Nemean's triumphant entrance on her "mighty steed" became subdued as the little troop actually marched into Cetus. Something about the dismal swamp dampened the Master's spirits a tad, despite all the hilarious memories she'd made here. Or maybe it wasn't the swamp.

No--maybe it was the potential "impending death" thing.

"Hey, uh... Strawberry Extravaganza Glitterpaws? Maybe hold off on the grand entrance for now." She leaned forward to say this, her voice a little low, even though she hated to have to stifle herself. She'd rather have come in horns blaring, confetti falling, spotlights flashing but honestly?

Nemean wasn't all that sure that Artio wouldn't kill her.

She had partially explained the situation on the little troupe's way here.

---

FLASHBACK!!!!

"So ANYWAY I turned her into a tree, which was hilarious, because she was always messing with these stupid trees. 'I am one with the forest' and 'nurture the seeds of creation' and all that shit. So ARTIO turns up, and she's all, 'oh I'm so badass oh shit I walked right into your trap' and fucking died, hahaha! And then I took HER stone, and went down to the Eyes, and well, you should've SEEN Farina's face!..."

---

(Well, that flashback wasn't very helpful. Let's move on, shall we?)

Nemean had, in any case, told Bebby (Strawberry Extravaganza Glitterpaws) not to lose "the pig with my ball," but honestly she'd had no real way to stop Porkchop from deviating from the path, except for promising him grand and vague rewards and yelling "LALALA YOU CAN'T HEAR HIM!" for awhile when they'd run into a stranger claiming to know the pig. But everyone had been a little tired, or so Nemean thought (that, or it was a good excuse to stall for awhile) so eventually she'd called "picnic hour" and they'd taken a stop to rest.

"Enough stalling! Let's get this done!" cried Nemean, fist-pumping the air. It wasn't clear what she meant, but maybe she'd found her courage, for she pointed off toward the Divine.

Its silhouette towered, twisted, over the treeline, barely visible in the fog. As the group drew closer, the gnarled roots, full of screaming faces, loomed.

"Right, so... if we're lucky, we can do this shit before she even knows I'm here. Then you can fuck off to her for your reward, or whatever. For now-? You take that orb to the tree."

Nemean took a breath, leaning back astride her mighty steed, eyeing the Divine worriedly. What if this worked, and the fucking tree killed her-?

"The orb messes with time or something. I used it to put this... 'curse,' I guess you'd call it, on barky bitch over here. Bark, like--tree bark, not a dog--anyway, if you touch the orb and the tree, and focus on like. Putting the curse on yourselves, instead? It should take it back. But uh, fair warning," she went on, squinting upward at the tangle of branches.

"It's gonna hurt. And I did mention a curse. So like, if you don't want to be a fucking tree-? Nobody touch it all that long."

---

The Divine has been trapped as a bark-clad tree for millennia. This is very sad.

Characters are being asked to help remove the curse from the Divine by touching the tree, and "Nemean's" orb, at the same time. The orb will incur burning agony, and a sense of odd, distorted whispering--and may irreparably change characters who choose to help. But surely the kind act is worth the cost..?

This thread is part of The Cave Stories event series!

As described in previous news posts and announcements, this is a low-stakes group of quests that will potentially unlock new spells, techniques, and/or tactics. All characters are welcome to join these quests at any time (unless otherwise stated at the bottom of a GM post).

This thread is a continuation of A New Leaf, found here, and here (Part II), and takes place just after the second thread, but anyone can join! Your character is free to have been told about this one off-screen either by other characters or Artio, or can simply stumble upon the gathering or travelling group!

@Imp @Fahl @Porkchop @Bebby Potentially @Niamh and @Bramble also @Dragon

Bebby had, even with a bit of hesitation, because atleast it seemed like they were on their way to FIX the mistake as funny as nemean found it, was still fully onboard with being nemean's beautiful steed to cetus.

it wasn't just her who's mood was dampened however, the foggy air and swampy floors of cetus brought her ears down to lay flat on her head in worry, though she would of course still tred onward. she gave Nemean a nod at the request to keep it on the low for right now, as, to be honest, she didn't feel like being super flashy right now either, even if her coat let her be anything but not.

she would wave to the one claiming to know porkchop excitedly but would accept the picnic and eat as much as she was given, frankly, which happened to be alot. she'd break off a slab of rock candy and hand it to nemean, cherry flavored and bebby-made, in offering.


