revivalproject | Beat Your Plowshares Into Swords and Your Pruning Hooks Into Spears

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Beat Your Plowshares Into Swords and Your Pruning Hooks Into Spears

WHO: Lord Felwinter and yooou
WHERE: Temba
WHAT: Never send a warlord to do a gardener's job
WHEN: During event
WARNINGS: N/A

I. Pruning

Whatever's happened in their absence, it's an annoying setback. Clearly it's more than a case of overgrown weeds.

Stepping outside of the hangar, the warlord looks almost distastefully out at the transformed landscape. His hand curls into a fist before he forces it to loosen. No, he'd have to go about this more cautiously or he'd wear himself out.

"The Agrii were foolish to have us leave everything behind," he says lowly. Yet he's unsure what good any weapon that he currently possesses would do, but he'd still feel better having something.

Without looking back, he begins to step right into the midst of the overgrowth. He'll rip things apart by his hands if he has to, if it'll help to keep the hangar entrance clear for others. Carving a way back to the city and more importantly, the security tower, will likely take more creativity.

II. Trimming the Hedges

Night falls, and not all is peaceful. He can see the movement below, the strange plantlike creatures that prowl. He's unsure who else has become aware of these things, but then that's what brings him out along the rooftops. It's not something he needs to do, even though Tony's words come back to him like some unbidden mantra, but he wants to. Plants cannot stop metal, nor can they stand against fire and void. He has no great designs to think that he alone can drive away these invasive growths, but if he can whittle them away or keep someone from falling prey to these particularly threatening plantlife, then that is good enough for him.

III. Connect the Blocks, La-la-la-la

"I've seen this before..."

As much as he disliked troubling the Exo Hunter for something more suitable than a sidearm, Felwinter hated feeling indebted to him. Or maybe it was the grin that the other always wore whenever he came to ask about a weapon, an expression that came enviably easy to the Exo's face.

Just as quickly as the look of surprise when Felwinter took up the strange bit of painted stone that the Hunter had there on a table. There might have been some strange sense of pleasure in wiping the smug look off of his face, but his thoughts are mostly elsewhere.

His hand closes tightly around it, and he's out the window without another word even after Cayde's "HEY!", greatcoat fluttering after him as he drifts from the old clocktower and to the ground below.

"Who else has these," Felwinter asks himself, allowing himself another look at the piece before he begins to move onward.

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"More or less," Felwinter replies after a thought. "Creating something of your own thermal, in that respect." He adjusts his coat, looking off towards the direction he'd perceived the memorial to be before glancing back at Dustin.

"Whenever you are ready. Or do you want to go on foot?" The boy hadn't seemed to enjoy the aerial route too much.

Dustin takes a deep, steadying breath. It does help to have a better idea of how Felwinter performed that gravity-defying jaunt a quarter of the way across Temba. It's not totally mollifying - preferably Dustin would know enough to do it himself, or have some kind of contingency for if Felwinter somehow lost control, intentionally or otherwise - but he can't realistically be in the driver's seat all the time. For the sake of time and efficiency, Dustin will have to let go.

"No," he decides, setting his jaw. "We can go your way. I'll be fine."

With another shrug, Felwinter turns and stoops to allow Dustin to get into position again. He pointedly ignores Felspring's amused commentary in his helmet.

"Then let's be off," he says, waiting until the teenager is hanging on before he sets off again.

Inscrutable as always. Giving his arms one last apprehensive scrub, Dustin shuffles behind Felwinter and grabs on, the flickering Ghost in his helmet seeming more animated than earlier. He's tempted to ask their name. Cayde's had a name. Cayde didn't keep Sundance in a little glass fishbowl on the back of his head, though, so maybe their circumstances and relationship are a bit different.

Maybe later. Right now, Dustin just holds on tight and braces himself for the inevitable lurch.

