Spectral Disorder [Q]

Alphabet Chocolate

im already here u slowpoke!!! @Jack Anders

Alpha sighed, rolling to her side whilst laying down on the cool shade of grass. The clouds loomed overhead, billowing slowly as if oblivious to the ongoing life down below. After she had registered for the partner-quest with him, she had dashed off right away to their destination without delay. The idea had been simple and appealing to her at first; race Jack to their target location and it'll be a round of fun (and grudging) competition. She didn't expect the boredom that would await her upon completing her own personal contest. Groaning, she rolled around in place as Terry, Corn, and Luna looked at her worryingly. Regardless of their own thoughts on Alpha's mental state, they soon returned to the card game they were playing with invisible cards and such. Alpha suspected they were playing some sort of convoluted version of 'Magic: The Gathering' using sticks, stones, pebbles, blades of grass, and invisible cards that hold some sort of significant meaning to their pretend-play. She didn't ask, however, too occupied with spamming Jack with messages.

Alphabet Chocolate

r u here yet???!!! u take 4everrrrr @Jack Anders

She sat up, grabbing the Bounce Rock within her pack, looking at it with a close, analytical eye. The thoughts that ran through her head consisted of sophisticated deductions (like Sherlock Holmes from that BBC adaptation with Benedict Cumberbatch) and pieces of wisdom. 'I want scrambled eggs. It's a rock that's grey. I want a potato chip.' were all examples of the complex circuitry going on in her mind. She stared off in the distance, the blue and whites of the sky meshing together to form some sort of shape she could vaguely recognize. She pointed to one of the seemingly fluffy constructs. "Oooh, look you guys! It's a mutated isosceles triangle that probably ate, like, fifty pounds of sugar and thirty-two point five ounces of olive oil or something!"

Thrown die:

9

 

Their mission was simple. Go to the north, find some elves, maybe find some missing persons, and try to NOT get spotted throughout the entire process. At least that’s what Jack thought originally before his hyperactive companion had loudly declared that the two were to race towards their meeting point. The dark haired man couldn’t help but to shake his head sadly as the girl and her animal companions had all darted off with reckless abandon before even reaching a group consensus.

“Leave it to Alphabet to just run off… I hope she’s going the right direction.”

Perhaps it was better this way though. To be honest, Jack wasn’t exactly fond about slowly strolling through the forest and taking his sweet time to let the awkward tension between him and Terry stew to perfection. Had she considered this as well? A dismissive shrug was made however as he began to weakly chase after the dust cloud left in her wake. It was impossible, or at least according to what the mage knew about the little girl.

Jack Anders

Yeah, yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist. That’s how you get wedgies.

A fairly unconcerned message was sent back to the girl as Jack simply followed in her footsteps, albeit with much greater caution than she had taken. Considering the sheer amount of noise she was generating on her own, he’d have to compensate to at the very minimum. At least that’s how things operated in his mind currently. It was almost as if the man was slowly getting swept away in a game of his own now that he thought about it.

Jack Anders

Sheesh, it wouldn’t kill you to try and pipe down. I can hear you a mile off. Didn’t the quest giver say to be stealthy? You sure you’re a ranger and not a barbarian?!?

Finally catching up to the various animals frolicking about and fiddling with sticks and stones, he’d wave silently at the girl while still off in the distance. Given enough time, he’d slink over to inspect their surroundings. “Any luck finding tracks? We’re supposedly looking for Elves… not sure if they’d leave different traces behind when compared to us though.”

Thrown die:

78

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alpha gave a groan in relief upon hearing her partner's approaching footsteps and distinguished voice. Although the wait hadn't been too long (Dempsey had kept her waiting for much, much longer) she had worried that he had decided to abandon her halfway through and all that waiting was for nothing. The texts he sent her had calmed her down some but god knows how many times her mom would keep on texting her about how she was 'on her way' to pick her up...and never came. As the man approached, Alpha whistled Terry, Corn, and Luna back to her, the trio no longer obliging themselves in their silly card-game in favor of sizing up the man who had once brought Terry to a near-fatal situation. Luna, being the youngest, took a quick glance at the man's face and eagerly hopped her way to snuggle against the man's foot. Corn simply curled into himself. The little hedgehog was cowardly by nature, though, and Alpha didn't fault him for it. Terry, meanwhile, took the chance to ignore Jack. The dog had mixed feelings about the man since he did lure him into a blast which forced him to have a few week's worth of baths to rinse off and treat the brittle, fired fur, but the man had thrown a fish stick and Terry would be damned if it wasn't worth it.

