Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Orc Mischief - CLOSED

Walking the path, I find myself walking among old, dead leaves. Their crunch is the only noise that fills my ears. The forest is dead silent, the sunlight burns through my apparel and warms my skin. I distract myself from this silence by humming a tune I had heard nights before, in a district that is three hours away from where I am now. All that scares me is the fact that I am blind in this sunlight, so any predator has an advantage. "This is why I travel at night..." I mumble to myself. Finally, the silence between me and this forest breaks when I hear the sound of people yelling and talking amongst themselves. I reach out and wait until I find a sign. Using the Psychometric powers I was blessed with, the sign reads 'Blackwater'. I make an odd face, whispering to myself about how odd its name is. Then, I walk into the town, only noise surrounds me now. I walk around until I find somewhere to settle myself in.

The sound of the flute plays near me, to my left. The high pitched vocal of the seemingly wooden tool soon blends in with the beat of drums and a lute. "A young man walks through the forest, with his quiver and hunting bow!" The singer begins, her voice soft and sweet like how I imagine angels to sound. The song she sang was familiar, but I could not remember the title. I walked by and soon smelled something musty. I must be near a grave site, and it must be recently made. I turn away from it in case of any other person being there. I would hate to interrupt so rudely. Soon, I find that I am in a quieter area of town. Very few people spoke, and some kids were playing around. Their footsteps were small and quick, their laughter filled me with delight.


EDIT: Posting order is as follows;
Me
Arcol
EterniGhost
Cookiesareyummie
Mericosine
Garnaal(Put here for now due to them being inactive for a couple of hours, when active again, they are between Eterni and Cokiesareyummie)

The joyous laughter of children echoed in the streets, nearly distracting him from his purpose here; find the target and get out without being caught. He picked up a Salmon Steak from a local shopkeeper, paying with a small purse full of gold. The sunlight burned his scales and boiled his blood, but he hardly felt it anymore; the consequence of remaining in daylight for extended periods of time since he received his gift. He continued to look for the manor, but it wasn’t easy, as the houses all share a similar motif and blocked most of his view of the other areas. He heard the bard somewhere nearby, smelled the freshly dug grave, saw the people passing by, normal citizens with normal lives, unlike him.

Alfie fanned his face with a wing as he strolled leisurely down the streets of Blackwater, the sun beating down on his face. This town seems so much louder than the forest. Wonder if anything spooky's going on there. He moved to the left side of the cobbled street as a carriage passed through. The dusty scent of the dead reached his nose, and he glanced around, wondering where it came from. The harpy turned a corner, and there it was. A small gateway stood tiredly, as it it could fall down at any moment. Behind it, rows and rows of gravestones. And behind that, a small, almost rotting away sign that Alfie had to squint to make out. Blackwater Mine. There was an arrow pointing to the right, where the cave entrance was almost blocked from view by a couple of trees.

Before he knew what he was doing, Alfie had stepped into the graveyard, walked around the gravestones and found himself staring at the entrance to Blackwater Mine. The merry laughter that had surrounded him just a moment ago seemed to be a world away from the striking silence that accompanied the dark cave. He suddenly had the feeling of being watched, and he backed away slightly. A bat flew out of the cave, and Alfie jumped. That was stupid of you. He looked around to make sure no one had seen, then hurriedly returned to the streets again.

Might as well get some answers. Alfie wandered into a cozy-looking tavern. He took a seat on one of the stools. "You new here? Haven't seen you around." Before he could open his mouth, the bartender was smiling warmly at him from behind a long beard. "Yeah, just got here a couple of hours ago. Do you know anything about Blackwater Mine? I'll have..." he scanned the list of drinks. "A Dragon's Ale sounds good." Alfie reached into his satchel with a talon and pulled out a couple gold coins to pay. If the bartender was weirded out by this, he didn't show it. "Alright." He hurried away, seemingly wanting to get out of conversation with the harpy. "Don't talk about Blackwater Mine with him. He's got some... bad memories of that place." Alfie turned to see a ragged old lady on the stool next to him. "How so?"

