Celia chimes ats the Ranger's brooding goal with a sing song voice, "Oh, some souls come back to their living bodies, but you'll never know how long it takes!~ And only a few return at all!" However; Muun remains unphased knowing that the others must be planning something inane and crazy back in the living world right now. They went back in time. Celia then maneuvers in a loop in the air to look at the human boy, a little off put by the fact that the human just asked to stay with her, taking it a bit differently than he probably intended. With a thoughtful pause, she reluctantly accepts, "Just for a little while, okay? I'm sure Ehlonna doesn't want you staying too long if you're not gonna help in protecting the grove." Of course who knows what the goddess might actually think, it's more of an excuse not to keep him around. The fairy then leads him to a spot in the grove she makes her home, which turns out to be a small pond, sprouting leeks that fairykin can hide in. Muun has to find a nearby spot of grass next to the pond, where Celia flutters to her home.
Muun leans over the water, the perfect white clothing he wears stained at the knees from the water drifting over the ground. He dips hands into his mirrored reflection, shattering the illusion of seeing himself with the rippling water before splashing himself in the face. He then sits and thinks to himself for a bit, still trying to decide on his course of action.
Celia just watches him with a wrinkled expression, saying, "I get it! You're one of those stuck up types that are no fun aren't you? You should really consider staying! I think you could use an eternity of relaxation, maybe you'll learn how to smile in that time!" Muun looks up to respond to the fairy, his expression only becoming alert by this assertion, "Maybe I'm just an incredibly difficult person to please. There is a lot on my mind right now." The fairy picks herself up through her hummingbird hover and buzzes over to his forehead and attempts to press it with a finger, "Worrying isn't good for wandering souls! You don't have to act so tough while you're here.. at least not yet."
An argument like that would be how the two would start off their days.. But as time passes, time that can only be measured by cycles of sleep and as long as the morning is constant out in the grove, he grows used to the reality that he will not be returning to the living world anytime soon. He ends up spending more time in the grove than he anticipated, Celia leading him to places and things. He eventually manages to switch out of his plain silk clothing in favor of tribal wear that the animal folk wear. He finds much of his time relaxing and enjoying the gifts that the divine nature brings. He relaxes and seems pleased, but never manages to make a strong smile through it all. Over time Muun and the fairy find themselves sticking together often, the stoic human often making an easy target for teasing criticisms.
After a one night, where Celia inexplicably drifted off to sleep, unwittingly allowing herself to have curled into the curve of his neck neck, she wakes up to find herself placed on a large leaf. Perplexed, she hovers not far from the sleeping place to find Muun had not traveled far off. He can be seen practicing with a makeshift bow, attempting to shoot at a pile of fruit stacked up on a raised ledge. Shot after shot, each one misses or scrapes the target, and frustration and disappointment can be seen in his steps as he moves forward to examine his pitiful performance. When Celia asks what is wrong, he explains, "I can't stay here. I can't wait for some war to happen here. I have become complaicant. I am lazy. My skills are unpolished." He then throws down his bow, allowing his anger to vent freely in an unveiled rant, "But it's pointless to just go out into the sea of the gods for no reason! Why should I put myself into danger needlessly?" He heaves his breath, pacing back and forth, "I have to find a way to retrain my abilities.. This bow doesn't cut it.."
Celia frowns, and is even a bit frightened at Muun's sudden outburst of emotion, her spot in the air flung back a bit as if she were hit by a soft gust of air. As Muun starts to slow down, she carefully navigates towards him and stands back onto his shoulder to softly speak in his ear, a bit wearily, "I'm sorry Muun.. I.." she doesn't really know why she's apologizing but feels like she had failed in some way. She makes a fist like she's clutching her heart, "It'll be alright, you don't.. have to fight if you don't want to." It's true to her, she has known him as a strange, confused human that is learning how to be a friend, rather than as a brutal vampire hunter who lived each day struggling to live and overcome fear by shutting down his emotions.
"Muun..." a soft, motherly voice appears through the air behind him, then gives tone of a smile, "I had allowed you freedom to do as you wish, because I knew that you were most likely going to find solace here in the end. However; I still see that you are a leaf struggling to break free from autumn's tree, but if you were to break free now, there is no wind to give you direction. You would only fall." It is Ehlonna's voice, and she had noticed Muun's plight. "There is something I should tell you. Perhaps this knowledge I will bestow upon you will be the wind that drives you, Muun Reinhart. Shortly after your arrival in the Astral Plane, so did another of your companions, the mortal warrior you know as Tarkus." Muun swiftly turns in place at Ehlonna's presence, quickly asking, "Tarkus died too!? That can't be right, he was much better suited for that battle than I was."
