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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 19, 2020 22:30:17 GMT
Jiro resisted the urge to call out "Here, striga, striga," as he made his way through the dark caves, the lantern by his side his only source of light. Well, maybe he could magic some light up, but he probably wouldn't be very good at it. He could make do. A striga had been coming after people's livestock at night, and even after the people themselves on a few occasions, and then hiding in the caves at night. And who better to take it out than a wizard whose specialty was metal spells? Okay, gems were more like rocks, but people called them precious metals all the time. And rocks and earth was Jiro's second-best type of spell-casting. His thoughts were interrupted by steps coming from a nearby tunnel and he automatically tensed. He couldn't tell if it was the striga, or somebody else possibly hunting for treasure.
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Post by doodlertoodlert on Dec 19, 2020 22:37:02 GMT
Via had been exploring more now, working themselves up to real monster hunting stuff, but for now, this was the closest she'd gotten. People in this area had been complaining of a striga in the cave systems, but a little girl had also claimed her pet cat had been wandering in the cave system a bit away from where the striga was said to be hiding, so Via had taken the job. She was pretty sure this cat was dead, but she could bring something back for the girl, maybe. To bury or whatever. However it seemed she'd gotten lost, as she happened upon what was very obviously someone who was in the business of monster hunting. She sighed.
"Have you seen a cat? calico apparently, answers to the name Sassy. A little girl lost her cat in the caves a bit...uh..." she pointed behind her. "But the striga probably got it."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 20, 2020 4:30:17 GMT
Oh. So it wasn't the striga. Jiro came across a...harpy? He honestly wasn't sure. The most he could tell was that this was a person who was from Avalon, and that was about it. It was a thing he'd noticed over time, being able to sense at least who was from Avalon and who was from the Magic Realm. But that wouldn't be of much help right now. It looked like this girl was on a mission of her own, going after a lost cat. "Well, uh...we probably shouldn't lose all hope yet," he said, trying to be optimistic. "Cats can be pretty quick and crafty." He glanced at the girl before saying "But maybe you should wait outside, until it's safer. Strigas can get pretty nasty."
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Post by doodlertoodlert on Dec 20, 2020 5:10:42 GMT
"Uh huh." Via said, not really agreeing. She eyed this guy, and shook her head at him telling her to leave. "I have supersonic screaming" she told the guy simply. "Plus, a team is better against something powerful than soloing, right?" and she was not going outside without the cat. Not right now, at the very least. Things had just gotten incredibly interesting. "I'm Octavia." She walked past him a few feet. "Looks like right now you're stuck with me, dude."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 20, 2020 17:46:44 GMT
Okay, maybe there was more going with this girl than met the eye. Supersonic screaming could come in handy. And she did have a point. Two heads were better than one. Jiro hadn't done a whole lot of adventuring with others too much, so this would be interesting. The harpy introduced herself as Octavia and he replied politely with "Jiro. Nice to meet you." Octavia went on a little ahead of him, straying from the light of his lantern. Maybe harpies could see okay in the dark? That could come in handy. "Looks like we'll have to get in pretty deep into these caves before we run into this thing. It won't be hanging around near the entrance." He just hoped he could spot the striga before it found him. Despite having screams that could stun enemies, it could move pretty stealthily.
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Post by doodlertoodlert on Dec 20, 2020 21:52:13 GMT
She couldn't actually see super well in the dark. Her harpy feathers were possibly owl? But she'd quickly noticed she saw better in sunny days from ledges looking down at things. Or by constantly moving her head. She was just too stubborn to stay too close, especially if he had said no. Her hearing was pretty good, though. Like a classic bird of prey's. It was generally only handy in open spaces, though. Caves echoed. "Well Jiro, we can't be wasting time then huh? Unless you wanna wait around for it to go get more food and maybe come to us?" She turned to him, arms folded and eyebrow up, smiling. "I mean, I'm game for whatever. But I don't know what your plans are." she had an empty house and microwavable dinners to look forward to at home, dad was talking to mom again.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 21, 2020 3:12:33 GMT
Okay, this Octavia girl had some spunk. She at least seemed confident about all this and not the least bit scared. He gave a little laugh. "No, no, I'm game, as you call it. Let's get going." Holding out his lantern, he started to make his way further into the tunnel. There weren't any gems or jewels in sight, but that would probably change once they got in deeper. That was always where the good stuff was. "I take it you know a thing or two then, about monster hunting?" he asked.
