Black Desert Online - Denryo: Taken Initiative

The cabin door exploded in a shower of splinters, along with most of the surrounding cabin wall. Denryo and Egami were launched into the cabin as the roof caved in. A horrible keening sound filled the air as the warriors reeled from the explosion. Jaim and Parma had their weapons out, searching for invisible foes. Dark energy sprang from Devotchka’s fingertips as she climbed to her feet, her long hair sticking out in all directions. Yommie lifted a hand and the morning breeze became a whirling tempest, blasting the debris in all directions away from the cabin. Vahlmorn streaked through the ruined wall, blade drawn and ready to fight. He was greeted instead with retreating shadows that shot into the trees, leaving the ruined cabin behind.

“What in the seven hells was that?!” Devotchka cried.

“Ecril?” Vahlmorn asked, returning to the group.

“No idea,” Jaim grunted, kneeling over to grasp a support beam that was once part of the cabin’s ceiling. Lifting the beam, he tossed it aside, revealing the crumpled form of Egami. “Are you injured?”

The bewildered tamer shook her head, allowing herself to be helped to her feet. Nieka appeared in an instant, nudging his owner in a clear display of concern. Egami leaned against the giant wolf for support, blood streaming from a cut above her eye. Tearing a strip of fabric from her tunic, she wound it about her head, stopping the flow momentarily. It was then she noticed that something was amiss.

“Where’s Den?”

The Velkans looked around. They were greeted with silence, save for the breeze blowing through the ruined cabin.

Denryo was nowhere to be seen.

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Denryo heard none of her friend’s frantic words. The last thing she did hear was a strange, accented voice whispering in her ear. Three words.

“She will suffice.”

The ranger felt a burning hand close over her arm. A whirl of motion and suddenly she was flying through the air. She soared high above the treetops, gathering altitude. She rose higher and higher, leaving the earth behind as a green carpet below her. She caught a fleeting glimpse of the ruins cabin, her friends a selection of small dots. She tried to shout, but the rushing air took the breath from her lungs. The burning grasp at her arm suddenly release, and a bright flash of light clouded her vision. As she spiralled towards unconsciousness, Denryo Mistfollower heard five more words.

“She will serve our purpose.”

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The world took its time coming back into focus. Denryo’s first sensation was a fiery pounding at her temples. It sent wave after wave into her skull like a volley of arrows shot from an army. She tried to bring her arms up to clasp her head, but they were sluggish and weak. She lay there for what seemed like an eternity, the pain in her head lancing through her mind. It subsided enough so that she was able to risk opening her eyes. A blurry world greeted her. Shades of brown and grey danced in front of her as she attempted to will herself into focus.

Gradually, things took shape and Denryo found herself lying in a simple bed in the middle of a wooden room. The smell of pine assaulted her senses as she looked around, trying to get her bearings. The wooden room had two doors, one on either side. One seemed to lead to a balcony, while the other was shut. The room was sparsely decorated, with only a sign above the closed door bearing three letters – ‘NSR’.

All right, Denryo thought. Strange room, strange bed. She lifted the covers and looked down. She raised an eyebrow. Strange room, strange bed and no clothes. Sounds like Devotchka’s idea of a good night. She swung her long legs out of bed and stood, feeling the cool wooden floorboards beneath her toes. She stretched languidly, feeling her muscles loosen. Her left arm itched and she scratched at it absently. Reaching for the sheet, she wrapped it around herself, heading for the door to the balcony.

Denryo stepped out on to the rough, wooden balcony. Immediately, the sharp smell of salt hit her nostrils. Ocean, she thought with a start. But the cabin was hundreds of miles from the ocean. However, that thought soon deserted her as she realised that she was staring at a completely unfamiliar coastline – nay, a completely unfamiliar world.

The coast was rocky and expansive, stretching as far as she could see. The sky was a strange orange hue, not the usually blue and grey she was accustomed to. She craned her neck this way and that, and realised that her room was actually part of a giant tree-house, nestled in a massive oak surrounded by pine trees. Looking out from the balcony, she saw a myriad of different houses and courtyards, stretching across the cultivated lands. Farms and crafting shops dotted the settlement, and the air was rich with the sights, sounds and smells of farming. People milled about below, and her keen ranger’s ears kept hearing unfamiliar language, along with strange new words such as ‘Nuian’, ‘Dewstone’ and ‘Regrade’.

Denryo’s arm itched. She frowned. She spied some pink undergarments laying over a nearby chair and hurriedly put them on. She tore up the sheet to make a rough cloak. As she did, her mind kept spinning. All right, what in the name of the spirit is going on here? She cocked her head, crossing sinewy arms over her ample bust as her mind raced to make sense of what was occurring. She ran the last sequence of events through her mind. Cabin was attacked, I was grabbed and thrown…

Her arm suddenly erupted in blazing pain. The Velkan leader grasped at the flesh, gritting her teeth in agony as the skin felt hot to the touch. Taking her hand away, she gazed at her tattooed arm. To her surprise, there was a handprint burned into her forearm, breaking the lines of one of her tattoos. What was more, the broken part of the tattoo had changed. It now consisted of two letters. Denryo Mistfollower squinted in surprise as she read them.

“T. I.”