The Black Forest

[Apollymi]

The Black Forest is the lands North of the lesser forest surrounding the Dragon Lagoon Beach. It goes further in land than most other forests and is considered to be as hard to navigate as the Fairy Forest. The trees are thicker than redwoods and grow to enormous heights, the branches block the sun where the trees are most dense, causing certain areas to appear as dark as night even in the middle of the day. It is full of bio luminescent life, and glowing creatures as well as streams and lakes with properties that defy regular logic. It is hinted that the Dark Forest is a place where the rules of nature seem to be constantly influx. And deep within this forest a Witch lives alone conducting all manner of research in solitude.

[Bloodedge]

Only a day or two following their time in Atlantis, a pair of Adventurers made the arduous trek through the Black Forest. A tall, white-haired male, the ever-so-arrogant Karna, took the lead with a casual stroll. The forest was dark as midnight, but in place of stars, they were granted the bio-luminescent life filling the land. With or without these sparkling bits of organic matter, Karna could see just fine. The only minor hindrance he even had was the density of free Mana in the forest, but that didn't matter too much.

Well... there was one thing that mattered, though. He could see just fine, he could feel his way around with relative ease... yet he had no clue where they would locate the supposed witch they were meant to find. That aspect was proving to be quite the annoyance, after all.

[Apollymi]

In the company of Karna was a slightly younger lass, with chestnut brown hair and a small set of animal ears atop her head. She had the body of someone in their teens and the height to match and she moved along within the forest like she didn't have a care in the world. The tail attached to her lower back, twitching ever so slightly as she looked up at the naturally lit lifeforms which helped her see better. Not that she needed to see much better to start with, being a Demi-Human did come with several perks not the least of which was better senses than normal humans. "Every tree in this place looks the fucking same... and I can't sense past all the mana to even begin looking for a single source. This fetch quest blows... Nii-san better be all kinds of happy when I get back!" she outright demanded extreme praise for the amount of trouble something that should have been simple caused her. Still this pair was much closer than they could possible know.

In the depths of the next thicket of trees, just a few dozen yards ahead, was something which looked like a sheer wall deep within the forest. Glowing liquid ran down it over several mushroom like protrusions and it seemed to have a large opening within. It seemed to be some sort of dwelling with glowing circles as windows and shadows moving around within. This was the place this pair would find what they were looking for or rather whom. But any who approached this door would hear a growl the likes of which seemed deep and thunderous and a large winged Dire-Wolf would emerge from the doorway looking absolutely ravenous, perhaps it hungered for the flesh of any who would trespass here.

[Bloodedge]

"Maybe he will be," Karna replied without hesitation. "Unless he's still a Dragonoid, or dead. I don't think either of those will show you gratitude," he concluded. Every now and again, he showed flashes of mock pessimism. He didn't actually believe the girl's brother would die under the care of Seriri and Miki, though still being a Dragonoid was highly possible depending on the situation. Ideally, he would like to return as soon as possible, preferably to a place without Dragons. Alas, maybe it was not to be.

The pair's journey finally led them to something of substance. It wasn't quite what Karna would have expected, but even something that looked like a dead end would have been better than more of the same trees. Then, there was the growl of a mythic beast. Karna stopped moving forward, but looked on as if unfazed. It was nothing more than a Direwolf exiting the door ahead of them. As the creature stood before them, Karna stared it down without a speck of concern in his visage. "Hush," he said. He wasn't sure why it behaved this way during their approach, but he didn't appreciate the beast's apparent attitude at all.

[Apollymi]

"Dragonoid be damned. Someone is praising me for all this extra work!" claimed the racoon demi-human. It seemed she found Karna's general pessimism playfully acceptable, she had no doubt in her mind that her brother would still be alive when they returned, if only because she knew the lass Miki wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. Beyond all of that she was just happy for something abnormal to finally appear within her sights. This cut off place looked like the exact kind of secret workshop of some witch that they were likely looking for, she sighed her relief. "Fucking finally, we can..." there was a pause from her as the growl came from the doorway, and what was more the look of this direwolf was unlike any she'd encountered in the wild before now. He was a large white wolf with tuffs on his shoulder and red markings around his body. He even had similar tuffs of fur over the back of his giant paws. "SHIT!" the raccoon girl stopped her tail wagging anxiously. It wasn't that she was out right afraid, it was that she didn't expect such a creature to be within these forests. Soon though a voice would appear from within and she'd look out at the pair.

A dark tanned woman with large breasts in a black form-fitted mini-dress with a white winged lab coat appeared in the door way. Her cyan locks moved in the breeze and she pushed glinting glasses up onto her delicate nose as she took in the two and reached for the angry dog giving it a gentle stroke. It seemed that Karna's words hadn't calmed it at all, but she would. "Now Youko, we've been through this... sit down and wait," she said pointing to the side where the giant wolf padded off to still looking at the pair a bit skeptically. "He's looking for his master. And all who have crossed the void reek of free magic like her... perhaps he sensed the connection?" she questioned rhetorically. "Come, I might be able to provide you with what you seek," she said moving further in. If the pair followed they would cross Youko's path and he'd give both of them a sniff, wagging its tail for Hikari but managing a low growl at Karna for reasons unknown. Within this space there were several golden glowing hologram like projections, they seemed to be maps and globes with features on them not unlike those symbols used in the game Age of Eternity. On the tables were various plans, small pieces of gold, gems and tools of various magical basis. There were bones and skeletons lining the walls of all sorts of magical creatures and several cabinets of locked and closed natures with glass fronts that seemed to contain objects made by this woman. One case contained vials of fluids which glowed eeirrely and gave off their own magical energy.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah... you let me know how that works out for you," the male quipped. This was all he had to say before staring down the Direwolf, which he did while entertaining the idea of killing it if it made too many moves. Of course, the beast itself was probably having the same thoughts, but that was of little importance. Survival of the fittest was a thing, after all...

This little stare-off lasted until a woman emerged to meet the Adventurers, standing down the beast. She resembled a scientist more so than a witch, but Karna's thoughts were elsewhere. Shunning the woman's mention of the Direwolf's purpose, Karna appraised her from top to bottom... mostly top, and whistled. "Giving Paizuri-dono a run for her money now, are we? Didn't see that coming from a witch," he commented, still not sparing the rod of whatever he first thought about anyone. He was content to follow this woman toward whatever she intended to show them, abandoning even the thought of the Direwolf. The bits and baubles around them as they walked were of no initial concern to Karna, until he stumbled upon the magical fluids, of whatever sort they were. He paused at them, taking a moment to look their way with what seemed to be slight disdain.