Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by DracoLunaris
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DracoLunaris Multiverse tourist

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Q-T Brackman


When the bot powered back on in her (reinforced) bunk for a brief moment she could almost believe that they hadn’t crashed down yesterday, and that it had all been a bout of fanciful imagination. Of course, the fact that she was powering up rather than having spent all night tinkering away with personal projects was the first clear sign that this wasn’t a standard day shipside.

With the ship being in a low power state Q-T, like any responsible crewmember, had not wanted to waste what power they did have on excessive frivolities, and so after a justifiable amount of frivolities she’d put herself into sleep mode to wait out the night. It always felt like a waste to not use every hour her mechanical physiology provided, but if there was one little advantage it was the shared experience it provided with her human teammates, one of which was gracelessly snoring away in her bunk.

The bot rolled out of her own and then gave her crewmate a poke and a ”Wakey wakey Neilsy, it's morning again“ which got her a spluttered response and a thwack to the face that hurt the human far more than it did the bot.

“Owww” the women complained, shaking her hand as she sat up and then insisted “I'm awake I’m awake,” despite looking and sounding half asleep “So quit hassling me”

”Hey don’t complain, you’d sleep in without me“ Q-T retorted

“She slept in with you too” Riley pointed out as she leaned into the bedroom of their shard quarters, their squad leader half-way through a piece of toast.

”Wait what?“

“Emergency times mean emergency hours, so get your butts up and prepped pronto” Riley replied with a jerk of her thumb

“Damn it alarm clock, you set yourself wrong!” Neilsy berated Q-T, who was quite offended by this designation ”Hey wait, you use me as an alarm clock? Is that why i have to get you up all the time!“

“Well yeah duh”

“Ladies, focus please. We have work to do” came the exasperated call of their leader, who had already left the room to go sit back down to eat the rest of breakfast.

“Yeah yeah,” Neilsy replied, pulling herself out of bed “so what’s on the docket today boss?”

“Captain’s going adventuring again, but incognito this time, so we need to get up to sewing and pick up some local disguises” she informed them as the pair traipsed out into their little living/dining room.

”Wow, that is so cool! It’s like something out of star trek“ Q-T’s eyes lit up as she referenced the part of mandatory astronaut cultural viewing material, before her visor displayed a pair of furrowed eyebrows and she asked ”Wait… What am I going to be?“

“You?” Riley checked her pda again, gave a little snort of a laugh and informed her that “You’re a box”




”This is just so undignified“ Q-T complained from within her disguise as she was single-handedly hauled off of the ship by the captain

“Quite, boxes don’t talk” she was reminded by Riley, who was sticking close to her subordinate’s storage receptacle, to which Nielsy added “Also this is a classic sneaking technique, so you're being almost as cool as us”

The pair of them had both ended up being provided with sailors' uniforms complete with baggy pantaloons, tricorn hats, and large navy blue jackets which were perfect to hide a variety of gadgets and gizmos in, mostly a mix of surveying and survival gear. No period appropriate weapons however, which turned out to be a slight oversight when the team managed to get themselves accosted by thugs in a dark alleyway.

”Hey! What’s going on out there?“ came a whisper shout from the dumped bot-create.

“Nothing security cant handle quietly I’m sure” Riley insisted as she backed away from the thugs before she put a hand on the top of the box to stop Q-T breaking out, and then also batted a hand at Nielsy before she could reach into her jacket, which caused the other human astronaut to go “Ow!” flinch her hand away from the fold up rifle she had been reaching for and then say “well they better or you guy’s are gonna regret it!” to the thugs to protect her ego.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by 13org
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While the initial talk Catherine had with Almira and her crew was definitely productive, giving her quite a few notes for her to study about, the conversation soon died down, mainly still due to distrust between both sides. Without much to talk about, Catherine, Srikandi, Dumas and Anki were soon offered to stay for the night which they agreed under the condition that they kept their weapons.

While many people who were more accustomed with the luxurious life of nobility and royalty would find the rooms they were offered to spend the night to be incredibly simple, Catherine couldn't help but appreciate how 'efficient' they were. There were no unnecessary decorations and no space lost, it seemed to be designed to offer strictly what it needed to offer. Enough comfort for the crew to sleep and rest.

Another thing that immediately drew Catherine's attention was how soft the beds and the clothes they were provided were. The only times where Catherine had ever experienced something that soft was when the Gremarre Royalty requested her presence on the palace and even then, it still wasn't as soft as that particular bed that apparently, all crew members on Almira's ship were provided.

Despite the fact that Almira was 'kind' enough to offer them somewhere to sleep, it wasn't enough to dismiss Catherine's distrust, especially since she was going to be very vulnerable, sleeping, inside Almira's ship. Surrounded by her subordinates. Due to that, in order to give herself a bit more comfort and 'privacy', Catherine made sure to coat the entrance to her room with a potent paralyzing potion. Just in case someone tried anything funny...

"Just in case... It never hurts to be careful. Don't worry. It's just a paralyzing agent. I'll clean it up tomorrow." Catherine said after she finishing coating the door handle and a few of the objects and walls near the entrance.

"Oho~ I might get used to this very quickly!" Catherine said to herself, chuckling as when she laid down to sleep. The feeling of the incredibly soft fabric of her 'sleeping clothes' coupled with the soft bed made her fall asleep incredibly quickly.




The next morning, the party gathered again, but this time to take Almira to Cendana, together with a few members of her crew. The first part of the trip was made on the strange 'rover' Almira and her crew had, at least until they left Dragonspine. After that, they were met by a ship from Cendana, apparently someone Srikandi knew.

While the trip itself was rather uneventful, Catherine did raise her eyebrow, curious when Srikandi chose to remain the fact that they had indeed found 'something' on their little reconnaissance mission and the fact that she had brought that very 'something' back with her to Cendana.

"Curious..." Catherine said to herself with a smirk, taking a quick glance towards Srikandi and then to Almira.

It took only a moment until the Shipwright went to do his own tasks, after believing the lies Srikandi fed him, for both Srikandi and Anki start commenting about the reasons for her choice.

"You know... The Gremarre Royal family would definitely be interested in meeting them as well... They will definitely be happy to know my trip was successful... Happy enough to turn a blind eye to some of my more... dangerous researches..." Catherine said, clearly thinking more about the rewards she would receive after that than anything else, such as nearly unlimited funds for her experiences and researches and maybe even permission to conduct some... morally ambiguous and definitely dangerous research without having to risk becoming a fugitive...

After a short trip on board of the ship, they had finally arrived on Cendana, bringing some rather... 'exotic' guests with them. Unfortunately, since it was Srikandi's first time in Cendana and being the one that was leading the entire group, she admitted after a short while that she had lost her way, which was honestly quite obvious, seeing the alleyways they had stopped at.

Just the moment Srikandi mentioned that though, they were approached by a gang of thugs, harassing the female members of the group. Upon hearing their words, Catherine couldn't help but laugh. Loudly and making no effort to hide how ridiculous she thought that situation was. Fortunately, Srikandi didn't seem to want to try any diplomatic approach to solve that situation as well, otherwise it would be definitely ruined by Catherine's laughter.


"I could burn you all to a crisp, suffocate you in a cloud of toxic or corrosive gas... Maybe even a nervous agent...? Unfortunately, as amusing as those might sound to me, you are definitely not worth the rare ingredients and reagents I spent in these mixtures... So I will just beat you half to death, okay? I hope you all don't mind."
Catherine said as she gently put down her bag, replete with dragon blood, organs and many other potions while the rest of the group members had already began to fight and looked at some of the thugs, who were slowly approaching her, probably thinking she was an easier target than the other two, who were clearly fighters.

Those who had not seen Catherine fight hand to hand before instead of using her potions would definitely be taken aback by the explosive acceleration Catherine had when dashing towards the thug and the sheer force and impact of the kick she landed on him, sending him flying towards the wall, his body hitting it with a very audible and very unpleasant sound. After a single attack, it became evident for both Almira and the rest of the group that there was definitely something else going on with Catherine.

With his friend now unconscious, probably with several broken bones, the second thug, despite being taken by surprise by Catherine's violent strike to his friend, rushed towards Catherine trying to stab her with his knife. Unfortunately for him, Catherine was quickly able to dodge his adrenaline-fueled, clumsy and awkward strike, grabbing his wrist and twisting it behind his back, making him drop his weapon and immobilizing the thug, who seemed to be several times bigger than Catherine herself was.

"Do you know why I, an alchemist, wear a red overcoat instead of a white one?" Catherine said, with an amused smile as she grabbed the immobilized thug by the back of his neck.

Planting her feet on the ground, Catherine tightened her grasp around the thug's neck, lifting him from the ground by a brief moment before slamming him down, face first into the cobblestone ground with as much force as she could muster, making blood splatter everywhere, including on her already red overcoat. The sickening cracking sound was audible from a distance, leaving no doubt that if that particular thug didn't die due to the extreme impact, he was definitely on his last moments.

"Oh shit..." Catherine said with a heavy sigh, before lifting the thug in the air and quickly inspecting his state. The thug who now had a completely broken, almost unrecognizable face, was clearly already on his last moments,gasping for air, unable to breathe.

"So... Srikandi... Is it a problem if one of them dies...?" Catherine asked, lightly shaking the thug almost as if one does with a rag doll when showing it to someone else.

After hearing Srikandi's energetic reply, saying that it would DEFINITELY be a problem if someone died, Catherine let out a heavy sigh.

