He wasn't going to mention that his legs already hurt. His mouth, unmanaged, would curl into a pout that he'd then wrestle and carve into a hard line - huffing little breaths through his nose as their group of three made their way up the rough terrain of the steppes. It was arid and dry, though pleasantly cooled by the passing breeze for the last bout of their venture. If anything, the trek to this cavern felt as perilous as the upcoming dungeon itself. He'd mask his chagrin, his coming sigh transposed to tired, melodic laughter. "A-are we there yet?" He'd jest, hoping to lighten the ache in his little limbs. Take note: physical training is still important as a mage, especially when you lack the mana reserves to fly everywhere. For now.

His companions made the travel easier. It had only been weeks since their last assignment in their first mission together, tackling the accursed birds of the Worth Woodsea's void portal - he could still feel the sting in his eyes, poking his tongue from chapstick-sticky lips to perish the thought. They had worked well together then and had been asked back for their 'stellar work' (read: good camaraderie, returned with all limbs still in tact) to take on something meatier that needed adventurers already experienced with the undertaking. They were told in no uncertain terms that the portal here - from what they'd manage to gather in intel - would be much less kind, and to come prepared for the higher difficulty of the request. Of course, they took it. It took almost nothing to get Briar and Vesper on board, with all of their bright-eyed stares and eager compliance. Briar wouldn't know exactly how it panned out for Saturn, but he was right glad to see him again and he told him as much.

The reunion was both excited and trepidatious. It was hard not to feel at least a current of nerves, considering the greater severity of the job and the trouble it would cause if they didn't make it through. It was less of a worry for himself; Briar had a healthy respect for not dying, but he was equally confident in Saturn and Vesper, trusting the group to cut and leave if worst came to absolute worse - this just wasn't ideal. He didn't want to let anyone down. He'd curl his hands firmer around the grip of his staff, using it both to stabilize and pull himself through the gravel and dust. He was resolute. All of their work until now, their time at the Academy and with Miss Yu and Miss Ryuko, this previous experience with Mister Saturn, every mission they had done for their fair cities ... it was all in lead up to some sort of proof of concept.

They wouldn't be saving the world with their actions today, but they'd be helping a great deal of people and a land that had enough worries without the Void spilling at their doors -- and if they were going to be relied on, they had to face the task with the level of sincerity and seriousness that required. That would be enough for Briar. If he could just prove that he can pull his weight in something like this, with his friends and comrade-at-arms, even and especially with his specific skillset; that would be enough. He'd be able to face these troubles a little less bashful, a little more sure that he'd be able to keep things together. His confidence had always been in his friends. He wanted to crane a little closer to that light, too. That sun.

This was his first big step as a real mage. He was glad he wasn't taking it alone, casting his eyes over his two friends and beaming a smile unweathered by the intense sun. They'd be rounding on the portal any moment now ... and he'd be ready for what was on the other side. "A-alrighty tighty, gents! We've got a job to do today, and -- a-and, uhm ...," he'd stumble over his rallying speech, squeezing his eyes shut before raising his staff higher to meet the sky. Burning brighter. "We'll give it our all, we will! Let's settle this here business and return tr.. triumphant! Yahoo!?"

His laugh dissolved the attempt at a heroic moment. "Please rely on me, fellas, an' I'll do the same o-o'course. Do we think we're all ready-set-go, Mr. Saturn, sir? Ves? We've got each other. Uhm ... giddy up, right?" The slant of such a gentle smile in a shaft of light; and maybe, just maybe, he could already taste its warmth.

Saturn had to admit that the last time that they had fought together that it had been a trifle for him. But it wasn’t meant to be a challenge for him, it wasn’t meant to be problematic. He was placed in such a position to see and foster the growth of two up coming mages. Or rather mages that could use a guiding hand in things. It was an effort to unlock something within him that he could use with the world. Development he didn’t mind and development he didn’t seem to go against. The trek to the next cavern was in light tune and the huge behemoth of a man had a song on his lips every step of the way.

