- Location
- Florida
>Meet with postmaster, might be able to get more info, that Mecha may not have been only assailant out there
The Hounds. (An Original Text-Adventure style Quest)
- Thread starter TripleMRed
- Start date
- Original
To the Comms. Station, Pt. 17.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
"I say we meet the Post Master." Sombra stated. "There's more to this than it seems and I'd like to get to the bottom of it. Plus, we need to inform him of what's happened from our perspective as well. Kind of standard procedure." The Night Dog uttered.
"It's settled then, let's follow these good folks back to the Postal Office and get this squared away." Cinder stated with a nod. The Team Leader had spoken and so it would be.
---
The Post Master's office was a fairly straight forward place. A desk, some cabinets and display cases for awards and trophies in his carrier or that honored the office as a whole. The Post Master himself was a large fellow. Big, well muscled under his uniform, he was a Normal-type HuMonoid, though his exact class wasn't immediately obvious. Fighter, maybe? He was standing behind his desk when the Team came in, looking over a report.
"Ah, so you must be the team of Rookies I have to thank for helping out my people." The Post Master said with a grateful nod.
"We were just doing what we could to help, sir." Sombra stated earnestly.
"And for that, you have my sincerest thanks." The Post Master uttered. He paused as he looked over the team, eyes settling on Teth. "I can't sense your Standing, my good man. Are you a ManaMon, or an Outlander?" ManaMon, the full name of the Mon species. Everyone just says Mon to keep it short.
"Outlander, sir." Teth uttered.
"Not common to have one of those running around, though you aren't the first I've seen." The Post Master stated. "Though, you are the first of your particular kind I've laid eyes on. Most are more distinctly Elder in quality." He waved his hand. "But anyway, moving on: Could you all please inform me of what exactly happened out there? I've already gotten reports from my employees, but I'd like to get an outside perspective."
>Suggest something for the Team to do.
- Location
- MN
>well first we came across on of you runners in a ditch with a trail leading into the woods. After making sure the guy was ok some of our party went into the woods to see if we could find what attacked the runner and took his package. It lead to a clearing with a bunch of the local wild life in the area. Think it might have been a trap but not entirely sure, but after dealing with them we recovered the package only to find it was empty and then the runner informed us that he was only one runner in a team of runners meant to be delivering the same package. We then split up to inform you, and make sure the other runners where safe. We found another runner passed out on the road that told us the attacker might be using a gas of some kind and then we found it attacking a third runner who happened to be immune to the gas. We then aided the third runner in fending off the attacker an tried to capture it to see if we couldn't figure out why it was attacking your runners and because we noticed it wasn't killing anyone either. However when we did capture it, it self destructed with a massive explosions that Teth and Glimmer contained with a dual layering of shield spells. And that's about the long of short if it really.
- Location
- Florida
>Explain what the group encountered, and note that the Mechana seemed to want that package rather badly given the lengths it went too..
To the Comms. Station, Pt. 18.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
Er....Yes. That. All that.
"One at a time, please." The Post Master stated as various members of the team tried to explain everything at once. As such, those in the know explained everything, in detail, one by one. By the time everyone was finished, a full 10 minutes had passed from start to finish. The Post Master took a seat in his office chair and let out a sigh.
"I see." He began after a long moment. "Thank you all for telling me this from your perspective." He uttered gratefully. He frowned. "None of this is good. A new type of Mechana, here in a low Standing area, hunting after packages we had specific instructions to deliver discreetly. None of this is good at all. There is also the matter of-what did you call them?"
"Atomics, sir." Teth stated.
"Yes, those." The Post Master deeply frowned. "Nuclear power was discovered and harnessed as an energy source. To think that it can be weaponized." He shuddered. "And the Mechana are the first to develop this, it seems. Why they haven't started using it in widespread capacity, I'll never know, but in the end, such power is mostly a threat to lower level Mon. Higher level ones would be able to withstand the destructive power of such devices well enough."
