Fantasy &nbsp; Tales of Raeligard

RedArmyShogun · Sep 12, 2022

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oyten

Once more the hand of chaos seemed to move in upon the group as Thea allowed the Caskarieth to have her way with the map sketching, though it did cause her to frown a bit, she wasn't an artist but it wasn't that bad, still Lucia had done a good job from what she seen of it as she says her piece and Sakura quickly follows with some of her own ramblings. Looking first at Lucia the knight gives a bit of a sigh. "As I said Lucia, our lives stand above it, however if we just kill a creature believed to be extinct, do not be surprised when we do not get a Hero's Welcome but are in fact penalized. While my belief in the Goddess is absolute, do not mistake my intentions to take the creature alive as being as I fear the wrath of the Goddess, any such folk religion can even be seen as heresy."

Next was Sakura's plan which Thea was immediately annoyed with, more so as she seemed intent on calling out for who they had just dismissed. "Sakura, the protectors of the people do not press them into service to build fortifications unless there is a damn good reason, and this is not one of those. They could have and did go behind the mayors back to solve this issue. We do not have the time nor sure help to set up a pit and to craft a net, never mind all of the other points of your plan, the fact we are after a skilled climber AND that the Soil is constantly damp from all the rain that falls on this jungle like landscape."

Then there was Falco. He seemed to have a lot to say and a good deal of it, judging by his last words had been triggered by Hyss. But the part that made her face palm was when he loudly declared, "And I have only grown faster and deadlier under the warm embrace of the The Pegasus’s bosom..."

What in the Goddess's name was wrong with this team? Still, he had spirit, even if that spirit was suicidal. She wasn't about to point out that his team got a bit fucked up and one of the combatants abandoned the guild. He was still here, that was important, right? She also knew if she didn't act on this quickly, things would go to shit once more.

With that train of thought in mind she gives a nod to Falco and speaks up, clasping her armored gauntlets together in a half clap. "Very well, we shall use you as bait if it comes to that, for now we'll go with the idea of keeping within eyesight of one another, a light spread. We shall head for the worksite, see what we have to work with and do a light scouting of the immediate area to see if the beast makes itself known. A couple of us can stay together to set up camp if any are willing, I'm not above staying in its lair to coax it out. Killing, capturing, things like that can wait till we have done this reconnaissance. Feel free to poke around and see if the beast takes an interest in you, I have the upmost confidence that you will survive."

And with that Thea starts the walk to the worksite, picking up her traveling pack she was not interested in delaying any longer. Though she highly doubted they would make contact with the beast so soon. Additional orders would come when and if they did. Till that time, she just wanted to press on and gain a feel for the lay of the land.

Interactions:

Topless · Sep 13, 2022

Location: Oyten

Even if she isn't showing it, Sakura could not help but feel saddened that Thea shot down at the idea she had proposed. Sure it isn't time sensitive and would require some convincing, but to say that they're on their own is probably a good reason why. Deep down, Sakura coped. On the other hand, Falco offered to be bait and Thea accepted, albeit reluctantly. Sakura felt worried for his well-being. This is a beast that almost killed someone and Falco could absolutely be killed if he'd slipped up.

"Falco, you really want to do one for the team?" Sakura asked "I'd admire your bravado, but this is not like what we did the first time. For some reason, I'm very worried about you." There was a long pause and after Thea made her move, Sakura said "And you know what? I think it would be best if I accompany you from the shadows, just in case you make a slip up."

Thalia_Neko · Sep 13, 2022

Currently: discussing the plan
Thinking: "It's too risky to act as bait.. Find another or think of something else."

Location: Oyten
Interacting: everyone on the oyten mission

AnonyMouse
Mentions:

Hyss' eyes flicked over to Thea and she frowned beneath her hood. Payment? Why on earth would they pay when they were the ones who were called out here to do a job? Maybe that stemmed from Thea's supposed 'knightly' background. Chivalry and all that? Then again, since when were knights forced to pay anything to anyone? Then her eyes flicked over to Falco, hearing his response. Her eyebrow raised. What was he on about?

Hyss almost wanted to explain she wasn't an 'adventurer', but kept her mouth shut. Instead, she found herself being given some answers to her questions that had seemed so "annoying" to the person. Yet, here she was answering them! And Hyss found herself feeling grateful, so a pleasant look befell her facial features.

It seemed the behavior of this beast was dictated by the forest somehow. It was apparently a boogeyman. One who enacted punishments if the forest deemed it do so. While the notion sounded silly, Hyss was a bit superstitious. When one worshipped "pagan"-like religions, then one tended to believe strange, supernatural things such as this. After all, Hyss believed she had been blessed by the Drowned God. Actually, maybe any religion was similar, as Hyss had already become familiar with some of the practices of those who worshipped the Goddess Aurelia.

Still, it sounded odd.. This beast was here as some sort of retribution? Hyss frowned. Then perhaps they should just leave it. After it finished up delivering its retribution surely it -the forest- would feel satisfied and the Shadowlyger would depart of its own accord. At which point their job would be done.

Thea reprimanded her for asking questions. Hyss glanced her way, raising her eyebrow again. Why hold back questions? Even if the one before them couldn't answer them, you wouldn't know that without asking... Maybe Thea wasn't as competent as the Beastkin thought. Finally, the hooded Hyss bowed to Maryl then turned to go with the others.

"Jumpy?" Hyss's face furrowed. All because she considered her own life in such things? "Naturally I am. Have you seen me? I don't wear heavy armors. I lack physical power, and physique. I've learned I need to be protect myself in other ways. Shame is for fools. I do not intend to fall victim to it. I do what I must to survive."

"In the case of the Shadowlyger, they didn't say extinct. She said she didn't believe the thing existed. Though you're probably right about the guild knowing what was here." Hyss didn't like that. Withholding information only made things more dangerous and risky. She wasn't here to be 'tested', nor did she like these tests. She was here to learn.

"It's Hys..." She paused. The Beastkin had been about to correct Lucia out of habit, but being referred to so respectfully, and with a genuine attempt at saying her name was a pleasant surprise. Plus, it seemed at least one of them had sense. "As you've pointed out, I seem to be a prime target -unless you take the whole punishment angle into account, as I have done nothing to this place. However, I have no desire to offer myself as bait. I have no intention of putting myself in harm's way. To me, that isn't a good enough plan to execute. At best the plan succeeds perfectly and I'm unharmed simply because of my own skillful reflexes. At worst I die. In between, I'm injured to some extent and the plan either succeeds or doesn't. There's only one good outcome here. It isn't good enough to risk myself."

Sakura had spoken up about the trap she had in mind. It only seemed somewhat reasonable. A pitfall trap was a good trap against general enemies or predators, but something that attacked from the trees? How would it manage to fall in a hole in the ground? That was about when Falco offered himself as bait -making all breath and effort she put in denying such a position not just worthless, but seemingly spineless. Regardless, Hyss frowned. "You done?" she mumbled to the boy after he did quite a bit of boasting -and also shameless bravado. "Really?" she questioned his claim he fought some infamous assassin an won without issue. And that he was even better than that skirmish. Hyss' eyes sharpened at Thea, glaring ice-cold daggers at her under her hood. Thea's ability, expertise, and judgment had quickly diminished in the small snake's eyes. What she said to Falco made it even worse. Why did she have any faith he'd make it out fine? In what way did she have confidence in him? Where was that confidence coming from? No, Thea just wanted to present herself as 'leader', she wasn't truly thinking about her companions in any way. She shot down Sakura without so much as a discussion, too.

