrasting the natural soundscape, she lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at the leafy debris gently hovering above the ground many meters away and nods in agreement. "THAT is an understatement. I'm going to need to do some scouting with a thermal camera and a radio sweep. Also..."

She reaches into a large pouch at her side, retrieves a big rusty nut with a small rag tied through it, and grins confidently, rolling the metal idly in her hand. "There's nothing like a standard physical check."

Deftly sliding her grip to the cloth tail, she casually twirls the weight and releases it into an arc towards the hovering leaves and sticks. In its natural descent, the nut sharply rises. For a few seconds, it coasts level above the debris. It sharply plummets hard upon the ground, pressing into the earth. The rest of the team approach cautiously, focusing fully upon the significant dent into the dirt. Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda smirks, rests her hands upon her hips, and sways her stance with a wag of her long fluffy tail. "Not the worst I've seen... But, THAT got pulled down far quicker than normal gravity for sure."

Dretphi stares distantly out into the park, puzzling at the deviations from the normal in the scenery, and closes her eyes. Carefully angling her head around, she scans the soundscape and hums intrigued, reopening her steely gray eyes. "It is quiet. Wildlife have retreated. Not unexpected. Worrying still."

Sotalia crosses her arms, postures confidently, and grins with shrug. "Meh. I'm not feeling anything too terrible from here. Probably just a bunch of small annoying things we have to dispel."

The wind blows across the area, and waves of air roll over the grasses in the large park. A tree in the distance sways hard with the current. With a loud crack, a small branch tumbles out and lands upon a very dry spot in the middle of damp pavement. Within the air above the arid circle, the branch's leaves quickly dry out, and the bark cracks open. Seconds later, smoke wisps out from the wood, and the crispy leaves ignite to flame. Blinking at the burning branch, Sotalia contends with a mix of surprise and interest upon her light tan face and smiles eagerly, unfolding her arms. "WELL... Now, that's a neat one."

Glancing down at her aetherphone, Aristespha taps out a few lines of notes and returns her attention ahead, tossing back strand silvery blue locks over her shoulder. "Good. That is one the list under the high priority category."

She scrolls through the document on the screen and nods slowly to herself. "So far, it seems that whoever checked the area made excellent notes for the mission brief."

Bach watches the distant branch burn within the dry circle surrounded by damp concrete, wisps of steam hissing out from each ember escaping. Warily smirking towards the rest of the group, he fights a grimace and motions towards the anomaly. "Yeah... Let's see if we can dispel that one from a good distance."

With nod and a reassuring smile, Aristespha gazes over to Bach and sighs with an understanding tone. "Oh, most certainly. I will guide you through the standard processes for handling many known anomalies. But, I think you should be able to figure out means more suited to your abilities."

She retrieves a tablet from her small backpack, clicks it out of sleep, and places it into Bach's hands. "Most should be sufficiently disarmed by manipulation of flow dynamics. But, if not..."

Sotalia flashes a prideful grin towards Bach and Aristespha, interlocks her fingers, and stretches her arms out. "I'll provide the raw dispelling power."

Nodding slowly, Bach returns his stare out towards the abandoned park scenery. Strange sparks of light flicker out from different locations, high and low. Odd, unusual disruptions in the landscape sharply deviant from typical, natural expectations surrounding them. Warping of light fills a few zones above constantly waving blades of grass. The rag tied to the test weight lifts up, fluttering, and gradually rises up, towing the rest of the rusty hardware. Cideeda points a claw tip over to the phenomena, watching with pure fascination. "Huh. It reverses after some time."

Sebastian's ethereal form materializes in front of the group, checks around for anyone else, and relaxes to a nonchalant pose. "Good. No one else is around."

Addressing the team, he straightens his posture and furrows his brow in thought. "Okay... So, overall we'll do the usual scout, mark, and remove plan. Nothing on the mission description indicated anything out of the ordinary for this type of job. So, I believe standard operating procedure should do it?"

The group nods in a collective agreement. Stretching his ghostly visage, Sebastian grins and surveys the surrounding scenery. "Well, I think I'll best serve everyone by going around and making use of my intangible self. Get a good close look at any possibly dangerous anomalies."

Bach slowly shakes his head in astonishment, spotting more strange phenomena appearing in the previously serene park. "Gods. It always amazes me how these things can ride out storms and continue to function after landing."

Nodding in agreement, Aristespha stiffens a frown and sighs uncertainly. "I know. Quite a number of people at the Grand Library are still trying to figure out exactly what creates these anomalies."

She furrows her ivory brow with a faint twitch of her very long ears. "Most important, how some are so portable, too. So many theories..."

Widening her emerald green eyes with intrigue, Cideeda glances over up at Aristespha and curls the corner of her mouth, perking an eyebrow. "Any favorite theories? I always thought these things always seemed like seeds or spores to the bigger and weirder stuff in the big zones."

Furrowing her tan brow, Dretphi pauses in thought, ponders quietly, and shrugs her lightly armored shoulders. "Similar behavior. Do not grow into anything more outside the zone."

Aristespha rocks her head side to side with her thoughts. "That is true to a certain extent. There are theories that these anomalies are limited by their environment."

Combing her claw tips through her short mutli-colored hair, Cideeda flicks her furry ears with a twist of her mouth. "I guess. But you sometimes get those short-lived weird zones that spring up."

Holding up a gauntlet covered finger, Dretphi smirks with a theory. "Maybe in a high enough concentration they change the environment to suit another purpose? There are plants that do such."

