Jaune was severely disappointed in the world right now. Turns out that beowolves could indeed climb trees.
So now Jaune is climbing up higher and higher up the tree as the large furry bastards clawed their way up after him. Jaune gave a quick backhanded swipe at the closest grimm with his sword, catching it in the snout. It screamed as it fell off the tree and onto the ground with a sickening crack. It dissolved into dust soon after. Jaune had to climb even higher. Looking up, he saw that he was nearing the top of the tree. He paused for a moment, which proved to be fatal. A beowolf chomped down on his leg, causing a scream of pain to rip from the blonde's throat. Jaune felt weightless for a moment, and then released he was falling. Jaune braced his Aura before he hit the ground with a thud. The Beowolves started to descend on him like a pack of locusts, biting and ripping at the knight. Jaune thrashed around, pushing the pack of grimm off him. Grabbing one of the beowolves, he pushed it in front of another's bite, it quickly turning to ash under its allies jaws.
Jaunes sword flashed through one beowulf, and he kicked off another. It was a chaotic blur of blood, pain, grimm guts and dust that seemed to last a lifetime. Eventually, Jaune rolled over, his blade cutting through the skull of the last grimm. He looked around, the sent of blood and grimm bits staining the air.
"Oh, god, that is an awful smell." Jaune groaned as he took a whiff.
Jaune's body was pumping full of adrenaline and on high alert. He glanced around, hunkering behind his shield lightly.
He was not alone. Jaune glanced to his left, where a blood stained bush was. Turning to the right, there was a tree that was also blood stained.
Right. That's my blood. Jaune thought after a moment. There was a rustling behind him, causing jaune to wheel around.
He stared into the forest. It was empty, for the most part. Then he heard the slithering sound of a snake. Looking down, he saw a rather large boa constrictor like grimm, curled up and posed to strike.
"Shit." Jaune said as it lunged at his face. His shield moved to slap the snake away. It landed and rolled, slithering back to fight. Jaune stumbled as he turned, his various wounds spurting blood once more. The snake lunged at him, catching him in his shoulder. His vision blurred as several inches of fang lodged themselves into his shoulder. Grabbing the snake by it's neck, he ripped the snake off him and slammed it into the nearest tree with a thud. His shield fell on the snakes center, shattering it's main spinal chord and killing it. Jaune fell to his knee, his vision worsening as his shoulder burned.
Poison, fuck. Jaune thought hazily. Help. I need help.
Jaune stumbled his way through the woods, backtracking to the edge of the farm.
"Help!" Jaune cried out, foam and spittle starting the come up from his mouth, muddling his words. Jaune mustered more strength, taking another few steps forward.
I'm almost there. Please, come on. He thought to himself.
"HELP!" Jaune yelled out once more, the cry coming out strained and strangled. Jaune thought he heard the slam of a door, but wasn't sure. His hearing was fading faster than his vision, which itself was an alarming rate.
"Help." Jaune gasped out, his mouth pouring foam before he blacked out.
The sound of water. That plunking sound that a single raindrop makes upon a calm lake. Jaune hazily thought about it. Water? I wasn't near any water when I fell. Maybe it's my own blood leaking out my skull.
Jaune next felt wet. Not particularly cold, but it was definitely not warm at all. Jaune opened his eyes. The sky above him was… Grey? Navy blue? Dark navy grey? Jaune couldn't really tell. He sat up, his back dripping with water. He looked around, seeing a vast lake in any direction. Croppings of cobblestone buildings jutted out of the water, making the ghostly outline of a town or city that was here a long time ago. Jaune stood up, feeling rather cold and breezy. He frowned looking around with a slight shuffle. He looked down.
"Ah." He said, understanding his discomfort. "That would explain it."
Rearranging of the list:
Step one: find some clothes.
Jaune walked forward, sloshing through the water. It came up to the middle of his shins, splashing up to caress and spit in his face.
Jaune turned a corner, his legs starting to grow tired from the constant resistance to his movement. Jaune leaned on the wall, letting out a breath.
Directly across him, only a couple of yards away, was a statue. It was rough carved, shaped to look like a natural stalagmite, if it wasn't in the shape of a person and holding a slightly rusting sword. Jaune walked over to the statue, inspecting it. It looked like a natural rock formation, just in the shape of a man. Jaune hesitantly gripped the rusted sword, testing the statues grip. Confident in his strength, he gave the sword a mighty tug. The arm wretch off and shattered like glass, splintering into thousands of bits of rock. Jaune stumbled back, gripping the rusty bastard sword. Giving an experimental swing, he nodded at its weight. It was heavier than Caroca Mors, but it felt… nice.
Yeah, nice. That was the description. Jaune rested it on his shoulder for a moment, before reconsidering. He didn't want to get tetanus from it. That would be bad
Jaune continued to wade his way through the ruins, until he came across a clothes line, several remnants of wearable bits left. Jaune took stock, putting on a shirt and some cargo shorts. He also picked up a burlap satchel, plastered to the wall from the misted winds.
