Following the Path

Following the Path
Date of Scene:	17 March 2013
Location:	Port Royal
Synopsis:	Adventurers go off in search of treasure, only to be thwarted by the 'Ghetto Knight'.
Cast of Characters:	Reize Seatlan, Lily, Zia, Yurita, Percival, Kyra Hyral, Soan Sagittarius, Shadow

---

Zia has posed:
It's been a while since a group of adventurers found a treasure map hidden away on an island near Port Royal. There have been some obvious distractions which kept most of the would-be treasure hunters from coming back until now, though.

Near as anyone can tell, the map begins somewhere in the forest near Port Royal. One piece of the treasure map clearly shows markings that look like a city, and a dotted line that extends off into the woods. This is where everyone has been instructed to gather. There are three parts of the map, and thus far there hasn't been too much fighting regarding them, but that could all change.

While three groups had walked away with treasure map peices, there were others who could easily enough have heard about the rumors and caught information at the tavern. Whatever the reasons that brought them here, it's clear enough that everyone gathering is here for one reason: to see what the old ship captain had buried.

Rumors range from mountains of gold, to some mysterious power that would make him one of the most feared captains on the high seas. Whatever it is, it draws attention.

The woods are a strange place since the one of the elemental sisters of the Gaudium Lords had been here. There are far less animals, and the entire place looks overrun by plantlife. It's going to make following the map a bit harder, since some of the landmarks would most surely have been changed by the strange magic that had interfered here.

There have been signs of pirates in the area, too. Possibly those same ones that had attacked on the island. But they certainly couldn't be much trouble so long as the heroes had the map, right? ... right?

Zia is among the trees, needing some distraction of her own from recent events. She'd given her piece of the map to Reize... as much as that might not seem like a good idea. He is the leader, afterall.

Percival has posed:
Manhatten had been restored.

The Russet-Skinned Gargoyle had been jubilant for all of a half hour before depression sank back in. He was mostly over it, but now he was trying to escape before the inevitable St. Patrick's Day celebration began. He wanted no part of that.

Zia's treasure hunt had provided him a gracious /out/, and he'd eagerly come with her to the isle near Port Royal. He didn't even care what they found, as he truly didn't care about the treasure. After all, the last time he went on a treasure hunt with her he ended up with a cursed rapier that had lain in the hoard as a trap. No, he was here mostly for the escape, and perhaps for a bit of light-hearted fun.

So when they arrived at the Isle, he followed Zia around into the trees, remaining nearby. While she may have allowed Reize to lead, the Gargoyle considered Zia to be the actual leader, and deferred to her as such. He doesn't appear to have a sulky mood right now, but he's not being particularly chatty either. The tangled and overgrown forest disturbed him, so he was trying to remain constantly vigilant of anything amiss.

He didn't know too much of Reize, and what he knew was likely overinflated by ill spoken rumors. Which is why he had agreed with Zia that giving him a piece of the map was an excellent idea.

Ignorance is bliss, as is often said.

Kyra Hyral has posed:
TREASURE HUNTING!!

This is real, genuine, not-ironically-named-stealing treasure hunting. In spite of the inherant danger present in the last time she did this with Soan, Kyra is super excited to get to do it again! It helped that Soan had been there to protect her, along with the others that had come. Speaking of, she seems pleasantly surprised to find that Percival and Zia have also returned on this venture.

Both were obviously quite experienced! Kyra...only a little so. This was practical dungeoneering application, for once! Non-classroom, which is where Kyra's previous experience with such had been.

She and her Alexander Academy fellow classmate, Soan, arrive by boat. Perhaps ominously, her chest looks a bit bulkier than usual, suggesting she may have stocked up on 'supplies' for this trip. And by supplies we mean 'explosives.'

Shadow has posed:
Among those that are present without a structured conviction, Shadow is standing here with his dog. His distance is a few paces further out than a typical 'I am with these guys' position would be. The dark-clad man and his mutt heard about the expeditions in a tavern. People are going to hunt some form of treasure-- and where there are groups of people sworn to adventure in high risk - high gain, he finds there is an ample chance for a job.

He is the unaffiliated chaos factor-- as what dive into treasure hunting doesnt do well without the token ninja making '...' noises and jumping out at the last possible second to cut jungle snakes in half? Of course he has met a few of these people from the dog antics earlier. Hopefully no one pets the dog this time!

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Warm weather, check. Lots of water, check. Crummy boat, check.

This sounds like a lot like an Ifritian Adventure Novel. All with endless riches, deadly traps, nasty spirits just waiting to screw over belligerent mortals in their eternal hubris. Yeah, sounds just like it. Except it has more water than scorched wastelands.

Soan Sagittarius is rather calm during the boat ride, busily observing his piece of the map most of the way, occassionally looking around to see how far they have went. Map reading is an important part of being a Rogue, after all. A lot of things are, after all. Once they disembark, Soan cheerfully greets Zia and Percival.

"Why, hello there. Fancy meeting you people again. Congratulations, by the way, on your success of regaining your world back." The Thief says to the Gargoyles, quite sincere. "The rumor's been spreading around fast. So! Let's do this. Let's try to plug the map pieces together." Soan says, pulling out their piece, neatly.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
A treasure map! The best thing ever! It has been a long time since Reize had gotten to become an explorer again. It is this very day that Reize gets to do treasure hunting. That is part of being an adventurer!

The leader of the Shard Seekers, led by his map for a change, is already making his way towards the forst near Port Royal. Of course, Zia, against her better judgment, gave part of the map to Reize. The leader of the Shard Seekers is on the case!

"Okay! We got one of the maps! We can start looking for the treasure!"

And of course, the boy waves towards Shadow, "Ooiii! Shadow!" While approaching him and the faithful dog, Reize looks over towards Kyra and Soan. The two strangers earn a bright smile from the boy before he waves his hand their way, "Oooii! New faces! It's good to see you!"

Then, Reize looks down at Interceptor. One would think that Reize would had learned to not pet the dog after the first time, right?

At first you don't succeed...

...Try again.

"Hey Interceptor!"

Reize reaches over to pet the dog. ... This idiot.

Lily has posed:
Lily, who's standing near Reize, promptly grabs Reize's hand with both of her own and squeezes it, dragging it firmly to her side and smiling the whole while!

She's come with Reize, and seems to be in pretty fine spirits if her cheery grin's any indication.

"Treasure!"

Yurita has posed:
Yurita mms, watching Zia and Percival quietly as she followed Reize... all the while looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't getting them lost, she'd heard about the map, and asked if she could come along, saying it had sounded like fun, and she kind of figured Reize would be part of it... as Reize leans down to pet Interceptor she quickly takes out beef jerky and tosses it to the dog "more where that came from if you don't bite Reize this time Interceptor."

