TOMB RAIDERS [CLOSED; STAFF-LED QUEST]

[Owen Enders]

TOMB RAIDERS

[Shoudra Mallory, Angel Sinclaire, Brennan Alexander Gallagher XVII, Layla]

[INFORMATION: Right, I’ll just clarify a couple of things before we get going. With regards to the post order, naturally I’ll post first at the start of each “round” of posting with you guys following. Rather than force a strict order, I’ll just let you guys post in any order after me to save you from having to wait for people to sign on (mainly to keep the flow of the thread going fairly quickly), so you may need to keep checking that someone hasn’t posted whilst you’ve been doing stuffs. But yeah, I’ll be introducing a round and posting the scenario, you guys will be responding and I’ll then be replying to determine outcomes and resolve situations (pretty standard stuffs).

There will be some combat in this Quest which will all be done through the Casual style, whereby I’ll naturally determine the results against your opponents throughout. The reason I wanted to know all of your roles when you signed up was to see what sort of team we had, pretty varied which should make for an interesting thread, especially where the combat’s concerned.

I’ve had a look through your characters to get an idea of who’s playing as well as to tailor the quest to suit them and make the challenges worthwhile and interesting. I may open up another slot for someone to jump in later on when things get a bit more interesting, something which I’ll decide when we get to sad interesting bits.

Anyway, enough of the boring intro stuffs; let’s get on with the show.]

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In a small clearing in the middle of the Faron Woods, the first of the group was preparing for the trip back down into the ruins. Upon escaping the ruins last time, the two survivors had sealed the entrance they had uncovered with a series of magical charms, which the scientist who was currently there was going about undoing one by one in preparation for the warriors who had been sent to assist him. Stood before the steps that led down into the darkness of the underground tunnels below, he watched carefully as he released another of the charms. He had yet to hear any signs of movement in reaction to his presence, which was promising. The last charm he would release was a repellent, encouraging anything that was already there to stay well away from the entrance to the woods.

Pausing and pressing his glasses back up the ridge of his nose, he let out a deep sigh before then pressing on with removing another two enchantments to leave the one repellent to be released when the others were prepared to descend into the caverns with him. Muttering quietly, a few waves of the hand and all but the last charm were released. He swallowed hard. This wasn’t a task he was looking forward to, regardless of the fact that he was prepared for the journey back down.

Slowly sitting down on a nearby log, he continued to observe the entrance as he waited for the recruited to arrive. Word had been sent out for help everywhere; to the humans in the Lanayru Province, to the Gerudo from the Desert Province as well as the Fairies here in Faron Province for assistance, so hopefully a mixed group could arrive to share skills. All the scientist could do was wait for them to arrive.

[Angel Sinclaire]

"Hey~! These are those ruins, right? Woah, pretty cool~" The fairy woman's obnoxiously loud voice bounced off the trees surrounding her, and she craned her head around to check out the area. It didn't look like anyone else was there, aside from a science-y kinda guy who looked like he would be absolutely useless in a fight. But who was she to judge, right~? A gust of wind could blow Angel away!

Angel beamed at the science guy and wiggled her fingers at him in greeting, then clasped her hands behind her back and proceeded to wander about the area. This was gonna be fun~ Perhaps the fairy didn't exactly grasp the gravity of the situation, but that hardly mattered. The woman could take care of herself, after all, and she was eager to get going already! If only the others who were sure to come would arrive...

But until then, Angel decided to amuse herself with the science guy sitting on the log.

"Hey~ You're that guy, right? The one who sent the letter? I'm Angel, I live around here~ Well, I used to, anyway, but then I was all, 'this place sucks!' and I left to go wander around, and then I came back and left and came back and left and I did that a few times, and then I heard that y'all needed some help with this thingy and those thingies in the thingy, so here I am~!"

[Layla]

Layla had received word of the extermination request while she was on leave from The Defiant. She found herself lucky to come across the notice since when she was normally on leave, there was very little to do but explore. It was difficult for her to entertain herself, and while there were various jobs similar to this she could do, none of them seemed worth her time. The only reason she thought this one to be particularly interesting was because she had spent little time in Faron Woods. It was about time she got a little familiar with what other creatures called it home.