"...Fuck!" Catherine said as she begrudgingly took a small vial with a vibrant, red liquid from inside her coat.

"You know that these healing potions are really annoying to make, right...?" Catherine said, grumbling as she literally smashed the vial on the face of the dying thug, breaking it in a thousand pieces as the vibrant red liquid splashed on the thug's face, before she unceremoniously let go of the thug, dropping it on the ground with a thud.

Just a second after hitting the ground, the potion started acting, making the broken bones snap into place by themselves, as the tore muscles fibers started moving by themselves, connecting with each other and quickly regenerating. After a few seconds, the bandit's face was spotless, without a single wound, despite still being covered with blood.
Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by ShiningSector
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Garret Zarubin




"What the hell is this?" Garrett growled while his vexed gaze became affixed to his datapad.

On the screen of his personal datapad were mission orders issued by the Captain herself, requesting he and his team to sortie as escort for her, the Friestanians, and several of the Thucydides's personnel. This he didn't have an issue with. Granted, his group was primarily trained for incursions into unexplored territory and handling the threats that may lie in wait - something he made damn sure his team prepared for - and perhaps a diplomatic security detail wasn't what he nor his teammates were well-versed in, aside from shutting up, not doing anything stupid, and let the officials do the talking. Then again, his team was the only group with first-hand experience with the Friestanians and had a rough personality profile of the natives to know how to interact or handle any of them if need be. It was likely this fact that his team was requested once more.

Again, he didn't have an issue with this.

What he did have a problem with were the underlining mission prerequisites. His team was allowed to retain their standard armament, however, their rifles and pistols were to be strictly stowed in provided leather soft cases and holsters and only brought out either per the Captain's orders or if circumstances became extraordinary to call for them. Garrett thought the requirement odd, unnecessary even, since it practically filed his team's fang down and dampened their efficiency in a combat situation, especially since their combat knives or whatever tools could be passed off as weapons were allowed if a conflict erupted. Not only that, their standard-issue all-environment armored suits, a staple in their establish field role, were now replaced by something called the...

...'mission designated uniform'...

Really?

Garrett looked up from this datapad and stared at his new 'mission designated uniform' that sat atop the Supply and Requisition office's outgoing desk. A large frown formed on his already unenthused face. What he and his team were handed were, as what was indicated by the equipment manifest underneath the mission orders, clothes that would allow them to blend in with the Friestanian populace; medieval clothing basically. Though he naturally wanted to hate the get-up he was given, he couldn't deny the sewing department's craftsmanship of each article of clothing that did look and feel like someone from the middle-ages would wear, just with a touch of practical and modern flair. As it became obvious through his inspection, his team's set of attire was specifically designed for protection, given the padded gambeson jacket that formed into a half-skirt around the waist and several strips of brigandine placed in some areas of the body, namely the shoulders and arms. It was eventually evident that one or two people from S&R had to confer with the Armory officers about the outfits. It quickly occurred to him then why their firearms were to be held in reserve, mainly to benefit the era-appropriate disguises they were handed.

As he continued to look over the uniforms and began begrudgingly liking them, he couldn't help but notice one of the S&R clerks looking over the team as they reviewed their equipment. Genevieve, going by the nameplate the clerk wore above her chest and pinned to her uniform, had her face painted with an anxious expression and a nervous smile. If he had to guess, she was looking to see if the outfits were to his team's liking. Of course, anyone not within the security division's ranks knew that their members favored anything practical and defensible, like a standard-issue all-environment armored suit for instance. So anything less than light or reconnaissance armor or a personnel shield was frowned upon; which meant pleasing them with something that couldn't tank an energy bolt was a difficult task to achieve, thus explaining the clerk's uneasiness.

Sighing, Garrett turned slightly to Meisha who marveled at her uniform and exemplified the word 'enthusiastic' to a tee with her eyes casting glittering stars of intrigue. Then again, she usually was like this with new stuff anyhow. He had no idea where she got her infinite reserves of positivity from.

"Meisha," he said under his breath but just enough for her to hear, "you have my permission to verbally express yourself without restraint."

The smallest and youngest of their number quickly turned her head to him and a big grin took shape upon her bright visage. And just like that, she went off like a firework, resounding the work put into the outfits and praising the fabricators for their excellent skills and craftsmanship. Such bellowing positivity was enough to even garner the attention of the other workers deep into the department space. If it wasn't evident enough, Meisha had a problem with being too loud and expressive - which even she recognized - and was disciplined into opening up only off-duty or at the behest of her superiors.

"Hey," Garret suddenly said to Thorin while kicking the taller man's leg, "you join in too."

"Oh, uh," Thorin, not known for his mental sharpness and more so for his bold and imposing stature, scrambled to come up with a compliment, especially having been put on the spot, "ah, these fit me just right. I really like these!"

At least he wasn't wrong; the bald Scandinavian man was nearly seven feet tall and requestioning and maintaining anything in Thorin's size and shape was a chore. Being able to easily dwarf the entire crew of the ship with seemingly no equal to measure up to him, it was honestly a fact he had every right to boast about but was simply too humble to make the claim. Actually, it was more apt to consider him innocently naive and thick-headed to the point where nothing phased him or anything else could fly over his head.

Looking over to Genevieve, who was now preoccupied with Meisha bombarding her with queries about their new clothing, Garrett could tell her tense expression from earlier had faded and a confident countenance and a natural smile, not an artificial one, had manifested.

"You did that on purpose," said Shirly through her wry grin.

"Yeah, I did," Garrett admitted unapologetically, "you want me to toss you and Tess in there too?"

"Don't you dare," hissed Tess, likely speaking for Shirly too in expressing their reluctance to animate themselves like Meisha or poor Thorin.

Returning to his mission attire, and trying to ignore the loud praising he had instigated, Garrett combed through the rest of the equipment and noticed a small communication badge was included with his gear. Though his team never needed them before, considering the kind of missions they were meant to take usually required them to wear sealed suits that had built-in comm systems within their helmets, the tiny badges were easy to hide, and to the uninformed mind, the devices seemed like nothing else but a simple pin. Additionally, the badge could produce such isolated and localized noise that only the wearer could hear it and no one else, not even anyone purposely getting physically close could hear a thing. On top of being able to amplify the whispering from the wearing into a normal tone, the comm badge was useful in establishing discreet communication between wearers without public eyes or ears noticing.

Upon taking the time to inspect the badge and looking it over, mainly to see how the thing worked, he set it aside and returned to reviewing his attire, noting the leather boots and gloves and the refined cotton trousers that seemed to vaguely resemble denim jeans if no other comparison could be made. Seeing the many clothes and seeing the material used to craft them, Garrett was becoming ever more curious about exactly what other kinds of fabrics or other material they had brought and how much exactly. He shoved the through away, realizing that he was better off not knowing; logistics was certainly a very mysterious and powerful force he'd rather not question.

Finally, after he was finished satisfying his curiosity with his outfit, he looked over to an adjacent table littered with handheld tools. That was initially what he thought they were. Upon walking up to the table, the 'tools' were in fact additional knives, several heat machetes, and expandable batons. The knives were self-explanatory through the machetes and batons were certainly unexpected. Ironically, Commonwealth combat doctrines, despite acknowledging the necessities of close-quarters engagements, never once considered any weapon bigger than a typical combat knife to be used - then again, said combat doctrines also acknowledged improvisation when needed. Garrett, seeing how much work was put into his get-up to be as genuinely authentic to the medieval period as possible, had almost expected authentic swords or axes as well. Unsurprisingly, fabricating such weapons was a much taller order than weaving fabrics so the set before him simply had to do.

Picking out what he thought he needed from the selection of 'weapons', he looked over his shoulder to see Meisha still going at it with her praises and Thorin barely able to keep up with her, while Tess and Shirly kept their focus on their newly acquired gear.

"Settle down you two," Garrett ordered, "I think Jenny over there got the message; A-plus. Now get over here and get dressed. Op starts in two hours; plenty of time get used to your new digs and to admire yourself in them."




The ride down from the Great Table would be uneventful aside from a few cases of small talk between the Thucydides crew and the Friestanians. However, things would pick up after dismounting the rover and watching as a strange vessel came into view, steadily approaching upstream. Looking over its design, it was very comparable to what a typically sailing ship, or perhaps a Junk, which most of the Thucydides crew would know about their historical text. Though its method of propulsion was certainly unusual and Garrett wasn't quite sure how it worked and was half-expecting Sumiye to mention something about it.

He and his team watched silently as Srikandi and the ship captain conversed with one another though Garrett couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when the knight fabricated a cover story that established the Thucydides crew as another group of adventures she and her party had found. Aside from the convincing getups they wore, with Almira's attire being very much the exception, he questioned how exactly legitimate they really appeared. Luckily, the ship captain, even after looking in their direction for a brief moment, didn't stop to question any of Srikandi's words and allowed everyone aboard. Like the ride within the Rover, the trip to Cendana was without any drama or existential hurdles. For most of the brief trip, Garrett stood by the ship's mast, arms folded, and quietly half-listened to the skipper's life tales while shifting his observations from some of the mariners going about their duties, to the watery environment surrounding the vessel.

It wasn't long until the city of Cendana came into perfect view and what a perfect view it was. While Cendana was certainly not as massive or towering as the sprawling cityscapes and ecumenopolis back within Commonwealth territory, Cendana certainly had a strange and notable majesty to it, like a preserved relic of time undeteriorated. This was perhaps helped by the fact of how bright it was without the bustling aero-car traffic or a multitude of skyscrapers - like Garrett and many amongst his group were used to seeing- to keep its brilliance enshadowed.

