Graded [Frontier] The Hunt

[Regardless]

THE HUNT​

It was a small village in the wilderness of the North Republic. An inn, a tiny farm, and a scarce amount of houses dotted the edges of the tree line. Yet, despite it's quaint size, you'd be hard pressed to not see a fair amount of people occupying the in-betweens and crowding the inn. This village was a popular resting zone for a myriad of different people. Merchants, adventurers, and petty criminals alike passed through there quite often. Each week brought on a bundle of brand new faces. It should come as no surprise that when these visitors disappear, they're simply assumed to have continued on their journey; leaving the village behind and making room for the next drifter. The problem only arose when one of the villager's residents - a skilled hunter - was the one who vanished. Something like that never happened before, and nobody expected it to happen to that particular hunter because of how competent he supposedly was.

For weeks, the village hired those brave enough to go out into the wilderness and search for the hunter. Many took up the challenge, and yet, most of them came up empty handed. What was more interesting, however, was the fact that the latest group they'd hired didn't return at all. It was possible the group simply abandoned the job altogether, but some of the townsfolk didn't think it was that simple. Rumors spread that perhaps something killed those adventurers and, most likely, their hunter too. That curiosity was enough to hire one more group of adventurers. You and a few other reckless souls took up the job and proceeded into the beginnings of the forests. As you looked back to the village in the distance, what emotions might be plaguing your mind?

 

[San Son Sun]

In a village that seemed almost lost in the embrace of the North Republic's wilderness, Theodore Telltale found himself facing yet another curious predicament. Being an apprentice illusionist and a self-proclaimed connoisseur of tales, he had seen his fair share of strange occurrences. But this, this was a new kind of tale weaving itself in the corners of his wandering mind.

"A missing hunter, you say?" Theodore mused, one eyebrow arched as he listened to the worried villagers. "And not just any hunter, but a supposedly skilled one? Oh, how intriguing! It's like a mystery wrapped in a shroud of forest mist."

The village, which for all its modesty had an uncanny knack for attracting all sorts of characters, had summoned Theodore to aid them in solving the enigma of their vanishing resident. Of course, Theodore was not one to resist the allure of an unsolved puzzle, especially when it came with promises of adventure and maybe even a touch of danger.

"I see, I see," Theodore continued, stroking an imaginary beard as he mulled over the details. "A hunter who's disappeared without a trace? Normally, one would assume they just wandered off in pursuit of a particularly stealthy deer, leaving nothing but an empty quiver and a mystery behind."

Theodore had a penchant for taking even the gravest situations and weaving a layer of jest over them. He was known to conjure small illusions with his hand gestures and words, turning stories into living images that danced before the eyes of his captivated audience. And right now, the tale that was unfolding before him was ripe for a touch of his narrative magic.

With a flourish of his hand, he conjured a small and faint shimmering illusion of a male silhouette, complete with a forest backdrop. "Imagine," he said in a dramatic tone, "our dear hunter, surrounded by the symphony of rustling leaves and the gentle melody of woodland creatures. But then, the music halts, the leaves freeze, and our hunter... disappears!"

The villagers exchanged glances, a mixture of worry and amusement tugging at their expressions. Theodore's words seemed to add a spark of intrigue to the otherwise grim situation.

Taking a dramatic pause, Theodore leaned in and lowered his voice, as if sharing a great secret. "Fear not, good villagers, for I shall take up the mantle of unraveling this enigma! With my wits as keen as an eagle's eyes and my illusions as crafty as a fox, I shall venture into the heart of this forest and uncover the truth behind our vanished hunter."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over the village and its outskirts, Theodore began his journey. With a parting wave and a lighthearted wink, he headed towards the edge of the village, the forest's inviting darkness beckoning him onward.

"To the heart of the forest we go," Theodore proclaimed with theatrical flair. "Who knows what secrets and surprises await us amidst these ancient trees? But one thing is certain: where there's a tale waiting to be told, Theodore Telltale shall be there to spin it!"

And so, Theodore's adventure began, his footsteps carrying him deeper into the wilderness, where shadows danced and whispered secrets, and the tale of the missing hunter took its first steps towards being unraveled.

 

[Regardless]

The day was especially gloomy. Dark grey clouds blocked most of the sunlight from embracing the woods, and the foliage overhead didn't help either. As minutes turned to hours, the darkness began to settle just as quickly as the temperature began to drop. What made things worse was the fact that nobody in the group seemed to be speaking to one another. In truth, nobody even knew each other's names. They were just a handful of complete strangers. Fortunately, if Theodore happened to be interested in taking note, he'd spot key things about their equipment and character. Starting off with the only woman in the group, she'd been paying close attention to what everyone else happened to be doing and preferred to stay at the back whenever possible. Her brown, wavy hair hung free and ran down to the mid-sections of her back. In terms of looks, she was average. The type you'd be able to find anywhere you went. More importantly though, she held a wooden staff that was almost as big as her. That staff, accompanied by the fact that she wasn't physically impressive, probably meant she had some sort of knowledge when it came to magic. In fact, she probably relied on it.

The next member of the group was a wiry, older, and ugly looking man. He stood at the front and practically led them deeper into the woods. Every so often, he'd take a knee and closely examine his surroundings. His sharp gaze seemed took note of every little thing. It'd be safe to assume he had some knowledge in tracking. Strapped across his waist was a foot long hunting knife. In his left hand, he held a lantern ahead of himself to circumvent how dark it was getting. Despite being the apparent "leader", he didn't seem keen on keeping track of what the others did. The most he'd offer was a passing glance behind himself, but other than that, he carried on at his own pace and assumed the others could keep up. The final member was the most physically imposing. Standing well over six feet, it'd be easy to confuse this man with the trunk of one of the numerous trees they walked by. He had bits of iron armor strapped across his torso, but just like the others, his most vital areas remained uncovered. He had a large, double-sided axe strapped to his back and happened to also carry a lantern. Whenever possible, he preferred to stay in the middle of the group. For some reason, he kept looking over at Theodore, but didn't say or do anything off-putting.

