In Search of a Killer [Q]

Quest Details: Link
Quest LFG: Link

Participants: @Claire Thalassa @Eleanor Loan @Eldhi
Party Method: Beginner's Cave
---

So... a bunch of self-righteous scum decided to plague the Brisshal Forest, huh? Delusional fools who thought they were doing the world a favor by murdering innocent people, player or no, these pricks fooling themselves with a perceived noble cause whereas their true intent was petty robbery. Perhaps also a sense of twisted satisfaction driven by pretentious urges to assert their pitiful sense of superiority over others. Disgusting, utterly deplorable. There was no honor in assaulting those who couldn't defend themselves, these so-called Player Killers should pick someone of their own level, a fair one-on-one duel but of course, their courage was a tiny pebble compared to the Goliath boulder that was their ego.

This affront to law and order must not be allowed to continue. As such, Saber had received permission from her Mistress, the Arch-Vampire Vermillion, to pay these killers a visit. In addition, Verm ordered her to collect any Prism Shards she found along the way, the usual really. Doable, she could search around the murderers' ill-gained stash for the shards, once they all lay dead at her feet of course.

---

After arriving in Brisshal through the portal opened by the demon rose growing out of her right shoulder-blade, Eldhi found out that a Quest to hunt the wannabe Jack-the-Ripper was already put up and quite popular among the players, both veterans and newbies. She supposed it couldn't hurt to join a party, Eldhi was aware that conviction alone wouldn't be enough to combat a threat, one needed actual tangible power and to err on the side of caution, she'd better tackle this task with a team. A pack would hunt better than a lone wolf.

Soon enough, she joined herself into an open party invitation, together with two other players, making it a total of three. Her teammates were the reliable sort, in fact, the navy blue-haired 'Eleanor' was a far more experienced player than herself. An expert Arcanamancer, proficient hunter and alchemist, excellent.

The snow-haired woman with icy blue eyes, Claire, was no slouch either, a quarterstaff martial fighter with the power of water, also trained in the clandestine art of subterfuge. While Eldhi found the last skill to be in poor taste as criminals and thieves often honed the craft, she couldn't doubt the intricacies involved in detecting traps, moving stealthily, and unlocking stubborn doors.

Arriving at the agreed rendezvous point, just in front of a cavern thought to be one of the killer's many ambush locations, it seemed she was the first to do so. "Hmm..." Her companions should be arriving soon. Thus, Eldhi decided to wait, resting herself against a nearby tree with her arms crossed on her breastplate, alert for any signs of movements.

 

Finally! As much as the stern, analytical character was a tough personality to experience uncontrollable excitement, she could not resist a subtle giddiness swelling in her gut. The discovery of the duty had profound effects on her. It seemed that, for the first time since she had joined the game, there was a mission so... Up her alley? Like a request from the heavens, she could at last do some detective work. Lovely.

Before placing out the open party invitation, which @Eldhi would come to accept, Eleanor had sent a message to her previous associate @Claire Thalassa. The two, after their previous meeting, were under an agreement to make contact with the other if one were to find something of interest. This quest was more than interesting to the detective, and she hastily messaged her previous companion:

"Seems to be some shady things going on in Brisshal. Something about a player killer. If you would like to check it out, I will link my coordinates below." The text based message was concise, as Eleanor felt no reason to needlessly lengthen it. Her information regarding the task was minimal, and leads were less than substantial.

Arriving, it seems that the stranger who would be accompanying her was already present. The silver haired individual sported a full set of heavy equipment. Still distrustful of anyone she had yet to meet, Eleanor carefully examined the female's posture and manners, and would continue to do so, as she begun a simple, introductory interaction between them.

"I'm Eleanor." She cut the silence, approaching with assertion. The detective, having lost her hat and original coat, as she had begun her initial journeys with, sported a white collar shirt. This garment ran down her torso, leading to the top of her pants. Over her shoulders, across her arms, and hanging down by her sides, a long, loose, sky blue cardigan dangled from her figure. Her outfit was at the brink of being 'grandmother fashion', but at least it was comfortable, and functioned quite well. "It is nice to meet you."

"We will be working together on this, hm?" She filled the empty space of interaction with a quiet statement, slipping her free hand into a hanging, open pocket on the side of her cardigan. "Well, let's see if we can bring some justice to this situation." Turning her face up towards her company, she flashed a brief, careful smile, before her visage grew more serious, turning away and towards the mouth of the cave.

Once Claire arrived, there was business to get down to.

 

Receiving Eleanor's message was a bit of a relief. Hearing from the other woman was reassuring, even after getting a reply after the entire Azog fiasco.

