(This thread is for Arkrael and Adira if they agreed to accompany Tam on her search.)

Tamelyn We'll reel away til the break of day
and dance together til morning!

A goal! A search! A quest!

Tamelyn's current experience with quests was somewhat limited. True, she had helped bring light to the caves, but since then her life had been a bit dull. There wasn't really much to do besides eat and explore. And run from golems, though they never seemed to stray far from Polaris. It was too bad, she liked that room, but there was plenty more cave to run around in. And now, there was actually a reason to run around.

She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but assumed it would be like the helm the Beast had held: hard, shiny, and grey. She walked through the tunnel, examining each nook and cranny for any signs of a missing piece, huffing in frustration when her search yielded nothing. He hadn't been able to tell them where in particular each piece may be, and so each party of Gembound would have to search the entirety of the cave. But she had made a [i]promise[i] to help him, and she never went back on her promises. With a sigh, she returned to searching, pawing aside debris and glowing ferns to search the ground.

Tamelyn also found herself curious, in a morbid sort of way, as to how the Beast's friend had ended up like this. Each body part could be miles from eachother, for crying out loud. What could have ripped them apart like that? She shuddered at the thought, but didn't pause in her quest to uncover a missing piece.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

Upon searching closely, one may find that one of the boots has become home to a peculiar brand of moss. While it appears soft and green, it is immensely resilient, and its roots cling stubbornly to the armor. It will be difficult and time consuming to free the boot from the grasp of the moss, which holds neatly against the wall. Nearby, the other boot has become somehow embedded part-way into the stone wall. The rock surrounding it is soft and can be chipped away through consistent work.

"Speech" Thoughts

Paws raced over the rocky floor. Quickly moving to catch up with the scent the she-pup hurried to catch up with Tamelyn. Excitement coursed through her. A hunt that would send them adventuring on through the caves to find this creature's friend. A friend that was torn to pieces and scattered across the cave. The thought sent a shudder down Arkrael. What could have possibly done such a thing? Arkrael didn't really want to find out. Shaking her thoughts Arkrael perked up when she spotted Tamelyn just ahead of her. She gave a bark that was quickly followed by a yip of excitement as she picked up her pace.

Just as she was about to say something to Tamelyn something glinted and caught the corner of Arkrael's eye. "Huh?" She murmured as she trailed up beside Tamelyn. "Is that..." Arkrael began only to trail off as she began to instinctively sniff at the air. She slowly moved towards one of the things that stuck out from the wall. All too curious to see what it was. Her eyes went wide as she quickly looked back to Tamelyn, "Do you think...!?" She couldn't really get a full sentence out as excitement seemed to course through her all the more. Surely it hadn't been that easy to stumble upon something they were hunting for. She looked back at the thing jutting out from the stone only to look around, wondering if there was only one piece.

OoC: Sorry it's so short ;w; I'll do an attempt to get the boot out next post.

Tamelyn We'll reel away til the break of day
and dance together til morning!

Well, this was a bit of a problem. She had found the boots, but they both seemed to be...stuck. Tamelyn was pondering the moss-covered boot when Arkrael's bark rang out, causing her to look back. The wolf drew up close, but something else caught her attention: the metal sticking out of the wall. "I think it is," said Tamelyn, answering her question. She stuck out her lower lip, pouting over their predicament. "But I dunno how to get it out." As she glowered at the boot, her eyes strayed back to Arkrael, and a flash of inspiration suddenly came to her. She recalled their first meeting, when a golem had attacked them. Arkrael had done...something, that made the ground shake. If she could move earth, maybe she could get the boot out of the wall! "D'you think you can use your magic to make it fall out of the rock?" she asked the wolf curiously. "Like how you made the ground all shakey before." Or maybe Arkrael had other talents that would be more useful. One way or another, they had to dislodge those armor pieces.

