The Totally Not Suspicious Medicine Man [NO]

[Shuwen]

Words: 775

Shuwen had never been a very good team player, particularly on mmos. It wasn't like he hated working with others, it was just a pain to coordinate. For example, what if he had to do something else in the middle of the dungeon? Leave the other part members to rot? What if one of his would-be teammates wanted to be an ass and leave him behind? If they did, there wasn't usually a whole lot he could do about it. Throw in the usual issues with communication, and the immaturity of many players, and more often then not, he felt it was often best to play solo. Of course, ever since the apocolypse, many of these issues had become a non-issue, as the game had become the world around them, it wasn't like anyone could just log off and leave their teammates hanging, no one wanted to fight real monsters by themselves, and now it was much easier to simply talk to people, not through chat windows and microphones. The last in perticular made it easier for him to build a lasting relationship with other players. That was why when he heard about some interesting rumors in Avon, he didn't hesitate a whole lot to team up with two other players who were interested in the same.

The first player he'd partied up with was someone he knew. He had met @eleri previously while grinding in Windsor forest, and they'd both made an effort to adapt their knowledge of martial arts to the new kinds of foes they'd doubtless be using it on. While the amount of effort they were putting into doing so had waned (Eleri's moreso then Shuwen's, or so he believed), it wasn't something the Monk had quite given up on yet, probably because he didn't have to go out of his way to sharpen his skills and tactics on just about every monster that came along.

The second person they ended up partying up with was someone unfamiliar to him, a lower-leveled assassin named Fallout . He was far from the optimal choice. His level aside, Shuwen would have preferred a support-type, like a Cleric or Shaman, but those tended to be in short supply due to their inability to solo, and as long as Shuwen did a good job tanking, it probably wouldn't be too big of a deal.

Finding the lander known as Alsadair wasn't as difficult as he'd previously feared; he had a small crowd of people around him, doting, almost rapt in their attention of him. As a result, quick search of the marketplace was all they needed to locate him. Well isn't he the popular one. He thought, feeling perhaps a little jealous at the attention the man was getting. Of course, Alsadair's appearance was, itself, a bit suspicious, that black hair and the slanted eyes made him look vaguely like one of the bad guys from one of the cartoons he used to watch. It was probably shallow of him, but he didn't really feel like trusting this guy right off the back. He just seemed too suspicious in an annoying cartoony sense.

Trying not to be obvious about it, Shuwen checked the status bars and screens of the people around him, checking for any suspicious statuses that indicated something more was going on, but his suspicions proved false, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary about what they were witnessing. Checking Alsadair produced similer results, at least initially. He seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be an ordinary lander. Though his possession of three subclasses was unusual for a lander, he didn't seem to have any others, which to Shuwen seemed like a decent trade-off. Nothing he could really complain about, not until he noticed the man's third subclass, which was hidden behind a wall of question marks. Okay, THAT is suspicious. While it wasn't something to start pointing fingers at and shouting dramatically, it was almost certainly important in some way. After all, why bother to hide something like that unless it was important in some way? To be honest, he was a little puzzled why none of the landers fawning on him were curious about it. A concealed subclass wasn't exactly common. Well, it's not like I can force the info out of him, and he's not going to come out and say what it is if he's bothered to hide it. It looks like I'll have to keep it cool for now. But how would his companions react? Not wanting to look odd by starting a telepathy conversation, he turned toward them in an attempt to visually gauge their reactions.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 93%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jacoben wandered cautiously through the streets of Stratford, his Arcraven familiar Munin settled on his shoulder and glancing around at the passers-by with the peculiar stare that only a corvid could pull off. Thankfully the magical glow that the tamed beast could give off was inactive, otherwise he might have been getting far more attention than he really wanted to be receiving at this point. He might have been working on being more outgoing but that didn't mean he was particularly comfortable with the idea of being stared at.

Normally the Foxtail wouldn't have gone out to Stratford unless there was some big event or he got dragged out by someone, but ever since he had helped reform Vylbrand (and ending up as an officer in the process) he was trying to push himself out of his comfort zone to be the sort of person that his guild needed. It was scary, and hard, and at times he wanted to bolt back to his workshop and hide from the world like he used to, but he knew that he couldn't do that anymore.

