Complete Challenge Eastern Brisshal Duuhmsayer: White Sheep

[aledog]

[I... Duuhmchild... Firstborn... Proud.]

[But... I am... weak.]​

A single request

[Mother... {HUNT} alone. Mother... {HUNT}, {CROW}. {GLORY}. Gave... me. Lie... Priest.]
[{SIN}... for Duuhmchild.]
[Others think... I am {GLORY}. I... safe. Now mother gone. {HUNT}. Never return.]
[Soon... I am... join... {HUNT}. I... am weak. Soon... die. I request... you, {SMART PREY}.]
[l... {HUNT}. Seek... {WOOL}. Not... kill. Soft. Joy. {WOOL PREY} fear Duuhmeron.]

[I STAKE MY GLORY ON THIS REQUEST. I WILL DIE AT ANY TIME.]
[HELP ME.]​

---

Travelling as a party of four under circumstance, you found a lone monster on the road by the entrance to the otherwise noob-friendly Scarwoods. The people warning you of this forest never told you of a creature shaped like this, a towering beast of leathery skin and stitched feathers within. They only of dire animals and angry plants, stating that one could be safe if they ran. What was this twisted creature? It called itself Duuhmeron, and it had a request to find a sheep so that it may hold one.

Against your better judgement, you accepted the Duuhmeron's request. Perhaps it was how the monstrous figure showed up as a friendly NPC, or perhaps it was the allure of a possible hidden reward to a quest that otherwise listed none. Regardless, you have chosen to go.

Seek the sheep. Bring it to the Duuhmeron, and allow him to hug it. The job seemed simple, right?

CYCLE 1: PREPARATIONS

Like any good adventuring party should (According to the first NPCs you meet, anyway...), you begin to prepare for the journey ahead into the Scarwoods in search of the lost sheep that ran away from the Duuhmeron. Together, you will set up supplies to last you the short journey through the woods while you search for the sheep.

.....

The Duuhmeron is just standing there quietly now, offering no words of aid. It adds no words at all, actually. It seems that the strange creature had nothing else to say after giving its' request. Hopefully it would speak sometime soon, perhaps when you have brought the sheep it had asked for...

Guidelines

• All characters are permitted one post this cycle.
• There is no set posting order.
• There is no posting wordcount limit.
• This thread will be updated once roughly every 24 hours, or sooner if all participants are satisfied with their posts.
• This thread is primarily focused on progression of the objective. Additional communication may be done in our communications thread. Talking is a free action.

Cycle 1 Mechanics

• Thread Code: 12346A
• All rolls must be made in the #rolls channel.
• Pick one of the two tasks below to try and solve.
• Be sure to add your progress to the total progress below.

Tasks at Hand

Apply Repellant!

​

You don't want bugs or Dire Wolves bothering your search, now do you? Use any Mastery roll to prepare repellant in advance so that nothing dangerous attacks you or distracts you during the trip.
Be careful-you don't want to apply too much repellant-else the sheep might find you repulsive, too!

Ready Supplies!

​

Be sure to keep yourself fed and watered, as all good sprouts should be! Use a Mastery roll and explain how you are readying for the journey ahead. By completing this task, you will be well-prepared for the journey ahead, granting a +10 bonus to all future rolls made in this thread. Failure implies that you might be going hungry for this.
When rolling for Ready Supplies, list a miscellaneous helpful object that you will be bringing with you for the rest of the thread.

Get the Duuhmeron to Open Up!

​

Your new friend seems awfully quiet. Perhaps by talking to him, you might be able to get him to cheer up a bit. An anxious man isn't very good at hugging a sheep, after all. Perform a Presence check and talk to the Duuhmeron to cheer him up.

Spoiler: Post Template

[hp=current]max[/hp]
[status]
[/status]


Post here


[action]
Type result of roll here
Repel - 0000/0150
Supply - 0000/0100
Cheer Up - 0000/????
[/action]
Link Play Sheet Here

@Hyacinth @Nicolas @Harper @Wanderer​

 

[Hyacinth]

100 / 100

As their impromptu adventuring party neared the great beast, Hyacinth's eyes had taken on a subtle glow - the telltale sign of one looking deeper into the world's secrets. Initially, she had hoped to get more information about the monster they might have to defend against but was surprised to see it was instead marked friendly. Curious. It could well be a lie.. yet, she felt no fear, only fascination.

"Guys, I don't think it's going to hurt us?" she motioned to the other three, looking over her shoulder while slowly approaching the beast. When it spoke, the fascination only grew to bursting. Such a strange way to speak! So intimidating! It spoke of glory, death, and sheep. Hyacinth knew she would accept the quest even if her companions had other ideas; there was no question.

The Duuhmeron - its name had appeared on the UI after giving it - stood silently now, offering no words of wisdom for their sheep-seeking. The blue-haired elf stayed nearby, glancing at her party a few times to see what they were up to, taking stock of the situation. Yet, the bulk of her attention was still on this large, leathery, feathered creature.

She felt akin to it, though she could not pinpoint why. It seemed so sad. Honestly, it tugged on her heartstrings a bit to know the dying beast just wanted to hug a fluffy sheep before it passed. "Don't worry! We'll find your 'wool' for you! I stake my glory on our success."

Somehow, though, Hyacinth didn't think her words would actually cheer it up. It was a hollow thing to say, after all. The only thing that would bring this poor thing happiness was hugging the damn sheep. At least it made her feel better.