”Almost I think~”

He’d laugh softly; he could understand that briar was excited if not a little tired he figured. The last dungeon that they had done together left him in high spirits. He had long since gotten over the birds and the way they made him felt when his hearing had left him. He had some pointers given to him by the higher ups but other than that it was just a pat on the back. He was assigned to the duo almost immediately so that they’d have someone that they were familiar with. He was told to bring his A-game which also had him wondering if he should have brought vestige of the outsider with him. Though the demi-god of sorts was busy there was another topic that they were searching on. He felt it best if he let them be.

He did his best to calm any nerves he could and he could feel the tug of something on his body ever since then. The huge man stood there pondering for a moment at what this could mean. Something that had pulled him back, something that restrained him. Something… Something he hadn’t felt in a while. Standing at the cusp of everything with the sun at his back he realized that… His music had returned with a tune that was far stronger than before. Did he tell them? Or let it show itself later?

He’d have to at some point, he could feel it’s power nestled deep within his chest and rearing it’s rumbling head. The behemoth could feel that dragon deep down wanting to break free and let the world remember its face. It wasn’t headache inducing so much as… he wanted to let it. When Briar spoke up again the demonic dragon slayer paused at the rallying hype. His smile creasing his face further and he’d flick his ears at that question.

”I think I’m ready, if you’re ready then just give the go ahead. I’ll be here to make sure nothing goes awry even more so than before. This one will be a touch more difficult but I believe in you two. But I'll be sure to rely on the both of you in the coming hours.”

Saturn would beam brightly and gently pat the both of their heads, giving a firm little ruffle of their hair. He knew that some would likely find it somewhat endearing and others would probably wonder where he thought that was okay. But honestly? He felt his protective nature spike something fierce when around youngin’s like this. Maybe it was because he didn’t have a childhood…

Enough of that now…

The profuse amount of eager excitement that splashed with every pulsating movement fragmented the stoic, serious veneer he had tried to work himself into. Vesper wanted to be professional. Reliable for the behemoth of a man he looked up to - in more ways than one and the best friend he's come to cherish so fondly. The two boys had plenty of experience vanquishing creatures born of the void at this point and Vesper himself has honed his magical candies to be more potent with each successful quest. He'd whisk along,  a pep in every fluttery step, and the smile that sneaks up on him blooms at the sound of bubbly laughter. "You hanging in there, soldier~?" He'd break into a slight jog, ruffling the boy's hair before stepping backward, arms entwined behind his back with a giddy sway as he peeks up to the Justiciar. "Mhm~ Just a little further" Vesper could smell the stench of the void in the area.

It's bleak. It smells like ash and worse still it lingers in the undercurrent of beautiful nature. The birds sing and just beyond the horizon, horrors lurk, breaching the sanctity of the natural order with the corruption of something innately wrong. He felt like a proper little hero and heroes always persevere despite the wickedness that challenges that untainted purity. Vesper was confident that this trio could accomplish anything and he was ready to fight tooth and claw for them if need be.

A startled, ecstatic gasp, as the pup rummages through his pack, remembering the giftbags he'd made for his friends. A little pick me up if the occasion called for it in the little homemade fudge swirl cookies he had baked for them. "Oh, oh! I nearly forgot! I made you both some cookies for the trip or after we clear out the dungeon!" He giggles, a rapid tamp of his feet to rush over and hand over the little packages, all wrapped up in ribbons.

Vesper's eyes sparkle, ignited by the passionate speech delivered by Briar in the throes of whatever adorable spell compelled him to do this. A smoldering crimson, ablaze with an unquenchable desire to conquer their enemies and pull on his cheeks! A smile spreads its wings, beaming a fluorescent phantasmagoria, a hand raising to stifle the excitable roar swelling within his throat. He's starstruck. Speechless. And before he can react to anything he feels the kindling warmth of a paw patting his head and tousling the fringes of his mane. "Ah! I don't know about you, Mister Saturn, but I feel awfully motivated to see this through now!" He'd giggle and angle into the hand, a phantom tail whipping and sweeping away the crumpled leaves scattered across the ground. "I'm ready when you two are~ I'll be counting on you just as much as before... But, this time I feel like I can really let loose~ Hehe~"

He'd pause, lift his fist with a renewed tenacity, and raise it skybound with a timid roar: "G-Giddy up!"