Eventually, as they docked and disembarked from the ship, Garrett quickly realized how many people that went about their business through the port took the time to stare in their direction. More specifically, as he would instantly confirm, their gaze was set solely on Almira herself, for obvious reasons regarding her outfit which Garrett tried and failed to hide the doubt in his expression which practically said, 'you're just now noticing?' : an expressive message that seemed to be silently shared and conveyed by the rest of the crew. Srikandi had then urged them forward into the city and everyone followed ignoring the stares and seemingly moving past them too. Garrett looked around, oddly admiring the 'primative' architecture and the lively socialness of the townsfolk moving about the streets. He had heard of fairs back on Earth that emulated and celebrated the medieval and renaissance periods of its history where everyone from onlookers to participants were immersed in the old cultural ways. In a sense, he felt like he was walking through one of those fairgrounds however Garrett indeed reminded himself that this was essentially the real deal.

After some time, it became quickly evident they had become lost. Spectacularly lost in fact, as they had somehow taken a wrong turn and wound up in a wide yet secluded alleyway, "how did we end up here?" asked a rightly confused Thorin.

"I'm..." began Garrett, stunned and just as confused as his underling, "I've no idea how we managed this."

Srikandi would soon apologize for her error in leading the group into a dead end though before Garrett could even consider or try to call her out on her incredible mistake, the sound of footsteps began to echo from the dark corners and crevices of the alley. Soon the footsteps became louder and louder until the group was surrounded by at least twenty men, all of whom appeared dirty and ragged, armed, and most certainly unfriendly. Even before one of the would-be bandits could start making a demand, Garrett was already issuing orders. Tapping the comm badge he inserted beneath the collar of his gambeson jacket, he spoke softly and quietly into the device.

//My gut is telling me we're not walking out here without a few scrapes. Shirly, move back and cover the rest of the crew behind us. Thorin, help her and take up the rear; I want an exit route. Meisha, you're in the center, intercept anyone trying to worm their way past us. Tess, the Captain's flank is all you. I'll cover Srikandi and the other Friestanians near me. All copy?//

His team acknowledged the command and he thought that would've been it until Tess unexpectedly chimed in.

//Uh, boss? Cathrine's right next to me. What about her?//

Garrett felt his eyebrow twitch, //What about her? You saw the security scans the moment she stepped onto our ship. She's loaded with several substances that the Commonwealth had outlawed and considered them materials for creating a variety of WMDs. She's fine. She-//

//Actually,// Shirly quickly cut in, //She's dropping her voodoo bag and looking like she wants to brawl.//

//Goddammit,// Garrett signed in annoyance, //fine, go cover her too, Tess.//

//Copy.//

//Also, try not to kill this lot if you can help it. Neutralize them if all possible.//

Releasing the comm badge, he shook his head and looked ahead at the thugs before him. He clearly wasn't over the fiasco Catherine inadvertently created and nearly drew about Galmira's wrath. Of course in a twist of irony, he was expecting the alchemist to deploy her potions and toxins, which would've kept a large part of their flank secured and likely discourage the bandits from approaching that direction. But that idea was tossed out the moment she opted for a fisticuff, thus prompting him to now task Tess with additional weight. Then again, Tess always liked the challenge and had a knack for taking her job as a security officer in a direction the role had neither intended nor encouraged. That was namely being able to beat the shit out of people if they got out of line and her notable background in martial arts easily enabled her to excel on that front. Garrett still couldn't believe that she and Meisha were sisters.

Not a moment later and two thugs were already barrelling down on him - and likewise he to them. The cybernetics that he, and his team, had received during his initial years of service training was now firing in response to the fight or flight scenario that developed before him. The small to microscopic-sized devices tapped into the neural pathways of his brain, triggering the many chemical signals throughout his body and promoting adrenaline to course through. The moment one of the thugs lifted their foot off the ground to enter a charge, that same moment Garrett was already perceiving the action and responded in kind and lunged forward. As he got in close, he unsheathed the heat machete he took along into his right hand and drew his combat knife with his left. The closest of the bandits swung their sword down on top of him, but Garrett saw this too and quickly side-stepped the attack and immediately struck back, catching the man's sword in-between the serrated teeth of his knife and pulling both the opposing blade and its wielder to him. In another quick move which at this point the bandit was unable to react fast enough, Garrett swung the machete down, hoping to force the sword out of his opponent's hand.

The heat machetes weren't intended for actual combat and instead designed for cutting through thick foliage or carving through narrow or thin hardened surfaces, such as metal pipes or steel beams. This was made possible by the blade's centerpiece substance in-fitted as the machete's edge was a recently discovered crystalline material which, due to its incredible exothermic oxidation properties, could generate insane levels of heat upon receiving an electrical current through the carbon-fiber and nano-steel frame. Basically, the material becomes superheated to the point where upon contact with most surfaces, the heated blade would either cut right through with little effort or slowly but surely carve through via melting the obstacle. However, Garrett kept that feature off, for now, seeing it as perhaps overkill in light of the circumstance of his fight, and focused on disarming the bandit...

...which he achieved though not in the way he had intended. As it turned out, the heat machete's vastly more durable construction and the incredible sharpness of its bladed edge was more than enough than what the bandit's sword could withstand as upon contact, Garrett's blade bit through, separating a majority portion of the sword away from the base of the hilt with a metallic pinging noise. The thug's face was drained of color upon seeing such an act set upon him and Garrett himself was almost as surprised but instead of dwelling on it, he pushed his momentum forward and brought his left hand around, now formed into a meaty fist while still possessing the knife within its grasps, and sent it smashing between the eyes of the unfortunate bandit.

The well-placed hit, resounding with a crack, toppled the man over his heels and collapsed into a limp and unconscious heap. Garrett then set his sights on the thug's partner, who by now saw the entire altercation last a measly three seconds and halted their charge, instinctively reacting to the realization that his foe was far more of a threat than he had anticipated. Seeing this hesitation, Garrett lunged toward the stunned bandit, both his blades pointed towards this quarry. The bandit himself took a step back and raised their sword defensively. Such a response however was anticipated by Garrett while he reached pivoted around the enemy, pulling the same trick before by using his knife to pry the opposing blade aside. At this point, he had the bandit dead to rights and could cleave apart his helpless opponent with his heat machete but instead opted into a different course of action. Pressing the trigger on the utility blade's handle, the heat machete's edge glowed a bright and searing hot orange, contrasting with the tool's black frame.

In a quick stroke, he swung the machete towards the bandit's leg however with the burning edge turned away. The machete's flat profile connected and the bandit yelped loudly, not so much in response to the hard impact, but feeling the searing heat that Garrett's blade shot through his weathered cloth and leather. As if he were momentarily lashed by fire, which wasn't far off in actuality, the bandit quickly recoiled and jumped into the air. Practically processing the man's reaction in near slow motion, Garrett quickly moved again, sliding his knife behind the bandit's raised boot, further unstabling his balance and bringing his foe falling backwards. Just before the bandit could connect with the ground, Garrett raised his left foot through the maneuver and slammed it down into the man's chest and crashing the stunned body into the pavement with a reverberating thud. Looking down at his fallen enemy, boot still in the bandit's torso, Garret could quickly determine this thug too was concussed and unmoving. That was two fewer fools to worry about.

As if looking for another target, he swung around and looked at the battle unfolding behind him. It seemed everyone was holding their own. Srikandi and Almira appeared to be doing well in fending off their attackers. Tess, who he ordered to cover their Captain, lunged at a startled and scuffed-up thug and brought down the dull backends of the machetes within both her hands onto the man's helm. The connections throttled him into the ground and Tess soon too was looking for more enemies. Garrett's eyes darted over to Thorin who he, for a split-second, witnessed him picking up a hapless victim and tossing them into another bandit who momentary had their staff raised with a strange green light emanating from it. Whatever they were doing was cut short as the two thugs collided with one another. Shirly on the other hand seemed to have things under control where she was as two thugs that faced off with her appeared frustrated and battered, nearly struggling to stand while she had an extended baton pointed in their direction, holding it like some kind of rapier. She even held the stance of a fencer too. Like Tess, Shirly was the only other member of his team that held any kind of training before enlisting though her's skills were clearly in the sport of fencing and she was damn good at keeping her opponents off-balance, with every strike and motion being textbook. Even the baton she held as it was extended even resembled a rapier, especially how elongated and narrow it became as it deployed. One of the thugs challenged her again, only to be smacked in the face repeatedly until they collapsed. The remaining foe seemed to shake in uncertainty, unsure how else they could proceed.

Garrett was just about to look for Meisha until he could hear a strangely familiar blood-curdling scream of a man whose wrist, and by association, their arm, was bending and straining on the precipice from being twisted, dislocated, and broken; somehow all at the same time. He winced, not so much from the screaming, but just imagining Meisha who likely was putting the poor man through one of her 'signature' wrist locks. Beyond all reasoning, she got the move down wrong but got it wrong in a way that made her unwilling captives undergo excruciating pain to the point that they shrivel up and immediately cease hostilities, sometimes even begging for their release.

Garrett didn't even want to look in her direction yet she was able to see him idling, "Boss! I caught a prisoner!" she exclaimed, sounding off as if she was proud of her contribution to the mass struggle.