Stepping forward into the conversation, Sotalia strokes her chin thoughtfully and sways her hips side to side in contemplation. "I don't know. Gods, most of the anomalies just seem really erratic and plain crazy. I seriously don't see how they'd help anyone or anything. Or do anything with a purpose."

She tosses her head of fiery orange, wavy hair and hoists up an eyebrow. "I've always just figured they're leftover zone garbage that got carried away."

Shrugging his shoulders, Bach sighs indecisively and furrows his brow. "Well, you got me. I mean, maybe they're scattered pieces to something bigger? Individually, they really don't make sense. But, maybe, if you got them together in the right way, it does something useful? I don't know. The stories I've always heard from weird zones never explain the reasons to why it all happens."

Cideeda flexes her clawed fingers, rocks her head side to side, and thinks for a moment. "Yeah. They're still cool stories. Oh well..."

Rolling her shoulders, she inspects her gear vest and checks over her outfit. "Let's start cleaning up. I'd really like to hit the Pancake Shed at a decent lunch time and get a punch on my new card."

Sebastian nods in agreement and hovers up slightly into the air. "Yeah. We got a busy morning with this and a few small jobs. After lunch, we got a tougher job to contend with."

Gazes over the team, he individually addresses them. "Okay... Summary of the plan. Dear. Give my bro a quick refresher, and keep us informed on what we are tackling. Bro. You should figure this out in no time, just do what you do where you can. Sotalia. Feel around the area, and let us know where things seem off. Cideeda. Run the scanning equipment around the area. And, help us out with your eyes, ears, and nose. Dretphi. Check the area and let us know if the natural is being unnatural."

Glancing over his shoulder, he motions out to the landscape behind him. "AND... I'll do the overall sweep for anything that immediately sticks out, and see how much I can scout out. Sound good?"

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia relay their agreement with the plan. Sebastian gives a quick thumbs up and drifts off into the park proper. Aristespha points out key information on the tablet in Bach's hand, Sotalia peering over shoulders curiously. Cideeda and Dretphi walk over to the humvee, past the safety barriers, and sort through equipment.

----

Tassilda's glowing light blue on black eyes focus upon the swirling streams of magical flow, wrapping around a warping, transparent mass. Deedri cautiously gestures out an incantation and gently wills out thread thin strands of magical energy along the existing flows. Tassilda nods calmly, rigidly to Deedri. The two synchronously gesture out another series of complicated incantations, both keeping in pace. From the translucent containment field forming around the transparent entity, magical miasma vents out slowly into the area, dissipating harmlessly out into the passing breeze. The warping mass shrinks swiftly. Soon collapsing onto the hot, dry dirt, it quickly fades from existence, the last wisps drifting with the wind. Lowering her arms, Tassilda blinks her eyes hard to normal and releases a long sigh of relief. "OH... Thank you so much for the assistance. I got the distinct impression that one could have been troubling without someone else helping."

Deedri perks up her tufted, furry ears and smiles contentedly. "Oh. It was not a problem. I definitely could feel it getting unstable towards the end, so it was a good call for the both of us to handle it."

Pausing a moment, she glances around the vicinity and cocks her head to the side curiously, furrowing her brow. "Not that I really want to tempt Fate..."

She bounces her auburn eye to the sides of her vision and suspiciously scans the area. "But... Where is Veevi? I thought she wandered off with you."

An evil smirk cracks out from the corner of Tassilda's mouth, and she flutters her eyes with an amused chuckle. "OH. Yes. I put to her work on a task befitting her abilities."

Narrowing an incredulous gaze at Tassilda, Deedri twists her fair toned face uncertainly. "Oh... Uh... What would THAT be? Given her..."

She averts her gaze and stiffens a derisive smirk. "Abilities?"

Tassilda tilts her head towards the shade of a distant tree and smiles impishly. "Oh. Trying to dispel those light anomalies over there."

Shifting her weight to one side, Deedri leans over and spots Veevi. Knelt down and holding her hands out in front of disembodied flickering lights, Veevi strains herself, forcing sputters of magic energy out. Deedri blinks a few times, eases closer to Tassilda, and whispers confused. "Uh. If I remember correctly, those require a significant amount of energy to dispel."

Grinning wide with satisfaction, Tassilda winks to Deedri and comments quietly. "I know. But... She doesn't."

Deedri bites her lower lip, trying in vain to hide her amusement, and rolls her eyes. "Well, I guess THAT is the best use of her time, for now."

Across from Deedri and Tassilda, Modoran approaches Chad and Trakenthin, whistling a tune, and stops next to them with a nonchalant bow. "Gentlemen. I have scouted around this place, and do not think there's anything else that looks out of the ordinary."

He points a thumb over his shoulder. "Past that last row of trees, it just goes into farm plots. And, I did not see anything."

Chad nods his head, scrolling through lines of text on his aetherphone, and studies a small list on the display. "That's good to hear. So it looks like nothing outside this reported area has anything to worry about."

He hums in thought for a few moments and glances up to Trakenthin, pointing over towards the forested section near Veevi. "Trakenthin, could you check in the woods over there? There's a mention of something weird going on in the forest near the flickering lights on the quest report."

Trakenthin nods stoically and pivots around to set off. Modoran lightly taps Trakenthin on shoulder and leans close, directing his voice upward. "Hey. Be careful in those woods. I think they have a bullymunk infestation around here. I kept to the treetops, but looking down, I saw a bunch of holes that looked like their burrows."

