Riverside 16: Turn and face the strain

[goto124]

[Masq Island, Shore]

"You signed in to the wrong server, then."
Anchor's hands madly dive into his gaps, especially as he's looking the wrong way.

Shadowy claws wreathe her finger tips. It wouldn't be surprising for a few vital organs to go missing through a bloody hole under his back shoulder. But you know, he might get lucky.

Masq Island, Shore with a bit of Blood

(How graphic is too graphic?)

Sure enough, a spleen flies out of a hole in the adventurer's back, to land on the nearby dry sand. 'What the actual...' his voice trails away as he stops attacking, and slowly falls over forwards in death. The little boy immediately resumes squirting everyone he sees (may include Anchor) with his water gun, despite his injuries. Innocent laughter fills the salty air again.

Anchor is free to do what she likes with the corpse and various equipment on it. She might be met with a little resistance later on, though it would probably be less annoying and more humorous.

Masq Island, Vendor's Cart

"I can't stand people being impolite. At least I get to have some fun." Rochelle says softly as she runs Iryl through ever so slowly, savoring her pain and her screams. The moment she dies, she should turn to ash, which then gets blown away by the wind. She licks her sword, then slashes the air to get rid of the blood, careful not to cut anything else in the distance.

Rochelle taps Bellie and curtsies, a smile on her face. "Greetings to you, lady! Iryl stole some strawberries from you, but don't worry, she won't ever steal again, or even do anything else." she curtsies again, remmbering to sheathe her wind katana.

Masq Island, Fruity Cart

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Why doesn't Rochelle leave an impressive corpse at least? The other young lady didn't even notice, not even with all the screaming. It's pretty common here.

She was picking up a banana when Rochelle spoke to her. 'Erm... Someone stole strawberries from here? I'll make sure to report to Bellie... I don't think she'll return anytime soon though.' Which, OoCly, means Bellie won't be appearing in this plot at all. I hope we cleared that up before? 'Is there anything else you want to add?'

[Cyber Punk]

Masq Island, Fruity Cart

((No, you didn't. -slash- ))

"Are you Desiree, by any chance? And can you tell me who did this to your cart?" Rochelle picks up a strawberry from Iryl's bag and pops one in her mouth.

[goto124]

Fruit Cart of Masq Island

The strawberry is unbelievely sour.

'No idea. Only heard it got looted or something. Who would loot a fruit store?' she shrugs helplessly. It's not even an Apple store.

'If you're looking for Desiree- oh, there she is!' She points out to Trade Boulevard. Indeed, there is an woman who stands out. She's a slim, dark-skinned lady whose black hair is in dreadlocks. She's wearing a practical swimsuit, and holding a small bar of shiny gold in her hands, admiring it as she walks.

[Cyber Punk]

Masq Island, Fruit Cart => Trade Blvd.

"This was Iryl's work." Rochelle wishes she had some more fun with the vandal. She turns in the direction Store Lady is pointing. As she catches sight of Desiree, she teleports to her, ending up right in front of the lady. She curtsies.

"Greetings, Desiree. You seem awfully interested in that gold bar. May I touch it?"

[Recaiden]

[Masq Island, Shore]

((There is such a thing as too graphic, but I know it only by hastily hidden examples))

Man, I hate enemies that inflict instant death status effects. So unfair.
But don't worry, adventurer.
You didn't just die; you unlocked a whole new game mode!

See, that body, bleeding dry right there, one might notice that it doesn't have a shadow. Anchor, by killing him, will have stolen it, transformed it into an undead creature of the night. As soon as she isn't in the sun, it can come forth to wreak havoc.
New main quest: Obey the undead that slew you.
New general quest: steal the shadows of five enemies to begin learning your shadowy powers.

"Hey, kid-"
She brushes a splash of water from her face, bloodstains running off.
"-hahaha. You gonna be okay?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Malechenar Castle]

"Souls? Well, I guess that's where stabbing comes in. There's nothing like eating metal coated in fresh blood. Mmm, you've made me hungry." Sharpe brings out a Bowie Knife, then eats it up, discarding the handle. "I keep knives on me for such a reason. Always amassing them."

