The Hounds. (An Original Text-Adventure style Quest)

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All was quiet in the Tomb of the Old Kings. In the main chamber, where ancient stone caskets lay...
Of Betrayals and Bars.
Location
Tampa, FL.
All was quiet in the Tomb of the Old Kings. In the main chamber, where ancient stone caskets lay stacked in indentations within the back wall, formed into a half circle around a single central casket at the center of an altar. Around the room were individuals clad in robes and armor, beings native to this world known as 'Mons'. Some had resemblances to animal-people, others to living plants, and others still to hominids. A quiet series of discussions were being held as they awaited for their guest of honor to arrive.

"When is he going to get here?" Someone asked.

"Soon, very soon." Was the reply they received.

"Were you there when he and his ilk fought that abominable creature?" Another asked in a soft voice.

"I saw it with my own two eyes. It was like several teams of the highest Standing Mon facing off against the sun itself!" Someone else uttered.

"Quiet, there he is." Came a sudden hiss. The Mon in the room all turned to the open set of great doors leading to the central corridor that led straight out of the tomb. Two individuals were walking down towards the central chamber: One was an older Mon of the HuMonoid types, their noseless face partially obscured by there semi rigid head hair that curled over their eyes.

"-ou'll find this a place of great honor to visit, I assure you." The Mon uttered with a smile on their lips, their robed arm emoting as they spoke. The guest of honor walked closely behind them, silent as the stone that made up the tomb. His black armor had patches and holes missing from it from the recent and titanic battle he had participated in. Where once his helmet had four glowing blue 'eyes' there were now three, the bottom left one that was directly over his left eye missing. He had turned down the offer to get it repaired immediately after the fight, having said it could wait until after the ceremonies were over with.

He was also a sizable figure at 7'6. While there were Mon species that were larger in stature, the way he carried himself and the very aura he seemed to carry with him put all of those to shame. He was known by many titles. 'The Defender', for his role in helping defend his fellows in combat, 'The Pugilist', for his main fighting style, and 'The Hammer', for the massive weapon that lay across his back. But the one that was whispered of the most was the one he shared with all his fellows; 'The Hound'.

"After we're done with the ceremony of victory here, there shall be a great feast in the honor of you and your fellows." The Mon in front of him uttered. A simple 'hm' was the only response he received. Not surprising, many of these outsiders were dour, so the Mon took no offense at his lack of verbal responses outside of what was absolutely necessary. "And now, we are here, in the main chamber." The Defender would have rolled his eyes at the obviousness of this statement, if it were not for how emotionally drained he was. The last few days had been demanding on him, from the loss of his partner to the battle with a massive Elder beast that had threatened this world and had demanded he and his fellows intervene to destroy it.

"Please, step towards the altar and we can begin." The Mon leading the way said, pointing towards the stone altar and the sarcophagus that lay on top. The Defender nodded his head in response before making his way over, his armored, oddly stump like feet making resounding thuds on the stone floor as he marched forwards. Those Mon that were directly in his path got out of his way, while those that were not in his path still gave him a wide berth. Odd, given how they hailed him and his kind as heroes, but he was not in the mind set to really question their stares and held breaths.

He arrived in front of the altar steps without much issue. He took the time to inspect the sarcophagus before him. Ancient, even by his standards, and reverently held aloft by metal stands. Its contents, some great ruler that was beloved by the people in the past. He reached out to brush his hand across it to wipe away some dust that had accumulated, his foot stepping on one of the steps leading up to it. And immediately recoiled. Magic surged around him, coalescing in arcs of lightening powerful enough to melt a mountain down to the foundation.

"NOW!" Someone yelled. And all at once, every Mon in the room began to open fire on him. Spells, elemental attacks, even enchanted arrows and spears. Over three scores of Mon with high Standing opened fire upon him from nearly every angle. For over thirty seconds, the sustained barrage went uninterrupted, the entire tomb and the mountain it was built under shaking from the force of the blast. Only the reinforcement enchantments that were placed on the ancient stone of the room prevented the altar and beyond from melting entirely. When the barrage finally ended, nobody bothered to ask if they got him or not.