Cocking his head, TRakenthin furrows his dark bronze brow at Modoran curiously. "You have dealt with bullymunks?"

Modoran shrugs his shoulders and snorts with a nonchalant smirk. "Not personally. I just worked at a resort before where they were rampant. Softer soil and all."

Trakenthin thinks for a moment, nodding appreciatively, and pats Modoran back on his shoulder. "Thank you for the warning."

He walks slowly towards the trees near Veevi and sighs midway, hints of annoyance slipping out into his tone. Veevi huffs in frustration, rolls her shoulders, gritting her teeth, and throws her arms forward, grumbling to herself. Faint flows of magical energy swirl around her arms, condense in her hands, and pulse out towards a swarm of floating, flickering lights. Halting his travel into the woods, Trakenthin turns his gaze down towards Veevi and studies her inept attempts. The hovering orbs of light continue their erratic patterns in defiance against Veevi's weak emissions of magical energy. Trakenthin slowly shakes his head, turns his attention to the forest perimeter near Veevi, and steps forward. A tiring attempt later, Veevi plops down upon the grass and pants, propping herself up with her arms behind her. She regains awareness of her surroundings and notices Trakenthin nearby parting some underbrush. A sly smile graces Veevi, and she narrows her pink pupil eyes upon Trakenthin. "Hey, Trakenthin. What's a big, strong warrior doing over here?"

Trakenthin snarls his upper lip out of sight of Veevi and grumbles out. "Chad instructed me to investigate this area."

Blinking with interest, Veevi glances around and hops up to her feet with a smile, flexing her posture. "Oh! Can I join you?"

With a faint grimace leaking out upon his stoic expression, Trakenthin slowly shakes his head of short, styled dirty blonde hair and keeps his attention forward. "Not necessary."

Veevi frowns, lifts her nose at him, and crosses her arms petulantly. Completely ignoring the behavior, Trakenthin scans the forest ahead and slowly searches. He surveys the vicinity and spots a small hole in the dirt at the base of a tree leading down into a narrow tunnel. Sun shines down from above and highlights the rough meter perimeter cleared of debris surrounding the burrow entrance. Trakenthin studies the area carefully, recognition coloring his stoic exterior with growing caution. Stepping back away from the forest, he starts to walk off, following the forest edge. Veevi glares at Trakenthin and growls out indignantly. "Well?! I thought you were going to explore the forest there. What's wrong? Too scared?!"

With a long roll of his hazel eyes, Trakenthin sighs and slowly pivots around, facing Veevi. "NO."

Puffing up her chest, Veevi sneers with an indignant stare at Trakenthin and meanly quips. "OH. I guess none of that childhood training you got taught you how to brave the wilderness, then."

Narrowing his cold stare upon Veevi, Trakenthin draws in a long breath, twists his grimace with a brief curl in his upper lip, and grumbles. "No. I know how to travel through the forest."

A sinister smirk creeps out upon Veevi, and she straightens her posture defiantly, checking her sharp nails. "Whatever! Gods, here I was so hoping to see a brave, strong warrior in action. But..."

Dramatically rolling her eyes, she tosses her long pink hair over a shoulder and huffs. "I guess THAT'S just not going to happen. Oh well..."

Trakenthin aims an annoyed glare down upon Veevi and examines her silently. With a dismissive glower, Veevi meets Trakenthin's attention and crosses her brown striped tan arms expectantly. Trakenthin briefly clenches his fist, searching his mind. Cracking a slight smile, he tilts his head. He blatantly sighs, relaxes his posture, and slowly shakes his head. "I apologize. I sought an easy route for you. So you can join me."

Veevi blinks in surprise, concentrating her intrigue upon Trakenthin, and shifts into a seductive smile upon her tan face. "OH? Really? Well, I may have been a bit too quick to judge."

Trakenthin dons a calm gaze and gazes down at the coy posturing of Veevi. "I misjudged, too. You have shown you should take lead down this path."

A sly smirk parts Veevi's mouth, and she steps forth towards the underbrush near Trakenthin. Biting her lower lip, she studies Trakenthin up and down and peeks into the forest. "Doesn't look bad at all. This could be really fun..."

She sneaks a wink. "For the both of us."

Grabbing hold of the tall plants, Trakenthin parts a path through and motions with his free hand ahead. "You first. Consider it part of your training."

Veevi perks up her dark pink eyebrows at Trakenthin, struts seductively through the brush, and steps towards the cleared area near the base of a tree. Quietly waiting, Trakenthin watches Veevi travel past the perimeter into the debris free zone around the small hole at the base of the tree. Veevi pauses a moment, her fuzzy ears twitching towards a sound below her, and gazes down curiously. Moments later, a small brown and tan rodent with black and white stripes and a short tail waddles out of the small burrow. It quickly pans its head around side to side and swiftly snaps its stare up at the figure shading out the sun. Kneeling down slowly in front of the small creature with a smile, Veevi smiles at the critter with enthralled delight. "Hello. Aren't you the cutest little thing? Is this your home?"

Trakenthin's hazel eyes open wide with familiarity, and he quietly releases the parted underbrush. He slowly steps back from the forest edge and waits, barely containing a sly smirk. Tilting her head side to side, Veevi watches, amused by the small critter staring at her, and wags her short-haired tail excitedly. "I've never seen anything like you. Would you like something to eat?"

