Quest #3: A Miner Problem
Group #2: We Are Lost
General Guidelines:- This quest will run as a guided group thread with a predetermined list of participants.
- After posting a prompt, staff will wait to post the next prompt until all participants have responded (or several days have passed).
- If several days pass without a character responding while the others are waiting, the late character may be skipped in the interest of keeping things moving along.
- It's okay if you need to drop the quest for any reason! We don't need an explanation but we'd appreciate it if you could let staff know so we can give your character a way to exit and/or move the quest forward without them.
- Participants do not need to follow a strict posting order when responding; if characters responded to the first prompt in the order A -> B -> C, they do not have to respond to subsequent prompts in the same order.
- Each staff prompt includes a goal. The goal may (and probably will) change each new staff reply. Most goals do not strictly need to be achieved to complete the quest (for example, if the goal provided is "Play the flute" and your character doesn't know how to play a flute or would refuse to put their lips on a germy old flute, post that!). However, if characters do nothing in response to goals or wander too far off-target for multiple posts, the quest may be considered failed.
- Feel free to have your character tackle a goal (or decide not to) however you like! For example, if your character is staring at a locked door and needs to get to the other side, do they knock? Shout for help? Try to pick the lock? Kick the door furiously? Whatever your character would do is fine!
- Behind the scenes, these quests have a loose script/summary that staff are using as a guideline. Staff will use prompts to make adjustments as needed and prod the scene along so that we can (ideally) cover the major points we want to cover. Don't worry about trying to have your character do the "right" thing; whatever would be IC for them is fine. If your quest is in danger of being failed due to characters not participating/doing totally bonkers things, staff will let you know in advance.
- Failed quests will mean that your character is imprisoned for one (1) month.
- JUST KIDDING, there is no penalty for failing a quest. Other than not getting all the info/a reward at the end.
- We are aiming to wrap these quests up before the end of the month.
- Because this is the first round of quests, the rules/guidelines may be adjusted as needed.
It begins...
Quote:A small party of miners departed from the Weyr nearly two full sevendays ago, heading for the mountains to the northwest to set up a small mining camp near a promising seam. However, they haven't sent back word of their safe arrival, and a firelizard sent to contact them returned in a screeching panic, unable to relay its findings. The Master Wherhandler has requested that a team of volunteers (or voluntolds, if necessary) follow their tracks and report back.
Your party heads north. Although the terrain is gentler, the dense forest of mixed conifers, birch, and aspen is difficult to navigate. You'll have to dismount and search on foot if you'd like to find anything in the woods; even a small dragon will have trouble taking off or landing among the dense vegetation until you can find an open clearing. In the distance, you think you hear the splash of water against rocks. Perhaps a river, or a waterfall?
Above you, something rustles in the trees. Whenever you pause to get a good look, however, it's gone.
Find the missing miners. There are no obvious tracks, but you can hear water nearby.
Wodril fell somewhere between voluntold and volunteer. A long look from the Master Wherhandler eventually had him agreeing to go without any real prompting. He was mostly just glad to get away from the Weyr, and to do something of purpose with his time. He had not excelled as a sailor because he enjoyed a life of relaxation, no, adventure called to him.
Adventure on the seas was different to adventure in the forest. He wasn't sure he liked this sort of adventure, and every rustle or snapping twig made him turn his head this way and that. What was it Nemoral had said about feral whers? He shook the dreadful thought from his mind, though stayed on alert.
"Should we head towards the water?" if he was lost in the woods, he might want to set himself up near a source of water if he could.
Well, by default, she's in charge here. They're candidates, and she's a newly minted Wingleader. With a spear in one hand, point downward so it's easily accessed but not pointed at anyone in particular, she keeps to the ground. She should have taken a dog, but they're hard to travel with, and she doesn't have any experience with the Weyr's kennel dogs. There's no way to tell which one is good for what purpose. Maybe she should start training a dog again...
You don't have time for that. Shiinoth's voice is without judgment. The dragon is there on foot because any wher that shows up might be deterred by such a large creature. That her small size wouldn't deter a gold wher doesn't bother her; how common are feral gold whers? Surviving in the wild with such a size and bright hide? There's probably only one or two out here. And certainly she could reason with such a creature in the language of primal dragonkin. There's no reason that feral whers can't be intelligent.
Lariat mentally grunts and stoops down to observe a broken branch on a bush. Could have been left by anything, is the problem. One of the candidates suggests the water. She glances over at him, and is tempted to call him a boy. He's your age, Shiinoth interjects. A dragon isn't a sign of adulthood. Unfortunate that the green is right, fortunate that Shiinoth is always here to babysit her. How the green manages it, no one will ever know. But Lariat remembers words that Shiinoth said to her upon picking her. You're good. You're strong. But you're also bull-headed and arrogant. We work with what we have. With one delicate paw, Shiinoth manages what she can.