Zia has posed:
There are reasons why Zia had chosen not to wear her cloak today, and the overgrown, thorny vines that cover the forest is part of it. "We'll need te be careful when we head deeper in. Ah dinnae know how many of these plants are still alive from tha witch who summoned them. They'd eaten animals alive, so Ah dinnae doubt tha they wouldn't take a snap at one of us if we're nae careful." She offers this bit of warning. The jungle surrounding Port Royal had gotten more dangerous, and also harder to navigate.

Luckily, they had Reize!

Standing near Percival, she doesn't say too much to try to break him from whatever funk had stolen over him after the salvation of their world. He'd talk to her about it if he wanted to, otherwise, she's just there to make sure he doesn't get himself into too much trouble.

Seeing Kyra and Soan arriving with their part of the map draws a small smile to her features. "Aye, welcome back ye two." The prominant feature on their particular map is a a waterfall, a strange rock formation that almost looks like a skull, and ship with a distinct red 'x',. Percival, on the other hand, probably has the piece from his group, which seems to cover the middle of the expedition, including a strange set of trees, a house, and some... mushrooms? What?

"The congratulations goes to all those who fought te bring it back. We couldnae have done it alone." Zia replies, and then glances over towards Reize. "So, oh fearless adventurer, which way does yer map point us?" She asks.

The man with his dog catches her attention, though. Dogs are a bit like gargoyle beasts, so she has a certain liking for them, but she isn't fool enough to go touching one without invitation. "A fine companion ye have, sir. Do ye think he might be able te tell us if any trouble starts up on our tails?"

Percival has posed:
As mild mannered Soan Sagitarrius speaks to him, Percival would grin at him and Kyra. They'd both been polite and helpful last time. There was nothing superheroic about Soan. Not a single errant consideration of the possibility of him being a superhero crossed his mind. And as for Kyra? Her innovations had been a significant help to them during their previous outing. He clambered down the tree just enough that he could call out to greet them. "Good to see you again, Ser. And you as well, Lady Hyral. My goodness, you've been stocking up haven't you M'lady? Are you expecting trouble?" He pointed a talon at the bandoliers she was wearing.

Percival didn't know what to think about the man in /ninja/ garb with them. He was so quiet, and he didn't think to ask his name. The Gargoyle did happen to like dogs, but he certainly wasn't going to /pet/ him without the owner's permission. That'd just be rude.

He'd offer a wave to Reize, Yurita and Lily, before climbing back up to Zia's height. "So, how are you feeling, Princess?" His voice sounded the picture of innocence as he made some idle small talk with her.

Kyra Hyral has posed:
"Oooh, yeah, what Soan said." Kyra chimes in as her companion congratulates the gargoyles for a successful world restoration. "You'll have to give us details on how you pulled that off...but later. Since we might need to be very quiet in case those pirates show up again like last time."

A new face makes an appearance, waving cheerfully. Kyra double-takes: Reize was younger than she was! And here he was, out on an official expedition? That was pretty unheard of where she was from, except for on Odinyar. Babies were practically born with swords in their hands on that continent. "Hellooooo." That girl Reize was with looked pretty young too.

"Of course!" Kyra says brightly to Percival. "I came with double supplies this time. You can never be too prepared! That and...well..."

She looks sheepish, "I got a little carried away last time I was mixing things so I have a bit extra."

Shadow has posed:
As Reize approaches Shadow and Interceptor, the seriously serious ninjaman cants his head in a nod to him. That must be the same thing as a greeting in Shadow-ese. "If you are hiring, I am available," he informs the man in his usual manner of joykill monotone. Fortunately Interceptor is joyraise of the dynamic duo, but he will only put you back to 1HP before biting you. It looks like the pain canon is about to be readied for another round as Reize goes to pet him.

Luckily non-chibi rescue efforts intercept the Interceptor as the large dog munches on some beef jerky before he clamps down on someone's arm again. His tail happily wags as if he understood Yurita. Hey, the dog is getting paid better than the ninja these days!

Only the amber eyes of Shadow's shift over to Zia to address the question about the dog's danger senses, "Yes. Interceptor has excellent senses. He would provide warning." As ninja as a ninja can be-- he would not have survived this long without Interceptor's nose and wit to help him through countless surprise situations.

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan smiles back at Percival and Zia, nodding. "Indeed. These kind of events are rarely the work of a single person. Still, congratulations." The Thief insists, nodding once, adding before he turn around. "Yes, it's best to be ready a little too much than not enough, especially in this kind of expeditions."

The new faces come along, Soan gives Reize and Yurita a curious look. They do... look pretty damn young, considering this kind of situations. Then again, as far he's seen, they're not the only child adventurers... and to be honest, they aren't all THAT much older themselves. A ninja appears along with them, the thief giving him a loot, as well.

"Right. So, if everyone is here, then, let's see what the map has to say, yes?"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Before Reize was to do something incredibly stupid, both Lily and Yurita come to the rescue. Reize, somehow forgetting that he nearly lost an arm to the haxdog, is unaware that they both saved him from repeating the same fate as the other night. "So, there are man-eating plants. Got it!" Reize regards Zia's warning with a nod.

Of course, Zia brings him to the attention of the map once more. Reize looks at the map for a couple of moments, reading it over. "So, according to this.. We'll be taking the coastline for a bit." He squints at the map a bit deeper. "Then it looks like we go to a denser forest. From there, it splits in to two paths. One down the beach and another leading to a forest!"

The boy looks towards Kyra and Soan once more, a bit confused by Kyra's double-take. Nevertheless, the boy brightens his smile at Kyra. "That's a good way of thinking! It's better to be over-prepared than ill-prepared! An important rule of being an adventurer!"

As for the hiring part, "Well, we can split the treasure once it's found, so...!"

Yurita has posed:
Yurita giggles at Reize, and Interceptor "you're not so bad Interceptor, are you?" she then looks at Reize and the map "you sure about that Reize? its not upside down is it?" she smirks.

Lily has posed:
Feeling a bit perturbed that Reize didn't learn from the pain, Lily makes a face with her cheeks puffing up at him, but it doesn't last long. "We'll have to be careful. Keep your hands away from things with teeth, Reize!" She asides to the boy after nodding to Zia.

The others also get looks in turn from her. Shadow, in particular, she nods at, and Percival gets a wave in return!

"... What IS the treasure?"

Zia has posed:
"Ye know, Ah'm sure Ah heard tha the man-eating plants like te gnaw on the heads of particularly mouthy young gargoyles." Zia looks over at Percival, a smirk playing on her lips. "Ye best be careful aboot tha." Her voice is all teasing, but in answer to his question, she raises her shoulders in a shrug. The return of their world had a strange, bittersweet quality ot it, and she's still not quite sure how to feel. She'd mourned it being gone, moved on, and ... now what?

Either way, as Reize gives them the first directions, Zia falls into step, keeping an eye out for any plants that she recognises from her last trip into these woods. Since they're mostly at the edges right now, there are just vines with the occassional thorn sticking out to catch along pant legs or scrape arms that get too close. Now and again, a thicker bit might be positioned to turn an ankle, but they're easy enough to get around.