A high pitched growl bellows out, seizing the attention of Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and the nearby camera crews. An ear piercing shriek splits the air, and Veevi erupts out from the forest edge in wild eyed fright. She sprints off in an erratic panic, and the rodent pursues her relentlessly in a constant fit of furious, angry barks. Barely containing his ill-humored snorts, Trakenthin covers his face. Everyone else watching in pure bewilderment, the small creature chases the frantically flailing Veevi. Keeping pace with Veevi, the little creature occasionally hops and nips at Veevi's puffed out tail waving close. Chad blinks in absolute astonishment for a second, spitting and snorting into uncontrollable laughter immediately after. Tassilda covers her mouth in sheer shock and amusement. Deedri gawks briefly and turns her stunned gaze towards the comparatively calm Modoran. Shrugging his shoulders and maintaining his nonchalant demeanor, Modoran tugs at the corner of his mouth and grits his teeth briefly. "THAT is why you don't bother bullymunks."

Veevi musters her coordination and concentrates on running, putting distance between her and the angry bullymunk. Stepping closer, Modoran shakes his head and sighs towards Deedri and Tassilda. "They are REALLY. FUCKING. Territorial."

In a frantic flurry, Veevi leaps onto the trunk of a large tree, scratches her sharp nails on her hands onto the bark, and scrambles up awkwardly up into the branches. Smirking with a devilish satisfaction, Modoran calls out towards Veevi. "They easily climb trees, too!"

Veevi's horrified, shrill yell bounces around the area, guiding the camera crew recording equipment. "THEY WHAT?!"

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The bullymunk sprints up the trunk of the tree without missing a single step.

----

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia walk down a long, winding gravel path through aisles of bamboo patches, rock encircled flower gardens, and arranged shrubbery. Pausing a moment at a bend in the walkway, Bach slowly scans the area, lifting an intrigued eyebrow. "Huh... Man, I didn't expect all this to be here, especially given the really run down fencing and parking lot."

The wind tickles Cideeda's furry ears into a few flicks, and she gazes forward down the route ahead, furrowing her light brown brow. "Well, most of these shrine gardens are only funded from donations these days."

Tugging at the corner of her mouth, her furry ears droop slightly, and she sighs faintly. "So, sacrifices have to be made."

A gentle breeze passes through Dretphi's platinum blonde braids, and she smiles calmly, nodding. "Reminds me of the ancestor gardens from home. Peaceful. Perfect for reflection."

Sotalia kneels down to a small patch near the path and curiously cocks her head to the side, studying the prolific plants growing. "Gods... I should know what this plant is. It looks so familiar..."

Dretphi stands next to Sotalia, stares down at the distinctive leaves, and studies the flora's attributes. "Oh. A type of mint. What variety..."

She contends with a brief grimace. "That is difficult. Hard to narrow down without a full examination. The flowers have not bloomed."

From behind a row of neatly trimmed bushes, a young fvalian woman steps out on the path. She tosses down a handful of weeds and debris, wipes the sweat from her brow, and pants out her fatigue, brushing off her apron. Seconds in her own thoughts later, she turns her gaze towards the group and blinks in surprise, happily greeting the team. "Oh! Hello! Welcome to the Freesbo Shrine Garden. Um..."

Narrowing an examining gaze upon the team, she points to them and smiles hopefully. "Are you here for the guild job?"

Aristespha steps forward, bows slightly, and presents a professional tone. "Yes, we are. You must be?"

The fvalian woman's furry ears perk up through her long black, patterned hair, and a sense of relief washes over her. Removing a pair of gardening gloves from her claw tipped hands, she sighs with a slow wag of her short haired, tuft tipped tail. "Rekeeka Tarodeena. The current and..."

Pausing a moment, she shrugs with a spark of embarrassment. "Well... ONLY shrine maiden here."

An exchange of names and greetings between the team later, Rekeeka bows respectfully to the group and manages to maintain a cheerful tone despite concern visibly weighing upon her. "Oh, thank you so much for responding. I apologize for the job not paying that much despite the significant task. I'm actually a bit surprised anyone took the job so quickly when I posted early this morning."

Bach shrugs his shoulders and smirks nonchalantly. "Well, I mean, it wasn't too much out of the way from all the other jobs we had to do in the area. And, we had lunch at the Pancake Shed down the road."

Rekeeka's furry ears flick up, and she presents a toothy grin, her tail swaying. "Oh! Do you have any customer cards with you?"

Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Cideeda opens a pocket on her vest. She sweeps up her past the opening and deftly flips up a fresh card with a single punch between two fingers. "I do. Why?"

A sly smile grows on Rekeeka, and she swiftly plucks out a pen from her shorts pocket, clicking it. "Well, I work there on the night shifts. So..."

Holding out her hand, she perks her tan brow. "While I can't offer that much monetary compensation for the job ahead, I can certainly comp a free punch."

Grinning toothily, Cideeda presents the Pancake Shed card over to Rekeeka and nods appreciatively. "No complaints here."

Rekeeka quickly presses a thumb claw through a punch spot on the card, initials next to the spot, and returns the card. Clicking the pen again, she stows in her pocket and motion down the path. "Good! I really shouldn't take too much of your time, since you probably have other jobs after this one. So, follow me, and I'll give you a little tour on the way."

The team follows Rekeeka down the winding path. Following along a few twists and turns, Rekeeka glances back over her shoulder with an explanatory tone. "This particular shrine garden is one of the oldest in the area. We... Well, I maintain close to twenty five different locations on the property, part time. And, while I'm still learning traditional magics..."