The smoke cleared and they witnessed him standing there in a crater in the front portion of the steps, now facing towards them instead of the back of the room, his arms in a guarding stance and a luminescent blue barrier protecting him. He let it drop, and without moving an inch from his spot, returned fire. Blueish-white Ghost Fire tore through the air, emanating from the draconic maw shaped cestus' he now had over his hands. The Mon farthest from him managed to get on the defensive in time, beginning either dodging maneuvers or pulling up barriers to survive the onslaught unscathed. Those closest were not as fast and soon found themselves being immolated by ethereal flames.

"Get him! Someone get h-AH!" A Mon shouted, only for his words to be cut short by a fireball to the face. As he clawed at his burning flesh, the Defender continued his barrage unabated, not stopping his fire once until all of those that had tried to back stab him were at least partially burnt. Even the enchanted walls had scores of burn marks on them from misses.

"What is he?!" Someone less wounded than the others demanded to know.

Nobody really replied to that. They were too busy trying to recover from the 'battle' that had just ensued. The Defender huffed. He'd hardly been trying. He took a single step forwards towards them when something new began coming at him. He raised his barrier again. It did nothing as the javelin like projectile phased through it and then his armor, striking him dead on in the gut and sinking deep into his body until it finally was stopped by impacting on his unbreaking spine. As it sank into him, he felt himself growing weaker. And increasingly tired. He barely managed a grunt of shock out when more projectiles started coming after him.

No longer trying to use his barrier, he attempted to shoot them down with Ghost Fire, only for his flames to do nothing to even slow them down. More and more spears buried their way into his belly region, two sliding past his ribs to bury themselves in his hearts. The Defender took a shaky step backwards and collapsed on his back unto the cratered and partially melted steps. He felt his power draining, his mind growing increasingly wearier and harder to process what was happening. Even as he weakly tried to slap an incoming spear, succeeding for once as it could not phase through his unbreaking bones, but missing the one that came after it that punched through him and pinned him to the ground. 7 javelins in total now pin-cushioned him, leaving him too tired to do much more than twitch and shake in his spot.

"There there." A soft, feminine voice with an ethereal flang cooed. He saw something hovering towards him, but his vision had become too blurred to tell what it was. All he knew was that it wasn't a Mon. His mind could make enough sense of his senses to tell him that much. "Go to rest, loyal Hound." She spoke as she moved in close and secured something to his neck. And like that, his struggles ceased and his mind started to fade into a dreamless sleep, his eyes staring blindly at the ceiling. "Your services to the Empire are no longer required-"

------

Years Later.

-------
Sombra awoke with a start. Her lips were parched and she found herself smacking them. Her mind was still recollecting itself as she pondered what to do next. She was laying her head down on a wooden table, the sounds of people talking, laughing, and drinking as a radio played a song and a TV was playing some sports game. Her mind echoed thoughts of her team and wondered where they were. Wait, where was she right now?

>Suggest something for Sombra to do.

(Greetings everyone and welcome to a new Quest by me, TripleMRed. This Quest sees you, SV, seeing things mostly from the perspective of The Hound, and occasionally other people though it's mostly The Hound. The Hound and the others are their own characters, though you can make suggestions for them to follow! As with normal Text-Adventures, like Prequel or Ruby Quest, the Players will interact with the world and its contents by going through the Characters. No need to all suggest the exact same thing, feel free to suggest something different from everyone else. This isn't a vote system, it's a suggestion box for actions for the Characters to take.

Disclaimer: The author makes no claims to any of the artwork or music that may be displayed on this Quest. Some of it is work from games and other media, as can be seen by the watermarks some contain. Others are from artists around the web. None of it except some of the lore added on to them belongs to me, please support the official owners of the art/graphics used in this Quest. Feel free to ask who they belong to if you're curious. As this is an original quest, though don't be surprised expect to see stuff from existing franchises on here, like characters or such. Again, those belong to the original owners and not me.

Also, anyone have any questions, feel free to ask! So, with that out of the way, whose up for a totally fun and happy adventure?)
 