Softening her gaze somewhat, she instead turned to Falco. "Look. It isn't smart. You shouldn't do this either. If you're thinking about what I said earlier -- this isn't what I meant," Hyss said to him. "Even if 'bait' of sorts is necessary, we should be smart about it. Saying 'I'll be fine' isn't a plan, at all. And while our 'leader' is fine just going with the flow and sitting back saying 'Eh, go for it, I believe in you. You got this!' I don't have such callous faith. You're a dear comrade Falco, your safety matters more to me than completing our mission." Though, Hyss also wanted desperately to complete their mission, so while it was the truth, saying so actually turned her stomach a bit.

"We need to think of a way to complete our mission, with as little risk as possible." She stated, eyes sweeping the group. That's how Hyss operated. Or how she wanted to, but some people seemed to make that harder than necessary... for reasons she couldn't understand.

TreasureSniper · Sep 15, 2022

Interaction: Team B

As soon as the party exited the warehouse, four more of these terrible creatures continued to pursue. While they were hesitant to exit the warehouse at first, one of the lightly bigger Holzekt blazed a trail by finally venturing into the light, paving a way for the others to follow. Talio couldn't help but grin at his first taste of the action from the Krieglowen life. Bugs weren't exactly the most interesting opponents but weren't bad for a first mission. Now that they were in a brightly lit and open area, the bugs seemed much less threatening, showing the importance of lighting.
Brandishing one of his blades, Talio would replace one of the vials inside his blades' gas ejection system, switching out the venom for a vial of pesticide, something he carried with him at all times. He keeps one in the belt as a "sample" unit, though he rarely had an opportunity to field test this version. "I'll take the big one...back me up!" The merchant announced to his team, racing forward to throw the severed head of the previous Holzekt towards it, managing to get not only his attention but the other bugs as well. As soon as he got close enough, he began spraying the bugs with his pesticide. While other bugs seemed to be disoriented by this, it wasn't as effective on the slightly larger one. After using up his entire vial, Talio would throw his blade forward with the force of his Magitek arm, causing it to violently glow yellow, indicating that it was on the verge of overheating. Though, it might have looked like something else for his teammates who were not privy to the merchant's prosthetic.

The thrown blade implanted itself onto the creature's carapace, however, the blade did not penetrate the shell deep enough to kill the creature. "Damn...bad angle...." he muttered under his breath while getting a good close and personal look at the Holzekt pouncing towards him. Seeing no other choice, Talio winded up his magitek arm, overcharging it on purpose before delivering a powerful, explosive uppercut towards the pouncing bug. Upon impact, the bug would be sent flying backward, with its head bent in an unnatural and fatal position, landing on the ground with great force, splattering some of its guts onto the floor. Talio stood his ground, with a limp magitek arm. Unsheathing his other blade, with his one good arm, he took a defensive stance, hoping that his other teammates would be able to cover for him. Though it's pretty clear that he wasn't in the best shape to fight the others.

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Sep 15, 2022

interaction:

RedArmyShogun

EmperorsChosen

Well one thing was explained why the creature was wanted alive the mayor was incredibly superstitious thats why he didn't want whatever this thing was to be hurt frankly risax was fairly sure it would be the legendary monster it just seemed like it would be there luck to be that thing. Since so far they seemed to have hit a strong of poor luck ever since they arrived here. But as they'd been told right now they just needed to follow the data... and see what they find with the questioning exhausted their was only one place really left to go. The forest itself.

Of course their was talking of baiting the creature thea offering herself though if this thing was smart enough it would probably ignore her far too heavy and probably himself as well again far too heavy for something to effectively lift. But it was falco to offer himself as the bait for their plan "your selflessness is admirable Falco you might very well be the best bet as bait in a sense“ risax paused after that hyss voicing her concerns as the arachne simply shook his head. "look the simple matter is hyss we don't know anything beyond what we've been told before we can form a plan we need to see if we can encounter this thing ourselves otherwise their may be more danger if we scare it off with an ill fated trap making our lives significantly harder"

ERode · Sep 16, 2022

Location: Outside Heine Warehouse 4

There certainly sounded like a lot was happening downstairs. Lots of fighting, yelling, and general hubbub. There was also the feeling that maybe Lori should have hopped down and helped them, rather than staying on the roof, a feeling that increased further and further as she realized that her genius plan to bait the holzekts out of the warehouse with one of their dead would be foiled the instant any of her co-workers went and killed one of them.

She was relieved then, when Lupa burst out of the front door, followed by everyone else. Though they looked bloodied and more than a little bit beaten up, no one looked like they were in a bad enough condition that they’d have to stop working, and Talio even did a real cool punch move that sent one of the bigger insects flying!

One out of the many more that were now crawling out.

“Alright, time to get to work!”

One pellet loaded into and fired off with a crack of her slingshot, bouncing off the carapace of a larger holzekt! Another pebble flew out with rapid speed, striking the dirt beside a smaller one. Huh, could it be? Was it actually pretty hard to hit small bugs with inaccurate rocks? Lori screwed her face up. If only they were something bigger, like bears or cougars…but she supposed that she’d just be running away from those too.

So once again, there was the conundrum. Except it wasn’t much of a conundrum, really. If even Endy looked like he did, she really couldn’t be slacking off, right? Ignoring that this wasn’t part of their job at all.

“Hup!”

Lori leapt off, positioned her feet, and landed on two larger holzekts, her talons cracking through the hardened carapaces like a sledgehammer through a watermelon. The splatter was as intense too, and the birdfolk courier immediately let out a shriek at just how nasty it felt, even through the dulled nerves that existed in her feet. Everything was so slimy and spicy, and it sure didn’t help that now all the smaller ones were going after her too.

Two more big ones, a whole bunch of small ones, and a Lori that…

Well actually, she could probably be fine now. It was like jumping into cold water, wasn’t it? If cold water was a swarm of bugs instead. Felt super nasty to start with, but after a while, you got used to it. So since it was so effective with a jump, it was clear what she had to do now.

She began to run in circles, and the trail of smaller holzekts that chased after her started becoming a snake that ate its own tail. Except the snake’s head was Lori. And the snake’s mouth was her feet.

Stomp stomp stomp.

Crunch crunch crunch.

“I can keep this up all day, guys!” Lori waved, dimpled cheeks blemished by insect juices. “Just finish off the big ones!”

lunar_moth · Sep 16, 2022

OUTSIDE HEINE WAREHOUSE 4

“Oh, for the love of— I’m getting kind of- tired! Of! You!”

Stumbling to a stop outside the warehouse’s doors, Endymion scrambles to fit himself closer to Talio, whose valiant efforts to fight off the remaining Holzekts have left him looking- er, worse for wear. Endymion’s moving too quickly to get a good look at him, using his staff a bit like one from a different time period might use a hockey stick, to smack away the little ones that lunge at his feet. Each word is punctuated by a swipe at the bugs chittering below him. Fortunately, Lori’s got the most of them covered — once he’s beaten two or three back, they’ve all been subdued and skittered off to join Lori’s demented merry-go-round.

Of course, there’s still a big ol’ one left. And it clicks and clatters maliciously whilst creeping ever closer.

“—You okay?” Endymion pants, once he’s within earshot of the merchant. Through flashes in his peripheral vision, Talio looks like he might be bleeding, or at least is exceptionally covered in bug guts; the light catches on his silhouette oddly.

The Holzekt chirps back. “Not talking to you,” Endymion says, and he punts the bug in the face with the heel of his shoe. Perhaps not the wisest move, but it stuns the beast enough that it reels back, snapping mandibles missing his foot, and begins to scrub its limbs over its beaten face. It’s possible he’s damaged something inside the bug’s head- it continues to move oddly and distractedly, and thank goodness, because that’s probably the only reason Endymion is able to land such another good blow: Crr-crunk!