She flashes an entrepreneurial grin and playful wink. "I pride myself on providing both herbal and alchemical plant reagents... For a fair donation."

Waving her arm out, she points out a number of paths leading to different areas in the distance of the property. "We house a variety of worship sites to many gods, goddesses, spirits, and other entities today. But, historically, we used to only house shrines for-"

She recites out a complicated phrase in a fluently paced dialect of Fvalian, piquing Cideeda's interest. Sotalia nods understandingly, and the rest of the group remains in polite confusion between moments of recognition. Senses the loss of comprehension, Rekeeka giggles with a bit embarrassment and sighs apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry. The name doesn't have an easy translation to Americ. Um, it roughly means the religion of experience? There's a lot of context lost in that translation unfortunately."

Cideeda nods to Rekeeka, smiling happily, and gazes over to the rest of the team. "The simple version is you take all the forces you experience in life, give them easy names, and assign personifications that describe them. Then, by proxy, seek guidance from or to guide those very forces."

Perking up, Rekeeka grins appreciatively. "That's a wonderful explanation. I'll have to borrow that in the future. Anyway, you seem quite versed."

Shrugging her shoulders with a nonchalant smirk, Cideeda chuckles and rolls her emerald green eyes at herself. "Versed enough. I mostly tend to pay tribute to Fate and Karma."

She quirks her light brown brow, thought reminding her of something. Twisting her mouth, she sighs with a tinge of embarrassment. "Which reminds me, do you have shrines to those two? I've been meaning to give a proper thanks for recent things. And, well, just haven't found time or place to do so..."

Continuing to lead the team down the route, Rekeeka points down a neatly tiled stone path and chimes in. "Of course! They're down there in an alcove. After you're done with your job, I'll be happy to take you there. Honestly, after last night, I need to be thankful, too."

Bach glances down the route briefly, ponders a few seconds, and returns his attention ahead, puzzling. "Huh. That's actually a neat concept and practice, thinking about it. A bit different approach than Gnost's, but he's mostly about seeking knowledge. His book of fables that my mom would read to Sebastian and me were always really good."

Aristespha lifts her head up from studying her tablet and glances over to Bach. "I have read that book. One of the better religious texts out there for its age."

With a dropping twitch of her very long, pointed ears, she wrestles down a frown and groans. "SO MUCH better than any of the Evuukian Light Gods tomes I had to TOLERATE growing up."

Sotalia chuckles lightly, grins impishly towards Aristespha, and leans close. "Oh, but that group does have one hell of a party god."

Stifling an amused snort, Aristespha slowly shakes her head of silvery blue hair with a roll of her violet eyes. "Wherever red cups fall, honor him braced upon an altar of porcelain... GODS. And THAT is being KIND with the translation."

Snickering briefly, Sotalia sighs and smiles playfully, resting her hands upon her hips. "At least your gods occasionally loosen up. I could never get into any of the emin deities. They're all so self absorbed most of the time."

She pauses a moment and smirks guiltily. "BUT, I just CAN'T resist the holiday celebrations. Oh, especially throughout winter solstice."

Resting a hand on her chest, she sighs and grins slyly. "I may not know who to believe, but I'm not turning down an excuse to enjoy all those treats."

Dretphi nods with her thoughts and shrugs her shoulders with a bit of humored guilt. "They are good. My family has adopted fun traditions. We believe our ancestors grow bored of stale methods to honor them. Their spirits appreciate the variety."

Progressing down the path, the discussion continues between all. Minutes later, Rekeeka leads the party to an open field near the corner of the property, stopping when the path fades into the taller grasses. Her body tenses, and she slowly pivots to the group with a wary gaze. "This is THE SPOT. It's called Avis Mark. And well... It has always been considered a cursed spot. So, we try to discourage people from going near it."

She sighs, rolls some tension out of her shoulders, and grimaces. "It just seems to attract strange things from maelstroms, and usually of the dangerous variety."

Pointing out a clawed finger out into the tall grass clearing, she frowns uneasily and directs the team's attention towards a strange swirling of air stirring a large swath of grass blades. "Right there. I've never seen this kind of anomaly before."

She grits her teeth briefly and winces with concern. "Unfortunately, I believe it has trapped a small animal within it. It's really hard to make out, as it seems to warp light, too."

Aristespha blinks her eyes to a glowing violet and focuses fully upon the shimmering mass. Blue illumination growing, Bach squints and studies the visual fluctuations revealing a small opaque outline briefly. Cideeda pulls out a small camera, holds her aetherphone out, and taps through the menus. A thermal visualization of the constant vortex appears on the phone display. Cideeda alternates between examining the screen and watching the swirling air with her furry ears trained upon it. Dretphi carefully approaches the edge of the tall grass field and cautiously investigates the perimeter. Staring at the anomaly, Sotalia shudders briefly and twists her mouth, slightly gritting her teeth. "OKAY. That's definitely not a nice one. I'm starting to feel it now."

Rekeeka bows respectfully and steps out of the way with an appreciative smile. "Thank you so much for taking on this task. I'll excuse myself, for now. I don't want to accidentally get in the way. But, if you need anything, please let me know. I'll be at the temple area in the middle of the property."

With an acknowledgement from the team, she departs. A minute later, Sebastian's ghostly form manifests next to Aristespha, and he peeks over her shoulder at the tablet. "So, dear, what are we dealing with?"