"So far as the stories say, nae one really knows." She explains to Lily, her brogue working nicely to spin the tale. "They say tha the old Captain was a pirate, 'n tha one day he came upon a ship like none other he ever saw. It cost most of his crew te subdue the ship, but in the end he came free with a box of some sort. After tha, he disappeared. Nae one ever saw him or his ship ever again."

It seems that Reize knows where he's going, at least at first. Maybe he put some of his recent XP into navigation? In any case, the path on the map is easy enough to follow, skirting along the edge of the jungle, with all trees on one side and a cliff on the other that decends off into crashing waves below.

At the point where the map indicates, or roughly there-abouts, a path leads down to the beach, and another is barely visible through the overgrown forest. Something moves in the shadows of the forest nearby, ominous sounds rattle in the trees. What could it be?

Then. Squirrel.

It pops out, sits on a log, citters at them, and offers up a nut.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle squire would call down amicably at Kyra and Soan. "We'll tell you the whole tale later. For now I have just three words for you. Worst. Slide. Ever."

As Kyra gives an explanation about her new stock, he'd reply. "Oh? Did you discover some new concoction? You'll have to tell me all about it!"

As the Ninja spoke, Percival gave the entirety of his attention. Ninjas are known for their reticence, so he took every word seriously. He became more fond of the man's dog as he speaks of his capabilities as an early warning system, but he notes that Lily is warding Reize's hand away from the canine.

When Lily asks about the treasure, he'd reply in short order. "We don't know! I'm just hoping that I'll find nothing cursed this time, M'lady!"

As Zia threatens him with man-eating plants, he would snicker, smiling cheerfully at her as he follows her throughout the treetops. "Oh come now, Lady Zia. Even if you're not a Princess, which you are, its my duty to make you feel like one. /All the time/."

Lily has posed:
"Pirate? Box?" Lily murmurs these unfamiliar concepts to herself while peering at Reize, depending on him for explanation, while the group wanders. She's not at all bothered by following Gargoyles, or anything else for that matter...

But suffice to say she's confused as always about what's going on. "Does this map lead to that box, do you think?" And then...

Squirel. She leans forward a little where she stands to peer at the little critter, and smile. "It's pretty cute!"

Kyra Hyral has posed:
@emit "Oh yes! I was playing around with some new mixtures and hit upon something big! Now the equation is twenty percent more reactive! I'm so excited. I hope I get the chance to test it out." Kyra cheerfully tells Percival. She seems pretty giddy and bouncy as she speaks...which is actually kind of worrisome considering what she's carrying.

Following (unwittingly after the most directionally-challenged person) Reize, she seems to be sticking close to her friend Soan. Her hands remain tucked into the front pocket of her hoodie. She's quiet as she walks, avidly listening to the tale that Zia weaves about a ship. "So a living ship? How curious. Any more details about this mysterious box he obtained?"

She hears rustling in the woods and immediately freezes. Another rustle follows.

She whirls, pulling her gun out of her pockets and points it in the direction of the noise! The muzzle is aimed upon the squirrel, who looks remarkably harmless. Kyra stares for a long moment, then relaxes.

Shadow has posed:
There is a silent consideration as Shadow thinks over the 'job for a share of the treasure'. It is the sort of thing that is a no brainer for most. Considering he doesnt vanish into vapor or backflip into the jungle, he must be accepting those terms.

Less quiet than Shadow, Interceptor's head pops up. His ears perk straight up upon noticing something. 'Squirrel?' Like a canine instrument of death, it homes in on the creature-- full with crosshair display and red overlay HUD as the dog starts barking at the furry rodent.

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan remains mostly relaxed through most of the little trip in the jungle, almost casual in his stroll. This is all as usual for him, as Kyra would very well know. Shadow do get some of his stares from time to time, ranging from curious, to actuall watching what he does and his movements, carefully. The lad have sharp eyes.

When the squirrel comes out, Soan stops, giving it a stare, smiling one toward it. Hmmm. Cute little critter. What's a cute little critter like that doing in a supposedly man-eating plant infested place, anyway?

"Remember what your mother told you," Soan cryptically says, looking around, his eyes daring around for anything unusual that could be specified as a trap, natural or unnatural. "Don't take candy from strangers."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Grunt.

Reize's antenna hair twitches irritibly towards Yurita, "Ooii! I am reading it the right way this time!" He then blinks at Lily, wincing at her puffing cheeks and then her warning. "Eh heh! Right, right!"

Nevertheless, Reize is working on leading the group along the shoreline. Afterall, that is the first path that they are to take, right? With the vines and thorns sticking out, the boy takes out one of his new mythril boomerangs and uses it as a machete to hack at the thornyvines trying to take him.

"No clue what the treasure is, Lily." Then, he puts up a grin. As they go down the path, Reize listens to the tale, "So, it's a box to get a hold of. That doesn't sound too complex." He grins.

However...

Squirrel emerges from the trees.

"Oh! Just a squirrel!"

The boy reaches kneels in front of the squirrel, reaching his hand out, "Oh! Are you offering this? Err... thanks. Though, I feel I should give you something." Reize reaches into his pouch, offering a kupo nut as a trade.

Reize looks atthe others and he shrugs, "Oh, relax everyone. It's just a little squirrel!"

Yurita has posed:
Yurita blinks, watching Reize and the squirrel, giggling quietly "no rumors on the treasure then?"

Zia has posed:
"Pirates are men who make it their livin te sail boats on the high seas 'n steal the treasures from other vessels by force." Zia explains, "So, even if we dinnae find tha mysterious box, we may end up findin some of the old Captain's treasure. It couldnae have just vanished." Unless, of course, the story was just a story, but they /had/ found his secret lair, so... maybe there's some truth to it afterall.

The squirrel looks at the dog, and for a moment it looks like the nut is going to get chucked right at interceptor. That is, until Reize intercedes. The little creature chitters, hands over the nut, blinks, and accepts the other one in return, giving it a testing nibble. It clambers up one of Reize's hands, sits on his head, and then tries to use his Ahoge as a stearing device, pointing forward with a chitter as if he were a ship captain at a tiller.

Zia stares.

She's not going to comment to Percival, since that would only encourage him more-so about the princess nonsense, so for right now she's just looking at the squirrel, then at the others.

Percival has posed:
As Kyra describes her formula, the Gargoyle smiles. Apparently he doesn't have any idea that she's talking about explosives, or he'd probably be already running for the hills. "I'm eager to see it in action M'lady."

As everyone stops to examine the squirrel, he clambers back down the tree, to watch them in action. Clearing his throat, he'd give them all a bewildered look. "Uh, shouldn't we just keep moving? Its a squirrel."

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Kyra lowers her gun once the squirrel claims Reize's head. "I'm afraid you're on your own with that one." She says neutrally, "I'm not that great a shot so I'm not going to take one if it stays on your head like that." Sounds like she's actually being truthful about that.

