Private - Mountain Mystery

A village suffering from a food shortage called for help. Naturally, Comet's sympathy got the best of her. Villagers always seemed to be going through some sort of plight. The Archer could easily access resources they desired. So? She did what she could to help them out despite most being complete strangers. Though she hadn't traveled in the area much before the impact of being poor seemed widespread. Especially in such a small and vulnerable community. Her mind traveled to the images of Astorean villagers begging for assistance after the war, and being frequently raided. Why kick the helpless down when they were already on their knees? It seemed that anyone who passed by would notice how the location lacked proper maintenance. That the people residing within makeshift homes were too tired, and without hope. Comet certainly tipped the greedy scale from time to time. These acts of kindness almost redeemed her in a way. Dragging mountain region animals proved more than difficult. Therefore, the young woman couldn't do much.

However, her curiosity was piqued when those who she could recognize around the village disappeared. Food lasted longer as less and less people returned home before nightfall. She didn't care much for other people, but the situation seemed too suspicious to pass up. Others noticed as well. They put up signs to draw adventurers in. To gain further aid now for far more different reasons. Solving this mystery, these kidnappings, turned into a priority among the people in the community.

Emerald eyes fell upon the two females who offered support. Comet felt uneasy going on such a hunt alone. Three brains would be better than one anyways, right? She effortlessly curled her lips into a friendly, welcoming grin. Sincere gratefulness softened her expression. The pink-haired woman placed both hands on slim hips with a clear confidence before speaking. "During my stay in the Hylands these villagers let me live with them, and provided shelter. They're kind people I think we should help. Lately, kidnappings have been so severe they won't even leave and the population is being cut down quickly. I'll need you two to help me find out what's going on. Which I'm guessing is what you're here for. Up for the challenge?" she winked playfully, as if testing their willingness to proceed.

Surely anyone would be afraid to solve such a haunting mystery in a place of such danger and foreign sights. Comet's anxieties plagued her mind. The two would have to prove themselves to her before she could rest. Even then, it'd never go away. Nor would a silent fear of judgment in being a leader. Comet certainly wouldn't step up to that position while in a group. Not again. "I'm Comet, just so you know."

@Portia Ahrens @Destiny Divebird

 

If there was something that interested the person behind the character, Lucille, it was a good and healthy dose of mystery.

Looking past all the reasons that the cheerful woman standing before her had just listed, what truly made it worth her time was the sights of the place surrounding them and the reason why these people had gone missing, not the people themselves. She was an adventurer at heart, curious and determined to find the answers she sought on her own.

After quite a few minutes in which she quieted her riotous thoughts in order to finally reply to the pink-haired stranger, Portia found herself averting her gaze to any and all possible starting points she could identify for their investigation, going as far as to even lift two fingers to her temples. In cases like these, Investigation Mode always proved to be a blessing one wished they possessed on their outer life. A half-smile played on her lips as she turned to the other player, arching her eyebrows at the sudden mention of a challenge. ''Yes, quite. Should we prepare food or any of the sort beforehand or do you think we'll come back soon?''

However unintentionally, the woman tilted her head to a side as she spoke, allowing the two females a peek at the little piece of cloth she used to hide her missing ear. ''Name's Portia Ahrens,'' the woman responded with a light shrug of her shoulders while she reached out her right hand for a handshake, making her gauntlets disappear if only for a brief moment. Should Comet choose to accept the greeting, she'd find the woman's grip to be somewhat firm, yet welcoming enough as to not mislead any of her temporary companions into believing her motives to be hostile. Quite the contrary, actually.

Turning to the other person she already knew from quite the experience at the Inverted Spire, her features warmed immediately at the sight of someone familiar. Portia was a first-hand witness to the raven-haired player's combat skills, as well as how she always managed to stay level-headed despite the situation they found themselves in. ''Hello to you too, I believe we have already met, no?'' The rose-colored lips bloomed into a full smile, revealing the playful intent behind the words she spoke.

It wasn't in her best regards never to trust anyone who she came in contact with, but a part of her couldn't help it after the betrayal she'd suffered from the other aristocrats at the Bandit King's castle. They had taught her that much.

Deep inside, however, she hoped these two would prove her wrong.

 

No surprise the Explorer’s League had to collect so many funds to even think about sending an expedition through the mountainous region—anything beyond the village Destiny had been called to was damn near like scaling the Himalayas, for cryin' out loud. Hell, Destiny could only imagine the type of lifestyle people had to adopt to live out here. She was lucky she had a comfy RV with a working parking brake and a space heater to sign back out to.

“Destiny Divebird, reporting for duty.” The dark-haired ranger gave a little salute to the other two women in the newly-formed party, lips quirking as a wry grin threatened to overtake her composure. “Mm! Sorry to hear the Hylands are in such a tough spot. Seems like a lotta places’ve been left pretty high and dry lately out here.” Somehow, despite the dire circumstances, the black-haired woman seemed relaxed. She reached out a furry black glove to shake hands as an almost-lazy afterthought, all fuzz and no firmness. “Gotcha. @Comet it is.”

Destiny attempted to wink back at Comet out of sheer obligation (y’know, the way you had to say “good, how are you?” when someone asked “how are you?” Wink and wink-back, right?) and finally let her light eyes slide over to good ol’ @Portia Ahrens. Thank god—the one-eared girl’s playful introduction filled Destiny with nothing more romantic or volatile than a sense of relief. Good. Things are still solid. Hell, last thing she wanted was some kinda drama in the middle of solving kidnappings and food crises.

