[SP-F17] Hunting grounds <Feeding Your Enemy>

[Bismuth 0]

Bismuth could see his destination already from where he was, albeit far off in the distance, the lowlands provided a very good view of the mountain that housed the town of Athenaia, there he would be able to find the teleport gate, which would bring him to the third floor, though the roads to the top of the mountain could be very dangerous the Athenaians assumed that you were a Spartaian and the Spartaians assumed you were an Athenaian which just led to either side attacking players on site, which would not bode well for the very under leveled player. Hiding through the lowlands was a lot harder than it was in the plains, the further you went into them, the shorter that the grass there got, making it impossible to use it for cover anywhere but where it nears the plain. Bismuth was well practiced though, so he was confident he could make it there without being spotted, so long as he took everything very carefully, which he always did. 

Crouching low in the tall grass Bismuth once again pulled out his old journal that housed his maps for the floor, Bismuth flipped until he landed on the page that described everything about this particular section of the floor, focusing on the lowlands that surrounded the mountain the main settlement sat on. Bismuth was reading through his notes on the patrols that the Athenaians made through here, and making a mental note of them before closing the book and standing, looking at the sun's placement, Bismuth knew that he would probably make it through the lowlands as the sun was setting, sighing Bismuth began his trek taking it much slower than he had the plains he just exited, he knew needed to be a lot more careful, because while they had patrols, the Athenaians were a lot more randomized then the lions, and it was much harder to actually avoid them.

 

[Bismuth 0]

The slow trek was agonizing to Bismuth, if he was strong enough to have just completely run through the area, he would have been able to make it there in half the time, but the safety that his sneaking provided him was more than worth it. Bismuth wished that he had gone to Astreya for this, he had promised her that he would go to her before he went about finding a familiar, but he had not expected that this normal foray would have turned into a hunt for a bird. He would go and invite her, but he didn't want to leave for long enough that the bird would be gone, he was already taking a massive risk in climbing all the way back up to the town in order to get his glasses, but he knew that it would be worth that risk with the slight bonuses that he would be able to gain from the glasses he had left at home. 

The lowlands weren't the largest section of the journey, that would be the mountain, and the climb would be by far the most arduous, though, not the most dangerous. The mountain was growing closer and closer and Bismuth pulled out his notebook again to make sure he had a good path in mind. He couldn't take the main path up the mountain because of the regular intervals of hoplites that guarded it, so he would have to scale it on his own, and if he chose the wrong spot, then the fall would surely cause more damage than any of the hoplites could. Resuming his arduous walk, Bismuth reached the base of the mountain without much more time passing. Crouching there in the shadow of the mountain Bismuth gulped, the mountain looked even taller than it had on the way down.

[Bismuth 0]

Bismuth sighed as he placed his hands on the jagged almost complete cliff, the climb would be hard, and if he lost his footing it would be a long way down. Bismuth made fast progress for how hard the climb was able to find purchase on small outcroppings of rock as he climbed, not having many issues at all, looking down Bismuth could see that he had climbed hundreds of feet up the mountain, and knew that he wasn't anywhere near done. Reaching up for his next handhold Bismuth felt his heart leap as the rock broke tumbling against the cliff face below, leaving him gripping with only one hand and his feet. The hang had only lasted a few seconds, but to Bismuth it seemed like it lasted forever, bringing his hand back Bismuth made sure that his handhold was stronger before continuing up the mountain.

the rest of the long climb had went off completely without a hitch, and after an hour with almost no breaks Bismuth found himself at the peak of the mountain outside of the gates of the town of Athenaia It wouldn't be much longer until he found himself home. The walk through the Greek inspired town was short when it was compared to the journey that he had just went through, soon finding himself at the amphitheater that housed the teleport gate for this floor. Calling out the name of the main settlement for the third floor bismuth smiled to himself, this floor was beautiful and the main settlement was no different. The flash of blue light dissipated as the mountain top was replaced by a forest filtering a small amount of light from the setting sun, Bismuth would be home soon, and would be able to get his glasses.

[Bismuth 0]

The shortest journey of them all was before Bismuth, and by far the least dangerous, Bismuth lived in the Town of Flora in a small tavern called The Bistro that he owned, and that town had a main road leading all the way to it, where no monsters spawned, and Bismuth would be able to walk without any worry at all, a welcomed reprieve when compared to the long journey he had faced before. The walk through the forest was peaceful and beautiful, and Bismuth took his time, he couldn't help it even if he was in a rush, when he was here on this floor, he felt like he had a place, and that he completely belonged, which was something that he had never had before. The border of the Town of Flora was soon reached, and his tavern even sooner after that, opening the door bismuth made his way up to the single actual room in the building, the one that he used as his room.

Papers were strewn everywhere as Bismuth opened the door, his research taking up most of the "bedroom" With a large desk taking up most of the room. On that desk among a pile of maps was a pair of round golden glasses neatly folded and placed in one of the few non cluttered areas on it. Taking them and putting them on Bismuth smiled, the glasses made him naturally more perceptive, and would also make material nodes glow with a blue aura when he was looking for them, which after finally training himself to pay attention for, made the act of gathering a lot faster.

