first trial: oasis restored!

guuuuut morninggg~! we are soon ta be at sapphire springs. after a whole week of very demanding trainin wifh hunzah, im grateful bwicky offers ta sit me on hims shoulders fer da last stretch of travel. (he dont feel honger, does he not feel tired either?).
we reach da end of grassland, where da forest feels warm n inviting (not creepy liek last tiem, but im still on da lookout fer glowing fey-shrooms.) just liek befoar, we woulda never found dis place wifhout da tabaxi’s guidance. perfectly hidden in an outcrop of tall trees is a small village built around an.. (wat did luna calls it again?? ah yes!) an oasis! but fer now its just a huge pit, wifh only a little water left at da bottom.. well, me n my freunde hope to fix dat.
we take a moment ta notice how dis village is built moar permanently, n all da pepol seem to be real young or real old. unliek da nomadic warriors we’ve been traveling wifh. soon an older woman approaches - long blueish-grey fur, dark blue eyes, assisted by a huge staff. nalani, da current guardian of sapphire springs welcomes us solemnly. fer hundreds of years da tabaxi could rely on oasis liek dis one ta survive da droughts, but she fears dis could actually be da end fer her tribe.. its sad ta see all da hope gone from someone so wise in her years. all we can do now is pledge her our best efferts come morgen.
 
after helping unload from travels n make da evening meal, my fellow travelers can finally take a sit by da fire. we are in da middle of laughing off our exhaustion by trading stories of our grueling training, when two tabaxi rush past carrying a bloody mess of an instructor on a stretcher! (dis guy is zerstört, just painful ta look at..) tobias is quick ta offer hims medical care. as he gets ta werk, we notice ede has also returned. her training ended early, since she all but murdered her teacher..
da group tries ta ‘splain dat not everyone heals liek her n bricky can, n you cant always take werds so literally. drexla says it best, dat dere is a diff’rence in combat and training. so even if shes stronger she can still benefit from learning other techniques. ede is insistent she only did as she was told, how she still limited her powers ta just a quarter of her might.. wow im maybe a little scared of her now.
i feel.. threatened. i see some of myself in her, but she comes from somethin altogether diff’rent. shes trying her best ta understand, but her swollen pulp of a teacher shows just what happens when someone so powerful misunderstands how ta use it. in moonbright, whenever i got too rowdy or lost control, i would snap back surrounded by scared n terrible faces.. she cant understand dat lonely kind of shame, maybe she dont have dat part of her anymoar.
 
ultimately luna insists bricky is da one ta train ede from now on, as he may be da only one who could survive it. ede’s eyes light up when brickyfruen agrees ta spar right then, da sliver gleam grows wifh her eager grin. she hits bricky real hard, dhen somehow she vanishes! even her scent fades from where she stood, so shes not just inbisisble. bricky seems ta get serious - hims eye glows red as we draws da liquid sword. once she reappears, ede is slashed by da blade n cries out. no reaction from bricky. strangely, all a sudden ede isnt da scared girl anymoar. her eyes are red, n she makes blades come outta her arms! she is unnervingly calm n deliberate as she rushes bricky, but returns ta herself as soon as she makes contact. she seems ta get it now, tanks ta bricky, n she tells how sad she is fer going too much (still only her partial strengfh.. sheesh.)
of course all my friends wumder where der verfickt she went to if she werent inbisible, n she calls it “da veil”.. bwicky seems real familiar n helps ‘splain it as a place of “power” pioneered by a mister wollenstain. he kept her in dat painful place fer a long tiem, til she was used to it. (ugh another evil doctor i wansta murk..)
i thinks we’re all curious about dis place, but im da only one who ignored bricky’s warnings (hehe). i take ede’s hand n in one step we are in a wasteland. i can still see our frens, tho dey appear liek smokey black forms here. i hold onto ede’s hand fer dear life, but when i look ahead its not just her face looking back ta me.. deez must be all da “others” in her head she spoke of, da ones who help her fight.. i look down at my own hand, n see drei – mine, a gnarly claw, n a soft pretty hand. just liek dat dream..
while it felt liek ferever in da veil, fer ev’ryone else it was an instant. i dunno if i would ever go back, it was so cold n felt liek my mind, my skin.. ev’ryting. ev’rytin in me felt liek it wanted ta tear apart in all directions. bricky’s worried face softens only a little on our return, hims pat on my head is heavier. but i survived! n now i just wanna warm up by da fire n craft wifh my freunde. dis was jarring fer sure, but i cant be discracted from tomorrow’s trial. dont have a lot, but im able ta brew some crystal coral fer luna so she can be sturdier fer a while.
 