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So You Woke Up in a Bar, Pt. 1.
>Look around, see what's going on. Is her team nearby?
Sombra could have sworn that there was a voice speaking to her in her head. She chalked it up to still being a little out of it, though she did like the idea it was proposing. She raised her head and, ignoring the flash of pain said head gave her, began to look around. She was at a booth in the corner of some dine-in bar. Low level Mons without Guides of all kinds were hanging out, watching the game play out, discussing plans for missions and jobs, or just boasting about a recently won victory. It didn't take her long to catch the youngest of the group, Tyco.

The 5'4 Gunny Rabbit was lazily sipping away on some lemonade, boredly watching the rest of the bar do its thing. He had yellowish-orange fur, emerald eyes, and loved to wear orange camo-pattern clothes. Like the rest of the team, he had a breastplate strapped to his chest with a green symbol. The color and sign of a rookie team.

"Psst, Tyco." Sombra hisses. The Gunny Rabbit shifts his gaze to look at the Caniform across from him.

"Hey Soms." He uttered, "Finally awake?"

"Yeah." She groaned as she rubbed her head.

"Man, I wish I could get a stiff drink around here." Tyco sighed, "I'm old enough to be out adventuring, but I can't get a freaking drink? Seriously?"

"Look on the brightside, next year you'll be the big 2-0 and you'll be able to hang out with us heavy drinkers." Sombra uttered, puffing out her hidden chest with pride.

"Soms, you went down after one drink." Tyco snickered. "You're as light as they come!"

"Haha, very funny." Sombra grumbled. "This is why I don't drink." She added under her breath. She then turned her attention to Tyco and motioned for him to hand his lemonade over. Nodding, the Gunny Rabbit handed his drink across the table, which Sombra took and started hydrating herself with. "So, where're the others?" She asked inbetween sips.

"Cinder's getting another round and apparently Glimmer's getting us a new mission." The Lagomorph explained. Sombra looked over to the bar and, sure enough, found Cinder. The Boxer Chick was standing there and talking to the bartender as he poured her another round of drinks. The stocky, dewinged Gryphon hen's white tanktop stood out on her red and amber form, her wizened yet blazing red eyes twinkling as she laughed at a joke she was being told. The Caniform looked around to find Glimmer, but she couldn't make out the high class Dragoness amidst the crowd. Must be on the other side of the bar or something.

"I'm gonna go look for her." Sombra uttered as she got out of her seat, handing Tyco's drink back to him.

"Have fun with that." Was all the response she received. After testing to make sure she could stand up straight in the first place, Sombra made a quick pit stop by the rest room to make sure she was looking alright: A mostly black and silver trimmed Night Dog stared back at her, golden eyes blinking as she took in her casual dress. Some people would accuse her of being 'goth', though anyone who knew her knew she was too giddy and happy to fall under that category. She just liked wearing dark clothes, was that so wrong?

Snapping herself out of her funk, she looked around the bar to try and find Glimmer. Soon enough, she found the team mage talking with some Moleform in archaeology gear. The well-built pink and golden haired Dragoness was talking excitedly with the Mole, her combat dress befitting her someone of her wealthy upbringing. Sombra considered heading over, since she was the officially unofficial Team Leader, despite Glimmer being their main bankroller.

>Suggest something for Sombra to do.
 
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>listen in to the conversation before heading over. The Mole looks like an archeologist. Maybe has a good job for the team?
 
So You Woke Up in a Bar, Pt. 2.
>finish your lemonade before heading over so you look less like death.
While a good idea, that was Tyco's lemonade, not Sombra's. As such, she'd have to make due with looking like a half dead dog.

>listen in to the conversation before heading over. The Mole looks like an archaeologist. Maybe has a good job for the team?
Being the team's ninja for all intents and purposes, Sombra hides herself before sneaking over and listening to the conversation.

"-nd you say you'll pay us double for the job if we bring back any artifacts?" Glimmer uttered excitedly. Money wasn't all that much of an issue for them, but it never hurt to have a little extra from the jobs they do.