Still, Lariat's nature is blunt and direct. "You got a reason for that thought?" She puts a hand on her knee, the other using the spear for support. "Tell me your logic there." She'll go along with it if he sees something she doesn't, or if he knows something. If he doesn't...
Some part of Nimara wondered if she was requested because cap'n recommended it. She certainly hoped that was the case, that he didn't think ill of her after the whole shipwreck and nearly drowning thing. It was also eye-opening for her, meeting the Master Wherhandler. She hadn't realized that whers could have fins and swim! She thought they were mostly for mining. After this adventure, she might have to see if the Goldhandler might allow her to stand for whers. (If she had to be at the Weyr anyway, it'd be nice to still be close to the sea.)
The girl followed Wodril carefully, her eyes glancing left and right to keep an eye on the brush. It felt… odd. Working with the cap'n on land. There was something wrong about the way the occasional rock would catch the toe of her boot and the way everything was so still. She missed the rocking of their ship, even now, and the spray of the sea, and the sound of the waves lapping hollowly against wood.
"Should we head towards the water?"
"Aye, sir" Nimara agreed, instinctively, and started for the sound of water… but paused when the greenrider spoke. Right. Of course. Cap'n wasn't the cap'n anymore, was he? That was also odd. She wasn't sure she liked the greenrider who now lorded over them. She didn't seem nice.
"Well… If we was lost… the first thing we oughta do is find proper drinking water... Right, Ma'am?" She spoke, nervously. Her legs were itching to run to the water. It felt weird to have to have to wait when she could be doing something. Truthfully, she wished to run much farther away than that; Lariat made her uneasy.
---
Wodril frowns deeply at the blunt and almost defensive reply he receives from Lariat, he is about to open his mouth and start an argument when Nimara speaks first. Poor girl. He felt partially responsible for getting her into this whole mess, if he'd been more experienced as a captain perhaps... It was a useless thought, even the most seasoned captains could do little in the face of a terrible storm, and even less about thread.
Though he hadn't requested Nimara come with him, he was very glad she was here. Even if her being quick to give him an 'aye sir' might get the two of them in trouble with this touchy green rider. He felt better when he had some of the remaining members of his crew around him. He could trust them. They hadn't pressed him into anything.
"Exactly." He nods his head, water was the only way to stay alive, and they had no other leads at the moment. The miners might not have gone this way at all. There certainly wasn't any sign of them.
"And besides, unless you've picked up the trail and neglected to tell us, I'd wager the river is the best lead we have at the moment. Might be clearer around the bank as well, easier to see a longer distance."
You ought to be friendlier with candidates. Shiinoth remains impassive, not directly involving herself.
I'll care when they prove themselves worthy. She doesn't keep up with every person that gets Searched. Most of them fail. It's not worth treating every candidate like they're going to Impress. The look she gives Nimara is searching, probing for any frail part of this woman. The nervousness is not appealing, but her logic is sound. "Checks out," she says as she stands. This is honestly a task for hold guards, not untrained candidates. If she had dogs...
She gives Wodril a stony glance. "It takes time to find tracks." They're under-equipped. The report hadn't gone into enough detail about the location of the miners, which is to be understandable given the firelizard's panicked state. "But everything I've found could be anything. Thought you might have seen something I didn't." Her hand adjusts on her spear as she heads towards the sound of water.
Shiinoth stares after her, snorts, and speaks up for the first time. I would recommend staying in my line of sight. It makes it easier to protect you. Unlike Lariat's direct tone, Shiinoth's is more gentle: a soft inquiry, a gentle suggestion. Her head tilts, implying they should go before her. Just in case.
If Nimara didn't like being around Lariat, she liked being scrutinized even less. She shifted her weight uncomfortably, her eyes looking down and away as she felt the heat of the Wingleader’s gaze threaten to burn her up inside. If the green rider was looking for frailty, there was a lot to find in that one. There was no confidence, no resolve. The slightest breeze could crumble her, at least emotionally/mentally. When it came to athletics and survival, though, Nimara was hearty and, at least, useful.
The voice of the dragon gave her a start, even if it was a nicer voice than the rider attached to her. The candidate nodded in reply. Dragons were terrifying creatures, after all. It made sense to keep one nearby. The forest was dense here, however, and whatever source of water they found was likely to have wound its way into a hollow or ravine–as water was wont to do. It seemed unlikely a dragon could fit in such places. They were probably on their own, much further in.
Nim followed after their de facto leader, but stayed close to Wodril. He was a much friendlier face than Lariat, even if he was her old boss. She tried to keep her eyes and ears open for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.