The foot of his staff bumps against the ground. It’s smashed clean through the monster’s head, gone through an eye socket, and guts well up around the edges of the wound. The Holzekt continues to writhe and jerk. It’s not quite dead yet, but definitely not in stellar condition.

Endymion closes his eyes briefly and tries to summon another ounce of will from deep inside of himself. Ugh, here goes.

“Die, stupid bug! Ach— Die!—“ He spits out, pounding his staff in the same spot over and over to crush the bug’s head more thoroughly to bits. So gross. This is so gross. Horrible.

AnonyMouse · Sep 17, 2022

Falion "Falco" Cauphix

Location: Traveling into the woods...

"Very well, we shall use you as bait if it comes to that," Thea said.

Falco beamed with delight and pumped his fist victoriously. Finally, someone acknowledged his role! Finally, he would have a chance to prove himself! "I won't let ya down, boss. You can count on me," he said again, saluting her before swiftly turning his eyes to the map. He had to commit as much of it to memory as possible. The map -or maps, now-- would be best utilized by those who would support or cover him, not the 'bait.' However, he still wanted a general idea of the forest's layout, so he could know where to go, where to kite the beast, and where to retreat if things go to shit... which they almost certainly will. He was counting on it.

THE MAP:

The map showed very little in the way of landmarks. Although the Oytenrand Woods had a rich history, it was hardly a hotbed of civilization. There weren't any manmade points of interest and most of the natural landmarks were... well, trees. The Woods sprawled east-to-west for many, many miles beyond the small area they were working in. The map did not cover all of it and likely didn't need to. As they had been told many times, the Woods grew increasingly dangerous deeper in and it would be best not to venture beyond what was charted here.

The town of Oyten sat on the southern edge of the Oytenrand Woods, partially encircled by a seemingly-impenetrable wall of trees. The primary logging site was about an hour's walk northeast, via a well-traveled road, which they were currently following. It was wide enough for a landferry, but deeply rutted by the logs and heavy carts used to transport lumber to the sawmills in town. Oxen and draft horses were still the preferred way to move the fruits of their labor, due to the frequent rainfall and thick mud. They could, in theory, transport the creature this way, should they somehow manage to take it alive.

As for the logging site itself, it was a large, elongated clearing, situated near a pond or small lake. A stream ran from the northeast, meandering diagonally through the Oytenrand Woods. It was peppered with small waterfalls, marked on Maryl's map, and even cut through the logging site. This unnamed stream didn't seem very large or deep on the map, but they wouldn't know for sure until they put eyes on it. If someone were to become lost in the woods, the stream seemed like the best way to get one's bearings, or follow it back to the logging site. Otherwise, one could simply continue due south to reach the road they had used to travel from Tylsen, and follow that to Oyten.

Maryl's map also highlighted some natural points of interest. The one who had drawn this was a geology student, after all. These included the aforementioned waterfalls and even a large rock formation east-northeast of the logging site, which could serve as a shelter if the rain grew into something more severe. There was also a deep trench or crevasse about a mile south of the logging site. It ran east-west for a significant distance and ranged in depth from about a few feet to nearly twenty. This might be a good place for Sakura's pitfal trap, if they decided to revisit that idea. Unfortunately, most of the Iron Oaks and thicker, sturdier trees were clustered north of the logging site, so they would have to kite the best quite a ways to make use of the trench.

While he studied, their leader continued the briefing: "For now we'll go with the idea of keeping within eyesight of one another, a light spread. We shall head for the worksite, see what we have to work with and do a light scouting of the immediate area to see if the beast makes itself known. A couple of us can stay together to set up camp if any are willing, I'm not above staying in its lair to coax it out. Killing, capturing, things like that can wait till we have done this reconnaissance. Feel free to poke around and see if the beast takes an interest in you, I have the upmost confidence that you will survive."

By the time she finished, they were on the move, marching toward the logging site. According to what the Jacobee man had said, and Maryl's map, they still had an hour's walk ahead of them -- plenty of time to sort out the specifics of their plan. Though, frankly, Falco wasn't a fan of so much planning. It always fell apart anyway, so why bother? Then again, he wasn't used to working with people he could trust. Speaking of which...

"Falco, you really want to do one for the team?" Sakura asked. The soft sound of her voice snapped him back to reality. "I'd admire your bravado, but this is not like what we did the first time. For some reason, I'm very worried about you." She paused as they walked together. "And you know what? I think it would be best if I accompany you from the shadows, just in case you make a slip up."

"Of course," Falco said. "I... I was really hopin' you'd say that, Sakura." He lowered his voice as he continued: "I don't think I ever properly thanked you for savin' my ass in the sewer. If you hadn't put that arrow right between his eyes... well, Cressey and I probably..." Unfortunately, he was interrupted by Hyss...

"Look. It isn't smart. You shouldn't do this either. If you're thinking about what I said earlier -- this isn't what I meant," Hyss said.

Yet again, she wasn't making any sense. No, what you said is that you could dodge the beast, he thought, thinking back on their talk with Maryl and how Hyss had bragged about her reflexes. But, when I say the exact same thing --despite training to do precisely this-- it's 'not smart?' I just don't get you... he thought, his face scrunching up into confusion.

"Even if 'bait' of sorts is necessary, we should be smart about it. Saying 'I'll be fine' isn't a plan, at all. And while our 'leader' is fine just going with the flow and sitting back saying 'Eh, go for it, I believe in you. You got this!' I don't have such callous faith. You're a dear comrade Falco, your safety matters more to me than completing our mission," she said. "We need to think of a way to complete our mission, with as little risk as possible,"

"No, it's only part of a plan. I'm trying to minimize risk," Falco said, exasperated with her. He gave Sakura an apologetic frown before turning his full attention to the other girl. "Hyss, this beast is super aggressive -- it's gonna attack somebody. This way, we get to choose who it is, instead of letting it decide. We can only control what we can control." He was about to more thoroughly give her a piece of his mind, but Risax's calmness intervened.

"Your selflessness is admirable Falco you might very well be the best bet as bait in a sense,“ the arachne said "Look the simple matter is Hyss we don't know anything beyond what we've been told before we can form a plan we need to see if we can encounter this thing ourselves otherwise their may be more danger if we scare it off with an ill fated trap making our lives significantly harder."

Falco took a deep breath and calmed himself. "You're wastin' your time, man. She doesn't believe in me or you or even Thea. She wants a foolproof, ironclad, un-failable plan because she thinks we're all gonna royally fuck this up," Falco said with a shrug. "Which is fiiiiine. Really. I'm a fuck-up. Been fuckin' up my whole life. So, I get it. But...!" he winked at Hyss and shot her a thumbs up, "That's why I'm so good at keepin' calm under pressure and rollin' with the punches, baby!" In conclusion, he re-popped his popped collar. "I ain't gonna bother tellin' you 'I got this.' You'll see for yourself soon enough, Hoods."

Interaction(s):

RedArmyShogun (Thea) /

EmperorsChosen (Lucia) /

Thalia_Neko (Hyss) /

Topless (Sakura) /

Thalia_Neko · Sep 17, 2022

Currently: discussing the plan
Thinking: "Like usual, I'm completely ignored. Guess I'll just watch his back."

Location: Oyten
Interacting: everyone on the oyten mission

Huntertabbysandshark3
Mentions:

"While I want to succeed in our mission like everyone else, I'd rather make our lives harder than lose a valuable ally!" Hyss hissed in retort, flashing the spider a ice blue glare.