So it was when he heard about something a bit odd that could lead into a quest chain in Stratford the Sorcerer decided that he might as well check it out. Unfortunately it seemed like most of his (admittedly few) friends on his friend list were either uninterested in checking it out or were already in the process. It had almost seemed as though the idea was a bust until he finally stumbled on someone willing to go looking into whatever it was that had other adventurers worked up about Stratford.

The monk Shuwen that he had spent some time with practicing how to use their martial arts knowledge within this new world had seemed to be interested in forming a group (as everything either of them had heard suggested that this couldn't be done solo) and even found a third member of their party to get them off to a proper start.

Shrugging to himself Jacoben made his way to the marketplace as the rumours had suggested, his head turning this way and that as he tried to find the Lander that was apparently at the heart of the situation, Alasdair. It quickly turned out that he didn't need to look particularly hard as the large group surrounding the Lander was quite conspicuous. It seemed as though they were buying whatever product it was that the man was selling, however there was something unusual about the way they focused on him. Even those that had gotten items from him seemed to linger around his stall as though unwilling to be on their way. It was quite confusing for the foxtail, what could keep the crowd so focused on the trader?

Bringing up his interface he examined everyone around the stall for any status effect or something which could have caused such an attitude, but there wasn't anything on them out of the usual... at least, until he examined Alasdair. Apothecary, Courtesan, and.... ???... that was really odd and definitely explained why so many people were heading up here to find this man. Not only did he have multiple roleplay classes, but one of them was completely unknown to the interface. What could that mean? Who was this guy? Jacoben wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to plumb the depths that these questions might lead to, it seemed like it could be difficult and....

No, he was trying to be better at this sort of thing, he wasn't going to back down now after having plucked up the courage to do this.

Glancing around once more the Sorcerer noted Shuwen standing off to the side, the monk clearly disconcerted with something and Jacoben was fairly sure he could guess what it was. Walking over to the party leader Jacoben reached up to pet Munin under the beak, receiving a quiet caw in return from the magical raven.

"I guess we know what was causing all that fuss now, huh?" he said as he got close enough to the Monk for a relatively private conversation. Now they needed to wait for the third party member to show up and they could decide what to do.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 707+212 NO bonus (30% for 3 People)
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

Opening the door and leaving the inn, Fallout made his way to down the street. The weather was mild, a cool breeze made its way down the road. He looked at the sky, the sunlight just about breaking through the clouds.

“Looks like it might rain later” He said under his breath, he pulled his shemagh up to cover the lower portion of his face. He then made his way down the street keeping to the shadows, occasionally using alleyways as shortcuts.

Fallout barely visited the Streets of Stratford, they were fairly alien to him. Compared to Londinium they were less crowded and quieter, he could actually hear his own thoughts. A very rare treat indeed, ‘Everyone must be at the market place’

Earlier on he had heard rumors of a Lander, more importantly a Lander with three subclasses. His name was Alasdair, a medicine man. A glitch? Unlikely, but as always curiosity had gotten the best of him. From what people were saying he wasn't a threat, just a charitable man giving away his wares for free. But that just made Fallout more suspicious.

‘Why for free? Was he trying to get attention? Bring in a big crowd? Maybe he was just a nice guy, whatever the case he was still the first person I have heard of to have three subclasses’

Fallout had been asked to join a group by two fellow Adventurers, Shuwen the monk and Jacoben sorcerer. Both the monk and the sorcerer were high leveled and experienced. From what he had heard they had worked together before, this will be a first for Fallout. So far he has worked alone, but new experiences always helped. 

'Shuwen is the one leading the party, monks having the highest HP stats and a short cool downs mean he can tank enemies. jacoben being a sorcerer will have lower HP but have powerful ranged attacks and high MP, a support role. But where do I stand on the team?’