His assumptions would be entirely wrong, not that Felwinter has any idea of what's going on through the kid's mind as he rises again. In the next movement he's leaping into the air, and then up and up rather than the expected draw back down, ignoring gravity's laws as he angles for the nearest roof across the way.

Already he's working out the best way to approach. With the spacing it would be difficult to maintain a glide all the way to the memorial's center. Best to get as close to its edge before working out the way down. It would still take some clearing out given how overgrown the sunken area had become.

To his credit, Dustin does handle this trip much better than the first. Better knowledge of the process involved and muscle memory from their previous flight combine to help him anticipate their jumps and glides, easing his stomach as well as his nerves. He even manages to look around a couple of times and not feel like he's about to be sick. Thus emboldened, Dustin has a chance to let his mind wander, and process some of the things he and Felwinter have discussed so far.

Also somewhat remarkably, he doesn't wait for them to land to start asking questions. "How did you know about the memorial?" Dustin says, raising his voice over the rushing wind past his ears. "Just chance?"

"For the most part," Felwinter confirms as they begin another controlled descent. "No one's really mentioned much of the memorial area, so I decided to have a look for myself, not too long before we were summoned to the shuttles for the trip."

It was out of a need to satiate a bout of restlessness since preparations for an exploratory venture beyond the city itself seemed to be effectively paused.

"It's a fairly large space, structured in sunken levels. I believe it was possibly used as a place for general gathering, perhaps quiet contemplation. At its center is where the monument lies. I found it curious... You'll likely see why once we get there. But it looks like we'll have quite a bit to clear even if I make a jump straight for the center once we reach its edge."

Feeling more curious and ambitious now than wary, Dustin cranes his neck to get an idea of just how much clearing out Felwinter means. He gets his answer quickly. Aside from the too-even square depression in the blanket of green, the Monument is basically unrecognizable as a landmark. Dustin swallows thickly, for once wishing he had some kind of appropriate weapon. Like a chainsaw, or at least a backpack of weedkiller.

"What about that, ah," he pauses to consider the right words. "--explosion you made at the Security Tower? Too much collateral to use here, or are you limited by something else?"

"It is not something I can use extensively. Here it takes longer to recharge, so to speak. I can make use of something more powerful, but I do not want to risk damage to the structures." A Nova Bomb would clear the entirety of the memorial's greenery, but he can't guarantee that the centerpiece would remain unscathed, particularly the portion where he figures the pieces to go.

"Give me a little more time and I should be able to summon another vortex grenade to clear the center."

One more leap to carry them across the sprawling greenery as Felwinter calculates when to begin dropping from their glide so they don't overshoot their destination.

That's reasonable. Dustin thinks it but doesn't have a chance to say it; they're starting to drop now, and in spite of his growing comfort with Felwinter's gliding abilities, the idea of watching the ground hurtle towards them in a potential shower of explosions seems like it will not play well with his nerves. So instead he tucks his face in and braces again, waiting for the jolt of Felwinter touching down once more.

Greenery still covers much of the edge just outside of the memorial where Felwinter intends to land, and as he gets closer he reaches out to begin tearing out what he can before his feet find actual ground. Annoying.

"Can you stand?" he asks as he continues to tug at vines and stalks alike, like someone haphazardly weeding a garden. Gardening has never been something that's particularly struck his interest and after his he doubts he'll have any desire to attempt it.

Dustin risks cracking his eyes open again when he feels Felwinter shifting around a bunch before hitting the ground. That bad? There's not even a bare patch of ground to land on. What sorts of horrible plants have been breeding in this isolated part of the city?

Whatever they are, Dustin would much rather face them on his own terms than stuck on an Exo's back. "Yeah," he says quickly, shuffling to grab his knife before he hops off and onto the relatively clear spot Felwinter has made for them. The top of his head plunges below the blanket of green and, suddenly, the world is nothing but layers of trees and mossy vines in all directions. If he hadn't just seen their local area from on high, Dustin wouldn't know where they were at all. Thankfully, he's got an excellent eye for landmarks.

