High Noon in Saun

[Vorpal]

18th Trial of Saun, Arc 718

Early morning was a brief respite from the worst of the Saun heat, but Luca could tell it was going to be another scorching trial. The young Element guard sheltered within the shadows of Scalvoris Town's Southeast gate as he waited, clothed in light armor and carrying a standard issue blade. On his chest shone the badge of the Land Troops, marking him as a guard of the city and denoting his rank. Though he could perhaps pass for a bumbling new recruit, Luca had worked in the military for a few years now, and if one knew what to look for, they would find him a steadfast soldier. In fact, he had recently been promoted, but had had the bad luck of facing a series of theft problems as soon as he had stepped into office.

That was the reason why he was here today. The series of angry and concerned reports in his hand had lead him to believe that the culprits responsible for the disappearing valuables were somewhere in the Sweetwine Woods. However, with his subordinates stretched thin with other matters, it was up to him and a few citizens to settle the matter. Hopefully, he would be able to prove himself a capable officer by managing the troubles within his jurisdiction.

Glancing down at the reports, the guard sighed and scratched his head. At first glance, the cases all seemed to be the work of a petty thief, but there was something off. These weren't following the usual pattern of a break-in and subsequent carrying off of valuables. Each household or victim had only reported a few missing items each. In fact, most reports detailed only one stolen item.

A gentle tap on his shoulder caused him to start and raise his head from the bundle of papers. Looking up revealed a short haired woman with a crossbow strapped to her back. She nodded a greeting at him with serious eyes and set down a small pack by her feet.

"I'm here to help with your thief problem," she stated, answering Luca's unspoken question and somehow bypassing the need to confirm he was the Element for the task. "Elitza, by the way."

"Uh, right. Thank you! Luca. Land Troop officer. We're just waiting for a few others, I think."

The two fell into silence. An easy one for the woman, and a slightly nervous one for the soldier.

[Tio Silver]

16th of Saun, 718

"What do you mean we've been robbed?! We're pirates! Pirates! We're the ones supposed to do the robbing!"

The two crewmen who were supposed to have been guarding the storeroom looked away sheepishly underneath Tio's glare, beads of nervous sweat clinging to their brows. Whenever they were docked the crew of the Skylance Pirates took shifts guarding the ship so that their plunder wasn't stolen, and the pair of them had been the ones responsible for guarding the storeroom aboard The Thundering Plunderer for the past couple of breaks. It was a simple task really; all they had to do was stand in front of the door and look menacing, and yet apparently the two numskulls had somehow been able to screw it up! One of them had had the brilliant idea of sneaking a bottle of rum out of the ship's stores to drink whilst on duty, and instead of confronting him about it the other one had decided to grab a bottle of his own and join him! When Tio had come back to the ship the pair of them had been sleeping slouched against the wall with their heads on each others shoulders.

Now if that had been the end of the story Tio would have left it to his quartermaster to punish them for slacking off, but unfortunately there was more to it. The two fuckwits had left the storeroom door unlocked after pilfering their drinks, and at some point whilst they were sleeping somebody had snuck aboard, walked straight past them into the storeroom, and walked out again with a barrel of Tio's specially made banshee powder! If they'd stolen anything else Tio would have been annoyed, but the fact that it was banshee powder that'd been taken caused frosty tendrils of fear to worm their way into his stomach. That substance was a very dangerous creation of his; an alchemically enhanced gunpowder with an explosion far hotter, quieter and more powerful than any regular kind. With that barrel the thief could level a building if they figured out just what they'd gotten their hands on, or sell it to someone dangerous enough to use it for a more nefarious purpose. And if the Elements were able to trace the barrel back to him they'd throw him in Slag's Deep for sure! Creating magical explosives wasn't exactly legal!

Grace, his quartermaster, shot Tio a sharp look which said that the same thought had occurred to her. "There's been talk of a thief on a stealing spree going around town. There's a fairly good chance that they might be the same person who stole from us." Her expression morphed into a thoughtful look. "Come to think of it I'm pretty sure the Elements are asking for civilian volunteers to help catch them. If you volunteered to help, pretended to have altruistic motives, you might be able to use the Element's resources to find and retrieve the barrel before anyone realizes what it is. You'd certainly have more success than we would by searching around blindly."

Tio considered the dilemma for a while, and then realizing that he didn't really have much choice in the matter let out a long-suffering sigh. "Alright it's worth a shot; it's not like we have any other leads to follow. You arrange a suitable punishment for these two fod-sacks, I'm going to go get in contact with the Elements."