"My thoughts exactly." Teth stated. "It seems unlikely that this was a one off thing, either."
"Do we know for sure it was the Mechana that developed such weapons themselves?" Glimmer stated.
"What are you suggesting?" The Post Master asked, curious to see where she was going with that statement.
"I've heard stories of the Mechana working with non-Mechana. We've all heard of the traitors that betrayed the Mon peoples in favor of the Mechana." Glimmer stated, her brow furrowed. "What if they are working with outside forces, from the Elder Lands? That is unfamiliar territory, if such devices exist, I bet they got the technology from there."
"An interesting theory." The Post Master uttered. "But I'm afraid that until we get this news to the proper governments, a theory is all that is." He sighed again before turning his attention to the Team. "Once again, you have my thanks for telling me all this and for helping my people. I can offer the express trolley we have underground to get to the Comms. Station. Unfortunate that my couriers had to deliver to several different points around the region, otherwise they could have all gone in one go."
"Thank you for the ride, sir." Sombra stated with a grateful nod.
"Think nothing of it, though I feel like that isn't all I should offer." The Post Master stated. "I'm willing to give you a monetary reward, if you're interested."
"We could always use some more Lucre." Cinder pointed out.
"Of course a Gryphon would say that." The Post Master coughed into his hand, though only Teth and Tyco seemed to catch that. "Beyond that, however, I'd like to offer a proposal. An additional down-payment in exchange for performing a job. Namely, bringing the remaining box to its destination. It still has its prize intact, so it would be of great help to us if you could deliver it, especially since we haven't been able to find neither hide nor hair of the other packages."
>Suggest something for Teth to do.
>Suggest something for the Team to do.
- Location
- MN
>Teth, I kinda want to say yes to delivering the thing as long as we do take the tram since we're going to be making stops along the way... but I have to ask why didn't they use the underground trolly to move the packages in the first place?
>Team, if the trolly would be quicker I say take it, that being said, how quick is the tram compared to just hoofing it?
>Team, if the trolly would be quicker I say take it, that being said, how quick is the tram compared to just hoofing it?
- Location
- Florida
>Take the job
>Trolley would Probably be faster and the,Mechana destroyed itself..seems to be the best option
>Trolley would Probably be faster and the,Mechana destroyed itself..seems to be the best option
To the Comms. Station, End/Comms. Station 1, Pt. 1.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
"Why not take the trolley to the various destinations in the first place?" Teth asked.
"The Trolley is a straight shot towards the Communication Station. Taking the trolley for all of my couriers would have meant a much longer trek for some of them then just walking to their destination from here." The Post Master stated. "Also, it's been under renovations until a few hours ago, so there wasn't exactly a lot of options for a quick delivery for them anyway." Fair enough, he supposed.
"How fast is this trolley, exactly?" Sombra asked before Teth could.
"Well, it should get you to the Comms. Station by this dusk tonight." The Post Master declared. Cinder whistled.
"That definitely saves us some time." The Gryphon stated.
"We'll take the job." Sombra stated.
"Very good, the package will be waiting for you down by the Trolley." The Post Master said with a nod. "Your payment for your recent help will be there as well. Payment for the package, however, will have to wait until delivery. The individual you'll be giving it to will have the money."
"Sounds good." Sombra nodded. "Come on, team, we've got a ride to catch."
---
The Trolley ride had been....decent. Nothing too pleasant, as despite the recent renovations it had a distinctly rickety feel to it, but it served its purpose well enough. The Team found itself coming into out of the tram line and into the main area of the Comms. Station. All over the sizable central room, dozens of booths lined the walls or stood in evenly spaced out sections of the main floor. It was dusk, but numerous Mon were manning the stations, chatting away with people from all over that had a phone line.
"I've gotta go call my family, then Ren." Glimmer stated. "See you guys in a bit!" The Cast Dragoness said with a wave as she walked off to find a booth for herself.