Jaune seemed to walk for an eternity before anything interesting happened. The ruins stopped a long time ago, sinking into the calm waters.
Jaune saw something up ahead, crouched in the water. The air became tinted with the smell of alcohol. It hit jaune like a freight train, making the hunter gag.
Then Jaune gagged harder. The smell of blood came soon after as Jaune saw what the thing was hunched over.
It was a corspe, pale as bone and deformed. It had been ripped open, the water around it being stained in a steadily growing red pool. The pale creature that reeked of alcohol stood as a reaction to jaune's gagging. Jaune got a good look at the thing.
It was equally pale as the dead thing in the lake, and it's eyes had sunken and turned black. It was thin as well, so very thin. It's organs and bones are clearly defined through the taught skin of the creature, which had various patches of deformative twisting, peeling or scaling. It's arms were stretched long, the edges of it's fingers gracing the water. It's hands had become oversized paws, the finger bones breaking through the skin and acting as sharp skewering claws. It glared at jaune, only seeing it's next meal. It's lipless shark-like mouth watered at the sight.
"Oh, you are an ugly motherfucker." Jaune quipped as he readied his sword with two hands. The creature did not take well to that at all, lunging at Jaune. Jaune moved to counteract with his sword, but was too late. The smelly thing tackled Jaune to the water, causing him to gasp and fight to swallow in breath. The creatures claws started to rip into Jaune's lower torso as it's sharklike teeth ripped apart Jaunes shoulder.
This seemed oddly familiar.
Oh right. Jorgunmunder.
Jaune started to black out from the blood loss, his last sight being that ugly fucker.
Jaune awoke in a cold sweat, pulling his body up in an upright position. He let out a breath, releasing it was just a dream. Jaune let out a breath, the cold night air seemed to make the think darkness crisp and sharp. Jaune looked out the window, to the night sky. The rolling fields and cobblestone street indicated to him that he was at the edge of town. He fell back onto his pillow with a sigh and some deep breaths.
Jaune didn't really find sleep again for the night. He found rest, but no real sleep. He watched the sun rise that night, as it painted the sky into its dazzling orange and purples and yellows and blues.
"You shouldn't be up." A voice startled jaune, causing him to turn sharply.
A middle aged dull blonde man took a step and a half back, hands in the air. "Easy, Easy there son. I'm just the doctor. Well, not really a doctor, I'm more of a knowledgeable medical expert." The more of a knowledgeable medical expert said. Jaune forced himself to calm down.
"Right. Thanks. So, what's the damage?" Jaune dared to ask.
The doc took a seat, flipping through the pages on his clipboard. "Well son, we've managed to drain most of the poison out of your system." The not doctor said. "We stitched up your stomach and legs, or at least what hadn't healed itself to a sufficient degree already. Basic antibacterials were applied and we cleaned you up a bit."
Jaune let out a breath. "How much do I owe you?" He winced, waiting for the whammy. Oh god I'm going to have to pay all my money. He thought, painfully aware of the current cost of medicare.
The not doctor shrugged. "Nothing. Jason payed you off when he dragged you here. Some nasty grimm did a number on you, eh?" The man joked.
Jaune shrugged. "Better me than anyone else. Besides, they're dead now, so I count that as a win."
The doctor's eyebrows raised. "You? You got them?"
Jaune nodded. "A couple of beowolves and a Python, yeah. Jason shouldn't have too many problems for a little while." jaune said, giving an experimental stretch. "Hey, Doc, what time is it?"
The blonde man shrugged. "You want the date or the time? Cause those are two separate but relevant points."
Jaune frowned at that. "The date." He said, tilting his head down. "What's the date? How long have I been out?"
The doctor shrugged, counting on his hands. "About three days or so? The poison did some damage, but it's frankly a miracle you're up at this point." He said.
Jaune nodded. "Aura's one hell of a drug." Jaune said simply.
The doctor just hummed. "Well, since it seems that you're up and ready, I just have to give you a physical and send you on your way?"
Jaune nodded as the doctor ran Jaune through several tests, coughing, looking at his now healed wounds, asking a whole slew of questions.
Are you dizzy?
Do you have a history of (insert disease or malady here)
Does you family have a history of (insert malady here)
How often are you injured?
Jaune felt like it wasn't ever going to end. But eventually the doctor looked down at his checklist. "Well, that's everything that I need from you. You're free to grab your stuff and go." The notctor said
Jaune smiled, giving him a quiet thanks and a nod, about to walk out the door. He stopped, turning to the man.
"Uhh, hate to ask." jaune said, one finger up and over biting his lower lip, "where exactly is my stuff?"
"Oh, it's under the bed." The doctor deadpanned, and just walked out. "The Doors on the left!"
Jaune gave the lackadaisical doctor a look as he left. Jaunes now slightly tattered clothes and armor was donned, and Jaune took out his now slightly bloodstained map.
Jaune stood on the stoop of the hospital.
Well, shit. I'm going to have to take a short cut. Jaune mentally sighed. Not that he didn't want to in the first place. It's just now he has to.