Kyra figures that the dog's going to jump the boy for the squirrel shortly either way.

She puts her gun back away in the front pocket of her hoodie. "I'm eager to try it!" she says brightly.

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan would have commented on Kyra's abilities to fire a gun, but when you can't say anything nice about something, you generally should not say anything at all. Still, with Soan's paranoia satisfied, the thief's head bobs foward once. "Let's. Your tiny little friend seems to want you to go somewhere."

That dog looks nasty, he thinks. Or at least, had that underlying sense of danger. Likely because it appears to be a trained battle dog, undoubtedly. "You didn't get to fire it very often." Soan agrees with, still looking around.

Shadow has posed:
Interceptor looks as if he is going to be the proud owner of a projectile to the snout. However it doesn't pan out that way. The large dog keeps barking up until Shadow motions a hand to him. The barking stops-- but he is keeping an eye on that rodent. One beady canine eye.

Shadow takes a simplistic approach to the directives. His head methodically turns to Percival and nods once as if to say, 'Yes. We should.'

Lily has posed:
All Lily seems keen on doing right now is keeping her eyes on the squirrel. And what it might make of whatever Reize is doing. She's going to be amazed if it doesn't up and run away. All the squirrels she's seen are so skittish creatures! "But what would a squrrel be doing so close to people...?"

Yurita has posed:
Yurita grabs the squirrel off Reize's head, glares at it slowly "no, bad."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize shrugs towards Yurita, and he answers Lily, "He's just being helpful!"
A beaming smile is given towards the the squirrel as the two exchange the nuts. Reize offers a smile at the creature. "See, he's not so bad." But then, it starts clambering over towards his arm, and it makes it way to his head. "I'm Reize! It's a pleasure to meet---..."

And then is antenna hair is used as a steering device.

@_@

Reize is losing the will to move on his own. Now, the squirrel is the one controlling the ship! As the ship captain makes the command, Reize's body follows! As such, the boy is following the lead of the squirrel!

Captain Squeaks is taking over.

Zia has posed:
The new Captain of the SS Reizeling doesn't seem to have much concern over just where the party had been meaning to be heading. He's got a different course in mind. After a few chitters, he's off. The boy's sudden jolt forward keeps him out of Yurita's reach, and off they go.

Reize starts heading off into the woods at a speed that would likely require the others to give chase, or let him just be abducted by the little rodent. Grant theft hero!

Luckily, the squirrel appears to be a fairly good driver, because he doesn't run the young adventurer into any trees along the way. Around a bend, through a stream, and across a few fallen logs before they come to a stop.

The high-speed theft ends at a clearing, with little in it but a bunch of overgrown plants, and what looks like a brown sash and a weather-beaten book.

Reize finds: Junior Woodchuck Guidebook!
Reize unlocks subquest: A Woodchuck's Lost Book.

Now, it wouldn't be too hard to catch the little creature, as he seems to actually be content with where he's taken his vehicle of choice. However, should Percival actually look around, he might spot that the trees around them look like they're set in a strange order... just like his part of the map.

Wait.

Did the squirrel just take them on a short cut?

Percival has posed:
Percival watches the squirrel drive Reize with a sort of bemusement. Surely the boy was just trying to be funny, the squirrel couldn't be really compelling him in any sort of direction.

Could it?

Either way he'd follow along in the trees willy nilly until they reached the clearing, upon which he'd slide down the tree, entering the clearing.

Peering around, the Gargoyle would puzzle about where he'd seen those sort of trees before. He'd pull out his section of the map, looking at it for a certain landmark.

And there it was. Looking up, he'd call to the others. "Aha! The squirrel randomly led us to the next leg of our expedition. This way!" He'd lead them on the ground now, in the direction shown on the map.

Lily has posed:
What in the world just happened to Reize? After she's done trying to catch up to him and actually does, Lily waves a hand out in front of his face and gives Zia, Percival, and Yurita all a helpless look of consternation.

Afterwards, she gently pokes the boy on the nose, hoping for some reaction. But her gaze falls across the Squirrel and then the strange place it's brought them to... and that book, in particular.

Shadow has posed:
At first it looks like Shadow is going to be left in the dust. While everyone is scrambling to follow-- the ninja and his dog fade into the blurry background. Without a word they just 'appear' to be there when the squirrel stops directing. Neither of them are out of breath. It is a little creepy.

Interceptor then gives the squirrel a bark. Captain Squirrel, ho!

Kyra Hyral has posed:
This squirrel is easily the most insidious creature that Kyra has encountered since coming to this strange new set of worlds. While her world had no small amount of strange creatures and dangerous monsters (to include skull-eating squirrels but surely that was a legend), none of them posed as adorable furry critters with the ability to CONTROL THE MIND.

It's that or that kid's ahoge was his weak point. Clearly this is silly, right? Kyra chases after the hijacked Reize, if only because this guy has a map piece they might need in the future!

Were it not for Pervical's announcement at least. "Really? Which section did we wind up on?" she leans over to peek at his piece of the map. "Wow..." she looks back up, matching the landmarks. "You're right!"

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Now this is just getting nuts, Soan thinks to himself. Either that lad can really be controlled by that tuf of hair -- which is ridiculous by itself -- or the Squirrel is secretly a mind controling critter. Or the kid is just nuts. For squirrels.

Soan would smack himself if he cared that much about painful puns he makes in his head.

"Huh." Soan lets out after they follow through, peering at the piece of the map just alongside Kyra. "You're right, we did. What a coencidence." No, not it wasn't, he tell himself.

Yurita has posed:
Yurita follows Reize, and the appearant captain squirrel as they go, once it stops, she looks at the squirrel, and glares at it "what is that thing?" she asks, clearly not liking the creature.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
(Un)fortunately, Reize is easy to compel. With the squirrel on his head, the boy is directed to follow the path of the squirrel. Given that he is shooting at great speed towards the woods, the young man manages to avoid any danger. As he arrives at the bend and along the stream, the come to a stop. As the search along the log is done, Reize manages to find a brown sash and the weather-beaten book.

Quick shake of the head, Reize regains consciousness, "Whoooaaa.. Wh--what happened?" He was mind-controlled and he didn't know?! But then, he looks at the book, flipping through the pages.

What does this book do?

"Is this what you brought me here for?" He grins up at the squirrel. "Hee! You're not such a bad guy!"

Zia has posed:
Well, figuring that the other symbol on Reize's part of the map looked like clawmarks, probably a good idea to have avoided that particular part of it either way. Who knows what could have been lying in wait if they hadn't followed the rampaging antics of Captain Squirrel. Now, it's impossible to know if the Squirrel really knew where they were going, or this is just a happy coincidence, but he hops down off of Reize's head, and points at the book, squeeking.

On the first page, there is a 'This book is property of...' But the name is slightly washed out. A few letters here and there are able to be made out. Clearly, the little creature wants this returned to whomever owns it. Why would he care? Well, one of the first chapters seems to be about speaking in squirrel. With the book given to the heroes, the little creature chitters, salutes once, and jumps into the underbrush.