Next it was Falco to rebuke her. She frowned. 'Rollin' with the punches' he said. That was EXACTLY what she was afraid of -was against! Rolling with the punches against a giant mythological killer cat sounded like the worst possible thing anyone should be doing. But everyone -including Falco himself- was SO gung-ho about this particular idea that Hyss found she was nothing short of completely shut out; she couldn't speak about it anymore. So she simply shut up. Sure, forcing specific bait made sense. But she almost wished they didn't go that route and let the thing attack whatever it chose. That way if something did go wrong, then you could lay the blame on pure random chance. But no, even Hyss knew that was stupid. Having even a fraction of a plan was better than random chance. Fine then. Her eyes flicked over to Falco, watching his back. If he wanted to play some sort of stupid, cocky, foolish "hero", then Hyss would simply have to watch his back and defend him when they time came. At least Sakura was going to be doing so as well. The fox had a good head on her shoulders in that regard.

Falco was wrong about one thing. Hyss did trust the skills of those who she personally witnessed. Falco just hadn't shown her anything of note yet, so there was nothing to 'trust'. If anything, she largely felt he was nothing more than a normal, typical villager tagging along. Putting someone like that in the way of a huge beast seemed to be an incredibly dumb idea, but again, everyone else was all for it, so she held her tongue. She could only hope Falco had even a fraction of the skills he boasted about on repeat.

EmperorsChosen · Sep 18, 2022

Location: Oyten
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucia sighed a bit at Falco's theatrics. Honestly speaking, she agreed with Hysydice. The idea of using any of them as bait didn't sit all that well with her, and his bravado that he'd be fine didn't alleviate her worries. However, they were limited in their options. It was bait, or a trap of some kind, and no one seemed to be aware of a trap to use except Sakura, and she would require half the town be conscripted to do it.

Once again, scowled in displeasure at Thea's reply. "First, I sincerely doubt that we have miraculously stumbled upon the last of a species, especially of one that was believed to be a myth until now. I also cannot say I am all that wary of being penalized, by the guild or the town. In the worst case scenario, I'm sure they'll all learn to cope well enough with the knowledge that an aggressive, predatory and dangerous creature no longer exists to ambush them."

As they proceeded onward, the group descended into disagreement. Most everyone was worried with Falco volunteering to aggro the animal, with him rebuffing their criticisms. The snake was especially worked up. Lucia stayed out of it, yet it went on, and on, and on, with all of them. One particular line of Falco's earned a comment from the Caskarieth.

"She wants a foolproof, ironclad, infallible plan because she is afraid you or someone else will die," Lucia rebutted sternly. "That said, no one can make choices for another and our options are limited to this action or no action. You'll just have to be ready to assist if the creature attacks, Hysydice."

@A-team

RedArmyShogun · Sep 18, 2022

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oyten

With some irritation, Thea allowed all to say their peace before she herself spoke up, in a manner she hated being the commander of this mission, but on the other seeing the actions or the ideas and concerns of the rest, she was happy they weren't in command. Hyss seemed to disagree most with what she had to say, but the insinuations that she was aiming to just sacrifice Falco and the demands for a better plan was a bridge too far, more so with what she took as cowardly actions from Hyss and her lack of willingness to place herself in harm's way.

"Hyss.. Enough, that is more than enough. And this is to the rest of you as well, I do not allow Falco to do this on a whim or as I see him as expendable. I would do this myself and the only reason I do not is as the beast more like than not would be afraid of me from what we were told. Asides from Risax I am the tallest, the most armored and I have the largest blade of the group while that beast attacks the smallest and most vulnerable. Falco, I send or may send, is as he's the most reliable to do this job and he has chainmail and leather armor, which is better than the bare skin many of you have. I have the upmost confidence that he will do his duty.

And furthermore, if you are not willing to face some danger and want a perfect plan, you picked the wrong occupation. The Kriegslowe must face dangers that make lesser men and women wilt, we do the thankless and the heroic deeds. We are servants of the people and their Icons. And in this case, we will have to pay with some form of blood. If those of you cannot face that, then you should quit like those from the sewer that left."

With that said she stops in her tracks and takes a drink from her flask and speaks once more. "Orders stand. We will reach the worksite, investigate what little we can, spread out but within eyesight of one another and see if the beast is brazen enough to attack us there to get some idea of what we are up against. If you two wish to keep near Falco, then do so. I do not plan to get him carried off. Once we have some information, we will make up a better plan. If we can capture or kill the beast in the first go around, then so be it."

With that her attention switches to Lucia as she gives the other a stern stare. "We have a request and we will attempt to carry it out even if we may have to ultimately act against it. I wish for none of us to die or be badly harmed but that does not mean we shall sit comfortable and not earn our pay nor will we conscript half of the local population to set up a trap."

With that she walks onwards and glances back at Risax of note and makes some eye contact with the rest in general. "Risax, I want to know how much webbing you can make and how much rope the rest of you have if any. Keep an eye out for the hunters and anything odd at the worksite. I am not an expert at hunting, but I do know how to make a leg or neck snare. We'll also need to set up camp and likely set up a sleep watch. This job is unlikely to be done in one day and the hunters or observer may like to catch us unawares to teach a lesson. If any of you have some forms of sedatives or some knowledge of flora let me know."

Interactions:

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Sep 18, 2022

interaction:

RedArmyShogun

EmperorsChosen

Falco response made Risax chuckle he wasn't at all wrong there, it did seem that hyss basically wanted an iron clad plan, but with how the group had been doing that wouldn't exactly be possible especially with the. "Your rebuttal is noted hyss but frankly we've got zero information to actually plan upon beyond having stories and idea of how the beast attacks your concern is appreciated but putting ourselves in harms way is part of the job description" risax replied to the snake girl his tone somewhat annoyed with how she was acting at this point.

His attention turned to thea as she had directed a question towards him. "I currently? 30 odd meters of proper quality webbing miss thea I can set up a few properties snares, and in regards to sedatives aside from my own vemon that will most likely have ill effects on the beast im unsure"

AnonyMouse · Sep 21, 2022

Falion "Falco" Cauphix

Location: Oytenrand Woods, logging site

A few minutes into their journey, the group came upon a pair of guards sitting by the side of the trail. The two men appeared to be having an early lunch. They glanced up from their sandwiches when they saw the cluster of adventurers approaching and one of the men stood to block their path: "Halt, the forest is off-limits to...... oh, I see," he trailed off as realization set it. The man stepped aside and bowed dutifully. "Happy hunting, Kriegslowen. May the goddess guide you steps."

Hmmm... no wonder those hunters and the elf got through, Falco thought as the two men faded away behind them. Small town, low security. The mayor likely had a few others stationed around the town to keep people from venturing into the woods, but Oyten had no wall or gate. The trees were dense, but someone who knows this region well could likely find their way around, via animal runs and such. It was all foreign to a city boy like him, but he could imagine.

This seemingly inconsequential encounter with the guards changed the tone of things. They were now well and truly beyond Oyten's borders. They were now in the Oytenrand woods and the weight of what Falco had agreed to do began to settle upon his narrow shoulders. That thing was out here, somewhere, and could attack at any moment, with little or no warning. No... not yet, he reminded himself. The trees aren't sturdy enough here, he thought, recalling Maryl's map. And the attacks took place beyond the worksite, not this close to town. He was still 'safe'.... for now.

Keep calm or you're gonna burn yourself out, he told himself. Slow, steady breaths. Head on a swivel, eyes up. Don't let 'em see ya sweat. They already think you can't do this.

Easier said than done. The himidity was through the roof. The rain came and went as they trudged onward, ocasionally rising to a heavy downpour only to taper off again. Even when it ceased, a thick, misty miasma lingered in the air. Falco found sticking close to the side of the logging trail allowed him to take shelter under the tree branches. The mud and ruts were also less of an issue there. But nowhere was ever truly 'dry' here and, when the rain really picked up, even this offered little to no protection.