Fallout muttered to himself “Why do they want me around, they are far more powerful and could easily do this without my assistance. Hmm, maybe they just want a pack mule. Either way I could use the gold, not to mention some more experience” The market area was approaching, Fallout stopped at entrance to the marketplace and looked around.

The source of the rumors wasn't hard to spot, a large crowd was gathered around one stall. People were taking items without paying, some taking more than others.

‘So this guy is the one causing all of the commotion, doesn't look like much. I guess first glances can be deceiving, best get a better look’ He thought before moving around to get a better view past the crowd.

Fallout opened his interface to examine the lander, the rumors were true. Apothecary, courtesan and “???”. ‘Three subclasses, but the third one...what is it’ His wares weren't really anything of interest, just bits of junk from what he could see. ‘Good stuff has probably already been taken, shame’

Closing his interface, he looked around ‘I should probably find the others before go any further’ He thought, leaving the growing crowd to go search for partners.

He spotted the two at the edge of the marketplace, jacoben wasn't exactly hard to spot because of his Arcraven always on his shoulder. Fallout walked over, making his way past the crowds of people. The two appeared to be having a conversation, once close enough he joined in. “Sorry if i'm late” He said calmly to the both of them.

---

Words-592 + 177 [1.3 Bonus EXP for Noblesse Oblige Quest]

Tagged- Shuwen Jacoben

[Shuwen]

Words: 457

Shuwen toggled on the Hearing Proficiency so he could hear what @eleri was saying without too much effort. The bird on the Sorcerer's shoulder cawed, prompting it's master to pet him a bit.

"Yeah. I admit, I'm really curious about what's under those question marks." He scratched the side of his head a bit. "Nice bird, by the way." The crow was a new addition, presumably due to Jacoben's leveling of his Animal Tamer subclass.

It didn't take long for Fallout to join them. "You're just in time."

"It looks like if we want to continue on with this quest, we need to talk to that guy." He said, waving his hand in Fallout's general direction. From that point on, he began to focus on what the medicine man was saying. Even though he would resume paying attention to his teammates if either of them started talking, his focus was on the medicine man, and what exactly he was talking about. After all, it was a little odd for people to still be hanging around after he was out of most of his wares. It seemed that he was telling the audience a story about something that had happened to him during his latest foray to the north, a tale of narrow escapes and long travels. Ah, of course. They rely on him for news from otherwise out-of-contact areas. Generally, some pre-lightbulb societies relied on travelers as their sole point of contact with the outside world. Normally, one would assume they would rely on adventurers, but thus far their sphere of influence was relatively limited, and they tended to be lame storytellers. A lander like Alasdair would be a much better choice for that role.

"It looks like he's going to be tied up a bit longer. Unless you guys want to force a conversation now. I'd advise against that." Trying to push ahead of cutscenes in a quest was usually a bad idea, and the situation seemed similar. Also, interrupting the man's stories would probably be a good way to make enemies out of most of the Lander population of Sarum. And so Shuwen chose to wait.

Assuming neither Jacoben or Fallout tried to interrupt the proceedings, Alasdair would run out of stories to tell them in about a half hour or so, then excuse himself from the audience. "Sorry, but I need to head north again to get more stories." He told the audience cheerfully. "I doubt I'll learn anything worth telling you all by staying here." This elicted a small chuckle from the audience, who proceeded to disperse. This gave them the trio the window of opportunity they needed to talk to him.

"Can I help you?" Alasdair asked as the adventurers approached him.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 93%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

"He's a good scout and assistant," Jacoben remarked casually as Munin ruffled his feathers in agitation at being dismissed as a mere 'bird', the raven-like monster glaring at Shuwen with remarkably intelligent eyes. The Foxtail didn't say anything more, nodding to the assassin as he showed up (he was too shy to actually say anything to the newcomer, though it might have come across as a dismissive attitude.

Like Shuwen, the Sorcerer simply listened to Alasdair as they stood on the outer edges of the traveller's group listening to the man's stories of his travels. It certainly was interesting, though Jac wasn't nearly as captivated as some of the others. For some reason the appeal of Alasdair's courtesan class didn't seem to effect the small sorcerer, which he considered a small blessing. The last thing he wanted was to make a fool of himself in public by acting like some preteen fangirl.