---
Wodril says nothing more to Lariat, only holding her gaze until she looks away. She bothered him, and it seemed to him that he also bothered her in return. That was just fine by him. She didn't really seem the type that it was worth befriending. Standoffish and brusque with two candidates who were here against their will? She could have been a little nicer, might have made him think less about how he and Nimara could make a break for it and take their chances out here in the woods.
The intrusion of the dragon's voice into his mind stops all thoughts of escape dead in their tracks. Easier to protect them, sure. And easier to make sure they didn't wander off. With a sigh he pats Nimara on the shoulder before he falls in behind Lariat and in front of Shiinoth. He had no quarrel with the dragon, she seemed nice enough... for a dragon. A large scaly beast like all the other dragons, but at least it seemed she was kinder than her rider.
"Is there anything we should be watching out for? Other than footprints of course." it was possible, he thought, that the miners might mark trees as they went or something like that so that they could more easily retrace their steps when it was time to go home.
The sound of flowing water grows louder as the party travels through the woods. This particular patch of forest seems to have been spared the worst ravages of Threadfall, and the trees grow closer (and the underbrush more tangled) as you approach the water, making it more difficult for Shiinoth to keep up with the humans.
Perhaps you ought to turn around. But then, quite suddenly, you reach a clearing at the edge of a rapidly flowing stream. There’s a lot to look at, but a quick glance around will reveal some first impressions.
Lariat notices something:
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Although the clearing appears natural, the ground is slightly disturbed here. There are scuffs in the sparse grass and stony soil, and an area below the trunk of a particularly sturdy-looking tree has been swept clean of stones and leaf litter. Did someone camp here?
Nimara notices something:
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There’s no noise to alert her, only the feeling of eyes on her back: in the shadowed branches above and behind the search party, tiny eyes are watching. Many tiny eyes. As Nimara’s eyes adjust, she will be able to make out the silhouettes of firelizards. Dozens of them. Completely, unnaturally silent. Watching.
Wodril notices something:
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Speaking of markings on the trees, there’s something…strange on the tree nearest Wodril. An odd pattern in the wood? No…maybe not. If Wodril looks more closely, he’ll be able to see something carved into the bark:
The roughly carved message appears fairly fresh.
Goal: Investigate.
Turns out that was a good idea, though Lariat's not one to celebrate it. Shiinoth struggles, not used to walking on foot, and a larger dragon might have not been able to manage. At least it gives them both hope that any wher that could make it through would be much smaller than Shiinoth. And that means they could be deterred easily.
And then the trees break. Shiinoth moves slowly out into the clearing, keeping her eyes on the treeline. At any moment, anything could appear. But Lariat's eyes turn downward, noticing the cleanliness of parts of the forest. "They were here. See how the leaves are cleaned out?" She approaches carefully, noticing lines that could have been left by a tent. "Where's the remains of their fire? It'd tell us how soon they were here."
Maybe they didn't have a chance to build one, Shiinoth suggests.
"Possible, possible." She pokes through the cleaned spot, trying to tell if she can see where anyone went.
Wodril takes some satisfaction from having been right about looking close to the water. Of course he had been right. That sort of told-you-so thinking was unhelpful, of course, but he felt it all the same.
Having already been looking at the trees, one in particular caught his attention. Something had been carved into the bark deliberately. A word? He stepped closer, until what it said came into focus. HELP, relatively fresh, had been gouged into the tree. He looked about himself first, before looking over to Lariat.
"No fire over here, but they can't have been gone too long," he paused briefly "they left us a message" he stepped aside so that the word was visible to both Lariat and Nimara.
While the others inspected the campsite, Nimara was transfixed on the innumerable sets of eyes above them. There were so many of them! And so still… She didn't like that one bit. It made her skin crawl. Why were they all watching them like that? It wasn't like firelizards to be so still. Pebble, Ursa, and Lyra didn't sit so still unless they were sleeping. It didn't seem like these ones were sleeping.
That's right! Pebble. Her eyes not moving away from the fair above, she gentle nudged the brown that was sleeping in the pocket of her pullover. He poked his head out, yawning, then looked up at the lizards above them. Maybe he could figure out what was up with them, Nimara hoped. Since he was a firelizard, too, they must speak the same language. The brown crawled out of her pocket, up the front of her sweater, onto her shoulders, and then stretched to stand with his front legs atop her head to get a good look at their watchers. He hummed thoughtfully, and very cooly, turning his head like an inquisitive canine. What were they doing up there? Was it some kind of new game?
"I dun' think we should stay here long," she finally informed the others, her voice shaking despite her attempts to calm it. "I think we're bein' watched by… somethin'… or someone…" Could one person have bonded to so many firelizards? Or, perhaps, some larger creature? She wasn't sure how firelizards worked. But it sounded just like something out of a horror story told around a campfire. With Pebble's watchful eye on the creatures above, Nimara hazarded a glance over to what Wodril had found. Her heart fell into her stomach. That really solidified it. "I think somethin' bad happened here." Her eyes went back to the lizards.
