Open Eastern Brisshal The Hunters and the Hunted (open for 2+)

[Gutsy Ironvolt]

The village had been ransacked. Villagers scurried to and fro putting out small fires that erupted while trying to put the town back together. In light of the recent atrocity, the village elders and leadership had decided to turn to any passing adventurers they could find.

For any that decided to help, the mission was simple: find the bandits that had done this, bring them to justice, and return to the villagers the items that had been stolen.

****

"IF IT'S SO IMPORTANT THEN WHY DON'T YOU PICK UP A PITCHFORK AND GO GET YOUR SHIT YOURSELF?! I DON'T SEE HOW IT'S MY PROBLEM TO HELP WEAKLINGS WHO CAN'T EVEN HELP THEMSELVES!"

Please miss... we don't have the strength and most of us are still trying to put out fires and clean up the village. Even if we did have the manpower, we'd be running to our deaths.

Regan scowled. She hated those who wouldn't at least first try and help themselves. On the other hand, hunting bandits sounded like it would be fun.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? FINE! I'LL HELP. WHAT THE HELL, I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING RIGHT NOW ANYWAY! POINT ME IN THE DIRECTION OF THE BASTARDS AND I'LL CLEAR THEM OUT IN MINUTES."

"Umm.. I'm, I'm so sorry ma'am. Could you please come to the village first and speak with the village's leadership? They can give you all the information. I... I was just sent searching for people to help. Several of the town's people were.

"Well, if that's the case, THEN WHY THE HELL AM I WASTING MY TIME TALKING TO YOU?! TAKE ME TO THE VILLAGE SO I CAN MEET SOMEONE TO POINT ME IN THE DIRECTION THAT BANDIT TRASH WENT."

Regan licked her lips and grinned.

"Besides, I'm starving..."

The villager, obviously startled by this statement quickly let Regan back to the village where other adventurers would be standing by ready to bring swift justice to the bandits that had attacked.

 

[Toko]

.
.

She had logged into the game expecting the usual peacefulness of the room that Toko had rented in one of the few available inns found in Honeyhome, the lepus quickly becoming quite fond of the homey little village that reminded Nao of her own back in the real world. It was supposed to be just a day like any other... but the second the game loaded up Toko could already smell the distinctive smells of a burning fire, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to rise, before gasping at the state her room was in once the game's visuals were online.

"N-Nantekotta?!"

* * * * *​

Bandits... apparently those were the culprits for the current disarray that now marred the once welcoming and peaceful appearance of Honeyhome. The lepus found herself balling her hands into tight fists at the various thoughts running through her mind, before she had quickly set out to help the Landers were she could. Eventually a small party was being hastily formed with the available travelers... or well, at least the ones that didn't mind risking their life on the line—unless they were still blissfully unaware of the death system in TS2 of course, but a part of the lepus figured the factions must have gotten to most of the newbies by now.

"Sumimaseeen... does anyone know why the bandits decided to attack now? Was there something, or someone, here they were after perhaps...?"

A hand was raised as she asked for attention, the lepus voicing some of the thoughts that had been running inside her mind. It would be easier, at least in theory, to track these bandits down if they could understand what had motivated them to cause all this chaos and destruction in the first place. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed another traveler joining the quickly growing group around the village's head, and while the woman's face didn't look particularly friendly Toko figure she must have wanted to help just like the others.

@Regan

 

[Cyrus Sylvester]

In his time in Terrasphere so far, Cyrus had completed many a quest, and killed monsters to the point that keeping count was something even someone extremely meticulous might have struggled with. Not that he was the sort to try and do that in the first place, except by the accumulation of in-game xp.

The point was, that in his time so far, he'd not yet killed a human enemy. For his part, he had had been somewhat reluctant for two reasons. One, based on what he'd been told, they could be some of the tougher enemies. Two, the AI was creepily realistic so there was the teeny tiniest itch at his conscience that told him killing what looked and acted like humans so much kind of felt like murder.