Everyone kept ruffling his hair! Briar tried to puff out his chest and straighten his shoulders - stand a little taller, despite the foot Vesper has on him and the many Saturn holds over - but he'd devolve into bashful little giggles and titter away his chagrin with reddened cheeks. He felt embarrassed - but warm. Comforted by the presences around him, as if by a family. That was reaching, he figured. He wouldn't speak it aloud. It almost felt like he shouldn't dare think something like that, not on such a serious mission and with so much of his personal honor ante'd at his stake; and yet, he looked around their faces, and his eyes bubbled over with pearls of adoration. He felt his shell slip away. An oyster, a world. So many pretty things twinkling back.

"Treats? Really, Ves?" He'd mumble out of his stupor, stalling on their long, dusty path long enough to sway off his feet and clasp his hands together - just under his chin for the framing of his wide, expectant eyes, peering back at his best friend. They weren't going into battle poorly stocked! Mr. Saturn didn't seem terribly concerned about where they were going - sure of himself and of them, and that laxed many worries and any woes. He'd be happy to enjoy something baked by Vesper. He'd go so far as to exclaim this, shaking the other's arm with excitement in the pass of his gift. "Now I know we'll be okay, pally! Wowie! Hahaha, thank s'much, Ves!" His grin came wide and beaming, banishing any lingering dismal thoughts and keeping that pep squarely in his steps. Maybe more roundly, in the way he skipped about.

They were both supportive of his rallying cry, and he wasn't about to let either of them down after taking his chance to call to action. An adorable homemade cookie hung from his lips as he preciously chewed it down, leading the path to the great hanging portal that would clear to this dungeon. It wouldn't be his first time with a transposition - but he crowded with the other two, in either case, and made sure they all stepped through together. "Here ... we go!!"

The squeak of his voice was the last sound to echo down the mountain before they were whisked through drylands to ... drier, the heat immediately baring down on them within moments of the boundary crossing. If their trip before was draining and arid, but with clear destination, this land was much less forgiving - facsimiles and figments of mountains as far as they could see, topped across flat sands spanning out every direction. It was hard to breathe. Not even a wind whisked by; gratefully, he'd have to imagine, for it'd lash like a whip. "Oh ... n-not ... like the Woodsea," he panted, conserving the moisture his tongue crowded between his quickly chapping lips.

They had no other chance but to persevere, losing not his resoluteness but the moxie he had jumped in with - instead priming his staff cautiously and motioning for the other two to stay on guard, for they had no choice but to move across the flatlands to the shining beacon of this exploration's treasure in the distance. All they have to do - just like before, it's just like before, he assured himself - was get there and destabilize this cavern.

Their position was not defensible. As they trekked in a closed formation, footprints in the sand seemingly swallowed by the endless grains, a gust eventually did roll in - and it was, expectedly, a terrible sign. As dust blew around them it obscured and then revealed shapes that descended upon them in its wane. They weren't allowed to back in to each other against the figures that reared close: the very ground began to shift and pull under them, forcing them to run out of the slipstream and break off individually. "Oh, fudge! V-Ves! Saturn!"

His voice came clear, if croaked from their time here, and startled - but not scared, as he'd shift over his feet and kick off the ground with a vocalization of his dandelion spell; and even here would green bloom, as the flower at his shoulders lifted him from the shifting earth and offered a better view of the battlefield five meters off the ground. "Three targets! T-two o'clock, 12 o'clock, 8!"

Well, he tried!