​

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (6) + 5 = 11

Repel - 0000/0150
Supply - 0000/0100
Cheer Up - 11/????

Hyacinth's Play Sheet

@aledog @Nicolas @Harper @Wanderer

 

[Harper]

100 / 100

"...Mmh..." Shuffle shuffle.

"...Ngh..." Shuffle shuffle.

Going from being a human in real life to becoming a beastkin in Terrasphere initially seems like not much of a drastic change. You get a few animal features, but you are still mostly human so it should go smoothly, right? Wrong.

The ears? Doable, if not a bit too sensitive. The claws? She loved them, though the process of drawing them out and in again was something she was still getting down. But the one thing that was giving her the most trouble was the tail. She was either dangerously unaware or annoyingly aware of the extra limb at any given time, and the only thing she could do was to get used to its presence. It was worth it though.

For whenever Harper saw her reflection, she could be certain of one thing: She looked cool.

Their fated meeting with the Duuhmeron was a blessing in disguise, taking her attention away from the tail conundrum for a moment. And while it looked out of place and grotesque in a certain way, Harper wasn't immediately threatened by it. After all, this was a fantasy world. Notions of what looks like a dangerous creature or not from the real world don't apply 1-to-1 here. Besides, the game itself flagged it as friendly, so in her mind, there was no reason to be hostile to it out of the gate.

And his request sounded reasonable enough! Even though forcing a supposedly scared animal to be hugged by the very source of his fear didn't seem entirely ethical... It was just a hug, right? And the thing was dying, so it is not like it could do that much harm to the sheep anyhow in its state. With the moral problems out of the way, Harper found herself and the group left with more practical ones.

"So, we need to find, catch and bring it back here. I'm fairly sure I'm not going to be outrun by a sheep of all things, so we are only left with the matter of tracking and transport. But first..."

Harper looked up at the treetops for a moment, her golden eyes darting around methodically as she searched for something.

"Aha!" A smirk formed on her face as she found what she was looking for: A tree with ripe mangoes! Or at least they looked like mangoes. For all she knew of this world, they might end up being some type of strawberry. Nevertheless, she made her way toward the tree.

"We don't know if we'll find this sheep before the end of the day. So we might as well get something to snack on the journey, right?" She'd say as she brought her hands in front of her. She would pause for a moment, her face contorting in mild frustration for a moment before her retractable claws eventually decided to come out.

Crouching down for a moment, she would then lunge vertically at the trunk of the tree, reaching out with her claws for a grip. Once she found herself stable, Harper would start to claw her way up the tree and towards its branches. There, it was a matter of either shaking a branch or reaching out for fruit to get them all to the ground below, where she would put them all in her inventory for safe carriage.

"There, got a few for everyone and the little guy once we find them. Anything else before you all want to go?" The tigress would ask, a proud smile on her face. She wouldn't outright say it to the group, but it was her first time attempting anything like that, and she couldn't help but feel overjoyed she didn't fall on her backside. That would've sucked.

Doubly so if she had fallen on top of that darn tail.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (32) + 0 = 32
Repel - 0000/0150
Supply - 0032/0100
Cheer Up - 0011/????

Harper's Sheet

@aledog @Nicolas @Wanderer @Hyacinth

 

[Wanderer]

100 / 100

Wanderer gazed at the hulking Dhuumchild as it spoke.

He put his finger on his chin and pondered as an anxious new player on why the developers would even create a side mission like this? To teach new players a lesson? A secret route? An optional mission? Would it eat the sheep? If the Duuhm in Duuhmchild stood for doom or dumb. What if it was a trap and that we were the dumb ones walking into our doom? What if this wasn't even a child? The creature spoke so oddly it felt like his words were a riddle. Was there a meaning to this?

His brain flowcharted and cascaded into idea after idea, but then creature spoke the last words [HELP ME.] The thoughts changed and it felt like he was a child again. What if the story was a child asking for help from strangers because there's not another option? That if the story is that it is scared, alone and wants comfort? He felt those tug at his heartstrings. He lowered his head and covered his face hands in shame of himself for a moment. "The Flame of Origin feels warm today Duuhmeron." He said as he walked off into the forest to gather supplies

Walking around the forest and breathing the fresh air was so different than in real life. He remembered the first time he had entered Terrasphere. It was like his lungs were inflated but he was exhaling. After that first breath however the air itself in the area just seemed fresher than in the city, which was odd considering his body is in his room. The scenery was breathtaking in Scarwoods as the light cut through the trees. 'Man, this beats the city view all day long.' He smirked as he took it in as a thought crept in the back of his mind that turned it into a grin. 'I wonder if this forest ever has had a controlled burn? I wonder if this world has ever had a controlled fire turn into an uncontrolled one. One that they couldn't manage. How would they solve that I wonder...' he thought as he walked off a bit further into the Scarwoods to find materials for the party.

He wanted to locate suitable materials for fire. He hoped to find some good hardwood that may be dead standing but it seemed luck was not in his favor.
He eventually settled for a medium softwood log on the ground and some drier branches to bring back to the party. 'Hopefully this can provide a sufficient and adequate warmth for the party in the case it would be needed' he thought as he walked back to the party.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (46) + 0 = 46
Repel - 0000/0150
Supply - 0078/0100
Cheer Up - 0011/????