Still not really wanting to look in her direction, or more specifically to the bandit in her clutches, he simply gave an awkward and unsteady thumbs up, before running off towards the next bandit he could get his hands on.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Kumbaris
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Kumbaris

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@13org@King Cosmos@Martian@DracoLunaris@ShiningSector



The fight didn’t last long, as the group finally dispatched every thug who so much as thinks to mess with the joint combo of the adventurers and their friends from space. Catherine and Garrett made a particularly strong impression on Almira, as both of them managed to thoroughly subdue a thug, Catherine admittedly much more brutally than Garrett, but once Srikandi managed to calm down the raging woman, she reluctantly gave the thug, practically on his last breath, a potion to heal his wounds and everything turned out well.

As well as one would hope considering the situation that is.

“You know, I have to get me one of those potion thingies Catherine. Do you know how much you’d sell the recipe for?” Almira asked curiously. Just in time for a pair of city guards to notice the commotion and rush into the scene.

While initially not sure of what happened, once they noticed the thugs, and especially the Ksatria Naga, they knew what happened, and promptly arrested the various thugs that were assaulting the group. One of the Knights also informed the group that the Mayor at the city hall was also asking for their presence.

They didn’t ask of Almira’s group, much to her relief, making up a cover story for yet another group of people is going to be such a mess and telling them the truth will also make it even messier. Almira silently hopes that they just assume they are Srikandi’s team members, and it is looking that way as they enter City Hall.

The City Hall itself was a magnificent building, filled with elaborate carvings and artworks of past battles and artefacts from the City’s history, but Almira and her group could only see them in transit because they were quickly shuttled into the Mayor’s office.

The mayor himself seems very distressed, his mouth moving and his glorious moustache moving along with it. His well-tailored batik suit did not match his movements at all, as he slowly moved back and forth, his facial expression changed for the better though, as the long-awaited party consisting of Srikandi and her friends arrived at his office.

“Alright, first of all. I have to thank you, Miss Srikandi. Anything that the Ksatria Naga can do to improve the city, I am more than happy to accept it. But, unfortunately, there are more pressing issues at the city of Cendana than just a bunch of thugs roughing up unfortunate souls.”

He handed the Ksatria Naga a letter, stamped with a black dyed seal on it, immediately grabbing the attention of the Knight. A black seal indicates that it belongs to the dark lord, or a messenger of the dark lord, the seal has already been cracked open, and the Mayor’s apprehensive face is all the more indication that she should read its contents.

And as Srikandi opened it, and read its contents. Her facial expression turned from cautious, to downright terrified, she handed over the document towards Anki. Who similarly felt alarmed at what she read once she finishes.

“This is something that will impact Oberia too, I will assist you in this case.” Anki responded, creating some confusion among the other adventurers as to what the problem was.

“Hey uhh, Srikandi. I have no idea what just happened, but can you fill me in on what just happened?” Almira asked, scratching her head at their alarm. “I assume it’s something very bad right?”

“Incredibly.” Srikandi replied, Anki handing the letter over to Dumas, and then to Catherine. “The Dark Lord has sent emissaries towards this city, specifically to find out what the meteor that impacted the Dragonspine was exactly, and perhaps utilize it to their advantage. I do not know the full details of the situation, but I am aware that, per the letters’ details. They are assembling in 3 select areas, the Elven Quarters, the Adventurers Quarters, and the Dockyards.”

“I will personally lead a task force into the Elven Quarters.” Anki indicated. “Catherine and mister Dumas, can you perhaps indicate as to whether you want to accept a small adventure together?”

“And I will go to the Adventurers’ Quarters.” Srikandi responded. “Mister Garrett, and Miss Sumiye King, would you be so kind as to accompany me in this? We need people who are physically capable if we were to get to the bottom of this.”

Almira was about to respond. But she was cut short by Srikandi. “I cannot let you risk yourselves in the dockyards. You are not aware of this place and that can put you in serious risk should something happen.”

Drat. It seems that Srikandi knows me better than I know myself. Almira thought. “Fine then, but if something happens, don’t blame me for trying to defend myself.”

“Don’t worry about that. Guards?” Srikandi politely asked the guards nearby. “Can you please guard Almira inside a personal room here? I am going on a little adventure alongside Anki, and this ma’am here is a newcomer to this town, she’s a bit too assertive for her own good, and yes, before you ask, she comes from Bagalpur, you know how those Bagalpurans are like.”

Almira personally doesn’t know Bagalpur, nor what the people in Bagalpur are like, but she knows that is not a compliment towards her, she could only look in Srikandi, a feeling of mock betrayal in her face visibly forms, a feeling Srikandi knew all too well, but knows that she is on the right for ordering this.

Just before Almira was about to be escorted out though. Srikandi and Anki looked at each of the participants. “Again, we need allies doing this thing. Do you want to join us on this little quest of ours? I assume that the Mayor will compensate us well for our services right?”

She turned towards the mayor, who quickly nodded in response. “O-of course, gifts of gold and property for everyone that does not own one in Cendana! Please, the Dark Lord is not someone I can tolerate in my town. If only that accursed meteor didn’t hit the Dragonspine near my city, ugh.”

Anki could only give Srikandi a small thumbs up. Her facial expression not matching her approval. "Your quick thinking on this situation will always be an asset Srikandi." She whispered. "Thinking about financial compensation for our errands in such a quick manner. I will have to study your wit and way of thinking more, those previous adventures with you is not sufficient for me to learn all of the complexities of human interaction."
Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by ShiningSector
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Garret Zarubin




Eventually, the skirmish winded down until every single criminal either laid incapacitated on the cobblestone pavement or was restrained; notably, the only supposed conscious thug still squirming within Meisha's tyrant grasps. Garrett and his squad looked over the group that tried to jump them, checking if any one of them had any will of defiance to oppose them further. Though it was evidently clear they were out cold and practically rendered harmless.

"Secure the area!" Garrett ordered aloud to his squad and motioned Tess and Shirly forward deeper into the alleyway to scope the place out for any other lurking dangers. Both women acknowledged the request and brushed past him, their weapons still drawn.

After watching the two venture further for a few seconds, he turned around and set his sights on the criminal Meisha had captured and moved towards the man. Upon reaching him, Garrett lowered his machete towards the thug who had been forcefully restrained and put to his knees. Though before Garrett could even open his mouth, the man shot a painful and tearful look at him. Desperation and dismay were painted all over his face.

"P-please! I-I'll tell you anything! Anything I say! Just tell her to release me, I beg you!" the thug pleaded.

"And you won't give us any reason to see you as a threat?" Garrett asked coldly.

"No, no! I surrender! Honest! Please, I can't bare this no longer!"

Garrett pondered on this notion for a moment, though if anything, he was putting on a facade, just to illustrate the situation in a way that would not only intimidate the hooligan further but ensure his compliance with the rest of the group. In a suggestive nod to Meisha, who was still bearing her signature smile, she released the man and the thug collapsed into the pavement gripping his tortured wrist with his only working hand. Garrett leaned forward and looked over the man, now seemingly shriveled and adopting a fetal position. Admittedly, he did feel genuinely sorry for him to a degree but he wasn't about to show it.

"Now talk," Garrett demanded, "is there more of you? Were any of you following us prior to us getting here, or were you simply just lying in wait in this dumpster of a street?"

"N-no. We only mug any fool who-

The machete in Garrett's grip glowed and radiated an intense heat that the man would no doubt feel by being in such close proximity to its edge, "I'd change my vocabulary if I were you, bub. You want my colleague to give your other arm the same treatment as before?"

"Thousand apologies! Please, not that!" the thug profusely groveled before continuing with a changed tune, "w-we only ambush, anyone, who walks through here... there isn't anyone else, you had bested our entire gang. Please, don't subject me to any more punishment!"

For a moment, Garrett remained motionless and eyed the crumpled man as if regarding his words. A second later, Tess and Shirly came back from the corridors of the alleyway. They said something but Garrett's attention was drawn away by a duo of armored guards who arrived on the scene and didn't pay much attention to their words. He probably figured that what they reported was they found no one else and motioned them back into the group. While the policing knights assessed everything, he regarded the defeated bandit once more before walking away.

"I'm not the one you should be worried about now," growled Garrett, "you're no longer my problem anyway."

Garrett noted that additional members of the town's guard had arrived and began their arrest of the gang. Meisha followed alongside him for a few passing seconds before looking up to him, asking, "you weren't going to really have me hurt him, were you?"

Looking down at Meisha, his cold menacing expression quickly evaporating, "oh God, no. I wouldn't wish, that, upon anyone!"

Meisha puffed her cheeks, "what's, 'that', supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing at all."

After having his squad reassemble, Garrett overheard one of the knights speaking directly to Srikandi. Apparently, the mayor of the city of all people had requested their presence and another yet group of knights made themselves known as escorts to lead them to City Hall. With the added layer of protection surrounding them, Garrett didn't bother to order his squad into a formation which he nearly gave the order for, naturally out of a reflexive notion that they were fighting for their lives just minutes ago. Not that their lives were genuinely in any danger anyhow. As they bort closer to City Hall, Garrett noted how many of the houses and other facilities appeared to be more pristine, regal even, in comparison to the previous architecture that seemed to pale in comparison. It was pretty evident they were entering a neighborhood more fitting of a noble or any other individual of wealth or importance.