[ ✰ Briar uses Name of Dandelion, granting himself flight and earning a bird's eye view of the battlefield!

He reports 3 figures - Void-Centaurs, armed with bows and spears! Each Void Centaur has 2xS HP, 121 Speed, and deal 1x A-Rank damage normally. Their Arrows do Arcane and their Spear attacks do Physical. Spear attacks can be weapon parried, dealing damage to your weapon instead. You choose where you get hit otherwise. They are unimpeded by the terrain. A Void Centaur spawns every two of my posts if any are still alive (instead of every one.) You can lunge or use alternative movement to dodge appropriate attacks! Last instant of listed damage is removed on a Centaur dying.

The ground under you gives way to quicksand: you have to reposition!

Dungeon follows our normal rules. The cuties know them already. Good luck!

1-5: Attack everyone in the fight with Arrows!
6-10: Attack everyone in the fight with Spears!
11-20: Attack Briar with an Arrow and everyone else with Spears!
21-30: Attack Saturn with a Spear and everyone else with Arrows!
31-40: Attack Vesper with an Arrow and everyone else with Spears!
41-50: Arrow Rain centered on Briar - anyone in 5 meters taking 1xA AoE damage!
51-60: Arrow Rain centered on Saturn - anyone in 5 meters taking 1xA AoE damage!
61-70: Arrow Rain centered on Vesper - anyone in 5 meters taking 1xA AoE damage!
71-75: Briar gets bound (A-Rank), Saturn gets Deafened, Vesper gets Blinded.
76-80: Saturn gets bound (A-Rank), Vesper gets Deafened, Briar gets Blinded.
81-85: Vesper gets bound (A-Rank), Briar gets Deafened, Saturn gets Blinded.
86-90: Run Through: Saturn gets collapsed on with Spears for 1xS damage, piercing his armor!
91-95: Threatening Roar: Vesper gets Blinded and Deafened, with his Speed reduced by 1 tier!
96-99: Wing Clip: Briar takes an Arrow Storm for 1xS damage, ending any sustained spells!
100: Beneath the Shifting Sands: A giant Sandworm erupts through the earth, attacking everyone for 1xS damage and hindering a limb of their choice! It leaves afterward. ]

The member 'Briar Caidh' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 7

Saturn was glad that morale between the three of them were high; it probably helped that they had such a successful venture in the prior dungeon. He’d ponder lightly what exactly they could achieve with one another; perhaps they’d be able to do even more than they initially thought or realized. Saturn’s pondering was cut short as vesper brought out the gifts. Saturn’s surprise was evident in the way that his ears wiggled and one of his eyes cracked open.

”Quite a sweet-tooth you have vesper. Not that I’m complaining. Thank you.”

Saturn would accept the gift from vesper; giving the youngster a smile and he was glad that they were so positive. The sensation of the trio working here together was something right out of folklore. The starting of a great pair of heroes supported by what could be equated as their mentor… or something like that. He’d chuckle softly; vesper definitely was very motivated. So was Briar. He felt that motivation boil over into him and he’d adjust his hands so that his spear sat nicely in them. The cookies saved away into his pack.

”Oh I’m definitely feeling it Vesper. We can do this.”

Saturn looked about as they went into the dungeon; the drylands and the heat immediately pushing down on all of them. He’d look around, eyes cracked and looking around like a guard on watch. He could feel the way that it eased into his fur and the way that it prickled his skin. Most people wouldn’t like this sort of setting and saturn’s gaze kept on sweeping as they moved.

The sand felt strange between his feet, the way that it moved and the way that it sank into his fur with every step. Every footprint vanishing as he glanced back. Like they had never come here in the first place. Briar’s call to his attention caused the behemoth to whip around; his gaze fell onto three… What he could only describe as centaurs charged them. Using spears to make their assualts. Rather than dodge or anything like that saturn would instead take the brunt of his spear attack straight to the chest; letting him skid back from the impact. His strange body already working on healing the damage done as he brought his halberd around in a brutal arc slamming it into the first centaur launching it off of it’s feet. Not one to waste time he’d twirl Sleeping dragon before launching a spear made of darkness at it from the blade. An effective one two that just required him to tank some damage honestly.