Aristespha grumbles to herself, brushing back a lock of her silvery blue hair over a very long pointed ear, and sighs out her frustration. "It is one of a few things, Sebastian. None of them good."

Glancing over towards Bach, she inquires. "Do you see the flow radiating from the ground, too, Bach?"

Bach aims his stare down through the tall grasses at the base of the sluggish vortex, springs his eyes wide open, and gradually nods. "OH... YES... I think this is one of those anomalies with a source object."

Cideeda contorts her face, furrowing her brow, and cocks her head to the side. "I'm not getting anything too unusual on the thermal camera. It's definitely moving air around, but it's not heating or cooling it. But..."

Her furry ears flick and perk towards a point in the shimmering mass. "I hear some kind of small animal in there. Maybe squirrel or rat? I can't tell, the sound is all distorted."

Dretphi walks up to the group and shakes her head with a frown. "Nothing unusual in the surrounding area. It seems localized. I do not know any more."

Aristespha nods appreciatively to Dretphi, drags through paragraphs of text, and focuses her gaze upon a few lines. "Thank you, everyone. That actually significantly narrows it down. Sebastian?"

Sebastian turns his ethereal form towards Aristespha. "Yes, dear?"

Aristespha's violet eyes quickly read through the mass of information on the screen, and she points up to the top of the swirling air at flecks of debris drifting in the currents. "I will need you to go up there and keep an eye on this. This is a tricky one to disrupt and disarm, but it can be done."

Bach glances over quizzically. "So, uh, what's the process?"

Biting her lower lip, Aristespha sighs, collecting her thoughts. "Okay. This is called a Vacuum Snare. It uses sudden vacuum to draw anything within proximity into a folded space pocket in the middle."

Sotalia blinks in surprise, stares awkwardly at the anomaly, crossing her arms, and uneasily picks at one of her horns. "Good fucking gods... It's got a folded space pocket?"

Wrestling an uncomfortable frown, she ponders out loud. "That is NOT trivial magic there. I admit, it feels strange, like it was warping something... But... WOW..."

Aristespha nods in commiseration at Sotalia's observations, reading the literature. "Unlike the folded space frames, this is not properly stabilized. Back to the task, there are two key things. One, we must cut the current effect off from its source in the ground. Second, we must keep powering the effect from our own energy sources and gradually allow the effect to fade, unfolding the space."

Blinking and tilting her head up from the tablet to the team around her, she grimaces against a wave of unease. "Otherwise, the space unfolds IMMEDIATELY and releases a massive burst of all the air it has drawn inside it... Along with anything else."

Nervous tension looms weighs down around the team. Bach draws a long breath in and faintly hisses it out through gritting teeth. "So... Who's got what?"

Aristespha perks a directed eyebrow at Bach, twisting her mouth, and hands over the tablet. "You should be able to handle cutting and isolating the source. I believe you have a few tricks for remotely manipulating the flows and sealing up the source."

Nodding in agreement, Bach glances over the information on the tablet and smiles, thinking out loud. "Yeah. You're right. Probably could flow some cables, and then construct a barrier around it. Hold off the last part for when you all are ready."

A smirk graces Aristespha, and she gazes over to Sotalia with a composed posture. "And, with a little redirection from me, our raw power house will be able to easily keep the effect powered long enough to let it wind down gently."

Sotalia grins slyly with a confident pose and brushes her fiery orange, wavy hair back. "OH. WELL. Of course."

Sebastian smiles proudly, ponders in thought, and glances over to the transparent warping of spiraling air in the middle of the plot of land. "That sounds like a good plan, so far. I guess I'm keeping an eye on things from above the anomaly."

He motions towards Cideeda. "Cideeda, you keep an eye out for anything going strange on the ground level. If it starts to look weird or sound bad, let us know."

Cideeda nods in agreement, flexes her arms, and stretches out her back. "Yeah. Sounds good to me."

With an appreciative tone, Sebastian points to Dretphi casually with both hands. "And Dretphi, you are on overwatch. If it looks like things are going bad, be ready to pull us out of harm's way. With the amount of focus required, we all may not be that observant when needed."

Dretphi grants a simple, confirming nod. Sebastian gazes over the team and hovers upwards. "Okay. I'm getting into position."

Floating above the high top of the anomaly, he observes the tiny flecks of debris trapped in the flows of air. Aristespha quickly recites the details to Bach and Sotalia and points out positions for Cideeda and Dretphi. Minutes of reviewing the steps later, the team readies themselves. Bach kneels down, blinks his eyes a glowing blue, and guides elongating cables of magical energy through the grasses towards the base of the transparent vortex. Sotalia stretches her arms out, flexes her legs and hips, and poses her hands forward, at the ready. Cideeda maintains her attention split between the anomaly and the thermal display on her phone. Dretphi kneels down behind Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia, and inspects the path behind the group for a clear escape. Placing her tablet in her backpack, Aristespha expels her nerves in a long exhale and prepares herself. "Okay. Bach. Start isolating the source."

Bach nods, his eyes flashing a brighter blue, and pulses of magical flow radiate down the cables from his hands. Aristespha quickly gestures a series of incantations and projects out faint corridors of energy towards the bottom of the vortex. Cideeda's furry ears flick with the whistles of wind streaming out from the top of the anomaly, and flecks of debris fly through Sebastian's ethereal form. A surging gust of wind billows out from the bottom of the swirling mass and pushes down the surrounding grasses. Sunken into the ground, a crystal speckled rock flickers brightly, the vortex above swaying more erratically. A golden sphere of hexagonal pieces slowly builds up from the dirt and gradually conceals the stone orb. Flows of energy erupt out between the tightening gaps through the barrier field, and Bach directs his concerned tone to Aristespha. "Ready?! I'm about to cut it off!"

