[Open][PvE] A Howl In The Night

[Deleted]

A peaceful evening in the Spring of Londinium, a party of adventurers found themselves simply grinding through quest after quest. Who knows how many wolf's pelts they had collected just for the easy EXP boosts? They had been turning in an easy collection quest to a Person of The Land in a small village in the forest, near the coast. It was growing dark, and the moon was rising.

With a large bundle of wolf's pelts in his hands, Dumah noticed the time only as he happened to look up while passing the pelts to a Person of The Land who had given his party this quest to begin with. "It has grown quite late, it would seem..."

As his took his rewards and pocketed them, the Person of The Land looked about to notice how dark it had become. "Hmm, yes, it would seem so... You folk have helped me out so much; please, allow me to pay for an inn room for you all!" Despite some modest objection, the man insisted adamantly. Regardless, once he had paid, the party had no qualms with this generous gift.

--- MORNING ---

The sun rose on the quiet village, and little did anyone know of the shock they would awake to, for outside the large home of the village leader was a large pile of corpses and cadavers.

[Citrine]

Citrine Elf Guardian Lv. 1

HP 100% MP 100%

STATUS: None

---

Citrine had gotten caught out in the wilds after dark. He was outside of the city grinding on low level monsters all day and lost track of time. He originally just left the city in order to get enough money to buy dinner, but one of the monsters he killed actually dropped bread. Stale and hard bread, but bread nonetheless. So he had munched on that and took a short nap under a tree. By the time he had woken up, the sky was stained a light blue color.

"Sun must have just set. I should head back to the city. Uh..." He looked around, but couldn't see any clue as to the direction of where London was. He usually never came out this far. "Crap."

He stood up and adjusted his armor. His halberd was laying on the ground, so he snatched that up. It was probably dangerous to be out and about at night, right? That's how video games work. Monsters get tougher at night, right? He actually had no idea if that was the case. Still, better to find some kind of shelter.

The halberd rested over his left shoulder while he looked at the tree he had been sleeping against. "Moss points toward civilization, right? So the moss on this tree should point toward the city." He had heard that from somewhere. But he wasn't experienced enough of an adventurer to question it. He started walking in the direction the moss on the tree had been growing in.

After about a half hour of walking, Citrine noticed the world around him was getting brighter. He looked at the brightest part of the sky and the clouds were starting to turn orange. "Sunrise? I slept out here all night? Craaaap..." And on cue, his stomach started to grumble. He had no idea where he was and he was now hungry.

He could only just walk forward and hope he spots a farm or something.

Another half hour of walking, the sun was now above the horizon. But also on the horizon was a small village. A dozen or so houses and a large tavern in the center. He's saved! He continued on his walk toward the village with a larger stride until he entered in past the first few houses and bore witness to the scene of people gathered around a pile of bodies.

---

Skills Used: n/a

Tags: @dumah

NOTES: I'm assuming this thread is set a couple months after the Apocalypse considering you're wolf hunting in it. Mind if I bring this thread back from the dead?

[Elwen]

Elwen rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of the inn.  It was time to finally start questing, earning experience points, leveling up, doing whatever she had to do to get influence in this strange new world...or at the very least, get used to her strange new body.  The slender swashbuckler brushed a strand of blue hair out of her eyes before rubbing them again, then stretched into a huge yawn. The crowd waiting outside the village leader's home drew her attention, and she edged her way closer to try to get a better view.

"Oh my..." She gasped, a small hand covering her mouth.  Being new to the world, she was not yet accustomed to the sight of death.  "What...what happened here?" She asked a nearby elven boy, dressed like an adventurer.  He didn't SEEM to be a Person of the Land, and that meant there was a good chance he'd be looking for a quest as well. If nothing else, he might be well informed.

Words: 169

[Deleted]

Words: 506
Total: 731
Tags: Citrine Elwen
Note: We're doing this? Holy crap we're really doing this. All right then I guess we're really doing this just short of a full year since I opened this thread. This is embarrassing to re-read but I can do this.
Note 2: If we're necro-ing this thread, I'm bringing it up to where the timeline is. Dumah and Alette's (Alette is the party member mentioned in my opening post. My pitiful, god-awful opening post. God I sucked at this in my early days...) excuse for wolf hunting is just helping out the locals.

