Arcane Woods
The city of Slandon, once the industrial center of one of the old world's nations, was a sight to behold.
Ahead of them was a valley, all of it covered - drowned - in flora. Verdant leaves and moss-mottled trunks obscured every direction for miles on end as if the world itself were an ocean of greenery in which a lone man could drown unheard and unnoticed.
For whatever reason, it was dangerous to travel here with aerial vehicles - and there was nowhere to land either - so they made the trip on foot, alongside the rest of their assigned company. The entire mission was a large-scale military operation; evacuation wasn't in the cards, so the teams were advised to keep the perimeter tightly secure.
Fortunately, Dorian's team was tasked with a simple relic search and recovery operation, and hopefully, if they excelled, it'd earn them favor with the authorities.
Eventually, Dorian started to notice the signs of ancient civilization. Beneath the heaps of moss and tallgrass, one could faintly perceive the commercial whites and grays of concrete and metal, as if buried underneath an avalanche of untamed wilderness. It was hard to notice the boundary between what'd once been the wilderness and the city - when they were in that zone of transition, Japhris perked up as if energized, and leaned closer to Dorian, whispering the city center was right ahead of them.
Her preternatural awareness was confirmed a moment later, as the company's scanner finally completed its reconnaissance of the area, and returned a more-or-less accurate map. They'd not realized it because of the thickets, but they'd been traveling down a street for almost fifteen minutes, surrounded by ruined buildings on every side.
The commander then ordered that everyone break to maintain a perimeter and conduct the search, and directed them to radio in every fifteen minutes, and return to the rendezvous at noon. And so they went, Dorian's team moving down a bridge over an algae-infested river.
The outbreak of the forest had claimed everything. Sycamores which should've been ancient based on thickness had casually pierced asphalt, casting the streets into shadow. Trees, thickets, and brambles sprouted even on the sides of skyscrapers as if the flora were consciously seeking to climb upwards towards the life-giving sun: green seeking out yellow like an insane landscape artist's idea of the woodland climbing a ladder. Green vines covered in white spikes, like a grand capillary system, stretched between some of the massive buildings like a spiderweb canopy; a couple of them were as hefty as Dorian's Viscerally inflated bicep, with spikes that could go through him like a spear.
"Um, I have a question, sirs," asked Japhris, raising a hand after she donned the Arcanist's Mask - a simple veneer of dark, reflective glass with a circular sigil on its forehead - in place of the power armor's helmet. "How do we, uhm, actually search for the relics?"
Andrei smiled - a similar mask, steel and hard angles - now adorning his face. "Aha, dread not. Knowing this'd come up inevitably as a piece of knowledge we must have access to, I've researched the subject matter thoroughly. In short, we enter the ruined buildings one by one and search them floor by floor. Then Dorian here will use the scanner on his person to detect if there are any relics in a particular room. Its range is short, but it can detect them without fault. Then we simply take the relics and bring them out."
Linneas nodded. "What's the expected haul, sir?"
"About one relic per block, if we are lucky," answered Andrei with an unfaltering smile.
"Oh, that's a little disappointing," admitted Dorian. "And how powerful can the relics be?"
"It varies," said Andrei, as he started a calm walk towards an office building, flashlight on rifle scanning through the leaf-encrusted windows. The others came after him and did the same, as he continued, "Most often, they are not strategically impressive items whatsoever. A machete that cuts through wood and flesh with thrice the expected force. A flashlight that doesn't run out of electricity. So on. Rather, it's their scientific value that makes them remarkable. Oftentimes, sufficient research of an item may allow Orbital Command to reverse-engineer a relic's properties. There are outliers, of course - I've been told of a compass that faultlessly leads to other relics, for instance."
"Interesting. Based on the wilderness they usually form in, I'd expected these relics to have a more 'natural' form," said Dorian, recalling the Lieutenant's eye and the creature he'd detected inside. Was Lieutenant Carrasco's organic cohabitant an anomaly?
"Ah, but that also is what renders them so interesting!" said Andrei with a smile. "They don't form in the depths of the forests around the world, but rather, in locations where the forest won over humanity. You can think of these relics as... manmade items suffused with natural power."
Japhris perked up. "Oh! That sounds kind of... well, almost Arcane? But then so's this entire world, I suppose. It's so full of vitality..." She trailed off, looking around herself, as if admiring the deep verdure.
"Interesting," said Andrei suddenly with a quiet voice, perking up.
Dorian decided to point out, "You haven't explained Arcanism to any of us."