"It was a powerful creature that ended both of your lives... I hesitated to tell you when I first summoned you, because I did not wish for you to blame yourself for not being able to prevent his death.." Ehlonna steps closer, her lust-inducing body swaying magnificently with each step. "Tarkus is to be chosen by one of several gods. If you wish for a goal, go and reunite with him to rekindle your friendship with him in this afterlife. However; I cannot relieve him of his servitude towards another god."
Muun takes a deep breath, and gradually beins to return to his serious, critical, and deliberate self, "Tell me how I can cross the Astral Sea safely, and then I will make it my death's goal to find Tarkus, if no other purpose in this world."
Ehlonna would lead Muun and Celia to the shore of the Astral Sea, the distance of the silvery waters showing much of nothing. To provide Muun with extra safety for his trip, she casts a spell with her own power to create a bridge formed from the roots of a tree behind them, that continue to grow out towards the distance towards the unknown. "Walk along the path I have given you, and you will be the leaf carried by the wind. You will then have to find your own path from then on." Muun nods, and gives a final bow. With his lowered posture, Celia flies off his shoulder to stay in the grove. Muun then turns and begins to walk along the rooted path, looking back behind him once more to give a hint of a smile towards the fairy he met that day.
As she watches the human shrink towards the distance, Celia asks the goddess, "Do you think I'll ever see him again?" Ehlonna smiles, "Do you wish to?"
---
Muun's walk over the tangled roots that guide him go on for what seems like days. He becomes zoned out in a trance from performing only mindless walking for so long. The only event that breaks this monotony is hearing the sound of the roots crinkling once more, causing him to look over behind him to see that the roots are shrinking, but stop just behind his feet to prevent his fall. Continuing his walk, the roots continue to shrink at his pace. It must be a way of saying that there is no turning back now. Thus begins Muun's journey through the planes as a wandering soul.
After spending what must have been several of his lifetimes walking little by little finally reaches a new island. Strangely enough, the perceived lightness of the sky begins to dwindle to nothingness, becoming black and smothered. Forced to cast Darkvision to move on, Muun carefully travels through his new surroundings, holding out the crude, clumsily made weapon in his arms. He carefully steps through what is now an underground tunnel somehow. At the end of the giant passage he can tell that the floor ends as a cliff.. as Muun carefully approaches the edge, he witnesses the perspective shift showing a great chasm filled with gigantic spider webs and a larger network of tunnels and caves. Just as he's certain that he's in danger, he is sprayed with a thick substance that immediately binds him and covers him completely. Toppling over he is then pulled up and hung upside down from the cavern ceiling, leaving him trapped and helpless to the whims of any that wish to have their way with him. Muun should have known better than to have allowed this to happen, he shouldn't have traveled so deeply into the cavern to begin with, but not having experienced danger for so long, longer than any human can handle has left his instincts dulled and worthless.
Looking around while upside down, he can see a gigantic spider crawling down towards him from the webbing that he is hung by. His eyes widen, and he attempts to struggle to try and shake it off with little success. "Down, boy." a strong feminine voice beckons, commanding the giant spider to slowly turn around and crawl back up the web and back onto the ceiling. Leveling his view back forward, he notices an elven woman, but her skin is black like obsidian, and her hair white like the webbing he is trapped in. She is wearing a robe, not dissimilar to a druid's, "Curious.. a human with a surface elf's face.. and drow hair.." Still attempting to break free, now having a chance to use his escape techniques to try to loosen himself from within the tight web's grip, Muun answers, "I never did track my bloodline very far." All he knows is that he is human enough to constitute a full blood.
"Well.. human. You make an interesting choice coming here. Perhaps you seek our queen's embrace." the drow spider worshipper then laughs at the prospect, practically taunting him with his upcoming fate. Muun scoffs, despite the predicament he's in, "I've already shared myself with a woman of darkness once. Never again."
"Share? Share? We of the spiders aren't known to share." She begins to walk forth and place her hand on Muun's cheek, "In fact, my baby is feeling a little hungry tonight. I'm sure the Queen won't mind a few crumbs given to-" a loud rumbling echo roars through the tunnel, carrying a rugged voice that halts the Drow's approach, "UNHAND HIM!" a spear pierces the drow woman's shoulder, toppling her over away from him. Muun suddenly finds gravity taking hold, pulling him down into being caught by a muscle bound figure running by. Being set down, a scoundrel-looking fellow kneels down to carve away the webbing at him, and then a ranger tosses him a new bow, one that appears properly made and legitimately useful. Catching an arrow tossed towards him, the heat of battle puts Muun in a position where his instincts begin to awaken again out of necessity. From laying on his back, he pulls the arrow and releases, sending it flying to the spider crawling above. Expecting to have missed that shot, instead the creature is fallen to the ground, twitching heavily.