"I've got a personal call to make too." Cinder stated as she went off on her own as well.
"Okay guys, see you when you're done!" Sombra stated. "Tyco, where're you going?"
"Call." Was the only response the Gunny Rabbit offered. Sombra shrugged as she looked to Teth. "So, Teth, you ready to give that mystery number a call?" That is something he'd been hoping to get to. However, a part of him wanted to have the rest of the team there to hear him talk with whoever was on the other side of the line, if only for posterity's sake.
>Suggest something for Teth to do.
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- Location
- MN
>well you got your girlfriend with you, so go ahead and make the call. Then we can worry about delivering that package.
- Location
- Florida
> Go ahead and make the call
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
(I'm terribly sorry to say this, but no update today. Work was a bastard and I still haven't gotten home yet. On my phone right now.)
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Comms. Station 1, Pt. 2.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
'Girlfriend'? She's not his girlfriend, that's not how this works....Well, technically, it's possible for Partners to get into romantic relationships, but those aren't inherent, they have to come about normally, and Teth currently doesn't have an interest in pursuing such a thing with his Partner. He has enough on his plate to also have to worry about getting into a committed relationship.
"Alright, let's get this call done and over with." Teth stated as he walked on over to the nearest booth. Being built for a variety of sizes that Mon come in, the booth comfortably seated Teth while he inspected the number that was written down for him. "Just type this on here, right?" He asked, looking at the primitive button based type board before him. He was more used to thought based writing boards, but this would have to do, he supposed.
"Yeah, then press that green button there to start the call." Sombra helpfully pointed out. Teth nodded as he deftly inputted the numbers before pressing the green button. The view screen, which had been showing the logo for the company that owned the station, went to black as a tell tale electronic ringing began as it made the connection.
"Please wait, our operators are connecting you now." A tinny electronic voice uttered. A moment later, the viewscreen came to life. Sitting on the other side was an aged, but not old, Mon woman wearing a school marm dress. She was some kind of Caniform, leaning towards being a wolf compared to the likes of Sombra, and her small, old and delicate looking pair of spectacles practically hanged off her elongated snout.
"I was wondering when you'd get around to calling." She stated with a friendly smile.
"Do I know you?" Teth asked reflexively.
"No, but we know a common friend. My name is Terra, a pleasure to meet you Teth." She paused as she typed something in. "I'm sending you the coordinates to a good meeting spot. She'll be happy to see you again."
"'She?'" Teth pressed.
"Someone like you." Terra stated. "The Mage."
"Hama." Teth breathed. One of his own teammates.
"She's not here right now, but she sends her regards." Terra stated with a friendly smile. "She'd like to tell you quite a bit when you meet face to face, but are there any questions you'd like answers too for right now?"
>Suggest something for Teth to do.
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- Location
- MN
>...I was not expecting this... uh, hmm. Well this throws off my train of thought. Guess we'll start with the basic question of what happened? As in what happened to you and your team that lead to where things are now?
- Location
- Florida
>askif their are any other of your former group that are are around?
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Comms. Station 1, Pt. 3.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
"What happened to us?" He asked. "My mind is hazy on the specifics, so does she know what happened?" Terra frowned.
"She'd rather tell you yourself, but I will say that your kind was betrayed. Mon and beings you're familiar with conspired to trap you here. Any more, Hama would rather tell you herself. It's...A lot's happened, Teth." Terra explained. "It's not right to tell you on here. Especially since there's doubtlessly someone monitoring our conversation as we speak." Right, public terminal. Of course they're being monitored.
"It's not safe for us to talk about everything on here?" Teth asked, a frown beneath his helmet.
"The last time we talked about your kind to the authorities, unwanted forces found out about them and stepped in to take them for themselves." Terra stated gravely. Teth's grip on the chair he sat on increased in pressure, enough to leave to leave indents of his hands on the metal.
