Stepping into the cool, quite bar, you notice that you are one of the few people inside. A young Fae woman looked up from the picture she was dusting and straightened her serving maid robes, but otherwise paid you no mind. A drunk laid half-on one of the tables, her grip slowly loosening as she slid from her seat. A booth held a couple of men, farmers by their look, who whispered in quiet tones over a mug of ale. Sitting along one of the walls in a booth was a simply dressed woman, with the long, fox-like tail and pointed ears that you could easily identify her as a member of the Grass Runner clan. She was sipping a drink, while a pale white squirrel-like creature sat on her shoulder, evidently asleep. The woman had a gun holstered to her side and a thin boomerang on her travel bag, marking her as a member of the Rangers, same as you.
Also, at the far end of the bar sat a young man, looking to be in his mid-teens. He was a dark, chocolate skinned lad, with shaggy black hair and a tight, black outfit, decked out in silver chains, pendants, and lockets. He leaned against the wall, watching the room with narrow eyes, obviously waiting for something to happen.
As you settle down at the bar, the bored barkeep looked up from the mug he was polishing. As the chubby Manillo walked to you, he called out, “What can I get’cha, traveler?”
A tall woman walks into the bar. Her dark eyes are unusually cold as they move over the room carefully noting each inside. She steps inside and lowers the hood of her cloak. Her hair is white a marble. It falls down and hides it's full length in her cloak. Most of it is pulled up into a pony tale on top of her head. The rest is held out of her eyes by a black bandana tied across her forehead. In her hand she hold a polished dark wood staff that looks as if it has been used for ages.
As she steps up to the bar her cloak flutters back by the force and stregth in her stride. It reveals her simple clothing. A pair of loose off white pants tied tight at the waist and ankles. They are dirty with dust from the road. Her feet are bare but by hard with time. A length of grey fabric apears to be her shirt, tied neatly in an X across her chest. Her black belt holds attached a longsword. Her cloak hangs funny on her, not squarely on her shoulders and as she walks her slate grey wings are revealed now and then.
As she takes a seat at the bar she removes he cloak and hangs it on her staff which she leans up on the bar. She stetchs her wings to the full length then neatly folds them behind her. Her body is thin and looks almost frail, yet it is tone with muscle. Her skin is unusally pale, almost white. It looks cold and almost shinny, like dull stone. Everything about her has a stone cold appearnce, mostly her piecing gaze.
She looks up at the barkeep and answers him with a single word. Even her voice is stone cold. "Information."
Raising a scaled eyebrow, the barkeep slowly looked the imposing woman over. Cracking a toothy smile, he put his mug down. "Information, eh? I got precious little of that..."
Turning, he carefully placed the sparkling glass back up on the shelf behind him. Grabbing a slip of paper from the inside of a different mug, he turned back to the flinty eyed traveler. He held out the slip of paper. "However, if you are willing a wait for a little bit, I can give you this...?"
Giving him a hard look, the woman took the slip, then unrolled it and glanced inside.
Notice: Rangers in the area report to the Romero inn. Cheska Hinn, the local Warden, will inform you of your mission. Signed, Machet Awlsmith, Ranger High
Seeing the scowling look directed his way, the barkeep shrugged. He gestured out towards the others gathered in the quiet bar. "It seems whoever you folks are waiting for has not quite arrived, yet. Feeling free to wait here, and call over Anne if you need anything to drink..." Pointing out the bar maid, he went back to polishing another mug.
What a marvlous waste of time. Why couldn't I have been told that from the start. Oh well, at least I got alittle what I am looking for. Maybe I'm even in the right place already.
She looks again at those in the tavern, then back at the keep. "Tell me good sir," her voice was still hard and cold, but atkeast now she was trying to be polite, "where is this Romero Inn. I did not notice any signs for it. Or am I possibly already where I should be?"
The Manillo nodded at her questions, frowning a little. "Indeed you are, miss. I would normally have a sign up, but..." the man shrugged. "I do not want to risk bringing too much attention to myself. Men keep disappearing, don't cha know..."
He gave her a plaintive look. "I don't suppose you are going to help stop this, are you? My best buddy got taken, and I have no idea how to help him. I would try to help him, but..." He gestured to his rather large stomach. "I am not the spry young lad that I used to be."
He pointed to the young Fae girl, who was forlornly poking at the keys of the rundown piano in the corner. "Anne there lost both her brothers and her father. I took her in, but... She just kind of mopes around. Maybe she might know something to help you?"
She listens to the stories and begins to feel slightly simpathatic. I may be stone, but this is just wrong. She gives her best attempt at a kind smile. "I suppose you could say that I am here to help. It would be better said that I was here to find out the truth." Her smile turns sly and almost sadistic, "Ofcourse if I get to knock around a few wrong doers, that is an added bonus." She cracks her knuckles with loud pops. The sound is easily heard throughout the room. "Before I ask young Miss Anne, can you tell me anything about when your friend disappeared?"
