Quest - The Silverguard Reputation | Page 2

One moment there was tension in the air, fear, doubt, concern. The next? Confusion. The two men, their two targets, who started to walk towards their direction, weapons drawn, suddenly stopped dead in their tracks. Well, one of them did, turning to the direction of the closest edge of the boat. The other man, the owner of the boat, was just as surprised as perhaps @Portia Ahrens and @Janet Reilly combined when what happened happened. The first man, the one distracted by something over the boat, of the sea, Thad was it?, just stopped where he stood, eyes narrowed towards the sea.

“What are you doing, Thad?”

“Shush!” Thad put a finger over his lips. “Didn’t you hear it?”

“I did. I heard something,” the boat owner pointed towards where the trio were hidden. “…but it was over there.”

Thad stopped for a second, staring towards the hiding place where the girls and Iván were. At one point, he was actually looking at the illusionist straight in the eye. He then immediately turned towards the boat owner, pointing at the edge of the boat with his lips. “What? Are you deaf? It was clearly over there. Where else would splashing happen?”

As the two men started to argue with one another, Iván heaved a sigh of relief before turning to the girls, “All right, I bought us some time, but it’s not an entire day, so does any one of you have a plan to get us out of here? Maybe muscle our way out of here and take whoever’s closest to Etheridge with us or something…” He felt himself get tired, get spent. He was still new at this magic thing, especially with something as intricate and precise as illusion magic, so it was natural that he was exerting more effort, more energy, than necessary with his spells.

Was that guy named Thad Lady Etheridge’s man? It would certainly not have been the owner of the boat, considering their conversation. Iván took a mental picture of Thad’s face. He could potentially make himself look like him. That could be beneficial if they decided to get a meeting with Etheridge to trap her. Sounding like him would be a little too difficult. What was that accent? Maybe he didn’t need to sound like him, though. Looking like him could be enough. Just to draw the lady out and the heirloom. Portia and Janet could take care of the heavy lifting. From the way they looked, they were more heavy lifting compared to him.

 

Oh, this was all too confusing!

Janet was simply overwhelmed. One second she’d been trying to watch Portia, carefully studying the girl’s every movement as she pulled up her menu and activated her game-skills, and then… well! Suddenly there was an explosion and the two figures who’d been arguing in the cabin came running out! Janet had been ready to jump to her feet and flee right then and there, but somehow the pair had overlooked them despite the bright flash of light from the magical orb that the brunette was still blinking away spots from. Also, she couldn’t believe that a young, beautiful girl like Portia could use such abhorrent language!

…And the man (Ivan? That was his name?) was there.

“What did you do?” Janet whispered, feeling morbidly curious. “You did something? They didn’t see us!” Goodness! Her heart was pounding quite fast. This was very risky, wasn’t it? The eighteen-year-old was extremely glad the pair hadn’t found them, she did not want to see that sword up-close again. The pressure was rising. Muscle their way out? He must mean me! A quick glance at Portia showed the white-haired girl was pale, clearly still recovering from her magic spell.

“A-all right, I’ll do it!”

Summoning all her courage (this was just a game, after all, even if it was highly realistic and populated with all sorts of coarse, seafaring sorts Janet didn’t particularly want to associate with!) Janet stood up, swaying slightly. It was only for a moment before the husky girl began to run, pounding up the deck of the ship with the determination that could come only from sheer cluelessness.

“Dammit, I knew that sound was back the—huh?” The figure turned just in time to hear stomp stomp stomp before a teenage girl slammed into both of them like a linebacker, tackling them both to the ground. The ship’s owner spotted Portia and Iván and gave a shout. “You set me up, Thad? You son of a bitch! I knew something was fishy!” The figure crawled to their feet and ran, slamming back into the cabin and locking the door.

Thad let out a roar of surprise and anger, wrestling against his ambusher. “Oh no you don’t, rascal!” Janet shrilled, clamping onto the struggling man’s arm to stop him from reaching his sword. She managed to yank his scabbard off his belt (ripping through the belt in the process) and hurled it off the railing.

“You?” Thad finally managed to snarl, catching a glimpse of Janet’s face. “Eeeek!” Janet let out a scream (involuntarily—she was just startled) and slammed the man’s head on the wood with both hands. His eyes rolled up in his head and he went limp. Breathing heavily, Janet sat up, kneeling on his chest as she patted down her head and tried to compose herself. “Oh my goodness, that was very exciting! What do we do now? I don’t think he has the watch.”

@Portia Ahrens @Iván Carl

 

Amidst the chaos born from her companions' respective actions, she had to take some seconds for herself, her mind carefully retracing every word of the incantation to find where exactly she'd gone wrong, barely believing it herself. How strange of a sensation casting could be, how incredulous it was that her first time channeling a spell should end in miserable failure, that the projectile meant to knock the strangers unconscious missed its mark and flew into a different direction without her giving it the order to.