"Hold on, before that." Andrei finally located the door of the building and nodded in its direction. It was covered in a thick bog of grasses, vines, and sharp branches emanating from a shrubbery that stubbornly grew into the concrete. He waved a hand and most of the plants wavered and started to shake and then droop, as slowly their lively green coloration became a desiccated and sickly yellow-brown, steam pouring out above them in a white cloud. Andrei then casually cast forth a small tine of lightning bolts that set them ablaze, burning out a path within moments as the dried flora became ash, while the moisture of the surrounding flora prevented the fire from spreading.
Dorian whistled. "That's a useful trick."
"Can do that to people too," Andrei said with a brilliant, self-satisfied grin.
After he said this, a worried Japhris shivered and hid from the doctor behind Dorian.
"Oh come on now, I'm only kidding, of course," he said with a good-natured chuckle. He proceeded indoors, muttering, "Usually, people have good resistance to evaporation."
So... he still tried it, huh? Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Dorian went in after him. Japhris shambled after him meekly, while Linneas kept a watchful eye on their rear.
Inside, the office building was a disharmonious den of nature and humanity. They scoured the lobby and then moved deeper inside to where the cubicles were.
A stack of papers lay scattered on the floor: almost like a fork of lightning drawn to metal, a small parasitic vine had drooped down from the ceiling and attached itself to them, spreading green veins no thicker than the edge of a fingernail, eating the cellulose inside them. Here, a hollowed-out couch had become a pot for a family of ferns. There, what was once a landline phone now housed a bird's nest with several eggs the size of walnuts, nestled snugly within the tangled colorful wires. Andrei stood over them, squinting and trying to determine the species of bird, while Dorian took out the handheld scanner he'd been issued and started to search around the room for relics.
It returned a negative result on most furniture and items in the room, from the various stationery and cubicle walls to the broken lamps and abandoned cart of janitorial supplies in the middle of an aisle. However, Dorian spotted a businessman's jacket lying on a patch of flooring without many vines or plants near it, as if purposefully left alone.
"This one," he said, without even raising the scanner.
"Are you sure, sire?" asked Linneas, who'd been admiring an old oil painting covered by vines. "Wasn't it once per block?"
Dorian shrugged.
He raised the scanner and it went off, showing an analysis of the item's potency on its readout.
"Yes, it's this one," he confirmed. "Have a look for yourself."
Linneas did, and his lips pursed in thought. "His Majesty is correct."
"Maybe we're simply lucky," said Andrei with a reassuring smile.
"What's the protocol for handling relics with unknown properties?" asked Dorian. "The scanner says its properties are only material, so what? It's a very tough jacket?"
"Leave it there for a moment, Dorian," said the doctor. "Now, Japhris, you were saying earlier about Arcanism?"
"Oh - uhm, that's right." Her ears rose expressively when her name was called, looking over to them, from where she'd been staring out a window. "Arcanism is the magic of Cirantil, my home. Essentially, the world contains a lot of natural energy within it, which we call mana, and which determines its reality. An Arcanist is someone who learns to perceive this flow and redirect it to suit a variety of ends. Experienced Arcanists can reshape their environment and reify any object they like, and much, much more."
She lowered the rifle she'd been given, placing it briefly on the windowsill. "Arcanism is easiest in areas experiencing some kind of transition - where the energy flow is ongoing, rather than still - but as someone with elven blood, I can utilize the self as a reference point, such that even relatively stable areas flow around me. That way..."
She raised a hand and within her palm budded a small pink flower. Its stem lengthened over a couple of seconds, as the petals unfolded and added new fantastic colors, while vines spilled down onto the floor almost like a green fountain. Japhris smiled gently and put it down, allowing it to take root and become one with the surrounding forest.
"I used to store mana inside of a talisman, but the deathknight took it away," she said, momentarily dropping her gaze with visible sadness. She then abruptly turned to Dorian with a gladdened expression. "Fortunately, it seems the mask you crafted for me works, Mr. Croft. It lets me reference my mana much more easily."
"Without an amulet or mana to help you, are you incapable of using it?" asked Andrei.
"Uhm, I could still probably manage a cantrip... but yes, unless I enacted an artificial Dwindling of my surroundings." She realized they were unfamiliar with the term, and twitched, as she began to explain, "A Dwindling is an occurrence wherein reality falls towards a certain focus point, intensifying around it, but diminishing everything else."
Andrei looked towards the relic - the business jacket lying on its own on the floor.
"Yes, I suspected it was something like that." Andrei smiled knowingly. "The reason I wanted you to tell us more is because of how you mentioned this forest felt familiar, earlier. Do you mind if we try an experiment? It should be safe."
