[Bounty] Flower Power!

Hidden: Quest Details

Difficulty: ★★★★ (out of 6)
Requirement: 3-4 posts per person to complete.
Party Size: 2

Location: Pormont
Season: Summer

A group of amateur Malefimancy students of had gotten drunk and accidently sacrificed one of their friends and completed a demonic summoning ritual as a joke. Unbeknown to them, they were able to actually complete the process and summoned 5 Thistle-dream Alraunes.

Given their craftiness, these insidiously sentient demonic flowers burrowed themselves into the cracks and crannies within the castle and began dispersing their pollens everywhere, producing nasty illusions that has turned the entire castle mad. You are called by Falderen to vanquish these foes.

Thistle-dream Alraunes: Incredibly lethal hell-spawn flowers that disperse invasive pollen that feed the victim either incredible fantasy or absolutely hellish visions of their worst nightmare. One cannot do anything to stop this effect other than mentally combating the illusion and pray to last long enough until one finds the flowers and slay them. They also use their illusion to turn allies against one another.

To sustain themselves, these plants will often spread their root all over their dead victim’s body to sap their liquefied inside; one corpse can last the flower for over a year.

Mind-controlled Malefimancers: These amateur magic practitioners are completely under the Thistle-dream Alraunes’ control. They roam the hall of the castles, killing anyone who comes nears in order to feed their dark floral masters.

RULES

• Each of the player must use [dice*]d100[/dice*] in their first 3 posts (per person).
  
  
• Each group needs a combined roll of 440+ in 6 rolls. +5 to your roll per tier of your highest mastery (starting from novice). If you have Phantasmia, then you get +10 per tier instead of +5 (but only if you use Phantasmia instead of your highest mastery; this is an exception to the rule).
  
  
• If you get 440+ then you can simply finish with 3 posts for each person. You can optionally do a short exit post.
  
  
• If you get below a 440, you may continue your bounty. However, each of you must roll 2 d100. [dice*]2xd100[/dice*], that is the damage you will take. -5 for each piece of armor per tier you have. This damage is actually what your partner is dealing to you because the pollen had made you turn on one another.
  
  
• You can choose to forfeit the bounty and the reward at any time to stay alive.
  
  
• If only one person forfeited the bounty. The person who remains may try and finish the bounty by themselves, but have to make up for their partner's missing posts.
  
  
• Minimum of 300 words per post.
  
  
• Once completed, one person from each group should post here tagging themselves and their partner for the reward.

OBJECTIVES

• Kill 1 Thistle-dream Alraunes
• AND 2-3 Mind-controlled Malefimancers

SPECIAL REWARD

• Reputation with Falderen
• 60 gp per person

|| @Jack Anders ||| Pormont Bounty Quest ||| Alphabet Chocolate & Jack Anders vs Malefimancers & Alraune ||

Flower Power!

​

Alphabet Chocolate

@Jack Anders ;33333333 quest? ;33333333

Alpha grinned at the next reply which came mere seconds after she had tagged the man. The man wasted no time in accepting and, with that, Alpha cheered. Pumping her fist up to meet with the sky (or as far as she could reach). As of now, she was hoping that they'd meet on the outskirts of the castle where the bounty was supposed to be taking place. She had traveled quite a bit from Brisshal to Pormont with Luna irritatingly hopping up and down (although cute, it had gotten less so when she jabbed Alpha with curled toenails by accident) and Terry sniffing fishes near the streams and delaying their quest even more. It was a horror story getting there and Fish and Corn nearly died by getting eaten by a sleepwalking Juno. She really wished she had one of those McDonalds' Fish Fillets.

"Okay guys, just gotta wait for Jack and then we'd be all ready and we could fight flowers and evil magicians and a dragon!" she exclaimed, eagerness displaying brightly on her face. After their last quest together in Norforva against the pack of wolves (which she had gloriously saved!), Jack had been Alpha's go-to guy for quests and the like. Of course, she'd always choose Nalani first (since she had no idea where Aaron and Demps were) but safety for the older girl was not battling and, if there was anyone Alpha was okay with in getting injured, it would be Jack (she would never admit that she thought he was cool and that she only tagged along with him because she hoped that coolness would rub off on her).

