Jason watched the tree warily as Lance approached, keeping her within arms reach in case Meris became aggressive. It was a tall tree, oaken and with dozens of thick roots that writhed through the soil gently. Its serrated leaves seemed to shine, even in the dark gray light of this soon to be stormy day. A few rain drops fell here and there, the water bouncing straight off his energy shield. It was only a light drizzle, but Lance didn't even seem to notice them as she wrapped her arms around the trunk of the tree.
"I'm so happy you're here!" Lance sniffed, two of the roots wrapping around her.
Jason tensed at seeing the contact, that thing could crush her flat if it wanted, and now it's roots were wrapped completely around her. His fists clenched as he readied himself to tear the roots apart, thankfully though, his worries were unwarranted.
"Lancey." A disembodied child's voice said, "I finally got here!" The voice, who must have been Meris exclaimed, "Don't go over the Fiendwall without me-"
"About that…" Lance sighed, releasing the hug before she twirled a finger through her hair, "I already did."
The trees root fell flat to the ground, releasing Lance as the other ones fell completely still in their writhing, "You did what?"
"Yeah." Lance nodded, "Kazon is dead."
"B-but I- you-" Meris stumbled, his roots curling in on themselves, "I wanted to go too! I've been crawling this way for weeks, mentally preparing myself for a big adventure, and you didn't wait for me!?" It questioned, sounding betrayed.
Lance frowned, "You weren't supposed to come with us anyhow, I told Leone to keep you right where you were-" She paused, eyes falling, "Right…"
"Right what?" Meris asked, "You know that the Fae are not beholden to the will of the elves, what was Leone going to do?"
Lance paused, "Do you not know, Meris?"
"Know what?" He asked, sounding confused, "Did something happen?"
Jason stood silently as Lance began explaining to Meris about Terlin's treachery. How this tree hadn't heard about such a massive coup was nearly incomprehensible, until he took in Meris's nature as a Fae into account. He was a tree that had been wandering through the woods, fully focused on reaching the Fiendwall for the past month, of course he didn't know what was going on with elven politics.
Once Lance was finished explaining to Meris what had happened in the Bastion, the tree fell eerily silent for a long while, until finally, one of his roots rose up from the ground, curling in on itself. It was like Meris was trying to imitate a raised fist.
"I'm gonna kick Terlin's ass." Meris said flatly, before slowly rotating away from Lance and Jason.
"Meris don't be foolish!" Lance scolded, "You are a mighty tree, but even you must understand that facing a Pillar-Born is suicide, even if he didn't have Terlin's eyes."
"Don't care." Meris scoffed, "I will cast 'ass to grass' and pummel him into the dirt to be fertilizer for the Faewood, therefore technically making his ass into literal grass."
"Don't be so crude, Meris." Lance scolded again, "And if you want to help, me and Jason are currently forming a plan."
Meris paused, "I'm listening."
"All you need to do is let me and Jason hide out inside of you a while. You can carry us straight to the Ilum Tree without detection." Lance smiled, turning back to Jason.
He blinked, "That will work?" Jason asked.
"As Meris said earlier, the Fae are not beholden to the elves, and we would never harm a Fae. It's perfect, the Root Wall will just allow him straight through, this is a blessing from the Pillars themselves." Lance insisted with a smile as Meris turned toward them.
"Well let's not waste time then, hop in!" Meris urged, rotating once again to reveal the opposite side of his trunk.
A tall, rounded door had been carved into it, a couple circular windows set beside it. Above the door was what appeared to be a balcony, another shut door attached to it. More windows were set into various places along the tree's trunk. That's right, elves lived alongside the Fae, in their very bodies. That meant that this entire time, Lance had been talking with her house.
Instead of approaching though, Lance shook her head, "I'm sorry Meris, but there's something I must do first." She explained, "The Trinkett's have been exiled to the Bone-Plains, and I need to ensure their safety first, Terlin comes after that."