The foxtail's eyes slid half closed as he listened to the tales from the North, a part of him aching to go and see the country where he had grown up. He'd been here for however long it was now, and been stuck in the city for several years before that meant that it had been some time since he had seen the countryside of Scotland, or Scotia as it seemed to be here. As the traveller talked he could feel his heart ache just a little with longing for his homeland, for the days as a child when he would go to his grandparents' home for weeks on end out in the Scottish countryside learning the sorts of things that get forgotten in a city.

Snapping out of it eventually he turned to the other two, "Well, maybe however he got those extra classes is up North. Either way, it would be interesting to go and see what's up there right? We should ask him about it." He wasn't about to approach the traveller first, he was pushing his bravery just coming out here after all.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 339+102 = 441 [1.3 Bonus EXP for Noblesse Oblige Quest]
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

Leaned against a wall, Fallout was waiting for Alasdair to be done with his stories. Jacoben was ruffling the feathers of his arcraven, talking about its abilities. Still waiting for the man to be done, Fallout took note of the landers stories. The majority of the stories seemed to be rumors or tales of past battles, how much of this was truth he did not know but he assumed it might come in useful later on. Its always good to learn about someone's past before approaching them.

‘This guy just doesn't shut up does he, he must be coming to an end soon. I wonder how much he is saying actually happened, some of it has to be true. If this is a quest and he talks like this throughout I might just leave’

A little laugh emerged from the crowd before they all separated, leaving the man alone. Shuwen signaled to approach the him, following the monk and sorcerer the group approached the man.

Hearing our footsteps he turned to face us “Can I help you?” asked the medicine man, his voice full of enthusiasm.

“Are you this Alasdair we have been hearing about?” Fallout questioned.

“Indeed I am adventures, I didn't realise I was famous” The old man chuckled before continuing “Let me properly introduce myself, I am Alasdair the Medicine Man. I've travelled from the northern lands jumping from town to town, city to city. Its been a long journey, its always good to stop and see the people”

Alasdair looked well travelled with raggedy clothes, despite those features his eyes showed kindness and true spirit. He stood short with a large smile, hair matted and curled.

‘Oh god, I hate people who talk too much. I feel bad, he seems to be somewhat lonely’

“So you've travelled for miles across these lands, only to make it all this way and give up all your items?” The assassin continued to question.

“Coin isn't everything young ones, for me the thrill of adventure is more than enough. Ive seen saphire bamboo forests that show no end, cities built within caves where the homes hang from the ceiling, lava forests were the trees feed on fire and even more. That my fellow adventurers fills my life with more meaning than any amount of coin could” Alasdair continued to rant on, only stopping to take shorts breaths. People passing by stopping to listen to his words.

‘Definitely a case of do not judge a book by its cover, he has seen more in his time than most could hope too. Still not sure if it's the right time to question his third subclass’

---

Words-443 + 132 [1.3 Bonus EXP for Noblesse Oblige Quest]

Tags- Shuwen Jacoben

[Shuwen]

words: 409

@eleri seemed proud of his avian companion, the bird itself (himself?) however, didn't seem to appreciate the comment. Ruffling indignantly. Shuwen made a mental note to stay out of pecking range and left it at that.

Jacobin suggested they ask Alasdair about his third subclass. "Sounds like a plan." The monk replied. While he honestly wasn't too keen on engaging a conversation with the guy that was in the center of everyone's attention, it didn't look like they had much choice if they wanted to continue.

They waited for some time as they waited for the storyteller to finish his business. Personally, it put Shuwen on edge. After all, they just wanted to talk to the guy and go, or something to that effect. He wasn't really interested in the guy's stories, and the longer they had to wait, the more it put him on edge. But at the same time, confronting him immediately was unacceptable, and leaving would have wasted the time they'd already spent waiting, which he wouldn't have been satisfied with. A fairly annoying dilemma, but one that eventually solved itself when the storyteller finally finished up and the crowd began to disperse.