18th of Saun, 718

As he waded his way through the long grass towards the meeting point he'd been told the thief-hunting party was going to assemble at, Tio rehearsed answers to any questions the might be asked about why he was helping with the search. When he'd signed up to help he'd told the Elements that he was doing so for purely out of the goodness of his heart and that nothing had been stolen from him, but there was always a chance that he might slip and seem a bit too keen for a person with supposedly no stake in the matter if they actually started to make good progress. The key to deception was to know when to improvise and when to prepare, and his instincts told him that he was going to require a couple of good pre-planned excuses in order to avoid suspicion on this occasion.

At last the yludih spotted two figures up ahead, and slipped a carefree smile across his face as he swanned over to them. "Good morning Mr. Soldier sir. Tio Silver reporting for duty." He called to Luca in a sing-song voice. Then his gaze settled on Elitza, and his smile took on an impish edge as he swooped over, took her hand and planted a quick kiss on it. "And good morning to you too pretty lady. What's your name? You know that crossbow really brings out the colour in your eyes."

[Mute]

"Silence Reigns . . ."

I was learning this season that in one's quest for knowledge, you had to wear a wide variety of hats. Literally and figuratively. The one I wore to-trial was wide-brimmed and stiff, shading my face and neck from the twin suns overhead. The smell of leather clouded my nostrils, but at least my face was cool. I ventured outside Scalvoris Town, a rare occurrence in my life unless the journey was by boat, and it wouldn't do well if I got horribly burned because of reckless adventuring.

Truth be told, I wasn't quite sure why I had signed up for this foray into the woods of Sweetwine. I had heard rumblings of theft throughout the town during my most recent visit, along with a call for volunteers by the Land Elements to aid in apprehending the criminals. I was hardly the most martial man around, but nevertheless I felt the urge to offer up my time in service to the local troops. There was the benefit of charitable action in regards to one's reputation among the locals, of course, that may have swayed my decision. It never hurt to have friends among the military, especially when you saw specific information down the road. Short-term risk for potential long-term gain. Still, that didn't account for my lack of ability to actually enforce justice.

Perhaps the club I held would help in that regard.

It was truly a pitiful excuse for a weapon, little more than a block of wood the length of my forearm. I couldn't expect more, granted, for the price I paid. Still, I probably could've picked up a fallen branch that was more menacing than this "cudgel." Hopefully my companions would wield more than enough steel to make up for my laughable contribution. Maybe they'd let me carry the stolen goods back after they had subdued the criminals. I had enough space in my backpack to carry a fair bit, given that I didn't think to bring anything else.

I found a trio of individuals standing in the meeting point. The apparent man in charge, a Land Troop wearing a sword at his waist, stood alongside a short-haired woman. The butt of a crossbow poked out over one shoulder; I couldn't pinpoint any other weapons on her person. The third man was just finishing up kissing the hand of the archer. I had no intention of doing the same. I nodded to the Element soldier, waving my club in his direction in greeting. I hoped that that would be enough to explain my presence here. Only after I had done so did I realize how barbaric a gesture that had been.

Perhaps I should've tipped my cap instead.

Off Topic

In Thread Purchases:
1x Wooden Club - 1 CN
1x Leather Hat - 1 GN x 4 (Leather Modifer) = 4 GN

[Vorpal]

Luca seemed relieved to have some company besides the woman and smiled cheerily at Tio's approach.

"Good morning, Mr. Silver! I'm glad you could join us..." His smile faltered into a flustered flush as the volunteer descended on Elitza with charm enough to drown the Sea Huskies.

Elitza herself, however, seemed less impressed and tugged her hand back out of Tio's grasp. She seemed to consider the enthusiastic gentleman for a moment, but coming to some conclusion, merely shrugged and gave her name.

"Elitza," she repeated, also nodding crisply at Mute who had just approached them. She shrugged her shoulders so that the weapon strapped to it jostled slightly and turned an eye to Tio. "It could also bring out your eyes," she suggested serenely. It was difficult to tell if she was joking or not because while she certainly didn't look angry, she wasn't smiling, either. Perhaps she was just that sort of person.