A Dwarven warrior soon pulls Muun up, "Are ye alright laddie? It must be th' gods' miracle that we found y'ere in th'knick of things. Lessgit y'out o'ere a'ight?" Muun is pulled right along. As the light grows upon returning to the shore of the Astral Sea, Muun dispels the Darkvision spell, and is soon able to see the heroes that have saved him just now in detail. Mostly human and the dwarf, all are in their elderly years, and yet they still continue their adventures even in death. It's an admirable marvel, seeing that death and old age both cannot stop the drive of some warriors. The party members lead Muun towards a ship floating atop the unnatural making of the gray magical sea, a ship clearly comprised of many magical installations that allow it to function the way it does. "We're ancient heroes." the elder ranger says in a gruff voice, being a man whose hair and beard are kept well kempt, and the coloration having become a fine white, "In death we travel to the realms to find lost souls to bring to safety."
As they quickly board the ship and raise the boarding plank, foul songs can then be heard. The shipwatch screams atop his lungs to warn the party, "HARPIES INBOU-!" The figure atop the watch is suddenly pulled away by a flying humanoid beast, his warning turning into a panicked scream and then fading into the distance. "Everyone! Cover your ears! Don't let them tantalize you!" somebody warns. The harpies circle overhead, continuing their screaming and songs, and in tandem constantly dive down to claw at the hapless crew below and grabbing others into the air.
The Dwarven fighter draws a double handed blade, scribed with Dethek runes symbolizing the personalized nature and the nature of its magic powers. The mighty dwarf slams the giant blade into the dexterious creatures, the sheer weight of the blade actually crushing the lanky bodies like tin cans instead of simply slicing their skin open.
The rogue is noticably less capable, but is still able to keep toe to toe with the dangerous creature through maneuvering his body and limbs to cause fail for its reach. When finding an opening where he knows that the creature can't retaliate so easily when he goes in, he punctures the flying monster with deft dual blades.
The tall Barbarian, a spectacle of human fitness and the means to show it where dragon's hide does not cover him, roars loudly as if he were a bear. The massive man is able to propel himself with super human strength, more than easily capable of matching the altitute of the in-flight monsters, and then grabs one of its heads, just the vice grip of his fingers capable of making its skull begin to crack, but he allows gravity to take over, sending him flying back down with the harpy in hand, and as he is landing, in the same movement he thrusts his arm forward, crushing the head of his enemy with both the will of gravity and his massive arm strength, leaving a splatter of gore in his wake.
Muun stands side by side with the elder ranger, the two of them firing from where they are at, and both grabbing arrows from the same quiver as they do so. Together they are able to attack the flying beasts where most others could not. Soon the harpies finally find the sense to retreat, and the ship manages to leave to travel the Astral Sea safely. The trip from there manages to be much safer and less eventful, and the ship crew seems to have much experience on how to navigate with no possible guide within the nothingness. It is here Muun is allowed new clothing to travel the city with, now wearing simple black trowsers, a white long sleeved shirt, and a black thin vest.
Being on the ship, he is provided food, a place to sleep, and company with the other party members. While at a dining table, he hears tales of past adventures and conquests, people they have saved and marvelous events incurred by gods. When it becomes Muun's turn to tell his story, they become most intrigued when he describes the Cleric of Pelor that visited Ravenloft and how that was his means of escape. Even for them that seems unfathomable. "Luck o'e the gods y'do 'have boy. E'en death is a better place than'at hell hole." the Dwarf he now knows as Connery comments.
Muun, a ranger himself, soon visits the elder Ranger of the party, known by name as Eldaeric, asking him for help in getting him back to speed in his bowmanship. Eldaeric is more than welcome to help, and leads Muun down to a practice area below deck where targets are set up, as well as dummies and cylinder mats to practice sword play with. "Only Iilgar, our Barbarian friend, doesn't use this training room. He finds it fit to battle as he pleases and would most likely destroy the ship if we let him have his way here." Muun actually gives a bit of snicker at the thought. Eldaeric watches the young archer practice several shots. Tilting his head, watching Muun's gaze rather than the targets, he walks foward and notices the problem, "You lack focus." He grasps Muun's chin to turn his face towards him, "Your eyes appear to be looking outward, but I can tell.. I can tell they're looking inward." He lets Muun go and explains, "You've had a focus and a drive that was lost over time. This is what you must get back, as it is what keeps you alive. This is why you have left comfort, you wish to find your focus once more."