Fallout took the lead, confirming the storyteller's name. Personally, Shuwen thought it was a bit redundant. After all, his name was listed on his status bar, and he'd probably introduced himself to the crowd at some point. Old habits die hard I guess. The two talked a bit more. It was fine for breaking the ice, and the assassin seemed genuinely curious, but the monk felt like they were getting sidetracked. As soon as he found an opening, Shuwen jumped toward the matter at hand.

"How come your third subclass is obscured?" Shuwen asked bluntly. "I-i-it's... kind of odd, to say the l-least." He tried not to swear at himself for stuttering.

The storyteller laughed, apparently not taking offense at the Monk's directness. "There's quite a story behind that. Unfortunately it's not one I'm ready to tell right now. Perhaps another time." He looked pensive for a moment. "Perhaps you'd like to learn about it first-hand?"

"Er - what?"

"The secret behind that lies to the north. I'm planning to head back there fairly soon on my rounds, and wouldn't mind the company of you adventurers. Perhaps you'd like to join me?"

"Er-" Even though it had been Shuwen's intention, the conversation had moved too quickly for him, and he was having trouble responding.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 93%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jac let the other two do the talking for a time, content to let them take the lead in this particular situation. At least, until it seemed like both Monk and Assassin were just as awkward as he would be in questioning the Lander traveller. The whole conversation seemed stilted and forced, and Jacoben felt a degree of embarrassment that he couldn't explain as he stood a little bit behind the melee fighters, resisting the urge to fiddle with the cuffs of his robes or something.

Much like Shuwen, Jacoben was startled by the sudden offer to travel with Alasdair up north. Leave on an actual journey for more than a few days? Was that really something he could just do on a whim? But still, there was the part of him which yearned to see Scotland again, and the other part which wanted to know just how the Lander had three Roleplay classes. Not to mention there was the mystery of the hidden class too. Indecision warred within the small foxtail as he tried to work out just what it was that he wanted to do.

"I'll tell you what, you all seem a little unsure about the matter so how about this. I'll be leaving in about two hours from the northern gate of Stratford. You have that long to decide whether you want to come with me or not. If you do decide to go, then you should probably make sure you've got all the supplies that you need, I can't afford to get everything needed for three of you on top of myself. If you show up, then we'll leave, and if you don't I'll assume you don't want to find out the answer to your question." Alasdair stated casually, nodding to the three adventurers before turning away and wandering off, clearly going to make his own preparations for his return trip northwards.

"So... we have to decide whether or not to go with him..." Jacoben murmured softly, an uncertain look on his face. It was likely that he could be swayed into a decision one way or the other depending on what his companions chose but for now he was thoroughly torn on the matter.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 481 (370+111 [1.3 NO Bonus])
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

The lander wandered off after offering the opportunity to travel north. The lander stated that the secret to the third subclass could be learned first hand on the journey, but is that true? From what he could tell Alasdair was not a dangerous character, just someone who liked to travel.

‘Is he telling the truth or is this a long con of some sort? He won't profit from us coming, just a little extra protection at the most'

Thinking it over Fallout decided that the journey was worth the risk, he needed the experience and wanted the adventure. The majority of what he has done was drifting from place to place alone, working on a team would teach him new skills.

“I see no reason why not to go, an extra subclass would be amazing. Even if we dont get a third subclass you guys saw all the items he was giving away, still a profit if you ask me” Fallout asked hoping to get his other two team members to join in “I mean whats the worst that can happen?”

The sky began to darken as the first few rain drops hit the ground, vendors started hang tarps up to stop their produce from getting wet. Looking towards the others, Jacoben seemed uncertain while Shuwen showed no clear emotion. The drizzle of rain started to turn into a large downpour. Near by npc’s started running home, leaving the market area near empty.

Fallout always enjoyed the rain. The noise made it easier to sneak about, less people around in the rain meant you are less likely to get caught.

“So we gonna go and get ready or stand about and get cold?” Fallout asked the two.

---

Words-287 + 86 (1.3 Bonus EXP for Noblesse Oblige Quest)

Tags- Shuwen  Jacoben