"Anyway." Luca intervened while looking curiously toward Mute to see if he wanted to introduce himself. When it was clear they weren't going to get much more out of him. he continued. "I think that's everyone. My name is Luca, and I believe you've all responded to my call for volunteers concerning the recent bout of thefts." Shaking the papers in his hands, Luca pointed off toward the Sweetwine Woods. He seemed a lot more confident once he started laying out the plan. "We don't know much, but there have been tips that the stolen goods have been dragged off into the woods. It's our objective to investigate, recover stolen items, and hopefully arrest those responsible."

Turning to those assembled, the Element soldier glanced over their assembled weaponry. "Now, formally, I'm the one heading this mission, but as you're not Elements, I don't exactly have any authority over you." He smiled a little sheepishly. "That being said, I am somewhat responsible for your safety. So, please assume any directions are with your best interests in mind. If the threat is too great, don't engage. Head back to safety or find a rendezvous point with reinforcements."

Immediate instructions given, Luca turned about to head off into the Sweetwine. Elitza followed readily enough, choosing to bring up the rear to the small group.

It was a good trek to reach the Sweetwine, and by the time they did so, ther air underneath the canopy of the woods was hot and humid. Those who knew the forest in its usual state would find the greenery in a wilted state. Even Ol'Tucks Run which they came across as they reached the woods seemed smaller and more feeble than usual. Dried mud and stone lined the usually brimming banks, but otherwise, the area was quiet.

Off Topic

You may ask to see Luca's reports and I will PM you what your character will find.
You may investigate your surrounding area.
You may interact freely with but not control the NPCs.

I will post in a week's time or sooner if everyone posts early.

[Tio Silver]

A fox-like smirk spread across Tio's face as Elitza replied with deadpan expression and a scathing response. She was a badass alright, there was no mistaking it, and Tio had a thing for badasses. It was after all the nature of opposites to attract, and he had such a nice ass. At that moment Tio decided to stick as closely to Elitza as he could throughout the whole journey; hitting on her was sure to be a lot of fun, and if anything dangerous happened he'd get to see her put that crossbow into action. This trip was setting up to be a fun one after all.

He feigned being shot in the chest over-dramatically as he took a couple of slow steps back. "Ouch! And my heart as well apparently. I like you petal, you've got mettle. I have a feeling the two of us are going to get on swimmingly."

Tio then turned to greet the final member of the party; a tall, pale man with a distinctly unkempt appearance, and shot him a smile. "Nice to meet you too big guy. I'm Tio, the official friendliest insane person on Scalvoris. What's your name?" He said cheerfully, blissfully unaware that the man he was talking to was mute.

As the party began their journey into Sweetwine Tio walked near to the back with Elitza, pestering her with terribly cheesy attempts at flirting. It wasn't long before the temperature turned humid, and Tio mentally thanked his defiance spark for providing him with the buffer of cool air around him that protected him from the discomfort. Still there was an opportunity to tease Elitza here that he just couldn't resist, and so slowly Tio began to strip the leather armor off his torso, gently humming a notorious strip-tease tune as he did so, and dropped it into his domain bag until his upper-half was completely exposed. Was it a smart thing to do in a jungle? No, not really. But it was fun, and the heat provided him with an acceptable excuse to do so.

Still even his usually unobservant self couldn't help but notice how the plant life around them seemed strangely... weaker than before. Was it just the effects of the summer heat drying out the place? Yeah that was probably it; there was no reason to assume something dodgy was going on.

[Mute]

"Silence Reigns . . ."

The woman--Elitza, she had said--was not that impressed by the blonde man's advances and made a comment that I could only assume regarded the crossbow on her back. I couldn't fault her for responding in such a way; some women were not interested in the "chivalry" men performed to steal a moment in their most personal space. If her admirer was fazed at all by the archer's words, he didn't show it. In fact, his Tangle was alight with bright green and pink threads. Excitement. Infatuation. They were like a child's blanket wrapped around his slender shoulders, natural and fitting to the eyes.

I felt I needed to get used to the man's flirtations because they were not going away any time soon.

The Element, Luca, reigned the small group in for a short briefing. He didn't offer much in way of information beyond what had already been shared with me when the Land Troops were recruiting volunteers. A string of thefts had plagued Scalvoris Town in the recent trials and intel suggested the contraband could be found in Sweetwine Woods. My eyes tracked the slip of paper he waved in the air, curious as to what else might be written down, but I didn't ask to see it quite yet; I could wait for the end of the conversation. Luca addressed the hierarchy of command after that, though even that was voluntary in the face of unexpected dangers. That was good to know, I thought, if this club proved as worthless as I expected them to be.