The City Hall finally was revealed after ascending a series of wide public steps. The structure itself was very much impressive and resembled much of the paintings depicting the great buildings and architecture of ancient Earth, incorporating carved columns and statues engraved into its walls, although displaying its own unique cultural flair to boot. Garrett could imagine everyone wanting to marvel at the alien-yet-familiar establishment but it seemed that the guards were rushing to get the group into the mayor's office denying them the external and internal eye candy that was the City Hall. Upon entering the office, Garrett observed the individual who seemed to be the mayor that had summoned them. The man didn't appear note-worthy to him, save for their uniquely groomed mustache and their colorful and decorative suit, very much resembling Southeast Asian aesthetics. Much of the talking was primarily between the unnamed mayor and Srikandi, and Garrett made sure to keep his mouth shut so they could speak about the present business. His squad got the obvious memo as well and stood motionless, relaxed yet at attention.

The conversation had then reached a new and unusual point when Srikandi was presented with a letter with a black seal pressed into the envelope. Though to much of the Thucydides crew, the letter didn't appear out of the ordinary and Garrett initially disregarded it until observing Srikandi snatching it out of the mayor's hands and carefully opened it up. Garrett watched her review its contents and her wary behavior was enough to warrant the attention of everyone else unfamiliar with the developing circumstances. The Captain noticed the dilemma and asked Srikandi about the situation. Apparently, an individual simply called the 'Dark Lord', a name that Garrett nearly snickered at, since it painfully played into all the fantastical fiction he had read as a kid of which humanity had dreamed and written up for the past couple of centuries. And here it was; an edgy and goofy title bestows upon an individual that had the Friestanians unquestionably spooked. Garrett kept his composure intact but he was now humoring the existential thought that asked if he was in a fictional story himself. That, and also questioning who in their right mind would refer to themselves as the 'Dark Lord'.

It was at that moment when Garrett heard his name called out by Srikandi, which certainly caught him off guard. As it turned it, she was requesting him, and by association, his team, to come along with her towards some place called the Adventurer's Qurters. Garrett simply blinked and awkwardly turned to Almira's direction like an unsure child seeking a parent's approval, though his concern was justified since their operational doctrine was clearly being stretched and twisted by Srikandi's request. So much so, that he could even sense the rest of his squad bearing the same natural response and looked to their Captain for the same guidance.

After Almira gave what seemed to be a shrug and a wave, indicating a seemingly reluctant agreement with Garrett's query, he looked to his still puzzled team and motioned them forward, "you 'heard' her."

As the group divided and separated, with Garrett and his squad, and Sumiye in tow, Garrett pushed forward just a bit till he was at Sumiye's side in stride, "I've got to ask, ma'am, this, 'Dark Lord' you and the mayor were on about. Are they really that big of a deal?"
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by 13org
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13org Stay fresh!

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Unsurprisingly, the fight was over in a heartbeat, especially since most of the members of their group were either experienced adventurers, like Srikandi, powerful mages or experienced fighters. Catherine was a bit surprised seeing Garrett and his team fighting though. Not only their techniques were quite interesting, but they displayed a high level of coordination between themselves.

"At least that was a good way to blow off some steam." Catherine said with a chuckle.

When she heard Almira mentioning her interest for her healing potions and even considering buying the recipe, Catherine couldn't help but let out a smirk as she turned towards Almira.

"In my line of work, information is more valuable than any coin..." Catheirine said with a mischievous smirk, clearly suggesting that she would be more interested in their knowledge than their coin.

Unfortunately, Catherine's little 'negotiation' would have to wait, as in that very moment, the guards arrived, undoubtedly alerted by the confusion and noise.

Catherine herself already had some... previous meetings of that same sort and most of the times, even when she was technically in her rights, things didn't end up going as smoothly as they should've. This time though, she wasn't alone and the advantages of traveling with such famous and illustrious figures like the Ksatria Naga and Anki, one of the so called 'Living Dolls' and a princesses of the kingdom of Oberia, were quickly made clear once the guards almost immediately dismissed the entire issue the moment they laid their eyes on them and let them go to the city hall.

At the City Hall, the group briefly met the Mayor, who seemed, for some reason, be quite relieved once they arrived. The reason for his reaction soon became evident as he delivered them a letter with a very ominous black seal stamped on it. Even before Srikandi opened the letter, Catherine already knew that it definitely wasn't anything good. There was only one person that used such ominous seal... The dark lord.

When Srikandi told them the contents of the letter, Catherine let out a loud sigh. The politics behind each kingdom wanting to use any possible advantage the meteor might bring to further empower their nation was already problematic enough but now that the Dark Lord clearly stated his interest on the meteor, the situation would become even worse.

"Great... If the whole political competition between nations wasn't already exhausting enough..." Catherine said, shaking her head once Srikandi finished saying what was going on.

"Compensation is always good but... Dealing with the Dark Lord is always incredibly problematic..." Catherine said as she looked towards Srikandi and to Garrett, partially answering his question regarding if the 'Dark Lord' was really a big deal.

"As long as this issue doesn't escalate to the point it will begin getting problematic, I can tag along." Catherine replied to Srikandi and Anki, stating she would be joining them.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by DracoLunaris
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Q-T Brackman


If Q-T had had nerves they would have been wracked by the fight, despite having not actually been involved. Actually because she had not been involved. The soft humans were out there, fighting for their lives, while she, the armored AI, was stuck in a box with nothing but the muffled sounds of violence. Well that and the commentary of her colleagues (who had taken a seat on the box inorder to stop her escaping from it).

Neisly’s agitation about not being allowed to just shoot these fools did little to sooth her concerns, and though Riley remained calm and the voice of reason, the bot had know her for long enough to know when the woman was suppressing her own fear or concern in the name of putting on a brave face and being the calm and commanding voice of reason in a crisis situation.

Still, in the end, all the bot’s concerns were for naught as the guards did their job marvelously, stepping in to cleanly and efficiently take care of the thugs, a life on a relatively conflict free explorer vessel having not dulled their skills one bit it seemed.

Catherine’s own contribution could hardly be described as clean, but you couldn’t argue with its efficiency.

Finally the local guards showed up to do their jobs after the incident was resolved, and then proceeded to request the presence of the adventurers, to, as it turned out, deal with another one of their messes. The two human astronauts took over box carrying duty form their captain, it would hardly be dignified for their boss to be hauling stuff about when meeting an official of the city after all. So instead it was they who got the odd looks as they to me to you’d the Q-T containing crate all the way into the mayotal office, and then proceeded to use it as a chair while he explained the situation.

Drawing inspiration from Garret’s guards they set up a comlink with Q-T so that she could better hear what was going on, and they could quietly converse with her without the bot giving away her existence.

”A dark lord? Really?” Q-T whispered into their ears via the pair of earring stud looking coms units the pair had

“Eh I mean, they’ve already got dragons, elves, magic and stuff, so a card carrying big bad evil guy is sorta expected at this point right?” Neisly pointed out in a pretty attached manner that Riley did not agree with.

“Please focus on the fact that we and the ship are in danger rather than the tropes of the situation” she said to which Neisly retorted “Please, I’m sure Garret and the girls can handle a few goblins or whatever other fantasy minions this guy’s sent to look around”

Q-T wasn't so sure things would be fine. She was also going stir crazy in her box, but there’d be no leaving that any time soon, as someone had finally had the guts and brains to tell the captain no and to have her sit out of the danger this time. Instead she was being functionally put under house arrest while the situation was handled, which left them in pretty much the same situation, the pair of noncombatant ladies picking up the Q-T cube and hauling along to whatever room the captain was being grounded in.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Kumbaris
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Kumbaris

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@13org@King Cosmos@Martian@DracoLunaris@ShiningSector



The first thing Almira did when she arrived in her space is to let loose. The door’s already closed and there are no more prying eyes, she can unveil her bunny ears and be comfortable with the least amount of clothing possible.

She set the box on one side and let go of her jacket and hat, putting it on one side. Riley and Neilsy were busy relaxing in the pretty large bed, quickly regretting their decision to lie down as the bed proved to be much harder than expected.

“Alright Q-T, you can go out of your box now,” Almira said, opening the box to reveal the Q-T-sized content hidden inside. “You can observe the room and move around all you want, just don’t get outside that door and we’ll be fine.” The woman pointed to the door where she was brought into.

Looking at Neilsy and Riley. Almira quickly postulated that their intended function was to relax and enjoy their leisurely house arrest while Srikandi and Anki would be busy with adventuring and all the fun stuff that comes with it. While the Captain isn’t necessarily thrilled at the prospect of sitting down while Garrett, Catherine and the rest of her team would be busy doing stuff. She does know that Neilsy and Riley ain’t exactly combat-worthy material out here.

That leaves only Almira and possibly Q-T who can leave the area and fight any potential threats. Something the woman is taking into account.

“Alright, everyone. I’m just wondering here, but I think that I haven’t seen the city in it’s full glory yet. So I am wondering if we want to explore the area somewhat and be back here without anyone knowing about it.”

She looked at Q-T. “You do have a stealth mod installed right? The one with the reflective screens and all that fun stuff? I can lend you the program if you don’t have it. I was just thinking that, maybe, just maybe, you can go out of the door there, with that stealth mod on, and explore the city and all its surroundings for all of us. This is completely up to you though Q-T, I’m just thinking of some ideas here so that we’re not bored to death waiting for Almira and Anki to finish up whatever they’re doing. Might give us some valuable info on the inhabitants of this city and what they’re doing.”

“So… what do you think?” Almira asked Q-T.