The barkeep poured himself a drink, shaking his head. “I am afraid that I cannot tell you much. Joseph and myself were out on the lake, when we came back to shore after the sun started to set. While we were tying the boat up, a… creature came out of the brush at us. It looked like some sort of shadow man or something. I yelled at Joseph to go and get help. I turned to run and tripped over the boat and into the water, while Joseph took off down the shore. When I popped back up, it had grabbed him and was dragging him into the forest. I tried to catch them, but…”
He paused here momentarily to take a swig of his drink. He sighed heavily, and then continued. “I don’t get it. I was right next to the thing, tangled in one of the ropes on the boat, and couldn’t possibly swim away in time. I don’t understand why it went after him and not me. Joseph’s a pretty fast runner, but it did not go for the easy catch.”
Obviously, this distressed the poor man greatly. He shook his head, and finished. “Well, that’s really all I know. The shadowy thing took him and left, and all I could see of the thing was that it was kind of shaped like a large man or something. It was really too dark to see it clearly... Sorry that’s all I can tell you. I would tell you more if I knew more, trust me on that…”
He growled in a low voice, clenching his fist. “I hope that you guys catch whatever has been taking everyone…” The Manillo leaned in a little closer, giving you a serious look. “And just between you and me, I would not mind much if you bang them up a little before you get to the bottom of all this…”
She smiles, "Thank you for your information, it was exactly what I was looking for. As far as your request I will take great pleasure in doing so." She stand and nodds her head to the man before picking up her coalk and staff and going over to the young fae. She again tried her best to look kind as she approached the young woman.
"Excuse me miss, I was wondering if you can tell me about the disapperance of your love ones. I plan to get them back."
Post by authroroniel on Sept 22, 2005 18:58:18 GMT -5
The door opened, and in came a young lad, not much older than 20, apparently. Of course, that was the PROBABLE age, since he wasn't even closely human; his ears were slightly pointed, there wasn't a single piece of hair in his body other than his hair, and the skin tone, a very light brown, was different than most humans'. His clothing was of light tones, mostly green and blue, clashing with his skin and black hair. He wasn't wearing any shoes, and his weapons - a staff and a boomerang - were slung on his back.
He walked to the bar and sat down. "Could I please have some water, mister?" he asked the barkeep, a somewhat off look on his eyes.
Looking up distantly from the piano, Anne hesitantly asked, “Is there anything I can get for you, miss? Sorry if I missed your order…”
--- The Manillo looked up as the strange man sat at the bar. Pouring him a cold glass of water, he gave him an odd look. “Hmm… don’t see many of your kind around here… You with the Rangers, kiddo?”
*** Sorry for taking so long with this post, by the way. Celest, could I get a Charisma check, adding any values you might have for persuasion. For all in-game rolls and the such, just use my gmail account, by the way.
She smiles. "It's ok miss. I understand that you are upset, but i would like to hlp you. I am looking for information on the disappearance of your family memebers. I am here to bring them back."
---------------------------------------- Charisma = 0 Roll = 18 I hope thats good enough. Not to mention she may trust me cuz i look like fae. Well, at first glance I look like a fae, look longer and you may think otherwise, but she is upset so may not notice.
Last Edit: Sept 23, 2005 12:21:14 GMT -5 by celest
The young Fae girl smiles faintly up at Celest, a dull spark of recognition in her eyes. “Are you friends with Mommy? You look kind of like her, before she left…” She then goes back to plucking at the piano, gently planning a soft, sad song.
Suddenly, the front door bangs open, allowing a tall, slightly wet Crawler woman into the quiet bar. She shook her head, sending off a few flicks of water off her head. Brushing off her outfit molded armor and nice blue outfit, you could tell that she was somebody of at least a little respect in the area. “Sorry about my lateness,” she shrugged. “I was out in the lake, following a lead that went no where.”
She walked deeper into the room, pausing to stop by the side of the Grass Runner woman sitting at her booth. They nodded a couple times, exchanging low words, before the sitting woman stood. The new woman smiled at Celest and the two males sitting at the bar. Gesturing towards the door deeper into the bar, she called out as she stepped deeper inside. “Come on, folks. Time to talk shop, eh?”
As you step into the door, you see it turns into a short hallway. In one of the side rooms, sitting on a worn couch, sat the Crawler woman. Leaning against the wall was the other woman, looking slightly anxious. The creature wrapped around her neck was still sleeping, blissfully ignorant of the goings on.
The sitting woman smiles broadly at you, as you file in behind the chocolate skinned youth from the bar. “Hello, folks. I am Cheska, of the Rangers. It is my job to fill you in and get you started on your mission.”
She waved her hands at the comfortable seats in the small, incense filled room. “Sit, introduce yourselves, and let’s get started, shall we?”