"Oh - uhm, with me?" asked Japhris.
"Yes."
"Uhm... Sure."
Andrei looked around for a moment and picked a typical office pen. After examining the item, he tossed it to a confused Japhris, who stumbled but caught it. "Can you direct the forest's energy into this? It may be a little difficult, based on what you've said, but I'd appreciate it if you could give it a try."
She looked to Dorian. He nodded, trusting Andrei's judgment.
She immediately stared at the pen in hand, ears twitching, and with a furrowed brow started to stare at it intensely. Initially, Dorian didn't notice anything, but after a couple moments, the distortion inside of him started to bubble. Its contents almost seemed to drain a little, as if the fumes were being vented out of him.
However, there was another sign that something unnatural was occurring. As Japhris concentrated on the simple pen, the verdure around the office room seemed to dim and lose its luster; for some inexplicable reason, their environment seemed almost drained of its natural splendor, to such an extent it was starkly noticeable. Although none of the flora wilted, it was almost like something fundamental about the woodlands declined. The pen's presence, on the other hand, became stronger.
"That's enough," said Andrei after a while, raising a hand with a smile on his face, breaking Japhris out of the process. The cauldron of distorted essence inside of Dorian's stomach settled its churning but seemed to pop and froth as if irked that it'd been abused so. "Dorian, scan it?"
Confused, Dorian raised the handheld scanner towards the pen.
It went off, producing a shrill sound, at almost twice the volume it made when it picked up the presence of the jacket.
"As I suspected," Andrei said with a smile. "You've created a relic."
Everyone stood there, amazed, including Japhris.
"Brilliant work, doc," said Dorian. "Now we'll really have a haul worth our time."
"Now hold on," said Andrei raising a hand. "I should warn you before we do that. For one, if it's as Japhris says and these forests have some form of paranormal consciousness, it's possible we might draw the ire of the woods on ourselves by Dwindling them excessively."
"I never took you for such a firm believer in nonsense, doctor," Dorian said. However, it was merely a facile and facetious remark, not a truly stated opinion.
"I see you are in good spirits, Mr. Croft," Andrei replied with a good-spirited chuckle. He refocused, mouth drawn firmly. "Either way, we don't really want to risk overly abusing this supernatural forest's generosity. Even ignoring the possibility of danger, it'd be strange if we walked into one building and emerged hours later with a heap of relics. If the other search teams see us - or don't see us - it might result in some questions we can't answer. We should keep ourselves to a modestly above-average haul, and simply conceal and take anything else. That, of course, is dependent on how swiftly and safely Japhris can work."
Dorian hummed. "What do you think about this, Japhris?"
"Oh - uhm, Dwindling the forest-wise, you mean?" she asked sheepishly.
"Yes." He nodded. "What's your opinion as an Arcanist?"
"I..." She shrank down a little. "I don't believe we'd be in danger, if we do not plunder excessively. But I will follow your command and your call."
He nodded, already used to that. It seemed it was time to make a decision.
---
Acquired relics:
You naturally tested both of the relics you've acquired.
Durable Jacket - A business jacket. Fibers are twice as strong as normal, it can self-repair minor cuts and punctures. Comfortable and form-fitting no matter the wearer.
Extremely Good Office Pen - It seems to have infinite ink. Ink can change colors as the user wishes. Tasks seem to be completed faster and easier, as the user's dexterity and effective wits (for task) soar. Can be used on virtually any surface as easily as on paper (office building's walls are now forevermore covered in chibi Japhris fanart.)
[ ] Don't Dwindle - Make this a standard search operation, no Arcane cheating involved. Andrei's discovery is nothing short of revolutionary and it'll let you potentially make a lot of use of this world's environment before you leave, but you shouldn't risk drawing eyes to yourself.
Expected Haul: 7 relics, including the ones you've already got, but it'd be suspicious if any went missing
[ ] Dwindle, But Only a Little - Okay, but the forest didn't seem to get mad when you did it this once, so what if you do it once per block? That should double your haul but keep nature in harmony.
Expected Haul: 14 relics, including the ones you've already got, and you can pocket about half of them without suspicion (or bring in extras to seem impressive)
[ ] Dwindle Everything - Fuck it, you only live once. Let the forest push its luck and get pushed back into the dirt. You've got a whole team here, including an Arcanist, a Pawn, and a man who could likely torch this entire city with lightning. Manufacture relics like they're about to run out of style and weather whatever consequences come your way.
Expected Haul: 20 relics or more (fortune-dependent)
[ ] Write-in