The lady's voice turned to just above a whisper. "Well, you see, his grandmother was killed by some guy. Got sent to the mine for... oh, I dunno the exact time. It's a bad place, that mine. People killing, eating other people, no mercy at all." Alfie narrowed his eyes. "How would you know?" The lady lowered her voice even more so that he had strain to hear. "Oh, I would know."

Liliath was walking on the streets , she could heared the sounds of dead leaves. Not the sound she wanted to hear currently , but it was better then strange footsteps which made her shiver. She heared some childeren , childeren some yeats ago she was a child. She shook her head a little , she didn't want to think off her past anymore. Her past was over. The sunlight felt gentle on her skin. She loved the sun , she loved being outside. Then she noticed gravestones , it made her feel sick. She then noticed a sign 'blackwater mine' now Liliath was curious . The name was peculiar for her . She then walked to the entrance of the mine and stepped inside. After 4 steps she runned out , it didn't feel right. Still a little curious she decided to sit down infront of the entrance , maybe something would happen.

"You're kidding me, right? I'm going alone?" He spoke in an alarmed tone towards Chiron, a centaur and camp director. He replied, "Yep. You need to take the job and solve the core problem the town is having. We don't know what is causing the dark events and you are the only one experienced to stop it. Besides, I heard you will meet up with a friendly bunch once you get there. They have the same job as you." David asked about the other members of his cabin but it seems like they all went on their own separate quest. After given a map, he took off with a grunt and jaunted towards his cabin and packed the materials he needed for a trip that will no doubt take him a while. Grabbing his large backpack, he packed the essentials he needed, one of them being a sapphire. The gem reminded him of his teammates, reminding him that the jewels are a sign of their friendship, the hardships they faced, and teamwork. A grin tugged on his lips as he deposited the gem inside the draw string bag and he departed from camp.

He traveled through the vast forest, following the directions on the map written by the centaur. "Damn. His handwriting is so bad. What does this even say? B-Blackwater?" He spoke as he stepped on the several dead leaves, the crunching sound ringing in his ears temporarily. It did not bother him, because the only concern he has is whether or not Chiron gave him the right directions. A sigh escaped his lips as he rolled up the parchment and gripped the map, continuing to hike forward. Eventually, he began to hear chatter which lightened up his mood. This must be it. This must be the town. He started to sprint where the sounds came from and soon a town appeared in sight. Blackwater. Reading the sign as he passed it, he slowed down and resolved to catch his breath. "No rush. I'm here.", he mumbled under his breath. He led himself to the town tavern as he felt thirsty from his travels through directions from the locals.

The tall bartender noticed his arrival and turned around to see what he looked like. He donned a white dress shirt and black slacks, with a black apron just reaching down from his waist to just past his knees. His brown eyes matched his skin and his hair is absent. Hanging on his ears are two silver earrings, one hanging on each of his earlobes. He started with rapport. "Haven't seen you around either." Coming from what he just said, David deduced other members of this 'friendly bunch' Chiron mention must be here already. He sat down in front of the counter just a few feet from the bartender and asked for a pint of water. That is all he needed for now. Drinks are for later. "Coming right up.", the man boasted upon given a gold coin. He rested his arms on the counter, looking down as to thinking about where to start. However, he heard voices in around, and he picked up some of the conversations the harpy is engaging in.

He listened carefully, listened for the key terms that pertain to his job. "Blackwater Mine... Bad memories?" He mumbled under his breath after drinking the pint of water and depositing it on the counter. "Hey uhh... Andrew." He squinted towards the bartender's name tag. "Tell me about Blackwater Mine. What's happening? Why do some people here have bad memories of this place?"

