Active Out for a Walk [Falkwood Village, Ryke] (Open)

[Maverick Six]

Adventurer's Guild Request: Investigate Remote Village "Falkwood"

Objectives:

• Investigate the cause of a village disappearing in Ryke
• Recover any villagers found.
• Kill any hostile entities.

Known Failure Conditions:

• Party Wipe - All members of the party being killed or incapacitated
• Failure to find out what happened - If the investigation meets a dead end, another group will be sent, albeit much later. This mission currently isn't considered a priority by the guild or country at large.
• Retreat - Will result in failure of mission. Though one should report back with their lives. More likely to be able to try again....

Reconaissance Unit I Maxxob - Goal: Connection to Ryke Merchant Guild
Helena Rugard Gwen_Temi
John LightningJay
Adonis Myunke - Goal: Flee from his mysterious (cashback) hunters and shave away their influence upon him.
Darin Voider - Goal: Hone skills & advance status in the Adventurer's Guild

Traveling to Village​

---

Time Chosen: Day

If Life were a video game, this would be the main menu music

"HYAH!" A sound signifying the beginning of their journey. A commanding voice that sends the hooves of two horses trotting. The Guild had been fairly generous in affording the group a carriage ride. They'd be needing it, as it seemed that the part of Ryke they were to go to was a remote, self-sustaining village to the southwest.

They'd gone through town after town. Path after path. Travel would take a few hours, during which, each person would be acquainted with one another as they desired -- knowing at least each other's names. Beyond that, however, each person was a stranger, who'd they had to trust with their lives as they went, what they could only really guess. Three Humans. A heavyset, tread-propelled construct. And finally, one gun-toting lizard beastkin. One of them had a very strange label [Wanted Title] on his person. Yet no move was made to apprehend him due to the vagueness of it. Nor was any of the other group informed, beyond said person's personal appraisal upon the orb taking a little bit longer than most.

Little was known about the job -- beyond what one eyewitness reported.

Spoiler: Guild Provided Background Information

A farmer and his family went to go visit a local, remote town in a mountainous area of Ryke to sell his produce. However, when he found that all residents and guards had mysteriously disappeared. There were signs of struggle and fighting in certain. However, there were no corpses nor any signs of blood at all anywhere. Weapons were found strewn out in the streets -- along with tossed-over objects.

Attempts to find out what had transpired amounted to nothing. Farmer reported feeling as though he was being watched and seeing shapes slip away "into the walls." After night fell, the farmer reported feeling "watched" and left the scene. Did not give any particular description of what he saw.

Commented "Where is everyone? Out taking a walk...?"

The town may have offered little in the realm of trade, but they were a part of Ryke and didn't particularly drain the country either. For them to practically all but disappear was an unusual and alarming event in the mostly peaceful Ryke -- who'd mostly have the occasional bandit or goblin raid to worry about.

And indeed, as they approached during the day, they were greeted with serene scenery. They rode through a grassy field with forest and mountain off in the distance. One could see quite far if anyone was to approach -- much to the carriage rider's relief. Guild jobs always came with the risk of being attacked as they headed into relatively dangerous areas. Though this place wouldn't really look it at a glance -- having an air of a quaint and quiet area, one might consider going to retire. Though soon, the fields would begin to narrow into an unpaved and beaten path.

Trees became more abundant. The terrain was becoming more rocky as they went.

"WOAH."

It was around here that the ride would come to a gradual and notable stop. It was to be expected. The group was to walk a part of the way.

A tap came from the top of the carriage. The Coachman spoke.

"Here's where we get off. Falkwood is that-a-way." The coachman pointed down the path. "It's about a twenty-minute walk. Shouldn't be too much for a bunch of adventurers, am I right?" He asked before getting down to business. "Anyway, here's how this'll work. I'll show up here in the morning tomorrow. Little after sunrise." The coachman said, motioning around them. Landmarks included two tall and skinny trees, some rocks, and a rather large lake off to the side. The view of mountains becoming much closer would be picturesque to many.

Though the attentive might notice something immediately. The closer it is they got, the quieter it was.....