Wanderer's Sheet

 

[Nicolas]

115 / 115

"I know we're all beating around the bush but this thing is definitely going to just eat the sheep, yeah?" Nico gestured over his shoulder pointing with his thumb as he spoke knowingly. Clearly, the hug would be a very specific type of loving embrace, one of which the sheep wouldn't survive as there was no way such a hulking beast would just want some warm and fuzzies. It wasn't his place to judge - as taking on this quest was of dubious intention regardless, but he couldn't help but wonder why it phrased it in that specific way, it actually made it more suspect.

Taking a moment to take in his surroundings, his hand raised with a nod, a mixture of energies warping the space about his hand as he combined his abilities together. Ensorcelled shadow took the form of a cylinder, whilst illusion masked it as an extinguisher, and dark energies became its reagent. A simple label was attached to the front, written in a bold comic sans, 'SMELL B GONE'. This whole mission struck him as one best done stealthily, as the capture of a sheep for the live feeding was to be done 'soft' as the beast noted. If they could somehow get around the forest without attracting all manner of beast and insect they could probably wrap this up shortly.

"I wanna preface I'm not one to judge on preferences, but clearly of the four of us one stands out. Lion-girl - sorry I haven't caught your name, as you're probably emitting all sorts of weird animal pheromones and smells. . . "

Taking one step forward he engaged the spray mechanism, unleashing an absolute torrent of colored smoke in Harper's direction, seeking to cover the entirety of her being - even if she might suffer a little smoke inhalation in the process.

Rolls

Mastery Check
1d100 (70) + 5 = 75
Repel - 0075/0150
Supply - 0078/0100
Cheer Up - 0011/????

Nicolas

 

[aledog]

CYCLE 2: JOURNEY

The new team of adventurers brought together what supplies they thought would be good for the journey and created wards that would make the great wizard Tahoma proud in effort to fend off fell beasts. One girl even thought to give hollow words to the monstrous Duuhmeron who stood in stoic silence.

Surprisingly, he responded to Hyacinith's unconfident yet empathetic speech.

[There is... no GLORY. Soon... I die. The forest... will swallow you. Just... as it did... others... wished... help me.]

How pessimistic. One could suppose that a man apparently on his deathbed was allowed to see the bottom half of the glass, however, and at least he had spoken at all. Now you knew that the Scarwoods apparently had something dangerous in them, if it was bad enough that a previous party had yet to return with the sheep.

Would you meet the same fate? Only time would tell as you descended into the woods.

Now that you were here, you needed to find the sheep that hid in the ocean of trees. As a band of plucky fellows, latched together by your new mutual hate of the mosquitoes that infuriatingly appeared to ignore your measures of repellant. You had gotten so many bites already. So many lumps. So many itches.

---

Objective - Repel: 0075/0150
Failure. No beasts come to attack you during your search... But apparently, insects had yet to get the memo-that, or they couldn't read Nicolas' signs.
Take a -10 penalty to all future rolls as insects irritate you on your journey.
If you detail annoyance at the bugs in your post, reduce this penalty to a -5.

Objective - Supply: 0078/0100
Failure. You probably won't be going hungry anytime soon, though.

Objective - Get Duuhmeron to Open Up - 0011/0010
Success..?​

[/tbox]

Cycle 2 Mechanics

• Thread Code: 752C2
• All rolls must be made in the #rolls channel.
• Perform a Mastery or Expertise roll in effort to fill the progress gauge while you roleplay searching for the sheep.
• Be sure to add your progress to the total progress below.

Task at Hand

Look for the sheep!

​

Roll a Mastery or Expertise check in order to find the Sheep! You have 2 cycles to find the Sheep in time. Good luck!

Progress: 0/400​

Spoiler: Post Template

[hp=current]max[/hp]
[status]
[/status]


Post here


[action]
Type result of roll here
Sheep Progress: 000/400
[/action]
Link Play Sheet Here

@Hyacinth @Nicolas @Harper @Wanderer​

---

 

[Hyacinth]

100 / 100

It was a bit of a shock to hear the Duuhmeron respond to her sad attempt at consolation, but it bolstered her spirits nonetheless. She was a pessimistic kind of girl and had already assumed there would be dangers in the wood, but this practically confirmed it. "It's fair for you to think that, but we'll prove you wrong. See you soon!"

With a final nod toward the beast, she turned back to the others and rushed over, sadly having missed Nico hosing down the tiger-woman. It would have been a laugh for sure. "Our new friend said that another party was dispatched to find the sheep too, but they haven't returned. That's quite ominous - I think we need to be extra careful. Nothing about this quest feels standard and I wouldn't be surprised if some out-of-place enemies awaited us."

Despite her admonishment to be cautious when venturing into the Scarwoods, Hyacinth found herself walking ahead of the three others as they set out on their journey, albeit only by a few steps. The bugs practically swarmed them, mosquitos that found the few exposed patches of skin beneath her heavy leather and cloth ensemble. The shoulders were the worst, swelling and itchy lumps that she couldn't stop scratching. A permanent grimace was etched on her face, streaks appearing across her skin from her nails, but her focus was on the task at hand.