What often surprised him most during his umpteenth trips to beyond the horizon and back, was the idle apathy a lot of people seemed face their life with. The lack of curiosity, perhaps held back by fear, that turned every onlooker, witness, suspect and ally he came across into tongue-tied sods. And today, too, the suspicion that he was actually talking to a wall rather than a resourceful-looking young vagrant grew and grew with every word that fell off his tongue. No real responses, every comment was paraphrase of the previous. As much as Randle hated to say it: the youthful bum was beyond useless. ".. and-eh, like'ai told'e'ye b'fore, they was no'h help eith'ah, jus' kept ramblin' 'bout sum birdy'ey met, and she's-.." All of sudden, the greasy-haired teen's repetitive explanation was interrupted by the resolute wavering of a large, grayish hand - the short sigh was to follow later. "Uh, thanks, I've heard enough.. I'll be sure to look into this." The guards hadn't lift a finger yet, but that was nothing new. The towering Feli leaned forward to drop a small satchel of coins at his passive liaison's feet, offered him a nod by a manner of greeting, and turned on his heels to take his leave. "You stay safe now, kid."

Back on the road, but the center of town was near, judging from the apparent increase of clanking carriages on the streets and rustle of voices in the air. An excellent moment to get his ducks in a row; to point out what he did know. So, word was that an old lady found her death at the hands of a local man, name still unknown. Guards moved out and dragged him away from the scene, put him down in the mine, and was never seen again. Now, with Blackwater being not that large a town, word traveled fast here, which meant that every inhabitant knew the broad strokes - and were most likely in possession of an unique piece of gossip each. And what was a town's hub of zither and conspiracy? Right; its tavern.

Yet.. something caught his eye before he could take a next step. Something unpleasant, to say the least, something that grasped his throat with cold, stiff hands and refused to let go. Almost literally. "Now that surely doesn't contribute to coziness," Randle remarked as he gave Blackwater's open-air burial site a gander. Mostly sober tombstones, no crypts near, yet the unsettling call of death and darkness lingered. Clearly distracted, the sleuth approached this grim corner of town and inspected its reaches rather quickly - he was quick to notice the stained board close to the edge of the graveyard, one that boasted chicken scratch reading 'Blackwater Mine'. "Easier than I thought.." Its grounds were clear of miners, only a single fuming smelter was built left of the gaping entrance, and in front of it.. a young stranger. "Good day, miss," he would greet her, having to look down as she strangely seated herself before the black hole in the rocks, obviously focused on it. "I suppose rumors lured ya to this hamlet here, too, hm? You don't look like a local." No, locals would steer clear of acting suspicious now people from all over came to investigate Blackwater's new mishaps. It was the only thing the town had to offer, anyway.

The kids soon fade into the background. Soon, it was quiet and the only noise was the ongoing chattering of two people to my right and the townsfolk to my left. I walk towards the voices on the dry stone-sand mix. The voices began to get louder as I got closer. It also got colder, I reach my hand out and feel nothing until my hand hits an ice-cold rock surface. Trying my best to avoid the two, I lean closer to the rock and follow into it. I stop after taking five steps when a gush of wind hits my face. I lift the cloth from my eyes and take a peek at what was there, but it wasn't really anything. The 'cave' structure descends into what I can't see. I place the fold over my eyes and back up. Maybe it was me, but I swear I hear people talking down there. I turn to face the two people who I heard talking and asked, "Do you know what this place is?" of course, the cave could be the undertakers' place. It was creepy, and reeks of death, so it was very possible. Just, something about the aura felt off. I can't see anything ahead of me with this blindfold, so I might have to come back when it is night and nobody is out and I can actually see. "Who are you, anyway? If you don't mind me asking. Do you work here, or are you outsiders?" at this point, I was hoping they were still there. I didn't want to reach out to feel because physical contact makes most situations awkward.

He noticed a gathering, small as it was, near the nearby mine, or cave, that stood just outside the border of town. Realizing that making his way through a wooden maze was duller than exploring a cavern, he moved over to them, uncertain as to why they waited just outside instead of within. He felt a sudden chill down his scales as he attempted to pass by and enter, an unusual feeling for him that quickly faded as he moved away from the maw of this silent beast. “What in Oblivion is going on here,” he asked, “what is this place?”