Either way, she was excited to see what this journey would bring her. Was there treasure inside the ruins of this enveloped castle? Were there mutated tomatoes waiting to pop out?! Would Luna betray them for a piece of carrot? The possibilities were endless and she laid down, looking at the orange sky above, thinking about what-ifs and all sorts of fantastical items. She was blissfully unaware of any footsteps that may have resounded through the earthen floor and, slowly closing her eyes for a quick nap, would not notice anyone who would approach her.

Thrown die:

10

+20

 

Though not entirely sure why he had been called out again, Jack hadn’t hesitated on accepting the invitation. He found it strange however that the girl had called out to him specifically given the fact that they had a bit of a bruised and shocking past together when considering the trauma he had put Terry though. The man wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth however as it was difficult enough to complete any solo content on his own as a pure support. He’d gladly welcome any addition to damage output that’d expand his repertoire of completed content.

That said, he’d eventually meander over to the meeting location that the two had previously discussed and marked on the map. In typical fashion, he’d manage to arrive after Alphabet and her furry friends, granted that was partially due to the fact that he lacked any form of haste or gusto whatsoever. Knowing how the young girl functioned, he sort of worked on the assumption that she’d be waiting for him regardless of how soon or early she got there. That’s simply how Alphabet functioned – a single pace. Fast.

Though the man had read over the mission description earlier, he couldn’t help but remain a bit confused. The bounty had clearly stated that the duo were to kill three malefimancers and a corrupted plant creature. Would the girl be able to do so? If she wasn’t willing to, why sign up in the first place? It was this single fact that left him a bit disturbed as he prayed their adventure wouldn’t end in failure. Just from considering the context alone, it almost felt as if they had already gotten off to a bad start.


“Hey, wake up midget.” He’d plainly stroll up in the presence of the unsuspecting child before rousing her violently with a halfhearted chop to the head. “Bam. You’re dead.” Though he hadn’t really meant any harm by it, the dark haired man did have a point… She had chosen a rather poor location to nap given the dangers lurking about every corner.

@Alphabet Chocolate

Thrown die:

98

Result: +20

 

Terry tailed Jack as he approached, sniffing the man for any treats that consisted of fishy goodness. The others were all asleep, cuddling next to Alpha when a surprise chop landed on the back of her head and she jumped up, startled, with a yelp. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" she babbled, looking around with droopy eyes and a messy bed of hair decorated by yellowed blades of grass and twigs. She rubbed her eyes, her optical nerves getting used to the light before she recognized a blurry figure. "Huh?" she squinted, concentrating closer before the image slowly became clarified and, with hurrah, she bounced to her feet and shook her grumpy companions up. She pointed to Jack, Fish slithering up her body and wrapping himself on her pointed arm. "You took forever!" she whined, pouting. "And that's, like, the worst way to wake someone up! I need my beauty sleep, you know!"

She crossed her arms and looked away, hoping the action would make it be known to Jack that she was not at all happy. Well, until something clicked in her mind and her grudge was set aside for excitement. She jumped up and down, almost reaching Jack's neck as she did so, as she attempted to round up behind Jack and get a piggy-back ride that had avoided her the time before. "C'mon, you hit me so you have to gimme a piggy back ride!" she declared, no room for argument left in her tone. As she struggled to hop onto Jack's back, however, she smelled something distinct in the air and looked around before her eyes settled still on the castle.

"Is someone cooking pizza in there?" Alpha wondered aloud before grabbing Jack by his sleeve and attempting to pull him along into the building with her. She gestured for Terry and the rest to follow. "Hurry up, Jack!" she panted as she tried to drag Jack in full-force. "There's a quest in there and pizza or something! Or popcorn! Maybe chicken nuggets! We gotta hurry!"

@Jack Anders

Thrown die:

65

+20

 

The man let out an amused grunt as the antics had begun to unfold. Could he have everything his way, perhaps he’d just leave the girl asleep while proceeding on his own? Unfortunately such was the life of a support, always needing to drag a damage dealer in tow while babysitting them nonetheless. Instead the man would have to settle for a snarky remark while jabbing at the girl’s confidence with a quick comment. “Beauty sleep only preserves beauty… can’t lose whatcha don’t got.” Was it a bit harsh on his end to say that? Perhaps. Was it true? Most definitely. Should anyone else ask, especially the police, he’d make sure to repeat the same answer.