Srikandi’s mind was all over the place as she surveyed the area she was led to. The leads she got from the city officials have gotten her and her group to the Adventurer’s quarters, the place where she saw familiar faces strewn all about. All of them could be the mole to the dark lord.

The leads have given her three individuals with the characteristics seen. An individual from Gremarre with blonde hair and wearing a thick jacket (she was reminded of a certain alchemist, but pretty sure she’s not the one) prodding around the local adventurer’s quarters asking questions about the meteor, an individual with thick black hair seemingly coming from Himetsu wearing Oberian clothing, and an individual with a thick beard carrying a sword, they seem to congregate at a house somewhere in town.

She has briefed her team as to what’s happening, but she doesn’t know how Almira’s team operates, so she is gauging their operating procedures while they’re all sitting at a tavern.

“So. I was wondering, but how do you conduct internal investigations in your uhh, ship?” Srikandi asked. “Because I have an idea on how we conduct this investigation, and I want to be on the same page with you regarding this matter.”

“I usually conduct investigations like these by asking people around, and personally look at the sights in the area and see what feels off. Usually when something feels off, even just by a hair. I am usually on the right track, let’s just say that tracking corruption from the dark lord is very straightforward if you know what you’re doing.”

“The problem lies in fighting them once they’ve been outed. Oftentimes I usually need help in fights against aqgents of the dark lord, they usually possess powerful magic and superhuman strength, while I can compensate for that with my summons. Fighting two or three agents of the dark lord can be a bit too much even for me, and I usually call for someone’s help on the matter.”

“I feel that we need to be close to each other investigating this since I am not sure if we can signal to each other should we get into trouble. But what do you think about this? We have three individuals of interest, and I propose we split into teams of two to deal with two of these individuals first and then team up for the third. Miss Sumiye, since you are not a fighter, I think it would be best if you accompany me for this task. I would not like for a member of Almira’s crew to be killed in action for the moment, do you have any suggestions for how we conduct this investigation by the way?”

Srikandi was busy gauging the responses of each of these individuals, not sure how any of them would respond.



Anki and her team finally arrived at the Elven Quarters. The Automaton woman surveying the various Elvenfolk milling about and doing their daily lives. She has brought both Catherine and Dumas, both of them are potentially deadly in fights, but none of them are familiar factors in Anki’s short-lived life.

She is not sure as to what to investigate either, by the looks of it. The agents in the Elven quarters are all elves that came from Oberia, a natural extension considering Oberia’s elven population, most likely the highest in the world.

The wrinkle in her investigation is the fact that everyone are elves in this quarter, and that everyone looks roughly the same, with the only difference being skin colour, slight visual inherited differences due to the tropical climate of Cendana.

Anki got information that the elves are ‘indistinguishable’ from the regular elves. And this just adds a further wrinkle, since all of the elves here look visibly sun-kissed, sporting outside looks similar to Srikandi rather than the elves in her homeland.

“We have a slight problem here.” Anki mused to herself, sitting on a bench flanked by Catherine and Dumas.

“So we need to find a single elf, a female elf, and the information we received is that she is ‘indistinguishable’ from the other elven population of Cendana. A problem considering the majority Elven population here. I am sure that you have eyes, but we are the ones that stand out in this particular neighbourhood, and this will add further complications due to our clearly foreign nature.”

“Catherine, Dumas. I was wondering but personally, I am thinking about passive observation, look for anything that stands out, I don’t know about this, but do you have a spell that might make us invisible Catherine?” The automaton mused. “If we are invisible, we could probably conduct our investigation in a much more discreet manner, find out our Elf of interest without anyone noticing.”

“Otherwise, we are the ones that stick out here, all of us are from Avalia, so we are Northerners for these individuals, and we stick out like a sore thumb, our chances are not high in searching for the Elf in question if she can notice our mannerisms from a long distance and evade our detection.”

She then turned her head 90 degrees towards Catherine and then to Dumas. “Do you have any other suggestions that I might be receptive towards?”
Hidden 2 yrs ago 1 yr ago Post by ShiningSector
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Garret Zarubin




The way to the Adventurer's Quarter wasn't long, though the closer they got, the more evident it was that the people coming and going from the district were oddly 'varied'. Many individuals residing in the district dressed presumably to their profession. Garrett noted some of the more heavily armed individuals wore sets of unique sets of armor, be it light, heavier metal plating, or even a case or two of more exotic and flamboyant varieties. Others seem to either don robes or dress like pioneers of old Earth. If it weren't for the fact they were stranded in a foreign world, he could've mistaken the place for a genre-specific convention. Yet, he could clearly see they weren't participants in some parody event, they all bore the looks of individuals with unique jobs they took seriously, whatever those 'jobs' entailed, he could only guess.

"How much you want to bet the guy over there with the blue cloak and gold trim is a Warlock?" asked an opened-minded Tess.

"Nah," replied Shirly, "I think they're a Mage. I can't imagine a Warlock with bright colors."

"What's the difference?" Thorin asked in genuine honesty.

"Behave," growled Garrett, making the single word come off like a warning than an order.

Soon, they arrived at what appeared to be a tavern, filled, of course, with more adventurers. Srikandi led the group to a large table secluded away from the other occupied stands and had everyone take their seat so she could go over her plan.

Garrett raised a brow upon one of Srikandi's questions, "it isn't all that much different than what you described, ma'am. If there is any suspicious activity being reported, we ask anyone nearby in the vicinity of the disturbance for their input and develop the story from there."

For a moment, Garrett thought about the other half of their process, especially considering Srikandi wouldn't have any idea about how their surveillance technology or digital record-keeping worked. It nagged him how much he wanted to go over the procedure but reminded himself that it wouldn't best translate well for a Friestanian who was a light-year or two away from even understanding the inner working of such a security system.

"Granted, we have ways of conjuring visual evidence that can be used to further refine our investigations if the nature of the situation demands more specifics. However, that requires a large infrastructure of many things not available to us here, for obvious reasons. We can certainly split up, though I could have my team spread out, that way we can cover more ground that way. If I or any of them find something, we can communicate with each other over long distances."
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Martian
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Martian Possibly a mage

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The Pixie went along with the other adventurers, being taken back to the giant ship that had crashed into the Great Table. While the sight of the scar left in the earth by the crash was impressive, it was easily outdone by the sight of the ship. The sheer scale of it made Dumas feel small, even in his human sized enchantment.

Dumas did not know what kind of metal it was made of, and it out shined even the great works of his homeland of Oberia. As the group neared the massive ship, it opened up on its own and extended a ramp. Dumas at a loss for words, even more so when he was taken into the inside of the ship.

He was only half paying attention when they were led to the Captain’s quarters, his attention fixated on the wondrous constructs and unknown magics that were all about the vessel. Even when it was said that they could keep their weapons, in Dumas’s case it was his sword, the Pixie got the sense that Almira and her crew had enough power that a sword would be useless against it.

Once in the cabin, the long eared Captain began to speak in Common. She explained that this ship was meant to travel the stars, which amazed Dumas. If they came from another world, then maybe there were even more worlds. This excited the wanderer aspect of Dumas. Sure he could travel across Friestan, but that couldn’t even compete with the prospect of seeing whole new worlds.

As Almira’s explanation started to become more technical, Dumas started having a hard time following. Thankfully the conversation soon turned to Friestan, a topic Dumas knew a lot about. However, Dumas let Anki lead the discussion. She was still the crown princess of his home country and felt that he should show her respect.

The conversation continued for a while longer, Dumas occasionally popping in to elaborate on a topic or offer a semi-relevant anecdote. But by now it was well into the night and clearly everyone was drained by the excitement of the day. The gathered adventurers of Friestan were then offered a room for the night.

Dumas had to admit that he was very tired, but at least he was no longer cold. The chill of the mountain range had been replaced by a comfortable temperature aboard the ship. Dumas deduced that since he hadn’t seen any fireplaces or other such sources of heat, that this was a magical change to the environment aboard the ship.

Once Dumas entered the quarters assigned to him, he saw that there was a set of basic clothes set on the small bed with white linens. Glad to get out of his clothes in which he had been traveling in, Dumas stripped and entered the thing that Almira had called a shower.

Pressing a button on the wall in the enclosed glass box, a pleasant stream of warm water began to fall on him. It was similar to bathing under the waterfalls commonly found in the southern lands. Except here he could control the temperature.

As Dumas washed the grime off himself, he also rinsed his clothes in the shower with him. Once both Dumas’s body and clothes were scrubbed enough, he got out of the shower and set his adventuring clothes to dry. He began to change into the provided clothing, only to encounter a problem.

While the pants seemed to fit fine, the shirt provided was clearly not made for someone with eight wings. Dumas just decided to sleep shirtless as he was too tired to cause a fuss over sleeping attire. It only took a few minutes after lying down for Dumas to fall asleep. The last conscious thought he had was how soft the bed was.




When Dumas awoke he found that he had reverted to his natural size of a foot tall in his sleep. This was no new occurrence as maintaining the spell for his human size was almost impossible while asleep.

Dumas found that his washed clothes had mostly dried during the night, but he called forth a small light to finish the job. The ball of light emitted a heat that quickly warmed the clothes. Once he was satisfied with the level of warmth, Dumas willed the light away and then changed into the newly heated clothing.

Dumas then exited his guest quarters, finding that he was the last of the Friestans to get up. Apparently they were to make for the city of Cendana. Dumas and the rest of the assembled adventurers were loaded into the back of a vehicle of some kind, a rover he believed the travelers called it. Inside were several seats with some kind of strap that goes across one’s waist.

