Forest Guardian (Bhasin Breakout Quest)

Nighttime is setting in.

A creature is awaking from its slumber. Stone turning to flesh, violet eyes, shining like the sunset itself, slowly starting to open. Under an ancient tree, a Toto named Nightvalley is sitting cross-legged, looking more like it was meditating rather than sleeping. As it awakens, so do its senses, as the creature takes in the smell of the grass and flowers, the view of the horizon, which is still shimmering where the sun had set just a few moments ago, the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees, which rustle tired yet calmly in response as their branches cave in to the pressure. Everything seems to be in pure serenity.
Yet, there is a feeling of uneasiness. Something hidden the normal eye can’t see. Like a ghost silently haunting with its ice-cold touch, quietly whispering things only a keen ear can hear.

The forest is restless.

There is no chirping of birds nor cicadas, no bushes rustling with the fauna that inhabits this forest. The air is filled with an uneasiness, tense and scared, with an anxiety that very well might be the fear of one's own life.
Nightvalley rises from its spot under the old tree. Wary eyes piercing through the darkening forest as night falls. Slowly, it starts to move, searching for signs of what might have caused these creatures to be so afraid, or still is. One careful yet distinct step after another. Then, it spots something in the distance. The tail of a Bhasin lying on the grass, traces of claws on the slightly ruffled ground, a faint smell of blood. The remnants of a recent battle. There was something else. A spear stuck inside a nearby tree.
“poachers”, it hissed through the ever quiet forest. People, consumed by greed, taking the lives of many creatures, trapping them in the most horrible ways, only having eyes for their own wealth.
But this night they will learn what it means to take from nature so carelessly, one way or another.

—————

The poachers had already arrived back at their camp in the evening.
It is set up at the edge of the forest, so they could easily transport the hunted game from the forest to camp and after that to possible buyers or their own depositories for future customers. Tents are built up between huge crates, probably containing traps, wires, ropes, spears and other equipment they use for their hunts. Besides the carcasses of the hunted game, there were huge cages containing living wildlife from the forest. Bhasin were locked up, high on demand for their beautiful hide. And very handy to keep alive, since the tail they drop as a defense mechanism when feeling extremely threatened is pretty tall and keeps growing back after a while.

Five Elyxians sit around a campfire, talking about the haul they’ve made today. Others are probably patrolling nearby, too far away though to hear the chit chat happening as the night sets in and leaves little to none of the light, which the sun had gifted so generously during the day. Now the only thing left in the sky is the moon surrounded by endless stars, bathing the whole place in a faint light. The fire in front of them is the only bright light source that actually helps make out the surroundings close to them.

As one of them got up to get more firewood from beside one of the tents, they hear something rustling in the bushes. The poacher looks up, squinting their eyes as they try to make out something unusual or suspicious in the darkness of the forest. Nothing. Shrugging it off they return to the campfire with a fresh log of wood. But before they were able to throw it into the fire, an ominous sound echoed through the forest, sending shivers down their spine.
It was close.
“Did… you guys hear that?”, one of them asked cautiously. The group started to tense up and freeze in their place, hastily looking left and right, trying to make out any weapons close enough to grab, in case they had to defend themselves from something.
Or someone.
There is another rustling sound nearby, closer than ever. One of the poachers, who is still sitting on one of the logs that surrounds the campfire, sees something move from the corner of his eye. Quickly grabbing in the general direction he manages to catch the culprit. Everyone looks at him in suspense as he stands up and holds the closed hand in front of him for everyone to see.
In his hand, a mouse, wriggling, trying to free itself from his grasp.
The group seemed to calm down a little, one of them sighing in relief. But the false feeling of ease didn’t last long. “You scared the shit out of us you know?” says the poacher holding the oddly pale looking mouse. As he tightens the grip around the creature, he squashes it and its face starts to deform, melting, together with the rest of its body until the poachers hand was clinging to nothing more than a squished pile of wax.

Terror, fear, perplexity, slowly spreading, rising as they try to comprehend what happened. What this means. But it is too late. More critters run towards them from the forest. In the flickering light of the fire, they realize with horror, they are all made out of wax. Gasping, shouting, stumbling backwards. They didn’t realize there was something else. Someone else.
A reindeer, dark blue as the night itself, running, hitting one poacher with its antlers, stunning them, sending them flying. They land on the ground, unconscious.
Another tries to grab a spear. A mistake, turning your back towards the impending doom. Antlers grab him from behind, throwing him up into the air, up, up high, until the body, tense with fear, finally hits the ground. The tension leaves him, he passes out.
The third tries to move as well, she slips, wax below her feet, pale critters crawling around her. She tries to get up, but before she manages to, a hoof hits her head, knocking her out.
The fourth got a weapon, a knife, tries to attack from behind, thinking it must be distracted, but they thought wrong. It has its eyes and ears everywhere. Before the blade could reach, the reindeer kicked with its hind legs, two heavy hooves hitting the attacking poacher, coughing once as they got hit in the stomach. They too pass out, lying on the ground.
The last one, nowhere to be seen. He escaped into the woods, but not by accident. One always needs to live to tell of the things they saw. These might think it was a dream, or an hallucination, but he won’t, he will know.

The storm has calmed, the fight ends, silence returns to the place of the battle.
Nightvalley returns back to its proper form, a toto, small, seemingly harmless. Looking around, it spots the cages. Bhasin, locked up behind metal bars, only able to see the forest they call their home, but not reach. They have been quiet all this time, they know Nightvalley is no threat, at least to them, that it is here to help.
The toto takes a closer look at the cages. They all have a door, but there is a heavy lock keeping it from being opened. These creatures were caught today, poachers sat together at a campfire nearby, which is still flickering in a warm, soothing way, as if nothing has happened, nothing has changed. They must have kept the keys nearby. It checks the pockets of the unconscious poachers lying peacefully on the ground. There is a key in one of them, a single one, too tall for a key to a house, the metal lying heavy and cold in its hand.
One by one, cages are being opened, the hinges creaking tiredly, doors to freedom that seemed so far away, now it only being a few steps to being back home. They all leave, thankful for being rescued, joining the calming darkness of the forest that surrounds the camp, one after another, all but one. The Bhasin lies in its cage, curled up, missing its tail, but still breathing. Nightvalley steps inside, kneeling down beside the creature, carefully placing a paw close to its face. The Bhasin slowly lifts its head, tired eyes now looking into the totos own. They speak of terror and fear, panic and fighting, resigned after enduring so much pain. Nightvalley leans its head forward, slowly, until it leans against the creatures and closes its eyes. “You are safe now, it is over. No harm will come to you in my presence.”, a faint whisper echoes. The Bhasin calms. And yet it seems to have gained new strength to move forward, as if each word had breathed new life into the creature, or maybe it was the will to live for another day. It started to walk towards the forest it calls its home, joining its kin in the safety the shadows bring.
The Bhasin are safe, the poachers got taught their lesson. For a few more seconds Nightvalley stays, mourning the residents of this forest it couldn't save. Then, just like the Bhasin, it vanishes back into the darkness it came from.

—————

Under an ancient tree, a Toto named Nightvalley is sitting, meditating, thinking about the night that has almost passed. The wind rustles through the leaves, critters hush through the bushes, a few birds start chirping here and there, announcing the day that is to come. The horizon shows a faint gleaming line, growing each passing second. As the first sunbeams start to gently wake Elyxiums sleeping inhabitants, violet eyes slowly close itself, flesh turning to stone, and the creature drifts off into a deep slumber.