”These hit harder than the bats. Be careful you two!”

With one dealt with already saturn clearly wasn’t messing around. He’d adjust his footing, watching the other two; ready to attack again if they did anything to his charges. He couldn’t be everywhere all at once but he felt like that was fine anyways. It gave the two of them a possibility of working together and figuring out what they could do with one another as they grew.

Saturn did things:

The member 'Saturn' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 39

It was a silly idea. To be so unabashedly sentimental, greedy, peering over to the recipients of his gifts seeking out the object of his desire. Smiles. It was romantic, or perhaps childish depending on the point of view, but Vesper wanted to remain true to himself, cling to this blissful happiness shared with his best friend and the commander more akin to a long-lost uncle. Mr. Saturn felt simultaneously like a permanent fixture in his life that was always present and something he'd always longed for growing up. The warmth of these bonds is something Vesper never wanted to forget, no matter how dangerous the situation - they should tackle it with a smile on their face.

His hands entwine, the creak of metal adorning his fingertips as he stretches while trailing along with his friends, a quiet softness tinting his expression. "It's my pleasure~" His eyes shutter, a kind smile upturned with the tilt of his head. "Thank goodness." He'd skip ahead, staring up at the colossal creature, that can only be described as 'friend-shaped,' eager eyes fixed with a mild giggle. "I'm glad I could help! Anything to repay your kindness and continued guardianship." His gaze would fall lower; another creature, smaller, but still devoutly 'friend-shaped.' Vesper leans over a glimmer in the way his ruby-glazed eyes reflect vibrant rays. "It's really easy for me to feel safe with you around."

The entrance smelled different. Familiar enough not to cause worry until, finally they crossed through the boundary. The air is impenetrable with a frightening density that drowns out his senses. Danger permeates the spaces allotted between the suffocating vacancies of the dry heat. The hair on his arms bristles, standing on end as his posture straightens with renewed vigor. Animal instincts howling and a tongue laps across the burgeoning ache that now coats his fangs. It was an abrupt shift that left the hound wary and weary in equal measure. A ragged heave of his lungs to acclimate himself to the hostile climate, bundling closer to his companions, an instinctual reaction to find safety in numbers - safety within the pack.

The winds shift and the ground seems to give way. Vesper's eyes widen, frightened limbs seeking refuge in solid ground again, scurrying frantically. He searches for his friends. Briar had taken to the skies, a wayward dandelion that would scout their surroundings and alert the relative positions of their enemies. A toothy grin slips from behind his battle-ready visage at the swift spring of the rabbit that would call them to action. A spear finds purchase, piercing through the dust cloud, and striking the boy's armor. His eyes zero in on his attacker's general direction, and his body lurches forward, a strain of his shoulders; a tremble at his brow as his arm stretches out. Magic energy coils through the sheen of his gauntlets, a snap of steel with a tiny glowing orb that manifests into a rose-colored candy that is promptly consumed.

His skin shifts to a pinkish hue and his body emits a steady scorching steam from his candy-colored skin. His eyes diverge for a moment, attention captured by the sounds of battle. Mr. Saturn was doing well, a centaur already vanquished by his monumental might. Another warm buzz fills his fluttery heart, a tremor in shaky limbs, too wired to focus on anything besides reading through their enemies like a rabid guard dog. He sets forth. Loose. Growling in the undercurrent of giddy, erratic giggles as an arrow flies towards him. He's ready this time. A quick pause; a lunge diagonal to dodge the arrow and put himself closer to his target. His body is pulsing, hyperactive, and faster than he's ever experienced before. His body winds, coils, and then paunches again to strike into the centaur.

Vesper's Actions:

The member 'Vesper' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 75