After an hour or so of walking, the trail began to widen considerably. It was gradual at first but, before long, it exploded outward into a massive, linear clearing. They had arrived at the logging site, a sprawling quagmire of mud-encrusted stumps and felled logs. Old straw and tree clippings were thrown down in some places, to provide walking paths through the muck. But, as the Jacobee man had warned, felling trees destabilizes the ground, causing mudslides, and evidence of that was everywhere here. There was very little grass left to speak of.

The site looked as if it had been abandoned quickly. It was clear the loggers expected to return to work the next day, only to have the Mayor abruptly shut down operations. Axes and saws were left dangling from racks. Tent flaps were left open. A large cooking pot, overflowing with rainwater, dangled over wet coals and soggy ashes near the camp's center. Everything was left awaiting a next shift, which never showed up, and never would until the Kriegslowen finished their work. Falco felt the absence of people was eerie, despite knowing exactly where they had gone and why. Taking the mystery out of it didn't make it any less creepy.

The area was large enough that they could probably spend upwards of an hour investigating this place, but was it even worth it? The attacks had taken place deeper into the forest, beyond the frontlines of Oyten's logging operations. This place was merely a base camp. Falco was just about to ask Thea what they should do next --search for clues here or pass through-- when he realized they were not alone. The rain had ceased, leaving a light fog blanketing the area, but he could clearly see a humanoid figure shrouded in mist. The person stood and began to approach them.

It's either the elf or one of the hunters, Falco thought, readying himself for whatever comes next. The former was probably an ally, but had already proven to be violent. As for the latter... well, they were a wildcard. However, Falco marginally relaxed once the person came into view and he saw it was, indeed, an elf. Even silhouetted in fog, her long ears pointed skyward, like twin daggers. She perfectly matched the description they had been given, tall and covered in a tattered gray cloak, with an enormous mane of grimy, silver-ish hair that spilled halfway down her back. Her limbs were concealed beneath the ratty fabric, which put him on guard once more, for he could not tell if she was armed.

"Yo, 'sup," the elf said, raising her left hand to wave at them. She seemed friendly enough, but Falco tensed -- her right hand remained concealed. In a low voice, barely audible, she muttered to herself: "Spider... cannibal fox... eyepatch... hmmm, one's missin.' Oh, well, whatever," she said to herself, pointing at each member of the group as if taking a headcount.

Falco took a half-step back as she arrived in their presence. Something about the way she moved bothered him, too animalistic. She prowled. He didn't like it. Rather than come any closer and shake hands or introduce herself like a civilized person might, she instead shuffled to a nearby stump and lazily plopped down there, where she steepled her long, gangly fingers and flashed a toothy grin at them all.

"Took ya long enough. Almost killed the fuckin' thing myself," the elf said. As if to punctuate this fact, an enormous hammer slid from beneath her cloak and landed with a heavy thump on the ground at her feet. She tossed aside her shroud, revealing she was, indeed, wearing what was either a too-long tunic or a too-short dress made of rusting chainmail. Her limbs were wrapped in what appeared to be leather belts or strips of tanned hide, to serve as crude armor. She did however, have proper boots and gauntlets, both very worn and stained with mud. There was a round shield strapped to her back and a bundle of cloth, which he assumed was clothing or camping gear, but seemed too small to be such...

"Sen. Sen Hyazari," the elf said, tugging a rope necklace to reveal a tarnished Guild crest in a pendant. Her arcanizer appeared to be affixed to her right bicep, amid the straps and jury rigged armor. "I already know who y'all are, so let's skip all that, yeah. We short one? Weren't there s'posed to be an orc fella?"

"He couldn't make it."

"Not dead? Good. I get a bonus if y'all come back warm. More if I don't hold yer hands too damn much," She smirked. "Long as y'all don't narc on me in your reports everybody wins, right? You get 'professional' help. I get paid. Oyten gets one dead kitty." For some reason, her eyes locked on Thea as she mentioned the reports. Knigthhood and honesty were practically synonyms. Just how much had she been told about each of them? The look was a clear warning but, after a too-long staredown, Sen smiled: "Whatever. Shame 'bout the orc. Y'all could use him. What I'm sayin' is, it's big. Gonna be a bitch to haul back to town. Dead or alive, they'll wanna see what it were. Folks are weird like that. But it is what it is. We'll manage. Piss with the cock ya got. Anyway, I got a boar smokin' over yonder," she jabbed her thumb east. "We was just 'bout to have lunch and there's enough to go 'round."

'We?' Falco thought, his face contorting with confusion. The elf talked incredibly fast and her words seemed to speed by him, but that one smacked him squarely in the earholes. She must have caught the look on his face, because she grinned with pride.

Sen reached over her shoulder and parted the wad of cloth on her back. From there appeared the face of a small child: a baby, with tiny little elf ears and all. Falco's jaw hit the floor. "You can't bring a baby here? Are you insane? Is every veteran Kriegslowen a fucking nutcase?"

"First of all: yes. Second, he sure as hell ain't goin' back where he came from! I don't think either of us would enjoy that," she joked, slapping her knees with laughter. "Okay, okay, serious time. Relax. He's all bundled up, nice an' cozy in there. Dry, too. And he's quiet, always has been. Best damn kid I could ask for. Mama ain't raise no bitch. Nah, no she didn't," Sen said, lovingly nuzzling the child, who cooed in response. She returned her attention to the Kriegslowen. "Look, I already know what y'all are 'bout to say, but nature's full of animals totin' their young around in their fucking mouths and shit. So lay off it, alright. He's gonna be the best damn hunter one day and I want him to see how it's done. Start early! This place might seem 'dangerous' to you, but it's a joke to me, so let's get on with it. I'm ready to get paid and I'm sure y'all are ready to go home. So, pick your balls up off the floor, and get to work," she snapped her fingers at Falco. "He ain't learnin' nothin' watchin' you flap yer trap."

Interaction(s):

RedArmyShogun (Thea) /

EmperorsChosen (Lucia) /

Thalia_Neko (Hyss) /

Topless (Sakura) /

EmperorsChosen · Sep 23, 2022

Location: Oyten
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Thea replied sternly to her criticisms, Lucia's scowl intensified and met her with a stern tone of her own. "Less new information is discovered that makes such possible or a miraculous plan is conjured, I will not." Her voice was cold and and rebellious, yet stoic. She did not intend to further argue, but given that their only means to tackling this enemy would be to face it, the Caskarieth would not hold back in an attempt to whittle it down for capture. It would either be far overblown or dead, as far as she was concerned.

Remaining silent for the rest of the trip, they eventually came upon a basecamp. Lucia scanned the surroundings with a disinterested look to her. They were still a ways off from where the beast was to prowl, after all. She doubted anything here would present new information. Plus, it was a large area and would take much time to properly comb through. However, attention and curiosity became more centered on a figure that appeared in the distance.

Folding her arms, Lucia watched as the figure approached before finally making themselves known. A Caskarieth with large hammer. Their proctor, or so Lucia surmised, restraining an urge to click her tongue in irritation. Her facial expression remained one of stone as she listened to the exchange. A subtle movement in the form of a brow raised when the child was made known. Lucia watched on, staring at the interaction between the two expressionless, before finally speaking as the group was urged forward.

"And what, pray tell, is professional help? We were led to believe that you were simply to be on standby in the case we are all felled," Lucia reiterated Cephilia's exaggeration, with a hint of sarcasm to show that it was such. "I won't turn away advice or some aid, but it also does none of us good if you slay the thing yourself. I'm more interested in the recognition and experience than I am the award."