"Excuse me," A soft, feminine voice broke the silence, causing the group to halt in their tracks for a moment. The voice, of course, came from the woman who held the staff. "You look like you know what you're doing, but what exactly are you looking out for? Maybe I can help." Despite her kind offer, her voice carried an undertone of irritation for some reason. The older man's furrowed brows may have indicated he picked up on her attitude, but otherwise, he'd just respond. After all, her question was fair. "I'm looking for any signs of where the previous group might've gone. Any signs of a struggle. Any animal tracks. Any thing that could help me understand where they might've went." He paused for a second to drop his gaze to the ground. "We passed by all sorts of shit, but it just came from deer. If you want the truth, I'm just walking around the forest based on where we've already been." With that said, the old man just turned back around and continued on. "If you wanna help, just keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and keep following me." The woman just coldly sighed, but offered a slight nod before moving with the group. The biggest, silent member of the group, didn't seem focused on what they had to say. He just held his lantern out and squinted off into the distance. Judging from the focused expression on his face, it seemed like he wasn't just staring blankly, but rather, he may have spotted something. Whatever it may have been, it must've not been anything important considering he eventually went right back to following the old man.

For now, they weren't anywhere close to completing their quest.

 

[saxon]

Aya​

Character Grade - A

Titles: Kitsune, Order Initiate, Defender of Sootspire, Ryke Noble Associate F, Friend of Sol Faith, Hero of Nan Gau, Known to Clan Yamimoto

Mentions: Regardless San Son Sun

Skills used:
Heightened Sense E (Smell, Hearing) (14)

Aya had heard about the rumors of someone going missing in a village close by from Nan Gau, though she wasn't sure if they were connected to what had happened there. So, it was better to be safe than sorry; she quickly had gathered her gear and left to go and investigate the matter personally. As she approached the town, the whole place seemed gloomy to her, though she wasn't sure if that was because it was nighttime or if there was something more to it. Having picked up the request, she made her way down the road toward where they were supposed to meet up at.

Upon her arrival, she noticed a group had already arrived, and there seemed to be a few people. "Hello everyone, I'm Aya I came here for the request that was posted about a missing hunter," she introduced herself as she gave a slight bow, placing her hand in front of her as she did so. After a moment, she righted herself and continued approaching the group of hunters already starting the search.

When the man gave out his orders to keep their eyes open, Aya looked around and saw the prominent member standing there who seemed to be looking at something. She cocked her head to the right a little bit. Aya closed her eyes for a moment as she tilted her head up into the air and took a few sniffs while trying to listen for something that wasn't normal for a forest. Though she would have to wait a few moments before she could go ask the man with the lantern what he was doing as when she opened her eyes again, he was already back to following the group.

 

[Weazel]

Todd
Interacts with: saxon
Mentions: Sepokku

---

To be honest, Todd was still worried about that dragon. It had appeared suddenly, set parts of the fortress town of Nan Gau on fire, and then disappeared in the chaos of the wight attack on the settlement. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine that these two events might have been related, and, even if they weren’t, that dragon was still out there somewhere. They hadn’t found its body among the dead. The Kushtaka didn’t really want to hurt the thing if such a thing could be avoided, but the longer it remained nearby civilization the more of a danger it became to innocent people. Someway, somehow, he had to drive it away.

So, here he was, following up on rumors of persons missing, presumed dead. The location: a small hamlet along one trade route or another, buried deep in the woods. It seemed an isolated enough location an injured dragon might choose to use it as a hunting grounds. A number of the people that made up their little search party seemed the serious, stoic sorts. He definitely felt a little out of place. But hey, despite the dreary circumstances, there was one nice bonus to this whole event!

“It’s real nice running into ya again, Miss Aya,” the Kushtaka chuckled, glancing over at one of his present traveling companions. The fox woman had been one of the real heroes of the hour during the attack on Nan Gau. Her being here definitely made him feel much more confident about their odds of success. Of course, when he’d actually taken the time to glance over at her, she was sniffing the air carefully. Oops. Hopefully he didn’t distract her too bad.

The Kushtaka put his paw on his pistol, just in case what Aya was smelling for turned out to be hostile. He’d gotten a few tips from Dani, before she and Integra had left Nan Gau, on how to improve his powder mixture, and was interested in seeing just how well his new cartridges worked.

 

[GodlyDnD]

Flaredaro was the strong man who was the wise druid, who was making his usual circuit among groups of the denizens of the wilderness in that northhood, including a few camps of elves and hideouts of dwarves around there, and he came at his stop for a few days of rests and small amounts of socialization at this village. Of course villagers wanted his help, knowing he had useful abilities. He would not let them down.

Flaredaro went out that day, as others did, but only he as the druid was so comfortable going through the wilderness still with extraordinary awareness of things in the surrounding areas others were not aware of. And he was soon aware of something quite unusual around when the village was then far behind.

 

[Novama]

Unless one of you wants to take this over, go ahead and submit it for partial grade and move on to other IH threads.

 

[saxon]

ISEKAI HELL Partial GRADE

Rewards

Aya - 2 Points

Todd - 3 Points

Theodore - 4 Points

Mentions: Weazel San Son Sun Novama