Zia is one of the last to catch up, breathing heavily as she moves through the woods. While Percival has an easier time of it up in the trees, it isn't quite as easy to manage on foot. "Ye know, Ah'll never quite get used te the strangeness aboot these sorta worlds." She admits, shaking her head.

Speaking of strageness.

Anyone who happens to have a stroke of bad luck, might just have to deal with a wayward vine trying to grab them, or a snapping bit of plant thinking some body parts look tasty. Yep, clearly they've found a clearing filled with ravenous vines.

Maybe best to move on quickly, lest they get turned into snacks.

Percival has posed:
Percival would continue to act as guide. At times he would climb a small tree, to get over some of the obstacles, but mostly he would keep to the ground, and in sight of the others at all times.

On the rare occasion that a plant would try to snap at him or a vine would try to grab him, he'd simply jump half a step in the other direction. His reflexes seemed good enough that he wasn't ever really harried, just inconvenienced by it.

Whenever one of the others would stop to deal with the vicious fauna, he'd stop and try to slash them out with his talons.

For the most part though, he'd try to keep driving them at a constant pace as he followed the map ever onwards.

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Kyra clearly does not have the reflex save going for her today. Professor Mister Green would be SO disappointed in her as she fails to notice that the vines along this section of the path are twitching slightly. All the sudden, one lashes out, winding around her wrist and pulling her towards the edges of the path where more vines lie in wait.

The white mage lets out a shriek of alarm and pulls back, which makes the plant pull more and coil a second vine around her-this one about the shoulder of that arm. "Soan!" she calls out, not going for her gun since a blade is definitely something more appropriate to use in this case.

Rather, she starts to reach under her shirt, grasping for one of the many test tubes held in the bandoliers around her chest. Working a hand free, she pulls out a cloudy brown concotion and flings it into the plant matter. The glass shatters and noxious fumes arise, giving off a truly vomit-worthy smell.

"I had a feeling that iced coffee would come in handy." Protip: don't let Kyra make you coffee.

Shadow has posed:
It turns out danger is all around them. Interceptor is barking-- but it sounds as much as a 'I see a Squirrel!' bark as 'Watch out!' bark.

A vine whips out and tries to grab the beastly dog, but it ends in a snarl and a snap as his jaws snap down onto the attacker. A quick tug later and he has veggies for his strictly meat diet.

Shadow is not as fortunate. He can't actually be more unfortunate. Where he is standing, a vine wraps around his ankle and another one entangles around his wrist. As he is drawn backwards to the maw of a hungry plant, a sharp shuriken is produced in his free hand. It darts through the air and severs the vine that threatens his balance. It comes at the sacrifice that his body is twisted towards the plant-- which clamps down onto his shoulder. If he is in pain, it doesn't show thanks to being completely shrouded. Calmly he draws out his blade in a flash-- cutting both the vine from his wrist and the plant's stem in half.

The ninja loses a few steps during the attach-- but catches up with a candid pace. The maw of the plant is still afixed to his shoulder-- not bothering to dislodge it for now. Plus he has these fashionable wrist/ankle bands in emerald green vine. All natural.

Percival has posed:
Looking up, Percival would grin at Zia. "Strangeness? You're telling me! I've never had a forest try to devour me before."

Percival would call back to Kyra. "Iced coffee? I don't suppose you have another cup?" He wasn't looking in her direction at the time, and didn't see her dissolve the foliage with it.

Lily has posed:
"Reize, stop being SILLY." LIly declares to him. Apparently she's unwilling to admit to the idea that anyone could lead him around by grabbing his hair. That was bizarre. It made no sense. It's probably not going to happen again, right?

So it was a Bushy-Tailed Squirrel Moment!

"Me neither... the moment I think I know something, something changes it!" LIly admits to Zia in an aside, shrugging her shoulders all the while.

ON their trip though. Lily finds herself beset by several vines that keep trying to tear chunks from her. The first few get nips in, eliciting one yelp after another before she's had enough-- and promptly engulfs herself in a heated... well, not quite blaze, but the air around her RIPPLES with considerable heat and a few arcs of electricity sizzle in the aura. Meanwhile, she rubs at the bite wounds and suckles on another. "Mwwwn plnts!"

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
As previously said, Soan is rather paranoid when he is in dangerous situations. Well, no, it's not paranoia when you /are/ in a man-eating plant jungle, after all. He notices from the sides one of the vines coming for him. With a cry and a slash of steel, the thief draws his shortsword to cleave it straight off. Before he can relax, he hears his friend's cry, turning around. "Kyra!" He shouts, leaping straight for one of the vines that's threatening her, swinging his steel toward it to cut it also. His buckler, firmly affixed to his forarm, is swung down at the other one, the sharp edges of the buckler as sharp as the sword, if not sharper in it's own way.

Then, the coffe comes. Oh gods, the coffee. Struggling hard to not retch, the thief asks. "You're alright?"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reading the book, Reize can see the front page. So, the book belongs to someone. Nevertheless, the young man scratches his head and he holds onto the book, placing it inside of his large knapsack. "So, we'll find the owner of this soon!"

As the creature salutes, Reize brightens a smile, "Bye bye, Captain Squeaks!"

Then, he looks over towards Zia and the others. "We should deal with...." Then, Reize notices the vines that are trying to grab Lily and the others. Immediately, Reize chucks his boomerang out, having the weapon arc to slash at the vines to keep them away from him and a few of the other allies. "Oooi! Back off!"

After a moment, Reize joins back with Lily, Yurita, and the others. "A-Are you all alright?!"

Yurita has posed:
Yurita eeps, as a vine goes to grab her, stepping forwards just in time to get smacked by it instead "can we go now?" she then looks at Reize as he saves everyone who's being attacked by vines, including herself as a few others go for her, she blushes "th-thanks Reize..."

Zia has posed:
"Off. Off he bloody blasted thing!" Zia shakes a foot, then swipes a claw towards one of the offending bits of plantlife. "It's tha damn witch. She left these things here. Needte get some folks te clean em all out." Which is probably easier said than done. Zia just grabs the nearest of the plants, letting some of her own ice magic flow through it, turning it into a nice green plantcicle. Hrmph.

Then, the scent of the 'coffee' hits her nose. It is by some chance that she happens to have the scarf Skoll gave her, and she quickly puts it up over her nose. "Tha may nae be a good idea, lad. Ah think tha's the sorta coffee tha'd burn hair off yer chest rather than put it on ye." Not that gargoyles had hairy chests to begin with, but at least he should get the point.

"We're fine. Ah think the deeper we get inte this part of the woods, the safer we'll be. It's worse North'a here." It can be /worse/ than this?

