The ship the party is on has careened down the waterfall, falling a great distance before the ship hits the water, severely damaged, Boone is still bleeding on the deck of the ship, with their blood staining the wooden planks of the ship. Marmin has temporarily anchored the ship.
Boone: Hehe, I’m gonna die…gonna die a good for nothing nobody who couldn’t even keep their family alive
Lingering Voice #11: You can join the rest of us
Vivuhal uses aether blasts to begin destroying the black blood spots on the ship, eradicating the lingering voices
Hudson: Well…we are all still in one piece
Griay: Really?
Hudson: Ok, most of all are in one piece
Boone: Hehe…he…he…
Marmin: Well…would now be a good time to mention my expertise in prosthetics
Griay: Yes, it would be a good time
Boone: You can’t fix me…I’m already broken…
Wadah: You’ll be ok Boone
Boone: No…
Boone falls unconscious due to blood loss
Marmin: Oh shit, let me try to help them
Marmin abandons his post as navigator to try to save Boone, Vivuhal ends up taking over his post.
Hudson: So, we’re stuck in the dark Canadian wilderness, with our boat severely damaged
Vivuhal: Yes, we are
Wadah: So what’s the plan?
Griay: Plan, uh, we’re far removed from any semblance of civilization.
Vivuhal: The ship’s seems like it will buckle under it’s own weight soon
Marmin has finished bandaging and stopping the bleeding of Boone’s injuries. He is now moving onto readying the prosthetic legs.
Griay: So what’s the plan
Vivuhal: I’m going to use my aether sense to try to help us through this
Marmin: Hold on buddy
Marmin is continuing the process
Hudson: Now Vivuhal, where do you think we’re headed
Vivuhal: I believe we’re going into a dark forest
Wadah: The entrance to the mouth of our adversary?
Griay: The Crest Queen must be neutralized before reconstruction and cleaning of the river can begin
Hudson: I agree, but also, we should probably meet up with Indica and Atlantic before further actions
Suddenly, a joyous scream could be heard from far away
Vivuhal: Did you hear that?
A torrent of water rushes up, covering the ship’s deck, climbing onboard the vessel is a very soaked Indica
Indica: I got my swim in
Hudson: YOUR SWIM!!
Indica: Yeah I swam down the river and then jumped off the waterfall, that scream you probably heard was me yelling “CANNONBALL”
Another splash is heard, covering the deck in water, and Atlantic emerges from the river climbing onto the boat
Atlantic: Never swimming in this river again
Griay: Ok
Indica: So uh-
Indica gestures to the unconscious Boone and Marmin working on their injuries
Indica: Want to explain what the surgeon is doing on board?
Hudson: Needed a navigator
Indica: Why didn’t you just swim down here?
Hudson: We didn’t know where we're going
Indica: Skill issue
Hudson: The fuck you mean skill issue
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Vivuhal: I think she means we’re unskilled being unable to navigate and swim down the river at the same time and she’d be right if we weren’t transmitting our location to her
Atlantic: Hmm, they’ve got a point
Indica: Ok, buzzkill
Griay: So how do you want to deal with Ms Crest?
Indica: Let’s not bother with empty titles like “My Mother” or “Crest Queen”
Wadah: So what are we working with?
Indica: How about her name, Vio.
Wadah: So this Vio character is a bit of, a “total jackass”
Atlantic: Absolutely
Hudson: She ordered the death of my father and mother
Indica: Dickwad made my life a living hell
Griay: And also trapped me in my armor for an eternity and made me into a keeper of kidnapped orphans
Atlantic: I was one of them and ran away the exact same way as Indica
Indica: If you did it in the exact same way as me, where's the friend you think is dead that helped you run away?
Atlantic: Well not exactly like you
Vivuhal: Ok, so Vio is a big fat evil asshole
Indica: We are putting her six feet under
Wadah: First things first, taking that bird out of the sky
Indica: The Buzzard huh
Hudson: Speaking of Buzz, how is it going over there Doc
Marmin is putting the prosthetics in place for Boone, stabilizing them so they’d be able to walk again when they wake
Marmin: I’m almost done.
Vivuhal: Should I raise the anchor now?
Marmin: You may, lead us through The Dark Forest
Indica: We’re coming for you Vio
Vivuhal orders the Anchor to be lifted as they embark through The Dark Forest
Indica and Atlantic join the party
Begin Dark Forest
When the party is 25% of the way into the Dark Forest
Indica: So,it’s been a while since the four of us have been in one place?
Griay: Well you’ve been busy with The Septarian Guard
Indica: Well yeah, busiest job in the whole guild
Atlantic: Understatement of the year
Hudson: Well I’m glad you are with us now
Indica: Yeah, me too
Hudson: I defied death to see you again, searched for years to find you and now I see you maybe once a year, ironic isn't it
Indica: You made your own life in the years you missed, I don’t hold it against you
Hudson: Me neither
Resume Dark Forest
When the party is 50% of the way into the Dark Forest, strange purple ruins begin flying past the party
Indica: So I encountered the Hollowed Orphans on the way here, but what the heck is this stuff?