As Alfie continued talking with the old lady in the tavern, it was clear she was hiding some secrets. Alfie's ale came and he drank it, listening to the lady. "I wouldn't go there if I were you. Dangerous place." Alfie smiled wryly. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." She leaned almost uncomfortably close to him. "I can tell you wanna do it. I'm just tryna protect you." Alfie got off his chair and backed up slightly. "Alright, alright. I won't."

The conversation only piqued his interest in the place. As soon as the door creaked open, a gust of cold air rushed in, forcing him to wrap his wings around him tightly. Glancing around, he quickly navigated his way toward the mine once again. Ah. There it is. The messy scrawl of the sign seemed to jump out at him as he rounded the corner. There was a party of 4 gathered around it, that seemed to have gathered in the little while that he spent at the tavern. "Hey. You guys know anything about this place? Seems to be creepy or something. I take it you aren't familiar with the place? The locals advised me to stay away, so here I am." He smiled warmly.

"It looked so peculiar , i decided to look." the brunette smiled "Yes the rumors , they where also very peculiar." as she talked to the stranger another stranger came "My name is Liliath , outsider." she sighed . Liliath then noticed 2 other strangers , she thought it was amusing and chuckeld a little "Are we famous."she laughed "I don't know."she awnserd to one of the strangers and to the other one she said "If someone tells you to stay away from something , its either dangerous or some kind of secret."

"I see. These are the dark events Chiron mentioned. Nightmares, maniacal demeanor, weird ailments, and others that may involve death." He mumbled after Andrew briefed him on the rumors. However, the bartender felt like he had more to say. "Recently, I heard that a man named Thornar assaulted an elderly woman in the streets and killed her. As a consequence, he was held captive in the mine and given 24/7 supervision. The thing is, he claims he did not do it. Not only that, he claims the woman met him the night before he killed her and that she said these exact words, though it is still pretty blurry among us so it's not clear about her motive. 'I was planning on killing you so kill me first.'" David gave him occasional nods as Andrew explained in detail about the innuendo of the town. That supposed line the elderly woman spoke nearly gave him the chills and indicated that what he will be diving in is going to be pretty dark and creepy. Even so, he cannot see that disappointed look in Chiron's face when he comes back. A sigh escaped his lips as he turned back to the harpy whom is already set on leaving the tavern.

Andrew looked at him with concern. "You are not planning on going there, are you?" David returned his look with a grin tugging on his face. "I sure am. Can't waste this opportunity. Oh, and thanks for the water." The male sat himself up and left the tavern just a couple of minutes after the harpy did and assessed that he is heading to the same mine as well. It did not take him long to know that he is right. What appeared within is line of vision is the 'friendly' bunch the centaur spoke of though all are not exactly express human physical traits. It did not bother him though. What matters to him is whether they can handle teamwork. "Yeah, I can agree with you on that." He spoke as he stood next to the harpy. "Place is ominous. Reeks of peril, I say."

"Huh, never thought word traveled around that fast.." It didn't take long for their fellow outsiders to catch their scent, because soon after Randle'd addressed the young woman in front of him, more unfamiliar faces came to flock around the entrance as well, each and every of them a stranger to both the area and the enigmatic mine an sich. Honestly, Randle didn't feel bad about having company of many; unlike most of the locals, these people didn't seem to be afraid to look into the malignant case of the Blackwater Mine - were they ever to succeed and literally dig into it, it would be good to have a few folks watching his back. "Well, this sure as hell will help putting Blackwater on the map," he grinned as male harpy arrived at the scene minutes after the reptileman and the peculiar blindfolded dame did. "Hope anyone here knows more about this locale than I do. Anyone knows if it's off-limit to nosy outsiders? The locals didn't seem to be too keen on sharing things about it." The first woman was right: this could only mean that the Mine was either too dangerous or host to secrets the Blackwater people preferred to swipe under the carpet. Either way, that was that, and neither danger nor secrets would prove a problem to this company. Everyone he'd seen so far deemed capable of using their gray matter while also keeping their backsides standing; decent enough a band for him.