After gauging her companions' reactions, she got up from her stationary position and tossed a quick, furtive smile at her partner in this quest. She cleared her throat, attempting to seem bigger and more confident than she already was, and addressed his question. "I actually didn't start look yet!" she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as she had just realized, at that moment, that she could've occupied her time committing to more productive pursuits other than dully gazing at the cloudy skies ahead. She couldn't bare to regret her decisions right now, however, as they had a group of missing peoples to find and elves to catch! Alpha tried to keep her barely-contained glee at the prospect of elves under wraps.

"But no better time to start than now!" she concluded and, as if proving her statement, she gave a hearty grin at Jack before picking a stone from the ground. "We'll leave no stone unturned!"

Immediately, she jumped on her feet and began skimming the area around, hurriedly picking every stone that was larger than the diameter of her hand to search whatever was underneath. Unsurprisingly, her search garnered few results (with the occasional discovery of a particularly interesting millipede or a terrifying, paralyzing appearance of a spider).

Thrown die:

19

@Jack Anders

 

A small sigh of disbelief was had as Jack could only shake his head and watch the girl’s antics. Sure he had asked her to start looking… but wasn’t this a bit much? To comb the area with a keen eye was one thing. To literally turn over every stone was another. The man was unsure on whether to object however, since she was assisting their mission objective in a semi-productive fashion. Instead he’d encourage her some more. Perhaps the duo would get lucky and stumble across a rock the Elves had shifted in order to actually cover their tracks. “Right, no stone unturned. Keep up the good work!”

His attention then shifted towards the dingo as he’d gauge the apathetic pup’s seemingly fake disinterest. Jack wasn’t completely at a loss on how to behave towards the dog though. His conversation with Nalani helped clear his thoughts some, even if the discussion itself didn’t lead very far. The important thing was that it made him reconsider his approach slightly. The first step started with making amends.

Reaching into his pouch, he’d produce another fish stick. Prior to heading over to meet up he had already purchased one off a local vendor with the intention of treating the dog as an apology. Rather than chucking it dangerously into unknown territory so that lightning might smite the creature into oblivion, he’d instead lay it at the creature’s feet and wave a welcoming hand, indicating the canine ought to dig on. “Sorry, boy. This one’s on me.”

Regardless of the dog’s reaction, he’d proceed to walk off in pursuit of Alphabet. While doing so, he’d keenly inspect the areas she had omitted out of carelessness or haste while striving to catch up to the girl. “Don’t you think Elves would like… use trees and bushes or something Elven instead of rocks? Do you think Terry can pick up their scent?”

Thrown die:

55

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alpha stilled, frozen as stone as she watched as Jack approached Terry with the object of her nightmares in his grip. If taken out of context, Alpha admitted that having a fear of fish sticks was an odd and somewhat comedic thing but, with what had happened last time involving it, she knew that a simple snack could be used as an instrument to orchestrate a death. As of such, she began to stare with sharp eyes, tracking his every movement as Corn and Luna continued their search, blissfully oblivious. Her shoulders were tense and her arm hovered over the dagger attached to her hip, ready to strike the man down should he try anything. Alpha wasn't a violent person nor a killer but she knew what Jack was capable of, regardless of his motivations.

She couldn't help but smile and unwind, however, when the man laid the fish stick gently under Terry, as if he were trying to make amends. The dingo scarfed the fish stick down, the man's crimes easily forgiven in the eyes of the simplistic and joyful pup. Alpha listened to the man's gentle words with a sigh before going back to check the rocks laying on the ground. Still nothing, unfortunately. She began wandering around, picking up stray stones here and there and, soon after, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

She listened to Jack's words without a single indication she was paying attention until, after much internal debate, she faced the man with a slack grin. "Haha, I was actually just hoping to find another Bounce Rock!" she reached into her pocket to show him her prized possession. "But, since Terry could sniff them out by scent, then if we get a rock that they were nearby long enough for their stinky smells to rub off, then we could...get two birds by using a single stone."

She burst out laughing obnoxiously at her little pun, landing on her bottom as tears crept out of the corner of her eyes. Terry, Corn, and Luna were spectating with worried looks but eventually glanced away, too embarrassed that she had even uttered the syllables of that god-awful joke. "Anyways," she continued after a few bouts of giggles and false starts. "Let's go search!"