@Team A

King Crimson · Sep 23, 2022

Current Location: Warehouse #4

"RAAAAARGH!!!"
With a vicious roar, Cressey brutally plunged her lance down with all of her might, crushing the adult Holzeckt lying beneath her, it's body bursting with rancid, green pus like an overfilled waterskin.
The creature hissed once in pain, it's little legs kicking around in a vain, last attempt to pull it's body away, before finally curling up to it's crushed underbelly in rigor-mortis, finally dead to the world.
Cressey, for her part, didn't feel like she was too far behind in joining the creatures in eternal slumber;
She was exhausted, the enchanted current running through her spear long since having run out, leaving her to instead having to rely on good, old sheer brute force to keep the swarm of bugs down.
Her arms and legs were leaden in their sockets, and she found herself having to prop her worn, battered body up on her spear, still lodged deep into the last Holzeckt's corpse, to keep herself upright as she greedily filled her starved lungs with some sweet, much-needed fresh (well, semi-fresh) air.
She could feel a subtle, tickling feeling of something warm and notably sticky dribbling down her cheek, which she instinctively attempted to wipe away with the palm of her gauntlet
Much to her horror, however, the substance seemed to follow her hand as she pulled away, forming a bridge of rancid, green slime that connected her hand to her face.
"Euuuugh..." Cressey loudly whined in complaint, her face contorting into a sickened grimace as she flicked the offending substance away, onto the grass.
Feeling some modicum of strength returning to her muscles, she reluctantly pulled her lance out from the Holzeckt's body, kicking it away, before planting her lance once more into the dirt to lend herself support.
Looking around, the smaller, larval creatures mercifully seemed to be dwindling, many skittering back into the darkness of the warehouse, or away into the wilderness, with some few making a bold last attempt to strike at the crew before being dealt with; a scattered army, deprived of their generals.
"I think..." Cressey huffed between deep, exasperated breathes, "...I think that might be the last of them for now..."
Indeed, there seemed to be a small moment of peace, now that the creatures were gone, though she could still hear a myriad buzzing within the warehouse.
With one last swell of oxygen, she pulled her lance from the ground, now confidant enough with her ability to stand back on her own two feet.
"We can go back in and clean up whatever's left in a moment, but since this is your first task, I suppose it would be prudent to give you a short reprieve."
Shouldering her lance, she cast her gaze away, quietly muttering to herself, "N-Not that I need it, mind you...b-but, well, if you do that's perfectly understandable!"
Her gaze turned back towards the group, all looking like a right mess, covered head to toe in viscous bug guts, and small bites and scratches, herself not looking much better.
Endymion looked alright, for the most part, something Cressey remarked with a small bit of pride, as she ran the fingers of her glove over the warm, lingering praise he'd left on her hand.
There were also some much less inconsequential injuries she'd glimpsed; the trail of blood leading from within the warehouse to Lupa's ankle, and the tattered remains of a sleeve she glimpsed hanging from Talio's arm like a ragged banner.
"Looks like they managed to catch your arm..." Cressey remarked, her brow knit with a small, genuine concern as she walked towards the merchant.
She had to admit, the man's skills had impressed her today, not to mention that fancy sword of his.
Seems she was right in her hunch that there might be more to him than what met the eye.
"We should probably sit you down and have...that...looked---Huh?" Her train of thought trailed off as she finally got a closer look at the man's arm.
Everything about it was...wrong; It's skin was dark, gray metal, a series of rods connected by small, ball-like joints, leading all the way up to his shoulder.
She swooped in closer, curious to see if her eyes were deceiving her, or if it was some mere trick of the light, but the more she looked, the more it became clear; this man's arm was made entirely of metal, like some sort of advanced puppet or toy, grafted to a human body.
"Well now..." Cressey gawked, still struck with awe at the revelation.
"That's...rather peculiar."

Interacting:

Reinhardt )
Lupa (

Silver Wolf )
Lori (

ERode )
Endymion (

lunar_moth )
Talio (

TreasureSniper )

Topless · Sep 23, 2022

Location: Oyten

"There's no need for thanks. I did what I have to do, even if it is against your land's ethics." Sakura spoke "I'll be watching your back from now on. Take my word for it." With that out of the way, as the group pressed on, the path gradually became wider to the point that they stopped by a clearing. It is from there that they came face-to-face with an elf woman, Sen Hyazari. A veteran Kriegslowen, and a crazy one at that seeing as she happens to have an infant with her. She may not show it, but Sakura was completed baffled by it.

"Excuse me, if I may..." Sakura began to speak "Judging by the wear of your hammer and shield, it appears as though you gave the beast quite a fight while carrying that baby with you. Are the higher ranking Kriegslowen really THAT strong? Is there one of you that can crush rocks with their bare hands? One that can split a sea in half? Or maybe one that can actually pierce the heavens? You are a one-woman army as far as I can tell. To say that this mission is a joke to you means that you've probably went through a lot of trauma and got used to it over time. I...want to be that kind of person, honestly."

RedArmyShogun · Sep 23, 2022

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oyten

As the group progressed through the rainforest and past the lazy guards, Thea felt they would be of little help in any situation. The hunters were likely around least their work ethic was also lax, they would be an active threat or competition. Time would answer that question, though she rather not they were the former, some random hunters likely weren't stupid enough to try killing Kriegslowen, they had jobs and families, a risk like that would be out of character, wouldn't it? So for the time being she did not let that bother her as the continued to walk. "Hmm we may have use of that later Risax, but for now let us continue onwards."

An hour later through scattered showers, downpours and a never-ending humidity they reached the worksite, given the state of it and the constant risk of rain, there was likely nothing of any use here, just mud, empty tents and mist. Speaking of Thea put her hand towards the zweihander on her back as a humanoid figure approached, giving introductions she was quick to speak and short, to the point. It would likely to be pointless in trying to talk to this woman like she had the first group of loggers. Though the infant was a cause of concern, if only briefly. Then Lucia was quick to offer her own opinion, matter of factly, even as the hunter had let her eyes linger upon Thea herself as she went about mentioning the falsifying of reports. Holding a hand up as she spoke, Thea didn't bother with the introductions and decided this woman would not much care for titles.

"Sen, is it? I must say I agree with Lucia here in part, but to put it another way. Will you be around to help us in future jobs? Will you trust us if we are tasked to work with you, knowing full well we did not earn our new rank and that we are ill-equipped for future jobs? You cannot carry us. Though it is clear that we only brought supplies for two to three days, and the hunters are likely here. So, if we do not finish by then, I rather the guild gets the kill, though I still want to attempt a capture. Though I will not mention your child, he has survived with you this far and you are a C rank as I recall. What is his name? Also, just how large is this creature, I want to know if my means to capture it is enough or if we should just go for a kill. Either way we'll make camp here, but I doubt we'll learn anything useful on how the beast came to be here."

"If you wish to help us, then any skills or advice would be most welcomed, but I am not of the point to ask for you to do our work, least when we run out of people to do this, we all become useless."

Letting the rest say whatever they wished, Thea watches and waits.

Interactions:

Silver Wolf · Sep 23, 2022

Interactions: Cressey (

King Crimson ), Endymion (

lunar_moth ), Lori (

ERode ), Talio (

TreasureSniper )
Location: Outside Warehouse

Nearly stumbling out the door, Lupa managed to get away from the bugs as they spilled out of the warehouse. The last of the holzekt adults came out and Lupa began her retreat behind her companions. There wasn't much she could do now that her dominant hand was out of commission. She also didn't want to risk worsening her wound on the ankle further. She internally slapped herself for her inability to keep an eye on her feet that led to this mess in the first place. Injured soldiers were a hindrance on the front lines. That thought was what kept her around the back as she took stabs if any of the holzekts dared to follow the fresh blood trail to her ankle.