He was kind of counting on that leeway time to give him some breathing room for his eventual fuck up. Jaune started walking, his bloodstained manor drawing much attention from the town, regarding him as a dangerous curiosity.
He must have smelled something fierce. Man Jaune missed Beacon already. Warm showers, comfortable housing, free food and medical services.
Man, that was the life.
Jaune grabbed his pack and hoisted it over his shoulder, strolling down the cobblestone streets. Even if the hospital had bathed him, kind of, his clothes were still soaked in blood and stained with grimm bits. There was a nasty looking gash that had pierced the steel chest plate, almost having the lower half dangle from the last connecting point.
Jaune left the town without so much as a thank you for his services. The dirt road that laid ahead of him seemed inviting enough. Jaune started walking, cause lord knows it was a long, long road ahead of him.
The day passed as Jaune hummed his song, something that Samuel taught him.
"The Road goes ever on and on, over stoll and rocky breach" He hummed as the sun started to dip low in the sky. Jaune looked over to the side of the plain surrounded road. With a shrug, he walked off to the side into the slightly tall grass.
His sleeping bag hit the ground with an oomph sound. Jaune cleared out a small patch of grass and dirt, piling the flammable organic material. Jaune took out a small lighter, and set the patch aflame.
Jaune relaxed for a moment on his sleeping bag, letting out a breath.
It was nice to catch a break. The air was crisp, the fire ward, even if Jaune had to continuously add fuel to it. It only had to get hot enough to roast some of Jaune's well packed vegetables.
They were added to the heat soon enough. Jaune looked up at the starry sky.
It was oddly whimsical, looking up at the dotted black expanse. Jaune watched the smoke rise higher and higher, and wondered if it ever reached the stars.
Eh, probably not. The smoke would disappear into the atmosphere and be done.
Jaune took a bite out of his now slightly charred vegetables. It had a clean kind of crunch to them, like it was raw, but not really. It was fresh. Ish.
Ok, maybe it tasted a little funny. Jaune finished his vegetable kebab and flomped down onto his bag.
The night was very pretty, Jaune decided.
Jaune closed his eyes, only to return to his dreams.
Jaune awoke once more in a plane of water and ruined cobblestones.
"This looks familiar." Jaune said, standing up with a kind of weariness. That two handed sword lay next to him, sticking up in the water.
"Fuck" He murmered softly
He was here before, after all. Last night. He had died from some ghoul that reeked of alcohol.
Jaune was sure there was a metaphor in there somewhere, but he never paid that much attention to his literature class. Jaune started to walk once more through the water.
The ruins were familiar to him. They ought to be, as he had walked through them before.
But this place still felt off putting. The eternally grey sky gave the world a dim shading that muted the world. Even Jaune's hair seemed to take an ash like color to it.
Jaune smelled that awful stench of blood and alcohol. He gripped his sword, holding the blade in a ready position.
Then came the rapid sound of footsteps on water. Splash splash splash splash splash splash.
The ivory colored ghoul scampered out of the mist and into battle. Jaune reflexively jolted his sword, batting the ghoul away. It hit the water with a scattering sploosh, and Jaune took the opportunity to slam his two handed bastard sword into the downed ghoul. It screeched as the sword hit its gut, red blood bursting out of the ghouls ghastly thing rose from the water with a terrible swiftness. It swiped at the mostly naked man, catching him in his arm. Jaune cried out in pain, retaliating with another swing. This time the wide arc of the blade caught the creature's knee, dropping it to the ground.
Jaune swung again, this time catching the deformed monster in his warped face. The rusted sword carved out a swath right between the creatures sunken dark eyes with a ferocious roughness. Jaune wretched the blade out of the things skull. It quickly started to sink into the water, collapsing below its surface, hidden by its own blood.
Jaune resisted the urge to vomit, opting to move as far away from the thing as possible.
He ran through the mist, not running into any other white skinned ghouls thankfully. He looked down at his arm, the cut bleeding profusely.
Why didn't my Aura protect me? Jaune thought to himself. He tried to will his aura to manifest, looking at his cut arm for the familiar and comforting white glow.
Nothing came, and his arm remained so mundanely injured.
If only that was the only disturbing thing that layed in this watery waste. The occasional half sunken and destroyed building rose from the lake, and with it the clear remnants of civilization. A simple toy doll that Jaune pocketed, along with an Iron Pot that Jaune was currently using as a helmet.
The petrified statues were the worst. Sometimes they held useful items in their hand, like medicinal herbs or a flask of sweet smelling wine, but most of the time they were frozen in a curled fetal position, hoping to save themselves from whatever turned them to stone.
Jaune tried not to think about whatever turned these statutes, as they were too numerous for anyone to have bothered creating.
Jaune eventually came up upon a wall in the mist. The white brick layed wall seemed to stretch forever in the mist. Beyond him, an odd circular door was closed, the white paint chipping away and peeling off.
It was odd because jaune had never seen a circular door before. They just weren't done back on Remnant. Made Jaune wonder where he was.
With a shrug, the pot helmed blonde pushed the door open with a great heave.