But, if he wanted to enjoy this game as a game, it was time to get rid of that feeling for good. It was just purging some data after all.

…Never mind the conundrum he was empathetically not thinking about; that some players may or may not get trapped in the game, and were thus effectively no different than NPCs. Levi came to mind, but Cyrus brushed the thought off. Even Lion Arms folk, for all their self-purported chivalry were, in the end, basically a remarkably murder-happy bunch – if with morals.

Yeah, if I really wanna, I can just think of it as deserved retribution…

It didn't quite feel like the answer he was entirely satisfied with, but when Cyrus came across a village ransacked by bandits, his immediate reaction was a fiery indignation, tinged by a darker underlying glee. That's what I've been looking for. What a handy reason to go get rid of some AI-pretending, human-shaped scum.

There were two women players there already, both Beastfolk, ready to take on the quest, apparently. The blonde was loud, and he'd caught her complaining about being hungry. "Hey, if you need food that bad, maybe get some now?" he suggested, completely and utterly unaware of this particular player's penchant for fresh blood.

A question asked by another, a lepus, provoked his curiosity as well. "Aside from practical supplies, could there have been some treasure? Important artifact? Curio?" he pitched in. His motives for asking were less than noble – if there was something shiny that he felt like he could get away with pocketing for himself with no one the wiser, Cyrus would…not not do it. Oh, who was he kidding, if he could steal something good and not get found out, he would. NPC gratitude and loot, am I right?

@Regan @Toko

 

[Jin]

Once more the chat came to life, only this time, he was still on the way out of Faldaren when it happened. The Bloodsworn had made his way from Honeyhome and taken the winding path through Eastern Brisshal west, toward Astorea before the alert caught his attention. He lifted his palm up slowly and stared at the string of messages buzzing like worker bees with a soft exhale. New players spazzing out about the sudden and rampant influx of bandit attacks were like little lambs bleating about how unfair the slaughter was.

I could leave them to figure things out for themselves, he reasoned. The perfect opportunity for them to learn the true nature of this world. But then, I really would be missing out on something, wouldn't I?

Part of him cursed his insatiable thirst for excitement or amusement. There was so little satisfaction in helping the 'landers. They scarcely paid out on their debts, and the rewards always suffered diminishing returns. It was like the people in this world got less thankful the more they were helped. As if they began to expect it. They were the same type of scum he'd interacted with in the old world. The ones who felt like they were owed something.

They were beneath his notice.

So when one of them stumbled past and started to beg, it unwittingly prompted Jin's UI to throw the off-the-cuff event in his face. "It would seem that the decision has been made for me." He sighed. The shrill whisper of his blade as it left its sheath broke the lander free from his stupor long enough for his face to contort in terror.

With a boot against his hapless victim's sternum, he plunged the katana hilt deep in the man's chest and locked eyes with him once they were face to face, and his expression turned to stone. "I'm hate when people make decisions for me, so you'll have to be thankful from hell." He wrenched the weapon free of the corpse and flicked the blood from it with a quick, surgical motion before replacing it at his side.

The body fell limp to the ground, no different from any other death caused by the vagrant bandits. Empty eyes stared toward the treetops, and a pregnant pool of blood seeped out of the dual wounds.

"Ta~" he waved his hand with a flourish and made for the nearby village.

* * * * * * * * * *​

It was within sight after a minute or so of walking, and the bustling group of nubile players roused his attention. He knew one of them instantly, and he called out to her. "Ah, your grace, it would appear our reunion has come sooner than anticipated," he smirked as he coalesced with the group as though he had been there all along. It was always nice when an awkward acquaintance could be used to shoehorn oneself into a social situation without anyone questioning it.

Unlike the others, he was hardly here for the sake of philanthropic interests. Watching with interest as they spoke among themselves, he tried to discern which of them were strongest and what roles they had to play in this game of Bandit Killing. That was the premise after all, was it not?

Now show me, he glanced from one Traveler to the next in turn, smiling all the while. What kind of people you really are.