Thrown die:

58

@Jack Anders

 

A small grunt of displeasure sounded from the man’s throat as he’d shake his head while trying his best to hold back a smirk. “You mean kill two birds with one stone? Pretty sure that’s the correct phrase… oh never mind.” He’d catch himself near the end of the sentence wondering why he had even bothered to say anything in the first place. Considering the girl’s pause it was more likely than not, she had intentionally chosen alternative wording.

Taking a moment to eye the small hedgehog, he’d look curiously between it and the owner while asking a simple question. “When’d you pick up the porcupine?” Of course he knew the difference. The dark haired man was simply messing around by intentionally fudging the creature’s species. To be honest, part of him wondered whether Alphabet knew the difference herself. She seemed airy enough to let such minor nuances slip by anyway. Or perhaps that was all just an act?

Only a helpless shrug could be had before the man’s attention was quickly snagged to some peculiar behavior exhibited by one of the girl’s beast companions. Looking back at the dingo, he’d point once to highlight that the creature had caught onto the scent of something. Waving with an encouraging hand, he’d follow after the mutt while trying to remain as quiet as possible. “I think he found something…”

Upon arriving, the man would find that he had stumbled across a rather gorgeous and mostly undisturbed lake surrounded by an endless hue of pink formed by a seemingly countless number of cherry blossoms scattered about the water’s edge. He’d pause momentarily with a gap while silently admiring the scenery. Only after snapping back to reality would the man crouch back into the foliage while signaling for his companion to do the same. His wary hazel orbs had keenly fell upon some structures off in the distance. It seemed as though today was going to be more curious than originally intended.

Thrown die:

88

 

Alpha pouted indignantly, crossing her arms, while the man offended Corn. The hedgehog stomped his tiny paws from his perch on Terry's back and blew a miniature raspberry at the man. To be honest, Alpha didn't really know the difference between a porcupine or a hedgehog but that would be one thing that she'd never tell her tiny companion. She gave a bit of a giggle at the spectacle of the enraged critter before immediately shushing when Jack gave a wave and began stalking, quieter than a mouse on its tiptoes, Terry. Alpha, despite her bafflement and confusion for the first couple of seconds, had realization dawn in her eyes and, with a proud smile directed at Terry, followed Jack's footsteps and stealthily maneuvered through the field. "You are a giant butt-face," she mouthed towards Jack's back, restraining her gleeful snickers.

As Terry slowed down, Alpha noticed that they had finally reached some sort of rendezvous and, with a quick scan via two fingers on her right temple, she quickly found around four figures in the distance. They were armored and armed in magical tools and weaponry. One of the elves had a set of familiar leather armor and two swords which vaguely reminded her of Roland, who she had met in the Tutorial Dungeon a long way before. She frowned. Now that they had actually found the suspicious party, she had no idea what to do. She tried to grab Jack's attention, gesturing her confusion and, after a few tries of getting noticed, simply poked him on the back.

Corn had somehow managed to climb up and burrow himself in her hair while Luna was being comforted by Terry, scared out of her wits at the first prospect of a fight or battle of some kind. She gave the two a quick, worried glance before, once again, mouthing words to Jack. "What do we do?" she asked. Although Alpha didn't like him, she had to grudgingly acknowledge that his leadership and strategics skills were so far unparalleled compared to her own as of the moment. She's need his guidance for this.

@Jack Anders

 

A muffled grunt sounded after hearing Alphabet’s comment regarding his face. Rather than simply ignoring it like any proper adult ought to have done however, he’d instead retort while waggling his ass directly at her face. “The only person with a butt in their face is you.” Now satisfied with having the last word in that wildly inappropriate conversation, his expression would calm back down as he carefully surveyed the area before them.

Considering how heavily armed the opposing party appeared to be, it was fairly safe to assume that they weren’t here for pleasantries. Although open dialog did intrigue the man and come off as fairly appealing, it was the most unsure path that could lead to potentially the worst result. On the other hand, given the typical stereotyping of elves, perhaps they’d be willing to parlay due to his companion’s class title? “Nature Ranger” seemed pretty in line with how he envisioned the people of the forest. Either way, he’d quickly banish the thought. A gamble was a gamble; there was no point in mulling over endless possibilities. Their mission objectives didn’t exactly require confronting the other party anyway, right?