"Oh." Meris replied, sounding somewhat disappointed, "But wait, you can't get to the Bone-Plains without me anyhow, hop in!"
"Negative, we have a faster method." Jason informed the tree.
"And who the hell asked you?" Meris questioned, pointing a root right at him, "The vertically fat have no right to opinions."
Jason blinked. Vertically fat? What the hell did that even mean!?
"You're one to talk." Lance said flatly, crossing her arms, "Look at how vertical you are, Meris."
"I am a tree." Meris replied simply, "My vertical fatness is majestic, graceful, he looks like an ugly boulder, putrid, repulsive, awfully shaped, bleh." Meris waved a root dismissively.
"Meris behave yourself!" Lance stomped, brows knitting above a fierce glare, "I would be dead if it weren't for him!"
Meris paused, "Really?" He asked, "Really really?"
Lance sighed, "Really really."
"Oh, he's okay then, I guess." Meris mimicked a shrug with his roots, "So should I wait here for you or can you bring me along?"
"Negative, you are too vertically fat." Jason replied, "You can't fit."
"Jason!" Lance snapped, turning back to him.
He blinked again, what had he done wrong? He was just utilizing the trees own phrases to help build rapport.
"My majesty can't fit into most places." Meris shrugged again, "I'll just wait here, but hurry up." He urged, snapping his roots together like they were fingers.
Jason rolled his eyes beneath his helmet, being sassed by a tree had not been what he'd expected when the day began, yet here he was. No matter, 'vertically fat' or not, having a way to get straight to Terlin without conflict was an asset that could not be dismissed. First thing's first though, they needed to collect the Trinketts and bring them to a safe location, either here at the Fiendwall or somewhere secluded, where the Akan-Dari couldn't dig their claws into them.
"Lance, are you ready to go?" Jason asked, "We need to return to the pod to arm up before we go, I don't want to leave Malthung and Zaiga behind, and you'll need to get suited up."
"I am, the sooner the better." Lance nodded, "Let's get this done, we'll return Meris, though I'm not sure how long this journey will take."
"Probably a month or two." Meris said, "I don't care how fast this 'other method' of yours is," He continued, making air quotes with two of his roots, "But the Bone-Plains are leagues away."
"Not if we fly." Jason told him, "Lance, we'll take off from the Rhino, I don't want to fly from the Fiendwall."
"Alright, let's get this done quickly." Lance replied, stepping right in front of him before lifting her arms up in the air, "Up."
Jason did so, lifting her in the air before immediately departing, Lance waving goodbye to Meris as they went. He saw Gali and his Defenders gathering near the breach, discussing something amongst themselves, a few Tongues hovering nearby. When Gali saw them approaching, he hailed them, waving his hand for them to come closer.
Curious, Jason did so, approaching Gali but not putting Lance down, "What is it? Do you have new intel?" He asked.
"Nay, I did just be wanting to tell you that we are crafting a new medal for you, to honor the success of your quest." Gali told him with a grin, "The grandest hero of Decuma, Jason the Outworlder, I will bestow on you the grandest medal that we can forge."
Jason's lips tightened, "You don't have to do that Gali, the one medal is more than enough-"
Gali raised a hand, "I insist, I do be afraid to say you've no choice in the matter, either accept our medal, or there will be no alliance."
Jason blinked, mouth falling slightly agape, "You can't be serious."
"I do be." Gali huffed, crossing his arms, "When you return, I will offer it to you, and if you do deny it, then we will stand on our own against the Romai."
"You're bluffing." Jason pointed, "That's idiotic."
"Maybe I be bluffing, maybe I no be." Gali shrugged, "You don't want to be taking that risk though, yes?"
Jason let out a sigh, "I guess not."
Gali let out a bellowing laugh, "Of course I wouldn't do something that stupid! But now you can no back out of accepting it when it do be the time!"