"Haven't been here since the plants grew over, I'm guessing?"

"No," Felwinter admits with a shake of his head. "I had no reason to be, and I only just saw what those strange pieces held to even consider it."

He pauses to look at his hands before lashing out to wither a few more offending plants. "I think I should be just about ready now." Experimentally he pools an orb of voidlight in his palm, nodding to himself. "I'll be right back."

Given how tall the plants are, Dustin will at least catch a glimpse of the warlord as he once again takes to the air. The violet energy grows in his hand before he lobs it towards the center of the green mass below him, somewhat off-center really, as he doesn't know how delicate the memorial may be for a direct hit. Void energies expand and swirl violently upon impact, ripping up and disintegrating plants in its wake as it clears a considerable section. Felwinter touches down on the ground beside the revealed monument, casting a look around before he glances back towards where he'd left Dustin. Then it's up once more to go fetch him.

Dustin waits patiently, once again. He doesn't mind being left like this; being alone is his preferred state of being, anyway, and it gives him plenty of time to mull over next steps and future ideas. Like if those explosions he hears in the distance will wake up slumbering Thorntooth-like creatures, and how he'll deal with them. Or if the Monument itself is overgrown with some hyper-protective plant monster. How he's going to get back to his shop from here.

...Okay, so, maybe being alone is just giving Dustin an excuse to stew in his anxiety for a few minutes. By the time Felwinter arrives on the return trip, he's made a task to distract himself of better clearing a landing pad, furiously cutting away and stomping back errant growth around him.

"Status?" Dustin asks as the warlord descends, some of that anxiousness creeping into his voice. "Is it still in one piece?"

It's a valiant attempt that Felwinter wouldn't discount, and he does like not having to blindly seek footing amongst shrubbery that's over several feet tall. There's a faint trail after him, tiny yellow-white specks that seem to fade as he touches down. He looks over at Dustin, giving a sharp nod.

"Of course. I did not throw a grenade directly at it. You can see it from here. Whenever you are ready." At least this jump is a short one by comparison to the others, and they'll touch down just before the center monument. There's a faint mustiness that hangs in the air. Motes float about them, and between that and the shredded plantlife scattered along the edge of this clearing, it makes for a strange and eerie scene.

It consists of a large pillar that might have at one point been uniform but now stands worn by time and the elements to an irregular shape. Some of the plantlife still clings in severed vines and patches of thick moss, but one can catch a glimpse of the surface beneath. Engravings of some kind, undecipherable now, unfortunately, weathered into shallow impressions. Larger images can at least be made out more clearly, carvings around the worn out text, depictions of Agrii in daily life.

The westernmost face of the memorial is where Felwinter will direct Dustin's attention, however. Here the damage to the rock seems most obvious. It's also where oddly enough, a mural has been painted. Odder still is that the paint looks relatively bright, obviously retouched some time recent, although well before the plant infestation as some parts look more stained from the overgrowth than others. Notably there are several broken parts to the mural, eight small ones all roughly the size, just about a foot from the ground, and one large piece from closer to the top.

Dustin's nose crinkles as he notes the little mist clinging to Felwinter on the return trip.

Some kind of...exhaust? It clears out when the warlord lands, though, and there's no cloying scent left behind to indicate what it could have been. Dustin sniffs a bit. Nah. Must be something from the site. We'll have time to prepare on the hop over.

Which, thankfully, they do - just enough for Dustin to determine that this might actually be a much bigger problem than he gave it credit for. He can see the musty yellow fog better from above, clearly indicating that something has changed from the last time he looked at it and that this something is airborne. Hastily Dustin folds up the shawl that came with his Eorzean gathering outfit over his mouth and nose. Not perfect, but it'll have to do.

There's a little more regret when they land. Dustin can smell the mist now, a musky, oddly sweet sort of scent that makes his nose feel stuffy. He shifts to sneeze into his shawl and is annoyed to find that this just makes it worse.

