GGaD » [Intro] A stranger wandering the ruins of a ravaged town

GalaxianExplosion · August 23, 2022 21:32:02

The angel looks towards the silhouette of the stranger and Alois. Should he start following the former? Go along with the latter to give a heads up to Time's mages? His initial thought was that it was unlikely that he would lose sight of the supposed "private investigator," even should the other depart the scene by vanishing completely. However, Hitan did recognize that if the other was indeed well-intentioned, and should there still be something dangerous in the middle of the town, he would effectively be allowing the other to go into dangerous territory without any sort of backup. That was not the wisest option.
Ah, so much for his initial sentiment fueled by a dislike of being held at gunpoint. He did recall running into Time's mages more than once in the past. There was always the possibility of being recognized, sparing him the hassle of potentially being shot.
A decision has been reached--rather quickly, too. But he does think he has the time to do a sidequest. With a brief flourish of his hand, he attempts collecting the books on the shelf--shelf and all. He can look at them later. If their owner, mage or otherwise, returns...well, he can always sort that out later.
With that, he starts off towards the middle of the town as well, though at a more languid pace, and going on a different path than the one the private investigator took. After all, maybe there would be details here that he'd be able to keep in mind for later.

Time · August 24, 2022 00:35:43

Neer and the mages walked up much closer to the general group/area. They're kinda just standing around right now. More or less for those in the house to show up.

Russet · August 24, 2022 01:07:32

Moving through the town, an increasing amount of human remains would appear, along with scattered pieces of armour. Looks like theses bodies were part of the front line, defending against the destructive force. Finally, at the heart of the town, there was... a massive pit. It looked bottomless, and weirdly circular. It appears whatever ravaged the town originated from this pit, but it's unclear if the pit was present before the attack or if it had been opened. The stranger reached this pit fairly quickly. He had his hand inside his satchel, and it looked like he was debating whether or not to go closer.

Last edited by Russet (August 24, 2022 01:07:58)

GalaxianExplosion · August 24, 2022 03:28:52

Hitan doesn't find the need to speak this time. He instead finds a place with safe footing and surveys the pit. It was interesting to him that the town had attempted a line of defense. Most of the villages he had come across in the past did not have such a luxury. In addition, if these bodies were those of enlisted soldiers rather than volunteers from the townsfolk, then the town--and another party--may have known of the situation in advance.
Interesting. He looks away from the pit briefly, allowing his gaze to fall upon a nearby body, or at least a relatively large part of one. It's possible that the cause of death was just "magic," of course, but what if it wasn't? He looks for injuries inflicted on the torso, any extraneous cause of death, the marks on armor, along with how the body itself might have separated. Additionally, he checks once more for any footprints that didn't seem human near the areas where skirmishes clearly occurred. Admittedly, this is a...somewhat macabre way of analyzing the situation, but it could potentially yield something of use.

Russet · August 24, 2022 12:54:46

Bite wounds, claw wounds...this person was attacked by an animal. In addition, their throat had been torn open and it looks like their left leg had been crushed. At first, it looks like rubble may have crushed their leg, but some faint, yet massive footprints moving away from the body indicated otherwise. The massive beast that left these footprints may have stepped on this poor individual. From the footprint, it looked like the monster lacked claws, and even if it did have claws, they would likely be far larger than the ones that caused the claw marks on the body. This was most likely an attack made by multiple monsters that may have originated from the massive pit, but there's also the possibility that it was a single, shapeshifting creature.

The stranger was already at the edge of the pit, crouching and looking down. How did he get there so fast, and why did he think that was a good idea? He looked so light a gust of wind could probably push him into the pit.

GalaxianExplosion · August 24, 2022 13:25:26

If it was a shapeshifter, it certainly feels as if it was a rather sadistic creature, at least more so compared to the alternative. He almost wishes that there is someone here who can pray for these poor people. Unfortunately, he's never been one to do so himself. His incantations always tended to attract even more harm. His presence was enough of a curse on this place.
That being said, surely the stranger had already taken into account the potential danger of a monster jumping out of the pit again? He hopes so. The young man narrows his eyes and follows the tracks, trying to see if they retreated back into the pit or somewhere else. If these are "just" monsters, then he's not too concerned for his own welfare. That being said, it was important to remain diligent. And then what? Perhaps they could illuminate the pit and try to preserve the rest of the evidence.
He eventually sends a telepathic message to Alois. Have you found your brother? If so, would you mind directing some of those mages closer to the center? Please be sure to avoid disturbing the earth as you arrive. There seem to be footprints along the way.
Curiously enough, the telepathic connection closes as soon as he finishes. Wonder if it's intentional.

