Field Quest: Trouble On The Farm

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    Field Quest Start: Humble Story

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    It is midday here at this little farm. Birds are singing, bees are buzzing, and the farmers are working the fields. Everything seems fine at first, however it is obvious to tell as you come closer to the gathering spot that their livestock is-- a bit lacking.

Thanks to the way the game handle's death, there are no corpses to be found, but its obvious that these farmers are distressed. So it isn't too much longer after everyone gather's does a Farmer Lander come running up to the group. "Hey!!" He shouts loudly as he runs up toward them.

    "Are you the adventurer's coming here to help out about our lil' situation?" He asks looking at each of them. "We could surely use your help. We been losing livestock left n' righ', around here." He explains, then takes a moment to catch his breath.

The adventuring group can see more of the farmers coming their way, but it seems for now, the one farmer is doing the talking, "We've tried to even create traps to catch tha trouble maker, but have had no success. Bad enough that it's taken Philo's son, Ralphy, an' it nearly got a lil' girl too."

The Farmers then all bow to the group, "Please help us!" They all say at once.

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    Giganpor had arrived a bit earlier, and started looking around. With the game not being so much a game any more, he was hoping for clues as to what was harassing the Landers. Maybe it even tied into his own inquiries. Which, by the way, is how he got to here. Something eating livestock sounded a lot similar to a Lander eating horse.

    The tall adventurer is currently dressed in his armor, with his buckler hanging from a belt as he leaned a little on the polearm/axe that he had decided to try out. A hum is given as he looks around. "No real disturbances..."

    Then the Farmer approaches and Giganpor turns to look at the Lander. "Yes, we are. My apologies for your possible losses. We are here to see if we can put a stop to this. Can you show us where this took place and give us any information that you have so far?" His cloak shines in a calming, deep blue of a glow as he talks. Not going all over him as usual, but the type that is meant to give a bit of soothing relief to those that he is talking to.

    Merek walks along to the farm which was needing people to assist, the blade upon the back which is Shadow Eclipse, his dark attire on along with the white decorations. The man wears the beltcape with the belt about the waist, in addition to what looks like a scarf which he wears. There's a look to people he knows, nodding a bit to each of the fellow Adventurers.

Shiruba happened to be in the same area working on some other projects, so it didn't take her long to catch up with the others headed for the farm problem. The upshot is it gives her a chance to fill in some of others about her efforts about the Misty Ruins. "By the brief view of the clearing sky we got, and the salty smell of ocean water in the ruins in general, I'm fairly certain it's located in a northern area," she explains to Merek, and anyone else willing to listen. Raps her knuckles against the crude parchment map she's made. "But I don't have enough information to narrow it down, and that's still a lot of area to cover. I can't even tell if it's on a coast, or out on an island."

And then they reach the farmland, and she rolls up the parchment to tuck back into the scrollkeeper in her inventory. "Yes, we are here to help!" she replies to the worried farmers. Then notices Giganpor is already here, and waves at him. "You don't think it's the same monster you're looking for, do you?"

This kind of situation is exactly the thing that the wandering kitsune ronin searches out. Folks who are desperately in need of help, that little to no one is able to do anything about. Though it's impossible to read her emotions because of the mask she wears, she has none the less joined the other group that has responded to the call for aid.

One hand resting on the top of her daisho, she listens to the plea for help, looking to the others in the group. They seem like a rather competant adventuring party, no doubt they will be able to handle themselves against whatever manner of beast has been assailing these poor farmers.

"Whatever the beast is, I am sure that we will be able to locate and dispatch it. Have any of your people gotten a look at it, good sir? Perhaps a description would help us to narrow down our quarry's lair."

Shaskur trails along a little behind the other adventurers. She is in her full infiltration suit, hooded cloak and facemask, coil of rope and other tools at her waste, and her ever present daggers easily at hand. She seems to be paying more attention to the surrounding area than to the Lander talking as she scans the distance, but is close enough to hear what is going on.

