Stryker
Legacy Name: Stryker

Northeast of the guild's location is a forest known as the Deadroot Woods. Aptly named because it is full of dead trees, and no new life has grown there in many years. Rumor has it the soil there is cursed. It is pretty much desolate, but the guild hear from the locals about a monster residing in the woods. People sometimes trek through the forest as a shortcut to reach another nearby town. But lately there have been disappearances. It's up to the guild to find out what it is.

As the guild explores the woods, they struggle to navigate the many paths of the woods, considering everything looks the same with so many similar dead trees.

"We're lost," Sven groaned bitterly. "Do we even know what we're looking for again?"

"Supposedly it is rumored that the creature is a ghost! I would guess we would happen upon it one way or another, so maybe we should just try both paths," Hanji suggested. "We could go down one path and if it's a dead end, we come back and try the other."

"I'd like to find this creature, ghost or not preferably before it gets too dark," Elfric decided. "We'll need to agree on a path now, and follow it. If we get nowhere, we'll leave a marker for where we've been and come back another day."

The guild of 7 agrees on a path, but soon, a sultry, mysterious voice speaks out.

"I would not go down that path if I were you," someone cooed smoothly. The group looked around. The surroundings weren't just dead wood trees, there was an old tomb structure as well, as if the place had been used burial grounds before. Perched atop an entryway for an underground tomb was a black Irion with emerald-tipped feathers. The rune markings on his shoulders and near his eyes glowed bright green. He was resting coolly, smug-looking even. Valtam narrowed his eyes at the bird.

"And why not, stranger?" the ram carefully treaded, stepping forward. The Irion was unfazed by the gesture, and smirked.

"Have you not heard? There's a monster that resides in these woods. Your fox friend is absolutely right. It is a ghost lurking about. These old grounds used to be a burial site, a graveyard. Once a beautiful forest with leaves of green, one summer day, the forest leaves withered suddenly and simply never came back the following year. They say the ground is cursed forever by the burial of a royal family. There's an old fort not far from here that belonged to them as well," the griffin smoothly explained.

"And the path we agreed on taking is where the ghost resides?" Elfric asked before Valtam could get an edge in. Hanji looked ready to run down the path, eager to meet the ghost, while Asch and Teba turned pale at the thought.

"Precisely. It would be an utmost despair if I simply didn't warn you beforehand. Such a creature has taken the lives of many, I would feel so dreadfully responsible should you die," the stranger dramatized. Val and Sven exchanged unamused looks with each other, then looked back to the Irion, who was now preening a front claw.

"Well, thank you, then. We are in fact looking for the ghost to see if there's something we could do about it," Elfric nodded. "Then this is the path we will continue down after all. We are quite capable as fighters, so you need not worry about us."

"Ahhh, a band of merry troopers, how delightful! Normally the travelers through here are scared out of their wit's ends. It is rare to see such brave warriors in this day and age. Well then! i wish you safety and luck, but I believe you will be fine. Ta-ta~" the great Irion yawned, before closing his eyes to take a nap. The guild stared at him birefly, a feeling of unease over them all, but they carry on down the path looking for the ghost.

Hours pass, and the group reaches the dead end. No sighting of a ghost anywhere.

"This is fucking great. That birdbrain lied. It was clearly down the other path this entire time!" Sven bitched loudly. Everyone was tired, sore, and the air was growing foggy and cold. Dusk was setting in.

"Unfortunately, it's getting too dark. There'll be no moon tonight, and we didn't bring torches. We'll go back and mark the other path as the one we'll need to take another day. For now, let's hurry back and get out of these woods," Elfric proclaimed. Teba and Asch nodded hurriedly. They didn't like how spooky this place was, especially since the Irion told them before it had been a graveyard and was cursed.

The group travels back to where they met the Irion, except now he's not there. Hanji marks the alternate path using stones and organizing them in a specific pattern. A chill runs up Haluk's spine. He nickers uncomfortably.

