Cail flew across the lake hearing nothing but the beating of his own wings. He flew over the trees on the other side and finding that same clearing with the large boulder in the middle he had been to before, just not as himself, he landed. He transformed back into his Empyr-… no. His Treant form, his branch-like arms and tree trunk-like legs stretching from his bark covered body. Leaves of silver, blue, bronze, and green adorned his shoulder and neck area.
Finishing his change, he stood tall, higher than even the tallest Angori in town. His strides were long and lumbering as he walked towards the center of the clearing and his footfalls heavy, solid thumps. Standing in front of the rune and glyph covered stone, he looked at it for a long time remembering the last time he was here, remembering when he wrote those same carvings.
After a while he sighed, not saying a word, sunk his… -roots- into the earth, and fell into a light doze.
Ohren pads up in his bear form, entering the clearing where the new tree seems to have sprouted over night. He looks at the stranger and tilts his head to the side. "Huh... new tree... I hoping it does good scratchings." He pokes at the bark of the tree to make sure it was stable before lifting up onto his hind legs and leaning his back against the tree, starting to rub his back up and down and side to side, trying to scratch an itch.
Cail seemed oblivious to the voices around him and did not move except maybe his leaves in the slight breeze, but as Ohren placed his back on Cail’s leg a low rumble escaped his oaken throat. Slowly coming awake he retracted his roots from the ground and turned to see who or what was touching him.
Seeing both the Uordeq and the Angori, he became startled and quickly changed himself into a large owl, still quite a bit larger than Ohren. Finishing his change he hopped up onto the boulder to look down on the two with large blue eyes that reflected the moonlight.
“Hello,” he said slowly and with some caution. “What brings you this far away from town?”
Ohren stumbles slightly as the tree suddenly shifts into an owl. He blinks at it.
"Wut da wut... Dis my forest. Is home away from home. Who are you and what is you doing in my forest?"
Ohren narrows his eyes at the owl and examines the beast trying to determine who it was. The voice was oddly familiar.
"It's Cail, Ohren," he said quietly. "And I was just trying to find a new place to sleep seeing as my cabin is... too small."
Cail looks to the Uordeq and tilts his leafy feathered head sideways. "You are Zwey's friend, are you not? Forgive me if I dont remember your name as quickly as you picked up mine. I've had many distractions lately."
Ohren narrows his eyes further at the Owl-tree... "Cail... Wut you doings as a birdy and a tree? Dats not how you is... You is a 'Perian... And... not a birdy..." His head tilts to the side with a bit of confusion. The thought process is very slow as he tries to connect the dots.
Shix starts back as the giant tree shifts in to a large owl, if the dark wolves could see this now... many of them took on large forms of wolves but never any other creatures... it was strange and fascinating all at once. "I apologize for startling you," she says edging away from the Angori. "I just came to seek advice and ask a few questions if you don't mind. I know times have been troubling upon you what with your Treant form and all. But if you remember, I traveled with you and Akon to purge the spirit hunting the bears in the forest...the one that was driving men mad. I snuck up on the spirit from behind so I could distract it for you." She smiled a bit and settled herself upon the ground, sitting in much more canine stance. "How are you handling everything...?"
Ohren's eyes go wide. "DERE WAS SUMTING ATTACKSING MY BURRS!" He growls angrily as the fur on his back stands on end. He snarls viciously and looks around as if he were going to see the perpetrator. He sniffs at the stranger. "You better not be hurting de naychur... udderwise I hurtings you..." He glares at the woman.
Shix quickly looks to the large bear and shakes her, "No, no I wouldn't ever. I grew up with wolves and other of my family on the surface. We are taught the ways of nature to commune and coexist with it until we are able to take its form and use its power against those that would seek to grievously harm that which we are charged to protect. I promise you, I will not hurt a feather...erm...twig... on Cail's head nor disturb that which is around us." She sighs softly and watches the bear for a moment, if it hadn't been speaking to her or Cail she might have been a bit edgy. Wolves and bears don't exactly get along all that well, considering all the stereotypes she had been breaking around town what was one more to add to her belt. "I am Shixarious Ulfer of Dimma Ulfer, or Dark Wolves if you prefer. Many around Jastrey know me as wolf. It's a pleasure."
“It’s quite alright, Ohren,” said Cail trying to calm down the upset Angori. Pointing to himself and Shixarious with his wing he said, “We stopped the evil spirits from killing the rest of your kind, a rather rare breed at that. You have nothing to fear from either of us or that spirit anymore.”