"Certainly," she wrote back. "Will be there soon."

The coordinates were a great help as Claire wasn't quite familiar with this area of Brisshal, so she did get turned around rather frequently. One part of the forest looked very much like another, and so when she finally arrived at the cave, it looked like she was the last one there.

As she approached the two figures who looked to be engaged in light conversation, she recognized @Eleanor Loan quickly, but @Eldhi was new to her. She gave a smile and nod to her friend.

"Eleanor, it's good to see you again." It looked like she had lost her distinctive hat somewhere along the way, but seemed otherwise unruffled. "I'm glad to see that you're safe."

She turned and offered another smile to the stranger. "Apologies for my tardiness. It appears that I may have to work on my navigation skills. I'm Claire, pleasure to meet you."

Accepting a party invitation that was offered to her, Claire quickly skimmed over Eldhi's information. She seemed to be aiming to become a holy knight of some sort. Not exactly uncommon, in a game like this. If it was genuine, then the pseudo-chivalrous attitude may come in handy for this particular quest.

"Someone has been killing other players?" Claire asked, quickly checking to make sure that she was understanding the situation correctly. She hadn't heard about it before, but then again she hadn't been as active on Terrasphere as of late. Too many things to write and check over in the real world. But she supposed that such a thing would happen in a game like this. Perhaps someone with delusions of grandeur, or acting out some rather twisted escapist fantasies. Regardless of the reason, it was better to get to the bottom of this immediately and cut it off before it escalated any further.

Claire looked towards the cavern. She had heard of the Beginner's Cave before, though she had not actually gone through the gauntlet herself. Such a place certainly sounded like it would be a favourite haunt of a player killer who was looking for weak targets. Already there were a few under-equipped players materializing around them, looking to test themselves. Not as many as she would have expected. But if the rumors of the player killer had gotten around, then Claire supposed that the relative quiet was only natural.

 

Moments later, a member of her party arrived. The veteran Arcanamancer clad in a white shirt, a curious choice of fashion as it reminded Eldhi of the real world, the world which fascinated Mistress, the world where all players hailed from. The clothes must be tailor-made as Terrasphere shared little in terms of fashion with modern-era Earth. Rather out of place but Eldhi didn't care, as long as the detective would do her part, the knight would do hers.

"Greetings, Eleanor." The slightly shorter female diagonally crossed one arm on her chest then gave a knightly bow "I am Eldhi Arc. Yes, we will begin our investigation once the third and last party member arrived. Agreed, we shall not suffer the psychopaths to live.", it seemed the detective wanted to keep this strictly professional, understandable, Eldhi wished for the same thing. The matter of serial killers running rampant mustn't be taken lightly. Should there ever be the need for merriment and bonding, it would be after all the murderers were put to the sword. Then again, Eldhi was under orders to return as soon as possible, especially if she found any prism shards. So... she'd see.

Then, the fellow white-haired girl arrived and... it looked like she and the detective knew each other. Now that Eldhi thought about it, the open party invitation already had two members in it, she was actually the last one that completed the trio. It'd make sense for them to be established acquaintances. "It is no trouble, we didn't wait long. I'm Eldhi, an honor to work with the two of you." Eldhi sighed, she wanted to get all these pleasantries over with and get to work already. The longer they spent dallying, the more lives were at stake.

"Yes, we don't know if it's an individual or a group. However, one thing for sure, all of their reported victims so far have been players." Eldhi answered Claire's question as she opened her palm menu, reading the reports on the situation so far, "They strike from the shadows, never giving the players even a chance to fight fair. Cowardly scum they are. We should do upon them what they had done to their victims. The moment we see them..." Eldhi took a deep breath, her red eyes glowering with zealous hatred, "We shall show them no mercy." That said, Eldhi began marching into the cave, "Let us enter, I will take point. Should any hostile decide to rear their ugly head, I will tank the assault for us."

---

Entering into the beginner's cave, there was nothing out of place for the first corridors and chambers, just a few adventuring newbies happily testing out their mettle against the beginner monsters such as slimes and goblins here. All seemed to be fine...

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!!"

Until a bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the corridors, coming from the cavernous chamber not too far ahead. Once the party arrived there...

 

Eleanor turned to face the arrival of @Claire Thalassa. Bowing her head, she smiled in greeting to the familiar face. Though these were not normal terms that friends often met upon, they were quite regular for the detective. Pursuing a lead, chasing a murderer. What a fantastic idea for fun. While a piece of her girlishly chuckled at the thought, another piece despised this. Lives were at stake. This was not an opportunity for fun, but an opportunity for justice.