After some time she came to an abrupt halt, head twisting left and right as golden eyes swept the surroundings. They still glowed from Investigation Mode, although it currently told her nothing. She heard nothing, either. With some desperation, she closed her eyes and tapped into the font of magic that welled inside her body; a new sense that reached out amongst the trees and brushed against the spirits of living - and nonliving - beings around them. Seeking something that felt like.. well, a sheep, but likewise keeping her senses open for hints of danger.

​

Rolls

Mastery Check
1d100 (57) + 0 = 57 - 5 = 52
Spirit Magic & Bug Penalty | Hyacinth | 752C2

Look for the Sheep!
Progress: 52/400

Hyacinth's Play Sheet

@aledog @Nicolas @Harper @Wanderer

 

[Harper]

100 / 100

"Blargh! Jesus Christ man! Ack! Ack! Y-you got to warn people before doing stuff like this!" The girl coughed and hacked as she was doused with magical smoke, waving her hands around and backing away from Nicolas to try and get some fresh air. Once she managed it, she'd scowl at Nicholas, her fangs flaring slightly.

"First of all, I'm a Tiger beastkin! Look at all these stripes!" She would point both to her hair and do her best to consciously move her tail to her front. "Tell me of a place you could find a lion with stripes! Jeez..." She would then turn towards Hyacinth and the beast, calming down before nodding towards them with a confident smile on her face.

"Hey, sounds like a "Follow the smoke, find the fire." situation to me. We find whatever got the first party, kick its behind north-to-south, and we probably find our little friend while at it. Sounds simple enough, right? Not easy, of course, but simple. And I think we can manage." She'd affirm with confidence, giving the group a thumbs-up before starting to walk into the forest, though she would pause after a few steps.

"Oh, before I forget:" She'd turn towards Nicolas again, frowning. "I definitely didn't smell, okay? And the name is Harper."

--

Simple. Oh, how the Harper of now wanted to punch herself from a few minutes ago. Or was it a few hours? She honestly couldn't tell anymore. The only thing she knew was that everywhere she possibly had any exposed skin was absolutely ravaged by those pests. The only thing she could think about was how much those lumps itched. And it felt that for each one she managed to swat or clap down, two more took their place like some flying mini-hydras. It was madness!

She couldn't get out of this place any sooner, and for that to happen they would need to find that sheep. Figuring it was worth a shot, she opened her menu and turned on Investigation Mode to try and find any traces of the sheep. Good news! She found paw prints that looked small enough to belong to a sheep! Bad news... She also found other marks. A lot of them. Enough to make it so that it was incredibly difficult to discern the direction of any of them.

"Ugh... If I was a white, scared ball of wool, where would I hide..." The tiger muttered to herself, doing her best to try and find any leads on the paws highlighted by Investigation Mode, her glowing golden eyes following the ground attentively. Perhaps it was a futile effort, but it at least helped her get her mind occupied and less hyper-focused on itching all over her body.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (38) + 0 = 38
-5 due to Bugs = 33

Awareness | Harper | 752C2
Sheep Progress: 085/400

Harper's Sheet

@aledog @Hyacinth @Nicolas @Wanderer

 

[Nicolas]

115 / 115

With a blank stare Nico nodded at the seemingly angry beast-kin, noting her features. The stripes did certainly make it undeniable. That being the case why would she deny her true and obvious heritage? She should have been proud to be a lion.

He couldn't let her distract him from task at hand with her self-doubt. The extinguisher he had used on Harper shifted in size, shrinking down to little more than a spray can. While perhaps the lady of the jungle's musk was too strong to be masked by his concoction, he knew it would be more than capable of mask his own scent, no more than that of fresh roses. This of course meant that he'd smell what could only be considered delicious to insects, but a light spritz took care of it.

After banishing the the canister, his form quickly shifted and flickered, its luster dimming until he it was devoid of color. Wings sprouted from his shoulders, arms, legs, and the rest of his body before it shattered into birds - crows, and simply flew off into the dark forest under the guise of native fauna. With the spritz masking his scent, dark magic fueling the embodiment, and illusion selling the notion it was again a masterpiece. Though the birds operated like a centralized intelligence, their caws and subsongs became a cacophony of sound that could only be attributed to a murder of crows.

Rolls

Mastery Roll
1d100 (91) + 5 (-5) = 91
Shadow Arts | Nicolas | 752C2
Sheep Progress: 176/400

Sheet

 

[Wanderer]

100 / 100

As the beast opened up to the party Wanderer could see some insects around but thought nothing of it. Not originally feeling the invertebrates sticking their proboscis into his epidermis.

Wanderer’s eyes widened as Hyacinth told the beast death flag after death flag. ‘That’s a death flag. And another one.’ He swiftly knocked on his log twice not to incur fate’s wrath.

Wanderer sank his teeth into the flesh of the mango. It was the sweetest forest mango he’s ever had. It was the only forest mangos he’s ever had. “Thanks Harper for getting food. I am surprised they had mangos in a forest like this.” He said as he finished his mango and threw it on the ground. Which may or may not have attracted more bugs.

He saw the rest of the team jumpstart their search with their skills and abilities. He was in shock and awe to what others could achieve and transform. It fascinated him to see what he could do. He placed the log down and sat on it to focus his internal life energy to try to sense other beings. He focused to see if he could find the sheep by sensing it instead of finding it physically.