Sharpe chuckles at the comment. "Well, where do I stay when I want to be left to my own devices? Don't I get a room too?" He asks, an eyebrow raised. "And maybe I can meet the other occupants of this castle."

[Malechenar Castle]

"Ohh! You mean your own room, of course I can show you that. As for the other important occupants, you might have to wait. Though they might allow us into the barracks of those warlock people. They're pretty interesting." Lihana starts to lead Sharpe up some stairs and into a corridor that's filled with portraits and drawings, with a marvelous purple carpet which seems to have been fastened into the floor with spikes.

[Lost_Deep]

Third Circle

Someone practically bursts into the store. She's wearing a white light tan collared shirt under what appears to be a leather breastplate, and heavy-duty pants and boots. However, her most notable aspect is her hair, which is a strong, deep red and is a totally chaotic crimson mane. Her eyebrows, unlike normal eyebrows, are like a pair of tiny red boxcars set upon her brow. You can almost hear reason sputtering at her as she looks around.

"I heard I can get sidequests in here! Which aisle are the sidequests in?"

[Deathkeeper]

The Third Circle

Exar, the goat-canine imp working the store's counter, flinches as the woman comes in.
"Board on the left wall." he squeaks, pointing to a large bulletin board that is indeed on the wall on the woman's left.

[Lost_Deep]

The Third Circle

She immediately struts over there and pursues the board intently. There's an odd intensity to everything she does, and an aura of self-assuredness.

[goto124]

Masq Island, Fruit Cart => Trade Blvd.

"This was Iryl's work." Rochelle wishes she had some more fun with the vandal. She turns in the direction Store Lady is pointing. As she catches sight of Desiree, she teleports to her, ending up right in front of the lady. She curtsies.

"Greetings, Desiree. You seem awfully interested in that gold bar. May I touch it?"

Masq Island, Trade Blvd.

Desiree glares at Rochelle, then quickly hides the gold bar behind her back. 'No way! You're trying to steal it, aren't you?'

If Rochelle is particularly observant, she may see a an ugly and plump lady approaching Desiree from behind. Considering the crowd, she probably won't be noticed until she's already very close. 'I found it, it's mine- Hey!'

Desiree spins around, pulling her gold bar away from Akiya 'Don't you dare try it too!'

'I dare! You've been such a show-off since you got that stupid thing! Getting that gold bar is just a bonus, I want to get rid of you!'

In a fit of rage, Desiree conjures water out of thin air, waterbender style, and sends it hurtling towards Akiya. Meanwhile, a dark green aura surrounds Akiya's hands as she prepares to attack Desiree.

What shall Rochelle do?

[Masq Island, Shore]

((There is such a thing as too graphic, but I know it only by hastily hidden examples))

Man, I hate enemies that inflict instant death status effects. So unfair.
But don't worry, adventurer.
You didn't just die; you unlocked a whole new game mode!

See, that body, bleeding dry right there, one might notice that it doesn't have a shadow. Anchor, by killing him, will have stolen it, transformed it into an undead creature of the night. As soon as she isn't in the sun, it can come forth to wreak havoc.
New main quest: Obey the undead that slew you.
New general quest: steal the shadows of five enemies to begin learning your shadowy powers.

"Hey, kid-"
She brushes a splash of water from her face, bloodstains running off.
"-hahaha. You gonna be okay?"

[Masq Island, Shore]

There'll be enough indoors for Anchor to use her powers!

'Yup! I'm ARGHH!' The boy suddenly ducks behind Anchor. The adventurer has shown up again! Alive! Livid! And naked.

Swordy doesn't seem to be bothering with the boy. Instead, he walks over to his own corpse, and starts dragging it away.

'I failed my quest, all because of a stupid NPC who wasn't supposed to be here!'

[Recaiden]

[Masq Island, Shore]

"Okay, I-"
Anchor turns and looks at the adventurer.
"Oh. More food."
She leaps towards the unclothed, unequipped adventurer, claws slashing.
"Hey! That's my loot!"

[goto124]

[Masq Island, Shore]

Swordy attempts to block Anchor's attacks with his fully equipped corpse.