“Aw, Portia!” Des screwed up her face playfully, resting her hands on the back of her head. “C’mon, don’t be like that! And I was all glad to see you n' everything.” That wry grin finally did make its way to her lips and the tall Yladian rubbed at her jaw, glad as hell the brawler didn’t seem hung-up over anything like A. Des bolting away from a monster in the fog and accidentally leaving everyone to get squashed or B. rolling down a whole damn staircase of stone ledges with Des wrapped around her like a long-limbed hamster ball. Could've been worse!

“We can probably rustle somethin’ up on the slopes if we get hungry—aw, wait.” The elf-girl hitched her mouth to the side, remembering the whole damn reason these people were so desperate for help in the first place. “Scratch that. Mm.” Well, Destiny had some leftover meat in her inventory from a ‘hunting’ incident down on the coast (it was crow meat, but hell if she was telling them that) if things got desperate. Meal was a meal, right?

Giving up on the topic of food, Destiny gave a stretch and shrugged. “Aw, well, we can figure it out later. Where d’we start, Comet?” The name came easily to her lips, as comfortable as if she’d known the pink-haired archer all her life.

 

"We should be back very soon... I think whoever - or whatever - is kidnapping and hunting people from the village won't be very far. They come around too quickly to catch, and too often to live any bothersome distance away. If you get hungry let me know. I'm good at finding and shooting anything around here. Once you've been in an area for a few days the habits of creatures and all that, yknow, just becomes second nature." she eagerly shook both Destiny and Portia's hands. She wished she knew the two women as much as they knew each other, but chose to ignore that small sense of present jealousy to focus on their task. Not wanting to be in charge she nearly shrugged. That wouldn't do them any good, she reminded herself, before mentally collecting what little information was available to work off of in order to report all of it to her companions.

"I'm still bent on finding tracks. Any of you have the Hunting mastery? So I know in advance. If that's not an option, I found some bloody trails the other day. I wasn't about to follow them alone but I can guess they'll get us somewhere. Then there are closed-in caves around here, good for hiding out, if you can understand where I'm going. I don't want to spend too much time on this. I also don't think we'll have to." the pink-haired woman shrugged. She hardly knew what else to do beyond that. No clues and no witnesses and nothing beyond the fact that families were suffering from loss within the village despite their food being plentiful at the time.

Her brows furrowed in deep concentration as their group headed away, towards the outskirts. Many entrances could be made or utilized which wasn't much aid to their search considering they had many places to go and only three heads. Hopefully, the women would contribute enough to kickstart what they needed to figure the mystery out. Hopefully, nothing bad would happen to them along the way. A thin coat of cold sweat covered Comet as anxieties swirled within her mind. "

We need to find how they get in. There's too much perimeter to cover in one day. Any ideas?" her thoughts shifted to believing perhaps one of the villagers themselves could be smuggling in the kidnappers, or helping them in their acts. She shook her head in disbelief. That would be a last resort option. They had more chances now to explore other ideas. "I'd consider some sort of poison. After all, capturing someone so silently can't be easy. They'd need to slip it in something or attack with a weapon coated in a poison to... yknow, make them pass out or dazed." her cheeks turned a bright hue of pink as teeth chewed them from the insides. Regret washed over her. The suggestion seemed wild and ridiculous and certainly wouldn't impress anyone. She knew this. She knew she would be judged critically.

@Portia Ahrens @Destiny Divebird

 

When Destiny successfully acknowledged the playful intent hidden behind her sorry attempt at an obvious introduction to someone she already knew, Portia found herself smiling as well, a few chuckles escaping past her lips as she moved in closer to her Spire comrade, delivering a soft blow with her elbow to the woman's midsection. Not hard enough to harm, but surely capable of causing even a faint reaction. ''Oh, come on, I really want to know your name!'' It eased into her. When everything was games and laughter, somehow, she could manage better. Comet, drawing her attention from the black-haired lady with her words, sent the brawler back to reality, back to the task at hand.

''I don't know anything about the way you two manage yourselves on your travels but I also think we should be fine. Yep, everything good over here,'' at some point along the pink-haired's little speech, she had brought her hand up and left it mid-air in front of herself, the screen of her player's UI flashing brightly to display everything currently in her possession. Which was to say, she didn't have anything extraordinary nor any items a common adventurer wouldn't want to carry with themselves on any normal expedition. A minimal amount of food, rags to keep weapons (or injuries) cleaned and... Yep, that was pretty much it.

While the promise of a deviation from their current purpose to hunt animals did sound attractive, there were desperate villagers in need of their help. If they took their chances at getting distracted, they would lose focus, and if they lost focus, more people would disappear and so would their hope. Portia followed the women in complete silence, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of her neck as she drifted away in thought, going over everything the player had revealed to them.

''A blood trail usually means there have been signs of struggle. Hmm... If we go by what you said, the poison theory is a solid option as to how no one would've seen anything. Those who were being kidnapped could've screamed at any minute, called out for help, but they did not,'' she began explaining her own theories, subtly suggesting they visited the place where Comet had found the blood. She was no hunter to inspect trails nor discern any strange patterns as quickly and efficiently as those with the Hunting mastery did, but investigation mode was still investigation mode.

''Take that into consideration and that's how the poison comes into play. The group kidnapping them cannot be big, it would require too much maintenance and coordination for a mere group of bandits... A little bit of knowledge of Alchemy, boom!'' A dramatic pause was made, and she threw her hands up in the air for emphasis. ''You have your sleep-inducing potion and the blood... It means either someone knew something they weren't supposed to, they resisted the poison and tried to confront the bandits or they figured the kidnappers' scheme way too late.''