With the advice implanted to him, Muun tries to think of why he was focused.. what allowed him to eschew emotional attachment. Then the memory of the vampire girl that loved him that he killed plays back to him. The thoughts he had then still play out like they were current. He was doing what must have been done. He was protecting himself. He was efficient. Heartless. Unsympathetic. His mind plays out the shot he took that night again, the dead accuracy he had in killing the vampiress with a single shot of a wooden arrow.
"Very good." Eldaeric says, having just watched Muun make the target steadily. "Keep your wits sharp just like that."
---
Finally, the ship carries him to a port of a city known as Hestavar. It seems to be a city well developed enough to have a viable means of transportation with well developed ships powered through magical and scientific means both. The city's building designs seem to be so much more modern and new than even the Mallory mansion in Primaria. Given some currency to spend, Muun says goodbye to the heroes, and they wish him luck in finding his companion.
From the docks, Muun finds himself entering a set of markets that are strategically placed to ensure that 'tourists' like himself do not miss their wares and enjoyments. He is soon forced to step aside for a carriage... That... has no horses drawn upon it, and seems to be some sort of mechanized steam device with an explosive casing at the front. It's like if Jack were a transportation device of some sort.
He decides to examine some of the shops, given currency to start out with. He first finds himself in a weapon shop, but it doesn't carry ordinary weapons, it carries various cannon-like devices that are small enough to fit in one's hand, or two. "Welcome!" the owner says, looking to be much more of an engineer in scholar's robes instead of a blacksmith or wood worker, "Please, take a look at my selection of guns. Have a fancy for some of the antique models. They're all in working condition and well inspected." Muun's ignorance shows, like it usually does when he finds something unfamiliar, "What is a gun?" he asks simply. The clerk behind the counter snaps his fingers and begins to grin, "They are the end of armor as you know it!" [OOC NOTE: That should be bows but noooo] "They will replace swords, bows, crossbows.." His tone then switches to considering and dismissive while emoting a wave, "But perhaps not magic but the two will coexist nicely."
Handing Muun a rifle, he leads him to the back where there is a mannequin put on display. It is punctured and ruptured by several holes from constant abuse. The clerk prances about the room, taking an apple and balancing it on the rounded surface of the mannequin's head. Nearly clapping at his success, he moves back and helps Muun pull up the rifle, and places it to where he is aiming with it properly, "Using a gun is simple. Pull the trigger! In fact, one could say it's too simple. Don't have them near children, now. Aiming is a different matter, try hitting that apple." Looking over to the man, Muun considers the instructions, then looks back and sets his eye down the sight as told. With a cold expression, he takes careful aim and makes the man wait carefully for him to take the shot. After a long moment he finally pulls the trigger, and a deep gaping hole finds itself where there would be a heart on the Mannequin.
"Ooh, it'll be alright. With practice you'll-", "I hit exactly where I wanted to." Muun interrupts, "Training to not hit targets that might try to kill me is a waste of time.. how much for this?" As they are travelling back, the clerk attempts to explain how a gun could be useful to someone other than a killer or a warrior, "Well, you could protect your home with them, or use it for self defense.. or for hunting! Or even just to show that you have a gun!" "Only the hunting part sounds like an exciting reason to have one. I am a hunter myself." The clerk finally then tallies up the cost of the weapon and its bullets, "That will be... five thousand and fifteen gold pieces."
"... What."
As Muun walks down the street to the next shop, having decided to keep the bow given to him by Eldaeric instead of trying out a new futuristic weapon for very personal and moral reasons. He steps into a large opening with many clothing in display, looking over the designs which seem better made than in any other world. Most of the clothing here reminds him of what Val wears, which is not exactly what he wants, but he eventually settles on finding a dark, muted blue trench coat outfit to travel about with. The attire suits his natural charisma given by his handsome appearance perfectly, the bow accompanying the suit to present an image. An image of a man who makes hunting a target his very business, where nothing will stop him from accomplishing his mission.
And finding his target he has. With direct steps he eyes a figure which he has hunted for the many life times he has been in the astral sea. The satisfaction of winning finally overcoming him after much peace and at the same time frustration weighing him down. He circles around the fountain, gazing towards the introspective half-orc, interrupting his dream-like state with the familiar voice that has been sought out by the half-orc like water in a desert and gold for the poor, "Sorry I kept you waiting."
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