'No, it's my OOF stuff! You already ARGH killed me, at least let me OW have it back!

[Recaiden]

[Masq Island, Shore]

"I killed you so you'd be dead forever."
Anchor ducks under the course to spring up and hopefully be past the corpse and inside his guard.

[Murkus]

[Eastside Hospital]

Sticks occasions to stop only so he can check the map, his lightkin rolling before him, the herd thinning steadily as they spread through each room or exhaust themselves. He's accompanied, also, by a halo of the metal contraptions he used to attack the chimera. His form seems to blur and twist, an aura of disarray and displacement warbling around him.

The tall man flits down the stairs in near-silence, riding a tide of tiny golden orbs. He halts at the security door, lightkin scattering and curling up toward the ceiling or corners.

"A locked door. Ha. I always found that when the element of surprise was not necessary, it became much more expedient for all involved to allow the men toting blunt objects to ply their trade," Sticks uncurls his fingers at the door meaningfully, a hint of impatience in the roll of his wrist. "Bash it down, please."

[goto124]

[Masq Island, Shore]

"I killed you so you'd be dead forever."
Anchor ducks under the course to spring up and hopefully be past the corpse and inside his guard.

(Hope I interpreted you correctly.)

It works- Swordy is knocked off his corpse-shield, into the shallow but rough waters of the shore. He also gets scratched by Anchor's nails, which is very painful when wearing literally nothing. Cursing under his breath, the adventurer runs swims away.

Now the corpse really is free for looting. It's got whatever Anchor thinks an adventurer would have (details are up to you).

The water-gun boy behind her says, 'Thank you.'

[Cyber Punk]

[Malechenar Castle]

"Ohh! You mean your own room, of course I can show you that. As for the other important occupants, you might have to wait. Though they might allow us into the barracks of those warlock people. They're pretty interesting." Lihana starts to lead Sharpe up some stairs and into a corridor that's filled with portraits and drawings, with a marvelous purple carpet which seems to have been fastened into the floor with spikes.

"Yes I did. What did you think I meant?" Sharpe flashes her a mischievous grin and a wink as he follows her. Lihana should hear a rather sharp intake of breath as they get to the corridor. Should she turn around, she'd see Sharpe investigating the portraits and drawings that line the walls. "Story time, Lihana. What are the stories behind these portraits?"

Masq Island, Trade Blvd.

Desiree glares at Rochelle, then quickly hides the gold bar behind her back. 'No way! You're trying to steal it, aren't you?'

If Rochelle is particularly observant, she may see a an ugly and plump lady approaching Desiree from behind. Considering the crowd, she probably won't be noticed until she's already very close. 'I found it, it's mine- Hey!'

Desiree spins around, pulling her gold bar away from Akiya 'Don't you dare try it too!'

'I dare! You've been such a show-off since you got that stupid thing!Getting that gold bar is just a bonus, I want to get rid of you!'

In a fit of rage, Desiree conjures water out of thin air, waterbender style, and sends it hurtling towards Akiya. Meanwhile, a dark green aura surrounds Akiya's hands as she prepares to attack Desiree.

What shall Rochelle do?

"Accusing other people of stealing isn't pol--" Rochelle starts, then pauses as she sees the ugly lady approaching. She watches the antics of the two without a word... until they try to attack each other. Then she unsheathes her swords, wind energy pulsing around the blades, and makes a simple slash at the air with each sword, which would send wind energy beams at the two ladies' hands, paralyzing them for the time being.

((The effect shouldn't be seen on their skin, but they'd definitely be paralyzed for now.))

"Finally. So the way I see it, Desiree claims the gold is hers, while fat lady here is jealous and wants it to herself. Fat lady also wants to kill Desiree for it." She turns to Akiya. "I like your style, Fat Lady. However..." She points the tips of the swords at each lady. "Another way to solve the problem is to kill the both of you. Then no one gets the gold. Isn't that such a good idea?"

[goto124]

Masq Island, Trade Blvd.

(I think you meant to paralyze only their hands, but this is funnier.)

The crowd has made space for the 3 ladies. Everyone seems to be watching the incident unfold before them.