Spoiler

Equipped <Hikei> T1 Trinket LD 3

 

[Bismuth 0]

The trip back to the main settlement of this floor took an equally fast amount of time, and he found himself crossing into the forest town across one of it's many log bridges. Bismuth found himself at the teleport gate in no time at all, and called out for Athenaia, the main settlement for the seventeenth floor, a flash of blue light enveloped Bismuth as he found his forest home replaced by Greek architecture and the different beauty that could be found in it. Bismuth walked himself through the town making his way past the gate guards and to the same area that he had used to climb up the mountain in the first place. The look down was almost as horrible as the climb up, and the climb wouldn't be pleasant either, almost being enough to make bismuth just use the path patrolled by Hoplites, almost.

Bismuth began the climb, making sure that he had his placements just right, especially since the sun had set at this point, Bismuth needed to take the journey even slower than before. Taking over an hour of hard pressed climbing Bismuth found himself placing his feet on solid ground, glad to have that hard part behind him Bismuth smiled, at night the Hoplites in the lowlands would be easier to avoid, and that would make the journey easier, although he would still have to be more careful than he had been on his journey on the third floor.

[Bismuth 0]

Stalking through the lowlands was about as much fun as stalking through any large flat swathes of just grass, it made Bismuth feel like a hunter hunting a prey, much like the lions in the adjacent Nemean Plains. The task was slow and in the dark any sound that bismuth heard would make him have to pause for moments as he had to make sure that it wasn't one of the patrols of hoplites, or even something worse. at this point it was really dark, and Bismuth practically couldn't see anything and was just having to go based almost completely on his knowledge of the area, which while being vast was not perfect.

Travelling through the plains in the dark wasn't the most difficult thing he had done, and didn't take all that long, and soon enough Bismuth found himself on the edge of the Nemean Plains in the total darkness. Bismuth crouched there thinking, the lions that roamed these plains were not only more active at night, but also had better night vision than Bismuth could hope to have. He was going to have to be very careful when he entered the plains in order to get himself back to his camp. Bismuth sighed as he took his first step into the plains.

[Bismuth 0]

This was the scariest part of his return trip, Bismuth was almost completely at the mercy of the lions here, they wouldn't make any sounds, and would be able to see him long before he would be able to see him, and with that, he could be being stalked by them for a long time without ever knowing. Keeping himself as low as possible Bismuth made the long and quiet journey through the long grass, somewhat blowing and whistling in the wind. His camp was more centered in the middle of the plains and it would take a bit of time to reach it, especially at he pace that he was able to walk.

Luckily, it seemed like lady luck was on Bismuth's side this time, and he was able to get all the way back to the basin that housed his camp with no signs of trouble, and with it being well past dark, Bismuth was glad to see his tent and campfire, though he wouldn't be lighting one tonight at all. Bismuth crawled into his tent, and laid down, content to go to bed after his long journey. It wasn't long before Bismuth felt himself fading away into sleep, glad to have his glasses, so that hopefully he would be able to track down that golden eagle.

[Bismuth 0]

Bismuth, surprisingly woke up to the sounds of morning outside, lately he had barely been able to sleep a couple of hours, usually waking up in the late hours of the night to nightmares and memories, maybe it was his exhaustion but he had been able to sleep through the night, which was uncommon. Yawning bismuth climbed out of his camp looking around with his new glasses to see if any nodes spawned while he was sleeping, they would be much easier to spot with their blue aura. Which unsurprisingly was a fruitless effort, as the grass was uncommon and it was more likely to spawn by water, which was the same place that he was hoping he would be able to find his bird.

Stepping out of his camp Bismuth made his way to the same watering hole that he had scouted for his familiar at the very first time, crouching slowly through the plains in order to avoid the lions. The journey wasn't too far, and bismuth was able to make it their pretty soon, staring at the water in the early morning light, there was currently no animals, but as the day grew hotter that would probably change.

Spoiler

Gathering:

LD: 5 + 3 = 8 = Failure

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by Bismuth

[Bismuth 0]

Bismuth looked around the edge of the water first making sure to survey with his new glasses for that blue aura that Bismuth had become used to, though, much like the camp he had woke up in there was nothing like what he was looking for. Climbing up the same tree that he had used last time Bismuth climbed it with a skilled hand, resting on the same branch as he had two days prior, hoping that he would be able to see the bird just like he had last time. Not much time passed before slowly, animals started to filter into the watering hole, looking to drink some water, none of them were dangerous, and none of them were what he was looking for.

The wait was boring, but the idea of finally getting the familiar that he had been hunting for was definitely worth it, pulling out a separate journal, one that wasn't designed the same as his others, this one was for sketches not designed for his compendium. Bismuth began sketching what he could see, which was a gazelle drinking at the edge of the water, making sure to still pay attention to his surroundings.

Spoiler

Gathering:

LD: 7 + 3 = 10 = Failure

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by Bismuth

[Bismuth 0]

I FAILED AGAIN, DAMN

Edited March 6, 2022 by Bismuth

[Bismuth 0]

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Edited March 7, 2022 by Bismuth

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Edited March 7, 2022 by Bismuth

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Edited March 7, 2022 by Bismuth

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Edited March 7, 2022 by Bismuth

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Edited March 7, 2022 by Bismuth

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Gathering:

*Note: Roll Purpose should be Material Searching

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by Bismuth