As Dumas settled into his seat, he saw that this too was not meant for a Pixie. All eight of his large wings were jutting out as one of Almira’s crew showed him how to strap himself in. And then the vehicle was moving.

Despite the roughness of the terrain, the rover moved pretty smoothly. But it was the sheer speed of it that made Dumas uneasy. The force of the vehicle made him feel sea sick, even more so than being on an actual boat.

But Dumas did his best not to vomit all over Almira’s rover. As Dumas began some deep breathing techniques he learned from a sage back in the deep woods, the rover began to slow. Then it finally stopped and the door opened again. As the Friestans began to leave the rover, Dumas got the impression that the trip had only made him ill.

Unfortunately for the Pixie, the next stage of their journey would be by boat. The Captain of the vessel seemed to know Srikandi as they exchanged some words, but Dumas couldn’t make it out as he was standing just far enough away. But soon the adventurers and Almira’s crew, who Dumas noticed were in garb that was familiar, but just felt a little off, almost like a costume in a play, were loaded aboard the ship.

The ship ride was uneventful. Dumas quickly learned that Almira and her people were to be passed off as another group of adventurers. Dumas nodded, but found that moving his head exasperated the nausea flowing through his body. Eventually Dumas couldn’t take it anymore and pulled a red leaf out of his pack. It was an old remedy in Oberia, meant to soothe one’s stomach. Dumas had been planning to save it, as it doesn’t grow around here. But his level of unwell required it.

As Dumas chewed the leaf he immediately began to feel better. The raging storm in his body stopped, and he began to not even notice the rocking of the ship against the waves. Dumas ended up spending the rest of the boat ride watching the side of the ship, hoping to see a whale or, better yet, a sea serpent. But he quickly decided against seeing any aquatic monsters as he really didn’t want to die by going down with a ship.

However, no monsters manifested and instead the ship came into port in Cendana. Glad to be off the ship, Dumas followed Srikandi into the city proper. Like most big cities, Cendana was sprawling with many wonders of architecture and unique designs. But that also meant it was easy to get lost.

Srikandi apologized to the group about not really knowing the city. But as the adventurers tried to regain their bearings, they were beset by a gang of bandits.

“Seriously?” Dumas said softly, his hand reaching for his sword.

A quick head count revealed that there were twenty bandits, a slight number advantage on their side. But Dumas was focusing more on seeing what Almira and her crew could do in combat.

But the Pixie’s attention rapidly shifted to a bandit rushing him with a curved blade raised. In one motion Dumas unsheathed his blade and raised it to meet his attacker’s. With the blades locked, Dumas kicked forward, his foot connecting with the bandit and sending him tumbling back.

Taking the opportunity, Dumas jumped onto the collapsed bandit. With one hand he tossed the man’s blade away, and with the other he brought down the hilt of his sword on the bandit’s face. Blood gushed from the bandit’s nose as his head fell back, clearly into unconsciousness.

Dumas jumped back onto his feet and turned to find another bandit to fight. But he found that all of them were either on the ground or already in a fight with one of his companions. Dumas took a second to watch their fights, clearly intrigued by the glowing machetes that some of Almira’s crew were using.

In very little time the battle was over. The bandits appeared to be low-tier thugs, clearly outclassed by the assembled adventurers. As some city guards descended on the scene they recognized Srikandi at least and believed the group when they said that they had been beset by thugs.

As the guards began to arrest the thugs strewn across the street, they also informed the group that the Mayor wanted to see them. So Dumas and the others followed them to city hall. Like most city halls in major cities that Dumas had seen, here in Cendana there were ornate tapestries and paintings of notable moments in the history of the city.

Dumas was admiring the artwork as Srikandi spoke to the Mayor himself. But the Pixie was soon called over. Anki was holding a letter, a familiar sigil on it. It only took a few seconds for Dumas to recognize it as the symbol of the Dark Lord.

A shiver went up the Pixie’s spine as Srikandi explained the contents of the letter. In ages past with other Dark Lords, it had been Pixie policy to hide away from the great evil and only return to the lands outside their home after the evil is defeated, usually to find a ruined world.

Dumas had always said that he would fight the Dark Lord if given the chance, but some part of him on the inside was terrified of the Dark Lord, the boogeyman of Friestan.

But Dumas put on a brave face as Anki asked Catherine and him to go to the Elven Quarters, “Definitely your highness. I am at your service.”




Dumas arrived with the Princess and Alchemist in the Elven Quarters. It wasn’t so different from Elven neighborhoods in other cities Dumas had traveled to. Just a lot of the pointy eared folk going about their business, briefly stopping to make simple conversation.

Dumas noted that they didn’t seem to find it to odd for a human, automaton, and Pixie together in their part of town. But then Dumas remembered that Elven areas were frequented by travelers looking for some kind of Elf magic or charm. In some places whole industries had arisen to sell these kinds of things, though the actual powers associated with these items were dubious.

Anki then revealed that they were looking for a female Elf, one who is indistinguishable from all the other Elves here. That wasn’t much to go on. Anki then floated the idea of turning themselves invisible. But Dumas knew that kind of illusion was out of his wheelhouse and that it would be unlikely that Catherine was carrying an invisibility potion as most of her vials were either for exploding or melting things, or at least that’s how it seemed to the Pixie.

“How about we play the roll of tourists?” Dumas offered, “Many different kinds of people come to Elven communities looking for some charm or fortune teller or something. Plus I’m a Pixie so they might be more willing to talk to me. In Oberia Pixies and Elves share a kinship as ancient, magical beings. Maybe it holds true here?”

Dumas thought the idea might work, especially if he starts speaking Elven. However, he was aware that he was out of practice on that tongue. Years of speaking Common had eroded some of his skill with other languages. Even the Pixie speak would begin to degrade if Dumas didn’t return to his home every so often and converse with other Pixies.

@Kumbaris @13org
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13org Stay fresh!

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Catherine listened to Anki with an annoyed expression after they tried searching around the Elven Quarters for a bit. Their task was definitely going to be even more exhausting than she had previously imagined.

"We know basically nothing about our target then... Great..." she said, with a sarcastic chuckle just after she heard Anki saying that this female elf was 'indistinguishable' from the rest of the elves in Cendana.

"I agree with Anki. Actively going around searching for something we know nothing about isn't really an option. Especially if whoever we're trying to find doesn't want to be found." She said, sighing.

"Whether we will take the passive approach like Anki said or actively try going around as tourists and asking is up to you. Just don't expect me of be of much help in the latter one." Catherine said with a chuckle as she started rummaging through her stuff for a moment, before she grabbed two different vials, one with a gray-ish liquid and another one with a clear one.

"Regarding what you said about an invisibility potion though... Invisibility is a very expensive, complicated and very unstable potion. One small change in temperature, concentration of the reagents or even too little or too much light while mixing it might cause the entire batch to go to waste. Luckily, I have something almost as good though." She said as she slowly poured the contents of one vial into the other one, gently mixing it as the mixture began taking a very light gray, pearlescent tone.

"I discovered this potion completely by mistake when I accidentally ruined a batch of invisibility potion by mixing it with the extract of the gland of a specific creature that utilizes pheromones to hide itself from predators. It works by bending light around you, not enough to make you invisible like a proper invisibility potion, but enough to hide most distinguishing features. Normally this would have almost the opposite effect you would want from an invisibility potion, turning you into a blurred, barely defined but easily seen silhouette. But the pheromones trick the brain into 'making up' the rest of the information it doesn't have." Catherine said, explaining as the liquid gradually changed tone until it finally got stable.

"To others, you would look like a perfectly normal, 'random passerby' in the corner of their eye... As long as they believe you to be exactly that. An unimportant, random passerby. The moment they focus their attention on you, the complete inability of their brain to gather any relevant information, such as recognizing any discernible feature will basically send it into alert. The conflicting information being processed by their brains, with part it wanting to 'make up' for the information they don't have, influenced by the pheromones and the other part of their brain trying to focus and identify the information it doesn't have will immediately make them realize that there's something going on. In their eyes, you'll look like a blurred, out-of-focus image of yourself. Kind of a dead giveaway if you want to be discrete." Catherine said as she handed the potion to Anki.

"Obviously, this potion won't be of much help to the one who will be pose as the tourist. Although it might help the others to not be around but not being noticed while Dumas tries asking around." Catherine finished as she waited for their decision.

@Martian@Kumbaris
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by DracoLunaris
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DracoLunaris Multiverse tourist

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Q-T Brackman


”Finally!” came a muffled happy cry from the box in Almira’s new room, before it sprung open and the ape sized bot practically leapt out of it, and proceeded to stretch her mechanical limbs after that cramped confinement. It didn’t actually have any helpful results like it would on a stiff human, but it still made her feel better.

While she did this she listened to the captain’s explanation of their polite confinement, and once it was done joked ”From a small box to a slightly bigger one huh?”

She immediately regretted said joke when the captain began scheming about having her sneak out under the guise of a stealth program.

”What no i don’t have anything like tha-” she began to protest, and then gave a : | face when it turned out the captain was carrying that kind of thing around. Not that it was against the rules or anything, but with the captain having stripped down to as light a garb as modesty would allow the moment she was able to, you did have to wonder what she herself would be using it for.