Upon getting hit by the wind energy, Akiya and Desiree are frozen mid-action, making them look like a time-freeze of an epic fighting scene, if it weren't for other indicators. Such as that the green aura around Akiya's hands had dissipated. Or that the water that was under Desiree's control had stopped defying gravity, lost its form, and dropped to splash on her head, wetting her dreadlocked hair.

(Un)forunately, their mouths weren't paralyzed.

'Did you just petrify us?' Akiya's mouth barely moves, while the rest of her doesn't move at all. 'And don't get me wrong! It's nothing to do with the gold, I just hate her!'

The same goes for Desiree, except the swimmer's eyes can actually be seen. So those eyes rolls around in their sockets, looking for the offender. 'So you'll be okay if both of us dies? I offer a third option- take the gold and leave us alone, alright?'

At the same time, the small gold bar slips out of Desiree's hand, bouncing off her wet hair before landing on the cobblestone with whatever sound a soft metal makes when it hits a hard rock.

Rochelle is free to take the gold, and leave the poor ladies stuck as statues, for all to admire.

[Cyber Punk]

Masq Island, Trade Blvd.

Rochelle picks up the gold and gives it a good look. "Correction, Desiree. I'll be okay if anyone dies. Painfully. Not many people understand just how wonderful a thing pain can be. My mission is to educate as many people as possible." She sheathes one sword, puts the gold in Akiya's palm, then teleports behind Desiree, putting a sword to her neck.

"As I said before, I like Fat Lady's style here. I would do the same in her place. That means she gets to have some fun with you." To accentuate the word 'fun', Rochelle cuts Desiree on the neck only slightly, then licks the cut area. "I'm sure she'd love that." Then she makes a gesture with her hands, and Akiya should be freed. "She's all yours, lady." That said, she curtsies at Akiya and walks away, looking back to see what happens.

[Deathkeeper]

Eastside Hospital

Tep grins and switches The Akashic Record to mace again. And proceeds to bash the door. Many times. As many times as necessary, in fact.

The Third Circle

There are three bounties available are:

-Find a druid manual in a possibly haunted forest.

-A tome from the Library of Nihil stored in an abandoned manor on the outskirts of Riverside

-The Monster Manual, in an underground labrynth four miles out of Inside

[Recaiden]

[Masq Island, Shore]

"Ugh."
Anchor shakes her head at the foolish living adventurer as he swims away.
What a loss, to lose all your equipment to a monster and barely get away!
For her part, mmmm. Adventurers tend to be a bit tougher, more lively, more nourishing than most.

The shadowy claws recede as she picks over the loot.
Sword, for hacking and slashing. Not really her thing; she knows fencing, and was just picking up this bladed edge fighting-style. But she'll take it.
Shield, solid green metal. Sickening, but she can hold it by the leather and wooden bits and it's okay.
Armor, mismatched and not terribly protective, but stylish. She rinses it of the blood, brushes away the salt, and straps it on. Somehow, it fits!
Rations, human food, useless to her, both for nourishment and the small stat boost. Healing potions, deadly poison. She leaves both on the sand.
A bagful of Quest Items, to look over later.

"You're welcome, kid. Say, do you know where Riverside is? It's that way, right?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Malechenar Castle]

The comment might be lost at a floating head I'm afraid.
"That?" Lihana glances at the portraits. "It's just part of the masters collection of art that they like to parade around. I have heard some of the portraits are of the old emperors, kings and stewards that used to rule this castle but I wouldn't recognize any of those. Long before my time. Not that I'm sure they would anyone to be reminded of those days."

Eastside Hospital

Heavy brute force is applied to the security door and it soon gives in with a loud crack.
But the doors are still not easy to open as they open inwards and the corridor behind it is filled with trash. They might have to break down the door down entirely if they want to get past. This isn't just any junk though, there are collections of old books, faded newspapers, medical equipment all arranged in neat little piles. between them are not-so-neatly arranged fast food containers littering the floor. If they would look closer at the books they can see that they're all about occultism, demons specifically. The newspapers are all about the hospital, or rather the location the hospital is standing on. Dating back a few hundred years.

[Lost_Deep]

The Third Circle

The woman rips down the one for the monster manual, and takes it to the front counter.