Iván's suggestion met her ears as she scrambled to her feet, tightening the bandages around her knuckles as she adopted a fighting stance she felt comfortable with, positioning herself behind a Janet who charged against the two strangers without so much as a discernable hint of hesitance to be seen on her features, nor heard on her battle shouts. As the woman disposed of their objectives she made an effort to steady the rhythm of her breathing, pulling her UI once again to take the letter she acquired from an NPC regarding this particular quest.

''Mister Mysterious person, would you change into his clothes?'' Though she never looked at him while she spoke, it was clear as day whom she was talking to. If the man could use his abilities to effortlessly hide their presence from people who would've probably killed them on the spot, it meant he had enough magical reserves to split his energy from. For a person which such a strong magical prowess to aid her on her mission meant nothing else if not but another advantage, one she meant to hold onto for the meantime. It amazed her how someone who'd spent less time than her inside Terrasphere already managed to control his magic.

She strolled up to the spot in which Janet stood, reaching out a hand to place it on the female's head to mess with her hair as she acknowledged how her efforts had aided the group of players in saving that situation. ''That was great. I'm sure you'll grow to be quite the strong fighter.''

Tearing her gaze from the girl to offer Thad a quick glance, she came closer to the fallen guy and pressed one of her toes against his side, testing the veracity of what had just happened. If the man was faking to be unconscious, that could be easily fixed by any of the three adventurers present, and it was always worth it to make sure of their facts rather than simply rush in. ''If you won't, then I can easily take the part, but I will require your aid for disguising myself with this poor bastard's looks. We look around this place, get that other idiot who escaped Janet and move on to the next part of the quest which would be at... The tavern?''

 

“It’s just a quick trick, a sleight of hand,” Iván did his best to explain himself to his companions, as quickly and as efficiently as he could. “They won’t even see us, but only for a few short seconds.”

Iván was both surprised and glad at the sudden turn of events. Either @Portia Ahrens or @Janet Reilly would have sufficed, as his usage of illusion magic had taken a toll on him at the moment, rendering him a little weaker and tired than usual, but it seemed that the latter’s adrenaline rush was more than enough to take care of their little problem.

Truth be told, Iván had expected either of the two, which one decided to charge at their antagonists, to at least get a cut or two. These were supposed to be cutthroats, brigands, bad men. He smirked, realizing that being a terrible person doesn’t automatically give you great reaction times. At the very least, he realized he should focus on improving his magic. It could be quite useful in the end.

What wasn’t useful was the man who didn’t have the watch they were looking for, Silverguard’s locket. His name was Thad, wasn’t it? Iván could do nothing else but sigh at the disappointment. Still, they could use him, his body, his face, his very identity, to get near to the other person who might have that locket. That Lady… What was her name again? Lady Etheridge?

“Hmm,” Iván pondered Portia’s concerns, so to speak.

The original plan, at least for this one, this plan B of sorts, was for one of them to take on the disguise of this Thad fellow, Lady Etheridge’s goon for hire, so they could get near her and take the locket. With his illusion magic, he could potentially make any one of them look like the unconscious Thad, so long as they keep their face hidden at least. He wouldn’t be able to affect everyone in that tavern, only one person, but it was only that one person they needed to trick. He could do it himself but he might get too tired to react quickly if it turns bad, his magic sapping him at this low level.

Having Portia be the fake Thad, however, that could be a better plan. She could defend herself, and if not, Janet would be close by to protect her. He would also be close by to continue using his illusions on Lady Etheridge but he might not be as useful if he did end up weaker than a little girl inside a doll shop. Whatever that was.

“I suppose that could be a better option. This magic drains me at the moment, but I could spend enough energy to make you look the part. Just make sure you cover your face somewhat. I can only glamor one person, after all,” Iván nodded towards the pale girl, offering his support to her alternative idea. He then brandished his hammer from out of nowhere and nonchalantly walked towards the cabin where the boat owner was hiding. Putting the hammer’s handle on his shoulder, he pointed at the door, implying he would smash it down if anyone was up for it, “But first, should we make sure we don’t leave our sole witness conscious? At least for enough time to carry out our mission successfully.”

 

What had just happened?

The brunette’s mind worked frantically as she kneeled on the unconscious man’s torso, trying to make sense of the last few adrenaline-filled moments. And then Portia was there, her earlier snappishness replaced by… affection? Oh my goodness, I think she’s proud of me. Or pleased, anyway. She felt her cheeks growing red and patted the top of her mussed head frantically. “Oh—really? Thank… thank you,” she managed to get out somehow despite her scrambling thoughts. I never thought I wanted to be a fighter, but… that was quite exciting.