Jason glared for an instant before taking a deep breath, a smile replacing his frown, "Alright Gali, I'll accept the new medal."
Gali simply nodded, "Good! Now get going, you've a world to save and nay much time to do it!"
"Affirmative." Jason nodded, before jogging through the breach.
"He's quite the negotiator." Lance mentioned, "Are you looking forward to the new medal?"
Jason hesitated before replying, "Affirmative." He admitted.
Lance simply smiled as they made way toward the cloaked Rhino and pod, realization striking Jason as he set Lance down beside them.
"One of these will need to be uncloaked while we fly." He told her, "I still can't maintain three spells yet, and with Belaine M.I.A I can't rely on her to help with this."
Lance nodded, "And all I can do right now is grasp the Flame, I still can't cast anything yet, otherwise I would help." She sighed, "But what are we to do? I think the best option is to leave the pod uncloaked, and drag it away from the Rhino so you can keep that hidden instead."
"That's a good idea." Jason told her, "I'm worried though, if the other Ternans come this way, they'll be able to see the pod and thus be able to access its contents. They have the code."
Lance nodded, putting her chin on her palm for a moment, before pointing to the Fiendwall, "Why not just ask Gali to hide it for us? They don't have the code, nor the means of breaking into it."
"Terlin does though." He countered, "That is also a good suggestion, but I can't risk his elves acquiring more Ternan equipment."
"Then could we not simply drive to the shore and leave it there instead?" Lance asked, "If it's out of the way, then Terlin may not find it, nor the Outworlders."
Jason's eyes widened, "Not on the beach," Jason told her, "But just beneath the water."
"The pod is water tight?" Lance asked, "I suppose that makes sense, from what you've told me about space."
Jason nodded, "Exactly, I'll hide it slightly off shore. If there is a spot with protruding rocks, that would be most ideal, but if that is not available I can submerge the pod deeper than that."
Lance gave a concerned frown, "That's a long time to hold your breath, Jason. I'm not sure wading deeper into the Shot is wise."
Jason shook his head, "The Phalanx suit has air tanks within it that refill whenever I'm in an oxygen rich environment. I'll be able to breathe underwater for up to twelve hours, and I guarantee I won't get close to that limit."
Lance blinked, "That's amazing!" She exclaimed excitedly, "We'll have to go scrounging for shipwrecks once our adventures are done, do you have any idea how much coin we could get from trawling out lost treasures?"
"A lot?" Jason asked, uncertain.
Lance nodded, "A whole lot, and we'll need every coin for when we find a place to sett-" She paused, ears going red, "For when we need to buy rooms at taverns." She nodded, "I hope you don't expect me to sleep beneath bushes during our journey."
"You've told me that you've slept beneath bushes before-" Jason began.
"Alright, that pod isn't going to sink itself, let's get going!" Lance interrupted, marching confidently toward where the Rhino was parked.
For an instant he was almost shocked that she had picked the right direction, but then he noticed the deep depressions in the ash beneath its wheels. The tracks leading up to it had long vanished, but not where it actively sat. That could be a potential problem as well… but it was barely noticeable, even less so considering how high up the Ternans would be flying. Ah well, it wasn't as if he was going to simply be leaving it here anyhow, the Rhino would be cloaked near the shore, where the pod would be submerged.
He and Lance hopped into the Rhino, Jason uncloaking the pod as they drove. He saw no reason to release his hold on the Rhino though, so the vehicle remained invisible as he drove on. Jason knew this make and model of the vehicle like the back of his hand, he didn't even need to look to see where the pedals were, or the ignition, or even the buttons on the stereo… Lance however seemed nervous as she struggled to climb in, staring down through her invisible seat to the ashy ground below.
Seeing her nervousness, Jason relented, releasing his hold on the cloaking spell as the Rhino became visible. Lance then let out an audible sigh of relief, buckling herself in as they drove off for the shoreline, Lance guiding the way toward its general location.