D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

--- Hunter --- (Day 13 Just after lunch)

The group ate lunch in a rather awkward spot so that meant leftovers. Everyone was in a line, sitting on the thickest part of the roof just before the dome. It wasn't even large enough for two people to set next to each other, but nobody wanted to risk getting separated or sent away from the dome.

The dome seemed to make the space nearby quite stable and while spreading out was fine, hopping off the building may not be.

Once lunch was finished Meg jumped right onto the tree… breaking the branch in the process. She recovered and Hunter wasn't all that worried to begin with but it did set the treants off a bit but they didn't seem to want to know how to chase her. They were just standing around the bottom of the tree.

"So what's the news?" asked Kamiko.

"Not sentient, and definitely treants," confirmed Meg.

"I see. So what is the plan for me in general? I have no strong opinions of my own but some concerns about actually getting the drake peace out. If it is too large it likely won't fit through any doors, and that's not even considering the potential issues with carrying it. If it is still active it might count as a separate entity to myself and remain visible during my full stealth," stated Hunter.

Meg nodded at Hunter's words, "Yeah I wasn't really thinking of that… but I'm going to say… if there's an issue just scout it out and report back. I wasn't thinking about any issues because I was under the impression the plan was just to scout before. Hmm… yeah I think it's best you look around, find the piece, and then come back, either with or without said peace.

Though if you can find an alternate entrance that might be nice,"

"I probably don't need the compass then. If I am to scout everything and report back I will find it eventually," stated Hunter.

"Right but it's also to help you get back here! If you get lost because of some twisty space you should be able to backtrack your way to us using the compass as a guide. With the building here keeping things stable you should be able to at least find your way back to it and we can work things out from there," said Meg.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hunter nodded and said, "Right, understood. Should I try and take care of the treants?"

"No, it's not worth it. They have some weak points, but it's mostly just chopping them to bits and keeping them there. None of their weaknesses are crippling and they don't have a core as I'd feared. You can probably take the little ones but any of us can take them so I'm not sure how worth it that would be. Now, give me a hug before you go," said Meg.

Hunter rolled her eyes at the request but moved forward to at least give Meg a headpat. Meg of course tried to hug Hunter anyway, but Meg telegraphed her 'attack' far too much and Hunter was able to slither around Meg's arms to pat her own the head twice before vanishing.

Hunter didn't waste any time, and swiftly headed for one of the nearby holes in the glass. Notably not the one with all the treants around it. They may have moved on, but Hunter thought it unlikely. It hadn't been too long and she certainly hadn't heard the larger ones move since they arrived nearby.

Hunter's caution paid off because once she touched down on the ground she could see the treants all crowded around the tree Meg had been on, though they were specifically looking at the broken branch. *I wonder if they're more concerned with the fact that the branch is broken or were they attracted to the noise? Part of me wants to do a few tests but now really isn't the time for such things.

I can do them on the way back if I still have the urge.*

From there Hunter moved her way off to the side and into the shadows, making sure she didn't have the heavier parts of her body on anything that could snap, and then released her technique. She waited for a few moments, ears listening for any hint of movement from the treants but… nothing. Nothing other than the wind and perhaps the slight breathing from the living trees.

With that confirmed Hunter pulled out the compass and checked the direction. It had been directing them roughly towards the dome yes, but she could use some specifics. Hunter waited for the needle to stop spinning, marked the direction, and then returned to stealth. Hunter glided over the ground as she made her way towards her destination.

The needle was mostly pointing down so she was probably two or more floors above where she needed to be but hopefully there would be a path down.

When Hunter found the edge, she dropped her technique and checked once again. The needle pointed basically straight down but the floor was covered in dirt. Hunter looked around, listened for a bit, and then started to clear away the dirt and moss to reveal… metal flooring. Hunter glared at the immovable steel for a few moments before shifting more dirt and debris out of the way. Still nothing.

Find more to read at empire

*Looks like the compass is just pointing me directly to the part now. A shame, I was hoping it would put me on the correct path as it had been doing but I imagine that was more about accounting for the spatial distortions.*

Hunter quickly cased the area, looking for any sort of doorway, taking note of odd airflows or hollow sounds when smacking her tail lightly on the various walls and floor but no luck there clearly wasn't a door around this area. Not ideal.

*Alright. I need to go off and find a door and I have no idea where it might be. I would normally look for airflows indicating an opening but this is meant to be a secure facility from the looks of things and that may mean that the doors are airlocks. I'm going to have to spend time manually combing for the doors. It is likely to either be around the edges or in the centre so I best get looking.*

Hunter got to work, popping in and out of stealth and looking for the entrance as she got closer and closer to where the treants remained standing, with no door in sight Hunter decided that actually, now was the time to test things. She certainly didn't want to accidentally set off the treants while searching for a way down. So Hunter moved up to a branch and snapped it off.

Instantly the treants started to move. Not quickly, but Hunter was long hidden before they'd even made it halfway to her old spot. *Seems they react either to sound or to the destruction of the trees. Let's get some confirmation then?* Hunter grabbed a nearby rock palmed it a few times and then hurled it away from her and aimed at the nearby walls.

The rock made a loud rattling noise as it impacted the steel that kept ringing for some time… but the treants didn't so much as twitch. *Ok. The either possess no method of hearing or simply do not care due to the lack of organic mattered damaged by the throw. I'll keep that in mind while I continue looking for the door.

The grass on the ground hasn't seemed to trigger anything so it may just be the trees. There's not really any good way to test it though, not exactly a lot of flowers around.*

Which was a touch strange now that Hunter thought of it. There were trees, moss, a few mushrooms which were their own weird thing, as well as a few flowers on the trees themselves… but no bushes. *Then again, this is a relatively closed ecosystem and there weren't many, if any, bushes outside the dome either so perhaps it's not that strange?

Perhaps they never got around to adding them or never planned to do so.*

Hunter finished her circuit of the building with nothing to show for it. There wasn't any way down. She did find a few cupboards with long spoiled contents, what might have been an old computer and plenty of broken glass and bent metal to indicate there was more here once. Interesting to note perhaps, but it didn't get her any closer to finding a way down.

With the outside of the dome crossed off it was time to check the centre.

Hunter made her way there while keeping an eye on the treants. Due to their large size in the case of two, it made this particular task a touch difficult. While she was a decent distance from them, it was only a couple of steps for the largest. They weren't speedy, but that might have just been because they felt no real haste at the time. Hunter looked around the middle and cursed.

Trees had taken over the place. The very centre was somewhat clear but everything around that not so much. Hunter could see some remnants of a room that suggested this was the right place… but how to clear a path with the trees so close?