"Please give me all the information possible on this sidequest, here!"

[goto124]

Masq Island, Trade Blvd.

Rochelle picks up the gold and gives it a good look. "Correction, Desiree. I'll be okay if anyone dies. Painfully. Not many people understand just how wonderful a thing pain can be. My mission is to educate as many people as possible." She sheathes one sword, puts the gold in Akiya's palm, then teleports behind Desiree, putting a sword to her neck.

"As I said before, I like Fat Lady's style here. I would do the same in her place. That means she gets to have some fun with you." To accentuate the word 'fun', Rochelle cuts Desiree on the neck only slightly, then licks the cut area. "I'm sure she'd love that." Then she makes a gesture with her hands, and Akiya should be freed. "She's all yours, lady." That said, she curtsies at Akiya and walks away, looking back to see what happens.

Masq Island, Trade Blvd.

Desiree had meant that particular death question to be directed at Akiya. The usual body language to indicate this was missing, since she's frozen from head to toe. All she can do now is pray.

Akiya continues to be paralyzed, not by wind energy, but by fear. Many an adventurer had killed every last person in the area, but only Rochelle truly delighted in the suffering of others. This strange lady was positively creepy.

Akiya tries to speak, but no words come out of her mouth. After a long pause, she decides to just run away, hoping to disappear into the crowd.

Desiree would've blinked if she could. Unusual luck!

(Side note, does Rochelle have immunity against blood-borne diseases?)

[Masq Island, Shore]

"Ugh."
Anchor shakes her head at the foolish living adventurer as he swims away.
What a loss, to lose all your equipment to a monster and barely get away!
For her part, mmmm. Adventurers tend to be a bit tougher, more lively, more nourishing than most.

The shadowy claws recede as she picks over the loot.
Sword, for hacking and slashing. Not really her thing; she knows fencing, and was just picking up this bladed edge fighting-style. But she'll take it.
Shield, solid green metal. Sickening, but she can hold it by the leather and wooden bits and it's okay.
Armor, mismatched and not terribly protective, but stylish. She rinses it of the blood, brushes away the salt, and straps it on. Somehow, it fits!
Rations, human food, useless to her, both for nourishment and the small stat boost. Healing potions, deadly poison. She leaves both on the sand.
A bagful of Quest Items, to look over later.

"You're welcome, kid. Say, do you know where Riverside is? It's that way, right?"

(Not sure what I should put... did you want to join Flaming Eagle?)

[Masq Island, Shore]

Is Anchor allergic to metal?

(Also unsure on what items to have in the bag.)

The boy points at the purple buildings in the distance. 'I think it's over there.'

[Deathkeeper]

The Third Circle

Exar shrugs.
"We don't really know much about the place except that the book is clearly in it somewhere. Sorry, but that's the best we can do. We're good at finding books, not much on anything else."

The bounty card would have the (sizeable) pay listed on it, by the way.

[Lost_Deep]

The Third Circle

"Excellent!" that's... not a normal- "I will return when I've got it or I'm dead!"

[Deathkeeper]

The Third Circle

"If you wish, we can provide a contract to rent one of our imps to assist you provided you cede 10% of the bounty to him." offers the imp bashfully, wishing he wasn't obligated to put one of his brothers into a situation like this one. Curse the Master's orders.

[Lost_Deep]

The Third Circle

The crazy-haired woman looks pensive. Intensely pensive. "Lose ten percent of the bounty in exchange for a significantly higher chance of survival? I don't know... then again, survival is pretty nice, I guess. Sure, I'll risk it."

[Deathkeeper]

The Third Circle

Exar nods.
"Very well. Would you like someone knowledgeable, someone who's good in a fight, or someone who's good with other physical tasks?" asks the imp.

[Lost_Deep]

The Third Circle

The woman blinks, pulls out a coin, flips it, looks at the coin, and then asks, "How do people usually decide this sort of thing?"

The coin doesn't even have heads and tails. It just has a Z on each side.

[Deathkeeper]

The Third Circle

Exar looks at the woman, absolutely bewildered. So strange.
"Normally people choose based on the skills they feel would be the most useful to them." he says simply.