---

The sounds of nature were drowned out by the cacophony of distressed shouts from the citizens. "What is the village doing about this?!" "Are we all going to be slaughtered?!" "Damn you nobles, you caused this, I know it!" The voices melding into one loud, unintelligible sea of fearful tones and horrified cries full of anguish. The Spellsword donned his inappropriately modern attire and prepared himself for the day to come. As the young sorceress did much the same, equipping her custom made sorcerer's robes and holding her wooden staff in her hands, Dumah looked outside to see the commotion, taking notice of the pile of bodies.

Internally, he sighed to himself, a sad expression finding its way onto his face. "Alette, stay here." With that, the man rushed out of the room, down the stairs of the inn, and outside to the crowd. He gently moved people out of his way until the bodies were at his feet, kneeling down and inspecting the bodies, closing the eyes of countless slaughtered guards. It was a pitiful sight to see, but even in as drastic a situation as this, one must never forget to honor the dead.

As the Spellsword examined the corpses, the voice of a young man arose. "You damn Adventurers... I'll bet you had something to do with this, didn't you?" That one accusation was all that was necessary to convince the mass of People of The Land that it was truth. "That's right... He came into town just last night, this can't be a coincidence!" "HE brought this death upon us!" The situation began to grow more and more dire as the accusations piled up. The man stood and faced the crowd, his posture surprisingly straight for someone being verbally attacked by such a crowd as this. As he faced them, their expressions grew a bit fearsome. "He's going to attack!" "Leave us alone!" "Haven't you taken enough lives?!"

The man spoke in a clear voice, addressing all present. "You have no need to fear me. My name is Dumah Exilium Iino, guild master of Noihara. We have no enemies, and if we did we would face them head-on. Noihara understands the fear you People of The Land have to go through with your mortality, and we would never take any action that would endanger any of you."

The young man from before - Dumah's first accuser - spoke once again. "If your guild is so kind towards People of The Land, then protect us, Mr. Guild Master!" It was clear the crowd still had little faith in Dumah, yet all doubt was dashed the instant he spoke up in response.

"I will hunt the beast that has brought such fear to this village." This declaration managed to silence the crowd, as they all listened in awe and shock. "If necessary, I will hunt the beast alone." He held his fist to his chest, showing the honor behind this pledge. "I promise you all, as guild master of Noihara, I will stop this monster."

[Citrine]

Citrine Elf Guardian Lv. 1

HP 100% MP 100%

STATUS: None

---

The crowd around the corpses was starting to become rowdy. Then an elf woman with bright blue hair came out of the inn. She was about a head taller than Citrine, but was as tall as the weapon that rested over his shoulder. "Your guess is as good as mine. Bunch of people dead in the centre of town." Her hair was disheveled, so she probably just woke up. Since Citrine had only just walked into the village, he knew nothing. He didn't even know the name of the village.

Citrine examined the area without moving. Moving would draw suspicion to him. In this kind of scenario, it would be better to play the part of the innocent bystander. The corpses were still fully clothed, but you couldn't tell by how much blood stained the material. Some had their faces ripped off, others had their intestines hanging out of their guts, but most had holes bore right through their chests. What ever did this did not do this for food. The markings on the bodies that could be seen from his distance looked like claw and bite marks, though.

Of course, Citrine was not well versed enough in the fauna of Elder Tale to make any ID on the kind of creature who could or would do this. He has a very morbid curiosity. And although he hadn't seen a corpse in real life, for some reason after slaughtering monsters for 2 years in this world had desensitised him to it. Or maybe it's because he's a boy in this world he can put on a straight face without losing composure? Is this how men felt when they saw a corpse? The elf woman beside Citrine was clearly shaken.

And then, of course, there had to be someone who took charge to act like a hero. He quickly caught the ire of the villagers and for good reason. It was the responsibility of the townsfolk to deal with the problem and if they couldn't, then request help from the adventurers. "Don't butt in where you're not wanted!" Crap, did I say that out loud? But Citrine was not wrong. What was this guy going to do if there is another monster after defeating the first? Was he going to take total responsibility of protecting the town from this day on? Of course that's ridiculous.