"Tragic, really, isn't it?" he asked, "about the attack, I mean. Such a shame," his gaze moved to @Regan mischievously. They both knew what she had said about survival of the fittest. Would she own it? He winked at her and chambered the bullet for an old fashioned game of Russian Roulette.

"If only they'd been strong enough to defend themselves."

@Toko @Cyrus Sylvester

 

[Akiva]

He isn't the type to participate in these quests.

They were boring. At least the beginner one's were. Fetch quests and kill monster quests and rescue damsel quests or kill very minor antagonist quests. For a game that had such sophisticated AI and realistic physics, Akiva found it all very, very disappointing.

But never fear! There were so many other things do to, things that piqued his interest and kept him coming back for more. Like trying out the various types of foods and testing the combat and challenging the limits of the NPCs.

He would have slinked on, past the burnt village that smelled like campfire and sounded like crying children, if not for the familiar sight of a brown-haired cat-boy.

"Hey! Cyrus!" He calls out excitedly, way too happy for the somber visage around them. Ignoring the dirty looks of the villagers, he waves his arms in the air and literally skips toward the brown-haired beastfolk.

"Good to see you, dude," he said, clapping the other man on the back in greeting. He stands, hands on hips, tilting his head towards at the droning head. Green eyes squint as he activates investigation mode to pull up what might be relevant information. "So, what're we doing today? Did I hear treasure?"

@Regan @Toko @Cyrus Sylvester @Jin

 

[Alonso Thorlion]

By now these types of events were far below an experienced player's ability. If anything, there was the chance someone from the old version of the game could just solo all of these bandits. Unfortunately the risks were often greater than the actual worth. While not the cruel sort, the man was tempted to observe from afar and only step in when needed. Playing hero everywhere, while morally the better option, might grant some unwanted eyes attention towards Alonso. Power struggles were not the sort of thing he wanted to get too invested in.

"M-Marquis Thorlion! Please!"

Of course he encountered the one lander who recognized the Felis. Not just the fact he stood out compared to other Beastfolk, but this one recalled the man's title of days past. A sigh escaped the player as he turned and made a jog towards where other players were congregating. There was still a duty to fulfill after all no matter how little that title meant.

Soon enough he began to note a particular group, hopefully with the same goal via stopping these intense bandit attacks. "Alright, what the hell's going on," Alonso's deep baritone rang out, looking between the other players gathered. He noted Toko's appearance, giving the lepus a nod. Someone else he recognized was never a bad outcome, or at least, she was not someone he disliked.

"If you're all here to set out and help it's better if we have a plan first. It won't be too detailed given the state of things, but it's better than nothing," the man said. For now he was unaware of how most of the players gathered acted, but oh boy was he going to find out.

@Regan
@Toko
@Cyrus Sylvester
@Jin
@Akiva

 

[Gutsy Ironvolt]

"Well, if it isn't Jin the bastard. To be honest, I didn't think I'd see you around this area again. Not to mention you don't strike me as the type willing to help a village."

Taking in the town as Jin spoke, Regan nodded.

"Pathetic really. I don't even know how this town has survived this long without any form of guards. I'd be surprised if anyone in this town could swing a sword at all, besides the adventurers that frequent here. At the very least they rely too much on wanderers for protection. I really should have left these weaklings to fend for themselves. Still..."

Turning to Jin, Regan grinned.

"Hunting bandits does make for good sport..."

****

As the group stood at the ready, one of the village leaders, an older man with white hair and a seemingly weak disposition to violence approached the group of adventurers.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart thank you. You have no idea...

"HEY!"

Regan made her way to the front of the group and stood before the old man.

"SAVE THE PLEASANTRIES AND POINT ME IN THE DIRECTION OF THE BANDITS! I COULD CARE LESS FOR THANKS OR EVEN A REWARD! THE ONLY REWARD I NEED IS TO SEE THOSE HAPLESS SACKS OF SHIT RUNNING AND CRYING FOR THEIR LIVES AS I HUNT EACH ONE OF THEM DOWN!"

Turning to the rest of the group, Regan snarled.

