Duty: Convoy Escort Quest I

The party last night as Eas was a memorable one. It did not go without notice that a lot of the food and provisions would do well distributed across the displaced Landers. Some are local to Eas. Others are not. A convoy is gethered just outside of the majestic Eas. Several lower level Adventurers count amongst the group, but most are People of the Land themselves. Peko led wagons are loaded with supplies to go send the goods onward. It will be a long trip on land before they reach the next destination.

Haru is sitting atop of his own Peko, Karen. Karen is a large birb, the sort of creature that is more suited for farm work than racing or as a charger. Dusty earthen feathers coat her along with the saddle and saddlebags. The Artificer is not a /skilled/ rider, but it is enough that he can trot around to do a final check around. "Alright, everybody. My name is Haru Nox from the Silver Sword, New World Alliance. I will be heading this caravan alongside several trusty and stalwart companions. Stick together. Signal if you see something. Lets get these goods into the hands of people that can benefit them." He has done this before. A past life, maybe.

Vertina doesn't have a Peko. And a Grunty would be too stubborn to keep in order, we've been on convoys herding those to know we don't want to deal with such a thing. So she is just on one of the wagons for the time being. Also because she's strapped a few barrels of liquor and cider in with the other supplies because people are going to need something to drink with their food after all. Once she's done with that she leans out over one side of the wagon. "All ready to go here!"

Curtana wasn't quite sure of the kind of provisions that would be carried on this kind of journey. Lacking any real skill in cooking, he couldn't easily tell how preserved the food they would be taking with them would simply last. That also doesn't take into account how rough the road they would be taking might be, weather or monster attacks. At least that last part is something he could handle. Best to trust the actual goods to the Landers who would be handling them.

The Pooka knight was sitting on top of a Peko, though not one he has any personal attachment to. Smaller than Karen and with a bit of gray to his plumage, Foster does not look like a heroic mount. Trying to readjust himself yet again on the saddle to find a comfortable position, the hedge knight gives up before raising a hand in greeting. "I'm Curtana Willowbright, a member of Moon Tree, which is also a part of the New World Alliance. Trust in us and we'll do our best to see you safely to your destination, alright?" He gives a thumbs up towards Vertina to show that he heard her, then give the same signal again to Haru.

There is one small problem with the rousing organizational commentary from the white haired human, the stalwart knight, and the tall salamander (Dubbed Team Toll): no one is moving. Sure, the wagons are loaded. Everyone has taken care of those last-minute business things. Check. The pekos are hitched up and everyone is ready to go.

However, no one is going anywhere.

Murmurs start in the crowd fist. Confusion grows. The situation becomes clear in a few minutes. This quest itself had the Adventurers acting as convoy guards. The people /in/ the convoy were expecting convoy leaders. Classic organizational blunder. The party's duties expand suddenly to doing more than just protecting the caravan across monster, and potentially Palace Lander, threats. They need to now figure out how to get to the next destination on a path that isn't going to send them into the far ends of the dark woods.

How hard could it be, right?

For Haru, it turns out it is pretty hard. "Map," he asks. Map? Don't you have a map? Haru starts rustling for one, unfurling and starting to do his best at establishing waypoints. However he is no tracker.

Vertina stares for a moment. "Seriously? No one... Uuuugh." The tall salamander vaults over the side of the wagon to the ground, and takes a few quick steps thanks to her long legged stride to get to the front of the convoy. She pauses, takes a deep cleansing breath, then actually closes her eyes as she holds her hands at about half her height. It's not all that easy to tell just what it is she's doing, until Vertina opens her eyes and points with one hand. "That way."

A pause. Likely because people are wondering how she decided that.

".. I used divination to determine what direction the path is going," she explains. Which gets a few murmurs and agreement out of people at least. So progress?

Please someone with actual navigation skills be here, she can't do this for a whole week.

As the mumbling start to raise up, Curtana gets an idea of what is going on, and pinches the bridge of his nose when the truth comes out. "This happens at least once a month. Why me?" Raising his head upwards, none could say if that was just general complaining or beseeching guidence from the Three. After a moment bemoaning his faith, Curtana materalizes a worn leatherskin map from his inventory and rolls it out over Foster's back.