To the careful observer she is also keeping purposeful distance and a close eye on Merek for some reason, although there doesn't seem to be any hostility in it. She also looks around at the other familiar faces and gives both Gig and Shiruba nods. When she sees a new face, Tenko, she raises her hand in greeting and gives a curt "Yo." As a hello.

As the others begin to ask questions and discuss with the Lander she again looks around the area, her eyes resting on each and every Lander in sight as she INSPECTs them to see if anything unusual can be found, and then looks off to the distance with eyes slightly narrowed. Even in this more peaceful setting she is on alert while on the job.

    The farmer who has talked to them rubs his chin. "Any information?" He then motions to a few others to the side. "They would know anythin' about the creature, but they dun talk much to strangers. It might take a bit of work to get 'em to pipe up, if you get my meaning."

Most of the farmers seem to go back to their work, as the man bows to them once more. "I wish you luck Adventurers and good huntin'. We are countin' on you to put down that monster so we can all get back to our normal lives."

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    Field Quest Challenge 1: Search & Find

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    With the information gathered, it is time to start looking around. The Adventurers have several avenues they can pick from, though all they really need is a good trail to follow.

Be it clues, tracks, or even what the locals might know about this thing, where it comes from, and so on. So the question is, what does our team want to do?

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    <> Only One Needs to Succeed
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    <> Searching Around: +roll Searching (with card) vs 6
    <> Looking For Tracks: +roll Tracking (with card) vs 6
    <> See What The People Know: +roll Etiquette vs 8
    <> Player Choice: Idea Not Listed Here? OOC your idea

    A look is given towards Shiruba from Giganpor. "Not exactly. The stories only half match up. If it was actually eating Landers, then it would be the same. In this case, you could say I am passing through a bit?" He gives a nod towards the others that he knows. Merek, Shiruba, Shaskur in particular.
    Giganpor gives a small, short bow towards the Lander. "We hope to be able to solve the problem." Looking to the others, he shrugs, "I think I will go ask and see what we information the locals have."

    He turns to make his way over towards those that might have information. The polearm/axe is hefted to lean on his shoulder as he approaches. "Greetings. I do not mean to alarm or disturb you, but I am here to help with the livestock problems. I understand you may know something about it?" He smiles as pleasantly as he can. "My name is Giganpor if that helps any. I am an Adventurer, and I have others here with me to help against whatever this is. We simply wish to ensure the safety of yourselves and others in this land."

When the Lander speaking is rather unhelpful Shaskur gives her head a brief shake. "I'm going to check out the area to see if I can notice anything unusual." And with that she makes her way over to where the livestock are, moving around and closely inspecting the area for signs that may indicate what it was that intruded.

As she reaches a fence she easily jumps over using a single hand to help propel herself and landing near silently on the other side. As she looks she checks for claw marks, hair, or any other signs the could indicate what the beast is. She also looks for entry and exit points into the area to get an idea of how the beast moves.

    Merek looks to the party and nods a bit, while he offers a wave to the farmers, "We will do all we can to find what we're able," he notes, then he begins to follow along and assist while he draws up a magical light to use, nodding to Tenko, "Merek," he greets, that to anyone else that doesn't know him.

Good hunting is exactly what Shiruba has in mind.

She strides off to the side a bit, not wanting to get caught up in a cluster of people. The wolfgirl crouches down closer to the ground, resting one hand on it. Hmm. The attacks happen nocturnally, there may not be much of a scent trail left at this point. She's going to have to look for other clues. Hopefully there won't have been too much tromping by the farmhands to disrupt anything.

Idly she flicks her relic device to activate it, though the only thing anyone else would see is it flicker with arcane light briefly.

But to Shiruba's field of vision around her everything is passed over by a red sheen as it radiates around her, highlighting footprints or other physical traces of a prescence other than the inhabitants with its magic to make them easier to pick out from the environmental clutter.