She looked to the others, at the orb and to the tree, and would wait patiently for someone to do something. she.. didn't want to be a tree, so she'd stay back.


speech
thoughts

Why the heck was Madhukar here? Sentimentality's sake. She had hatched here, wandered restlessly, horrifically dissatisfied with the milieu of this place. The screaming trees, the gloomy fog, and that... snake thing that wouldn't let her go. Stuck here for a cycle, left as soon as possible, and now that she thought about it, it seemed as though many who had mattered to her most, she had met because of this place. She never saw that snake again. She met Doug, who was now gone to who knows where, and her only attempt at keeping some part of him safe had never left the chrysalis. On her escape from here, she had also met Tahi-shei, who... And Sunny the snail had come here to make a home. Madhukar didn't make a lot of friends, mostly just enemies and bitter acquaintances. Friends were treasure, rare and all-consuming. They changed places with memories, made them feel different. Special. This place, of all places, was special to Madhukar now, and she had no idea how that could have happened were it not for the friends who had also changed her. Her hatred and wild energy, forever transformed. And now they were gone. How could she continue changing without them...?

It was glum. Madhukar had orchestrated a tragedy around herself, and the mood was perfect. She was willing to sit here, rotting along with everything else in sight, almost peaceful in this pit of melancholy. So long as none of it changed, so long as nothing could disturb this state, so long as no tour guides showed up screaming while mounted on a living, breathing deviantArt sparklekitten, Madhukar could rest in her regrets.

...

...Wait a minute.

No.

No.

NO!!!!

Madhukar rose from her post, magic swelling to her titanic emotions like a swarm of rabid hounds anticipating the beckoning of their master. She kept it down. They had done no wrong (yet), she was better than that (now), and Cetus didn't deserve or invite the clamor. Instead, she would just march over and, um. Wait what was she going to do. Was she going to ask? Observe? Uhhh... there was an orb, I guess. That was something to go off of. Something about not touching it all that long. Why were they touching the orb??

"Wh- wha-t is this?" Madhukar strained to extend her raspy voice so it could be heard across the train. To aid in the understandability of her question, Madhukar also pointed toward the orb, the tree, the general situation.

Summary:
Hi guys, Mau just wants to know what's going on.

Maximus had been picked up on the way to Cetus, having recognized two of their party members. Bebby and Porkchop, the latter of which having been a wonderful renunion between parent and child, resulting in them joining the rather strange party of adventurers.

They shifted nervously, not because they were in Cetus, no, but because they were currently doing an errand (Mission? Quest? Task? Errand fot best for Nemean.) for Nemean, who, last time they checked, was a criminal currently being hunted for crimes against the Nest. Though with how Vargas and her had interacted at the Deathmatch, they weren't so sure about their relationship. Not to mention their embarrassing moment in front of her... They really hoped she didn't bring it up. All of this had made them rather awkward to interact with due to their walking on eggshells, unfortunately.

But they stepped forward, the crystal around their neck glowing gold. Their need to help outweighed their fear of punishment. Besides, pain was an old friend. The scars along their torso and arm attested to that.

So they reached out to place their hand on the tree, fingers splaying out across the bark, before they touched Nemean's orb briefly, her warning echoing in their mind. They yelped in pain as a burning sensation spread up their arm and chest, making them flinch away instinctively. They gritted their teeth together and staggered away to hinch over themselves, their quills raised past their mane in a defensive manner as they fought to keep from screaming. It felt eerily similar to when they'd fought Draconua, with whispers echoing in their mind like they were corrupted again.

They silently panicked, trembling ever so slightly with their eyes wide and staring at the ground, arms clutched to their chest.

But they'd done it. They were the first.