"If you've got any last-minute burning questions, feel free to ask 'em. Otherwise I'll bugger off and leave you to it, yeah?" He didn't seem particularly eager to stay. But he'd linger a little while. Giving the opportunity to ask questions, just like he said. And giving them the opportunity to get the hell off his carriage.

Soon, they'd be on their own -- off to confront the unknown however they so saw fit.

Spoiler: OOC

Aiming for once a week. May post earlier if posts come early.

May post more than once during this round.

Normal movement distance is unlimited outside of combat until stopped.

Reconnaissance Unit I Maxxob
HP: 5/5 (B-Grade Vitality)
Heavy Armor D: 3/3

Helena Rugard Gwen_Temi
HP: 3/3 (D-Grade Vitality)
Heavy Armor F: 1/1

John LightningJay
HP: 6/6( A-Grade Vitality)
Heavy Armor B: 5/5
John is stricken with a peculiar condition. Perhaps he is fatigued from his last quests. Or has been beset by some unknown force. May only leverage up to B-Grade stats and C-Grade Abilities for effectiveness. Retains additional HP and Armor However....

Adonis Myunke
HP: 2/2 (E-Grade Character)

Darin Voider
HP: 3/3 (D-Grade Vitality)
Light Armor E: 2/2
Armor is overleveled. Only up to E-Grade Armor may be used....

 

[Myunke]

Adonis

Character Sheet
​

Titles: Mundane, Human, Wanted: Slave Traders

Skill Boosters: [Attentive Student] F
RP Goal: Starting process on getting rid of Wanted title.

Mentions: Maverick Six Maxxob Gwen_Temi LightningJay Voider

---

Everything was going according to plan.

Except… it wasn’t.

‘This isn’t good.’ Adonis had been on the run for weeks now—maybe even a month, who could say? Yet somehow, every time he slowed down, they managed to find him. It was starting to get real old. He sighed and rolled his eyes theatricly, ‘Why won’t they just give up... UGH!’ But that wasn’t even the worst of it. He was broke. And, as he’d learned rather quickly, you couldn’t just take things from market stalls or merchant wagons—not without consequences at least. Something about “laws” and “moral decency” or whatever. Which meant…

He needed money and fast.

Adonis would then vigorously nod his head to himself, ‘Yup. I’m a genius. Remote location? Check. Steady pay? Check. Still traveling? Double check. I’m practically running away while working. It’s genius!’ A wry smile crept across his face… though deep in his gut, unease was settling like a bunch of rocks drowning in the riverbed. He shouldn't lie to himself—plenty could go wrong. ‘Like… what if they show up?’ Two days ago, he’d finally slowed down long enough to enter town and look for food.

Growl...

Speaking of which Adonis was currently still hungry—not starving—but definitely not fed. His brow twitched at the recollection of the happenings in the Guild, 'That guy sure did look at me funny when a wanted title poped up...' a single bead of sweat ran down his face, 'I didn't even know I had that... Where the hell did it come from anyways?'

Opening his eyes, he glanced around the cart, ‘Surely there’s some food in here... right?’ There were a few sacks and totes seceured to the wagon, but his gaze flicked toward the coachman’s back and he shook his head. No. He’d learned that lesson already. Stealing was bad. (Though, to be fair… he was very good at it.) His eyes wandered to the landscape rolling past the wagon. Maybe if an animal happened to wander by, he could try his luck. Nothing too fancy. Just… something to nibble on. The thought alone made him salivate. But, alas, thoughts didn’t fill your stomach. For now, he’d just have to suck it up. The job would pay something, and with any luck, that’d mean food. Real food. Like that skewer he saw at the vendor stall outside the Guild. ‘Ohhh, meat on a stick... how heavenly... Whoever thought that up must’ve been a prodigy.’

Soon, they arrived at the drop-off point. Adonis hopped down from the wagon, landing with a small bounce. He listened attentively as the coachman gave a short, informal briefing. “Twenty-minute walk… show up the next morning after sunrise… meet back here…” Adonis mumbled the words under his breath, committing them to memory, before suddenly straightening up and exclaiming, “Got it! Sounds good! A twenty-minute walk doesn’t sound too bad.” With zero hesitation, he pulled one leg up behind him and started stretching, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, already eager to move.