Nodding quickly, Aristespha pushes her arms outwards and directs a powerful flow of magical energy through the swirling, ethereal conduits. "Yes! Get ready, Sotalia!"

The golden geodesic dome completes around the crystal speckled rock against strong flow resistance. The vortex shimmers, and blasts of air erupt out into the area. Aristespha grimaces and grits her teeth. With the anomaly relentlessly drawing upon the flow conduits, she maintains the massive amount of energy through the magical pathways. Turning her palms upwards, she pivots carefully towards Sotalia and winces, a powerful gale blasting upon her. "NOW!"

Sotalia grabs hold of Aristespha's hands tightly and tenses herself, a wave of magical flow spiraling out from her body and concentrating into the energy conduits. The vortex shimmers opaque, spins quicker, and sways wildly. Sotalia grits her teeth, dons a determined stare, and growls out. "Holy shit! It's pulling some serious power."

Nodding, Aristespha turns her head, shielding herself away from the growing gale, and calls out. "Yes! Keep feeding smaller amounts over time."

Sebastian yells out from above and energetically points. "Watch out! It's really starting to swing wild."

Dretphi reaches out and taps on Bach's shoulder. Bach glances over and watches Dretphi signal him backwards. Nodding, he carefully moves back under Dretphi's guidance, gradually lengthening the cables in his hands. Aristespha and Sotalia lean sharply back from the wind bursting forth, and Dretphi and Cideeda brace the pair from behind. The air grows loud. The torrent blasts out and magical miasma vents out. With a final poof, the wind suddenly stills, and faint traces of the shimmering magical mass disappear. Aristespha breathes out a long sigh of relief. Sotalia releases her grip, steadying herself, and places her hands at her sides with a prideful, satisfied grin. Cideeda and Dretphi relax, and Bach rests prone on the ground. Searching the air above briefly, Sebastian squints down towards the ground and scans around in utter bewilderment. "What the- The hell was that?"

Aristespha combs her hair back out of her face and chuckles lightly. "Nicely done, everyone. Amazing. That had a LOT more air in it than I expected."

Sotalia lifts her eyebrow at Aristespha, crosses her arms, and smiles proudly. "Oh, yeah. Quite the challenge... But... Not too terrible."

Cideeda's furry ears twitch, and she searches around the tall grass. "What's that noise?"

Dretphi's steely gray eyes spring open wide, and she focuses upon the trail of shaking plant blades towards Bach. She reaches out to grasp Bach's shoulder. Bach lifts his head up from rest, pushes himself up, and glances ahead. "Hey, what's going-"

A small, furry creature leaps out from the grass and latches onto Bach's face. It scurries in a panic upon Bach's head, and he tilts backward. Flailing wildly, he shrieks out. "OH, GODS! AH! WHAT THE FUCK!?"

----

The team walks along the path through the shrine garden. Dretphi bites her lower lip in a mix of glee and embarrassment, reaching her hand out above Bach, and gently pets the flying squirrel securely nestled upon Bach's head of longer brown hair. The critter enjoys the affection, leaning into the attention. Seconds later, Dretphi slides her fingers underneath the creature and gradually applies a gentle upwards pull. The squirrel hunkers down and tightens its grip onto Bach's hair and scalp, stubbornly resisting. Grimacing, Bach grits his teeth briefly with wince. "Ow. Stop. Please. He's still not letting go."

Sotalia snorts and shakes her head, covering her mouth. Sighing with a warm smile, Dretphi pets the soft furry, loose coat of the flying squirrel and pats Bach on the shoulder. "Sorry. I believe it is a ruin squirrel. I have read about them. They do not have many predators. They are friendly. Not easily scared."

Furrowing her tan brow, she cocks her head. "Do not understand why he is attached to you."

Bach grumbles to himself and rolls his blue eyes, blatantly annoyed. Sotalia grins wide, reaches up, and gently strokes her long nails along the cheeks of the ruin squirrel. "OH, he's SO CUTE! We might have to keep him."

From the sword at Aristespha's side, a Sebastian toned snickers sounds out with a faint reverb. Bach glares downwards irritably and snarls his upper lip. "Are you- Are you laughing? Seriously..."

Sebastian's echoing tone sputters out a few laughs and settles down. "I'm sorry, bro. Just watching you stumble around screaming when it was crawling all over you was too much."

With a dry smirk, Bach glances over to Aristespha. "Hey, Aristespha, could I hold on to the sword for a bit?"

Aristespha lifts a suspicious eyebrow at Bach, meeting his gaze unamused. A devious grin cracks across Bach's face, and he darkly chuckles. "OH. Don't worry, I'll return it... Eventually. Just wanted to see how far I could pitch into that pond we passed on the way here."

With a sharp growl, Sebastian's voice emanates from the sword. "Don't. YOU. Fucking. DARE..."

A spark of sinister glee lights up Bach's eyes, and he curls the corners of his mouth. "Oh, I mean, I just wanted to see if I lost my touch with throwing swords around. "

Groaning annoyed, Aristespha gazes upwards and places a firm grip on the handle of the sword, her eyes glow faintly violet. "Sebastian. Stop provoking your brother and apologize."

Sebastian's tone quietens down, and he mumbles out. "Sorry..."