In the end she ended up in a defense stance next to Talio after he retreated. She tried to gauge his injury, but she didn't notice anything about his arm that seemed...injured for lack of a better term. An unnatural glint came from his arm, but most peculiar was the lack of any smell of blood. Odd, but she had other things to worry about. Well, she did until Lori came and began creating a circular parade of the larvae that ended up being squashed under her feet after a complete circle. Then Endymion, the biggest greenhorn of them all if she'd ever seen one, had bash the head of the last holzekt in. Cressey finished the final adult with a decisive blow which popped the creature open.

Now that the danger passed, and adrenaline began wearing down a little, Lupa's attentions shifted to other things. One of which, the smell. By the goddess it was a rancid smell to her that made her really, really want to lose her lunch. Thankfully, she had adjusted enough and the outdoor air helped, but that didn't mean the smell was pleasant. She also pulled out a fresh cloth and began wiping down her injuries. Last thing she needed was a reason for an infection to grow, and that pulled her attention until her ears picked up Cressey's conversation with Talio.

Curious, her ears perked and she glanced over to what the small person was looking at. Once it finally registered that Talio's arm wasn't flesh and blood it clicked that the phenomenon of her not smelling his injury was because there was no injury. Well, not in the traditional sense at least. She gazed to her own hand in some disappointment, somewhat envious of the fact Talio didn't have to deal with the pain, infection risk, loss of blood, and all the other wonders of a flesh and blood injury.

Lupa pulled out a roll of bandages she had kept in her belt pouch and sat down to take off her boot and sock so she could roll up her ankle to staunch the bleeding. She then turned her attention to the hand and wrapped it up as well, adding some extra layers around the wrist so that her veins that had been pierced wouldn't continue to bleed too much until she could get professional assistance.

With her injuries cheaply bound she stuffed her foot back in the boot and tested out her steps. A small hiss confirmed that she was still in pain, but no fresh blood squeezed out and she smiled at that.

"Well, that was a disaster, but at least none of us are worse for wear. So long as none of us are truly injured, beyond myself, I think we can count this as a brief victory. I'll definitely have to brush up on it, but I think allowing hazardous possibly predatory creatures to nest in a building falls under some form of violation. It's clear that this building could be classified as a hazard to city safety. Hopefully that was all the adults and Hedwig can actually be forced to do some standard procedure on his buildings."

Huntertabbysandshark3 · Sep 25, 2022

interaction:

It seemed Risax previously unfounded assumption of suspicion on the part of the mysterious elf where proven completely false After they passed to guards whom where just having lunch they eventually after extensive trekking through the rain and mud of the forest they eventually came upon their intended destination and a rather rough looking elven woman obviously far more experienced then any of the current team but seemed to combine the elements of their more vocal members into a unified personality, the woman’s name was Sen Hyazari, and thankfully they could skip out on the introductions for what would have been the fourth time today, on-top of that she’d brought a child along with her.. odd as it was he wasn’t one to judge form a young age his father had had him and his sister tag along on their trips, this was simply another sort of that admittedly odd Child rearing. “you do make good points in that regard miss Hyazari, you did mention you almost killed it yourself so.. either that was hyperbolic or you have actually seen the thing if so that would be greatly useful“ Risax commented not sharing the other concerns on the woman’s assistance if anything the team had ended up jumping in A boat without a paddle so to speak and where lucky have made it this far a bit of assistance would be great to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Thalia_Neko · Sep 26, 2022

Currently:
Thinking: "Oh no. Why is our mentor like this? Who brings a babe out on a dangerous mission like this? I likely can't learn anything from her... What a waste."

Location: Oytenrand woods
Interacting: everyone on the oyten mission
Mentions:

AnonyMouse

"Your reasoning is noted." Hyss stated, leaving it at that.

Again, her words were being misinterpreted for someone else's convenience. She never said anything about not facing danger, nor being afraid of it. Obviously there would be danger on her path. She just felt it foolish to face danger unprepared.

Though, what she said next really lowered Hyss's opinion of Thea. Telling people to quit based entirely on one's own personal ideals was not the way to inspire action or loyalty in anyone, and definitely wouldn't work. Telling others to quit was the type of thing that would turn others away. It wasn't up to Thea to decide if others deserved to be here. Or their paths for them. Damn arrogant knights.

Anyway, after a time, they arrived at the outskirts of what was to become the hunting grounds for their quarry. A expansive logging camp, which by the looks of it, was left in a hurry and with the intention to be used quite soon, but obviously had not been. Stuff was strewn about that she made note of, but not too much of a note, as it held little importance to her current mission.

That was when someone walked out of the gloom, and the little hooded girl slinked off to hide behind her allies -- juuust in case. Turned out to be another Kriegslowen, but still, Hyss remained where she had been, only poking her head out a bit to get a glimpse of the woman. It was a Caskarieth. Miss Sen Hyazari. The one who was obviously supposed to be their watcher, or guide, or whatever. She had quite the tongue on her, and much to say. Not much of it was useful though.

Hyss watched her hammer fall. She was both impressed, and unimpressed. More so the latter. Her eyes flicked back up to the woman. "Why didn't you kill it, then?" she reasonably questioned. If this person could've finished the job, why didn't she? To Hyss, that was literally asinine. Who just nearly-completes a mission, then purposefully choses to not finish it?

Furthermore, Hyss wasn't sure if she should have been impressed or astounded. Who on earth brought an infant on a mission? Especially one such as this. The fact that this woman did only revealed she was confident in her abilities. Either that, or she was incredibly arrogant. Or both. Hyss's eyes flicked over to the fox. Sakura seemed to be so impressed that she was trying her best to eagerly find some common ground with the pointy-eared woman. Hyss wanted to as well, but found herself hesitant to do so. Hyss didn't want to be known as a psycho who brought a baby to a mission. So she was finding it hard to take this woman as a proper role model.

Anyway, Hyss would simply sit back and observe for now. No one listened to anything she said anyhow. It was just as well. So she just held her tongue.

AnonyMouse · Sep 26, 2022

Sen Hyazari

Location: Oytenrand Woods, logging site

Sen's stare grew increasingly hard as the other elf spoke. The Valdergeuse bitch's letter hadn't gone into excruciating detail, but visual queues alone were enough to gather that this one was 'Lucia Edelgarde,' some sort of misplaced noble who'd stumbled into Kriegslowe's clutches. If there was one thing Sen hated, it was being sassed by an uppity noble. As the girl spoke, the Syrieth slouched forward, her already horrible posture becoming even worse. Her calloused fingers teased the surface of her hammer's leather-wrapped grip, as if contemplating what to do with it. Hit her in the face or go for a body blow? Ruin her day or ruin her life?

Fortunately, by the time the girl finished, Sen was smiling. She ellicited a small chuckle when the Caskarieth spoke of being receptive to advice and wanting experience and recognition over pay. "Heh... not as arrogant as I thought," Sen remarked, with only a hint of disappointment as her posture relaxed. Shame she's actually tolerable. I was lookin' forward to beatin' the tits off this heifer, she thought, savoring the mental image of what could've been. Edelgarde was one she was sure she would hate. But, now that they'd met, Sen decided she wasn't half bad.

The knight spoke next, but Sen cut in quickly: "Three days!? Fuck outta here. I'll kill you if this shit ain't done in three days," Sen said, nearly choking with laughter. She hoped they knew she was only kidding. Schuerer seemed.... sensible. Perhaps too sensible. When her laughter finally ceased, she straightened and looked to Thea and spoke in a sober tone: "Ay, trust me, this ain't that complicated. This beast is attackin' any meatsack dumb enough to wander through. You'd be right if we had to track, chase, or bait it, but this ain't that. Don't make a mountain outta a molehill."