“Um… I-I’m not sure I can do that again, I’m not sure what came over me!” Janet said to Iván nervously as he took up a position at the cabin door, her voice a little high-pitched. Was she hyperventilating? She felt like her legs couldn’t carry her. “P-Portia, do you mind?” She just wanted to collapse.

The teenager was still in shock, but another feeling was slowly dawning on her, draining into her senses. Satisfaction. She’d done something all on her own. Something risky and dangerous! And she’d succeeded, too, even if one of them had gotten away (how was she supposed to take out two at once? It was a miracle she’d managed the first one!) She felt weak, but good. Powerful.

Was this what video games made people feel like?

Since the brown-haired girl was fairly useless at this stage, she managed to get to her feet and looked down at the body. Not dead! Just… well, just fainted. While Portia and Iván were taking care of the captain, Janet looked around and then decided to drag the man behind the barrels where the three of them had been hiding. It would be a good place to stow the body (not a dead body) for a little while, surely?

Since Portia was apparently dressing up as Thad and going in disguise, the pretty girl would need his clothes. They won’t fit at all, Janet thought, putting her hands on her hips ruefully. Oh well. Without any embarrassment in the least, apart from wondering vaguely what her husband would say if he could see her now, she clumsily removed the armor and then the man’s pants and shirt. She brushed them off and folded them nicely for Portia and then came to see if they were done knocking out the remaining witness.

“Oh! I just remembered I heard them say the Lady has the watch, back at the inn,” Janet said, poking her head around the doorframe. “The clothes are ready for you, Portia. Oh, but—” she hesitated, chewing on the inside of her lip as she realized she’d made a mistake. “I threw his sword into the water when we were fighting. I’m sorry, I-I wasn’t thinking!” She’d just wanted to get the weapon away from him! I hope the Lady Etheridge doesn't notice...

Once everyone was ready and everything was taken care of, Janet was ready to lead Iván and Portia-disguised-as-Thad back to that dreadful little inn so she could get rid of that dratted Quest notification once and for all!


@Portia Ahrens @Iván Carl

 

''Ah... It will be troublesome if he escapes while we're preparing our little scheme, you can never trust warriors like him,'' she pointed out, throwing a glance to Thad's direction who was still unconscious thanks to Janet's display of power. Since she was the one who would impersonate him, the entirety of her well-being rested on knowing he wouldn't go anywhere as soon as they left the ship. Turning to inspect her environment further than they'd been able to before, her eyes caught the sight of rope lying around some unused barrels for anyone to grab and make use of it, an invitation she would gladly accept.

She walked to her fellow player's previous hiding spot and came back with Thad's new bindings, pushing him with her toe to leave him laying on his stomach. ''Hold on, this won't take more than a minute but... Thank you for going through the trouble,'' she said in response to Janet's gesture of undressing the male and folding the clothes that would soon be for her, her hands moving to twist the man's arms behind his back and lock them in place with the rope she'd grabbed earlier. Throwing the remaining length of the rope over her shoulder, she dragged the fallen guy to the mainmast and secured his position there, tying him around it.

''Okay, that should do the trick,'' Portia stated while she came back to Janet and took the clothes she offered, a frown settling in on her pales feature at the comment of the man's swords being missing, something she let go almost immediately. If everything went according to the plan, and they snatched the watch without Lady Etheridge noticing, they might as well come out of the tavern without a battle. But if it didn't... Well, then it would become an entertaining tale.

Her gaze sought their other companion and found him waiting patiently next to the locked cabin door, a weapon slung over his shoulder and words to show his purpose to the girls. Willing to discover more of the different masteries this world offered, she nodded silently and moved right next to him, a smirk finding its way onto her features. Balancing on one foot, she brought her other leg up and kicked the wooden door once, the entrance offering resistance until a few hits more of her ability finally allowed the pair to greet their missing person, currently cowering in a corner. ''Seems like our dear illusionist Iván has some fight in him.''

She showed herself inside the cabin, leaving the clothes on a nearby chair while she grabbed the boat owner by the collar of his shirt, a smile always present on her lips despite his protests and many pleas for her not to do anything to him. And she wouldn't. Portia merely pulled him along, yanking him face-first against the table he tried to use as cover. ''Now, now, it's rude of a man to spy on a girl while she's changing clothes...'' Without neglecting the momentary confusion the recent hit had bestowed upon him, she shoved him outside the cabin and slammed the door shut behind her, unwilling to let her companions wait any longer than they should for their plan to start.

Once she'd finished changing into the fallen dude's armor, she opened the door and stepped out, a frown clear on her face at the oversized clothes she was now wearing. ''How do I look? Like a douche? Because that's what I was aiming for.''