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Post by doodlertoodlert on Dec 21, 2020 6:05:45 GMT
She made sure to stay in his lantern light, though kept her head cocked and eyes open. "A bit. I've been trying to work myself up to stuff like this, and I know how-I've heard all about it by the people in the taverns and inns, and stuff...I just haven't had the courage to do it." She smirked a little. "I figured maybe helping someone else can make it easier? If I can get good in groups, then eventually I can work myself into doing it alone when I have more experience. Mostly I've been tackling little stuff. It's been minor things in people's houses, or scaring off imps from hexing barns or whatever. Nothing big like this. But I can take directions so tell me what to do, and I'll help."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 23, 2020 1:58:11 GMT
So, this was Octavia's first big mission. She looked ready to learn and get some experience. Jiro just hoped everything went well. God forbid something go horribly wrong on her first try. Although it seemed she'd done enough to work her way up to this point. "Sounds like you've had some interesting stuff to deal with," he said. "My first job was getting rid of a couple of rowdy drunkards from a bar." Once he'd finally realized that this place was real and that he'd wanted to become an adventurer, his first job had sort of plopped into his lap. He'd just happened to be at the bar where some guys had had a bit too much to drink and were harassing the bartenders. He'd stepped in with a spell or two, and that was really the beginning of his adventuring.
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Post by doodlertoodlert on Dec 23, 2020 4:53:25 GMT
"Well, people saw I was a harpy and went 'hey can you scare some stuff for us' and I did. It was fun. I mean, hard too but I enjoyed it." She considered it. "That's not a bad way to start in my opinion. We all need to start somewhere right? And knocking out drunk asshats seems like a good a start as any." She looked around them at the cave system and the rocks, and how dim everything was. Dreary. She'd hate to live in here, honestly, it seemed awful. The striga probably was limited in her choices for a home in all honesty but still. How cold, how sad.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 24, 2020 2:53:33 GMT
It seemed like Octavia was enjoying being a harpy at least. Most people who entered the Magic Realm did, although there were a few whose form they ended up in was kind of a mystery. Jiro liked his though. Metal spells to go with his new arm was kind of fitting. She commented about how taking out drunk guys sounded like fun and he gave a little laugh. "Maybe in the beginning. But once you start getting enough experience, you start wanting to face a new challenge. Looks like you're at that point." He walked for a moment longer before commenting "You'd think there'd be more stereotypical things in a cave like this, like bats or rats or something." Maybe the striga had eaten them all and that was why it was going after livestock. There probably wasn't anything left.
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Post by doodlertoodlert on Dec 24, 2020 4:44:13 GMT
"I dunno, I really was just looking for that cat. But with you I saw a really good opportunity, and maybe I'll find the cat on the way!" She admitted. she shrugged, looking around. "They might be farther in, or not in this immediate area. Or they're in their own tunnel systems away from things, if we're talking about rats and mice. Bats are picky about where they live. It should be warm and fairly, for starters, and near a lot of food. I don't really see tons of any of that. But it would be a good resting area for like...large snow cats or bears, though. But I haven't seen any of those, either." Had the striga gotten all the food sources? Maybe that was why everything was so empty.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 26, 2020 21:35:36 GMT
Ocatvia had a point. This place was very much like a labyrinth. Maybe any creepy-crawlies that were still down here were in another part of the caves. Although the idea of coming across a snow cat or a bear didn't sound like a good idea either. Sure, regular animals like them couldn't breathe fire or anything, but they could still be difficult to deal with. Jiro had come across a grizzly bear once and that hadn't been fun at all. Something caught his eye though on the rocks beneath his feet. Right in the center was a steady trail of stones that were stained a dark red, almost brown. He frowned. "If that's blood, then the striga has probably dragged dead livestock down this way before," he said, looking back up. "Guess we're going the right way."
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Post by doodlertoodlert on Jan 2, 2021 3:31:13 GMT
She looked at the dark red path on the ground. It looked like dripping things had been dragged down this path over and over and over again, which meant the thing had a pattern and habit. Cool! She brushed a taloned hand over the trail, some parts still a little sticky with the red, and sniffed it. "It smells like an uncooked steak so I'm going to take a leap of faith and say that you're right." She wiped the blood on her pants and looked at Jiro. "Any plans for how we want to take the Striga on? I'm good with whatever but I wanna know what you want me to do before we're fighting her."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 3, 2021 16:49:06 GMT
"Uncooked steak" was certainly a good way to describe it. Octavia asked for advice on how to fight this thing and honestly, there was really only one way to take down a striga before it killed you. "They're fast, so we just need to be faster," he replied. "They've got big claws and can scream loud enough to stun prey." He glanced at Octavia before saying "With you around though, it might just turn into a screaming match or something." He wondered which screech was more powerful: a striga's or a harpy's. He'd probably find out before this little adventure was over.
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