The world had turned off for him for a moment. Than the lights of life flickered around him. He wondered why there were so much energy around than the lights flickered on him. He felt the insect landing on his face. As it’s multiple legs secured a position to harvest him he panicked and originally slapped his own face which broke his initial concentration. The natural resources in their bodies seems to be too irresistible for any of these insect. He just hated that as the more he itched it brought physical satisfaction but made the search more difficult as he lost focus of his surroundings…

Rolls

Expertise Check
Animancy 1d100 (40) -5 = 35
Sheep Progress: 211/400

Wanderer's Sheet

 

[aledog]

CYCLE 3: PATHFINDER

The journey was going better than expected. You have begun to take note of hooved tracks that may belong to a lost ewe, and are hopefully following it down the slightly-beaten forest trail that appears to have been made with many footsteps rather than any main road's roadwork. You can only pray that your journey brings rise to a clue greater that that which you have already beheld on your journey, else you may never find her..!

Silent prayers were answered. In the distance, you can hear the distressed bleating of a sheep. There appears to be something that is stressing out the farm animal from the sounds of it, but the voice was a pleasant sound to hear all the same-it was a sound of progress.

One question remained - What direction would you go in to tackle the source of the noise?

---

Objective - Look for the Sheep!: 211/400
In progress.​

[/tbox]

Cycle 3 Mechanics

• Thread Code: 752C3
• All rolls must be made in the #rolls channel.
• Perform a Mastery or Expertise roll in effort to fill the progress gauge while you roleplay searching for the sheep.
• Be sure to add your progress to the total progress below.

Task at Hand

Take the long route.

​

The beaten off-road made of footsteps continues in a direction that curves away from the sound in question. Given logical sense, you're sure that it will reach a place where a sheep could have walked towards eventually. The only question is-how long would that take?
Roll a Mastery or Expertise check in order to follow the trail.

Take the thorny path.

​

The direct direction of where the sheep's distressed cry came from was very obvious to you. However, the route directly forwards was a perilous one. Thorns marred the wall of foliage in front of you, and only skill or violence would be the answer forward through this perilous route.

Roll a Mastery check or a Fitness or Knack Expertise check in order to progress. You gain a +20 bonus to your progress roll (applied after other modifiers) for taking the straightest available route to the sheep.
Nature Magic, Pyromancy and Slashing Weapons gain advantage to this roll.

Should you progress this way, you will be prickled by the thorns and Brisshal-famous whip-vines that line this path. When you roll for progress, divide your roll (before modifiers) by 2 and take the result in Retaliation damage as a result of your charge through the trees.

If you have the Corrupt mastery, do not divide your roll by 2 before taking the result as Retaliation. The forest is furious towards you.
If you use the Fitness Expertise for this check, do not divide your roll by 2 - you are charging straight through. However, you may find something in your arms when your reach the other side, something dislodged by your reckless advance...

Spoiler: Post Template

[hp=current]max[/hp]
[status]
Pests: Gain a -5 total to rolls if you describe your hatred.
[/status]


Post here


[action]
Type result of roll here
Sheep Progress: 211/400
[/action]
Link Play Sheet Here

@Hyacinth @Nicolas @Harper @Wanderer​

---

 

[Hyacinth]

13 / 100

Though her spirit called out to it, Hyacinth could not feel the sheep for some reason. Yet, the unmistakable sound of distressed bleating echoing through the Scarwood; perhaps just a little out of reach? Her magic was still developing, so that should not be such a surprise.

She opened her eyes finally, confronting with vision the path her magic had led her to. Or rather, in this case, paths. Her companions were close by too, probably assessing the situation in a similar way. There was a path that seemed to loop away from where the sheep's cries came from, and a path that looked straight toward the goal but was lush with thorns and vines.

It wasn't a hard decision. She didn't care much about injuring herself, that was the name of the game. She did care about getting that damn sheep to prove to the Duuhmeron it could be done; she'd put her very 'glory' on it! Thorns could easily be burned with fire, but it risked starting a chain reaction if she wasn't careful, and Hyacinth did not wish to harm her companions. Or the forest.. at least more than necessary. Elf and all.

She held her hands in front of her chest and drew forth the flames while stepping forward, burning only enough thorns to let her pass. This was effective, massively effective, but as consequence, the remaining thorns gripped and ripped her sides. Cheeks, bloody. Arms, soaking the ground crimson. By the time she made it to the other side her eyes were wide with the shock of pain. She hadn't made a single noise throughout, not a whimper or scream, but she was breathing laboriously and dropped down to one knee.

​

Rolls

Mastery Check
2d100 (Advantage) (47, 87) + 5 = 92
Pyromancy | Hyacinth | 752C3
+ 20 progression for straight path = 112

87 RETALIATION DAMAGE due to Corrupt

Look for the Sheep!
Progress: 323/400

Hyacinth's Play Sheet

@aledog @Nicolas @Harper @Wanderer

 

[Nicolas]

115 / 115

Despite the fact the murder of crows had a third choice - to go both ways (or even around), their combined intelligence was too small to think in such alternatives. Their caws and calls back and forth spoke of their argument, a few of the scouts noting the danger of one path and the elongated nature of the other. Some wanted to make this quick and get it all over with and some wished to play it safe. However, it was just then when one frantic scout bird noted the issues Hyacinth, having taken in an aerial view of the situation, resulting in a unanimous decision to take the safest path.