He glanced over at the rest of the group, half-expecting them to linger, maybe ask questions, maybe hesitate. ‘Not me… I’m ready to do some investigatoring!’ His grin widened. ‘Haha… that kind of sounds like gator… Oh, that’s a good one. I should write that down.’

---

Step one: run. Step two: work. Step three: profit.
(Somewhere between steps two and three: meat on a stick.)

 

[LightningJay]

John

​

Mentions: Maverick Six Maxxob Gwen_Temi Voider Myunke

After their previous adventure, John found himself travelling with Helena as the two headed back to the country of Ryke. Upon returning, they then embarked on yet another new adventure from the adventurer's guild. All to keep the money coming, John supposed.

Before leaving for the quest, John would alter his black gi such that it resembled a more normal looking villager clothing using [Disguise F]. It was more comfortable this way, and at least people wouldn't mistake him for an expert martial artist when he was just an ordinary villager. (Had to let everyone know that of course, so they don't go expecting too much of him.)

He also purchased training equipment from a travelling merchant - heavy iron bands designed to be strapped around the wrists and ankles. Unfortunately, he left the keys to unlock them back at the tavern inn, so he had to keep em on the entire adventure. (May only leverage up to B-Grade stats and C-Grade Abilities for effectiveness. Retains additional HP and Armor.)

Along the carriage ride, John pondered over the contents of the quest. An entire town having completely vanished without a single trace? The whole thing was odd. What if there was some powerful entity behind the whole thing?! He had a flashback to his previous adventure, when he overestimated his own abilities and charged in recklessly at the enemy leader and almost had his mind taken over by them.

Fear and doubt crept into his mind for a moment as he was reminded once again of how weak he was as a mere ordinary villager, but he shook himself out of it. That's right, even if he was quite possibly the weakest one in the group (especially with those weights on), he still had reliable looking allies by his side. Surely they could make this work!

Once the group would finally reach their destination, Adonis was the first to speak up. He seemed all cheery and excited. Was this his first adventure perhaps? "I like that. Keep up that positive energy and I'm sure we'll be beating up the bad guys in no time!" John flashed Adonis a grin, before turning to the coachman. "Humm... No questions from me either. I'll leave the questions to the smart ones like Helena over here." He said, gesturing to the summoner lady.

 

[Gwen_Temi]

Helena Rugerd
​

As the carriage approached its final destination, Helena went over the scant resources that she'd gathered for, well, herself and John, at least.

"Alright, let's see..." the budget was tight, but she figured she had all of the bases covered for the both of them. She'd take a moment to review her inventory, "Two days' worth of rations? Check. Rope? Check. Two lanterns with spare oil? Check. Two sleeping bags? Check. Hmm..."

She put a hand to her chin; a bit of doubt painted across her face.

"I feel like I'm missing a dozen things, but we should be able to make due for one night, all things considered."

She had a recognized Champion of the Fae See at her side after all... not that she had any plans to tell any of the others. Helena wasn't entirely sure why he wanted to keep that a secret, but as long as his fists continued to generate tornado force winds on command she had no qualms playing along with the "regular dude" bit that he had a penchant for. Wasn't quite as much of an act for her, but maybe one day she'd be able to join in on the humble performance.

When the carriage began to slow, she'd load up on her gear. As one of the new faces, Adonis, began to speak he... well, he reminded her of John a bit, to be honest. Optimistic. Energetic. Big smile. Bit of an airhead. Good people. And, when she heard her name, she'd gather up John's things and bring them over to him.

"Here, put these on. Might not need them, but we'll end up regretting not having them if we do." Then, she'd turn to the others, "When you've got all of your things together, let's get a move on. We've only got 24 hours. 16 if we actually intend to get some sleep in tonight... which I most certainly do."

She'd nod confidently on that last point.

"We all know each other's names and we all know why we're here. But, before we get into the thick of it, let's make our strengths known as well. I've got an eye for investigation and some skill with summoning. I like to think that I'm pretty good at strategizing if need be, too, but I'm not much of a fighter. In contrast... John's humble, but he can handle himself alot better in a fight than you'd think."