That said, the antics for piggybacks had resumed once more. With swift dedication to his gag, the man proceeded to swat her on the head once again with a gentle touch. There was a time and a place for anything and everything! Unfortunately now was not that time (nor any time in the near future for that matter)! “We’re here to kill shit, Alpha! Focus! Well, you’re here to kill shit. I’m here to make sure you don’t get killed.” He’d laugh once after correcting himself. As harsh as his assessment it seemed, it was more accurate than Jack would like to admit.

His curiosity was driven however upon listening to the girl rave about pizza. Fully aware of the hallucinatory effects described in the bounty listing, he’d place himself on high alert while being dragged closely behind the young girl. “Hold on a sec--" He’d find discontent quickly stifled however as they’d round the corner only to find themselves staring some strange figures dressed in robes. Were these men perhaps the malefimancers they were sent to eliminate? Most importantly, where was that heavenly smell coming from? Now that Jack found himself less distracted and had a moment to focus on their surroundings, he had noticed the scent as well.

@Alphabet Chocolate

Thrown die:

41

Result: +20

 

Alpha placed a hand on her chest as she bent her back backwards with a flourish. A look of exaggerated astonishment was on her face. "Excuse me?!" she sounded like she was trying to stifle a laugh. "I am just fabulous, you know! Voila, I am beauty personified! The only reason why I wouldn't need beauty sleep is because I'm just too wonderful and anything more would result in the apocalypse or something!"

The reaction had been late, the man's words having failed to sink in Alpha's brain after she had just awoken. Either way, most of his other remarks had gone by unnoticed (in one ear and out the other) and she instead decided, in the moments that followed her retort, that she should let bygones be bygones and the past be buried in the past. Something else had peaked her interest—a few robed figures that she quickly identified as her targets. Who else but creepy guys in weird cloaks used dark magic? Well, them and Merkaba but you could always tell there's something just odd and different about Merks. Kind of her scary charms, she guessed.

Then she sniffed the air, the aroma getting stronger. Her nose was lifted high like a dog searching for squirrel or a treat and a hunger gnawed at her. "Urgh! Who here is eating that buttered popcorn that you'd only get during movies or something?! Lucky!" she whined, mouth watering. Now she just had to find out whoever had a bucket of that delicious goodness, rip it out from their hand, and feel the crunch and salt around her tongue. Oh! That and kennel corn.

She snapped out of her thoughts as a ball of condensed darkness was shot her way, barely managing to dodge out of the way. It missed her by a hair's breadth and she shrugged sheepishly. "Haha, after we finish fighting these guys we should go find some popcorn to eat, right Jack? So hungry!" she grinned, gesturing to her stomach. "Anyways! Cavalletta!" at the word, a green grasshopper formed out of a wisp of magic popped up. It was a simple spell, one-worded and weak. The force of a single grasshopper. And then she said it again. And again. And again. Until there was an army of useless grasshoppers. She cackled madly as her menagerie looked away, embarrassed once again by her shenanigans. "Attack my servants!" she commanded, pointing at the hooded figures. All at once, the hundreds of grasshoppers jumped and annoyed the dazed men, doing nothing but being a distraction and awfully irritating. One of the boys simply flicked a grasshopper off, the bug dissipating into a green light. Alpha took a deep breath. Maybe she shouldn't have wasted quite some energy making an ineffectual militia? Regardless, what's done was done and she stared her adversaries down (as much as she could with the height difference destroying any real chance of intimidation).

"Oh well. Let's go get some popcorn!" she pulled Jack along yet again, hoping the grasshoppers would distract their enemies long enough for Jack and her to storm the castle and get some free popcorn. Before she made another step, however, she noticed a distinctly monstrous-looking flower a few ways ahead, camouflaged in a bed of green by the side of the castle. She pouted, pointing at it. "How did we not notice that? You think we can bribe it with popcorn?"

Thrown die:

51

+20

 

Though initially concerned by the appearance of the cultists, Jack’s unease quickly subsided upon watching the opposing party and his partner’s interactions. If he had to describe their exchange of words and spells… comical was perhaps the best way to bundle it all neatly together? Despite the hostile bolt being sent forth to strike the young girl dead, it appeared as though their aim was rather bad. The man speculated that perhaps it was an adverse event from the corrupted plant life. It made sense at the very least. A flower that induced hallucinations would perhaps distort vision as well, ruining any sense of aim that these malefimancers possibly had prior to their exposure.