"Haluk, you alright?" Hanji asks. She notices the Neela is on edge and fidgety. Suddenly a floating axe appears at the side of Haluk, the blade meeting his neck. The axe begins to wind back. "HALUK, DUCK DOWN!" Hanji yells, and the Neela quickly reacts in time as the axe swipes sideways through the air. The ghost appears before, cackling darkly. It becomes obvious that the axe belongs to him. The guild readies themselves for a fight against a ghostly Dungarde.

-x-x-x-x-

After the fight, the Dungarde collapses to the ground. The ghostly entity within it leaves the body and disappears into the breeze. all that's left of the Dungarde physically is a skull, some armor, and its axe, now dull and lifeless.

"What the actual fuck...all that and it isn't truly gone? It'll probably go inhabit something else and start the process all over!" Teba shuddered nervously. Asch clung to him shaking. They were ready to get out of there, fearful of another ghostly axe coming out of nowhere to swing at them. a branch cracks somewhere nearby, sending Teba and Asch cowering up into a tree.

"Well, well, well! Fancy meeting you all again? did you find the ghost?" the dark Irion from before stepped out from the shadows, beaming proudly. "Ahh it would seem you did. Very admirable effort," he walked over to the remains to examine them. Valtam and Sven looked ready to kill again.

"You son of a bitch, you sent us down the wrong path, and wasted our time," Sven bit out. He moved forward ready to strike the bird down, but Val stopped him with his hoof. But the look on the ram's face was clearly just as murderous.

"I would beg to differ. The Dungarde only appears at dusk. You would have wasted your time regardless. anyways i must thank you. This beast was annoying to listen to every night, moaning and groaning about. And I now have another glorious skull for my collection," the griffin completely ignored the two intent on slaying him, as he picked up the skull remains and played with it in his palm. He looked back to the group as he held the skull in his palm, using his clawed fingers to move the jaw up and down, as if the skull were talking.

"You were fucking with us this whole time. All that talk about feeling awful should anything happen, you clearly didn't care about the people who were murdered out here any time they met up with the Dungarde!" Val spat angrily. Sven was slightly taken aback by his lieutenant swearing.

"And those people are now avenged thanks to your good deed of slaying the beast. I'd have done it myself, but I simply never had the time," he crowed.

"If Teba's right though, that ghoul is still out there, probably inhabitating a new host as we speak,” Hanji said flatly.

“Well, I’m sure it will keep you busy. and hopefully out of my woods.”

“You were expecting us to get killed weren’t you. You knew what this ghost was the entire time!” Teba shouted from the tree he cowered in. The branch holding Asch broke and he fell to the ground with a shriek. Elfric by now has had enough. He steps forward, weapon drawn and points it at the Irion.

“I take back my appreciation from earlier. Haluk nearly died because you failed to tell us it was a Dungarde specifically,” the wolf sternly growled. The Irion smugly raised his head, put down the skull he was holding and placed a clawed foot on top of Elfric’s weapon.

“You said you were capable, so there was nothing to tell. You came in here looking for a monster and you got it. Now, get out of my woods,” the Irion hissed. Elfric was about to protest but noticed something about the Irion pressing on the weapon. It barely moved when he placed the clawed foot down on it. Realization crossed Elfric’s mind, and he smirked as he withdrew his weapon.

“You know, you’re right. With all due respect, we will leave your woods. But first, I’d like to give you something, a token of appreciation so that you may stay safe should the Dungarde return. Asch, bring me your machete.”

Everyone looked bewildered at Elfric. He was giving away one of their weapons?! Asch complied, handing over his Forj Tempered Machete to his commander. The commander thanked him and held it out to the Irion to take.

“An admirable leader, I must say, you are quite the strange bunc--OWWW!!”

The Irion screamed as he touched the hilt of the machete, dropping it as if it had burned him. He looked at his hand in disbelief. He had been burned. He glared angrily at the guild.

“As I figured,” Elfric sneered. “No wonder you couldn’t deal with the Dungarde yourself as you so claim you could have. You have no pure strength of your own, so you relied on us to do your dirty work.” He picks the machete up and holds it out. “Asch, please take your machete.”

Asch complies, and grabs by the hilt the same as the Irion did, but nothing happens. The cat isn’t burned. The Irion glares in disbelief, looking to Hanji for an explanation.

