Unfortunate Beginnings [Event Quest]

[Syo Locks]

Running through the forest, Syo was breathing heavily as he jumped over tree roots and sidestepped shrubs, kicking off tree trunks to redirect himself. Grabbing his empty scabbard, he tossed it to the opposite direction he ran, hoping to throw off his pursuers. Carrying on for another several minutes, he came to a halt and placed his back against a tree, sitting down to rest his body. He had been running for quite a while now. The reason he was in the Sleeping Forest was to find something he read about in a book. He had long since finished his mission he accepted, and this was just a personal thing. There was a particular plant which had a high vitality and was beautiful. It would have made the perfect souvenir for Syana. Unfortunately, there was another group looking for this rare and exotic flower as it could be used as a material in some magic formulas.

Not looking for a fight and being outnumbered on top of being outgunned, Syo did his best to distract them by lighting the forest on fire before running away. Sadly, he couldn't grab the flower before he made a run for it. Calming his breathing and listening intently to his surroundings, he tried to see if there was anyone following him. He could hear voices in the distance, but nothing nearby. No sounds of footsteps either. They would find his weapon eventually, in which case they would spread out from there. If he was lucky, he could escape the forest at that time, and hopefully they wouldn't give chase. After all, he hadn't obstructed them from their target.

OOC:
Short start, but don't know what else to put at this point.

[The Martyr]

WARNING  WARNING     WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING

WARNING!
THIS THREAD IS NOW INFECTED WITH THE DEADLY CROW VIRUS!

Inside this forest is a group of bandits that are very desperate.
They're a nasty bunch of group who murder, and pillage. However,
in this case they were trying to be more careful than usual.
Unlike their usual method of things, they were trying to just
look for a plant and then get out. However, some idiot decided to
set up a forest fire! This is the worst possible place to catch a
forest fire. This forest is dangerous and unwelcoming to humans or
anything that are not part of it ecosystem.

There is a rumor that a certain plant may cure a certain virus. Normal
people end up dying from the virus, The Deadly Crow. Each bandit
member has an advance state of the virus. They don't have much longer
to live unless they find a cure. You may say that it is karma that each
member somehow caught the virus. However, as they begin searching for the
plant, there was someone else ahead of them. Who ever it is, they had
panicked. They had caught the forest on fire and ran off. The bandits
are a desperate bunch.

“SHIT FIND IT! FIND WHATEVER LEFT OF THE PLANT!” No matter how much
they look, no matter how desperate they are. They can't find a single trace
of the plant. Monsters can be heard from a distance, like, similar that a
moth to a flame. They don't care if they come and kill them. They have nothing
left. One of the smaller bandits found a weapon on the ground. “If we're going
down, then we're going to take that bastard with us.” The bandits are on the
move toward the young age and they are out for blood.

The young mage will find his feet snagged onto some vines. The four dying
bandits are quick on your tail!

[Syo Locks]

Hearing the snapping of twigs underfoot, Syo quickly started looking around to where it was coming from. Turning back from the way he came, he could see the bandits in the distance through the shrubbery. Without his sword, there was no chance for him to combat against the four pursuers. Taking deep breaths, he calmed himself down as he thought of his next actions. It was too risky to continue using fire magic in a forest as he did before, as the damage could affect the ecosystem. He would have to limit the use of magic to small scale fires which he could control better such as his salamander spell. That said, it wouldn't do any good if he held back and died because of it. Judging by the build of the pursuers, they were at least C Rank each, maybe B Rank, but they didn't look to be in good shape.

Hearing the footfalls continue to get closer, Syo decided to make a run for it while he still had the distance on them. Attempting to stand up, he found himself tumbling to the ground again. Looking at his legs where he had felt resistance, he could see vines wrapped around his legs. Revenge for burning down the forest? Quite possibly. Nature was a living being as well, after all. With no sword to cut these new hindrances, he cursed himself for not thinking of carrying additional tools such as a knife. All he really carried on him were books, which were just fuel for the fire at this point. With his gloved hands, he got to work straight away at pulling the vines from their entanglement, trying to either unravel them or pull them off, but nothing short of tearing them apart was working. Now able to see the bandits within 20m of him, and meeting eyes with them, he knew he had to act quick.

Using a small controlled flame, he burned each vine trapping him, being careful not to ignite his clothes at the same time. After finally getting free, he had just enough time to avoid being cut down by his own sword that was swung at the place where he was previously sprawled out on the ground. Taking up a fighting stance, he kept an eye on the bandits in front of him. Combat techniques he knew for hand to hand combat was mostly redirection parrying and grappling techniques used to either bind an opponent or throw them. With the impatient bandits looking at him with anger and bloodlust, he knew there was no talking his way out of this. Besides, his own sword was being brandished against him.