"That's right," The ArcheoMole uttered in a nasally voice, using one of her sharp clawed fingers to adjust her spectacles, "There should be plenty of artifacts considering the place has been locked away for who knows how long." Okay, so it looks like it's an archaeology job for a place that has recently had its guarding wards shut down. Not unheard of, if uncommon. Going by the looks of them, this ArcheoMole was a rookie in her own right. That meant that she was looking for a team to do the job quickly, before others who heard of the place headed on over to plunder or research it first.

Taking some steps back to decloak, Sombra headed on over again, this time visible.

"Hey Glimmer. Got a new job for us?" The Night Dog asked innocently.

"Yup, I'm just closing the final details on it now." The Support Cast Dragoness uttered. She then turned to look at the ArcheoMole, a smile across her face, "We'll take the job!"

"Well alright then, here's the official document for taking it." The Mole said as she handed them a scroll with the Archaeology Guild symbol on it. "I'll be in the hostel next door, room 14." The team members nodded before they started making their way back to their table.

"Oh, this is so exciting! Our first archaeology hunt!" Glimmer practically squealed. "We're sure to earn some reputation from this!" Sombra was about to say something when she noticed Cinder was talking to a Serpentine woman. It didn't look like it was a pleasant conversation, going by the annoyed look on the Gryphon's face and the sneer on the Serpentine's own visage, leaving Sombra wondering if she and the others should step in. Cinder could handle things on her own, most likely, but still...

>Suggest something for Sombra to do.
 
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Sombra looked over to the bar and, sure enough, found Cinder. The Boxer Chick was standing there and talking to the bartender as he poured her another round of drinks. The stocky, dewinged Gryphon hen's white tanktop stood out on her red and amber form, her wizened yet blazing red eyes twinkling as she laughed at a joke she was being told. The Caniform looked around to find Cinder, but she couldn't make out the high class Dragoness amidst the crowd.
'Glimmer'.

Out of curiosity, does this happen in the same setting as the events of the Fox adventure, given that it's a multiverse and all? I have a sense of vague familiarity reading through all this, but maybe it's just because both stories are being written by the same author in a similar format.

> Don't sweat it. Cinder can take care of herself.
 
'Glimmer'.

Out of curiosity, does this happen in the same setting as the events of the Fox adventure, given that it's a multiverse and all? I have a sense of vague familiarity reading through all this, but maybe it's just because both stories are being written by the same author in a similar format.
(Thanks for catching that. As for the question, it is the same setting as The Fox, just not necessarily the same universe or time period.)
 
>sneak over and see what they're bitching about. If things sound like they're about to escalate into a fight then step in and try and brake things up. Don't want to get tossed out of the place now do you?
 
So You Wake Up in a Bar, Pt. 3.
> Don't sweat it. Cinder can take care of herself.
That is true. She may have gotten into the adventuring game older than most, but Cinder could handle herself among these other low-ranks. She was the team's frontline fighter for a reason, after all.

>sneak over and see what they're bitching about. If things sound like they're about to escalate into a fight then step in and try and brake things up. Don't want to get tossed out of the place now do you?
Actually, for someone who was simultaneously a Gryphon, a Fighter class, and a Fire type, Cinder was a pretty chill individual. That being said, she seemed peeved by what the snake woman was tossing at her, so it wouldn't hurt to sneak in and hear what was going on. Sombra doubted Cinder would start a bar fight, but juuuuust to be safe...

"I'm gonna head over and see what's going on with Cinder." Sombra told Glimmer.

"Oh?" The Dragoness uttered before looking over and seeing the brewing argument. "Oh! We should go over and back her up!" Glimmer stated with a determined look.

"Hold on there, I'm sure Cin can handle herself, but if she really does need back up, I'll call you over, okay?" Sombra uttered. Glimmer didn't look too certain, but she ultimately conceded.

"Alright, but don't be afraid to get involved if need be." Was all the golden haired Dragoness said on the matter. Sombra nodded before she tuned up her stealth and went in to investigate. As she approached, she started hearing what the antagonistic Serpentine was saying. She could also determine more of what she was: By her looks and coloration, she seemed to be a Fighter class as well, with a typing for Poison. A Thrash Snake.

"-I mean really, what could a wash out like you be worth to even a team of rookies?" The Serpentine huffed.