As Percival leads them onwards, the map seems to wind through a series of older looking trees until it comes to what looks like the remains of a house. Now, those with keen eyes might notice that there is a strange ring of mushrooms that surrounds the small house. It's impossible to step into the clearing without passing them. Of course, while skill might determine if people see them or not, only the character's own knowledge would tell them what such a thing could mean.

Percival has posed:
Percival suggests helpfully. "An army wielding machetes might be able to manage it, in a week." Not so helpful perhaps.

He does give Zia a peculiar look though. "What do you mean, what sort of coffee is.." He looks behind himself at the dissolving plant, covered in brown goo. He then looks at Kyra. He swallows, which makes a distinctive gulping sound. "Right."

Percival would stop just moments before he stepped into the mushroom ring, a few feet short of it. "Huh. I've never seen mushrooms arranged like that before. What could it mean?" He peers at the small house in the distance. "Do you think they could have been grown this way intentionally?"

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Soan cuts Kyra free of the vine that wrapped around her shoulder. She pulls herself away from the edge of the path and puts Soan between her and the offending plant life.

"Uhhhh...maybe you shouldn't, this batch didn't turn out so good." Kyra laughs sheepishly. She isn't THAT unaware of when her cooking turns out lethal. In fact, this is clearly the case if she's deploying her failed coffee as biological warfare. "But I can make you some later, Percival, how about that?"

They walk along into the clearing when the house remains. About to step further, Kyra stops abruptly, spotting the line of mushrooms that curve around the building. Pausing, she crouches down and looks at the mushrooms without touching them. "Wait." she says, holding up a hand, "Don't come any closer. I don't know what it means out in this world, but where I'm from, this indicates the presence of wicked spirits."

Shadow has posed:
Now that things have slowed down a bit, Shadow takes the maw of the plant on his shoulder and pries it off with his bare hands. He doesnt even flinch. It is tossed to the ground-- something they can throw at the ring later if they want to test the waters. The ninja doesn't acknowledge the pain, of course. Thats a disgrace to ninja code number thirty three.

No. This is not natural. Shadow crosses his arms across his chest-- observing the circular formation of the mushroom as Interceptor growls at it.

Lily has posed:
Lily hiccups once after rubbing more at her wounds, but she nods at Reize nonetheless and instead backs up to grab Yurita. "Let's keep going... oww. Stupid plants!" But now they're here at this strange house... and she points at it. "There's magic at work here. Um. somewhat powerful. All over the place."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Once Percival leads them along the way, Reize is stepping towards the path where the group is at. While Reize journeys ahead, he otices the strange ring of mushrooms around the house. "Uhhh... That is interesting..."

He blinks for a couple of moments, then he loks at Lily, "Magic?" He tilts is head at his girlfriend, then he looks back at the field. "...I wonder how do we get past this." He opens the Woodchuck Guide Book. Maybe there is something in there involving this mess.

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan hears the dreadful words 'but I could make you some later'. The Thief's eyes darts toward Perci, wide as headlights, full of warning. Subtly, he shakes his head, almost vibrating, desperate in relaying the information that is a terrible idea, without Kyra really being aware of the smoke signals he emits.

This is, unfortunately, interrupted by the sight of the mushroom circle, Soan stopping as well with his eyes glancing at it, furrowing his brows. That's ... some chaos, in there. He can't really speak that bit outloud, but still. "I agree. This looks rather dangerous, let's avoid it." He says, begining to look around quickly for another route.

Yurita has posed:
Yurita mms, looks at the ground, then around at the others slowly, before looking at the ground "what are you all looking at? all I see is grass..." she looks at Lilly "ma....gic? what's magic?" then she looks at Reize as he opens the book "can someone /please/ explain what you're seeing?"

Zia has posed:
The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook's entry on Toadstool Rings says: "Toadstool rings are the result of powerful fairy magic. They should be avoided at all costs. Usually the charms there-in are harmless in the short term, but someone trapped within them may meet a more dire fate."

Zia notices them as well, and glances towards the map, peeking around Percival's shoulder. "Would there be any great harm in just goin around it? Maybe the old Captain meant it as a trap. If we skirt around te the North side of the house, we should be able to just continue along the path tha way." She suggests, pointing on the map with a taloned finger.

A short ways beyond the house, the little dotted line cuts off, likely to pick up again on Soan's part of the map. At least they're making progress? The next waypoint appears to be a strange rock formation in the shape of a skull, but trying to find it seems easier said than done. The path on the map twists and turns here and there, and it's hard to find the exact path.

Someone will have to decide which is the right way.

Percival has posed:
As the guidebook is consulted, Percival would listen to the explanation, rubbing his chin. "Mayhaps you're right, Lady Zia. There's no harm in coming back. But what if the trap was laid to protect something important? Do you think that the enchantments would be set off if we glided in that direction?"

Percival would begin to follow her suggestion, moving to skirt along the North side, but he still be open to trying to glide on through in an attempt to evade the trap and check the house. "It is entirely up to the rest of you."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reading the entry, Reize repeats the words of the entry regarding the area. As Zia notices a path on the map, Reize looks over at her and the others. However, it is rather difficult to figure out which path.

Reize chinrubs. "You know... I am pretty good at this." He's not. Then he brightens a smile, "I think we should go...." He points. "THAT WAY!"

...Unfortunately, Reize is pointing at the sky.

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Wicked Spirits and Fae are...basically the same thing as far as Kyra's religion goes. "Sounds like it's not that much different here. We should stick around the edge and don't cross through the lines." she notes, doing just that very carefully. It wasn't that she couldn't deal with a curse or two, if pressed-at least...Kyra thinks she can.

Fortunately, they make it past without any incident.

She stares at Reize for a long moment, looks skyward, then stares at Reize again. "Seatlan, not all of us have wings, you know. I think it's saying something else, right?" she peers over Soan's shoulder.

Lily has posed:
Lily scratches her cheek. What she sees and so on isn't making a lot of sense, so she ends up shrugging at the others and just stays with Reize and Yurita, like before.

"Avoid the magic then?" She ponders out aloud. She can only agree, because areas thick with magic power are unusual, unnatural most of the time, and prone to strange and dangerous occurences that do things like turn Reize into a squirrel-controlled zombie. Who knows what it would do to other people!

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan peers at his map, scowling faintly. Well, the island's changing right before them! This could be a problem. It's not very reliable at this point, which means that he might as well pick a direction at random that don't seem too bad. Worse to worse, he has a plan.

It involves elastic rope and a volunteer.

"That way." The Thief confidently says, pointing in a direction, making his way with steel in his hand.

Shadow has posed:
The dark-clad ninja and his dog stand off to the side as the energetic group work through the puzzle. Shadow takes the time to dress the wound on his shoulder with black gauze and feed Interceptor a snack. By the time he is done with all of this, he stands up and looks to Reize. Up seems valid-- though he lacks a way up unless he starts running on rain or something. Soan's seems at least doable-- and so he follows in that direction.