Unlike her predecessor, she emerged from the forest soundlessly. It seemed she arrived on time, not that she had been concerned about it. She was just comforted to know she wasn't the last to arrive. Layla strode over to the two who would be her companions as soon as Angel began to speak again. The girl seemed pretty chipper, almost to the point of annoyance, but it was hardly something Layla wouldn't manage to tolerate. She preferred it this way. Working with a bunch of stone-faced warriors became unpleasant since she became a pirate. Loud and boisterous activity was what she had become more comfortable with.

"I'm Layla." She began, following Angel's example, also providing a small wave in greeting. Rather than going on to elaborate where she was from (it was pretty obvious, and it wasn't like she was going to contradict their assumptions by saying she was a pirate) she remained silent. There was only one question she wanted to ask, but it was silly to ask when it would be answered later on when the rest of their merry party arrived.

[Brennan Gallagher XVII]

It wasn't his idea to come. He didn't want to come. In fact, he was terrified by the whole prospect. He was not a hardened warrior--he was fragile and gentle and never held a sword in his pale, pale hands. He didn't know anything about exploring or adventuring. He knew about etiquette and money and riches.

But he didn't have a choice.

It was his mother who heard about the plea for help from her local "friends" (his mother didn't actually have friends, only people who she could use when she needed). She brought up the subject as they ate a silent meal of steamed vegetables in their giant dining room that was sparse and gleaming, but intimidating in just the right places. As Brennan picked at his food he couldn't escape the giant portrait hanging behind his mother's chair, depicting all the horrendous things that could happen if you disobeyed the Goddesses. Nor could he escape her gray eyes that bored into him as he speared another piece of broccoli.

"I suppose you intend to loaf around until we die, assuming we'll just hand over your inheritance because it's what you're owed," she snapped and her sharp voice rang across the vast table between them.

"No, Mother," he had muttered. He had made sure not to look her in the eyes.

"Good. Then you will go on this quest and perhaps prove to your sick father you're not as useless as you've proven to be over the last few years. Give the old man something to be proud of for once. Don't just sit there with your head down, boy! You will do this or you will never see a cent of your inheritance! The Goddess knows there are others out there more deserving."

"Yes, Mother."

[/color]

And here he was now, strolling into the clearing and covering his eyes against the unforgiving sun. He already knew he was overdressed in his finely woven buttoned shirt and simple slacks, but he couldn't escape his mother's cold voice, even as he prepared for the trip. He could hear her now as he crossed the grass to the others that were nestled around the entrance. He stared at the trio there--a peppy girl chattering on and on, another girl that seemed far more subdued but just as confident, and a man that sat on a log looking just as perplexed as Brennan felt.

But looking at Brennan walking toward them, you could never see the anxiety eating away at his confidence. You couldn't tell that he was cracked and broken in all the right places or that he wanted to run away, far from here, to a land far, far away. He looked happy and beamed at the three, even waving lightly as the wind tossed his blonde hair about lazily. He was so good at faking it that he could even trick himself sometimes.

He came upon the group and his smile widened.

"Hello everyone. What a fabulous day for a trip, hm?" He looked at them each in turn, letting his eyes linger over them all with the same polite happiness he was taught all those years ago. "I'm Brennan Gallagher, it's a pleasure to meet each of you."[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Owen Enders]

[OOC: Apologies for the delay in replying to this, I was hoping I could get away with leaving a couple of days for Shoudra to manage to reply, seems like she’s M.I.A for the moment, so I’ll keep this going and pace it so that she can catch up easily if need be (which I will do for all of you should needs must). Ideally though, it would be convenient for you guys to let me know if you’re going to be unable to reply to the thread for a couple of days so we can progress and I’ll keep it in line so that you can all jump back in without needing to spend too much time catching up.]

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Turning in response to Angel’s arrival initially, the scientist turned around to acknowledge her, whilst also spotting both Layla and Brennan making their way towards the entrance to the stairwell. Their timing was perfect, it would prevent him from having to repeat himself too much with issuing instructions and briefing as to what to expect. Nodding at each of them in response to their greeting, he quickly went about introducing himself to get the pleasantries out of the way.

Nice to meet all of you, my name is Jacques.”