"NORMALLY, I'D SEND THE REST OF YOU ON YOUR WAY HOME AS I CAN HANDLE THIS ALONE!"

Sighing Regan continued.

"But you lot look like the types that would follow me regardless of what I said... still I want to make something perfectly clear..."

Regan looked over each of the party members, as she did a fierce expression came over her face as she flashed her fangs.

"IF ANY ONE OF YOU STEALS ONE OF MY KILLS, I'LL RIP OUT YOUR ENTRAILS AND USE THEM TO DECORATE THE FOREST!"

Regan turned back to the village leader.

"NOW POINT IN THE DIRECTION OF THE BANDITS BEFORE I GET ANGRY!"

The leader, visibly shaken pointed in the direction.

"Good, now run home and hide. I'm going to dye these woods red with bandit blood."

Regan began walking in the direction the man had pointed. She didn't care to look back to see who followed.

@Alonso Thorlion @Jin @Akiva @Toko @Cyrus Sylvester

 

[Cyrus Sylvester]

The next player who made their way over was an acquaintance of the loud-mouthed blonde. He was a very smarmy dude, oozing with condescending charm. At least, Cyrus didn't think he was for real with what he'd said. All that 'your grace' shit, and calling the bandit attack a tragedy even though he was all smiles.

Though that in and of itself didn't particularly bother him, he did want to know why the guy was acting as if the Landers were actual people. An inside joke with the blonde Beastfolk, maybe?

"It's too bad a place like this has gone to the dogs," Cyrus commented, though he mostly sounded annoyed. He'd more or less come to terms with the destruction already. It had been a nice place, but it was sure to be restored sooner or later. And in the end, it was only a tiny village in a vast game world. Even if genuinely fond of Honeyhome, he was pretty much ready to graduate from this starting area. Not to mention, a mini event involving bandits ransacking a beloved village? Not a bad way to spice things up a bit.

"If only they'd been strong enough to defend themselves."

Cyrus rolled his eyes, scoffing in mild incredulity. "Of course they weren't. They're Landers. Peasants. They're not programmed to do it." His tail twitched left and right in irritation. He firmly wanted to keep the distinction between NPCs and players clear in his mind – very fucking hard to do, by the way, especially when some insisted on treating this world as if it was the same as the real one, and the AI within it as if it were no different to living, breathing humans.

(A part of him knew, but didn't want to contemplate, that this defensive reaction of diminishing the NPCs as some Other stemmed from the fact that it would be dangerously easy to come to think of Terrasphere as reality – if an alternate one. But then…if he thought of it like that, could he continue playing?)

"Besides, without this kinda thing, there'd be no quests. No need for adventurers – or players," he concluded with his best attempt at indifference.

Thankfully, there came along an easy cure to his doubts and frustrations. "Akiva!" he turned to the man with a grin. He laughed at the other's greeting, returning it with a punch to Akiva's arm. "Good to see you too, man." It was always easier to ignore or forget about the complicated stuff in the company of a friend. "Bandit slaying's what's on the agenda," Cyrus informed him. "And yeah, I'm hoping there's treasure, or something to make this worthwhile."

He merely glanced at the old man who arrived last, another Beastfolk, but didn't comment. Cyrus felt ambivalent about the almost overly serious man, and while he wouldn't oppose a plan, he didn't feel compelled to support it either.

The loud blonde proceeded to shout several declarations, and Cyrus thought that she must either be unhinged or a very immersed role-player. Either way, if she was as likely to be moved to violence against a player as she proclaimed herself to be, it was best to stay out of her way. "Got it, boss," he drawled, saluting her sarcastically. He did indeed follow her – it was honestly supremely convenient for someone of his playstyle to have a gal like her willing to draw all attention to herself.

@Jin @Akiva @Alonso Thorlion @Regan @Toko

 

[Toko]

.
.

Well, this was certainly a colorful group of individuals... eventually it seemed a party of sorts had been formed, although the lepus had her reservations about most of its members. Still at least one of them was a familiar and friendly face, and the lepus had soon naturally gravitated closer to the larger felis as things transpired.