Zia has posed:
With the level of overgrowth in this area, it really is almost impossible to tell where the path is that the Captain might have marked on the map. At the very least, it isn't too hard to figure out a general direction, and no Reize, it isn't "UP". The path that Soan picks through the jungle leads to the edge of a rocky area, which is at least promising.

What's strange about it is that this area seems as if it might have been a camp site at some point or another. It clearly isn't the skull-faced rock on the map, but it does look as if there was some habitation here up until recently. In fact, it looks to be the secret hiding place of some sort of reclusive blacksmith.

There are no signs of the person, now, but clearly they left hastily. A wrapped bundle of weapons has been left behind. Most of them are rusty, but one happens to have been kept from the elements. It's a short sword, which looks to be finely crafted. In fact, those magically inclined might pick up some sort of enchantment on the blade. It's the sort of thing worth a side-tracked visit. Oh, there's also a little helmet that seems to have been crafted for a dog's head. Why would that be there?

Of course, this also opens up the side-quest for anyone wanting to claim it.

Sidequest Available: A Missing Blacksmith.
Shadow may aquire: Doggy Helmet (Y/N)?

While the "UP" suggestion might have been silly before, right now, Zia is looking oddly along the rise just East of them. "Ye know, Ah wonder if tha could be wha we're lookin for." She motions up what looks like a ruined set of stairs. If you look closely, there was a direct path elsewhere from the forest, but that would require more backtracking than just following the mountain from here.

It leads towards a skull like formation of rocks, with an opening for the mouth that seems to head deeper into darkness. Of course, this is where the map says they should go. Oh, and Soan would discover at this point, that is new sword glows in the dark. Maybe it isn't fantastically awesome magic, but at least it's useful.

Yurita has posed:
Yurita watches everyone, sighing quietly, before looking at Reize and giggling as he points at the sky, but at the same time she still feels ignored, as no one answered her question.... as she follows she group, she looks at all the items curiously, mainly, at how the equipment is rusted, but the growth appears to have been dismissed recently.... she shrugs, ignoring it, as she tries to stay close to Reize...

Percival has posed:
For his part, the russet-skinned Gargoyle would follow Soan to the rocky area. When they came upon the camp, he'd peer at it in the distance. The dog helmet he'd glance at only as a curiosity.

When Zia suggests that they go east, he'd agree with her casually. "Sounds like a fine plan, Princess." He was comfortable with the suggestion of heading into the mountains, after all, his kind was well accustomed to heights.

Along the way, he'd try his best to puzzle through Yurita's question. "I'm probably not the best person to ask on the subject, but think of it as a force that allows one to perform feats that would not normally be possible. With it, one could project fire for example, heal wounds or create storms."

Percival would follow them into the skull like rock formation without hesitation.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize deflates at the group rejecting his idea of the direction that they should go. Alas. The antenna hair is flopping over to the side, muttering to himself. However, while the group explore the area, the boy does notice the fact that the place looks...very abandoned.

Reize is kneeling down beside the sword, examining it closely. "...Well, I don't use swords, and Ivo will likely not use anything besides Hauteclare." He looks over towards Percival and Soan, "Ooooi! Do you guys use swords?!" Though, the boy looks over towards the helmet in question.

Can maybe get in good with Interceptor!

"Ooiii! Interceptor! I may have something that may fit you!"

Also, totally taking up the side quest.

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
It wasn't the right path, but in mazes like this, well, it can lead to interesting places. Soan is not too dissapointed, on that respect. He took the sword along, testing it's weight and sharpness on a near-by vine, before keeping it. "I do, in fact, use sword, among many things, my young friend." The Thief answer, grinning, taking the sword with him at the moment. He nods at Zia. THat seems like a good plan to him, just following that path.

And then they discover his sword glows. Soan frowns faintly at it. Well, he thinks to himself, that would be useful to most people, but not too much to a thief. Oh well. Magical weapon is a magical weapon. He keep his senses out, his observation sharper as he keep his eyes open for traps.

Percival has posed:
As Reize offers the sword, he'd notice the Gargoyle take not just a step, but a full leap back. "NO!"

Feeling ridiculous, he'd clear his throat. "I...I believe I'm quite set on blades at the moment, Ser Seatlan. Why don't you give it Ser Sagittarius?"

Shadow has posed:
While going through the habitation, Shadow does note some of the bundles of weaponry. It is odd for it to be out here and so remote. Interesting. The helmet catches his eye as he gravitates over towards it. He wonders what creature it could be for if not a war dog. Its the right shape and size for one-- or perhaps there are doglike humans about?

Interceptor whines at the idea of having a helmet on his head, but in the end Shadow was going to toss it on him anyway to try out. Getting good barding is not easy, after all. "I didn't imagine I'd see something like that here," the quiet man finally observes to Reize.

Lily has posed:
A helmet for interceptor! Lily blinks at this news, but she's looking all about at the surroundings and findings. As if it wasn't obvious by now, she's none to suure about anything going on or its significance, because it's all relatively new to her. She can only think about it. However...

"if i were going to hide something," She points out. "I would put it in a high place where water and other things won't collect."

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Misteps aside, Kyra definitely trusts Soan to get them there, if not right away, but eventually. He was a pretty serious student when it came to his "arts" and she would happily put her life in his hands. In fact...

...she's done just that in the past.

Blacksmithing isn't something that Kyra is too terribly interested in, in fact, so she doesn't rush to investigate the left behind weapons or armoring.

Zia points out the "up" and Kyra follows her finger, spotting the stairs. "...maybe, though that seems pretty far off from where we're from. We'll have to backtrack to get there." Of course, she'll follow closely behind Soan as they backtrack.

Only now she really seems to notice that sword he's picked up. "...oh wow, nice find. Maybe I should have been looking at that stuff more closely." Though she only sounds partially interested.

Zia has posed:
The remainder of the map shows that there is an opening in the skull-shaped rock formation, going through the mouth, which they'd have to traverse through. It makes that light up sword a bit useful, as would any other fire magic or light sources the other party members may carry. After that, the map is a bit more vague. It shows a waterfall, and a ship below which seems to be the place the map is leading them towards.

The inside of the cave is dark beyond dark, and any traps there might have been have been sprung. Although Soan might find a few he can salvage if he looks hard enough. Someone clearly has been this way, but when? There's no sign of the pirates from before, so who else might have found this place?

It's a question that remains to be answered later, for now, press on!

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Of course Soan looks hard enough to salvage what he can, which he does with frightening efficiency, cannibalising the mechanism he can find before shoving them into his many pouches, carefully organizing which parts goes in which. It's all done with practiced ease, love and care. This lad likes traps. That's his /passion/ it seems. Or at least, the mechanical aspect of them.


"So! Hopefully the treasure's not taken." Soan says, as they move along, picking every little trap they see.

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Soan, MASTER OF TRAPS!

This is why Kyra lets him go first. He knows what to look for. Her favorite part of this is when Soan gathers up the traps and takes the pieces as his own. Later they'll be repurposed..or something. When was the last time Kyra asked what he did with those traps?