Deciding that she is going to search for tracks that the creature may have left from it's last assault, Tenko moves to the corral where the livestock is. Taking note of the livestock that is present, she begins to search the perimeter for anything that looks out of the ordinary.

Something that would have left a trail, probably that didn't care about being followed, if it's truely a beast. And of course something that's tracks would look out of place on a farm.

    Shaskur would find some paw prints of a large beast. It looks like at times it was walking on two legs, then on four. While no fur can be found, the tracks are deep, so this is a creature of heavy weight.

Tenko and Merek would find the same. The tracks of the same creature. It would be Shiruba's who nose would pick up on the scent of the creature. It was part of the big cat family, and as Tenko may also notice as well based on how the tracks look.

Could be a Lion, Could be a Tiger, could even be a Jaugar. Whatever it was, it was a dire beast given the size and weight.

    Giganpor would find the small group giving him a careful eye, but his words seem to place them at ease. They all look at one another, before an elderly woman speaks up. Time thankfully, has been good to her. "The beast always attacks at night. The attacks started with the death of Ralphy. They been slowly getting steadily worse." She admits.

The old woman then motions in the direction, "He always comes from the east and goes back that way. The beast is smart, he avoids all of our traps. He is a keen killer. Not a simple animal. As he has become bolder, he has moved in closer and closer."

The old woman then places her hand on her grandchild's shoulder. "The beast even went after my granddaughter here, but we managed to chase it off... But we know, we know it will come back for more."

    Giganpor looks curious at that, "Thank you for talking with me, elder. Who was Ralphy?" He asks, making sure he has the name right. "While it may seem to be unrelated, I would like to know what you know about him, please. Also, since you have chased it off, can you give me a rough description, perhaps size of the beast?"

    He smiles, "It is brave of you to face danger such as this, even more so showing that you are so supportive of your families. If we can, we will try to end this beast for you."

    Giganpor is sincere in his words, and the glow of his cloak changes a slight bit to a more lighter blue with a bit of rose coloring on the edges.

After Shaskur does her circuit of the area she returns to where the other are gathered. "Whatever this beast is it sometimes seems to walk on two legs and other times on four. Definitely looks to be a dire beast of some kind though." She relays what finds she has to the rest of the group, and patiently listens if any others share their information.

On learning that the trail leads to the east Shaskur turns to look in that direction. Choosing to let one of the Trackers lead she instead plans to hang towards the back of the group, keeping an eye on the surroundings and rear of the party so nothing can sneak up on them. She starts to sheath and unsheathe one of her daggers in what may be a nervous habit as she waits for the rest of the part to get ready to move out.

    Gignapor asks his question and the elder woman closes her eyes. "Ralphy was a good boy. Worked hard but was always a scrawny kid. We would sometimes have trouble with bandits and beasts, but nothing we couldn't handle."

She looks at Giganapor once more. "Ya see, when Ralphy's dad died tryin' to fend off some bandits, he wanted to be just like his father. He wanted to help protect the village. So, one evenin' he went out, alone, and he never returned." One of the woman tries to wipe some tears from her eyes as the elderly woman continues to speak. "Then the monster came and we knew it had killed our poor Ralphy."

Though to his next question the old woman shakes her head. "All we saw was its massive wide fangs and glowing gold eyes. Sadly, I can't give you too much more else."

There are plenty of tracks. Paw like, set deep in the ground. The creature is a big one... "Ugh!" Shiruba was not expecting to pick up a scene after the time passed, so it briefly startles her. And then she groan and clamps a hand over her lower face. "Gaaah." There's few kinds of scene markings that linger that long in a spot, that only someone with a sensative noise would pick up. One of the few natural stenches up there with skunk spray. "Stinks like cat--" She mrffs herself quiet after a moment, biting back a snappy remark since Giganpor is trying to keep to his human form to question people. "--Ahem. I'm almost certain it's some manner of felinoid though. Might be the dire version of something..." Jaguar? Leopard? Does Elder Tale have Displacers? What big cat monsters usually hunt at night?