The group sublimated from many into few, combining their prowess into a fewer large birds before surging forth through the longer path. Their wings made short work of the winding path as they went regardless of the nature of the paths length due to such, but they quickly grew tired of the monotony of such. This prompted their assimilation back into Nicolas himself, each bird combining into his form before he made the rest of the trek, careful to turn the near frantic sprint into a steady pace. There wasn't any reason to turn what he knew was the safer path into one of which wasn't.

Rolls

Mastery Check
1d100 (33) + 5 = 38
Shadow Arts | Nicolas | 752C3
Sheep Progress: 361/400

 

[Harper]

47 / 100

Pests: Gain a -5 total to rolls if you describe your hatred.

The sound of the sheep was like water to the thirsty, food for the famished, sight for the blind...

And especially for Harper and her group, it was the first step in getting the heck out of this absolute disgrace of a forest. Her ears would twitch as she started to scurry towards the source of the sound, only to be met with the cold truth: This wasn't about to be this straightforward. It never is.

The tiger girl would be met with a diversion on the paths. While the obvious thought in her head was to just beeline towards the sound, the menacing and arduous path ahead of her did put some doubt in her heart. They didn't know if they would only find the sheep at the path's end, and any damage they took now would be a hindrance if they found themselves in a confrontation afterward.

This doubt would not ultimately be solved by a resolution on her part, but on the part of the blue-haired elf quite literally blazing through the dangerous path. She didn't know exactly what emotion was fueling Hyacinth at the current moment, but it was enough to inspire Harper as well.

"Hah, I like the spirit! The last one to arrive has to carry the sheep back!" The tiger would exclaim, before dashing towards the path ahead of her. To say that it wasn't kind to her body would be a bit of an understatement: Sharp branches, thorns, and whip-like vines clashed against her body as she forcefully made her way through them. The adrenaline and her pain limitation settings helped her not put too much thought into her injuries, but it still left her feeling quite beaten up by the time she got to the end.

Once there, one could see a beastkin with a few branches sticking out of her hair... And body. Scratched and bruised all over, however, her current worry was not directed at herself at the moment, nor the task at hand but instead at the teammate who was in far worse shape than she was. The somewhat bloodied tiger girl ran towards Hyacinth, not putting much thought into the bugs currently enjoying the all-you-can-eat buffet on her blood.

"Gods girl, you look like you went through a blender. I don't have any bandages with me at the moment, but..." She would motion with her fingers, opening the UI menu and grabbing a mango from her inventory, and offering it to the elf. "Maybe eating something while the others arrive will help somewhat? Sorry I can't do much else to help, not much of a healer, unfortunately." She would sigh, but still offer the mango with a smile.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (53) + 0 = 53
-5 due to Pests = 48
+20 due to taking the straight path = 68
53 Retaliation Damage!

Fitness | Harper | 752C3
Sheep Progress: 429/400

Harper's Sheet

@aledog @Wanderer @Hyacinth @Nicolas

 

[Wanderer]

58 / 100

"I am SICK of these bugs. Who knew there would be bugs in nature?!" he stated as insect feasted on him. He grinned as he heard the sheep. It meant that the journey for the sheep was coming to an end. Any second less in this forest would be worth it.

He would see the parties split into two groups and he liked the majority's group in regards, or rather disregard, for danger. Hearing that the last one would have to carry the beast he knew if he had any chance of not being last would require the shorter path as during the search he sat down to see if he could find the sheep. "Let's risk it for the biscuit!" he yelled as he jumped into the spiked foliage.

Flames would wrap around his body as he tried to burn through the thicket, but the forest would not burn as fast as he would hope and would retaliate as evolution intended for anything trying to harm the organism. His flesh would be pierced and prodded. His blood would be released from his body like a crimson nectar for the insects once he left. Even as the pain increased, he smiled. For he reveled in the moment of the destruction of the forest.

Exiting the thicket, he tumbled out as he could not even see what was in front of him. He looked up realizing he was last. "Am I last?" He sighed as he noticed all party members there. "Someone's gotta be last I guess." As he tried wiping the blood off of him but it would just only cause it to smear over his skin. "Now where's that sheep?"

Rolls

Mastery Check
2d100 (Advantage) (11, 84) + 0 = 84
-5 Due to pest
+20 due to taking the straight path = 104
42 Retaliation Damage
Sheep Progress: 533/400

Wanderer's Sheet

@aledog @Harper @Hyacinth @Nicolas

 

[aledog]

CYCLE 4: White and Fluffy, Light and Stuffy

The baa~ing grew close, the sight of a cloudy sheep coming into view. It was there in the clearing, they could see it! The birds amass, each on a single branch so as not to share with each-other, could see the timid ewe from their birds' eye view. Beneath them came out of the thorns and briars a panicked @Harper who was attempting to outrun a growing fire. Behind this fire, though the whipping thorns and burning nettles, came out the battered figures of a nigh-broken elf and her tall companion @Wanderer .

One of these two looked far less comfortable than the other as mosquitoes swarmed to lap away the spilled blood from their arms. Horrendous buzzing, burning trees and a furious host of nettles beat down upon you-but let there be joy regardless, for a sheep had been found! Scared of you due to how you burst out of the fire, but it was here!

Only... You didn't appear to be the only folk who had found this sheep.