Whenever intruders to the Children of Rot's domain were, Skein was sure to follow. The huge alligator fusion had been asleep in the bows of a tree, when they heard a shrill voice. One that didn't sound the least bit familiar. Sending something off, the devious little creature stalked them through Cetus, glaring at them as they travelled.

It wasn't that hard to follow--between Nemeans shrill words, the entourage of gembound, and the bright, sugary stench of Bebby, they were all very noticable. Noticablity did not calm Skein however. In fact, It did the opposite. Skein was nearly besides themselves with suspicion. And at last, when they approached the massive tree, Skein could take no more.

Skein bolted from the water with a hasty takeoff. The hybrid b-lining for the last they'd seen Dragon. And as soon as their father came into view, Skein began a very calm recollection of events. "DAD DAD DAD DAD! THERES STRANGE PEOPLE AND I SAW A BUNCH OF THEM TOGETHER AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE BIG WEIRD TREE AND I DONT TRUST THEM THEYRE UP TO NO GOOD AND ONE OF THEM WAS THIS TINY CAT WITH WINGS ON A SLIGHTLY BIGGER CAT WITH WINGS AND DAD I DONT THINK WE SHOULD LET THEM STAY HERE I WOULD--" Skein paused, then cleared their throat. "I mean, I didn't interfere with them or nothing." Skein grumbled. They left the words hanging, the sentence feeling unfinished, almost implying without words that they should have interfered.

@Dragon

Pelly was just vibing in all the right places these days. That was a very colorful entourage, consider them interested and following immediately. What was this about an orb that messed with time and a tree? Stellar. Ampelio was here for it. They weren't quite sure what the story was, but based on the... impassioned explanation, it sounded like touching that orb was going to help someone. Pelly didn't care about the cost; they liked helping people in need.

Another cat-shaped person was wondering about the whole deal. Pelly explained what they understood: "I believe we've gotta... touch this orb, take on some part of a curse? to get the curse off of someone who's been cursed. If that makes sense." The feline figure did not respond with any sound, just a little nod. "Oh, but like, be careful if you touch it, 'cause otherwise you get turned into a tree too i guess." Pelly was not at all afraid of this prospect. Not because they wanted to be a tree or anything, more so just that this was not their first rodeo with risks and dangers and such. Pelly could handle a little pain for the sake of helping another, and Pelly was always ever so cautious. Besides, if all went to heck, their pops was a gardener and they would probably be well taken care of!

So they went up and touched the orb too. The second one to try, if we're really counting. Pelly didn't stay on too long, but perhaps they lingered a bit, simply out of that lack of self-preservation skill they were kind of notorious for.

The bipedal feline, now with the clarifying information and the brave examples, seemed inspired to try herself. She touched it too, for notably less long than Pelly had. Foreboding?

Powerplaying Madhukar (she is my own character) so that she also touches the orb. :]

Travelling with Nemean had been an exercise in patience for Fahl, one which he desired never to have to endure again. Listening to her grating voice had been necessary. Nodding along every so often to indicate he was paying attention to her pissing on the reputation of the Masters he was currently working with had taken every ounce of willpower possible to be mustered. More than once the temptation had risen to throw aside restraint, to be rash and lash out and run his comparatively tiny well of magic dry just to try and leave a nasty scorch mark upon her person.

He'd had to consider Imp though: two hotheads in the group would do no good. While they likely agreed on incineration being better than her loathsome existence, one had to possess the presence of mind to know they were outmatched. Artio, at least, needed to be around so that there might be some semblance of a fighting chance for them.

Now, the other Master wasn't here yet, but Fahl saw no reason to quell his impatience any longer. No fighting yet, but delivering the cure would suffice. Nemean said they needed to touch the orb and the tree. So that was what he'd do, shoving away whatever fears might gather at the thought of harm. As another addition to their merry band gave an explanation to the newcomer and touched the orb for the instant required, saving him from a brief and rather not very enlightening few words of his own, he bounded forward to do so as well and smacked his tailfins against the rough bark of the Divine at the same time.

Burning, worse than he'd ever felt in his life. Pain, everywhere. His teeth gritted. Eyes squeezed shut, trying to force himself to hold strong against the agony for the few seconds he needed. Scales flashed—white to red to orange to yellow, and then all over again.