Presumably far better than any of them would expect if his disguise was doing its job.

"Adonis? Darin? Reconnaissance Unit? What are you all bringing to the table? Let's make our strengths known, shall we?"

A simple question to give both herself and everyone there not only an idea of the party's strengths, but the strengths that everyone there saw within themselves. The better they knew each other, the better they could make use of everyone's strengths when needed.

Whenever the group was ready, she'd join them as they began their journey towards the Falkwood Village.

 

[Maxxob]

Reconnaissance Unit I

Titles: [Construct], [Offworlder], [Businessman]
Languages: "Common", "%Analog%" - #2a60e8
Features: Threads, Resilient F [Fatigue/Ehxaustion], Attentive Student F
RP Goal: Asset - Connection to Ryke Merchant Guild F

Maverick Six Myunke LightningJay Gwen_Temi

It probably was an odd sight: a hulking machine, with threads, being transported inside a wagon. Having heard the reports about what the whole request entailed, the man who appeared in the shimmering screen showed little in the manner expression aside from a raised eyebrow. 'Disappearing villagers and no corpses around? Clearly a sign of a recession.' The businessman thought to himself, believing that they might as well have found greener pastures elsewhere. But he would rather not cash-out of Ryke entirely: its rather peaceful Status Quo was as a base of operations.

During the trip, while the occasional whirring of gears could be heard from inside the construct, its speakers were mostly mute. And the mustachioed man seemed to have his attention drawn to a stack of papers which every once in a while someone, who never quite appeared fully on the display, handed it to him. That however didn't mean that the machine mic wasn't working and picking up every bit of sound that his 'colleagues' did.

When the wagon finally came to a stop, the man lift up his eyes from the papers at the same time that the construct's threads began to move. The wagon groaned slightly under its moving weight and rolling down the ramp. The threads would then move in opposing directions, so that both display and the blinking red camera on top of it could face the adventurers.

"Sleeping is unnecessary for this unit. If it comes to the point that you are all exhausted to keep going, 'Reconnaissance Unit I' can keep guard." Finally, the crisp voice would leave the speakers, tone neither amicable nor too cold, but analytical. "I'm an expert in seeing upward and downward trends in the market, though I doubt that will be useful in this scenario." He continued, a small grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "In the right context, I can be quite the motivator. And I suppose some of my speaking skills will translate to 'over there' even when I'm not there in person."

The right-arm of the machine would rise, in a hiss, rather sharp grippers twisting left and right momentarily. "As for this unit, it is rather decent in combat, sturdy and quite fast for its size and weight." The man in the 'magic painting' moved, elbows propping themselves somewhere, chin resting on a balled fist momentarily. "Please, do call me James." He finally introduced himself properly.

 

[Voider]

Darin​

​

Equipped Titles: [Beast], [Adept Marksman], [Sentry], [Ryken Adventurer F], [Marsh Marching]

Mentions: Maverick Six , Maxxob , Gwen_Temi , LightningJay , Myunke

"Common" "<Beastial>" Thoughts

RP Goal: Hone skills & advance status in the Adventurer's Guild​

---

As the carriage bumped along the road, Darin peered out the window, a single thought swirling through his mind since he first read the guild's posting of the job. Great, another haunted village. He didn't particularly want to [Get Looped] again, but between that experience and the icy dead end that was his most recent adventure... well, suffice it to say that his funds were reaching an alarming low.

Which, of course, brought the marksman's mind back to the task at hand, and the group he found himself joining. The humans seemed fine enough to him, but with every creak of the carriage, Darin couldn't stop himself from repeatedly glancing at the hulking machine among them. This... definitely can't be safe. Alas, his concern for the wood's integrity appeared to be for naught, as the coachman eventually brought their uneventful trip to a halt. Waiting for the others to step off first, he ensured the lantern he'd bought from town was still securely tied to his coat, before hastily hopping off last, each foot landing onto the rocky path in quick succession.