“Go for it Q-T, you can go have an adventure while we keep the captain company” Neilsy encouraged her to go, the way she had copied the captain in lightening her garb not helping Q-T’s assessment of the situation. Or how flustered this was getting her.

”I mean… won’t they think it's weird that the door opens and then closes for no reason?” the bot asked a question which Riley answered by just pointing over to the window to suggest it as an alternate option, which was a final betrayal in the bot’s eyes, at least until the woman spelled out her logic.

“You’ll just get frustrated being in a ‘slightly bigger box’ trust me. I know we will. Just send us back a feed and we’ll get to live vicariously through you” Riley suggested which got the bot going : O as she got the plan.

A couple of moments later, and the human astronauts had set up a futuristic projector showing Q-T’s field of view and, after a bit of amusement at the infinite loop created when the bot looked at it, the now invisible bot slid open the window and clambered up onto the roof of the building all ape like.

Once up, she had a look to and fro, and then set off, doing a six limned run towards the edge of the roof, and then leaping across the street to the next row of buildings. Little maneuvering thrusters flaring, hidden by the stealth field, slowed her fall at the end of the leap, letting her land near silently on the opposite roof

“Really, the first thing you do when out is do parkour?” Riley asked through their network link, “because I am 100% with you there. Go stretch those legs girl”

”Don’t need to tell me to do that. Now. hmmmm where to go…. Ah I know” the bot mused, before coming to a decision and racing off across the rooftops, the stealth field working overtime to muffle her disturbances as she moved swiftly to the tallest building in town, and immediately began clambering up and up and up it, till she reached the very peak.

From there, she did a slow, panoramic scan of the entire city, subroutines buzzing away to make a map of it as she and the trio of voyeurs just drank in the sights and sounds of the city from on high.

”Soooo, where to next, captain?”
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@ShiningSector

Srikandi was slightly taken aback that Garrett and his team could communicate over long distances. These people from other worlds, just what do they not have? Machines that can instantly wash your clothes? Machine farmers? Instantaneous travel across continents? The possibilities are flashing across Srikandi’s mind as to what wondrous things these beings would see, and, what they would consider ‘normal’.

Back to the mission. Srikandi still has a mission to complete, the 3 individuals seem to be incredibly powerful, and she would definitely need assistance if the worst comes to worst. “Garrett.” She ordered. “You are coming with me, the rest of you, form into whatever groups you want, but I suggest groups of 2.”

“Garrett and I will take the eastern half of the adventurer's quarters, while the rest of you will take the western half. If you see any suspicious individuals, you can… make a mental note of their person’s appearance, and see if it matches the ones we’re looking for.” She said as she gave each of them a copy of what these wanted individuals looked like, “look for all these 3 individuals, but don’t force a confrontation if you don’t have to, they are rumored to converge into one building for coordination purposes, and perhaps we can confront them at their base, lessen casualties in a way.”

“I trust that you are capable of doing these investigative tasks, I’m aware this is not easy, but rest assured, the servants of the Dark Lord possess a distinctive aura around them, for laypersons, it might be invisible, but for someone who’s seen battle and combat, there is an aura of either malice or sadness that envelops them. Good luck.”

And without a second’s hesitation, the adventurer walked out of her chair and exited the tavern, where she was greeted with a sight all too familiar to her. Adventurers milling about.

She perused with Garrett for a good while, looking around like some tourist, but it was at that moment that she spotted someone.

The details mentioned someone from Himetsu wearing Oberian clothing, so someone with black hair but wearing clothing similar to Anki, and she looks like she found one. The black armour only adds the feeling, but by the way, she walks, she can easily tell that she is one person you do not mess around with, the aura she gave is cold, borderline lifeless, Srikandi can feel that the woman has been through countless battles, most likely in service to the Dark Lord, and many times she has come out the other side alive.

“Garrett, look at her,” Srikandi whispered. “Can you feel it? That raw energy emanating from her? She looks like our target, goodness gracious she looks powerful…”

“We’re going to tag along with the target, are you up to the task?” She asked Garrett. “I don’t want anything obvious, just make sure you look like you’re checking out the sights of Cendana without arousing her suspicion.”





@13org@Martian

On the other side of the city, Anki is looking at her options, seemingly presented to her by both Dumas and Catherine. She could go forward with the invisibility option or at least the one presented by Catherine, or she can just pose around as a tourist, hmmm… decisions-decisions.

But then, at one point, her mechanical brain clicked and she decided to go with what is obvious to her in hindsight. “Catherine, I need you to brew 2 of your invisibility potions, and Dumas, you can walk around and ask in Elven for trinkets or information. Whichever is to your liking.”

She can easily kill two birds with one stone here.

“Myself and Catherine will look around, see if there are any Elves that might be a servant to the dark lord, while you Dumas can ask around and see what information you could gather. We can then converge and then discuss the information we gather right here.” She stepped on the pavement. “After exactly 2 hours. We will make our decision afterward.”

“Will this decision satisfy all of you?” Anki asked everyone.





@DracoLunaris

“The dockyards Q-T, and you know why I ordered you to go there right? The mayor told us that there might be something amiss in the dockyards in conjunction with the Adventurer's quarters and the Elven district, and as good people, we surely would be good friends and snoop around to find out whatever the Dark Lord’s minions are scheming at the Dockyards right?”

She knew she was bending the rules a little bit, but hopefully, nobody should know about their little escapade into the dockyards, nobody except the trio holed up in this house that is.

“Try to look for suspicious individuals, maybe overhear some casual conversations that don’t sound right to you. Just give us information. And if you feel that you might be in danger, exfil immediately, you don’t need me to tell you to exfil if you think you’re in danger.”

Almira hoped she can gain intel on how this world worked, and also whatever it is the Dark Lord’s scheming in this town, assuming the Dark Lord is as bad as the name implies.
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Dumas had liked his idea. It seemed like the best thing to do, playing up on the ancestral connections of Pixies and Elves. The only issue was that it seemed like only Dumas spoke Elven. It would be hard to ingrain themselves with the Elven locales if they couldn’t even speak their tongue. So Dumas figured that meant that Anki and Catherine would have nothing to do, as having two outsiders around him might make Dumas seem less authentic.

But before Dumas could voice his concerns, Catherine began to explain a potion she had that was not quite an invisibility potion. Dumas had totally ruled out the idea that the Alchemist had said potion as he knew they were costly and temperamental in nature. But what Catherine had created sounded nearly as good. The Alchemist and the Princess would disguise themselves as random pedestrians, while Dumas was about actively engaging with the Elven folk.

Princess Anki confirmed the plan, stating that they would meet up after two hours to discuss what had been learned. She was also gracious enough to ask if everyone was satisfied with the plan.

“I will gladly perform my role Princess,” Dumas stated fiercely.

Dumas then began to run through the complexities of the Elven language in his head. Years of class in the Deep Wood and instances of actually meeting Elves began to flow through his mind. After about a minute of thinking, Dumas was ready to converse.

“I shall leave you both now,” Dumas stated, “And return in two hours time.”

The Pixie began to leave her highness and the Alchemist. But then he decided that he should make himself more presentable. Stopping in front of a large metal piece of Elf art, Dumas could see himself in the reflection of the tempered steel creation.

Dumas moved around his clothing, attempting to make it even and not wrinkled, as if he hadn’t been wearing it for days. At least he had gotten a chance to wash it aboard the Captain Almira’s ship.

The last thing Dumas did to prepare was pull out a leaf out of his herb pack. It was a common leaf used by Pixies to gain a little extra energy and turn a bad mouth odor into a pleasant aroma. The leaf was also used by many Elves, the smell of it quite pleasing to a lot of people.

With proper attire and fresh breath, Dumas began to walk toward the centre of a market area in the Elven Quarter. Rather than just approaching anyone, Dumas began to scan the square for an Elf of importance.

After a minute or two, Dumas spotted a seemingly older Elf. While neither his skin sagged or his eyes looked tired as they would on a human, the giveaway that this Elf was older was his stark white hair. Dumas wondered how long it took for an Elf’s hair to turn white.

However, based on his garments and the aura he projected around him, Dumas was pretty confident that he was some kind of elder of the community. The Pixie then figured out what he was going to say before he approached the older Elf.

“Honored Elder, may I take up some of your time?” Dumas asked, his Elven not all that bad.

“Yes brother Pixie you may,” the Elf replied.

Dumas noted that he called him brother Pixie. That was a good sign. This Elf seemed old enough to have heard the stories of Elves and Pixies in the wild, before the coming of Humans.

“I represent a Lord Rhode of the Pixies of Oberia,” Dumas said, knowing that he had a slight Oberian accent, “He has dispatched me south to inquire about an old friend, a she-Elf from this area. You see he wished to reconnect with her, though he knows not what name she is currently using or what visage she enchants herself with.”

“That’s not much to go on. Do you know more?” the Elf elder asked.

“I was told that she would appear like any other Elf here in Cendana. It’s actually quite urgent. Some of the only information we have found makes it appear that she has joined in with a bad lot. Apparently a cult or worse, practicing dark magic. Lord Rhode would truly like to find and save her before things become worse. Have you seen anyone like that?”

Dumas stopped talking, hoping the elder would believe his made up story. Granted some parts were true, mainly this she-Elf falling in with a dangerous cult, that of the Dark Lord.

As Dumas awaited a response, he quickly scanned around the square, trying to locate Anki and Catherine. But either they weren’t there or their potions were working properly and they just appeared to Dumas as Elves walking about town.

@Kumbaris @13org
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