"Tch, urusai na..."

Long ears folded backwards as the bat beastfolk suddenly began her shouting tirade, an apologetic glance given to the village elder that had just been on the receiving end of the verbal abuse. Still Toko supposed the rather extremely driven nature of the woman might be to their benefit, the lepus taking a moment to stretch her limbs before beginning to head out—not quite walking with Regan but close enough as they headed int he same direction.

"Pfft there's no such thing as stealing someone's kill, if you're too slow to deal the finishing blow that just means it wasn't yours to begin with."

Sure, it was probably best to not antagonize the very loudmouthed blonde... but the words were out before Toko could think better of it, a shrug following them before she enabled the investigation mode on her palm UI. While the trail was currently fresh and pretty identifiable there was no guarantee that would be the case as they headed further into the wilds in search for the group that had ransacked Honeyhome.

"Hey Alonso... is this a normally recurring type of event for this game?" Sometimes it was quite easy to forget that this was just a fantasy game and not reality—though the knowledge of being able to die for real back home due to dying too many times in the game only helped to blur that line even more. "... is it always the same script?"

Honestly the lepus found it hard to remind herself this was all technically just programmed events and dialogue... the Landers just felt too real whenever Toko interacted with them, and today was certainly not the exception to that.

@Regan @Cyrus Sylvester @Jin @Akiva @Alonso Thorlion

 

[Jin]

He had to agree to disagree on the point of bandits. They made for poor sport once you killed enough of them. However, @Regan was spot on in her assessment of the bastard- he had no interest in helping the people of the village, and he was not the willing type. Instead of a verbal response, the smile he gave her was one of amusement.

She vilified herself perfectly. While the others might cast a suspicious gaze his way, he was hardly the one spewing venom about the weakness and worthlessness of the Landers. Regardless of how they viewed NPCs, other people would notice that far more than the unassuming swordsman in their midst.

"Of course they weren't. They're Landers. Peasants. They're not programmed to do it."

Jin's crimson gaze moved slowly to the man who made that comment, the Beastman @Cyrus Sylvester . This person seemed almost offended at the Bloodsworn's words. His expression melted away to a deadpan as he considered the other Player. Was he amusing, or boring?

Ah, you're struggling with morality, aren't you? His smile returned after a moment, and Jin leaned on his katana. "I wonder then," he replied aloud, giving voice to his musings. "Is it they that need us, or us that need them?"

In a world where death meant the collapse of the barrier between those realities, was that barrier even truly a distinction? Though they were programmed initially, Players who became UI locked were virtually no different from Landers. It was virtually impossible, in fact, to tell them apart unless you knew. To Jin, a Lander dying was no different than another Player dying. A life was a life, and its value meant something only at the moment payment came due.

The others were quickly taken in by the blonde's domineering personality, enough that Jin was able to join them without a word of derision. Indeed, they were on the move toward their destination and everyone was already busying themselves with being annoyed or avoidant of the antagonizing Player. That was when Jin overheard the Lepus speaking with the mountain of a man who joined them last.

He listened, quietly.

@Toko @Alonso Thorlion

 

[Alonso Thorlion]

For the most part it seemed his idea of having a plan was not taken all that well. Not only that, but the Beastfolk screaming her head off brought less than welcoming vibes. In fact, a massive amount of distrust welled up inside the Felis. So much so that he was about to get angry himself with how argumentative and aggressive the wannabe dictator of this event displayed herself.

But was it really worth the stress? He hoped it will not come to a head to where the bat-like Beastfolk proved her honesty about ripping up those who took her kill.

If anything the man stood closer to Toko after the lepus gave her retort about kill stealing. Sure, the man did not know this woman for long, but he needed to keep the peace somehow. Before heading off with the rest of the group, Alonso walked up to the frightened village elder and said, "I'll make sure the task is completed and ... that whoever she was yelling her head off won't try anything more violent towards the villagers." Alonso made a swift turn and rushed back to Toko's side.