"A fair bit, considering I managed to pull my weight the last few missions we've been doing." Cinder's eyes were a hard glare, but her tone was even and calm. The grip she had on her tray of drinks didn't even waver.

"I should say you pull your own weight." The Serpent offered as she lazily looked over the Gryphon. "How long does it take to work out baby weight, anyway?"

"So I'm a bit pudgier than I used to be. Still got the muscle to knock your daylights out." Cinder retorted. "Besides, if you're so curious, why don't you find out how long it takes yourself? I'm sure someone as pretty as you can find a guy willing to put one in your oven, even if you are a toxic bitch." Her tone remained the same, but her words were starting to get more heated.

"Oh, looks like I touched a nerve." The Serpent snickered, ignoring the attempted jab thrown her way. "Then again, I'm surprised it's taken this long to get you talking smack. I thought you Gryphons couldn't wait to get your claws dirty."

"Not all Gryphons are the same." Cinder replied simply.

"If that's true, then I suppose that means if you're not sneaking away some more of the team's pay for yourself. Or is the smell of Lucre too much for you to control yourself over?" The Serpent rebutted. Cinder's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. This Serpent was looking for a fight. Sombra considered stepping in to help defend her friend, even though Cinder was managing to keep her cool pretty well so far. Maybe have a few choice words to throw the Serpentine's way.

>Suggest something for Sombra to do.
 
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>Serpent is looking for a fight and trying to make Cinder throw the first punch. You got a lead on a job offer, maybe you can use that to lead Cinder away from the Serpent to discuss it before Serpent pushes Cinder too far?
 
Mon Codex: Thrash Snakes.
>Thrash snakes.... what do you know about them?
Thrash Snakes.

Base Mon Species: Serpentine.

Class: Fighter.

Type: Poison.

Summary: Thrash Snakes are an uncommon, though not rare, type of Fighter, as they have a typing for poison. They typically come about when young Serpentine's that do not develop magical talents for other abilities focus more on physical combat. Unusually for a Fighter, their main strength and fighting style does not come from their arms or legs. While having a reasonable amount of muscle on their limbs, the true strength of a Thrash Snake comes form their long, muscular, and prehensile tail.

These tails are capable of smacking aside other Mon of an equal weight class and roughly comparable Standing Rank with ease, as well as being able to accurately grab body parts and even bind their enemies temporarily. Their poisonous breath can be applied to their limbs and tail, allowing them to inflict Poison type damage to their foes in addition to direct damage from their physical attacks, meaning that even if they do not directly take a foe down with their strikes, they will surely weaken and go down in a fight the longer it goes and the more poison is applied.
 
>yeah snake bitch just looks like she just wants to cause trouble. I say ignore her in her entirety and let cinder know you guys got a job and wanted to gather everyone to go over the details.
 
So You Wake Up in a Bar, Pt. 4.
>Serpent is looking for a fight and trying to make Cinder throw the first punch. You got a lead on a job offer, maybe you can use that to lead Cinder away from the Serpent to discuss it before Serpent pushes Cinder too far?
>yeah snake bitch just looks like she just wants to cause trouble. I say ignore her in her entirety and let cinder know you guys got a job and wanted to gather everyone to go over the details.
Sombra wasn't entirely sure where these head voices were coming from now that she was more clear eyed than when she first woke up, but they made good points. So, decloaking, the Night Dog stepped up to talk to Cinder, pointedly ignoring her to focus on her team mate.

"Hey, Cin, come on. We got a new job." Sombra stated. Cinder didn't bother to give the Serpentine a glare any longer than she had to before she broke eye contact to look at Sombra and give a nod.

"Right, let's get too it then." Was all the Gryphon said about it before following Sombra. The Serpent said something to them, but they both ignored her as they walked back to their booth. Glimmer was waiting there while Tyco was nowhere to be seen.

"Glad to see you two handled that well." The Dragoness that was bankrolling the group said with a pleased smile.

"She was just some tramp who thought she found an easy fight in the waiting." Cinder huffed as she placed the tray on the table. "Where's Tyco?"