Shiruba draws her bow from her back, and starts slinking east towards the woods. Not to get too far ahead of the group, but she will take part of the lead being a scout and tracker in general.

    Merek nods a bit to Shaskur, while he seems to think about it. Afterward, he then looks to Tenko, "It looks like we've managed to find a few tracks," then he's following along. The man doesn't talk a lot while he seems to think on it, adjusting the belt of his while he sighs thoughtfully, "Alright."

    Giganpor rubs his chin, then nods, "Thank you. And I am sorry again for your loss." He turns to head back towards the others. "So, I have some information so far..." He shares what he has.

    Then he rubs the back of his head, "It looks like we are heading east, but I would like to hear what the rest of you have as well. This almost sounds like a werewolf, but I could have sworn that Were Fangs were supposed to be those in this place."

"You're right about it being feline." Tenko replies to Shiruba, as she runs her fingers through one of the tracks, "Heavy, way more than a standard member of the species." She hmms softly, "Strange for it to escalate to attacking a person, however.."

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    Field Quest Challenge 2: The Hunt Is On

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    The tracks remain clear for a time, at least till the grass starts to become longer and the ground not giving way so easily to track. The further they move on, the harder it keeps becoming till among the tall grass, hard rocky ground, and trees... There doesn't seem to be an easy trace to follow.

The Adventurers will need to put their heads together and someone will need to see if they can get back on the trail to find this creature before the trace grows colder.

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    <> Only One Needs to Succeed
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    <> Searching Around: +roll Searching (with card) vs 9
    <> Looking For Tracks: +roll Tracking (with card) vs 8
    <>The Hunter Knows: +roll Hunting vs 6
    <> Player Choice: Idea Not Listed Here? OOC your idea.

The tracking goes good for several minutes. But as the group moves deeper into the woods, the silver wolfgirl disappears into the long grass except for the tip of her ears and tail for a few moments due to her crouched movements. The increase in brush overgrowth makes it harder to keep a focus on tracks. It might even be intentional if the creature is smart enough to consider such things.

However as an experienced hunter Shiruba was anticipating something to this effect. She's been keeping note of not just the tracks themselves, but the directions they point in, and a rough estimate of the creature's stride and movement speed from the distance between them. That, combined with the scent trail being less hindered by the environmental overgrowth, she's still got a strong bearing on where it went.

Eventually she jumps from the long grass onto a fallen tree, and waves to the others from her now visible position. She's gesturing to keep going in that direction, not wanting to shout because their quarry might be close enough to hear them.

In response to Gig she comments "When it seemed that beast was able to walk on two legs for a time I also wondered about the old werewolf style monsters, it may be possible there is a dire beast that resembles it quite closely. I know I've fought gnolls before and they would be very similar. Perhaps a feline variety of something like that?" Shaskur wonders aloud.

As they enter into the wooded area Shaskur draws a dagger in each hand as she warily looks around. Moving off slightly to the side the darkness starts to gather around her as she starts to sneak, continuing to keep a close eye on the surroundings but also keeping close to the rest of the party as they hunt the beast.

    Giganpor looks slightly annoyed. "I hate having to use the Fang form for this..." But he shifts none the less, with that odd summoning halo as he taps his weapon on the ground.

    Now in his slightly larger were-fang form, he sniffs the air before starting to look around. The keener senses of being a were fang coming into play as he looks carefully. "Not a lot of scent left... hm... perhaps some passage marks?" He starts to look for scrapings, claw marks, or other signs of a large beast coming through.

    Off hand he mentions, "It could be a bear of some sort. That it goes from two to four legs sounds like one."

    Merek begins assisting in using a few hunting techniques to find a path with the party. He nods a bit to folk, thinking about it, "I wonder if we can manage this all a little bit peacefully," he notes.