It takes him a few minutes to piece out their general location using the landmarks and the general shape of the land on the map. It doesn't help that Foster keeps turning his head and neck this way and that to attempt to snap at the map, but eventually Curtana taps a location twice on the map before having Trevor trot over to Haru and Vertina. "If we take this route here and turn at this fork here, it should be the most direct route to where we need to go."

Rolling the map back up, Curtana goes to take his postion alongside one side of the caravan. Best to leave the actual leading up to someone with experience.

Haru may have a map of the region, but it isn't doing him any favors. A boyscout, he was not in the past life. Nor is he one in Elder Tales. However he is not going to let a little thing like geography get in the way. A set of pins mark a suggested trajectory. Which, ultimately, need major tweaks to avoid washed out roads, monster migrations, and climate issues. Thankfully Vertina is there to divine out the right way to start us off and Curtana is better with a map for the rest of the way. The shortest path is not always shortest!

Annnnd they're off! Adventure! Escorting! Random Encounter!

Wait, random encounter? Yes, it isn't more than half a mile down the road before the caravan gets into trouble. Monsters. Hungry monsters, at that. They wait on a hill in an ambush looking for easy, juicy prey to prey upon predatorially without a prayer spare. The convoy fits the bill as a good mark. As the lead wagon rounds the bend, the party spots a monster scout. The monster scout sees them. There is that awkward pause of 'well, crap' tension in the air.

"Waaaaaghghghallalala," undulates the monster in something that does not translate well. Perhaps it means: Good friends, I have found guests to which we must murder thusly. Tally forth, old chaps.

They are common monsters but they come in numbers, bows, arrows, and a touch of thyme. As in its thyme to do some murdering.

Too bad Vertina was so focused on seeing where the route went she didn't see what the route was passing by.

But it's not going to do the monsters a lot of good either, even if they get an upper hand at first because of the shouting from the scout. "Wow, we get a fight this fast? Must be our lucky day!" It's about the attitude one might expect from a Scale. Though fortunately this time it doesn't come with sudden immolation of fire upon their foes, which could also do something nasty to the rest of the area.

No, instead Vertina draws a bunch of ki energies together, channeling it between two of her hands. Which she lets go of with a small lob, to give herself enough time to pivot around on a heel and slam her foot into the glowing sphere to send it rocketing towards the hill. The force of the kick slams it into one of the monster archers and not only obliterates him, but erupts like a massive flashbang to blind and deafen several of the others around him, who fall over screeching and grasping at their burned faces.

The journey seems easy enough as the wagons finally start to roll out on their journey. The weather is good enough to not impede travel, everyone involved is of good spirits and eager to get going, and Foster is listening to his amateur commands well enough. Curtana takes these calm moments to remind himself that his rented steed is Foster, not Trevor. Such a silly name.

At least everything seems all calm and well until a monster scout is seen, with the caravan seen in return. Numberous howls rise up in a chorus of sinister intent. Vertina seems to be quite fine with the monsters showing their intent, so he's certain that the Adventurers who are taking the lead have everything handled.

Not exactly used to mounted combat, Curtana decides to take the more distraction route instead of engaging on pekoback. Drawing his longsword, he chants softly under his breath before thrusting the blade skyward. At first the weapon simply seems to gleam in the sunlight, but the reflected light soon grows brighter and more intense. Eventually it becomes a ray of brilliant and blinding light, with Curtana twisting the blade back and forth to send the light towards the biggest bunches of monsters to break their spirit.

The first of the arrows sails towards Haru as he heroically takes it into the shoulder. There is a red damage line as he looks at it and screams heroically, "Ahhhhhh!" Cloth armor does not mitigate damage well. He pulls the arrow out and attempts to crush it in his hand. Squeeze. SQUEEZE. It barely bends. Finally he throws it on the ground.

"Our arrows will blot out the sun, weeheeheee!" cackles the golbin archer as it dances in glee.