Russet · August 24, 2022 15:01:31

Following the footprints, they continued to move away from the pit, until they abruptly stopped. There, to the left of the footprints, was a massive imprint on the ground. Looks like the behemoth that left these tracks fell over on its side, and most likely did not get up afterwards. Did it die? Where was its body? If the monster was a single shapeshifter, it could have turned into something smaller before getting up.

Time · August 24, 2022 15:04:44

((Ok so double checking Russet, Hitan, and Alois are moving in towards the pit, yeah?))

GalaxianExplosion · August 25, 2022 00:39:50

(I might be wrong, but I believe stranger guy is already right next to the pit, Hitan's pretty close to it on somewhat of a vantage point, and Alois is heading back to Alma, who's closer to Time's mages.)

Echowo · August 25, 2022 19:08:16

Alois sends a simple message back: "Found him. I'll be sure to herd the mages over."

Alois grew slightly bigger to pick up Alma by the back of Alma's leather jacket, starting to carry Alma like a puppy. Alma doesn't seem to mind, carelessly dangling from the toothy jaws of a demon must be something he's used to.

Alois then heads to the Neer and the mages, saying loudly, "Hey, go this way, there's something important. Be careful where you step, there's footprints that need to be preserved."

Alois then stares at them and waits for the mages to go. With the way it stares, it seems to be impatient. Alma gives a polite wave to them.

Time · August 26, 2022 02:17:43

((OK I think my brain farted in the past and I didn't register them leaving))

Neer nods with a smile of thanks, and follows the the path carefully, the other two magesin tow. For simplicity let's just say the mages don't mind the giant wolf giving them directions.

GalaxianExplosion · August 26, 2022 02:51:05

(R.I.P. it happens lol)

Assuming that the group heads closer to Hitan's direction, they soon see the angel hybrid himself standing on another vantage point, a bit further from the point he originally was at and a little higher, too. Once the group is in view (as in they can see him normally, not the other way around), he directs his usual smile towards them, as if he hadn't suspiciously evaded the mages earlier or whatever.
He seems to have just said hello as well, but his voice is too soft to be heard from this distance. At least one could read his lips.

Time · August 29, 2022 00:31:01

Uhhhh I'm just going to skip some more awkward interactions I feel like the mages would do and go straight into some other stuff.

Neer nods to Hitan, and looks out to the new faces he's spotted, "So, who are you guys?" He calls out, "What's going on over here?"

GalaxianExplosion · August 29, 2022 15:25:35

(@Time - Sorry, I might just suck at keeping track of characters, but I think other than Hitan, the only new face is Russet, so...what are the "new faces" you're referring to in your post?)

Russet · August 29, 2022 16:36:06

The stranger moved his head to look at Neer. He looked eerily like an owl with its head turned around. "Investigating," he answered bluntly. He looks like he wanted to elaborate, but kept his mouth shut.

Time · August 29, 2022 20:35:03

((New faces as in just people that he had not come in contact fully within the scene yet))

Neer smiles, going on with the look the stranger made, "And what have you found?" He asks.

Russet · August 29, 2022 20:41:06

"I've got an idea what happened here," the stranger replied. Looks like he didn't want to share much, so he was being intentionally vague. Maybe he still isn't convinced the others are well-intentioned?

GalaxianExplosion · August 30, 2022 00:47:04

"Oh? Please do tell." Hitan smiles again. Or maybe he continues smiling. Honestly, at this point, who knows. "I had thought you might need a hand in looking into the pit, but it seems I assumed wrongly."
By the way, when Neer and the other mages had mostly focused on Russet, he took the opportunity to mouth "Thank you" to Alois. He has manners. Yep.

Russet · August 30, 2022 19:44:23

The stranger looked at everyone at the scene. Looks like he was trying to assess if there was any risk in telling them. He gave in and decided to tell them what he knew.
"There was a curse placed on this town. The people managed to ward it off for many years, but it caught up to them eventually. Once the curse activated, it opened this giant hole and a bunch of monsters crawled out and attacked everyone. It seems the monsters disappeared into thin air once every single inhabitant was killed," he said quickly. How did he figure that out? He wasn't doing any of the investigation Hitan was doing.

Time · August 31, 2022 11:31:58

Neer was certainly interested, "So, how do you know all this?" He asks.