Tenko continues to follow the tracks, moving through not far behind Giganpor, "The tracks don't resemble a bear. Though a bear sized dire tiger could probably stand on its hind paws." She muses, keeping her left hand on her daisho for the time being. It seems this group is indeed as good as she had expected, considering how well they are working together to track the beast, "Be on guard. If we're entering its territory, it no doubt will sense our presence."

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    Field Quest Challenge 3: The Hill Cave

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    On the trail once more, the adventurers find themselves spotting a cave, surrounded by tall brush, bushes, and a few rocky stones. Looking inside the cave is nearly impossible, as it is dark inside with no light source to speak of.

The tracks lead to inside the cave, so inside the cave the Adventurers will need to go if they want to deal once and for all with the creature that has caused the farmers such problems, along with claiming one life, and nearly another.

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    <> Only One Needs to Succeed
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    <> Light The Way By Fire: +roll Fire (with card) vs 6
    <> Light The Way By Light: +roll Light (with card) vs 6
    <> Magical Excuses For Light: +roll Etiquette vs 8
    <> Player Choice: Idea Not Listed Here? OOC your idea.

"What if it's a bearcat?" Shiruba murmurs. Fantasy games like to combine animals to make monsters after all. If there's owlbears and bugbears, why not bearcats?

She pulls an arrow from her quiver, but rather than nock it in her bow she scrapes the head against the stones of the cave entrance to make it ignite, then holds it like a torch. It's doesn't illuminate for too far, but she's more concerned with being able to see, than being seen by their quarry presumably deeper within the cavern.

    Giganpor considers, "I really don't want to go in there, but I think we should invite it to come out."

    So, Giganpor does the smart thing. He takes a deep breath while everyone else is busy doing what they do.

    Then roars out a whole lot of words, "You overgrown mangy animal, get out here so we can kick your sorry tail so far down your throat that you sniff your own poo every time you need to do it so bad your momma don't want to see you any more!"

    Tanks, gotta love them. Apparently Giganpor's been taking a few lessons in taunt.

    Merek looks about up into the cave, while he nods a bit. Then he takes a moment to draw an ice blue with purple flame into a torch, which he draws up with a hand, nodding a bit to the party. Then he takes a look to Giganpor, a little unamused about it, "Why do Adventurers insist on putting more risk on us without asking the whole of the party first."

The others in the party may wonder what happened to Shaskur, but those who have been on quests with her before won't be too surprised she has suddenly disappeared as things get tricky. The darkness now clinging to her cloak she is but a dark patch to the side somewhere as she slinks along quietly, remaining some ways away from the group.

And that is when Gig starts roaring, apparently taking the approach that it is better to make the beast come out instead of the team entering into its domain. Shaskur may have jumped a little in surprise, and a quiet "Eep" could be heard off to the side for those not deafened by the shout.

Recovering quickly Shaskur starts to circle around to the top of the cave entrance, trying to position herself for a sneak attack if the opportunity presented itself.

The kitsune were fang holds up one hand, forming a ball of flame in it. Of course then Giganpor roars into the cave, which makes the kitsune tilt her head questioningly. Even though you can't see her face behind the mask, she undoubtely has a look of 'Seriously?' on her face.

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    Field Quest: Now You Done It Giganpor

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    Those looking into the cave will see what it is dark. Extremely dark. The tracks they have followed do lead inside, thanks to the mud and dirt that follows in.

The trackers with keen eyes might notice something off about the tracks. They also might spot some sharp claw marks on the wall. However, Giganpor has other ideas.

    The WereFang Lion lets out a roaring yell into the cave. It echoes around inside, though the keen of hearing can tell the words are getting lost, beyond the simple sound.

Something does stir in the depths of the cave. Something that was sleeping, is now awake. Though no one can see what it is, what is obvious is a painful yell that was human, before becoming a bestial roar in challenge back to Giganpor.

    Then the thumping of its feet coming right for the cave entrance. It will soon become a run, then a massive WereFang Tiger leaps out. The beast has spike ridges going down its back, massive sabertooth fangs for teeth, and razor sharp claws. Along with a mohawk like fur going down the tail to a lion-like tuft at the end.