Taking a deep breath, Syo took up a stance with open palms facing his enemies, left arm forward, the other close to his body, legs apart with left forward, right back. Within both open palms, he let a fireball hover. Whoever attacked first would get fire shoved into their body.

[Rii <3]

Hot on Syo's tail (even if at a sluggish pace) the bandits had only one thing on their mind. With the wizard locked in vines, they sought the opportunity to fan out between the trees in an attempt to ambush him. He managed to burn each vine by the time they had surrounded him. Inches away from him, their breath hot and heavy; eyes locked on him. One took a small step forward just to freeze at the sight of his hand, the flame licking the air right on his palm. Exchanging glances, their lips stained red with the blood from their insides. Their tongues tasted of iron and they knew what was going to happen if they didn't do something soon. That plant was theirs and this foolish Mage was trying to steal it from them. No way were they going to let that happen. With quick, brief nods to each other; they knew one thing that lingered in their minds. It was Do or Die and they were going on sheer adrenaline and willpower. They hadn't long and this filthy creature in front of them was preventing them from the thing that they needed the most right now.

One of the bandits grabbed a vine while smelling the stench of burning wood and the smell of death mixed in. On the countdown, they prepared for it; muscles bunched. With the vine tight in one of the bandits hand, they flung it out in a quick, whip like motion towards the youth.
"NOW YOU FOOLS!" With the battle cry ensued, they all dove towards the man at once; bodies moving all at once and pouncing towards the boy. "YOU'RE OURS NOW! YOU WILL DIE WITH US!"

[Syo Locks]

Seeing the whip coming towards him, Syo quickly reacted and reached his fireball out towards it to burn the whip before it would reach its apex, causing it to go flying off without hitting him. Unfortunately, with the distraction of the vine, the other bandits managed to grip and restrain him. Feeling his movements restricted and his bare skin being gripped tightly, he ignored the rising pain as he hunched his body over the flame in his hand and placed it on the ground below him.

While doing his best to keep himself covered, he grew the flame he was protecting until it became the size of a child, and then thrust it into the ground. Not exactly like his ｢Solar Flare｣ he preferred to use, but this should still ignite the nature around them within 5m radius as a wave of flames rippled out from Syo.

Not ending it there, he quickly released as much magic as he could on his own body, letting fire flare out from his clothing while being careful not to burn himself in the process. To finish his combo to either repel or defeat the bandits, Syo let loose a roundhouse kick in a full arc around him to make them lose their footing and therefore their grip on his quick movements.

[Rii <3]

As the bandits grabbed him, gripping at his arms and holding him tightly; they found themselves shocked by the brute force before he managed to send them away. With his flurry of attacks, most of them fell to the ground in shock and charred whereas one staggered back, jerking and twitching in pain while spluttered out a mouthful of blood.
Syo has the opportunity to talk to him or simply avoid him, nonetheless he may risk getting the disease if he does so.

[Syo Locks]

Seeing that he successfully fought back the bandits, Syo took a moment to leave his guard up and observe the bandits around him. Confirming that there was no more attack and his life was no longer in danger, he ignored the men who were currently unconscious. Glancing over them as he was about to walk off, he saw one of the bandits still conscious, though just barely. Seeing no threat from him, he approached the man and held him up, seeing the blood coming from his mouth. That wasn't a wound he could have caused.

Propping the man up and tilting his head to the side so the blood could flow out, Syo spoke to him.
｢That blood wasn't from anything I inflicted. What happened to you? And why did you attack me?｣
As a side note, Syo had observed that his sword was now damaged, snapped in half with jagged ends. It had served him for a long time before now, and that strain has finally decreased its durability, using up the last of its life.

[Rii <3]

The man just glared scornfully at Syo, eyes filled with pure burning hatred as he coughed up a bunch of blood. With his head propped up to allow blood flow, the man just laughed a weak yet disturbed laugh which soon turned into a bout of hacking coughs.
"why should I tell you?" The man asked, spitting his blood-ridden saliva onto Syo's face. His body soon began to tremble an a smile crawled over his lips.
As he mustered the courage and strength to speak, his eyes focused on the man in front of him.
"Enjoy the virus." With that said, his eyes rolled back in their sockets and his body went limp in Syo's arms.

[Syo Locks]

Hearing the last words of the bandit, Syo took a while as he lowered the body and began processing the information in his head. Taking a deep breath, he slowly let it out as he came to a conclusion. He was infected with something that was killing the bandits. Given their reaction, it was serious and was spread by contact. Which he had come into with plenty. So what could he do now? There was only one thing. Disappear from anyone who knows him, take only the necessities, and start to find a cure.

It's quite possible he can't find a cure no matter how much he searches, so isolation would be best. Standing up, Syo made his way out of the forest. He needed transport back to Magnolia so he could grab things from his house. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anyone there so he could grab what he needed. And to prevent the spread, burn the place down. Syana would just have to deal with it.

He had to be quick. Time was essentially of the essence.