He shifted his attention to Shix again and bowed his head slightly. “It’s good to formally meet you and with my attention fully focused. As for startling me, I just wasn’t expecting anyone this far out into the woods. I’ll be glad to answer any questions you might have, my friend Ohren here might be able to give you some answers you seek as well.”
Turning to Ohren, his voice became somber as he spoke again, “I’m a Treant now because of Muralakrum. I and two others were chosen to ‘try out’ so to speak to be his champion and guardian of the Nexus. Well, I wasn’t chosen, but he saw fit to leave me with this… boon. But, being a Druid is my own doing. I gave up the ways of Wizardry and sought a different path of magic. I hope you don’t mind there being a second shapeshifter and guardian of the forest in town.”
Ohren growls and slams his paw on the ground. "Malakalum..." His tone was spiteful. "Dat bassard..." He digs his claws at the dirt and looks back to Cail and then to the wolf woman. "You liking naychur? Is you a doodad too?" His head tilts to the side with curiousity. "I is a doodad. Most peoples call me Ohren... Or Burr... Eiderone works." He nods to the woman. "You be good in dese forests and we no have problems. An stay outta de Crimson Quater. Dats a place only for horned ones, dats a fair warning udderwise I has to get angry wif you... You doesnt want me to being angry wif you."
Yysara was just wandering when she happened upon them. She paused, although she recognized the Uordeq from her journey into town.
"Maybe I should thank her." She muttered to herself. "She did protect me more than once on our journey. It'd be nice to know someone in town, too."
As Yysara began to approach, she realized the atmosphere seemed a little tense and debated on whether to keep her distance. Being new in town she didn't want to cause a stir. At least not yet.
"Well, I need to start meeting people at some point!" She exclaimed to herself as she approached them.
"Nice to meet you Ohren, as I said I am Shixarious Ulfer. And while I am not a druid yet I am very close in my studies to reaching that threshold." She smirked and looked to Cail opening her mouth to speak before she caught a voice on the wind. Spinning around she moved before Ohren and brandished her shield and sword, growling. "Who goes there...speak your name!"
Ohren lumbers over to Shix's side and places a large paw on her side in an attempt to bat her out of the way. "Scu me Shishashish." He looks at the stranger and lifts up onto his hind legs. He lets out a loud roar in an attempt to intimidate the approaching woman. "Who you is and what you is doing in mah woods." He narrows his eyes at the stranger and bares his bear teeth at her.
Yysara froze at the sudden attention although her face showed no signs of alarm.
"I'm Yysara Zoura." She said boldly, answering both creatures at once. Speaking to the Uordeq: "I believe I came into town on the same wind that brought you here. I just wanted to thank you for your help on the journey."
"Everyone appears here differently, Yysara. I personally entered Jastry by a bridge shifting." Tathar spoke as he seemd to materilized out of the woods into view.
"Ohern, You can't just claim the woods as your own. Protector maybe, though that may be more suited to Cail now." Tathar says as he looks over the Trent. "I've lived in the woods since my arrival in Jastery. It's a close as I can get to my home forest"
Ohren Growls as the newcomer appears from nowhere. "You tink dat jus cause hes been a tree for a week makes him da tatecter of dese woods." The bear puffs out its chest and slaps a paw against it with a thud. "I been doin dis for ober a year now. I been to de grobe of de doodads, I tatected de tateter. I grew dis strong on my own. Dese is my woods under my tatection. If you tink dat tree can do better den you is wrong. Jus cause Malakalum maked him into a tree doesnt maked him some great and powerful Doodad. He is doesn't habe de knowledge and esperiance dat I has. So before you come in on our combersachen, tink about dis. I could rip your head from your shoulders wifout a second tought." He growls angrily at man, the fury in his eyes was apparent. For the man to think that Cail could be better suited than himself to take care of the woods was an insult to his pride and his strength. His arms quivered with rage as he stared the man down. He made an enemy with his words. One should know better than to insult an Angori's strength.
"Ohren, calm down. I didn't mean to anger you. I only ment Cail may be better suited because he has become on of the treefolk. I never ment to imply that you were not strong enough to protect the forest on your own. When one says forest, to me that means the trees. I usually forget that forests include living creatures."
