Group RP Luminous (The Actual Campaign Featuring Convoluted Magic)

(Pardon my most recent absence, life's busy, sleeps sucky, not really been able to write lately.)

Li stared at all the people talking over one another, each of them being absent of her minus one. She ran her hand over the fuller of the blade, feeling the light engravings. Knowing she can never return to her past, even if it's for the best. She let out a slow muffled sigh to herself.

She snapped herself back in the conversation when she heard a command- "Take us to where you last saw your friends," She looked up and around and saw two people conversing regarding something she didn't know.

She looked around for insight but ended up more confused feeling her head start to ache.

 

@ChocoChicken

Kanaru's heart sank at the scene. "Oh no...were we too late?"

It dawned on her she had no weapon to defend herself with. Whoever took these people, they will be expecting a fight...and I have no weapon!

 

@LassusVulpes @ID Zeta @Jupjami @122 Generation @ChocoChicken @WavePearl

Oh, great. The mess was still there. "T- this is where I last saw my friends," Elio mused as soon as the ragtag bunch of foreigners arrived at the copse where his previous skirmish took place. Still in a rather shaky voice, it was then followed up with a warning: "Bandits are freakin' strong, we might need to fight."

And then the young villager looked around. Leaves, cracked twigs, and fallen branches were everywhere. Some familiar items were also there: that one flower Jared had picked up the other day, Travolto's staff amid the cracked branches, and Jared's satchel. Elio gathered the flower and staff first (all while trying to not breathe too close to the flower), then went up to the satchel. And one rummaging later, Elio found Jared's journal and... what's this?

 

"Oh, well that's just wonderful," Wakeng thought aloud, hands in his pocket as he loitered around the ruined camp. At first glance, it seems that the soldier and the sword girl are the only ones that can put up a fight… probably should find a weapon, just to be safe.

Turning to the fallen twigs by his feet, Wakeng picked some up, experimentally throwing and bending them to see which ones would break. Eventually he found one that was considerably sturdy and easy to hold, which would hopefully give him some kind of defense.

Wakeng then noticed one of the white-haired guys - Elio, was it? - gather the items that were strewn about, though strangely trying to avoid smelling the flower. Hm, interesting. "Hey, Elio, right? What does the flower do?"

 

Ando surveyed the scene the group had arrived in. He noted the signs of a struggle - Elio's friends had clearly put up a fight against the bandits. He knelt down to examine the crushed leaves and twigs on the western edge of the copse. "The bandits couldn't have gotten too far," he thought aloud while scratching the stubble on his chin, "especially if they were carrying two hostages with them."

Ando's mind began to wander. Elio didn't look obviously wealthy, and his friends were likely around the same age as him... so why would a group of bandits go out of their way to attack them?

 

@Jupjami @LassusVulpes @122 Generation @WavePearl @ID Zeta @ChocoChicken

Some writing equipment and a few pages of handwritten diagrams were in the satchel along with the journal. Very Jared, according to the other guild members. As much as Elio wanted to read the journal, he probably shouldn't because his friend might've spilled some stuff he'd rather keep to himself in there. Before Elio could inspect the diagrams though, Wakeng's question snapped him back to reality (?).

"Uh..." one of Elio's hands (specifically the one doing the rummaging) fidgeted a little in the bag. "My friend said it's gonna numb you if you smell or eat it," he explained. Specifically, if not outright eaten, it was the pollen that would do the numbing if inhaled (hence the "smell" part), though it's not like he knew the details or anything. "That's what he heard anyway."

Elio's gaze was then directed to Travolto's staff. Deep down he was wondering if anyone within his vicinity (i.e. the people he'd desperately asked for help earlier) could use it, so...

Welp, sorry Trav.

Feeling somewhat inspired, the white-haired local boy raised the staff for everyone to see. "Anyone wanna use this?" he asked them all.

(The question is mainly for Kanaru and Robin since I assume everyone else already got their weapons (or a makeshift one in Wakeng's case) at this point, but anyone is free to respond anyway.)