With a short sigh, Aristespha glances over to Bach with a firm, understanding stare. "I'll contact Captain Hays. I'm certain the Borderland Rangers will be able to help somehow. Just stay calm."

Reaching over Bach's head, she pets the affectionate ruin squirrel a few times with a guilty smirk. "And... Keep the little one content for now."

Bach slides his eyes up and wrestles an uneasy frown. "Feeling a little uncomfortable having a strange critter climbing around my head."

With a reassuring smile, Aristespha gently pats Bach's shoulder and calmly states. "It is okay. All my medical spells showed nothing harmful. While I am not a vet, he seems perfectly healthy."

Furrowing her brow, she smirks curiously. "My guess is that he finds some comfort atop your head. After what he probably experienced in the Vacuum Trap, I cannot exactly fault him for finding something."

Bach sighs and stares ahead unamused. "I guess. I mean, fair enough..."

Seconds later, he feels a familiar five claw points of slight pressure on his forearm and glances down to Cideeda. "Yes?"

Cideeda signals Bach down closer. Bach leans down close to Cideeda's eye level, puzzling, and cocks his head to the side, whispering. "What?"

With a toothy grin, Cideeda pops up on the balls of her feet, raises her hand to the top of Bach's head, and playfully pets the ruin squirrel, to its enjoyment. She fights a bit of guilt and shrugs her shoulders. She flutters her emerald green eyes with an awkward smile at Bach's narrowing stare. "Sorry. I didn't want to be left out. And... I couldn't reach that high."

----

Heccaeh carefully slips his clawed fingers underneath the sleeping ruin squirrel, gently lifts him up from Bach's head, and swiftly carries him off into an awaiting cage. His hands clear the enclosure, and Chana quickly closes the door shut. She locks it securely and covers the carrier with a dark blanket. Bach brushes his fingers through his long brown hair with a white patch and shakes off a few seed shells. "Oh man... Thank you! Every time we tried to get him off, the little guy would just claw onto my skin more."

Chuckling lightly, Heccaeh grins and flicks his furry ears. "Not a problem. I've had to do similar when Ralli and Orrento got too riled up. Those seeds are tasty... And nice, mild sedatives."

He pauses a moment in thought and gazes over to the covered cage, shaking his head. "That's still strange how he latched on to you. The only time I've ever seen them that stubborn is when they are in their nests."

Searching his mind, Bach stands up from his seat upon the ground and curiously inquires. "Really? Huh. So, where do they make their nests, usually?"

Heccaeh thinks a moment and plainly explains. "Well, they're ruin squirrels. They live around old ruins in the zones, hence the name. They like to be high up and glide from spot to spot. But..."

Furrowing his brow, he ponders out loud. "They REALLY like to make their nests in places where old magical power once was. Don't really understand it, myself. But, if there's an old magic circle, they nest all around it at the highest points around and often on it if they think they can get away with it."

Bach eyes briefly widen and dart around uneasily. He brushes himself off with an awkward hint in his tone. "Oh... Um... Huh... Interesting..."

Aristespha bows slightly and politely to Captain Hays. "Thank you so much for meeting us so quickly."

Captain Hays smiles with a chuckle and tips his wide brimmed hat respectfully with his cybernetic arm. "Ah. Not a problem at all. Actually, you saved us some time."

He motions over to the cage and small magical containment tank holding a golden barrier enclosed, crystal speckled stone. "Even if you turned that anomaly source to the guild, we would have had to pick it up from them anyway. This just saved us the trip."

Shaking his head, he sighs. "We've been running around a lot lately, so one less drive to make, helps us."

His smile fades to a grimace, and his tone shifts into a serious cadence. "Also... I've been meaning to relay some information to you all. It's a bit of a mix. So, I'll start with the good news."

He draws a long breath in. "Both Captain Hackle and I have been contacted by all those ex-Terra Priest folks. Some didn't have criminal records with anyone that mattered, so many are going back to regular lives. The rest have records with a few places, but Hackle and I are brokering some deals to get them to work it off... With appropriate service and trades of information."

Hearing the news, relief and satisfaction emerge on Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. With a grim expression overtaking his face, Hays sighs sadly. "And... That information has gotten more valuable. Since it seems like that group is the only resource we have anymore."

A wave of concern and confusion washes over the team. Captain Hays grits his teeth, rests his hands at his sides, and slowly shakes head, tipping his head down. "Simply put. After that golem attack on the Chrome Crusaders, Appaland army sent a clean up team. I'm not sure if Captain Hackle can't say or doesn't exactly know... But..."

He eases out a long exhale. "If I know Appaland... It probably wasn't good."

An uneasy, dour mood looms above the gathering, hints of somber frowns slip out. Seconds later, Captain Hays draws in a long breath and presents a resolute smirk. "My apologies for being the bearer of bad news. But, don't let that discount the good you all did."

Nodding appreciatively, Bach glances around his mind for a moment. "Ah. It's okay. Just feels a little weird."

Similar sentiment appears on the rest of the team. Captain Hays smiles understandingly, adjusting his hat, and crosses his arms. "Yeah. It's a strange one."

Studying the dark blue night sky overtaking the reddish glow of dusk on the horizon, he furrows his brow and hums thoughtfully. "Well... It's about dinner time for my team. You all want to join us over at the local Pancake Shed? End the night on a nicer note?"

A toothy grin grows on Cideeda, and an eager spark lights her eyes, studying Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "No objections from me."