Awaiting further reactions that hopefully contained some clue of a sort, Randle grabbed an Atrocious Drake cigarette from the half-full pack in his trench's pocket and lit it with just the tiniest spark from his clawtip - sure, he was cheating there, but as long as no Essence seeped from his body, he should be fine, right? - before sticking it between his teeth. "Now let's hope they're as much in for teamwork as I am," the Husk thought to himself, immediately failing to understand how ironic that was, coming from him; despite not minding being shouldered by people, he was more used to a solitary method, and it would take time to adjust to this refreshing approach. But nothing the Clockwork Dick couldn't handle, right?

Whatever any of them said, it slipped past his mind; he was distracted by the void inside the cavern, unsure why it seemed to draw him in and yet push him away all at once. He sat down if he hadn’t already, wondering what his next step would be. He hated this indecision, as it made him vulnerable to doubt and fear, which weakened him in combat. He tried to focus on what they were talking about, but none of their words stuck with him.

He just gazed into the deep, watching the eternal darkness that swirled within. It was maddening, not knowing what could be down there, but he couldn’t see for himself what it was; the cave pushed him back, but drew him towards it. Finally, he’d had enough; he ran straight towards it, not caring for the unsettling feeling that permeated around him, at least not until he fell into the unseen hole. And that was it, he was sure; just falling for eternity, a cold blanket of darkness holding him in ignorance and despair as he tumbled down an endless abyss.

The group that had gathered were indeed not from the town. A couple humans were standing around talking. A feline wearing a trench coat lit a cigarette, with what Alfie couldn't see, and the smoke billowed around them, enforcing the already creepy mood that had settled over the entrance. A feeling of doubt passed over him. Was it right that they were doing this? If this was his town, would he want total strangers to come digging through the secrets that were very obviously taboo to the locals?

"Some secret," Alfie muttered. He jerked his head back as the reptilian with horns ran into the cave. "Hey, uh, I wouldn't-" Alfie called after him, but it was too late. The sound of his footsteps abruptly ended before he could do anything. Alfie looked back at the group, and cleared his throat. "So, going into the cave alone might not be the best idea." He took a step into the pitch blackness that was the entrance to the apparently secret mine. "Anyone care to join me? I personally want to know where he went." He tipped his head in the direction of the darkness.

"No it wouldn't , you would lost the way if you go alone and end up being stuck in the cave forever. If we all go together , we won't loose the way , if we make a plan ofcourse."

"Sure i can join."

Well apparently the reptile is not into teamwork as much as he had hoped to.

A sigh escaped his lips, thinking that they would also have to be responsible for him when he does screw up. They barely met and surely, this meeting is an indication of teamwork. But this guy seemed brash enough to go in without a plan. Now did not seem to be the right moment for greetings and introductions—they all seem too occupied on the mine itself. The feline lighting a cigarette, the harpy going in after the reptile, and the young girl who apparently is in the same page as him. No response from the woman either. He glanced around to see if any soul is watching, or at least creeping to see if the outsiders they had met were really going to investigate the Blackwater Mine. The thought of the place is spooky already, but even approaching it would be for the bravest of souls, the brash, or the ignorant. David surely hopes all of them are brave as of this moment, but the only thing that could occupy his mind is to follow that harpy. He would not want a thing to them, save for they just meeting.

He straightened his drawstring bag and moved forward into the mine. "Might as well follow." Only a grin would hide his overwhelming feeling of anxiety. Coming without a plan would be the last thing he would do. Is there really nothing that can be done? From the looks of their faces, he doubt that they have more information than he. The locals aren't so eager in giving them more detail. So all they can do in this dilemma is examine based upon what is told and the rumors. Going in with very little may cost him.