Jermaine is a cautious man, when an [Angel] had supposedly entered the city, many organizations had put bounties on her. Only for her to quickly disappear from the streets, many suspected her to have been grabbed by one of the organizations wanting her for her parts. There were also plenty who thought that she had fled the city after encountering one of said factions, or their bounty posters. Jermaine knew better, and advised the guild leader of the local adventurer's guild to keep an eye out while he stood in reserve.
Angels weren't known for their fear, or for dying quietly. Jermaine firmly believed the angel went into hiding somewhere, and he was proven correct when the guild leader's contacts identified a lot of panicked criminals emerging from the sewers that same day. Jermaine mobilized as fast as he could, gathering the finest adventurers for a search & rescue operation. The sewers hold many dangers, and he believes that rescuing an angel might see him rewarded by said angel for the help. It is the safest option to wealth in this case.
Trudging with his not-insignificant team through the disgusting sewers, it didn't take long for them to find traces of combat. Centered around what appeared to have been a slave trader. It makes sense, angels were a righteous bunch, and would probably have issues with slavers. Taking the freedom of people is evil after all, and the massacre Jermaine finds only reinforces the idea that fighting the angel is a bad idea.
Following the trail left behind by the angel, which consists of dust and heat markings, the team presses onward valiantly. Angels are said to have had powerful light magic, but for light magic to generate this kind of heat it must have been done by a powerful angel... or a powerful weapon. Regardless, the sewers are a dangerous place, and without a safe place to sleep the angel is probably battling exhaustion more than the inhabitants.
The team switches their attention completely, when they encounter a small jungle in the sewer. Desiccated corpses litter the area, the corpses of mice and men. A few members retch in disgust, the corpses are not a pretty sight for even hardened adventurers. Carnivorous plants hide between the more 'natural' foliage, as far as foliage that grows aggressively in sewers is natural, that is. As soon as the pyromancer they brought begins to prepare to incinerate this abomination against mankind, rustling is heard from the bushes.
"Who dares disturb the green?" Not too dissimilar from the corpses, a deteriorated body of a woman emerges from the plants. Covered in plants herself, bits of her skin are also missing. The parts where skin is missing betrays that she is no woman, but a dryad. Where there should be flesh are roots, and where there should be blood is sap. How a dryad managed to survive in the sewers for any period of time is a mystery to the team, the dryad's half-withered state does show her desperation, and she has plenty of fertilizer from captured fools, but without light she should not have been able to survive. That is, until the team lays eyes on the object in the dryad's hands.
Lighting up this section clearly, exposing the angry dryad's full body into the light, is a bright [Light-Attuned Mana Crystal], evidence that their target had been here. The less experienced members murmur in excitement, evidence of the angel being in the sewers lays before them. The more experienced members however, maintain eye contact with the dryad. Dryads are generally peaceful creatures, until they begin to degrade. They quickly turn desperate as their resources dwindle, and the plants they grow also become more aggressive. This one shows both an incredible amount of degradation, and restraint at the fact she hasn't attacked them yet.
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"We have come looking for an angel, we have reason to believe she is in the sewers, and wish to escort her to a safer place. Do you know where she is, lady dryad? We could even escort you to the exit of the sewers so you can get some sunlight." Jermaine takes the lead on negotiations, being the most experienced member of the impromptu party.
Alura looks to the thickest tree standing in the small jungle, its size being so big that it has begun to dig into the sealing. Her eyes lock on a small shine below the tree, a shine only she sees. "I would have loved some sunlight a while ago, but now I have a debt to pay to the one who saved me. As for the little light, she's not going anywhere with you." Alura doesn't elaborate on the last statement, not seeing the need to. Jermaine grips his weapon tightly, and prepares to give the order to attack, only to be interrupted.
"You sure this is the place? It would have been much nicer if you tracked this bitch to a brother instead of the fucking sewers." A gruff voice echoes throughout one of the side-tunnels, and another group emerges into the fray.
"Aye, I'm pretty fucking sure this is the place. Look at all these fuckin' plants!" The tracker exclaims as they enter the jungle, completely oblivious to the jests of his mates, or the others already present. At least, for a moment. It doesn't take long for the unsavory figures to make contact with the group of adventurers, and the withered dryad.
"Well, well, well, looks like we got a couple o' schmucks tryna collect on what is rightfully ours. Don't you lads know that when someone burn downs your employer's losses, their organs become his property?" One of the men takes a clear lead, and loosely grips a rapier. Confident in the numbers advantage, the thug's lack of self-preservation is apparent, and Alura is looking increasingly volatile. The adventurers don't fail to notice her annoyance.
"Please leave, this is an investigation by the newly founded Warshawa adventurer's guild. This entire situation falls under the recent integration policy agreed upon by ALL core world." Jermaine attempts to explain the situation as diplomatically as possible, but his attempts are looking increasingly dire.
"Not to mention, you guys are way out of your league, shouldn't you all be shaking down some homeless people?" The pyromancer of the group attempts to keep the comment quiet enough to be only heard by her fellow adventurer's, but the sewers is not a place where whispers work. The thugs draw blades, and Alura further hides in between some bushes. The adventurers also pull out their weapons at this point.
"Listen, we are all civilized beings here, except for the bush-lady. How about we team up on this fucking jungle first, and then we can worry about this little angel issue prowling about." The lead thug sounds surprisingly genuine, he clearly doesn't like being eyed literally hungrily by some plants while he squabbles with people who would probably only give him a fine.
Alura isn't idle while her enemies team up against her, and does what any sane, well-fed dryad would do in this situation.
"JUSTITIA! THERE ARE SINNERS HERE! EVIL ONES WHO WANT TO KEEP MY PLANTS FROM YOUR BEAUTIFUL LIGHT!" Before Jermaine could even give his response to the thug, everyone present freezes up in terror as the screams of the dryad echoes through the sewer.
No response is heard for the dryad, but the people present don't take too kindly to the attempt.