...In addition to something else he's just starting to notice, but is too mortified to confront right now. As it is, Dustin stays on Felwinter's back as he paces around the monument, taking in every detail he possibly can to distract himself from the growing horror of his situation. The mural is definitely the centerpiece of this investigation - Dustin recognizes the paint and artistry immediately.

"You're right," he croaks, voice cracking as more spores cling to the back of his throat. "The pieces definitely go here. Mine should fit...third from the left."

Notably, he does not reach for his satchel to get it. Or move at all, really. Just awkwardly piggybacking for a while, no big deal.

It was strange enough not having Dustin readily disembark. Once the boy speaks, it only gives rise to Felwinter's concern. Dustin was very much the sort who wanted to do things by his own ability when applicable, and certainly placing pieces is no great task.

"-Dustin?"

"I think...you may have overdid it," the voice that answers isn't from behind him, but within his helmet. The Exo lifts his head, looking around at the dust still hanging in the air. He holds a hand out, his silvery little Ghost unfolding into being in a brief shimmer. Not at all the same twitchy one wildly watching everything and nothing from behind his helmet.

"You could've at least got out of all this before you called me!" Felspring fusses, giving her shell an extra sharp spin. She circles the two. "Get him out of here, this isn't helping him- you do know humans need to breathe, right?"

"I-" Of course he does. Why is he answering? But clearly he hasn't considered other factors. "Dustin, are you still with us?" He moves his hands to set over the ones still clinging to him. "I'm taking us back up."

"--Yeah! Yeah I'm fine," Dustin responds, perhaps a little too quickly and urgently. Jerked out of his daze from watching Felspring appear, it seems; he'll have to reassess his assumptions about Felwinter and the little twitchy Ghost in his helmet after all. "Wait. I can breathe, we don't need to leave yet. I just, ah..."

The boy's voice leaves him as he struggles for a way to phrase the problem in a way that won't be humiliating. And fails. There's no avoiding it. Felwinter might even be putting the pieces together already, since the otherwise very fidgety and touch-averse Dustin hasn't budged in response to the warlord's hands on his arms. Instead there's only a tensing of his muscles, like he's trying to pull away but can't.

Which is exactly the issue. "I...I think I'm stuck," he mumbles lamely. "Your cloak's like fucking flypaper."

"Stuck?" Whatever the reason for Dustin's koala-ing, for some reason being stuck has not occurred to him as a possibility. "But how..." Felwinter starts to ask, looking down at his own sleeve and the specks of annoying plant matter. He tries to brush it off and finds it quite tacky, causing him to draw his hand back before it might get too attached. Already he can feel the slight strain between the gloves of his fingers, and he stares at them and the fine strings of whatever natural adhesive the spores have created as they stretch between his outspread hands.

"....."

"Oh no." Felspring recoils, flying up higher, not that it's doing her any favors. "Ugh, this is the worst."

Felwinter watches his Ghost before he looks back at Dustin. Well, clearly there's no peeling the boy off of him, so he starts to make as quick work as he can in unfastening his coat. "Can you move your legs?" he asks, hesitating from immediately shucking the coat and Dustin thereafter- he doesn't want to drop the kid.

As soon as the cat is out of the bag, Dustin has started to do his own testing and problem-solving. His hands and feet twitch experimentally to get a better sense of his range of movement. Hands are thoroughly stuck, wrapped as they are around Felwinter's neck and against each other, so those are nonstarters. His legs, on the other hand--

"Yeah! Kinda." In response, Dustin jerks one of his legs, tugging Felwinter's coat down slightly. "Maybe a bit of--friction? Like unsticking superglue. I'd just--" He jerks his leg again and growls in annoyance at the continued lack of give. "--fuck, this is irritating!"

Felwinter stands statue-still as he waits to see what Dustin's capable of. It unfortunately doesn't seem very promising. "I'll try to go low enough so that you can put your feet down. The coat is loose, but I can't remove it until you're at least standing."