Immediately, Darin unshouldered the firearm from his back, taking a long, contemplative look over the weapon. Then, pulling back the hammer and aiming arbitrarily in the distance, a squeeze of the trigger resulted in flint striking empty flash pan, a hollow clack sounding out. With a brief upturn of the lips and a nod to himself, the lizard pulled out a small, wooden bottle from his bandolier, eyes flicking upwards to the coachman. "Understood." A pause, as he focused on pouring a dark black powder into the barrel. "When you return here tomorrow morning, how long will you wait should we not immediately appear?" It was vital to know their window of opportunity, and was probably one of the few questions that would receive a meaningful answer.

Returning the bottle to it's place, Darin's attention was drawn back to the mage looking woman—Helena—addressing them all. He gave a short wave of the hand, a neutral expression upon his face. "About ready to go over here, though I doubt I'll be sleeping." Retrieving a lead ball and polished ram rod, the half-muffled sounds of metal scraping metal provided an audible background to his next words. "I've done [Sentry] work before, so I don't intend to let any threats go unnoticed. ...And of course, if we end up needing anything shot at, that's my specialty; I can work with melee if need be, but I avoid that if I can."

Finishing the carefully, almost reverently slow reload, Darin finally shifted the musket in his arms to a low but ready position, gazing at the not-so-distant mountains. "I'll take the rear on our approach. It gives more room for the melee fighters up front while I make sure nothing comes up behind us."

---

[Get Looped] - Darin has visited and discovered the lost, cursed village of Lupinvale
(Darin doesn't have the title equipped, but considering I'm just using it as a funny reference, hopefully it's fine.)

[Sentry] - Darin excels at guard duty and is likely to be tasked with it a lot. Darin inspires a sense of safety and rest-assuredness.​

 

[Maverick Six]

Traveling to Village​

---

Time: Day

If Life were a video game, this would be the main menu music

The coachman watched the group as he requested. "Glad his big ass is off my coach." He mumbled quietly to himself as he took a moment to survey his surroundings. Despite having no formal affiliation with the guild, he took the jobs and seemed experienced enough to not let his guard down. He wasn't an adventurer in the typical sense, but that didn't mean he couldn't a target.

Once they were off, the man was open to questions, to which the group had none. No surprise there. His knowledge was mostly limited to what stage coach would know. How to drive, the lay of the land and what direction he was going. As Adonis gave his summary of what he said, he nodded. "Yup. You got it my man." As John spoke, he nodded. Didn't seem the brains of the outfit. It seemed like that was to be Helena -- at least form his perspective.

So his attention turned towards her. Seemed like she didn't have any questions and immediately started to talk shop. However, there was one moment in which he felt the need to speak, seeking to correct himself.

Not only this but a question came from the lizardman, and it lead him to interject as opposed to leave immediately.

"Woah there lil' lady. I'll show up the day after that too. And for a little while. But if you don't come back after say, three days, I'll start assuming your dead and head back. Worse comes to worse, you'll have to walk back to the town. That-a-way." He says, pointing towards whence they came. Though that would be several likely painful hours away.

"So to answer your question Darin-my-man, I'll be out here most of the day. Unless something tries to kill me. I got a sword and shield here next to me. But I'm turning tail more often than not if that happens." He pats them. There were right next to him, really to be drawn at any time in case anything went sideways.. The group couldn't see it from this angle, but they were well kept from a lack of any use. And he intended to keep it that way.

"Try not to bring any trouble back, eh?" He said, speaking with a tint of humor, despite the truth in his request.

He spoke again to finish answering the question.

"Nother thing. I won't linger around during the night, though. That's bad news in general. But I've heard it's especially bad news, according to your request. But I know bout as much of that as you all do." After all, figuring out what happened was their job.

Spoiler: OOC

Note: Movement distance is unlimited outside of combat in distance. Unique movements require the ability to use them, however. And those skills-enhancing base movement are still faster and other movement skills are uniquely capable.

Reconnaissance Unit I Maxxob
HP: 5/5 (B-Grade Vitality)
Heavy Armor D: 3/3

Helena Rugard Gwen_Temi
HP: 3/3 (D-Grade Vitality)
Heavy Armor F: 1/1

John LightningJay
HP: 6/6( A-Grade Vitality)
Heavy Armor B: 5/5
Anchored weights inhibit John's Effectiveness. From this burden, he may yet grow stronger later. Unfortunately, he forget the keys to weights at the tavern inn. May only leverage up to B-Grade stats and C-Grade Abilities for effectiveness. Retains additional HP and Armor however....