Hudson: Must be Vio’s magic
Wadah: A powerful foe we are up against
Vivuhal: Is this Crest magic?
Hudson: Yes it is
Indica: Is this what she was doing when we beheaded “My Father”
Atlantic: That seems to be the case
Resume Dark Forest
When the party is 65% through the Dark Forest, Boone begins to wake up
Boone: M…
Marmin: Boone, lay back down
Boone: Marmin…thank you…I can feel my legs again
Marmin: SIt down Boone, you’re in no condition to fight again
Boone: As long as that stupid bird flies over our heads…I will never stop fighting…
Marmin: Boone, rest
Boone: No…I can’t
Resume Dark Forest
When the party is 85% through the Dark Forest, the river comes to a stop, meaning The Party has to disembark
Boone: Feeling the ground under me feels different, now that I have legs made of the bones of the earth
Vivuhal: Alright, let’s move quickly to fight against Vio.
Marmin: Yeah, let’s get-
Suddenly, dark swirling and cackling can be heard
Boone: Damn you
Marmin: I’m a coward, I’m a coward, I’m a coward, I’m a-
Boone: SHUT UP, YOU’RE NOT A COWARD
Vivuhal: Get down here you big stupid bird
The Buzzard begins to fly down
Marmin: I’m not a coward, I’m not a coward-
The Buzzard flies down at the group but Marmin lights a torch and runs at him, burning away some of his darkness as The Buzzard rips Marmin apart
Boone: Well, at least you died brave
Vivuhal: Quick let’s him while he’s damaged
The Buzzard: Hehe, I’ll fight you even now you dirty teamers
Indica: I could kill you by myself, but it’s more fun with friends
Hudson: Let’s drive away your darkness
Fight against The Buzzard
When The Buzzard is at 85%
The Buzzard: I’m eternal misery, eternal darkness and eternal death
Hudson: Why are you eternal?
Atlantic: I think it has to do with some kind of ego complex
The Buzzard: Let’s just say, I’m a primordial force, like a darkest mirror
Vivuhal: Like a dark mirror?
Resume
When The Buzzard is at 70%
Boone: Buzzard? What is your vendetta against me?
The Buzzard: Nothing, it’s just that your suffering tastes delicious, it’s a delicacy for me.
Boone: You..really are a bastard
Wadah: Well Boone, I’m surprised you’re in good fighting form with you just being adjusted to your legs
The Buzzard: I’m also surprised great work
Boone: Shut up
Wadah: Noted
Boone: Not you
Resume
When The Buzzard is at 55%
Indica: So Buzzard, how did you survive your fight against Falconer and Nest
The Buzzard: A fluke, but as long as people have hate in their hearts, I’m never truly gone
Indica: Alright
Vivuhal: Well, we’re gonna defeat you and keep going
The Buzzard: Keep moving, keep going, your little legs will run out on you eventually
Resume
When The Buzzard is at 40%
Hudson: Do you ever tire of causing misery
The Buzzard: What do you think?
Boone: He’ll keep eating away the happiness of everyone in the world, everyone until they are all emotionless husks like those victims
The Buzzard: Astute you are, I’m just a hungry hungry demon
Resume
When The Buzzard is at 25%
Boone: You killed my family and Marmin, how many more bodies will pile up before you are satisfied
The Buzzard: The fun part is that, it doesn’t ever stop, since I will never die, never go away
Vivuhal: You seem to have a natural weakness to Aether
The Buzzard: Yeah, I find the substance quite unpleasant
Vivuhal: How about I chuck you full of it
Vivuhal unloads a powerful Aether attack into The Buzzard, dealing a substantial blow to him, eroding the darkness around his face
Familiar Voice: The darkness that surrounds me, the darkness that traps me
The Buzzard: No, GET BACK IN THERE
Indica: Wait what wa-
The Buzzard’s darkness covers up the familiar voice
Vivuhal: You’re holding someone hostage?
The Buzzard: I’m always keeping prisoners
Resume
When The Buzzard is defeated, he momentarily falls to the ground
Indica: Ok, let’s execute him
Hudson: Any last words
Griay: Anything at all
Boone: You’re welcome to say anything
Atlantic: Anything you like
Everyone raises their weapons to attack
The Buzzard: See you another day
As they attack, The Buzzard unleashes a powerful shockwave, his dark mirror technique, and when everyone else is knocked down, he flies away
Wadah: Well, that’s unfortunate
Vivuhal: We’ll see him again
Boone: Well…I’ll still follow you to the end of this winding road
Hudson: Well then, we’re off to see Vio