That massive WereFang Tiger is leaping right at Giganpor directly!

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    <> Only for Giganpor to Succeed or He'll be pinned a round.
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    <> Dodge Out Of The Way: +roll Evasion (with card) vs 8
    <> Block The Beast: +roll Shield (with card) vs 8
    <> Counter Strike & Kill: +roll Attack of Choice (with card) vs 8
    <> Counter Strike & Main: +roll Attack of Choice (with card) vs 8
    <> Player Choice: Idea Not Listed Here? OOC your idea.

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    <> Everyone Else: Give me your ideas.

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    While the roar was echoing around, Giganpor was equipping his last piece of equipment. His pride and joy, the chitinous buckler. Then bracing himself. The polearm weapon is spun behind him before he brings it around to brace himself.

    And then comes the sounds of the running as Giganpor brings himself lower in preparation. Before finally being pounced on by the massive WereFang Tiger that causes Giganpor to take a large smack on the shield as he brings the poleaxe up to block a claw and the other to smack it in the chin as he skids a few feet before finally stopping.

    Giganpor calls to the others, "Someone want to do something about Ralphy here before I have to lay my axe down on him!?" Yep. Tanks. Got to love them.

    Merek looks to the were fang that comes from the cave, and while the tank tries to defend, he maneuvers along with a little shift of the hip, beginning to summon the Wave Arte. "Thorn Bind Hostage!" He then draws the thorns upon the were, while he speaks to the party, "Don't kill him! Try to take him down non-lethally!" He doesn't even draw his weapon.

Shaskur's brows rise as she sees the beast is actually a Were Fang, then putting one and one together to finally arrive at five she calls out. "Ralphy! Cut it out! Get a grip of yourself man!" Her daggers are in hand but she waits and watches as the rest of the group converges on Gig and the new Were Fang.

This was one of the challenges to having a group combat a single individual, it was very easy for run into friendly fire or the melee equivalent. Still as she waits she prepares, some of the darkness coalescing into the shape of a dagger floating at her side.

Shiruba holds upa hand as if to stop... but then lowers it a moment later as she realizes that, crazy as it might be, Giganpor actually has a good idea. Fighting inside the cave might put them in serious constraints for space, not to mention it would be on the target's home turf. Drawing it out is not a bad idea.

Maybe the means by which he's going about it is questionable, but not a bad idea over all. Shiruba backs off to the side as Giganpor roars his trash talk inside, getting just around the edge of the cave's mouth where she won't be immeadiately noticable. Especially if this works and it's focused on the Were Fang.

And it's actually another Were Fang? Shiruba is briefly disappointed it wasn't some manner of cat/bear hybrid. Then realizes this means that it's an intelligent being they're dealing with and not just a monster spawn. She shifts gears quickly though, jabbing the fire arrow into the ground and pulling a blunt tipped one from her quiver instead. Blue-yellow sparks hiss around it briefly before she fires, aiming between the vines Merek is already wrapping the catman in.

The blunt tip won't stick in him, instead discharging several quick but debilitating electrical shocks at impact before it falls harmlessly away.

The sudden appearance of the werefang tiger gets Tenko to begin to draw her blade, but she stops. If he's a werefang, that means he's either an adventurer or a Lander, and she doesn't want to kill him if that's the case. Her left hand quickly rotates her scabbard around so the blunt edge is facing downwards instead of the sharp edge.

Planting her back foot, she rushes forward in the blink of an eye, drawing the blade as she goes and striking at the tiger on top of Giganpor. The intent is to smack him in the face with it hard enough to knock him off of her ally, or maybe knock him out, but not to kill him outright.

    The Werefang Tiger tries to claw at Giganpor, His massive teeth even trying to bite down on the shield with no prevail. His claws sweeping out to get the Werefang Lion, even might catch a clip of hair of two from the other's mane.