She then turned her attention back to the boot that was covered in plants. She didn't think any of their powers could control plants. Perhaps if Imogen was here, they might have had more luck, but she supposed she'd just have to remove the moss the old-fashioned way. Tamelyn walked back to the boot and lowered her head, giving the moss a cursory sniff. Like the other plants in the tunnel, it held a sweet, appetizing scent. Good thing she was already a bit hungry. The fawn began to chew and nibble at the moss, trying to eat it away from the metal. As a browser, Tamelyn usually ate leaves and twigs, or acorns when she could find them in Eriandus (a favorite treat), but she had eaten moss before and found it not to be too horrible. However, this plant seemed rather tough, and only time would tell if she would be able to clear it.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

(Ark, can you tag the GM for us both when you get your post up?)

Arkrael listened fully as Tamelyn spoke. Eager to hear her Ideas on how to free the boot from the wall. She studied the boot that barely jutted out of the wall, giving it a small sniff as she looked around. An idea crossed her thoughts and she moved wth intent. Hoping up to place her front paws around the boot while standing on her back paws and eagerly tried to dig. To no avail did she get anywhere and a frown stretched across her features. Of course she shouldn't have been shocked that a stone wall would have not been as easy to dig at like much softer dirt on the ground like she had found in other areas. When Tam mentioned that Arkrael should attempt her magic Arkrael could have smacked her paw against her head. Of course. She was just so excited to have found the pieces with tam that it really kept her distracted in thinking properly

She gave a look over towards Tamelyn, curiously watching as her hatch mate set to work on chewing through the mosses that clung to the other boot on the opposite side of the wall. It seemed effective, but was Tam really hungry enough to chew threw all of it? Arkrael, thought absolutely hating the taste of foliage, would offer some help if Tam did get too full. She wouldn't eat the stuff. But that didn't mean her sharp fangs couldn't rip through the vines and miss all the same. At lear she hoped it could.

Shaking her thoughts away, Arkrael turned her focus towards her own boot. It should be a breeze to get that thing out. Right? Hopefully she didn't break it in the process. She shifted how she was standing, focusing all her attention and energy on the wall that gripped at the boot. Almost instantly she felt her gem begin to vibrate. Humming as her magic came to life. Almost as if on queue a sudden split cracked through the walls. Sending small webbing lines out in all direction and Arkrael nearly beamed. However, when the boot didn't even budge a pout quickly formed across her features. It hadn't been enough. Maybe if she tried again then the boot would be free? She cast a hesitant glance to Tam again, hoping she wouldn't be ashamed that Arkrael hadn't bern as successful as she had hoped. And to see just how far Tamelyn was coming on her own boot. With a sigh, Arkrael turned her attention back to the stone wall and pondered quietly to herself for just a moment.

Being eaten away by the deer, the moss seemed to have developed its own defense mechanism. As Tamelyn grazed on the tough moss, it began to emit a rather foul stench - a sudden and strong aroma that would waft up from the damaged cellular tissue of the mosses. It would cause no harm in digestion - this simply makes the moss extremely unpleasant to be around if damaged. The other boot remained lodged in the rock. Only an immensely successful attack on the stone could move it.

Tamelyn We'll reel away til the break of day
and dance together til morning!

Tamelyn had to commend herself, it was a clever idea to use her natural talents to remove the moss.

At least, it felt like a clever idea until the smell hit.

It began as just a whiff, but before she knew it, it was all around her, filling her nostrils and coating the back of her mouth. It was a rotten, fetid stench, like fermenting swamp grass mixed with dung. The fawn gagged and went crosseyed, staggering away from the boot. She spat out the bits of fiber clinging to her tongue and shuddered. "That smells so bad," she groaned, trying to get as far away from the reek as possible.

When she had recovered somewhat, she looked back at the moss with a huff. Now what? She glared at it, as if she could make it disintegrate by sheer force of her irritation. The moss remained smugly intact. Her magic wouldn't be much use in this situation, but she could barely stand to be near that smell. She looked about, trying to figure out how to get past this new obstacle.