Adonis Myunke
HP: 2/2 (E-Grade Character)

Darin Voider
HP: 3/3 (D-Grade Vitality)
Light Armor E: 2/2
Armor is overleveled. Only up to E-Grade Armor may be used....

 

[LightningJay]

John

Mentions: Maverick Six Maxxob Gwen_Temi Voider Myunke​

Retrieving the items from Helena, John uttered his thanks before she started kicking off the introductions. When she mentioned how John could handle himself well in a fight, the boy shook his head. "Ahhh nonono, I'm just slightly above average at best."

Damn it... John sighed, already regretting boasting his previous feats to Helena. In fact, most of it was just a fabricated lie to impress her! No, he didn't fend off a thousand bug monsters in pitch black darkness! It was more of an embarrassing beatdown where John was flailing around helplessly all while getting jumped by just 3 of them. Being granted the title of 'Champion of Holy Air' was nothing more than a mere consolation prize! He probably had to tell her the truth eventually, but not here in front of everyone.

Next to speak was James, who seemed like a rich business man who was piloting the robot elsewhere from the safety of his room. Strange... Even a business man was interested in the field of adventuring. Did it really pay that well compared to just focusing on growing his own business? John raised an eyebrow as he thought to himself.

And up next was the lizard guy, who seemed more of a range type combatant with his gun. The roles and the team formation seemed pretty clear at this point, aside from Adonis who had yet to explain his abilities.

"So I guess I'll be taking the front alongside James here." He nodded at the construct. "From what we know of the request, this 'ghost' we're trying to bust will most likely show up during night time. So most likely we'll spend the day searching for clues to find out what happened to the villagers, as well as any hints to the ghost's identity and its weaknesses, yea?" John folded his arms as he spoke his thoughts aloud. "For starters, maybe its weak to light, making it only active at night time?"

 

[Gwen_Temi]

Helena Rugerd
​

Of the three who spoke up, "James" was by far the most unusual. From the way he was talking, it sounded less like he was a construct and more a man somewhere far away broadcasting commands into a machine. Her brow would visibly furrow at his words, but she decided that the questions brewing in the back of her mind were likely best saved for a moment where they had far less work to do.

As for John's thoughts?

"Yeah. That sounds about right to me. Look for signs of struggle, odd tracks, or anything else out of the ordinary." she paused for a moment, "Oh, and a map. We're most likely going to find one of those at an Inn, so I suggest that we make our way over to the first one we see. We might find some more food there as well. This quest might last us a bit longer than I initially thought..."

Helena would slowly drift to a position behind John- and James if he agreed with the former's thoughts- as they made their way towards the town.

"John? James? I don't want either of you to feel as though you have to take any unnecessary risks. If you ever feel that we're moving into dangerous territory, stop and let me know. My summoning isn't particularly powerful yet, but summons have more value than just in their ability to fight. They can set off traps, scout, take bullets for us, and otherwise take the brunt of any misfortune we're likely to incur from stumbling about into unknown territory. And I'd prefer that they do if it comes to it."

As they drew closer to the town, Helena would fall ever-more quiet. With a cautious, analytical eye, she would scan the area for any noteworthy details she could find. Property damage. Odd tracks leading out of the town in the direction from which they'd just come. General supernatural phenomenon that shouldn't be happening. Perhaps some occult markings. But, most importantly, she'd try to spot a sign marking the nearest Inn; a detail that most would probably notice as soon a they entered most towns.

That was usually the best place to begin an adventure, wasn't it?

Spoiler

Actions (2/3):
1) Continue to advance towards the edge of the town just behind the front line.
2) Used [Amateur Sleuth] to survey the area as they arrive in search of any noteworthy details and, most importantly, a sign pointing them all in the direction of the nearest Inn.
​

[Amateur Sleuth]- Appraisal F, Arcana F, Investigation F- Helena scans the area with her analytical mind in search of useful details that might help with her current quest.