Well, Citrine was involved now, so there was no turning back. "I don't care what your reason for coming here is, but if it's got nothing to do with this incident, then let the townsfolk deal with it how they see fit. You have no right to butt in and take responsibility for something that does not concern you!" Citrine was pointing the spear end of his halberd in the direction of the man who called himself Dumah. "If you're not asked to help, then you leave people be. Or is this how you do things in your guild? Butt in to other peoples' business and completely ignore their feelings? Did you know these people personally? Were they your neighbours, relatives, or friends? If you have no personal stake in this tragedy, then wait to be asked to help first!"

---

Skills Used: n/a

Tags: @dumah Elwen

NOTES: N/A

[Elwen]

Words: 256    Total: 425

---

Elwen nods to the elven boy.  He didn't seem to know much either, but she could feel the tension of the crowd turning ugly.  The man...was he a half-alv?...took charge of the situation, and Elwen watched him.  
"If he's a guild master, he might have resources they don't have access to.  With great power comes great responsibility, right?" She asked, quoting a comic she had loved in her previous life.  "And what if this is a quest event? There might be some pretty great rewards involved for any players that join in..." She glanced down at her rather unimpressive equipment and frowned.  "I don't know about you, but it would be nice to be able to fight something besides slimes and the occasional wolf." She winked at the boy and offered a smile. 

Stepping forward to the more experienced swashbuckler, she inclined her head.  "I don't know if I can be of any use.  But if I can help...." She lowered her eyes carefully.  Why was she being so demure? Was how she imagined female elves influencing her behavior? No.  She decided it must just be due to her low level.  No sense being cocky at level one.  Still... she put her hand to her hips and looked up with more determination.  "I could ask around, find out if anyone saw anything....they don't....they don't respawn when they die, do they?" She asked the last part in a very low voice, glancing at the mutilated bodies with a pensive frown.  "This is horrible."

[Deleted]

Words: 497
Total: 1228
Tags: Citrine Elwen

---

As expected, even the Adventurers seemed to turn on Dumah as he declared he would help the people of this village with this slaughter, claiming he should not interfere with the affairs of others, despite their predicament. The boy wanted to simply ignore all of this mindless slaughter as if it were no big deal, letting the village deal with it by themselves. Dumah internally scoffed at the boy's words, and knew he could not simply let these people die. "Would you propose I sit idly by as these people are killed in such horrific manners? I will not stand by when I can help! True, very few of these people I knew personally, but that does not mean I should ignore them." With that, another Adventurer - and Elven woman with bright blue eyes that matched the color of her hair - spoke up, seeming to take Dumah's side on the matter. She proposed that this was perhaps an event, or a quest, and that there was likely a reward to be claimed at the end of it all. Taking a step forward towards Dumah, she offered her assistance to the man, bringing a faint smile to his face as he was offered her help. "Thank you. Though be warned, we might soon face a very fierce opponent, and judging by your equipment, you seem to be quite low level. Do not worry, I will do all I can to protect not only the People of The Land, but you and any others who join as well. I do my best to ensure the safety of all those who lend me their assistance or trust."

After the Spellsword finished speaking, the young woman stated she would ask the locals for any information on what happened. Soon after, she spoke with a hint of despair and dread in her voice. Dumah spoke softer to accommodate the grim question. "That is right... That is why I cannot let myself stand idly by as this happens." Dumah held his chin gently, seeming to ponder something. After a few moments of contemplation, he approached the pile of corpses and inspected them closer. Every single one was clad in armor, and had deep claw marks in their bodies. The red gashes and the armor appropriate for guards brought Dumah to a theory. "I believe we are dealing with an event, much like you proposed, Ms..." He prompted the Elf to introduce herself, as he had always found it rather rude and intrusive to simply address one's character information to learn their name, as opposed to having them tell the man directly. "Ms. Elwen. Judging by these claw marks, and the fact that all of the victims appear to be guards... I think I may know what we are up against. Have you ever read the old story Beowulf?" If Dumah's hunch was correct, then he could rest easy knowing that the civilians would be more safe than if it were any random monster.