Tamelyn shifted, idly squishing her hooves in the muck. It was awfully moist in her, and the mud was sticking to her legs.

...Sticking. She blinked, looking down at the mud. Was a possible solution right under her feet? She lowered her head, sniffing the mud. It didn't smell like anything but mud, which was what she was counting on. Grimacing, Tamelyn shoved her snout into the mud and wiggled it about, getting her face good and covered, particularly her nose, until her nostrils were plugged. "Okay," she said to Arkrael, her voice carrying an odd tone with her nose blocked up by mud, "Led's 'ope dis works,"

With no small amount of apprehension, she approached the moss again, hoping her little plan worked.

She could still smell it, making her stomach turn, but it wasn't quite as bad as before. Bracing herself, she opened her mouth to continue nibbling, though she frequently had to pause and step away for fresh air, lest she lose her lunch.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

"Speech" Thoughts

Arkrael shifted her stance, fixing to focus on attempting to try again, but all of a sudden a gut wrenching odor caught her senstive nose. "Auuugh!" She cried out as she instantly moved closer towards her wall while lifting up her leg and covered her snout. What was that?! She unconsciously tucked her tail towards her belly as she turned around and looked at the vines that Tamelyn was working on. She too seemed to be very unpleased with the smell. When the fawn began to rub her nose in the mud Arkraely vaguely pondered if she should do the same. Shaking it off when Tamelyn went to focus back on her task, so too did Arkrael. She hoped the stench wouldn't bother her hatchmate too bad.

She set her miss-matched eyes upon the stone walls that gripped tightly against. She didn't close her eyes this time. Focusing her gaze right on the boot. The vibration quickly picked up frequency, humming brightly as Arkrael's magic began to work. A loud crack resonated in the tunnel, echoing for a long while as Arkrael watched the cracked around the boot grow larger and large. Her breath hitched as she waited apprehensively, waiting to see if her her boot would fall. She bit on her lip, eagerly watching without blinking once. Would she get it this time?! And if she did then what? WEll, she would probably go help Tamelyn with her situation on the other side. Those vines smelt awful, but Arkrael would put that aside and assist her hatchmate.

OoC: sorry short post x.x

The moss continued to emanate it's foul stench, spreading it to the air all around. When the fawn continued to nibble at it, the verdant growth continued to spew out the fumes, unable to realize that it was being destroyed bit by bit. Perhaps a few more bites will be enough to clear the moss and remove the metal boot from inside. Off where the wolf pup was attemping to move the stone and release the other piece of armor, a crack grew larger and larger about it. The boot shifted and moved, but did not fall out of the wall just yet. With the aid of some more magicka or maybe some simple pulling, the boot may be removed. Unscatched or broken is the question.

Ooc: I'm gonna go ahead and post out of turn

"Speech" Thoughts

There seemed to be more progress in the stone wall this time, but even still the boot did not fall from it's perch in the wall. Arkrael's nose wrinkled up in annoyance as she lowered her head as if she were threatening the wall. Stupid wall! It would cave to her demands no matter what! Yet, that god awful stench that those annoying vinces were giving off were starting to give Arkrael a headache. It was all she could do to ignore the stench as it burned through her sensitive nose. Clearing her thoughts Arkrael focused again once more. She would do it this time. She would get that darned boot free!

A snarl began to vibrate at her chest and as she felt her magic begin to work and grow in it's strenght ARkrael let out a bark and lunged at the bit. Her fangs latched onto the boot as her paws quickly slapped against the stone walls on either side and as she began to hear the breaking and creaking of the wall once again she tugged as hard as he could. In the midst of her tugging it seemed that all four of her paws had made it forward to press tight against the cracking wall, eager to give her more strength to pull and pull and pull until she managed to get some kind of leeway with this thing!