What struck the man as even more confounding however was Alphabet’s approach to dealing with these strange men. As grasshopper after grasshopper had slowly been conjured, he’d shake his head with disbelief while disapproving of her methods. In the corner of his eye, the man witnessed her energy bar dropping significantly… all while nothing really happened to their enemies. It was a mild nuisance at best. “Seriously?... God, it’s like I’ve gotta do everything.” He’d let out a heavy sigh while turning to her woodland friends as if pleading for a bit of assistance.

“Ah screw it, I’ve got this. At least I think I do…” Pausing a moment to mutter an incantation, he’d quickly begin purifying the area the cultists stood upon. Given how the wolves had reacted in their last encounter, Jack felt that perhaps similar methods were usable considering how deeply rooted the dark magic had taken over these apprentices. As expected, the three figures were washed in a wave of light that slowly purged their essence from this world. With enough time… only three empty cloaks remained, crumpled and scattered across the ground.

He’d let out a sigh of relief before his attention was quickly grabbed by the midget at his side. “Uhh… Yeah… sure. Maybe if you flavor the popcorn to taste like human?” It appeared as though there was still work to be done. “Got an idea? You’re the stabby go get em person, not me, right?...”

@Alphabet Chocolate

Thrown die:

46

Result: +20

Combined Total: 431 - Mission theoretically accomplished! (We need to kill the flower and then we can wrap it up!)

 

Alpha tilted her head at the empty cloaks that laid on the ground. Then she slammed her fist on an open palm, eyes widened in serendipity. "Oh! I get it!" she exclaimed, proud of herself for deducing the entire scenario on her own. "They're all zombie-ghosts!"

And then a mischievous smirk bloomed on her face, showing her intentions clear and wide to the world. She turned to look at Jack. Then she gestured to the flower. Terry and the rest were confused by her action. Slowly, she began to explain. "If they were zombie-ghosts...then how do they exist? Well, Alphabet Chocolate is on the case and has a super awesome answer for you! That flower you see over there is actually an alien flower from a distant planet and it came over here to invade with its zombie-ghost army! And then it sends signals that smell like popcorn so all the other zombie-ghost-aliens know where to land with their UFOs which is shaped like that castle over there!" she pointed to the castle. "And then they're gonna replace all the government guys with zombie-ghost-alien-lizards and then they'll conquer our place and they'll take all our popcorn away since that's favorite food! The plot has been discovered, Jack!" she grinned, giving herself a pat on the back for her excellent solution. This was the reason why she got a scratch-and-sniff sticker in first grade, you know.

Standing resolutely and determined, much more than she should be after proclaiming such outlandish things, she waved her hand back and forth, eyes set on the flower. She cocked her head back to meet Jack's eyes for a couple of seconds. "Watch this!" and then she turned back, green magic flowing through her arms and concentrating on her palm as a conduit. With her other hand, she flicked open the spell screen before selecting a spell. "Mangiare!"

A green glow was around the demonic flower and, with a snap of her fingers, a beautiful garden of aromatic flowers bloomed full-force. The spell was simple and didn't do much to deplete Alpha's diminishing energy reserves and so she proudly introduced Jack to the sight of fresh blooms and grasshoppers. "Now the aliens won't see the flower so we're all safe!" she proudly beamed as Terry had an indescribable look on his face. Then, demanding, she attempted to get up on Jack's back. "Piggy-back ride?" she asked, eyes shining.

@Jack Anders

 

“God damnit, Alpha.” The man could only let out a groan of discontent as he’d shake his head wearily while karate chopping the girl on the head with a knife hand. This was absolutely nuts. Her explanation aside, the fact that she thought she could cover this popcorn smell by using more flowers when the entire thing was one giant, headache of a hallucination was even more confusing! It was as if she didn’t use her brain at all. Hell, forget using it. It was as if she didn’t have a brain to begin with!

“No, no, no, no, no! We need to KILL the flower. Not give it more friends to corrupt.” Having his hand frantically at the plant beast, he’d motion for Terry and the others to step in. He wasn’t expecting much assistance however on their end. Instead, the man reached furiously into his inventory in order to procure a torch. Without warning, he’d light the stick up while hurling it angrily at the bed flowers. They’d quickly ignite, serving as fuel for a much greater blaze that would soon engulf the monstrosity while.

Given a minute or two, the quest notification would sound off, indicating a completion of the bounty’s objectives. And with that? He’d simply storm off angrily after smacking the girl on the head a third time.

OOC: We're done! /exit