He is unfamiliar with superglue but it seems like pulling anything will be difficult so long as Dustin is behind him. There's also no guarantee that anything else will stick given how his gloves are already doing so to each other.

"...maybe I should've used solar after all," he mutters.

"--Sure, whatever," Dustin answers a little too impatiently. He's got enough give in his arms to maybe tug them loose from Felwinter's front once he has more leverage on the ground, but if he can't, his options for escape are looking rather slim. What a pain.

That mutter doesn't escape Dustin's notice, though, and it's not a bad idea either. "Heat!" the boy exclaims suddenly. "Most adhesives break down with excessive heat. Could you activate solar in a controlled enough way to slowly step up its thermal output, see if there's a noticeable difference?"

"...I have not often done so in the presence of allies," Felwinter admits. It's a big admission, really. Most anything he's resorted to back home have been on the offensive. It's always been him and Felspring.

He holds up a sticky hand, a glow welling there in his palm, this time a warm yellow rather than the almost ghostly negative energy of voidlight.

"You will not burn."

At least he sounds confident in this, not that saying such a thing is very confidence-inspiring, but he leaves little room to argue as he brings his other hand up to gather the glowing light between them both, spreading his arms as it expands. It's brilliant, and the warmth seems somehow bearable as it engulfs them in a searing golden light.

It surrounds them like an aura, it seeps in and seems to erase any fatigue, clearing the mind, providing a refreshing boost to abilities as applicable. It's not quite controlled in the way Dustin has in mind, but the Radiance still serves to make short work of the lingering stickiness that holds them together.

Dustin doesn't consider the significance; as far as he's concerned, if Felwinter has tested his abilities on himself, then that's as good if not better than testing it on others. Assuming he's not lying, anyway. But considering everything that he and the warlord have collaborated on so far, Dustin's finding those sorts of paranoid thoughts are appearing as footnotes rather than alarms. Felwinter has yet to let him down.

This helps quite a bit in keeping the boy from panicking at the subsequent enshrouding golden light. He braces slightly, expecting maybe an uncomfortable heat or tingling, but it never comes. Instead there's this wonderful warmth followed quickly by a noticeable clarity of mind - a feeling of waking up refreshed from a nap and swaddled in a fleece blanket. It feels incredible. Dustin's whole body relaxes instinctively, at which point he notices the lack of tension against his limbs as Radiance does its work on the spores.

Immediately he hops off, landing easily behind Felwinter. His legs feel springy like he could run a mile and back. Okay, starting to get a little weird now. "...What is that?" Dustin asks, adjusting the shawl to better cover his face now that his hands are free. Clearly it wasn't the limited fusion reaction he had been expecting.

"Another aspect of using Solar. Normally I would use it in battle when the odds look less than favorable. Not all of my powers are destructive. Even the Void can be used to heal. Better?" It doesn't seem like it needs to be asked when Dustin is off his back, saving Felwinter the trouble of having to slip his coat off. Felspring drifts back to her usual level beside the Exo, giving her shell a spin.

"That feels better. I'm not sure how much of this is still hanging in the air though, so it might be better to hurry a little so we don't have to stay too long and risk getting stuck again," she notes.

Felwinter nods, looking back towards the broken mural. He pulls out the painted fragment, holding it out to Dustin.

A closer look at the mural reveals some sort of depiction of events, or a story, perhaps. Even with the missing pieces there's something to be told from it. In the center are images of different areas of the planet, such as woods and plains, sandy shores and mountains. Surrounding this central image are the little mushroom-like creatures and other plantlike beings. Beyond this ring are people that appear to be tending to things, plants and animals alike. And then comes the portion with the most 'damage', although here and there parts can be made out- a city that looks similar to Temba, Agrii...

Strangely enough the following 'ring' of images surrounding that is undamaged, and this depicts an empty city, overgrown with time, and those little Barrys and Funfronds taking care of those plants.

Beat Your Plowshares Into Swords and Your Pruning Hooks Into Spears

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