"I think he went into the bathroom. He's had, what, 3 full glasses of lemonade already?" Glimmer noted out loud.

"4, actually." Cinder corrected. "5 when he gets back out." She said as she picked up another glass of lemonade and gave it a slight shake to emphasize her point before she placed it down where the Gunny Rabbit had been seated for much of their time at the bar. "I got another glass of Whiskey for me, that rosy stuff you love so much, and a glass of water for our light weight friend here." Sombra didn't have a good response for that, so she huffed and glared at Cinder in annoyance. The Gryphon chuckled at that. "Hey, it's true, you couldn't even finish your glass of brandy. You're lucky I packed a hang-over patch and slapped it on you when you went down, otherwise you'd have been stuck at this table still."

Sombra blinked before she started looking around and found the aforementioned patch on the back of her arm.

"Huh, thanks for that." She stated.

"No problem." Was the older Gryphon woman's reply. "So, new job?"

"Just a moment, got to wait for Tyco to-" Began Glimmer, only to be cut off by Tyco.

"I'm back, I'm back, sorry!" The Lagomorph uttered as he came back from the restroom and got unto his seat again. "What'd I miss?"

"We got a job from an Archaeologist." Glimmer began to explain, "There's this old tomb that's been blocked off by wards for a long time now, millennia in fact. It's only recently that the wards have started failing, and she was hoping to get a team to go and explore them for her before any major Archaeology groups come in to start researching."

"Huh." Was Tyco's response to all that. "Soooo, we get to keep any loot we find, right?"

"Tyco, this is an important archaeological discover! Not a Tomb Raid." Glimmer scolded. "Besides, this is just a regular tomb and not a capital 'T' tomb. Not a whole lot of loot other than cultural artifacts and bones." Glimmer added.

"Aw man, first Archo mission and we don't even get any good loot from it." Tyco whined, his head on the table and his ears drooping unto the woodwork. "....Are we at least getting paid?"

"Handsomely, if we do the job right." Glimmer nodded.

"Well, at least there's that." He grumbled before he lifted himself back up and started to drink his lemonade. "So, we hitting the town shops before we go, or are we leaving at first light?"

>Suggest something for Sombra to do.
 
>Check how much currency and how much supplies the team has. Keep eye out for the Serpent, may be back to harass Cinder again
 
So You Wake Up in a Bar, Pt. 5.
>I blam the booze. All sorts of crazy shit happens when if you have to much of the stuff
That's a good point. Sombra decided to just categorize these head voices as her conscience or something and leave it at that.

>also what do you guys have for gear already and how long do you think this trip will take?
As far as gear went, aside from the clothes on their backs and some spare changes for each Mon, as well as everyone's personal camping gear that were stowed away in handy-dandy Store-Away Brand Containment Packets, everyone had their equipment for doing their intended roles. Sombra had her sword and dueling dagger for her hit and run attacks, Ty had his repeater gun, Glim her staff and back up wand, and Cin....Well, actually, Cindy didn't have any equipment for her role. She made due with some boxing tape wrapped around her claw tipped hands. She was her own weapon, after all.

As for the trip, going by the mission details on the scroll they'd been given that also doubled as proof of their assignment, the tomb was little more than a four day's journey to the south west. The tomb was an ancient thing built into a mountain, so they'd know it when they saw it. Though, there were some reports of Mechana machines in that area of unknown rank, so they'd have to be careful. Still, this far away from the front lines, there couldn't be anything a team of rookies couldn't handle on their own, right? Right.

>Check how much currency and how much supplies the team has. Keep eye out for the Serpent, may be back to harass Cinder again
Currently, the team found itself at a total of L500. 500 Lucre. As for supplies, food supplies were still a week or so away from needing to be restocked, though special equipment like potions and combat equipment were practically non existent save a handful of healing potions. They'd need to hit the shops in order to stock up on more of such gear, though they could handle this sort of mission as they were.

"So, what do you think, Soms? Hit the stores, or just leave tomorrow?" Tyco asked again.

>Suggest something for Sombra to do.
 
>Maybe find something in the stores that can help spot the Mechana machines. While they are of unknown rank, could be scouts for something larger they were planning.
 
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