der mornin of our first trial. no time ta waste. luna, tobias, n me are led by hunzah to a hidden underground entrance. already my nose tickles wifh a sharp, dry stench coming from da hatch. luna n tobi also get bad feelings, n luna hands me a healing potion as hunzah gives us our objektives. in addition ta restoring da wouter: luna must find items of da fallen venterers fer deir families, tobias must trust only hims magick fer healing, n i hasta prove my valor by slaying da damn tings responsible.
we make our way down da stairs, n into da tight, winding corridors of dis place. we quickly learn ta take notice of da markings made by doze dat came befoar at da end of each turn, telling of da dangers ahead. luna is remembering bits n pieces of da maze as we move forward, as well as mapping our current route. i rummage through my bag, n find one of lady kree’s creme color sticks ta help mark each turn and important intersections. as we continue deeper, a heavy pressure surrounds us n a raspy voice echos to us ta “GET OUT”. we pay no mind to it.
we stumble upon a room, lit by torches n we find da bodies of three tabaxi scouts on da ground. tobias notices movement n approaches, hoping one could still be alive. nope, a buncha nasty lil rats ‘splode outta da body!! frick! tobias n luna throw tons of fire at ‘em, while i furiously bite da heads offa as many i can. (too gooey rotten nasty ta eat, ptooey!)
once da room is cleared, we continue “north” ta find a vast area taken over by fae-shrooms. while it was so beautiful – dripping wouter collecting in small pools, n so many types of glowing flora – our group already knows it only signals danger. my friens discuss our safest route, but da idea of wading through all dis is too scawwy.. then i ‘member, a while back in arknoka i found a rare shimmery bark n brewed it fer extra sneakiness. i rummage through my bag fer it, n present it ta luna n tobias. ive been saving dis fer a long time, i tell ‘em, but dis is it. i shake summa da shimmering inky froth onto my hands, n pass it ‘round ta share. we rub da stuff into our auras, coating us in shadow. i dunno ‘bout da others, but i still held by breafh at ev’ry corner.. but finally we reach regular halls again. woah, dat potion let us avoid all da shrooms! (or worse, fer all we know!) (thank you hebe, where would we be without you)
staying north, we begin ta hear someone (!!!) talking. stayin hidden but peeking ‘round da corner, we can tell its a hume lady dressed in grey robes n shawl talkin in sylvan ‘bout how “dey’ll never find it.. ..da mistress needs us..” n dat someone else will be here soon! we gotsta find it before dat happens! luna sees dis lady walk away into da wall, so after waiting a bit she checks fer if its a spell, but da wall itself is illusory so we can follow her right through! once on da other side, i notice a cottage door behind me after hearing a sound at da back of my head. im so confused, so i ask my friend fer help of course. but i guess dat was a mistake cuz once tobias turns around, da door takes on another form n starts pulling him in! tobi is transfixed. i hafta pull hims tail ta keep him away but he only snaps out of it when luna gives him a smack. da door (which has a fuckin tounge and teefhs?!) gives up on eating us n backs off.
most wall markings dis deep in da maze showed danger in all directions, but finally we came upon a new symbol: wouter! da problem is from dat point on, is all magickal darkness. tobias tries ta banish it away, but no luck. i can smell da wouter, it must be sooo close! we make a plan ta hold hands wifh eachother as we walk, while also keeping our other hand touching da right-side wall at all times. we reached a couple intersections along da way, always keeping someone anchored to da wall while we fanned out, so we could feel fer moar corridors n keep track of our position. i tink its safe ta say we were all deathly afwaid of getting lost in dis labyrinth, especially after luna’s story of being trapped fer months.. cant be too careful.
 