 

@ChocoChicken

A flash of light got Kanaru's attention. What the... she gasped before hurrying to get a closer look at the light. Is that maybe a divine being, or power, coming to help us?

 

(So that's what the rolls are like!)

Earlier on the road, Robin had caught Kanaru sneaking glances at him as if she had recognised him from somewhere. That made Robin a little nervous.

@ChocoChicken @SAF @LassusVulpes @ID Zeta @Jupjami @WavePearl

By the time they arrived at the copse, Robin saw the remains of a scene where there had been a violent struggle. At least that was what it looked like. Robin had to think about the next steps too. If Elio was expecting a future encounter with bandits, then it would be best if everyone was armed. Unfortunately, there were no available weapons Robin could use, at least for now. If only he could buy some tomes or a new sword back at Finest Armoury in Parthia Plaza... Then again, it was impossible to reach Parthia Plaza unless he could open a portal back to his home somehow.

What is that faint glow?

But before Robin could even register what was going on, Kanaru had gotten ahead of him. Then he paused briefly to take the staff that Elio had offered. "I guess I'll hold onto this staff for now," Robin said, before heading off to investigate the blue glow.

 

So now Travolto's staff was in Robin's care. Good. With that out of the way, Elio went on to inspect the diagrams. The handwriting there was neat (and more importantly, readable), yes, but could Elio's braincells decipher whatever's written there...?

 

Ando glanced back at the rest of the group, who all seemed to be focused on some objects left on the ground. They looked safe enough, so Ando followed the trail of crushed underbrush to where it abruptly ended: a nearby bush. He inspected it for a few moments before poking the butt-end of his spear into it, feeling around for anything unusual.

 

"Hm," Wakeng tilted his head, pondering the new information Elio had told him. "If we wrap that flower and hold on to it, could we throw it to the robbers to incapacitate them? It seems like it could be a good AOE weapon," he asked, making a throwing gesture while the other whitehead and the girl on the tree a while ago were crowding around something.

 

@Jupjami @WavePearl @122 Generation @LassusVulpes @ChocoChicken @ID Zeta

Alas, seems like the diagrams were too much for Elio's braincells. He nearly had a headache weren't it for Wakeng's random idea regarding Jared's flower. "Per...haps?" doubt ensued on the boy's part. He took one more glance at the diagrams only to find one of them seemingly talking about the flower in question.

"Uh..." Elio backed out with the diagram about Jared's flower in tow (he left the rest in the satchel) and passed it to the older guy. "Can you read this?" he asked.

 

@ChocoChicken @WavePearl

"That's... interesting," Robin remarked, speaking to Kanaru. Not bothering to wait for his companion, Robin picked up the glass bottle and looked at it carefully. This looked like possibly a potion. What was it, exactly? Liquid does not normally glow like this, unless it were something extraordinary. Neither was Robin careless enough to not consume an unknown liquid either.

Robin then added, "Someone should know what kind of liquid this is. Perhaps a chemist in the city, or someone like that."

 

Wait a minute, did Robin just say "a chemist"? The closest this world has to it was the alchemist and it reminded Elio of his friends' specializations. "Actually, one of my friends is studying for Alchemist," he told his fellow whitehead, referring to Jared. "His notes are in the bag if you wanna read," he added, never mind that he's offering one of the notes to Wakeng right now.

 

@Jupjami @SAF @122 Generation @LassusVulpes @ChocoChicken @ID Zeta

Kanaru happened to get a glimpse of the flower drawing. It didn't look like any flower she knew from home...so what was it for?

The glass bottle was just as fascinating--was it a potion of some kind, like in every RPG she had ever played?

 

Alchemy?! Wasn’t that a kind of pre-chemistry dating to medieval or even ancient times? If Robin had it right, he had been sent to a not-modern timeline. Oh dear.

Not wanting to startle his fellow whitehead, Robin replied to Elio, “Well. Whatever can give us a hint about this thing will be very welcome.”