"It is good to see you as well, Claire." She nodded, before turning back to the one less known. She spoke of brutal retaliation against the perpetrator. Her words foretold a violent justice, perhaps something she was fantasizing as she spoke of it. It was not the sort of thing that Eleanor often strove for, but it could work. Of course, it would also make them as much murderers as well, but she would cross that road if they came upon it.

"Lovely." Eleanor responded, shifting her gaze so that it landed upon @Eldhi, as she spoke of fulfilling the role of tank. It was a godsend, having someone to brunt blows int he place of her, and a lovely idea not often realized. The detective was thankful for this still somewhat vague individual's presentation.

Following along into the cave, Eleanor kept her hands in her pockets, only briefly pulling one out to activate her talismans. The three, crimson paper charms levitated in to the air, one floating in front of her, with the other two on either flank. She observed as players conducted their usual activities. While this world was so realistic, it seemed that many new players still took to the tedious grind of most MMO's. It was something that Eleanor dismissed upon spawning in, but perhaps there was some things to be learned from it. After all--

A scream? Eleanor's eyes scanned the surroundings as her ears honed in to the location of the screech. Spotting a rather distraught young woman fleeing from a corner of the cave above, the woman in blue dashed over, ignoring the stranger to pursue whatever had caused her such fright.

The stench was the first thing the realized. Then, it as the blood, leaking out like a water balloon with a hole in it. There was a body, lifeless and rotting. Reaching a hand up to the back of her head, Eleanor took a deep breath, running her fingers through the back of her hair. In front of her laid the vivid image of a murdered player. Just knowing that someone had suffered the pain of that end sent shivers down her spine.

"Judging from the smell and the sight..." Eleanor detailed, as her companions hopefully come along. "He's been dead for a while." Giving an awkward smirk, she nervously giggled, shooting her glance towards Claire. There always seemed to be blood spilled when the two me.

 

All introductions done, it was time to head into the cave. @Eldhi took point, which was helpful. She seemed the type to be able to take a good hit or two, and though Claire wasn't expecting much in the way of combat, being vigilant never hurt anyone. On the very small chance that they ran into the killer, though...

@Eleanor Loan's red talismans hovered in the air around her--those looked new. Claire didn't have much in the way of fancy tricks, but she toggled her stealth on. It muffled her footsteps somewhat, so they wouldn't echo as much throughout the caverns. While journeying together with Eldhi and her metal armor, it wouldn't do much to mask their presence as a group, but it was something.

The scream was unexpected, though. Eleanor was off like a bolt, running towards the source. Claire cursed beneath her breath as she swapped out of stealth mode so she wouldn't fall too far behind. She hadn't expected to run into a hostile situation so quickly.

Claire had once found a dead rat wedged into a crack in the stairwell of her old block of flats in London. The stench was what alerted her before anything else. This situation was very much the same, on a far larger scale.

"Seems about right," she said, grimacing. It didn't seem to be the work of one of the monsters of this cave. From where she was standing--quite a ways away from the body, getting closer was not something she was intending on doing anytime soon--it looked like the killing blow was a large chest wound. It looked as if part of the unfortunate man's torso had been gouged out.

It reminded her of the festival dedicated to Ahra that she and Eleanor had attended. Back then, she didn't get too close a glimpse of the outcome of human sacrifice. Looks like she wasn't as fortunate this time.

"No blood elsewhere in this area," Claire said. "That means that the killer most likely hadn't transported the body here in an attempt to hide it." She frowned, anxiously drumming her fingers against her staff. "If the body's been left for this long, then I don't think we'll find any direct witnesses. We should look around here in case the killer left behind any hints, and then head over to the Morgue. The next time this player logs in, he'll wake up there so we can ask him some questions."

Her suggestion given, she looked up to see whether her party members agreed.

 

Eldhi's sharp gaze kept watch of the dark corridors, left palm opened as an orb of light floated just above it, providing better visibility for the party members. Additionally, should any hostile party decided to attack them, Eldhi would the most visible and the first to gather attention, allowing Eleanor's floating talismans to do their work and the stealthy Claire to strike unhindered. They were ready for anything.

A scream, a wail of nothing but pure terror. "Hmm?!" Eldhi turned to the general direction of the sound. The white-haired Knight brandished her longsword, the blade glowing with searing Illuminant edge, as the loud high-pitched voice echoed throughout the cavern corridors. So, the murderer decided to strike now. Making sure to keep herself close to Eleanor who decided to take the lead. An adventurer clad in blue ran the opposite direction, horror gripping her visage, she was the would-be victim, huh? Then the murderer must be close! Good, she wouldn't let them claim another innocent!