despite da darkness, by skimming da side wall wifh our free hands we found another illusory gap in da tunnel! we made our way through, into a cavern of glowing runes n stones wifh an altar in da center. a huge lumbering creature wifh its back to us stood befoar da altar.. luna is quickest ta react, shooting da thing wifh lightning bolts befoar it can notice us. as dat thing finds its bearing n makes its way ta face us, tobi blesses us n lends casseopia ta help me as we all brace fer battle. we will redeem dis wouter fer da tabaxi!!
we steadily damage da first witch, even while getting poisoned by her hordes of slimy rats. a zweite witch appears as her sistur cries fer help (yea youd better cry!), n targets luna who holds it off wifh her electrified staff. knowing others might keep showing up, we grit our teefs n attack wifh ev’rytihin we got. “awy-tarwy!!” i cry, summoning da grand cross n giving da first witch a mighty slice. at dis point she actually looks scared of me! (dis big ol’ magick thing, scared of a lil bogbean? heheheheh it feels gut.) she runs from me, towards her sistur fer help. but grand cross wont let her heal at all, despite her desperately guzzling her poisons. so i chase after her through all da swarming rats n deliver a final slice through her chest, n watch her top half slide offa her torso! all her rats bubble n melt away along wifh her. just in tiem, as da second witch has stunned luna, tobias n me rush ta her aid. liek in fort irrigan, tobias again seems ignited by da need ta save luna n vanquishes da last witch wifh a swift blow. wifh her last breath, she threatens “our mistress will get you!” befoar fizzling away. wifh dat, da darkness is lifted n we have a moment of deafening silence ta catch our breafhs. i make sure ta rummage through da goop left behind by da witchs, n am rewarded wifh two beating hearts of arcane essence!
looking around, luna finds a whole pile of tabaxi bands ta bring back ta deir families. so much loss.. dat ends today. as we approach da center n tobias extends hims hand, asking hims twilight mother ta cleanse dis place, da altar n surrounding runes all begin ta glow. wouter ‘splodes out into da room from deep below! an aura from da altar surrounds n protects us all as da powerful current washes all da witches’ magick crap away. peaceful blue lights appear ta guide us safely outta da cavernous tunnels, where we find hunzah n her regiment waiting.
after giving our report of all dat happened, we return ta sapphire springs to da sounds of flowing wouter n cheers of celebration. nalani is first ta welcome us back, apologizing fer being without hope yesterday. she hands us a smol chest as a gift, n tobi opens it ta reveal a cloak from da ocean! it was a bestament from da tabaxi-eelfolk alliance, letting da wearer breathe onderwouter n take less damage from fire. it woulda fit mr.v’s style, but luna was right ta point out how itd help bricky a lot too so he’s gonna wear it fer now.
now dat our first trail is over, n all of us fulfilled our personal assignments, its time ta feast! most of da tabaxi rightfully gorge demselfs on wouter, but da smells of roasting foods also begin ta fill da air. tobias, luna, n me all make our way through da crowd of pepol, ta reunite wifh da rest of our friens. bwicky looks relieved ta see us, n hurries hims pace ta scoop me up fer a hug (i was always gonna come back, silly!). he tries ta clean da dirts n rat guts from my face but im too excitedly tryin ta tell him of our great underground adventure!
after da three of us washed da muck off (thank gods we dont gotta ration wouter anymoar), we all gathered by da campfire wifh a share of da feast. finally, we have a chance ta share da events of today as well as our spoils. as we all traded materials n helped eachother craft, i cant help but be overcome wifh love fer my new fam’ly. fer good or bad, we all stuck wifh eachother long enuff ta get stronger n do real good fer deez pepol. im so proud of us!
befoar tings get too rowdy, nalani sends a messenger wifh bottles containing da results of v, drexla, n bricky’s extra training today. as dey drink, v is rejuvenated, n drexla is invigorated wifh an ability ta use fer da next trial. bwicky on da other hand didnt pick da right one n goes blind in hims one organic eye, ohs nos! tobi tries n fails ta fix it, but i assure bwicky we can find a new eye in no tiem!
 
da celebrations last well into da night, n even wifh everyone drinking tons da oasis remains full! i get whoever i can ta dance, but respeck when some would rather just watch or rest. i dont ‘member fallin asleep, but i woke up laying over a log outside (hardest ive slept in a long time!)
im impressed ta see da tabaxis working so efficiently da morgen after such a party. dey have many wagons already loaded up wifh wouter n supplies, ready ta travel to surrounding settlements. sham-la-tam is soon ready as well, our next stop being da golden horizon waystation, a place of commerce n a hub fer armor makers. fer brekkfass our group discusses da next trail n decide luna, v, n drexla will find da ruins first, den we’ll go after mr. peepers.
as we join hunzah n ready fer departure, we notice a crowd of grateful tribesmen behind us ready ta see us off. children approach ta give each of us travelers a lil box containing gifts of shinies n craft materials. (dey already gave so much, i pwomise ill put dis ta good use!)
as we journey on, we take advantage of downtime n shared materials ta focus on crafting. drexla uses da hag’s hearts i found ta make an ax-itar fer bricky plus ammo n new gadgets. luna, tobicat, n me brew a buncha potions. luna n drexla are finally able ta pry matthias’ device from tobi’s arm. i help bricky werk on a breastplate, n a surprise fer ede, all while he continues ta teach me hims language. im finally making breakthroughs, n i can follow simple conbersations now!
as fer ede’s surprise, a while back i asked her favorite color. she didnt quite understand at first, which was my whole point. after talkin through it, she plucked a flower she really lieked n gave it to me. bricky had a great idea ta make her a new outfit, somethin ta reflect her personality moar. luckily doze pretty yellow flowers she lieks were bountiful in deez lands, n i collected a whole lot – enuff ta make a potent leather dye. bricky n me later presented her wifh a beautiful armored yellow dress, n i never saw such joy on her face! i was surprised ta see her body adapt ta da dress, almost morphing it as part of her now. as she happily twirled around, she took my hands n i gladly twirled wifh her~ bricky looked just as happy at first, but hims smile seemed ta fade. what could be on hims mind..?