Those golden glowing eyes seeming to show that no one is really home at the moment. Thankfully Merek uses Thorn Bind Hostage, to yank the Werefang Tiger off of the Lion. The beast then attempts to claw at the vine. Trying to bite into it even, while growling and roaring loudly.

    Sadly Shaskur's words don't seem to be reaching him, but given his wild state, that may be understandable. It is Shiruba's arrow that slams into the Weretiger's form, causing it to howl in pain from the tasering. This does seem to simmer down the beast. It is Tenko however that comes in with the final blow and with sheer force, knocks the Weretiger out.

There it seems to go unconscious among the vines. Now what are they going to do with him?

Shiruba lowers her bow as she steps closer after the were tiger collapsed. "So Ralphy wasn't the first one eaten, but the actual 'monster'?" If someone is going to have to carry him, it's not going to be her. "Did no one know he was a Were Fang?" Pause. "Or maybe he didn't know either, and that's why he's acting like a beast... Not sure how to deal with it."

    Giganpor looks considerate, "I... don't know. I don't think it works like that. We need to tie him up a lot more securely, then look in the cave, I think."

    Giganpor looks very considerate, going over what lore he knows in his head as he seems to be muttering to himself. "... are were fangs born these days or created? Lore said created, but if they're born in the terms of Landers..."

    "I'm sure it is a bit heriditary to some, but it's possible that it came into being another way, with something used upon him. Either way, we should time him up but let's not be too rough about it," Merek notes, nodding a bit to the party.

    Giganpor nods, "You do that. I'm going to go look in this cave. Something is not right about this. They would have mentioned if the family was a were fang, I think... or..." He pauses.

    "No, it couldn't be..." He muses, thinking back on his encounter with the 'outsider' bunch.

Shiruba keeps some rope on hand for when she has to climb while exploring, so she pulls that out of her inventory. "Right. Let's make sure he's gonna stay put for a while and check inside then."

    The cave doesn't have much to note. Some foliage used as bedding, claw marks along the wall.

With a bit of time, their mysterious Werefang has turned human once more. He is laughing gently where he is tied up at and then just grins at them.

The young man doesn't look all that well. His skin is pale, his eyes are tired. His shaggy amber hair is just a mess. He says softly. "... just kill me... please. I've done horrible things... Out of my control. I can't go back home... I'll kill them. I know I will... I--" He grits his teeth and lowers his head. "... I should have never made that /damn/ deal."

Tenko sheathes her blade after the target is down, and the group has him tied up. Once he's returned back to human, Tenko leans down next to him, putting her masked face near him, "What deal is that?" She asks, "And it is not our job to kill you. If you deserve to face justice for what you have done, then it shall be metted out by the people you have harmed."

    Merek seems to consider his pack of equipment while he looks for any alchemy magic which he keeps that might be useful within the situation. He does look to Ralphy, and lifts up a brow in thought, "If you're affected by magic, I can try to heal you." The man nods a bit, "If not, I'm sure you can work to control it, it's... Well, it sounds like it's difficult to understand."

Shiruba meanwhile decides to investigate the cave a bit. However there is nothing of note, just a place that has been used to hide out. "Nothing unusual in there--Oh, he's back to," she pauses as the rambling, "Well, guess there isn't anything normal about this now. He's 'back'." She leaves it at that, though her ears are still perked forward. "What's that about a deal?"

    "I had no control!" The man explains to Tenko. "I-- I barely remember even my own actions. Like I go in and out where I am aware... and not aware." He sighs softly and says. "As for the deal, well... It was with this mage. I think he was an outcast... Had some vials on him. He promised me the strength rival that to a beast so I could protect the village."

He lowers his head. "... didn't know it would turn me into... Into /that/. I keep trying to figure out how to control it. How to... Not lose my head."

The man closes his eyes. "After the death of my father... I just wanted to pick up the slack. I was tired of being the runt... I guess i got what I deserved for trying short cuts..."