As our group began its journey deeper into the forest, I settled alongside Luca in the front of the group while Elitza and the blonde man--Tio Silver, self-proclaimed friendliest insane person-- settled in the back of the group. Reaching over and tapping Luca on the shoulder, I gestured to the pocket the Element had stuck the paper. After a moment, he retrieved the document and handed it over to me. While we walked, I read over it, glancing down at my feet every once in a while to check for roots and foliage that might trip me up. Behind me, Tio was humming a tune that felt a bit raunchy, but I forced myself to remained focused on the sheet in my hand.

The first bit was a detailed list on everything that had been reported stolen. The contents themselves lacked a pattern that I could discern, but I did find it strange that in each case only one or two items had been taken from each establishment. As of yet, there were no witnesses to the theft, which suggested a certain skill in stealth that was beyond the average burglar or pickpocket. The document was thorough and detailed about the acts and I felt that there was more to these crimes than what I was reading, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what that was. I handed the sheet back to Lucas, frustrated; he took it from my hands without breaking his scan of the path in front of him.

I was no woodsman, so the wilted state of the woods around me elicited little reaction from as we walked. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed that Tio had stripped down to his bare torso. Despite myself, I grinned at his over-the-top antics. The one thing I couldn't quite figure out was this: where had his armor gone? I just hoped he would pull his act together if and when we found ourselves in a fight. Until then, I could tolerate his behavior.

Elitza, on the other hand, might be an entirely different story.

[Vorpal]

If Elitza had expected Tio to call retreat on his flirtatious behavior, which she hadn't put much hope in, his antics only escalated on their journey to the woods. She eyed with mild interest the fact that her fellow volunteer was removing protective gear on what could be a dangerous mission, but otherwise kept looking out for any trouble. Admirable, really. She did, however, recognize the tune the pirate was humming and briefly wondered when the last time someone was audience to such a thing in an Element related mission was. Up ahead, Luca loudly hummed an innocent marching song to block out the scandal coming from the back of the line. Why was it that they were out in the Saun suns again?

Looking toward his silent companion to whom he had handed the report, Luca asked, "See anything useful?" He wasn't expecting a verbal reply at this point, and his tone was simply amiable and curious. "The victims are desperate to have their stolen possessions returned. Must be sentimental pieces, since the items aren't listed as pricey. Oh, but there have been a couple of high profile thefts. I'm guessing the council will want those items secured, especially."

When Luca finally turned around to address the group, he had to swallow a sigh as he faced a half-naked Tio, a still-stoic Elitza, and a mildly amused shadow. The shrunken river burbled past and deeper into the woods. They were standing at the fringe of the Sweetwine Woods closest to Scalvoris, however, there didn't seem to be any obvious tracks or signs of disturbance. The thief was operating through a different section of the woods or was simply a light stepper, skulking further in among the trees.

"Alright, we're in the woods now, but we need more information," Luca began, pulling himself together and keeping his voice low. "I say we keep together, because safety in numbers and all that. We're not a very large party to begin with, anyway. We can start along the far bank by Dream Lake and work our way back. But splitting up would allow us to cover more ground quickly. In that case, two teams can take each side of the bank. Which strategy plays to your strengths, do you think?"

Elitza gave her verdict immediately.

"Two teams. It's faster and more discreet. The meet up point should be Snake Island," she said, nodding to the map unfurled in her hands. "Water's low. Shouldn't be a problem to cross."

Off Topic

You have choices!
1. IC, you can choose to side with either Luca or Elitza or abstain. This will determine your strategy going forward. Sticking together or splitting up. If there is a tie, Luca's suggestion wins out.
2. OOC, pick either a deck of cards or a wind chime

Similar to last time,
You may investigate your surrounding area.
You may interact freely with but not control the NPCs.
I will post in a week's time or sooner if everyone posts early.

[Mute]

"Silence Reigns . . ."

The Element broke off his marching song--what was it with everyone and their humming?--to ask me my thoughts on the report. I shrugged my shoulder in response, frustrated that I didn't have more to offer the soldier than that. Perhaps if I had more time, I could sit down and analyze the significance of all the information, but I had yet to perfect the thinking on-the-fly method in his intelligence gathering process. Not that Lucas had anything more than his own suspicions to offer. Until a breakthrough was made, this party was traveling blind.

It didn't help that one of us was too busy concentrating on his strip tease to offer his own thoughts.