[Citrine]

Citrine Elf Guardian Lv. 1

HP 100% MP 100%

STATUS: None

---

Citrine clicked his tongue in disdain at the man's response. He acted like a one-note character. Terrible role play, Citrine though in the back of his mind. A man trying to play the hero at the expense of others. The man named Dumah completely misinterpreted the reason why Citrine was mad. Citrine was not trying to be selfish and just let the villagers die or to leave them to fend for themselves. It's the opposite. The reason why, Citrine believed, that People of the Land disliked Adventurers is because Adventurers still treated this world like a game. And the man called Dumah confirmed it as much that it was what he believed. The stereotypical one-note hero that butts in and saves the day without considering the rights of others.

"I'm not saying no one should help, dumb ass!" Citrine's face was red with anger now, right to the tip of his elven ears. "You're the same as everyone else. All the same!" He stomped up behind the man named Dumah as he was looking at the corpses and started hitting him in the back, though it wasn't enough to do any damage. He just wanted to take his frustration out on the one who made him angry. "This world is not a game! Stop acting like some knight in shiny armour and forcing yourself into others' problems! This village is not your home. This world is not ours to do with what we please! But this village is THEIR home. This is THEIR world. At the very least respect that and let them have their own say in these affairs. Stop taking away their agency! At least respect them enough to not force your way into their lives. If they want help, then they will ask for it. Until that happens, BUTT OUT!"

Citrine was hitting the man named Dumah repeatedly with his fists, trying to put more strength into it than before, hoping to maybe shave a little bit of his HP off. But Citrine was not a brawler, he was a boy in chainmail that swung a poleaxe, which he had dropped behind him at some point.

By the time he had calmed down, there was a couple small buds of tears in the corners of his eyes from his tantrum. His throat was sore at this point and he spoke quietly. "At least apologise to them. They just lost so much..."

---

Skills Used: n/a

Tags: @dumah, Elwen

NOTES: Can we bump this back to a couple months after the Apocalypse so Dumah doesn't have this superiority complex?

[Elwen]

Words: 234                         total:         659

---

The man's voice trailed off as he asked for her name.  Miss.... She stared at him a moment, uncomprehending.  Miss?  Oh, right, of course.  She glanced down at herself, remembering.  Her voice had changed after a few weeks in this strange world, sounding more like it belonged to the body she now inhabited.  People are going to assume you're female now, she reminded herself.  "Elwen, yes..."  She nodded, regretting for what felt like the hundredth time her decision to roll a female character.

"Beowulf, yes.  We read it in school...You don't think we're fighting some kind of Grendel type monster do you?" Again, she glanced at her starting gear, feeling even more self-conscious now that the more seasoned adventurer pointed it out.  "I'm not sure I'll be of much use at all if that's the case.  I've been fighting slimes and wolves and such..."

The elven boy's outburst took her by surprise almost as much as being reminded she was a 'miss'.  He seemed really into the roleplaying...and was acting like the NPCs had feelings and could react with genuine sorrow to these sorts of quests...  She tilted her head to look at the People of the Land, noticing for the first time the sadness and fear in their expressions.  Was he right?  They seemed so realistic...so much more than just the computer programs she had always assumed them to be.

[Deleted]

Words: 748
Total: 1976
Tags: Elwen Citrine

---

As Dumah was examining the bodies, the young boy began to berate Dumah, claiming he was treating this world like a game, that Dumah should not force himself into other peoples' problems. The boy's words were in part true, Dumah had taken it upon himself to help these people and never asked their wishes on the matter. The Spellsword nodded a bit as his back was assaulted repeatedly by the elf. "Very well, I understand where you are coming from." The man stood up and faced the crowd. "You have all lost so many people here, and I cannot stress how deeply I sympathize with you all. Nevertheless, regardless of my sympathy I am merely a traveler and have no ties to this village. I am a complete stranger to you all, and I expected you to accept my assistance. If you would rather I leave this matter to you all, I will not blame you. My guild seeks to assist the People of The Land in any ways we can, but I never stopped to ask if you wanted my help. As such, I ask you now, will you accept my assistance?"

It took the crowd a moment before unanimously agreeing, begging the Adventurers to help them. Most of the town's guards had been slaughtered, and it was clear the townsfolk were desperate for protection. Dumah looked at the young Elf boy, his eyes dampened with tears. The Spellsword reached into his pocket and retrieved a small scrap of fabric, which he offered to the boy. "Here, clean your face and wipe your tears." As the handkerchief was taken, the man walked a bit past him, bending over to retrieve the boy's polearm and return it. "I apologize if I have upset you. The People of The Land are very important to me, and I understand their mortality. Many of my dearest friends are People of The Land, actually." Dumah gave a soft smile, hoping the boy would accept his apology.