    Giganpor looks at the young man, crouching down so he can see that Giganpor himself is also a were fang in his lion form. "So, this explains a lot." He frowns before shifting back to his human form.

    "Right, so the problem is you lack the control needed. I think we can help with that a bit. The other is that we need to find who did this and keep him from doing so to others. Do you know which way he went, or what he looked like? Wanting strength to protect others is not wrong, kid. But it's probably not a good idea to accept something like this from someone else. Learning how to use your own strength is more what you should aim for."

    Merek seems to think about it, then he shifts to lean forward a bit while he settles to take a look at Ralphy, "Alright. We can find you a place far away from the farmers, set you up nicely, and you can work on controlling it in an environment away from people. Your other choice, is we do what you asked of us. Either way, we need to deal with the Mage, can you tell anything about him?" he asks, looking to him.

Shiruba frowns at the reaccount. "There's a mage going around with the ability to turn people into Were Fangs? That could be a bigger problem to look into..." She rubs her chin. "Well, he's probably right, he can't go back to the farms until he can control himself... Maybe we should take him somewhere other Were Fangs can help him?" Seems Giganpor is on a similar train of thought. And Merek is.. she winces a little when he brings up the original option. ".. If there's anything you can tell us about them, please. You want to protect others? Then help us protect them from what happened to you."

"I thought you had to be born a were fang. If someone has developed a way to turn Landers into it, especially against their will, we will need to put a stop to that." Tenko says, as she rises back up and looks to the others. There are several were fangs in the group, sure, but them being adventurers, they're not equipped to help him like a Lander were fang colony would be.

    Giganpor mentions towards Tenko, "Lore says we were created originally for one of the older wars. It's why we're looked down on sometimes."

    He looks over at Merek, "Now wait a moment. We're not going to just kill him. If we can help him, we should."

    The giant of a man stands up after saying that, turning to face Merek. And Giganpor does NOT look happy about killing someone like that.

    "To.. to control this. That,that would be helpful yeah." Ralphy admits as he says then his name, "A-also my name is Ralphy." Yep, that confirms that at least!

As for their next questions, his brows knit a little. "I'm... Trying to remember, but my memory is really hazy. Could... could we just go somewhere, anywhere? If-- If I can remember something I'll let you guys know... I... Just want this nightmare to end. I don't care how... I just want it to end..."

    "I didn't say we were going to," Merek then notes to Giganpor, "I'm offering him his options, which he can choose from," he states. Then he nods a bit to Ralphy, "We will do what we can, if that's the path you wish to choose, but remember until you are able to control it, you can't come back to the farmlands. There are plenty of werefangs that would be willing to assist probably, if we can find you one it'll make that a lot easier. If you think that you can learn to control it, that will be well worth that."

"Should we inform the people at the farm that Ralphy is not as dead as they think?" Tenko asks, "Or should we keep that secret until he can return to them?" She's still thinking about the mage with the ability to turn people into were fangs. She'll have to begin to search the area for him immediately.

    Giganpor looks considerate, then at the others, "We should ask if they saw anyone suspicious such as this man with vials."

Giganpor eyes Merek, "Offering to kill him out of hand is not exactly the best thing."

    Looking back at Ralphy, Giganpor notes, "We'll get you the help. If need be, we can try ourselves or find someone who can."

Shiruba stows her bow on her back once more. Taps her chin with one finger. "Someone should tell them the problem has been dealt with... and perhaps that Ralphy is alive but in a state that it's safer to take him elsewhere for help? I don't think telling them that he was the creature directly at this point would be a good idea." She glances at Ralphy with a sympathetic gaze. "For them or him."

    Ralphy looks at the group, he is one part glad that he won't be killed, another part sad that he knows how much trouble he has caused and will perhaps cause.

Either way, he'll get some help. The villagers will find out that their beloved Ralphy is still alive... And the Adventurers have a new target to track down.

An unknown outcast mage who knows how to make WereFangs...