Last Edit: Sept 26, 2005 20:38:11 GMT -5 by artemi
She is about to answer the young lady's question when the tall woman enters. She flashes a grin and looks back at the fae, "Excuse me miss, but I will have to answer your questions later. I must tend to this matter now." She follows the prosession into the back room, eneter the small space last. She places her cloak and staff down, leaning it against the wall. She stands strait next to the door, as if keeping gaurd and waits for the others to take their seats and give their introductions.
Post by authroroniel on Oct 3, 2005 14:16:32 GMT -5
The man was about to reply as well, when he heard the Crawler woman call him and a Fae. Shrugging, he got up, still holding his glass of water. "You could say so," he said before walking towards the other room. As he entered it, he sat down, amused, before drinking some of the water slowly.
Last Edit: Oct 3, 2005 14:23:10 GMT -5 by authroroniel
She waits for a while carefully taking in everything she sees and mentally capturing it. "Well, seeing as no one wants to go first, I might as well." She stands up staight and looks directly intp the eyes of each person. She eyes are just as cold as ever. "My name is Seiko. Thats all you need to know, for now." She leans back up agaist the wall and waits for the others.
Looking up as the other woman introduced herself, the tall Grassrunner smiled slightly. This was going to be an interesting one, I am sure...
Pushing herself off the wall, she gestured to herself. "I am Trillian, and this..." She pointed to the sleepy little creature wrapped around her neck, "Is Cheris. I'm a bit of a ranged specialist, though I have my own tricks."
She flipped her tail, then pointed to the dark skinned youth. "You, quite one. You haven't said a word since you entered the bar. Who are you?"
With a glower, the boy smiled, showing a row of perfect teeth. "Oh, addressing one such as I? Call me Los." He pulled one hand out from behind his back and snapped his fingers. A wisp of black flame appeared, hovering over his open palm. "I am here to find my brother, not to chat with the hired help."
Seeing Trillian's eyes narrow, Cheska sat up, holding her hand out. "Hey, hey... No need for that, you two. Save it for the ones responsible for this whole mess." She glanced at Trillian, who sniffed and looked away from the imputant boy. Giving Los a level look, he simply closed his hand over the flame, snuffing it out.
She looked towards the Yggdrasil man who sat on the chair next to her. "And you, sir? Who might you be?"
Cheska sat back, looking over her assembled group. It was not the worst crew that she had seen in the Rangers, and they might just be able to pull this off. Running a hand over her hairless skull, she sighed, not entirely sure where to start.
“Well… As you know by this point, the men in Romero have been disappearing for quite some time now. No one is sure where they are going, but witness accounts state that they are defiantly being taken against their will. This is a disturbing trend, and must be stopped before it goes any further. We have lost some 20 men so far, and I still have yet to find many solid leads on what is going on.”
Turning to her side, she rummaged in a bag sitting on the couch and brought out a small, broken chunk of yellowed rock. She tossed it into the middle of the room, where it rolled and stopped at the foot of Trillian. The vulpine woman leaned down to pick it up while Cheska continued. “That’s one of the few leads that I have gotten so far. It was found at the site of one of the last disappearances, attached to a broken length of cord. It is a stone from the mountain range to the west, near the Snowbreak Peak. I am guessing that it was attached to a sling or a net, probably to catch the man without too much of a struggle.”
Trillian held the stone up to Cheris, who had awoke and was looking it over. The little creature pushed at part of it, revealing the corner of a milky white crystal buried inside the stone. Trillian held up the stone to Cheska, eye cocked. “What… what is this? This is an odd crystal…”
The Crawler woman shook her head. “I have no idea what that crystal is. I have certainly never seen it before, and I do not think it is a natural part of the rock structure in that area of the mountain.”
Los narrowed his eyes, then imperiously held out his hand. He asked in a flat tone, “Give me the stone.”
Trillian gave him a look, then shrugged and tossed it his way. He snatched it out of the air without a glance her way, then fell to studying it. Cheska continued, obviously pleased that the team was already starting to get to work. “Your mission is simple. You need to get to those mountains and find whoever is up there. Stop them and free the men if at all possible. Any questions?”
"Is that all?" she smiles almost devilishly. She takes a glace around the group. "Hmmmm, well it may take longer to get there then I'm used to but obvisously the sooner we leave the better." She takes a moment to ponder the tale she had heard from the keep.
"Who ever is taking these men desire the strong over the weak. Thos chose a more challanging catch when they had an easy one right before them. That may suggest something of a purpose for their prisoners. Slave labor perhaps?" She over to the stone, their one physical clue so far. "That is an unsual stone, perhaps they are mining it. On the other hand, it wouldn't make sense for them to throw it away like that." She crackes her knuckles loudly. "Still, I hope it's salve labor. I hate slave labor." She smiles again and picks up her cloak and staff.
"Well then, as I said, the sooner we leave the better."
Post by authroroniel on Oct 12, 2005 14:09:51 GMT -5
"I'm not sure whether that's good, because they might be under a sorcerer's control or something like that. But let's go, then," he said before drinking more of the water.