 

Iván simply watched as @Portia Ahrens tied Lady Etheridge's boy toy, Thad, against the mainmast. When his eyes darted towards the barrels, he felt a little unsatisfied, uncertain if a mainmast-tied Thad wouldn't find himself some help as soon as he woke up. Those barrels... Maybe we should've just tied them up and stowed them inside those barrels.

That would've made them less easier to find and untie, of course. If he remembered his research correctly, pirates were highly superstitious. Of course, these two weren't pirates but the others, those who might see them and help them, might be highly superstitious as well. Ah, well.

The mysterious illusionist couldn't contain his grin as Portia seconded his motion. In a matter of minutes, she fed Iván the boat owner, which, in a matter of seconds, Iván took care of, quickly and carefully knocking the man unconscious with the head of his hammer, not overdoing it to make him bleed of course.

While Portia changed clothes, Iván carried the unconscious boat owner over one shoulder, stowing him inside one of the unused barrels and closed the lid tightly. He turned to @Janet Reilly with a blank face, "Oh, uhh, do you have something to tie this barrel up? Or to poke holes on the lid?" Iván was up for leaving the NPC like that, though, but he thought he should at least consider the girls' feelings.

As soon as Portia came out, all disguised and whatnot, Iván nodded in approval towards her direction. Everything seemed like it could work, the plan going off without a hitch. All they needed to do was let Janet lead them to the tavern, their pair going first to find a suitable spot close by, so that he could use his illusion magic to trick Lady Etheridge while Janet watched out for any trouble that could come their way, and then Portia could just come in, pretend to be Thad, and take that locket from her. Easy peasy, right? In theory, yes. In application? They'd find out soon enough. , "If you guys are ready, let's get this done."

 

@Portia Ahrens was far too pretty to pass as a man, especially one as ugly and awful as Thad! “They don’t fit very well,” Janet ventured cautiously as the other girl asked how she looked. If it had been her son, she would have sent him right back to Macy’s with the receipt to exchange the outfit immediately. As it was… “Iván, will this be okay?” Would his… mind-trick still work? She looked over Portia again and covered her mouth, trying not to giggle. It would have been remarkably out of place, and she didn’t want the brawler to be upset with her again.

In any case, they were just going to… to seal the captain up in there? Like a bug in a jar? Janet’s eyes bulged a little as @Iván Carl stuffed the human form into the container like a piece of salted meat, one hand flying to her mouth. “Ooh… ouch…” she said faintly every time a hand knocked against the lid or his joints seemed to bend the wrong way. Tying him to the other side of the mast would have been much more merciful! “There’s a… hole already in the barrel.” She could see part of the captain’s stubbly cheek through it, a knot-hole in the wood. “I-I think it’ll be all right.” She chewed her lip.

It was a staircase-road back to the Blue Jetsam Tavern, down pier and dock to the end of the marina and beyond. Shipmates stopped and eyed them as they went, speculative and sinister from the railings of their ships, or pausing on the docks with a crate in hand. Assessing them, whether they were worth robbing? Hoping they might be looking to hire a crew, to charter a ship? Or did they know what Janet and the others had done back on the far dock, that Lady Etheridge’s traitorous guard was strung up to the main mast and the captain in a barrel?

Oh, it was far too surreal!

“I’m not so sure about this...” Janet said faintly, growing less and less sure with every step. They could see the sign of the tavern now. Despite the “pirate” town of Druuk Island, it was one of the more upscale inns in town. There was a reason Janet with her “cleanly” tastes had been drawn there, and perhaps why Lord Silverguard (and inevitably Lady Etheridge) had come here as well.

In the bottom-right corner of her vision, that annoying QUEST notification continued to light up. No, no! Janet had to go through with this, or she’d disappoint her new acquaintances and all those violent acts on the deck of the ship would be for nothing! We just have to get the watch, isn’t that right? And Thad had said the Lady Etheridge had it. Janet realized she was the only one who’d actually seen the Lady, however. She’d just have to signal them when it was time!

Janet entered the tavern again, as cautious this time as bold she had been the first. Thankfully, she was easily lost among the tall, rowdy patrons. As some time had passed since she’d left here, the late-night crowd was starting to arrive. Worry began to choke at Janet as she struggled her way through the many bodies, realizing the tables were all full and there was no sign of the Lady. Her eyes wandered to a sign that said Lodging Upstairs by a staircase. Could she have retired to her hotel room for the night?

“I don’t think she’s here. She must be upstairs,” Janet whispered. It was lost easily in the noise of the crowd, however, so she leaned in closer to Portia and Iván to repeat it. “I-I think she’s upstairs!” How were they going to find her room? “U-um… should we ask for a manager?” She couldn’t remember if they’d actually brought one to her when she’d demanded it before, but a directory would certainly be helpful now!