"Then, we will fight in the shade!" Haru shakes a fist up at the low level monster. A small black cat appears out of Haru's shadow and clambers atop of Haru's heat to shake a paw angrily at the monster at well. "Tenebris. Cadit. Lunae Lumen. Oriri. Occultare." the Enchanter chants his Wave Arte. Eve, the black cat, begins to paw at each of the words that manifest in rings around the orbs Haru casts with. As the last word finishes the chant, darkness falls. It is as if an explosion of dark fog has settled into the area, covering the caravan in a protective accuracy debuff from the monsters. Floating slowly out of the zone is the black cat, settling atop of a moon that provides clear, pale sight to those IN the zone. It gives them perfect cover to return fire while blinding the gobbos. POW! Ki Bolt! Thunk! Arrow. Crash! Empty bottle! Sunbeam Sllaaassshh! The sound of crackling glass and death pixelation.

The group is victorious, having sent the monsters packing or pixelated. Cheer is had and the next few hours pass with boasts of how great this is. It makes the miles go by seem shorter, dotted by breath taking views of the landscape such as a sea of grass as verdant as emeralds and fields to be foraged that are unheard of in the world the Adventurers came from. The final gem is the amber glow of the setting sun. The first day of travel is winding down and camp must be set up. Everyone assembles to eat dinner and the quartermaster opens up the crates of supplies. T loud, audible groan is heard. The caravan provisions have spoiled because the top was left off, putting the 'durability reduction' to open world levels and not presevered, container levels. It will be difficult to feed everyone even with proper rationing. Something must be done to restock the provisions. Perhaps the majestic views offered more than a good view, but a bounty waiting for the harvesting.

A few hours pass. They must of scared the monsters pretty good with their counterstrike because no one else tries to harass them or the convoy until they finally decide to stop and call it a night. Which means it's time to eat. Which means Vertina gets to put some of her few non-combat skills to use. See, she even has a proper chef's hat, that she takes out of her inventory and puts on her head to prepare. She'll be certain to make good on the supplies they brought with.

Or that was the idea. Which is quickly crushed when the convoy quartermaster yells about the foodstuff crates having not been properly sealed and now were spoiled. Haru why didn't you get wagons equipped with Fukaziroh's freezer enchantments?!

There's an annoyed twitch of the Salamander's tail, but otherwise Vertina seems to take it in stride. "It's a good thing brewing doesn't spoil quickly." So the liquor and cider she brought is still safe to drink. Then she trots back over to where they were going to set up the campfires and such. Shakes her head. "Won't be using those, I guess." She reachs up to grab her chef's hat and take it off her head.

... No, despite how it might look in doing so, it's not a gesture of giving up.

Instead Vertina turns it upside-down and reachs into it like a certain magician would his tophat. And pulls out a bun-bun. Though in this case, it's a roast bun-bun. Which she sets down, and reachs in again, to pull out more dishes. Roast meats. Salads. Fried rice. More than enough to feed the entire caravan for the evening!

Vertina plops the Heavenly Hat back on her head afterwards, giving it a slight prideful nudge to the side. "See? I can do more things that beat the shit out of monsters."

Blinding light cuts through the hungry beasties if they were not smart enough to stay out of the substained light. The ki bolts sound out and cause devestation among their numbers, but it's Haru and his shadow-infused magic that cleaves through a great portion of their number. Sheathing his sword, Curtana casts a quick healing spell on Haru to deal with the arrow wound. "Some say that the darkness grows deeper the brighter the light. Actually glad to see that's the truth, heh."

That good mood doesn't last into the evening hours when Curtana gets his answer about how durable the food would be. This discovery has Curtana trying his best to catch at least some food with a makeshift rod of a branch, twine and a rusty nail. This improvised tool, the lack of bait and absolutely no knowledge on how to fish doesn't turn the odds in his favor. Rubbing the back of his neck as he coils up the twine, Curtana moves away from the small stream to deliver the bad news to everyone gathered.

Instead, he comes back to excited Landers and Adventurers alike, with Vertina literally pulling out a feast from out of her hat. He stares at her in happy shock before just tossing the rod into the back of a wagon and grabbing a leg of roasted mutton from a platter. "I wasn't going to say anything like that, but I am absolutely thankful you're here for us, Vertina. You saved our hides this evening!"

The Artificer is grateful for the healing. "Thanks for that. Heh, yeah it goes something like 'the brightest light casts the darkest shadows'?" He taps his chest on that note, "But for me, Light doesn't work all too well. So clearly I am subclassing in Edgelord and the system hasn't told me yet." For someone as colorful as Haru, that seems very unlikely. Or he is downright sociopathically good at hiding it.