Clearing his throat, the man whispered to the lepus, "It happens from time to time, but ... I'll be blunt. These aren't scheduled by any game master. It just happens. Not only that what you see as NPCs don't respawn on a timer if they die. Once they're out that's it. If you've noticed there isn't a series of people who all look the same as the last several each place you go, even the bandits." Most games will eventually have familiar NPCs, all generic folks placed in different spots with the same purpose as the one before them.

But this was not the usual MMO. Not by a long shot.

"Well, except if they're family or something," he added. Even with the concerns surrounding death and how Landers were still fairly individualistic, family members by blood remained the same concept as the real world. "Also, the insane woman who went off ahead screaming at everyone? Even if I don't know how strong she is, I'll try to deal with her if she decides to turn her aggression on us." Alonso veered his gaze back towards Regan, eyes narrowing as his cautious and suspicion rose.

@Toko @Jin @Akiva @Regan @Cyrus Sylvester

 

[Gutsy Ironvolt]

It was a nice day in the woods which was honestly typical for Eastern Brisshal. With a slight breeze tickling the leaves of the trees and cool shade to hide one from the heat of the sun, it seemed like an idealesque place for a vacation, honestly it was no wonder that so many adventurers spent so much time traveling around and enjoying these woods. Regan was not one of these people.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THESE BANDITS?"

The group had been walking for quite a distance and had seen no sign of the bandits. Regan had thought that definitely by now the cowards would have tried to ransack and rob the group but so far nothing.

"YOU BANDIT BASTARDS BETTER STILL BE IN THE WOODS WHERE I CAN HUNT AND END YOU! COME OUT COWARDS!"

The frustration of not having found the bandits yet was beginning to take its toll on Regan. She came on this journey to fight and prove herself in battle, not hike around the forest aimlessly. Turning to the group, Regan snarled.

"ONE OF YOU MUST BE ABLE TO TRACK PEOPLE, RIGHT? WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY! IF ANYONE HAS SEEN ANYTHING SPEAK UP! I THOUGHT BY NOW I'D BE WADING THROUGH BANDIT BLOOD WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE, NOT TAKING A SCENIC WALK!

Regan looked up to the sky as a thought crossed her mind.

"I SWEAR TO EVERYTHING HOLY, IF THAT VILLAGE LEADER WAS LYING ABOUT THERE BEING BANDITS SO HELP ME I'LL STRING HIM UP BY HIS LEGS AND USE HIM AS A TRAINING DUMMY."

@Alonso Thorlion @Toko @Jin @Akiva @Cyrus Sylvester

 

[Toko]

.
.

"Ah, I see..."

She had figured as much, but it was nice having a veteran be able to confirm her thoughts on the matter. The NPCs of this world—known as the Landers for most players—truly only had one life to live inside this game world... perhaps it was not surprising they would often turn towards Travelers for help with situations, after all being able to respawn three times—even if that last one did permanently UI lock the player—must have seemed like something akin to a deity like power for the Landers.

"R-Right..." Eyes instinctively moved to look at the bat beastfolk currently continuing to shout her lungs out to the world—and effectively throwing out the window any hope of a surprise ambush against the bandits that had ransacked the town. "Alonso... gomen, I probably shouldn't try to rile her up any more than she already is."

With everything happening perhaps it wasn't surprising that the Lepus hadn't noticed Jin seemingly interested in the conversation Toko was having with her teacher, the shouts of Regan being enough to make her concentration finicky as the Lepus had to focus on preventing any auditive damage to her ears instead. As the blonde turned back to the group, letting her frustration out very vocally on to them, the Lepus frowned as she opted to hold back her tongue this time around.

Besides no way she'd be able to track the bandits by sound with all this constant yelling.