---
The message. It's fresh. "Wonder what would have attacked them with enough time for them to carve that," she ponders. "It's help, right? Or... Hello..." But then the girl speaks up, and it's more of the obvious. Lariat opens her mouth to say something sarcastic to Nimvara, because of course something bad happened here, but Shiinoth is the one that interjects.
You're right. Wild firelizards don't sit that still. Shiinoth gives Lariat a single glance, as if to suggest not to make things worse, then gazes upwards. I'm not sure they'll talk to us. But, I'm going to try, because whoever they're here for already knows we're here. She reaches her mind out towards the firelizards, trying to see if they'll say anything to her. Sometimes even the best-trained firelizard could resist their discipline in the event of a chance to gossip.
"I suppose it could be hello.... but it doesn't seem likely." The rest of the message seemed to be written in capital letters.
He hadn't noticed the firelizards at all. It was a little bit disconcerting to see them sit so still. Were they scared? If they were scared did that mean that he should be scared? Probably, but he liked to think he was braver than some little lizard.
The firelizards don't react at first. They seem oblivious to Shiinoth's inquiries. The dozens and dozens of tiny eyes track Pebble's movements instead...and then the human serving as his perch.
All of a sudden, every pair of eyes blazes red. Dozens of flapping wings fill the forest canopy as the firelizards dive at you, screeching and hissing. They come at you from behind; you can't go back the way you came. This is probably a good time to start running. And, perhaps, to make sure you have some kind of eye protection.
Goal: Run!?
When their eyes turned red, Pebble trilled a warning. Oh, he didn't like this game. Nimara snatched the brown flit from her head and shoved him into the front of her sweater as she turned and started to run. Pebble squawked, suddenly feeling very uncool.
“Cap’n! The trees!" Maybe if they went deeper in the forest, it'd be harder for the creatures to maneuver in the denser vegetation?
She stumbled over a tree root as she ran, but quickly scrambled back up to her feet. Feeling the creatures close in on her, she lifted her arms to try to block her ears, her face from any angry claws.
Wodril's eyes go wide in surprise when suddenly all the little dots up in the trees begin to glow red. Nothing good would come of this.
His arm comes up to cover his face as one of the lizards swoops a little too close for comfort.
"Aye!" he shouts back at Nimara, taking off after her, careful not to get caught on the same root she did.
Lariat could fend for herself, or he thought to himself, if she was smart, she would keep close to the ex-sailors.
Deeper into the woods, the vegetation grows increasingly more gnarled and tangled. It's hard to get a good look at anything in your mad flight to escape the swarm. There's absolutely no way for Shiinoth to follow here, but as Nimara predicted, the firelizards have a harder time getting to you through the brambles. Wodril manages to avoid any claws, but one of them grazes Nimara's cheek, leaving a shallow red cut.
All of a sudden, the swarm abruptly stops. The firelizards disappear into the canopy. Taking a moment to catch your breath, you realize you've stumbled across a wide clearing in the woods. A fresh one, too: there are broken tree trunks, smashed and scattered branches--something big stomped through here. There is no sign of life whatsoever. Not even a songwherry pierces the stillness. Among the wreckage, you notice some distinctly unnatural shapes. A few large trunks and crates are strewn about.
Goal: Investigate the torn-up clearing.
Rolls:
Nimara: 7
Wodril: 20
Too many things happened too fast as she and cap'n made a break for it. It wasn't until, suddenly, the creatures gave up pursuit that she had time to think or breathe. Only then did she feel the sting of the cut on her cheek or the burn of her lungs. They were safe… for now.
It worried Nim what might cause the flits to turn back after they had chase them this far. She looked around the clearing and saw the devastation. "Cap'n…?"
Then she noticed the crates. The trunks. People? She took Pebble out of her sweater and set him on her shoulder so he could keep an eye out. The brown was still a little miffed from being thrust into her sweater, but was intrigued by the surroundings. "Why would supplies be out here?" Her voice was low and she addressed it to cap'n and Lariat, if the greenrider had followed. She looked around, trying to see any signs of what might have done this. Nim was not keen on getting attacked again...
[ ]
Wodril stops, hands on his knees to catch his breath. He may have been strong, but there was little reason to do much running around on a ship. With a sigh he stood up and surveyed the scene around them.
Like Nimara, he saw the supplies as Nim had, but could not help but notice the state of the clearing. Something had come stomping through here, and not too long ago either. Is that what had riled up the firelizards so?
"Aye." he replied to Nimara, to let her know he was there.
"Someone must have brought this here... we might find clues of where they went if we take a look." he began to walk to the edge of the clearing, watching where he put his feet carefully.
"Check the crates, I'll see if I can find anything that'll point us in the direction of the crates owners."
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