---

They soon arrived at an opening and... no, they were too late? "Tch..." Eldhi clicked her tongue in annoyed rage as she took in the sight of an adventurer's corpse laying there, no sign of the murderer they had been searching for. How could they strike so swift without leaving any trace? This was out of her expertise. Fortunately, her companions fared better in pulling deductions from the body. "I see." So the adventurer wasn't a fresh victim and the woman from before was scared shitless after seeing a dead body, the murderer had obviously left some time ago.

"Hmph." Keeping her blade unsheathed just in case something came up, Eldhi took the overwatch duty while Eleanor and Claire examined the corpse. Still, she listened to what they had to say, "Those petty murderers... no different than rabid beasts. Very well, go search around for any hints while I keep watch for any sign of hostilities. You never know with felons like these..." A sound plan, while they were here, might as well look for clues, then, they could ask the player once he resurrected, "Assuming he would return to the game after experiencing this." It wouldn't be surprising if he ended up thinking TS was some kind of scam and ditch it entirely.

@Eleanor Loan @Claire Thalassa

 

Eleanor crouched in front of the corpse, letting her elbows rest at her knees, as she entered investigation mode. The scene unnerved her, but there for the time being, there was more important things than her personal comfort. Glancing over the body, she examined the wound, as well as the damp blood surrounding it.

"Good idea, Claire." The detective nodded. Her friend was right. "Someone should keep track of his information so that we might be able to get in contact with him in the future." Sighing, the sight was quite a poor one. She hoped that his death had not been a painful one.

Her glance flickering to her surroundings, she noticed something. A little black something dangling from one of the rocks. Stepping towards it, moving over the corpse, she positioned herself just in front of it, pinching it off of the wall and carefully examining it. It appeared to be some sort of dark cloth. Returning her gaze to the carcass, Eleanor squinted. It did not appear to be part of his garments, although... It could be a lead, or it could be nothing. Shrugging, Eleanor dutifully slipped the potentially evident piece into her pocket.

"Let us not discount, perhaps these are not mindless killings." She noted, slipping her hands idly into her pockets, as she extended her knees to stand up. "Just as we observed previously," Eleanor shifted her gaze towards Claire, "Sacrifices are not the most obscure concurrences." Turning her eyes to Eldhi, she continued. "And during the Azog incident, a sacrifice was required. There may be a chance these killings are part of something much more influential. We should proceed from this point on with great caution, as not to become one with the deceased." A hand reached out, motioning to the corpse among them.

"Much of this is still..." Pursing her lips, she glanced towards the exit of their cornered area, as a few of the nearby players comforted the distressed girl who had fled from the scene. Squinting her eyes, Eleanor attempted to get a grasp on the stranger's character, and whether the stranger could be the murderer. "A mystery."

@Claire Thalassa @Eldhi

 

"I'll do that, then," Claire offered, bringing up her palm menu to add the victim's details.

There wasn't a way to register his actual information unless he agreed to a request. Which, considering the fact that he was very much dead, obviously couldn't happen. Claire sighed and just added him to a tracker under the name 'Killer Victim - Beginner's Cave', along with his general appearance. She'd make a visit to the Morgue after, and her UI would hopefully mark him out the next time she saw him.

It wouldn't be of much help if he decided to change his appearance upon reviving, as she had heard some people do. It definitely wouldn't help if he decided to just never log in again, as Eldhi brought up. If one of her first encounters in the game was getting murdered by another player--rather horribly, judging from the large puddle of blood and the jagged wound--Claire wasn't sure if she would return.

...Well no, that was a lie. Basically her entire career hinged on Terrasphere at this point. But yes, if she was just a normal person with no attachments to the game, then getting slaughtered would definitely be a deal breaker.

Like Eleanor, she brought up her Investigation Mode. There wasn't much to see here, especially considering the fact that she had no fancy additions to it the way many other masteries could add onto the scan. So, she didn't find anything that Eleanor had not spotted.

Once that was done, there really wasn't much else to do. She listened to Eleanor's theory about the possibility that the murders were not just random. "Perhaps," she agreed. Though it probably made things much more dangerous if there was an actual purpose behind the killings. That implied that there was planning involved. And anyone who committed multiple murders would no doubt have considered the fact that many people would be on the lookout for them.

"There wasn't much information in this cave. I assume that there are others investigating this as well, considering that Trinity had put out this request to all players. We should compare notes with them."

Thrown die:

19

@Pandora