[Oh, dear. I didn't think you would have found this one so soon...]
[I have a request~! Why don't you leave her be? Hee hee..! I need this sheep, you see.] ​

This little fellow hung in the air as if he were held up by string. The doll-creature held a lantern in his 'mouth', yet he was speaking just fine-speaking in a familiar voice, in fact. He spoke with a voice just as the Duuhmeron's own had been to their ears.

Exactly like it, accent and all.

It was the voice that had sent you off on this journey... would you listen to it now? He will surely tame the sheep if you do not.

---

Objective - Look for the Sheep!: 533/400
Success! Sheeep!
​

---

Objective - Make the Sheep Love You!
Players: -50/400 - It's quite scared of the fire you just burst out of.
Doll: 50/400 - He has a head start.
​

Cycle4 Mechanics

• Thread Code: 752C4
• All rolls must be made in the #rolls channel.
• Choose one of the following options below, or a miscellaneous Action you have available to you. You raise your progress bar and lower the doll's.
• Be sure to add your progress to the total progress below.

Options

Get the Sheep to Like You!

​

No matter what, you need to make this sheep comfortable around you. Make any Mastery or Expertise roll to get the sheep to warm up to you. Beast Arts, Harmonic Magic and Nature Magic Mastery rolls, as well as Presence Expertise rolls, gain advantage when used for this purpose.
You must describe how you are using your check logically. If the sheep is not convinced by your action, you will subtract from the total progress instead.

Sabotage the Doll's Efforts

​

This crazy doll is trying to steal your sheep! How dare he?! You're going to make sure that this Doll will never make friends with the sheep. Make any Mastery or Expertise roll to convince the sheep that the Doll does not truly love it as he had once whispered into her ear. Illusion Magic Mastery rolls and Presence Expertise rolls gain advantage when used for this purpose.
You must describe how you are using your check logically. If the sheep is not convinced by your action, you will add to the Doll's total progress instead. Be warned that from the first Sabotage, the Doll will become irate and sabotage you in following turns.

Attack the Doll

​

You could alternatively seek to destroy the mean doll in question. You may choose to attack the doll using any attack Action. If you do, you will take 20 retaliation damage. Be warned that from the first attack onwards, the doll will become a hostile combatant.

Spoiler: Post Template

[hp=current]max[/hp]
[status]
Pests: Gain a -5 total to rolls if you describe your hatred, and a -10 if not.
[/status]


Post here


[action]
Type result of roll here
Sheep Progress: -50/400
Doll's Sheep Progress: 50/400
Doll Damage Progress: 000/???
[/action]
Link Play Sheet Here

---

@Hyacinth @Nicolas @Harper @Wanderer​

 

[Harper]

47 / 100

Pests: Gain a -5 total to rolls if you describe your hatred, and a -10 if not.

Sheep acquired! Well, almost. They still had the task of actually getting the sheep to cooperate into going back with them. And it seemed like the weird doll in front of them was trying to do just the same. That was going to be a problem.

This ragtag group of theirs was seemingly good for many things: Fighting, exploring, setting fire to things... But sheep taming didn't seem like a particularly strong point of theirs. Especially when most of them were bloodied and had a forming inferno behind them. It would be hard to appear innocent and more approachable based on initial impressions alone.

Instead, they would need to use what they had in hand to overcome the doll's headstart in this uphill battle. And what Harper had in her hands were her trusty mangoes. She always heard from her mother that the way to a man's heart went through his stomach, and dogs loved treats, right? Surely one of those truths applied in some way to sheep.

Making sure her claws were retracted, the tiger girl would sigh and relax as best as she could, closing her eyes and taking deep, slow breaths. She needed to come off as zen, calm, and unthreatening as possible when dealing with the sheep, given that out of all of them, she looked the most like someone who might attempt to eat it. The faces of pain, discomfort, and anger at the bugs feasting on her life force that ever so often spilled out didn't do much to help her case.

"Alright, little guy. We know we may look scary, but all we want to do is help you and someone who cares about you." She would say, slowly approaching the sheep. She would stop midway through, worrying that the sheep might still be too scared of her. Smiling through the pest-inflicted pain, she would nod to the sheep and kneel, setting the mango on the ground. "Here, a gift. We are friends after all. Friends do stuff like this to each other."

She would say, trying her best to keep her voice low. She would then turn back and go back to her starting spot, the beastkin hoping that turning her back to the scared animal would make it feel safer. She didn't think this would immediately make it trust them, but it would hopefully at least start to build a said bridge of trust.

Rolls

Expertise Check
2d100 (Advantage) (13, 88) + 0 = 88
-5 due to pests = 83

Presence | Harper | 752C4 (Do sheep ever dream of Mango?)
Sheep Progress: 33/400
Doll's Sheep Progress: 50/400
Doll Damage Progress: 000/???

Harper's Sheet

 

[Hyacinth]

13 / 100

Pests: Gain a -5 total to rolls if you describe your hatred, and a -10 if not.

The mosquitoes swarmed around her battered body quicker than her party members, feasting on the bloodshed. The pain in that case was a blessing because she couldn't feel the itching anymore.. but just knowing they took advantage of her bad state made her want to light them all on fire. The tiger-woman, Harper's, voice drug her out of murderous mosquito daydreams.

"Thanks.." She whispered, taking the mango in hand. Although instead of eating it immediately, she tucked it into one of the many pockets on her person, depositing it into inventory for later use. "But first, we have to get this sheep." On my glory, she thought, mouth set in determination.