When we reached the edge of the Sweetwine Woods, Lucas called for a halt. Glancing at each of us, the soldier began a discussion about the next step with a decision hanging in the air that needed to be settled: do we stick together or do we split into two groups? I could see the merit in both and preferred the first, given that the only weapon I wielded was a bonafide stick. It was safer to have three people in close proximity to myself than one. With that said, it wasn't a stretch to think that Tio was gonna vote for the second option; that way he could try and seduce Elitza without the audience. At the very least, all the noise he would make might draw the attention towards him, allowing Lucas and I the chance to counter.

Thus, holding up two fingers, I voted for the second option.

And hoped in that moment that the archer didn't kill Silver until the goods have been recovered.

[Tio Silver]

When Luca offered a choice of strategies going forward; to either split into teams of two or continue as a group, Tio took some time to consider the options. Oh how appealing the idea of splitting into a team with Elitza sounded! He could crank the annoying meter right up to a hundred and twenty percent without anybody else around! His wiggled his toes delightedly as the urge to cause mischief fluttered up inside his chest, and then with great reluctance had to quash the urge back down again as a thought crossed his mind. If he was separated from the others and Luca found the stash while he wasn't around there was a chance he might discover what was in the barrel of banshee powder, and if he then brought knowledge of it back to the Elements it was going to cause him a whole heap of trouble. No, he needed to keep Luca in his sights as much as he could.

"I vote we all stick together!" He announced cheerily. "To be perfectly honest I'm worried that Elitza is planning on jumping me the moment we're alone. I don't think I'm strong enough to overpower someone with such intense passion. Besides aren't thieves supposed to be sneaky? I don't think they'd risk trying to ambush a group of four, but a group of two would be worth a go to a desperate person. We're in no rush, and we'd be safer together. Elitza, I'm afraid business must come before pleasure."

Off Topic

I choose a deck of cards.

[Vorpal]

Luca nodded in understanding as everyone voiced their input. Elitza and the silent man preferred teams while like him, Tio voted for everyone to stay together. The stalemate meant that he, the Element, had to make a call.

"We'll be sticking together then," he announced, stubbornly ignoring the fact that Tio had just made colorful suggestions of Elitza's intentions. He would have told the man to stop his childish harassment for her sake, but he doubted that he would be heeded. That would have looked bad for chain of command. Also, when he cast an uncertain look toward the archer, she merely gave him a shrug.

"A pity," Elitza said dryly, folding the map and raising a brow in Tio's direction. "But I see your point." She then glanced at Mute, who had also failed to secure his preferred method of action. She gave a little nod of acknowledgement before preparing to fall back into the marching line.

"Is everyone in agreement?" Lucas asked as a final check. They needed to get along if they were to trust each other with their backs in here. If there were no problems, the soldier led on, deeper into the woods.

The group went on to cross Ol'Tucks which had grown sad and feeble with its water source drained away by the Saun suns. In fact, in some places, it was possible for the small team to ford the thing without getting anything beyond their boots wet. Lucas picked such a spot where the river bent away and carefully crossed over to the other side. Through the trees and wilted vines on the other bank, the alert observer would be able to make out the clearing where Dream Lake was supposed to occupy.

The group veered off the open area by the river and struggled to push through the branches and brush of the Sweetwine. Away from them scurried the critters that had been lying low from the hot weather, but nothing especially terrifying jumped out at the adventurers. What did surprise Luca, who was at the front of the line, was the state of the lake. When they cleared the last of the trees, what spread out before the volunteers was not the cool, refreshing scenery of a beautiful lake, but something even more wilted and dry than Ol'Tucks. The waters of the great pool had receded to where it would have been the deepest, and the lake bed around it had been exposed to the sun. On the cracked earth was the withered remains of unfortunate, dried out water plants which were now crumbling away into dust.

The far bank leading deeper into the woods was now much closer thanks to the retreat of the lake. The group could cut across it on foot. However, there was a good bit of water still huddled in the center of the lake. Other than that, there was no immediate camp of thieves in sight.

Luca looked a little awed at the diminished lake. "I didn't know it got this way," he muttered.

Off Topic

Go ahead and do as your character would do. For example, push ahead, look around, take a rest...Those who choose to investigate may easily stick close to the main group while doing so.

► Show Spoiler

You may investigate your surrounding area.
You may interact freely with but not control the NPCs.
I will post in a week's time or sooner if everyone posts early.