Ohren's fur Bristles with anger still. "Your word is no better." His glare remains on the man. "You know noting about doodads. I has been tasked by Ajorn and Antaja to tatect de aminals and de woods, to keed de circle ob libing in balance. Jus cause he a tree doesnt maked him better at nofing cept puttin roots in de ground." He growls to the man.
Cail was about to address Yysara before Tathar walked into view, but as he spoke and Ohren became angrier by the second Cail tried to intervene. “Ohren, I claim no such title. You are the only guardian of this forest. I’m… just here. Please, don’t be angry with him, he meant no disrespect.”
The feathers on the back of Cail’s neck stood up a little as the thought of Ohren rampaging made him nervous.
"Excuse me for not knowing you were tasked with being the protector of these woods. I have only arrived in Jastry not too long ago myself. But I must go for now. I feel the tug of my needing to be somewhere else. Good day."
Tathar walks off in the direction of his cabin deeper in the woods.
Having hesitantly taken the urodeq's advice, Esgir found himself walking down a path; the walls in the distance must be those of the town of Jastery the warlock had told him about.
"Well- firs' time fer ev'rythin' I s'pose..."
The sound of voices off the path caught his attention; moving into the light cover as quietly as possible, still expecting an ambush after running into one urodeq already. The dwarf viewed the scene with a muddled look on his face; casting his glance back and forth between the talking bear, the talking owl, and the others gathered there by the nearby body of water.
"Well I guess that answers the question of whether or not a bear shits in the woods."
Grumbled the mutant, emerging from the treeline in a cloud of thick, herbal smoke trailing from a lit cigar seemingly fused somewhere in between his lips. The mutant seemed to be a collage of both trollskin and the occasional spout of green grass and large, multicolored mushrooms packed into a humanoid shape, with one arm clutching a fat tree branch and the other seeming to clack away absentmindedly with a crab claw-like appendage for an arm.
Blisdon proudly walked into the congregating group, surveying each one with the disconcerting stare of a hardened veteran.
"He's not the only one who protects the woods around here" Grumbled the Shaman "It shouldn't take the foresight of Banekeril to see that what we have here is worth protecting and.... more oftentimes than not....It's our own neighbors who threaten our shared lands the most."
With a depressed sigh, Blisdon pulled the cigar from his mouth with the aid of his bulky Crabclaw and looked onward to the new faces in Jastrey. "I'm sorry friends, I don't mean to bore you all with the grumblings of a bitter Dwarf who hasn't had his mug o' Ale yet. Would any of you care to introduce yourselves?
As for myself? They call me Blisdon, The best damn Field surgeon this town has to offer. Probably."
Yysara had been eying the large owl as he seemed...glum. But she turned as Blisdon introduced himself.
"I'm Yysara." She said slowly as she surveyed the newcomer. She hadn't thought she was completely sheltered where she came from, but she was definitely meeting some interesting people in Jastrey.
"I could ask you the same thing, I know that voice O' yours. Yet you are a bird! A bird that is talking to me- and I am not nearly on enough...er...mystical concoctions to be hallucinating."
"Speaking of mystical concoctions, You take the wrong one? You wind up like me. Don't do drugs kids."
With an borderline drunken expression the Shaman turned on his heels from the owl to face the ginger,quickly followed with a snap and a point gestured at the newcomer. "Yysara? Thats a cool name. Don't die. This town could use more real redheads, not just the kind that have a bleeding head injury that's made themselves all....red.
In the head."
Cail yawned heavily as he said, "Oh, yes. Jastrey is almost famous for its attacks. But you'll find out about that soon enough. Anyway, I'm tired. I'm off to go... roost, I suppose." And with that, he took to the air and flew off through the trees, disappearing from sight.
Yysara watched the large owl fly away. "I guess I'm off, too." She said blandly and to no one in particular as she turned to leave, waving to the crowd offhandedly as she began to walk away; lost deep in thought.
She decided she liked it here in Jastrey; for the most part the townsfolk were friendly. But she knew she had a lot to learn and a lot to look out for.
Out of town Shixarious moved towards where she heard the large treant's footfalls, eventually approaching Cail. Her steps silent so she couldn't startle the Druid into a false alarm. "Pardon me, Cail?" She asks in her signature gruff and animalistic tone, stopping at least six or seven arm lengths from his roots. " I apologize that I am interupting your slumber..." She trailed off, waiting, canine fangs pressing into her lip as she waited to see if Cail would awaken.