[PP-F3] <Search for the Hoya>

[Galilea 0]

Galilea sighed. Her vision greatly diminished the further she traveled. The Forest of Wavering Mist certainly lived up to its name, and with no way to contact the two other girls that would be accompanying her on the quest, she felt quite disadvantaged in a place with no visible landmarks in sight. Stopping, she planted her blade deep into the forest floor. Dragging it diagonally across to her left, she crossed back over it this time to her right, thus forming a size-able X in the floor. Hitching the blade to her hip, she planted it the ground and began to walk. Looking over her shoulder, she confirmed that her plan was working, a slightly deep line working its way into the forest floor from her X, trailing her into the forest. Should she be unable to find the girls, she at least marked her spot from the opening of the forest and hopefully they would follow along. Sighing, she pressed further. Hopefully they would catch up soon.

[Birdie 0]

"It's not my fault the mist is so potent, Glacia.." The Frostbite Phoenix perched itself upon the bluenette's shoulder, tickling Birdie's cheek as it ruffled its feathers. The woman brought her familiar along with hopes of letting it stretch its wings a little, and the large open space above the third floor's main settlement offered that freedom. However, upon entering the Forest of Wavering Mist, she soon realised that the bird wasn't having the best time navigating the fog.

Birdie had a reason for being there. An announcement caught her attention earlier that day. It was somebody looking to partner up and tackle a quest, 'Search for the Hoya'. She originally felt inclined to ignore the request, assuming the announcee had already found a party to go with, though she noticed the request hadn't disappeared when she passed the notice board hours later. Setting her anxiety aside she offered assistance to the quest goer and, hours later, found herself traversing the third floor. 

Glacia squawked, prompting Birdie's eyes to shift towards her pet. "What's up?" The woman's eyes followed the bird's and she was met with a peculiar X etched into the ground, followed by a line proceeding it. With no other leads to go on and lacking knowledge of the correct trail, she walked beside the line, crossing deeper into the murky forest.

[Mossino 0]

Normally Alisa wouldn't have partied up with people she had never met before. However, after reviewing what the actual quest was, and the party involved, she wanted to go and help others finish it. That is how she found herself in the forest of Floor Three, going deeper and deeper in. As she walked inside around and through the trees, mist got heavier and heavier, making her progress slow and careful. She wasn't too sure what lurked in this forest, but it could be dangerous, very dangerous.

Being just a few hundred feet behind Birdie, and far behind Galilea, she finds the X just a few minutes after Birdie does. Looking around for a quick second to see if anyone was there, she nods to herself. 'Smart, I guess this was to lead us to each other?' she muses in her head, seeing the path down through the forest. With a light smile, she continues down the path, her Rapier at her side and her cloak around her.

[Galilea 0]

Crystal blue eyes darted from one shadowy figure to the next as Galilea desperately searched the thicket for an opening. She had been wandering for quite a bit now and despite her best efforts, she seemed to have the worst luck when it came to finding things. Stopping, she rested against the knotted trunk of one of the few visible trees in sight. Hmm, I suppose stopping wouldn't be such a bad idea given I still need to meet up with the others anyhow. Though at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if they turned back before delving any deeper into this fogged mess.

A sigh escaped her, as she settled into the grooves of the tree. The forest despite its gloomy appearance was rather serene; offering a quiet place to think if nothing else.

SNAP!

Galilea's head swiveled, searching the area before her for the source of the sound.

"Whoever's there, show yourself."

[Birdie 0]

The marked path kept on and on, Birdie becoming increasingly suspicious of its origins. Perhaps it was a bad idea to follow this trail.. did I miss the girl at the entrance? Internal monologue played out in her mind, anything to keep the girl's senses stimulated amidst the disorienting haze. Having Glacia along made things a little less gruelling, at least.

"Hm?" She took her eyes away from the trail to glance downwards, noticing the freshly snapped twig beneath her feet.

"Whoever's there, show yourself."

"H-huh!?" A voice emerged from the fog and Birdie looked around frantically, trying to find whoever it belong to. She saw a silhouette in the distance propped up against the trunk of a tree; holding both hands up, she approached the murky figure.

The fog revealed the silhouette to be an Aryan woman, whose bright blue eyes contrasted the dreary fog. "I was just- w-well, I thought that path would maybe lead to uh... y-you wouldn't happen to be the girl from the announcement?"

In the midst of the confusion Birdie failed to notice Glacia's absence; the bird had dismounted some time ago, keeping a few hundred feet behind her mistress. Birdie's cautious voice caught the attention of the phoenix and she went to turn back, though the faint outline of a player in the fog caught her eye. Hovering on the spot, Glacia would wait the player was within earshot before loosing a "Squawk!" Performing a u-turn, the phoenix flapped its wings and returned to Birdie, leaving an icy trail in its flight path.

[Mossino 0]

The cloak wearing girl was about a thousand or so feet behind the others, slowly going down the path watching out for danger. She wasn't one who really wanted to get ambushed by mobs or players. The girl really wondered if this was the right path, or if she was being lead astray, and it didn't help when she heard a faint snapping noise far off. Putting her hand on her rapier, she listened for what would happen next, trying to stay as quiet as possible. After a few seconds there was a loud 'Squawk' and then silence. With a frown the girl started moving forward again down the path, still on high alert. Just what was in these forests?

It would take a minute until Alisa caught up with the two others. Though, after a bit of time, she would come up upon the small party. She would see them before they saw her, as they would be talking, so she just...stood there awkwardly, unsure of what really to say to the other two.