Haru is pretty sure he saw a stream not too far away. He rustles through the caravan for a fishing pole. You know, those basic ones that say 'Old Pole' and look like a stick with a line attached. "I hear that fishing and hunting are manly things," he says, dropping his voice an octave like he is going to pass off as rustic with the navy blue travelers jacket that says 'Roughing it for me is if I have to find food in a food court'. Still, the Artificer embraces the new world.

Alas, the New World does not embrace him back. After hours of fishing he hasn't gotten any bites. "I feel like this should be a side character development I am really into with a lakeside cabin and a friendly old man who is a master fieherman showing me how to slow down and take it one cast at a time," he says, throwing his line again. "But, honestly, not feeling it," he frowns. Haru Zerito was not born this day. Thankfully Haru Nox is also dying of starvation today thanks to Vert's handy relic. He is not shy about finding the nearest meat-on-a-stick and gnawing into it. Surprisingly good table manners in Haru, almost aristocratic. "Yes, my thanks. You are the true champion of this night," he agrees with Curt, raising his glass for cheer.

Day two of the journey presents a whole new bag of shenaniganry. The road is good. The convoy is good. The path is, well, a path. We covered that with the road. The forest is different, though. This was part of the way that the convoy had to go, but the trees are a lot more dense than the map had the convoy believe. It is dense enough for bandits! A dashing fox-like were-bandit and his merry men are here to greet them.

"Good day," says the werefox, "I am afraid you have come to an impasse, my friends. You see, to pass, we will need your money. The pixies here, very shy about well funded people. Your goods, too. Blessings to the Goddesses. Pack animals will need to be released, so that they may roam free. Also, your gear must be handed over." A well mannered bow as he does not go on to give a reason for the gear. It is clear what is happening: Bandits are trying to rob the group. "Rob," says a large werebear with an oafish voice, "you forgot the thing." The clever werefox looks over and says, "Nonsense. Oh, wait, thank you Sir Tuckington, the last thing on the list." The rapier comes out and points to Adventurers, "And your lives. We are completionists and we can't leave a list incomplete. I'm sure you understand."

Oh, joy, bandits. That's almost worse than monsters. Especially when they make rediculous demands off their 'list', and follow it up with insisting on violent ending of lives to boot.

"Aha ha ha ha ha," a dry sarcastic laugh comes from the Salamander as she jumps down from the wagon she had been allowed to ride on after saving everyone from sarvation the night before. "I have a better idea. You guys can just back off before I take that list and shove it so far up your ass you'll have to roll her eyes backwards to read it. Huh? How 'bout it?"

Of course, they're not going to agree to that. Nor is Vertina actually going to wait for an answer. A whistling like the winds picking up can be heard as she throws a quick one-two punching motion. Which would probably get a 'how you going to punch us from over there?' response if it wasn't for the fact that her punches are what cause the whistling as they send blasts of air out to knock the bandits back.
Which leaves just enough time with them recoiling for her to leap forward and spin into a diving kick to slam the largest of the group with the pressurized shockwave that forms around her foot with the intense motion!

The night goes wonderful well, all thanks to Vertina and her magical hat. A good part of the next day even goes well, despite the path that he had planned out yesterday turns out to be leading the caravan into woods deeper and deeper still. It almost comes to no surprise that there would be bandits in such a dense woods.

Curtana smiles softly to himself despite the fact that the people under his care are being held up for everything they owned. The dashing fox were-bandit and his werebear companion are certainly stylizing themselves from an older story back in reality, and the Pooka wouldn't be surprised if many of the other bandits involved were Were Fangs. "Gentlemen, gentlemen. Honestly, I think your demands are quite reasonable, and I would be happy to give you my gear."

Any bandits looking towards the knight would see him raise his shield with one hand and nothing else at hand. Those expectant hopes would be dashed, however, even as Curtana gets off his rented peko and moves closer towards a trio of bandits. "Here you GO!" Twisting in place to get extra 'oomph' into his swing, the kite shield slams into the unlucky trio, sending them flying into trees with a resounding 'Thonk!'

"Oh, no need to refuse after you asked. Please, I INSIST!"