@Regan @Cyrus Sylvester @Jin @Akiva @Alonso Thorlion

 

[Cyrus Sylvester]

Cyrus hadn't expected @Jin to reply, but when questioned who needed whom, the Landers the players or vice versa, the Beastfolk gave him a bemused look. "Does it matter?" he huffed, shaking his head. Without waiting for the other's reaction, he turned away, and went ahead. Rather than his answer being a sign of him accepting that there was no difference between AI and humans, however, Cyrus simply thought that for a game to function as a game, it needed to appeal to players. Equally, you couldn't or wouldn't be a player if there wasn't anything to play.

Sighing under his breath, he rejoined the rest of the party just in time to hear @Toko sassing @Regan.

"There's no such thing as stealing someone's kill, if you're too slow to deal the finishing blow that just means it wasn't yours to begin with."

Cyrus gave the lepus an appreciative look, and smirked. He moved closer, giving Toko a light, friendly punch on the shoulder. "Cool line, might have to borrow that one in the future." Unlike Jin, he didn't stick close enough to hear the conversation between Toko and @Alonso Thorlion, thus remaining blissfully oblivious to the senior player's experience with Landers.

Their group proceeded through the forest, and it didn't take long before Regan began shouting again. Exasperation warred with amusement; the first, because Cyrus thought it was idiotically entitled of the woman to expect everything be handed to her on a platter, the latter because there was some humour in watching her stomp around the forest all self-importantly.

The idea to track their enemy wasn't half bad – if it'd only come before she'd oh-so-cleverly announced their presence and exact position with her penchant for hollering. Cyrus wouldn't be surprised if the enemy was setting up traps right now, or some such. If they were satisfied with what they'd got, they may even be preparing to flee. In either case, it was better to know what the bandits were up to than not.

Thus, he volunteered himself. "Give me a 'mo, and I'll get you some info," he told Regan, then disappeared into the nearest shadow. He moved from tree to tree in short bursts of teleportation, ensuring he always landed silently on a branch high up, using the existent spots of darkness to conceal his presence.

It took a few minutes, but Cyrus did return to the party with some intel. "Scouts here and there, an advance party of five over yonder," he pointed in several directions. "Could be more," he warned. Then, he added, "Camp's likely thataway, farther to the back." He vaguely swept an arm towards the south-west, where he believed the bandits he'd seen had come from.

 

[Jin]

He listened for a moment as the man retorted. The Bloodsworn closed his eyes and failed to correct the probable misconception that had been made: that Jin was assigning value to the Landers. Better to keep such thoughts to himself. This company seemed like the sort who might not appreciate his sentiments. These, people who wanted to protect something, or who made the distinction between Landers and Travelers. The only one who might not find what he had to say offense was Her Majesty.

The words that came from @Cyrus Sylvester however, did manage to win him some points with Jin. "Does it matter?" "No," he murmured, mostly to himself, "I suppose not." He smiled mirthlessly, eyes still shut as he dismissed the Beastman offhand.

Between @Alonso Thorlion and @Toko the conversation was mostly covert, considerations about their fair-weather ally the Bat Beastwoman. They were unsure what she might do, or if her words were idle. With some experience regarding @Regan , he understood the desire for caution. She had given every reason to believe she was that volatile.

"Energetic, isn't she?" he asked, offering a half smile and opening his eyes slightly as he walked briskly past the pair of them, his words disarming. "I wouldn't worry, though," he added after a moment. "Since the event has triggered, we're bound to happen into some bandits to entertain her soon enough."

This was a perfect opportunity to throw attention away from himself and get others to focus on their surroundings, and everything else- the things he said, rather than what his intentions might be, predominantly. Jin was not worried about what the bandits might do, or where they were.

Nonetheless, the Beastman Cyrus brought that information back with him.

"...as if on cue," he chuckled.

 

[Alonso Thorlion]

Sighing, he raised a hand towards @Toko and shook his head. "You're fine, calm down. So long as we can focus on this bandit problem and get at each others' throats things should work out. Just pay attention to what's going on." He tried to drown out the constant tirade of the bat woman, her ramblings worse than someone who thought writing a serial killer in fiction was about threatening violence to everyone in their vicinity. After this event was over the Felis considered logging off and getting a beer. And he avoided alcohol like each bottle was a miniature Azog.