"Ffff... ffff... ffffuuuuhhhkk!"

And he released, panting. Screw Nemean. Screw her, screw this orb, screw the fact he had to hurt for this all to work.

"Hhhhh... huh." Fahl staggered back. "Hurts. Under... statement."

Never again. No matter if someone asked in the most polite manner they could, no way would he attempt this again.

Brandle had learned that Skein was very good at finding Interesting and Cool things to investigate, however, Skein was a total and utter joykiller, which tended to dampen said investigations. So Brandle had learned a solution- hide until Skein was out of joy-killing range. So, when Skein went launching off the nap tree in pursuit of the conspicuous entourage, Brandle wasn't far behind. He swam just below the surface of the murky water, occasionally popping his head up reorient himself. As soon as Skein went flying off to go 'warn' Dad, Brandle hauled himself out of the water.

He shook mud off of his head and hands, finally able to fully take in the crowd and the situation. People touching this weird orb- which seemed to hurt. a LOT. But it was to help the weird tree-lady, right? "If anyone gets like, REALLY hurt I can help! I think!" He didn't exactly know how to fix whatever injuries the orb causes, especially tree-related afflictions. He'd hesitate for a moment before slithering forward. Call it peer-pressure, or reckless curiosity, or self-sacrifice, but he was gonna touch this weird orb! So touch it he did.

He was probably gonna regret that, but oh well.

@Skein

Imp scrambled in along with the rest of them, his fluffy feathers quickly muddying to bits. He'd always liked Cetus; it looked like a haunted forest, like some sort of witches' coven gathering place or a mysterious pit where Gembounds should just fucking vanish.

He couldn't wait to see it again--and that, at first, had him rushing for the orb. But he stopped, suspicion flaring in him. What if this were a trick-? Nemean was known for that shit, and Imp wasn't about to fall for it first. So he waited, and once a couple others had gone first without like, burning alive or something, he scooted on over to where they'd been.

"Should be safe, I guess," he muttered in what he hoped was Fahl's general direction. He heard Fahl swearing, then, or trying not to, and he winced. "Damn, you okay? Is it that bad?"

That, Imp thought, was worrying.

He wondered if Porkchop had disagreed on the whole "giving up the magic orb" thing, but he guessed given that it was meant to cause "agonizing pain," probably not. Right as he thought this, Imp's searching body found the orb; he nearly stumbled over it, wing planting directly on it. The pain was immediate and intense, and Imp shrieked: a short yelp of agony as what felt like fire raced up through his veins. His head swelled and filled with claustrophobic whispering, and he lurched, dazed. But a moment later, his alligator-like jaws snapped shut (with a loud clap), and he reached out, feeling his way with his other wing.

He found the trunk of the Divine, and he felt the magic take hold: and he held as long as he could, before finally falling back, panting.

Dragon approached, following along with Skein. The description of a cat with wings--specifically, the tiny one--rather sounded like Nemean... and he still owed her a father's rage for what she had done to Imp.

To his son.

His arrival, then, to find Nemean and Imp not killing each other, took him by surprise; and rather than interrupt with belching bellows of flame, as he'd initially intended, he lurked up as near as he dared to the fairy while simply listening.

This was Nemean.

At last.

"This," he growled at last, his voice a bass rumble, "had best not be a trick. You are the betrayer our Father warned us against. You ordered my son's eyes torn out," he added, and were it not for his physical weariness from dragging himself all the way here by foot, his rage might have been enough to spark an attack regardless of the circumstances.

And even though Nemean was a master, there was vicious threat in Dragon's words: "I hope this is a trick. I would love an excuse to eat you alive, Master Nemean."

Dragon plodded purposefully over the orb, then, and planted one great clawed paw upon it; his tail he slammed up against the Divine. The pain was immense--excruciating--but he turned to stare at Nemean nonetheless.

Part of him trembled at the agony, but he refused to wince, to look away--he glared at her, refusing to back down from even eye contact. He wondered if she'd attack him over it.

He wondered if she'd survive the several Children here beside him.