"Can't say that I do," Haru replies to the werefox in deadpan. Where are they finding these people? The Artificer doesn't want to know. He gets off of Karen, his Peko, and walks forward. With each step, the ground begins to rise up at his feet like he is walking up earthen stairs. Each one of his four floating orbs begin to circle around him rapidly to charge up the mana in a summon. Are they... are they making music? They are. "Terra. Vocare. Terebro. Numerus. Terebrare. Hostis." By the last phrase, Haru is standing atop a four meter tall stone golem with drills for arms. There is a glint of malice in the mans's monocle as he gives a full Shiroe grin down at the bandits. "Terra, however, gets where you are coming from with this one." The drills vrr vrr and unz unz unz to a new BGM track playing as the Earth summon thunks in with crashing fierceness to drill the point into the bandits that the answer is 'No'.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIr4C5Ztlcg

There is a bead of sweat down the bandit's brow with Vertina's challenge. Worse yet is the howling wind connecting with them followed by the speed of martial assault. Yet they can't be too defensive or the crashing drill arms will smash their health. That is exactly what happens when Curtana rolls in with a shield slam. The stunning effect leaves them unable to move or dodge until VRRRRRRRRRRRR. Pixels. "Sir Tuckington," cries out the werefox. The bandits turn tail and run away after that. "This is not the last time you will hear from me and my merry men!" howls the werefox as they are routed deep into the forest where it would be bad to follow less the group would abandon the convoy or potentially get lost.

Day 2: Complete. It was an eventful day, but one that is now behind them. Tomorrow the convoy will arrive at the destination, but tonight? Tonight everyone looks like they have the case of the sads and the grumps. Energy is low. Smiles are in short supply. The Landers and junior adventurers stay guarded and keep to themselves. They need a good pick up of their spirits or things could degrade quickly.

Vertina goes to get the booze.... then remembers they drank the booze the other night with the big meal she literally pulled out of a hat.

Well, darn.

She rummages in her inventory, but only has a few flaskes. Not really enough to go around, but it's all she has left. "... Guess we should of spaced out the use a little more." Hey, it's been a rough trip, she's not going to blame people for needing to, ah, not think about it as much.

Curtana shouts out towards the routed bandits and their 'fearless' leader with a cupped hand. "Remember lads, not to include yourself when you give to the poor!" Watching to make sure that they are truly fleeing and not trying trickery, the knight turns around and goes to mount Foster. If one were to listen close enough, they could hear grumblings about "ruining childhood memories."

Despite their success with driving off the bandits and saving them from starvation, morale in the camp has reached an all time low. Landers and Adventurers alike were listless, eager to be back in warm beds with solid walls. Curtana wasn't quite sure what he could do in a situation like this before the light from a campfire draws his attention to a lyre sticking partly out of the back of a wagon as cargo. Despite never playing such an insturment before, Curtana lifts it up before running his hands along the strings, testing how to make different notes.

After a quarter hour of experimentation, Curtana coughs loudly into a closed fist to draw attention to himself. "I beg your pardon, but I would like to share with you all a story. A story back hundreds of years ago where I hail from and...well, I hope I don't be a butcher of it when I share it tonight. Tonight I wish to share with you all...the Ballad of Sir Dinadan."

Inexpert fingers plays notes incorrectly from time to time, and it is clear that the tale is being improvised on the spot to some to fill the gaps in his memories. Despite all of this, Curtana carries on to share the tale of a mistral forced to become a wandering knight.

Lets turn those frowns upside down. Haru first takes one of the flasks that Vert is handing out and has a good quaff of whatever is in it. Liquid courage. Next he goes a microphone. Lacking that one, the Artificer gets a broom. "This one goes out to all those that are in love, out of love, and something else about love." Love sells. "o/` Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight. It must have been something you said. I just died in your arms tonight. o/`" Two important things to keep in mind. First: Haru is not a good singer. Pretty face with no talent for it. Second: The choice of song and lyrics when they COULD DIE could be better. The followup performance of Curtana and the Ballad of Sir Dinadan is much more favorably received.

Despite the group's best efforts, the caravan has the combined expression of D: by the end of all of this.

Tomorrow is another day. The sun rises. Birds chirp. Rivers flow. The caravan gets so close to the next town that they can almost literally smell it from here. The problem is that they are on one side of the river and the town is on the other. Isn't there supposed to be a bridge here?! One final push to finish up!

Water. Vertina's mortal enemy!