“This particular machete is ranked Tier 5. Only those ranked Tier 5 or above in strength can wield its power without the user being burned by it. Those the machete does not deem worthy will burn the one who grabbed it, making it impossible for them to wield,” she explains.

“You pressed your forefoot on my blade, and yet no pressure was actually pressed down on it. That’s how I could tell you lack any true power,” Elfric remarked. “You may have tried to make fools of us, but I believe I’ve made you appear the bigger fool.”

The Irion glared darkly at Elfric. He didn’t speak right away, and when he did, it was a coarse whisper.

“Get out of MY woods, and never come back.”

and with that, Elfric leads his guild away. Asch lags behind, eyeing the Irion. The bird is back to glaring at his burned palm, twtiching with irritation.

“Hey...” Asch starts, “You know, we all have to start somewhere. While what you did was mean, I think my commander went a little too far too. Here, take this healing potion, it will make the burn go away.” The Irion doesn’t take the potion from Asch. He continues to stare at his palm. Asch places the potion on the ground and sighs.

“These woods...they must be very lonely. It’s cold and empty. That fort you mentioned earlier when we first met, that’s actually where we reside. You must know a lot of stories about this area. Elfric’s tough, but he’s helped me get stronger. I think you should join us, if you want,” the big cat offered. The Irion turned his cold gaze to Asch.

“Your friends are leaving you behind. Catch up with them,” the Irion sneered, his ears pinned back. Asch looks behind him and sees the group trailing further away. He sighs and begins to leave. He stops though for a second. “What’s your name? You never shared it.”

“...Stryker”

Asch smiles. “You know where to find us.” The cat leaves to catch up with his guildmates, leaving Stryker alone at last in his woods.

-----------------------------------

A week later, Stryker does show up to the fort, and joins the guild. Only Asch gets along with him. The rest regard Stryker coldly. Stryker is generally a self-centered creature, and ignores the cold shoulder from the rest of the guild. Asch dwells on it though, and decides to make Stryker feel more at home, to build a cave-like structure for him to sleep in. It’s a crude design, but it appears to work. Stryker does not care about others around him, but with Asch, he does seem to respect him. His training efforts leave little to be desired though, as he makes slow progress, often finding some excuse to not train.

One night after a month of being with the guild, a storm sweeps in. Rain blows into Stryker’s cave den, much to his chargrin, but he does not complain. The fort nearby though has a loose shutter banging in the wind. It breaks off and slams into Stryker’s den, the force causing the rock formation to collapse on top of him. The rocks are too heavy for Stryker to lift, and his wings are crushed and broken. He cries out pitifully, but the storm’s howling winds drown him out.

Except, Haluk, across the way in the stable with Valtam, hears something. Val opens a sleepy eye and looks at the alert Neela.

“I heard something cry out from outside,” the Neela explained.

“Probably just the wind,” Val yawned before closing his eyes again.

“I’m going to go investigate. It didn’t sound like the wind,” Haluk rose and stepped out to locate where the sound had come from. It isn’t long before he sees Stryker crushed under the giant rocks. He alerts the guild.

“Help me..” Stryker croaks out softly. It’s the first time anyone has ever seen such fear in the bird’s eyes.

Asch tries to lift the rock up first but to no avail. Val assists trying to give leverage, while Elfric tries to push the rock off to the side. Soon everyone pitches in, the boys digging in front of Stryker to try and give him a way to drag himself out from under the rock. Hanji directs, and reassures Stryker they’ll get him out. soon, he is freed. His wings have suffered crush damage, but Hanji is certain with proper rest and bandaging, they will mend fine. The incident shakes Stryker to his core finally, making him realize that no matter how aloof he may be or how the others may not have liked him much, they still came to help him.

afterwards, Stryker noticeably changes and for the better. He’s still snarky, still smug, but it’s more playful than being mean or crass. Even with his wings injured, he starts to put more effort into training. Ash, who is a bit stronger than Stryker by this point, offers to practice sparring, and Stryker agrees to it. Stryker begins to open up, and tell stories of the region, the history of the land and the royal family that once resided.

“Just how old are you birdbrain?” Sven once asks.

“Who knows,” is all he ever says mockingly.