Throughout his career working in the fields of both science and archaeology, Jacques had learned never to judge a book by its cover, appropriate considering the line-up before him. Angel, the fairy, was animated to say the least and was someone that he had certainly not expected to reply to his plea for help; although the scientist suspected that she had a few tricks up her sleeve. The Gerudo, Layla, was a most welcome sight to Jacque’s eyes; her combat skills would most likely be put to frequent use once they descended down into the darkness, hopefully her instincts would give them more of an edge in absence of clear vision. The boy, Brennan, was the one who was the most intriguing out of the three. His mannerism would be out of place among any normal group of mercenaries, but with the current makeup of the group, he seemed to fit in fairly well. He would surely have his uses against the opponents they would come up against.

With only a couple of seconds having passed from him introducing himself, Jacques would then brief the group.

”Your presence is certainly appreciated with helping in this task, and you shall be rewarded justly for your assistance. I do remind you however, as stated in our reports, that there is no knowledge of what exactly we will come up against when we go down those stairs; we know nothing of the creatures hiding or how to defeat them. This isn’t going to be easy.”

Despite the gratitude in the tone of his voice, there was a very clear hint of seriousness about the job ahead. Jacques himself had no idea how this mission would go; he was putting all of his trust in the hands of this group, hoping that they would be sufficient for the task. Turning around and walking to the steps, he then concluded his speech by giving them an opportunity to back out as he began releasing the final charm.

”Once this is released and we are inside, I will seal the exit behind us, preventing us from escaping. Nothing will get out until I release this. It will let people enter though, which I’m leaving to allow our last member to follow after us should she not be here when I’m done with this. So… this is your last chance to turn and walk away before I lock you in. I ask that you make sure you are definitely prepared to go ahead with this mission.”

[Shoudra Mallory]

OOC- Sorry! Lots of traveling the last few days. It won't happen again, I promise Excuse the poor quality of this post.

As if to intentionally punctuate Jacques' admonition to the other adventurers, a sharp snapping sound echoed through the small clearing. Stepping through a small cloud of dark green fumes, that had apparently been belched straight out of the forest floor, a woman fumbled out to where the others were standing.

With a cough, she waved her hand through the air, clearing some of the wisps of smoke that clung about her shoulders as if they were spiderwebs. The sorceress was of medium height and stature, wearing simple leather armor and a spartan dagger under a weathered cloak; her face somewhat shrouded by its hood.

Thoroughly embarrassed by her tardiness, the woman hurriedly walked up the scientist and spoke in a voice just above a whisper, "I'm very sorry, sir. My usual apothecary was short of a few of my reagents."

"I am Shoudra Mallory and I am here to assist in any way that I am able," she continued with a slight bow.

Rising out of the bow, her hands pulled back her hood revealing her face to others. A blush broke what was normally a pale complexion framed by dark brown hair cut level with her jaw. One might have been drawn to the narrow eyes that were a deep blue if the were not dragged to a fierce red scar the leapt across her left cheek like an errant bolt of lightning.

"I believe it will be a great pleasure uncovering the secrets of this tomb, sir."

Shoudra turned toward the other three that were there: a fairy, a Gerudo, and what appeared to be some sort of noble. They would certainly motley crew, but sometimes expeditions of this nature called for just such things.

[Layla]

The Gerudo woman made no signs of hesitations, or hinted at anything that would imply she was shaken by the lack of information. In fact, her expression hardly changed at all. This is what she came here for, to learn about the beasts that roamed the deepest part of the Faron Province. It would be good for her to get more combat experience fighting with unfamiliar monsters. It was fun to test herself, though she hardly considered this to be a challenge, considering her race and all.

The monsters couldn't be horribly powerful if they couldn't break through the enchantments that Jacques had cast, so if she had been worried, she could at least take comfort in that. Layla shifted weight between feet, wondering when the last member would arrive, but just at she had done so, Shoudra had already arrived. She looked over her shoulder and nodded to the woman in greeting. Layla was pleased that they wouldn't have to worry about someone showing up late while they were in the cave. She felt it would have been distracting having to worry in case the person was ambushed. Unlikely in many other situations, but in this one, maybe not so much.

"Well." Layla began, breaking out of her silence, "I'm certainly ready when everyone else is."