Well okay not really. But it is the one element that she so far can't 'bend', so it still tends to be a pain in the tail when it turns up. Especially at times like this. So close to the end.

She walks up to the bank of the river, and that's about as far as she dares go. "I.. mmm... well..." She shakes her head, and stomps a foot hard into the ground. Hard enough that the ground actually buckles down a bit as she shifts it with her elemental powers.

And causes rocks to rumble up out of the river, crunching together into an earthen barrier. She can't completely dam off the river, but she can at least hold some of the water back so it's not as deep and people smarter than her can figure out how to get the wagons of goods across.

Curtana has to remind himself several times during Haru's performance that it is rude to voice judgment after the performance is done. It is a struggle that the Pooka manages to succeed against despite his inner wishes.

His respect for Haru does take a noticable dip, however.

A brown eye noticably twitches as it looks out upon the river, and its' owner pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I fear this is my fault. My map isn't the most detailed, and I swore that a marking here was a bridge." Trying to take another route to get around the river is out of the question, with the caravan's morale in the dumps after last night's poor reception.

Thankfully, it seems Vertina is quick to take the lead here, and the Salamander raises a rocky barrier that slows down the flow of water significantly. Nodding his thanks, Curtana turns his attention to what would likely be the more difficult part of the crossing. The wagons needed to cross as well, being all the supplies on board, and it would be disasterous if they were washed away so close to their goal. Musing how to cross the stream, a crazy and outlandish idea starts to form in his mind. Glancing between the wagons and the slowed water several times, Curtana starts to nod to himself. "This might just work..."

Taking the reigns of the lead wagon, the Pooka knight takes a calming breath to steady himself. Then another, easing into a pathern of steady and deep breaths. After the fourth such breath, sparks of energy start to flow down the wagon's length and even into the beasts leading the wagon. No noticable change seems to happen at first, but Curtana seems confident of himself. Flicking the reigns, Curtana drives the wagon forward...and on top of the water? The wagon doesn't sink down, and the water noticably shines as it moves forward to the other side. Once the wagon is safely on the other side, Curtana hops off and starts to move back to get to another wagon. "Alright then, I can get these!"

Haru has spent three days on the road. He has made a map look like a placemat at an old diner. He has sung shitty songs. His face when he sees the river is aproximately: Are you kidding me. The Enchanter takes a deep breath and exhales. "Unz unz unz unz. Rainbow road," Haru says. There is no sense to it at this point. Its more a collection of words that string together loose thoughts-- oh wait, no there was a reason he said it. The Artificer converts out one of his traditionally defensive spells by sending out the floating ioun stones around him forward. They create four corners of a square plane in front of the caravan. He anchors them around the Earth basis of Vertina's raised foundation. The orbs light up, pulsing, as little crystals sprinkle out like a bunch of glittering gems were thrown onto the ground. Silvery lines connect and then panes of stained glass snap in place. With the waters lowered and the earth risen, the rainbow road provides a nice and even surface for the wheels to roll across. More than one requires the water-walking-wagon effect when they veer off of the narrow rainbow-earth bridge like drunken cart racers.

It works The water walking, rainbow road, and earth platforms all combine across the length of the entire river to make it possible for all of the river and the convoy is able to make it across smoothly and without any issues. The remaining time on the way to the town is uneventful. Wagons start to unload and a very grateful merchant pays the adventurers for the transport. Now some of the Eas festivities can reach even further for those that could not make the party.

"Thanks Vert, thanks Curt. Literally could not have pulled this off without both of you," the white haired human says. "After all of this I could use a good soak and a drink, though. Not necessarily in that order or even exclusive of each other."

Vertina slumps back against a wagon. Makes a face. "I've seen enough water for today, but a drink sounds like a fine idea." Especially if she can actually relax and not have to worry about making said drinks this time around.

Panting with the effort of helping water-walk wagons across the river repeatedly, Vertina isn't the only one leaning against a wagon. He makes a face for a moment before he just shrugs his shoulders. "I'm normally not a drinker but...i'll take you up on those offers. I'll even pay for the drinks myself, as my treat." Twisting around, Curtana directs a look towards the rest of the unloading wagons. The others couldn't see his face, but they could feel the loathing in his voice.

"And I rather not see another wagon for a week. The pay just isn't worth it."