Still, there was some admirable about the girl's desire to see the quest through in its purest form. Takin' it alive sounds like a waste of time to me, Sen thought, but it wasn't her place to interfere. If Schuerer truly believed she could do it and her fellow newbs were on board, more power to 'em.

The fox spoke next, practicaly gushing about how amazing Sen was for engaging in combat with the beast. The vulpine girl even assumed the state of her gear was due to the epicness of the encounter. Hah! Joke's on you, pupper. My shit looked like this when I left home, Sen thought, but wasn't about to say that to these rookies. Oiling her chainmail was just too much of a hassle and the only reason she even had this shield was to protect the kid. Why waste time taking care of my stuff when I can spend that time makin' more feln, to buy newer stuff? Or just knock off some dumbass bandit and use his junk instead? Those guys are everywhere, if ya know where to look, and most of 'em don't know what the hell they're doin.'

As soon as Sakuranbo was done, the spider and the other girl chimed in. The latter proved to be quite reasonable, asking Sen what she knew about the beast, since she had clearly encountered it. Sensible, like the knight, but didn't waste words. The reptilian beastgirl, whose name Sen recalled quite clearly, but wasn't even going to attemtp to pronounce, merely asked why she hadn't kileld it... to which Sen grumbled.

"Fine, I'll bite," she said before grabbing her hammer and standing. She clipped it to her belt and folded her arms as she gazed down at the fox, first. "Look, let's get a couple things straightened out, 'cuz I think you folks got the wrong idea. I didn't 'fight' it, okay. I didn't even go lookin' for it. Last night, after my li'l trip to town, it came at me. The fucker had been stalkin' me for... hmmm, 'bout an hour or so. He's sneaky, but not that sneaky. Anyway, it dropped down, tried to catch me from behind. So, I HIT it" she nodded to the hammer for emphasis. "Could've fucked him up good, but I held back. Broadsided him, instead of using the busines end.

"The blow rung its bell pretty good, so it bailed out. Reason I didn't give chase is cuz this ain't my kill... it's yours," she looked to Edelgarde as she finished the tale. "I ain't here to steal your kill, sweetheart, so try not to get your silk panties in a wad. You'll get the experience and recognition you want. Like I said, I lose my bonus if I do the heavy lifting, so I'll only chip in if you're about to do something stupid... actually, scratch that. I like stupid. Stupid is fun. I'll only chip in if you're about the do the kind of stupid that'll get ya killed. Deal?"

She turned to Thea next and rested her hands on her hips. "That being said, Marcel and I --that's his name, I appreesh you askin'-- are just here to see if y'all got what it takes. I'm not even sure how much I'm allowed to tell ya without riskin' my payday, but I s'pose spillin' how big it is would be fine, right? Bear-sized... but cat-shaped? Yeah, that sounds about right. He's bulky. Ain't no house cat, this one. Bigger'n others I've seen, but not enough to be a problem, if ya ask me. And I'll leave it at that," she shrugged, "I could say more, but I'm interested in knowin' what y'all got."

She took a small step back and spread her hands. "Enough 'bout me. I'm here to evaluate you. So, tell me what ya know. What's yer plan? What ya been up to? Y'all just blow into town and head straight here or did ya shake some trees to see what falls out?" The fast-talking elf paused only long enough to ponderously rub her chin, leaving even more streaks of dirt on her already-filthy face. She soon beamed with delight, as a thought ocurred to her: "Oh, by the way, did ya go see the mayor yet? How's Old Man Johnson doin?'"

Interaction(s):

RedArmyShogun (Thea) /

EmperorsChosen (Lucia) /

Thalia_Neko (Hyss) /

Topless (Sakura) /

RedArmyShogun · Sep 26, 2022

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oyten

With the others saying their peace, Thea seen nothing she had to dispute or break up this time, though Hyss had another of her questions, still it wasn't a bad one, breaking down all Sen had to say, Threa frowns a bit, but nods her head, addressing from the last bit first then onwards to what she had learned. Sen may be a bit vulgar and unkempt, but she knew what she was doing and didn't waste time. The proper spoken knight could respect that and deal with her. Though they were worlds apart, they did share some qualities alike, least on the front of Duty and battle. Though unlike Sakura, Thea knew this armor was just worn down naturally and from a lack of care, there were the other bits of kit too, snorting a bit at that before she started to speak, she had seen such from Mercenaries many a time. Improvised, bought on demand or held on till it fell apart. She also knew better than to discount the C ranker over such.

"Marcel, a gentle yet strong name. I am sure he will make you proud. As to Mayor Johnson, he seemed largely ignorant of the beast, be that by him playing it up or more likely the other groups not telling him I cannot say. He seems to be in good spirits with an interesting post and in good health, devoted to the Goddess, I dare say a deal better than I or even some of the brothers and sisters. We had breakfast with him and a brief conversation."

With that she pauses a bit as a look of displeasure briefly crosses her face. "Truthfully one group told us enough to get rid of us, the other left out some key details or generalities of the creature, while a third provides information on its preferred habitat. The consensus that was reached is that it is a Shadowlyger. Something that should not and till recently did not exist here. Originally, I intended to use myself, or Falco as he volunteered to be bait and see what we could learn before making a plan."

"Given this new information if it prefers to hunt over just eating whatever is around and will hunt anything smaller than itself, I can still bait it out. But learning can be skipped for now. Ideally, I would like to capture it, but a bear sized creature is another matter, we would need a high number of tranquilizers or more rope than the 30 meters we can gain. Then there is the question of where to take it. I'm also curious as to how and why it is here now. However, I am unsure if we have the ability to capture it, or to weaken the branches of the trees it uses to cause it to fall. Otherwise, I pondered letting it ambush one of us, holding it in place and have the others attack. I was expecting something more man sized. So we might as well strategize here and now and a plan that can be put in motion and ended within two days. As I doubt a leg snare will help us too much."

Interactions:

EmperorsChosen · Oct 1, 2022

Location: Oyten
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucia took notice in the change in demeanor. The narrowing of eyes, the lowered posture, the finicky fingertips tapping against her weapon. She almost looked like an animal contemplating a pounce. However, she then reverted to one of a brighter disposition. The younger Caskarieth narrowed her eye cautiously as the woman muttered about her not being as arrogant as she presumably believed. Lucia wondered if she simply expected that of her as an aristocrat, or if Cephilia or someone else had painted such a gilded picture of her.

Regardless, the woman seemed pleased, and not prone to kill her. She was also straightforward, which Lucia honestly preferred. Sen explained that the beast had ambushed her before it was chased off. It sounded more and more like that beast the scholars hypothesized, albeit much larger. The woman also had no intentions on taking their quarry or participating less they were in danger of death.

"Deal," She replied, satisfied with that response. As for the rest of it, Thea covered most of the transpired events. "The mayor also said to bare his greetings to whomever the Kriegslowen we were to eventually find."

Given how the woman suddenly turned giddy and knew him by name, she likely had some kind of relationship to him. However, they were still nowhere with an actual plan, and the more information that presented itself, the more Lucia was steadfast against trying to incapacitate the beast. "As I've been saying, we don't have the means to capture it."

@Team A

Topless · Oct 1, 2022

Location: Oyten

It seemed that Sen had decided not to answer Sakura's inquiry about the other high ranking Kriegslowen. A shame, she wanted to know more about them and their deeds. When asked about themselves, Thea pretty much summed what the group had went through, giving Sakura no need to give Sen her own answer.

On the other hand though, Sakura walked over to a patch of grass, plucked a bunch of them and proceed to sniff for any scent let by the beast. As expected, there was no scent of the beast. This open area could have been the perfect hunting ground, but seemed that it didn't thought about that.