She climbed back to her feet as the situation with the sheep and the floaty-doll-thing made itself clear. The doll wanted the sheep too, the sheep was terrified.. although it seemed mostly concerned about all the flames. Fair. However, it was the doll's voice that truly made her tilt her head in thought. Anger. This creature sounded the same as the Duuhmeron, had they been tricked? Or were they being tricked now? She decided it didn't matter; to complete the quest was her goal, even if there was clearly something weird happening.

She let Harper approach the sheep first because it would have been bad to crowd the little thing. Another mango was offered and the tiger girl turned away from the sheep again, a clear sign of trust. It was smart. The battered and bloody elf limped toward the sheep now, slowly lowering back to her knees in front of it. It would surely smell the blood, which might scare it further - but she had carefully crafted her ability to be persuasive. Surely she could convince a sheep.

"My friend," she whispered to the little ewe. "This creature wants to hurt you. It has already hurt me," she winced for effect, although to be fair, she was still in extreme pain. The pain was clear on her face, which was pale beneath the blood and wet with sweat. "We just want to protect you. Come with us, please."

Rolls

Expertise Check
2d100 (Advantage) (43, 27) + 5 = 48 -5 = 43

Sheep Progress: 76/400
Doll's Sheep Progress: 50/400
Doll Damage Progress: 000/???

Hyacinth's Play Sheet

 

[Nicolas]

115 / 115

Pests: Gain a -5 total to rolls if you describe your hatred, and a -10 if not.

"Uh, sure." Is all Nicolas spoke in regards to the floating. . entity. While some would have described it as a 'doll' it looked more like what someone would interpret was a doll before it turned into some sort of eldritch horror. He made mental note of that actually, its form could be useful - possibly doubly for for anyone who had ever 'run this quest'. He had of course never intended to heed the entities plea.

It took but a motion, a singular casual thrust of the hand before placing it into his pockets to warp the area around the doll. Like a reverse two-way mirror the illusion created a capsule around the entity such that looking from the outside in was much different than from the inside out. From the outside the familiar haze of heat started first but gradually, building up to a crescendo that was a conflagration, utilizing the idea of the burning forest as a superposition. The doll was on fire, or at least that's what it looked like. It was not enough for it to be on fire though, one had to sell the idea.

The 'flesh' of the doll began to give way, slowly melting and showing its 'musculature' underneath. Of course, Nicolas had no idea what it would have looked like, nor had the know-how to begin to properly construct an accurate image. That didn't matter though, and in fact only added to the horrifying image of the already nightmarish doll through its inaccuracy.

Between not drawing attention to his attempt and doing so, it was clear to gain advantage in the situation there was only path.

His hands cupped around his mouth as he maintained concentration on the illusion, increasing its vividness as he yelled.

"Woah holy shit that doll is one fire!!!" He pointed at it too.

Rolls

Mastery Check
2d100 (Advantage) (33, 81) + 5 - 10 (Pests) = 81
Illusion Magic | Nicolas | 752C4

Sheep Progress: 76/400
Doll's Sheep Progress: -31(?)/400
Doll Damage Progress: 000/???

Sheet

 

[Wanderer]

58 / 100

Wanderer on the ground bloodied and bruised stared at his party from the ground as the pest also attacked him, but not as bad as the elf. It was so hard to focus as he crashed through and fell. The doll would chime in a kind voice, but he was unsure so as he was on the ground, he picked up a stick that he had gathered earlier in the trip and let it fall to make his decision. It pointed towards the doll and made a crawl, that could only be described as creepy, towards it.

Once he was closer to the floating doll than his team, he stood on his two legs. He had heard his team try to convince the sheep to follow them instead of the doll, but the stick had chosen his destiny he knew this doll must be on the side of righteousness. "I believe you little doll." He smiled and nodded. Unfortunately for the doll he did believe in it but crashing through the bramble made Wanderer's choice of actions even more debatable. "It makes sense guys little sheep goes with little sheep doll. There clearly must be another sheep that we have to find." He looked at the sheep it was clearly frightened of the flames prior, but he knew that all beings are afraid of the Flames, but only initially. It would just have to learn to love the Flames.

His mouth would extend out bellowing flames. Flames wrapped around him burning all the annoying pest that tried to sip on the crimson water. "Come to the DOLL little one! The Flames will make you warm! HAHAHA!" he said as he waived the sheep to come to the doll. Any sane being would say 'This is death. This thing on fire would definitely lead you to your doom', and as he said "Oochi Guchi ooh! Don't be AFRAID."

His party would bring out mangoes to attempt to curry favor with the sheep so he knew he must do the same "Do not fret doll. I also have mangoes so come here too sheep." as he grabbed the mango out of his bag to show to the sheep. The forest mango would turn from ripe orange yellow to charcoal black as it burned slowly but intensely in his fiery hands. "Maybe the inside is fine." as he grabbed the fruit with both hands splitting it open like a skull. "Nevermind we have no mangoes." as he looked back at the dolls holding two pieces of charcoal confused.

Rolls

Mastery Check
1d100 (29) + 0 - 5 = 24
Pyromancy | Wanderer | 752C4

Wanderer's Sheet


Sheep Progress: 76/400
Doll's Sheep Progress: -55(?)/400
Doll Damage Progress: 000/???

@aledog @Harper @Hyacinth @Nicolas