Taking notice of the man's apprehension, Neer decides to include, "I'm Neer. Me and the other two behind me work for Time and Chronos. The Twin Deities. If you could give any more info, it'd be a great help to us. What's your name?" He walks closer to extend his hand for a shake. Yet at the same time, Neer scans the man for any threats.

Last edited by Time (August 31, 2022 11:32:13)

Russet · August 31, 2022 14:22:46

The stranger shook his hand, albeit very loosely.
"I'm Russet, and to answer your first question, I was doing some investigation, and that's just what I found," he answered. Again with the vagueness. He wasn't really good at hiding secrets, was he? Perhaps with a bit of pushing you could get him to spill his secrets.

Time · September 1, 2022 01:18:13

"Duh. I could tell that." Neer shrugs as Russet states the obvious, "But how did you find out? How do you know? You can't just say that stuff without backing it up."

Last edited by Time (September 1, 2022 01:18:40)

GalaxianExplosion · September 1, 2022 01:32:28

Hitan was about to speak but didn't because Neer did. Or at least, that's the canonical explanation. He winces internally from the mage's "Duh." The word, as he interprets it, usually doesn't help with getting someone to open up.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't wish to," he tries. It sounds okay to him, though it's not the best option. "I understand if you feel uncomfortable, especially with...these circumstances." He gestures vaguely, not really in any particular direction.

Echowo · September 1, 2022 05:42:36

Alois finally sets Alma on the ground once it figures it's a good time to do so. Alois silently moves very carefully and somewhat delicately to the pit, sniffing at it and trying to search for any other information Russet was leaving out. It's kinda hard to not believe the stranger, though.

Alma adjusts his shirt and jacket, not saying anything but listening to the conversation. He's trying to think of what to say, but he can't come up with anything other than to agree with Hitan.

"Yeah, if it's uncomfortable, you don't have to say anything."

How eloquent.

Russet · September 1, 2022 07:52:00

"No, no. It's fine. I'll tell you. There isn't that many of you anyway," Russet said. It was unclear if Hitan or Neer convinced him to open up, but at least he was finally willing to be a little forthcoming.
"I use magic to aid my investigations," he said. Realizing he was being vague again, he continued. "I use a certain kind of magic. It's called psychometry. Lets me talk to...stuff. Like, stuff that can't usually talk. Like the giant hole over there," Russet glanced over at the pit, almost to make sure it was still there.

GalaxianExplosion · September 2, 2022 01:08:55

"Interesting." And that's all he says. At least he seems genuine about it, though. Though it's always hard to say otherwise, given that he's almost constantly with that angelic smile of his on his face.

Time · September 3, 2022 19:05:18

"So, you're saying it lets you see an objects past? Or something to that extent?" One of the other mages Neer was with questions.

"So, what are you going to do now with the information you've gained?" Asks Neer, "Do you know anything about any magic items in this place?"

Last edited by Time (September 3, 2022 19:23:54)

Russet · September 3, 2022 23:07:06

Russet addressed Neer's companion's question first.
"Correct, though sometimes I can see its future as well. I can also get general information about something, like its material," He then turned his attention to Neer. "I'm going to relay this information back to my client. Well, sort of client. The relationship isn't that professional. He just asked me to look into what happened to this place," Russet cast an apologetic glance at Hitan, almost to say that he's sorry for not being completely honest earlier. "To answer your second question, there are a lot of magic artifacts in this town, as you've probably observed. This town was populated by mages before the disaster. A lot of these artifacts are still in working order, too," Russet was being incredibly open now. Looks like he wanted to share this with the others.

GalaxianExplosion · September 5, 2022 00:18:14

Hitan understands the need to lie more than the average entity. He doesn't seem bothered by it. Besides, he doesn't think that Russet is a very adept liar, anyways. He stays silent for now, though he does note that the rest of them owe the other an introduction at some point. He occasionally nods along with what is being said.

Echowo · September 5, 2022 03:01:23

"Ah... that's so much magic history... destroyed... so many lives too..." Alma mumbled, rubbing his arms anxiously. "... It's..." Alma quiets very quickly, overwhelmed by his own thoughts.

Alois came back closer to the group, finding that it found the pit boring, even with the knowledge that it killed a whole town. The wolf demon rested itself beside Alma, shrinking into the size of a large dog and laying down.
Alois sneezed and then asked, "Do you know if any other areas nearby might experience the same fate? It would be... bad, very bad, if so." Strangely, it somehow doesn't sound too concerned while saying this, but rather more in-thought.

Last edited by Echo (September 5, 2022 03:02:20)