Soon, the doors of the inn swung open and a young Sorcerer girl ran out to Dumah. "Daddy, what's going on?" She was clearly distraught and filled with fear and horror as she saw the pile of corpses. She had become accustomed to seeing monsters and even animals die, but seeing people die was still hard on her. She was frozen in place. Dumah knelt down to the girl, wrapping his arms around her in a fatherly embrace.

"Do not worry Alette. I am here to protect you." After a few moments, the man stood again, holding the hand of the young Sorceress by his side. Not wanting to confuse the two Adventurers, Dumah began to explain. "Miss Elwen, Mr..." He trailed off again, prompting the elven boy to introduce himself. "Mr. Citrine. This is my daughter, Alette." The young girl was still a bit shaken by the scene, but gave a light nod as a quick greeting before speaking.

"It's nice to meet you all. I only wish we didn't have to meet under such circumstances..."

Seeing the shaken state of his daughter, Dumah sympathized with her a bit. "Why don't you stay in the inn until this is over?"

Against her father's proposal, the girl shook her head, tightly holding her staff. "No, I want to help!" She was clearly serious about this and had a determined look in her eye, one that shouted 'I want to help you all, I don't want to be a burden!'

The man smiled a bit, knowing nothing he said would stop the girl. "Very well, but do not do anything foolish." With that, Dumah returned the discussion with Elwen. "If my hunch is correct and this is an event based upon the Beowulf legend, then I believe we are in fact fighting a creature inspired by Grendel. If that is the case, it would mean we have a boss battle ahead of us, and there are likely to be minions. Perhaps his minions will be simple wolves from the area, which you and Citrine should be able to handle. If you two do find yourselves being overpowered by the minions, then Alette can help you both. However, the most important part about it being Grendel is that the civilians will not be harmed, only the village leader's guards. The question is then: Should we follow the story to battle Grendel, or do you all believe we should abandon the story's climax and fight with our own plan?"

[Citrine]

Citrine Elf Guardian Lv. 1

HP 100% MP 100%

STATUS: None

---

Citrine stopped attacking the man as he changed his tone and took Citrine's words to thought, changing the way he spoke to the villagers. All the while, Citrine's expression never changed. He looked toward the man with a furrowed brow and his lips downturned in a scowl, eyes looking up under his eyebrows. The man was at least a foot or more taller than the elven boy. Of course, it wasn't that the height difference bothered her. She made Citrine short on purpose, obviously. Being the shotacon she was. She wanted to see Citrine's face now, please someone give me a mirror...

Citrine looked toward the villagers, then back to the man, then over at the other elf. She was slightly shorter than the man. To stick with the role as Citrine, she needed to play him being upset at his height a bit. That might help. An internal conflict. Citrine was a young boy, so it would be natural to want to be treated like an adult and to have a complex about being short. But in her mind, that's what made him cute, too. Ahhh...

She was lost in her thoughts and was brought back after the village's leader, had considered the man's speech. There was probably a bit of respect for Citrine in the villagers' hearts. Though they could just as well think he was just some annoying brat who needed to look at the larger picture.

The adventurer man in black offered Citrine a handkerchief. Or was it a handkerchief? Looked like a bit of scrap fabric. It was a very light blue colour. Citrine accepted it and quickly wiped the beads of saline water that had formed in the corners of his eyes. Did he want this back? Citrine could use a handkerchief, even if it was just scrap cloth. Then the man picked up Citrine's discarded weapon and handed it to him. Citrine grabbed it forcefully from him, sending the message that his tantrum hadn't fully subsided, but he wasn't going to press the issue further. In truth, his throat was still sore, so he refrained from saying much further. He brought the axe head to his face to see if he could see himself in the metal shine. Of course, his halbered was too well-used for any mirror reflection to be seen. He gave up the thought of seeing his own face and the scowl faded. He swung the halbered in his right hand in a 360, the sound of the weapon slicing the air reverberated with a WHOOSH  for a bit and he just let the pole of the weapon rest against his shoulder, the axe head hanging toward his back.