With that in mind, the man would point at the hedgehog with a single finger. “We just need to find the missing people and set them free right? There’s not really a good way to tell whether these people are friendly or not… granted, taking hostages already suggests they’re not that nice. Any chance the fuzz ball can sneak around and look for the people they abducted? Maybe we can just rescue them with a distraction and avoid a real fight…”

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alpha listened to Jack's words as she looked back at Corn, the tiny hedgehog rolling in on himself at the fear of being noticed. The poor thing was a shy creature and he mostly tagged along as a companion rather than for any combative or productive purpose. As she watched the terror which struck the little critter's face, she interrupted the man's musings. She picked Corn up in a cupped grip and gently placed him on Terry's back, the dog now laying down peacefully next to Luna, unaware of the danger they were possibly in. Or, maybe, he knew they would be fine and had chose not to worry himself over nothing. Regardless, once Alpha scooped up the hedgehog, she turned and whispered to the sly man.

"I can go sneak around; I'm a bit faster than Corn and I have the skill build and everything! I pulled it all off from one of those Runescape veterans on the forum boards so I'm sure that it'll be fine," she assured the man, turning her head away without even waiting for a response. It was either her or Corn at this point as she was sure the man hadn't volunteered himself for the scouting mission for one reason or another. Terry was much too large and Luna was too energetic for anything. Before she could convince herself out of it, she stealthily navigated through the wooded area and planned to sneak around the general premises.

If the four figures would do anything suspicious, she was sure Jack could handle it himself or call for her to help if he really needed it. She just hoped Terry would be okay with Jack around for company. She loathed to leave the two together but, before she could move too far away, she turned back around and made a swift cutting motion with her hand under her neck, her face shadowed by trees and her glare penetrating through the darkness. This time, if he ever tried anything with Terry, Corn, or Luna, then she'd definitely PK him. Multiple times, maybe.

@Jack Anders

 

An awkward laugh was made upon seeing the tiny figure vaguely make a threatening gesture from the shadows. Shaking his head once with disapproval, he’d watch quietly as the girl’s silhouette disappeared into the darkness with little trace left to be seen. “Runescape huh?... Just how old is that girl?” A puzzled and curious look crossed the man’s face as he’d continue to ponder on the subject before turning to look down at the stragglers that had been left behind.

Pausing for a moment to crouch down, he’d stare into the dingo’s eyes before letting out a muffled yawn while covering his mouth with one hand. “She’ll be fine, I think? Never really seen Alphabet stay quiet for more than a minute of her life, but it’ll be okay… right?” Hazel eyes staring back at the pup, he’d let out a wistful sigh as if expecting some form of confirmation to his hopes. Perhaps that was a bit too much to ask for given the system’s programming.

As for now, he’d simply let the time pass by while quietly watching the figures over yonder and gauging their reactions. Ideally the elves wouldn’t catch onto either of their presences, but it was a potential outcome, one the man felt obligated to be weary against. Should the opposing party show any signs of interest in either person’s direction, he’d have to quickly formulate a plan of some sorts. But now for? All that was left for ole Jack was a simple waiting game.

@Lyre

 

Alpha sifted through the rows of greenery yet, despite her efforts in observing the area, she had failed to catch a whiff of any kidnapped personages of any sort. After going round the area, she scurried back to a point right across where Jack and the others were, desperately trying to catch their attention with rapid arm movements and silly signals that involved lifting several limbs up, sticking out the appendage confined in her mouth, and doing the oddest tricks with her eyes. Despite knowing where her accomplices were, she couldn't see a single hair (a fact which she felt was both a blessing and a curse) and didn't know if they could decipher her preferred method of communication: gestures and charades. There was nothing in the immediate area and the more time they wasted waiting around here, the more time the kidnappers had time to flee with their abductees. Sighing, she kicked a branch in frustration, the twig leaping through the air and, unfortunately, settling on the head of one of the cloaked figures.

Just like a venus flytrap waiting for its prey to land before it sprung to action, the four figures immediately went on the alert and turned their heads at a breakneck pace, whirling their gazes to focus on the particular patch of leaves that covered Alpha. She had, luckily, managed to duck before they could see her and, biting her lip, she struggled to keep silent. Her heart raced and, slowly, she began to crawl back the way she came, holding her breath. She could hear the distinct sounds of intelligible words from the distance and the sound of footsteps. She pulled a hand over her nose and mouth, closing her eyes tight as she sat cross-legged behind the tree. Hopefully that'd be enough cover.

She was, however, proven wrong when she opened her eyes to look up to the visage of a fair man. He didn't look happy and she cursed her luck.