Once he's done his thing and cleaned everything up, Kyra follows. "Hm, seems like there weren't any pirates this time. I guuuuessss that means we're lucky but.."

Shadow has posed:
Pressing on seems like the only viable option. Shadow continues with Interceptor-- sans or minus the dog helm that he is going to end up with regardless of complaint. If the treasure is already gone that means he desn't get paid. He doesn't particularly like that idea, but knew that it was a possibility going in that the 'treasure' wouldnt be something you could split-- or even exists at all.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Looks like Interceptor did not like the idea. Nevertheless, Reize does chalk up the mysteries that he will explore later. However, Reize rubs the back of his head at Shadow. However, as the group continue to move on, Reize looks at Soan and grins, "Good! You will have better use for it than I can!"

While they go through the dark cave, Reize has a torch in his hand, using it as his guid. Given that he no longer needs his map, he puts it in his knapsack. And with that, maybe some things could be salvaged.

But here they are, in this dark cavern.

In a way, Reize feels free as an explorer.

"This is the way of an adventurer! Exploring places of unknown and discovering the mysteries!"

A glance is given towards Shadow, "...Oi, don't worry, if there isn't a treasure, I'll compensate you for your help!" Then, he grins, "However, I am sure that there is treasure!"

Percival has posed:
Percival would continue to follow Soan's guidance into the darkened cave. His wings would be furled in some of the tighter spots in order to better allow him to squeeze through. He'd press forward relentlessly, chuckling at Reize's optimism. "Well said, Ser Seatlan."

He'd still stay close to Zia. While he wasn't a craven, he expected something to jump out and attack them at any moment. The cave was too qui-/That word we don't say or even think./

Lily has posed:
As they move into the cave, Lily doesn't make use of a torch. instead she simply causes her gem to gflow, meaning illumination now spreads from her forehead and some of her body. Yes, she's now illuminated by her own power, but it leaves her hands free and comes far more naturally to her. "I don't like this place. It reminds me of that... temple building." She grumbles out, shuddering rather visibly in place.

Zia has posed:
At the end of the tunnel, there is the sound of running water. Light filters in, and soon enough the party would find themselves at the top of a small rise which leads out to a hidden cove. The only pathway here leads down towards the beach, and towards the very obvious sight of a long-crashed pirate ship. Scraps of the black standard still wave in the air, but the ship lies on it's side, a great hole in the hull.

The cove, itself, is quite beautiful. It's a long stretch of sandy beach with a bit of forest to one side. At the far edge of it is a waterfall, which pours down from one of the rivers lost in the woods. It's quiet, peaceful, but one thing is certain.

Someone has been here before them.

Two pairs of footprints can be seen in the sand.

Are they too late?

There's no one to be seen, but if sand or wind hadn't washed away the footprints, they must have come recently. There is a sense of urgency, even in such a serene place.

When they get there, though...

There's a nice big hole where the treasure should have been. There's an open chest, the lock smashed. And if they were to open it, there's a note inside that says:

"Hah, suckers! You got trumped by the Ghetto Knight!"

Wait, what? Yes, alas, this is one of those 'your treasure is in another castle' moments. Yet, at least this mission isn't for nothing. The ship hasn't been completely picked over, which means there are a few things to find.

There is a book which the 'knight' had discarded, on a few local plants which can be combined in interesting ways with explosive results, for the pyro in all of us (Kyra) although she might need help from an herbalist on some of the ingredients.

Kyra finds: Book of Explody Things
Kyra gets the sidequest: Find a Plant Expert

There's also a cursed swo-oh wait nevermind. Actually, there's a quite nice set of knight's gauntlets that must have been stolen somewhere along the line. They might need a bit of work, but they don't seem to be cursed or dark or haunted or anything!

Percival finds: Knight gauntlets.
Percival gets the sidequest: Find a Blacksmith

For the computer-lover in all of us, there is a strange little card that certainly doesn't belong from this day and age. Maybe it could lead to the identity of the Ghetto Knight?

Yurita finds: Lost SD Card.
Yurita gets the sidequest: Finding a Thief Who Stole Our Stuff Before We Could Steal It

For those who want gold, there is some gold. The Ghetto Knight clearly didn't search well enough, because there's a nice pile of it inside the ship, as if someone were counting their coins when it crashed.

Shadow gets: MONEY!!!$$$

Last but not least, there is a small pouch of some sort of powder. It clearly has magical properties which would have lead Lily to it. Just what it does? Well, she'll have to figure that out.

Lily finds: Mysterious Magical Powder
Lily gets the sidequest: What does it do?!?

Percival has posed:
Oh no not another cursed sw-Oh wait, gauntlets! Yay! The Gargoyle would pick them up, inspecting them with a critical eye. He'd then poke them with a talon, and poke them again. Perhaps he was waiting to see if they exploded or something this time.

When he saw the notice that the /Ghetto/ Knight was responsible, he'd snort. "He's no Knight. Only a honorless dog would act in such a manner. And no Knight would ever be caught dead calling themselves /ghetto./

Shadow has posed:
And what would Shadow want from all of this? Gold. He gathers up the coins and puts them in a pouch-- motioning it to Reize, "This will do," in the form of payment for the journey. All in all-- it was an investment that paid off. He does not know who this 'Ghetto Knight' is, but he gets the impression that he at least does a poor job of robbing things.

Lily has posed:
And so Lily finds herself hoisting up a pouch full of strange-looking dust. She's not stupid enough to simply start spreading it around, but she does peeeer CLOSELY at it after opening the pouch carefully a tad. "Hnnnnnh...." The others get a questioning look, but as they all seem to be busy, she tucks it away. It'll be worth trying out later!

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan is, of course, dissapointed of not having found the treasure. He don't show it all that much, he seems to be pretty happy with all the traps he managed to salvage on the way, as well as the sword. "Well! TIme to find who these people are, then."

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Kyra is one of the people here that is aware of what both a ghetto and a knight is. "Who in the name of Cosmo would call themselves that?!" Kyra blurts out, nonetheless looking a little disappointed that their treasure was fliched before they got there.

Well, most of the treasure. She picks through what remains, almost going for that money before the scary-looking ninja with the dog claims it.

Even more slightly dejected, she picks up the book and starts leafing through it, immediately growing distracted. "...ooh."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
A big hole is left where the treasure should had been.

And then, Reize looks at the note.

"...The Ghetto Knight." The young boy sweatdrops for a moment, rubbin the back of his head. A frown is given, looking towards the group, could that be...? "I wonder..." The boy scratches his head. The 'Ghetto Knight' is awfully familiar...

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
"Yeah, seriously," Soan says, peering over Kyra's shoulder to look at the book's contents. "That's a really unfortunate name."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize frowns, "...It's kind of familiar." He feels like he should know who the ghetto knight is. He pauses.

"....Has anyone seen what he looks like, by chance?"