Then a girl in a bright blue dress exited the inn. So that is probably where the handkerchief fabric came from then. The embroidery was similar. Citrine casually stuffed it in his pocket when the man's attention was shifted to the girl. The girl was only an inch or two shorter than Citrine was. When the girl's eyes had spotted the pile of corpses, Citrine moved to the side a bit to try to block her view. Though there wasn't much he could block with his short stature and slim build. Daddy..?

"Citrine." He said in response to the man who had prompted for his name. Citrine's voice was still hoarse. He looked the girl up and down quickly before averting his gaze to the right. He unconsciously brought his left hand up to his ear and lightly scratched behind it.

The situation where young adventurers who got caught in the game that would tag along with older ones was not new. These kind of relationships were akin to adoptions. It gave the children a guardian while the adult had some grounding to reality to not lose their minds to boredom. At least, that's what Citrine thought of the exchange of "father and daughter" before him. He wasn't going to ask. Citrine had actually considered seeking this kind of relationship early on, but decided against it. He was still an older teenager mentally, so he could take care of himself.

Citrine listened to the man talk, he knew at some point he had said his name, but Citrine had forgotten it. Of course, it was too awkward to ask, so he would leave it be for now and simply look at his player info when he wasn't looking. "Uhm, I don't know it." He said raising his hand, the hoarseness in his voice gone, but he still spoke softly. Basically, he knew nothing about Beowulf. He had seen a really crappy CG movie on Netflix a few years back, and if he had read about it in school it completely slipped his mind. He looked toward the blue-haired elf woman since she said she was familiar with it, "What's it about?" At some point he had decided that he, too, would help out with killing whatever did this to the village guards. Though the choice to not help never crossed his mind.

---

Skills Used: n/a

Tags: @dumah , Elwen

NOTES: Citrine's pronouns slip between male and female sometimes in his internal dialogue. Don't let it confuse you~

[Elwen]

Words: 111          Total: 780        

---

"Its about mortality.  About living forever through tales of your prowess.  That and killing bigger and badder monsters...that part is more in our wheelhouse," Elwen answers the other elf's question with a wry smile.  "Might be a little beyond my abilities but I'm willing to give it a shot.  This starting gear is kind of the worst.  Do they make it chafe on purpose to encourage us to get better gear?" She jokes lightly and then becomes more somber as she remembers the grisly scene before her.  "May as well keep with the story. I'll probably have to pass on any wenching that comes up in the feast halls though..."

[Deleted]

Words: 379
Total: 2355
Tags: Citrine Elwen

---

The vote seemed to be that the party should follow the story's guidance for the fight against the beast. "Very well then. Perhaps we should party all party together so we are able to work together on this." With that, the Spellsword tapped at the air and brought up his menu, opening the party menu and sending out invites to the two elves. As they tapped the buttons to join, they could see the names of their party members in the corner of their peripheral vision. At the top of the list, with a slightly larger status than the others to show his role as party leader, was Dumah Iino with the Swashbuckler icon by his name. Level forty-six. Under that was another status bar: Alette Caelius, the Sorcerer class icon beside her name. Level thirty-two. It was a big contrast from the two level one Adventurers below, but nothing Dumah was not used to. He had partied up with many low-level Adventurers before to help them when they needed it. "If we are to follow the story's guidance, we will need to disguise ourselves as guards and feign sleep to lure Grendel into a fight. If all is well, he will have minions that you two can handle. If not, Alette can offer you assistance in the battle." Recanting the ending of the tale, the man walked to the village's leader. "If you wish for us to assist you, we will need some guard uniforms. One for each of us."

The leader, clearly uneasy about this whole situation, was willing to comply. "Y-Yes, of course. Come, our armory is just this way." The man led the party into the manor, taking them to a room in which many weapons and armors were housed. "Take the armor. Should you fail to find a suit which fits any of you, I shall have our craftsmen prepare a set."

The party leader bowed lightly, thanking the other leader formally. "Thank you. This will surely be of much help to us." It was almost amazing how smoothly the demand had gone, but when one considered Dumah's subclass of Courtesan it did not seem all too unlikely. The party began to browse through the suits available, finding a uniform which fit them all.