@Jack Anders

 

The dark haired mage wouldn’t have to wait too long before he was given a proper answer to his question. His gaze shifting from the dingo to the Elves as all four figures had turned their heads to inspect the noise off in the distance. Given Alphabet’s previous course… chances were high they had caught some sense of her already. “Well… I guess that answers that.” He’d shrug helplessly at the canine while watching the four figures disperse into the woods in order to start their search.

Ideally the girl would go undetected. Jack would then approach to more closely inspect the house since the way was now paved while the youth continued to keep them occupied on a wild goose chase. Ideals didn’t typically happen however. Worst case scenario, he’d more likely than not have to come to the minor’s assistance and abandon his own side quest. Nothing had been clearly determined yet however, and as such he’d proceed until given an indication otherwise.

Patting Terry across the back, he’d nod once at the creature while gazing off into the distance. “Looks like the way is clear. I’m gonna make a run for it while they’re distracted.” He had originally intended to instruct the pup to assist Alphabet as needed however the man decided those words would be redundant as that simply fell within the dog’s own agenda.

Now slinking as silently as possible towards the house, the dark haired man continued to stick to cover while speedily making his approach. Hopefully he wouldn’t go noticed thanks to the efforts of his companion.

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alpha blanched at the frankly horrifying situation she found herself in. Taking a deep breath, she cast a nervous smile at the sight of the oddly-garbed elves and raised her hand for a shy wave and a soft greeting. "Haha, hey there!" she anxiously smiled, her eyebrows furrowed and her body sprawled in an attempt to seem casual. "Nice weather we're having, am I right? I've never bee—" she was interrupted by the sudden murder attempt directed at her and, although she managed to dodge by a sliver of a hair, she winced at how deep the knife was burrowed into the tree right beside her. "Guess we're, uh, not friends. Maybe acquaintances?" she offered before receiving a very violent response. The second attack was all Alpha needed to high tail it out of there, rushing out of the bushes at top speed as she ran for her dear life. Her jaw was slack open from terror as she sprinted across the field, speed seemingly unnatural for a girl of her size and stature. A few seconds of rapid running and she looked back, seeing the men chasing after her and several spells being launched her way. "This is not a good day!" she remarked as she performed a few acrobatic moves and feats of flexibility that would be impossible should her life not be on the line. She felt her skin grow clammy as a fireball whizzed past her, incinerating a nearby ant hole.

The suddenness of it all had left Alpha forgetting that she could fight back if she wished. Unfortunately, the natural instinct of flight or fight was stronger and, as she continued to dodge and flee, absconding from the situation, she found herself looking straight into Terry's eyes. The dingo was rushing straight at her alongside Luna and Corn (and towards the group of awfully trigger-happy elves and, unable to bring her legs to a complete halt in a short amount of time, had made contact with Terry and they both landed into a pained pile of two objects at motion crashing into each other. "Ow! Seriously, Terry?!" she whined and groaned as she rubbed her back (as it was aching upon impact with the ground). Terry whimpered as he scratched his ear and, during all this, she had forgotten about the elves chasing after her. Until they loomed over her, of course, surrounding her and Terry with their malicious glares. She grinned weakly. "That was a fun game of tag, wasn't it?"

Corn gave an unhappy squeal.

@Jack Anders

 

After reaching the structure, Jack found the front door unlocked and left ajar. Much to his pleasant surprise, the building seemed unoccupied for the most part, lacking any foreign voices or sounds of movement. Lurking inside with some caution, he’d eventually confirm his suspicions that the facility had been cleared and that the entirety of the enemy forces had been sent after Alphabet.

“Is anyone here? Helloooo? Make some noise if you need help…” He’d call out questioningly while straining his ears to listen. Given a few moments, some muffled shuffling and kicking sounds were heard off in the distance. Originating from a bedroom near the back, the man creaked open the door to find several persons. Both gagged and bound, their attempts to get his attention were restrained at best. “Hold on a second, I’ll get you out.” The mage immediately began working on their restraints while checking up on his companion through voice comms.


“I found hostages. Buy me some more time if you can. How’s it going over there shorty?”

Given enough time, the prisoners (three in total) were all freed and set loose to escape on their own throughout the woods. As for Jack? He’d watch as their figures safely drifted off into the shadows before checking the game’s map to discern Alphabet’s location. He’d begin to make his way towards her just in case.

“The villagers are free, they’re going back to town. We can start evacuating now too if you want.”

@Alphabet Chocolate
(We're technically done so wrap it up so we can get credit!)