In a way, he figured he put up with more annoying people in his time, but @Regan was one of the worst from this initial encounter.

One of the other beastfolk in the group, @Cyrus Sylvester , took it upon themselves to take on Regan's request to scout the area. If anything, the giant of a Felis held pity for the guy. Any news was likely triggering to the point of another rant. But once @Jin spoke up, Alonso's ears perked as he looked at the other man.

Damn that spooked him. "Honestly if we weren't dealing with the current problems regarding this game I would've been tempted to let her go at this alone. Of course, reality is a bitch and a half sometimes," Alonso said to Jin. He did not know this guy, but so far he was another person that likely had a more sensible head given there was no rushing forward wanting to cut people up. Soon enough, once more his thoughts were interrupted as Cyrus returned.

Alonso's gaze veered off his group for the moment, looking around in case the bandits decided to take initiative. For every set of dumb bandits, there were smarter ones waiting to get the jump on someone. Especially those trying to stop the gang. Being unfamiliar with the player, as well as the player's opinions, he gave a quick glance towards @Akiva just in case. It was better to make sure at least everyone was doing alright.

 

[Gutsy Ironvolt]

With Cyrus having scouted the area, the group could now make an attack plan. Unfortunately, one loud woman, in particular, had no mind to wait around for everyone to make up their minds on how best to deal with the current situation.

Regan looked at Cyrus with a nod that seemed equal parts appreciative and annoyed that she had needed to rely on someone else. Unsheathing her blades, Regan turned to the other members of their group and smiled.

"WELL THEN, IT LOOKS LIKE OUR QUARRY IS FOUND! TO BE HONEST, I DON'T REALLY CARE WHAT THE HELL THE REST OF YOU DO, I'M CHARGING STRAIGHT FORWARD AND RIGHT AT THEM. I WANT TO SEE THEM SCREAMING IN TERROR AS I CLEAVE THROUGH THEM! WHO KNOWS THOUGH, MAYBE I'LL LEAVE SOME STRAGGLERS FOR THE REST OF YOU, DON'T BLAME ME IF THEY'RE MISSING LIMBS THOUGH!"

Unfurling her wings, Regan lifted off into the air.

"FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW, MY NAME IS REGAN, VAMPIRE, SWORDSWOMAN, AND FUTURE VAMPIRE QUEEN! HAHAHA! LET'S SEE IF ANY OF YOU CAN KEEP UP WITH ME, DON'T WORRY IF YOU DON'T SEE ME, JUST FOLLOW THE SCREAMS AND TRAIL OF BLOOD! HAHAHA!"

Flying off in the direction Ru had pointed, Regan readied her weapons. She was intent on taking the whole group down herself though whether she actually could was something else entirely. Now it was up to the group to either charge after Regan, devise their own plan, or even maybe just go home.

@Alonso Thorlion @Jin @Cyrus Sylvester @Toko @Akiva

 

[Toko]

.
.

While the Lepus wasn't inclined to act when a self proclaimed vampiress queen was ordering someone else did spur into action, Cyrus managing to pick up enough information that could have lead to well planned attack... if Regan hadn't just fully given up the element of surprise with her loud proclamations.

"Energetic, isn't she?"
"You could definitely say that..."

The rabbit sighed, the exasperation she was feeling almost palpable now, before her eyes widened in surprise as a pair of bat wings suddenly unfurled from Regan's back. Before they knew it the blonde was already flying full speed ahead towards the direction Cyrus had pointed out for the camp, a resigned look given to @Alonso Thorlion before the Lepus shrugged her shoulder.

"Guess we better go after her... we don't know if the bandits might've kidnapped villagers or not during their raid after all."

With the seemingly one track mind of the bat beastfolk Toko doubted she'd pay much attention to the finer details, the Lepus activating the Investigation mode on her UI before Toko bounded off in the same direction that Regan had flown into.

@Regan @Cyrus Sylvester @Jin @Akiva @Alonso Thorlion