"Who." He asked, his voice hard. A hand placed itself on his shoulder. A glance revealed to him Sombra looking at him with a look of both bewilderment over this chance encounter and concern. He forced himself to relax with a heavy sigh. "Who."
"Only a few, none from your team." Hama was with this woman, so that meant Asar wasn't captured. That sent relief through his twin hearts, but a coldness remained over him. Hounds were captured. He had to get them back. "I know what you're thinking, but don't even think about going it alone." Terra ordered sternly. "Hama has a plan, it's already starting to bare fruit given that you are here. Just come meet with us and she'll tell you everything." He nodded mechanically as her words made their way through his mind.
"Who else is awake?" He asked. "Aside from me an Hama?"
"The Lancer, the Blade, and the Gunslinger." Terra stated. "The Reaper should be out by now, but he's dropped off the grid for the moment." So Asar was around. That was good, very good. He could use a good friend from the old days like him around. As for the others....Jol, the Lance, Firir, the Blade of the Empire himself, and Tulia, the Gunslinger. They were the poster children of the Hounds, Firir himself being the face of the Hounds as far as the Median was concerned. Them around meant that there was a good chance that they could find and get back all of the lost Hounds, provided they worked together.
"Teth, I have to go." Terra stated. "If you have any last questions that I can answer, ask them now. Otherwise, the coordinates to that meeting spot will be where you need to go to find us."
>Suggest something for Teth to do.
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- Location
- MN
>...Point to the collar and ask if she knows anything about it or if that's something best save to talk about later?
- Location
- Florida
>Thank her for the information..good to know others are around
Comms. Station 1, Pt. 3.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
Teth pointed at his collar.
"I don't suppose you know anything about this?" Terra frowned as she looked at the collar.
"She's gone over the details with me before, but the specifics aren't something we should discuss on the air like this." The Caniform woman uttered. Teth nodded in understanding. "What that all?"
"Yes." Teth nodded. "I can't thank you enough for telling me what you have. It's....reassuring to know the others are here, even if not all of them are available." Teth uttered.
"Don't thank me yet, Teth. You can do that when you get here in person." Terra stated. "We've still got a lot to go over."
"Yes, of course." Teth uttered.
"Goodbye, Teth. May we meet in good health." She said as she cut off connection.
"Bye." Teth sighed to the dead air. He turned to look at Sombra.
"Soooo," She began, "Let's get this postal office job done so we can go reunite you with your friends!" The Night Dog declared with enthusiasm.
"Just like that?" He asked, both relieved and thankful at her declaration.
"I mean, think about it, Teth." She stated, "We Mon get stronger by fighting. This is bound to be a big adventure full of danger, excitement, and probably loot." She said with a big smile. "That's the sort of stuff we've been doing since we formed our team! Well, maybe nothing on this scale before, but still."
"That....makes a lot of sense, yes." Teth nodded in understanding.
"Plus," She said as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Like it or not, you're part of this team now, and that means we're going to take care of you as one of our own. That means getting you to find your other friends."
"I....thank you." The Defender uttered gratefully.
"....Pluuuus, we're kinda linked now, so it'd be really awkward to go our separate ways." Sombra pointed out. Teth let out a snort of amusement at that.
"True." He said as he got up from where he was sitting. He could make out the other members of the Team around the place thanks to his height. He wondered if they should go to the others, or if they should wait for the others to finish talking and come to them.
>Suggest something for Teth to do.
- Location
- MN
>Ahhhh, she likes you.
>but yeah, unless you feel like ease dropping I suggest waiting until everyone is done with their calls and then we can head OFF ON ANOTHER GRAND ADVENTURE!!!
- Location
- Florida
>Wait until everyone is done with their calls.
Comms. Station 1, End/On the Delivery Road, Pt. 1.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
Well, they're partners. It'd be a bad thing if they didn't at least like each other after a few days together adventuring, no?
He didn't need to get close to easedrop. All he had to do was take off his helmet and focus his ears and he'd be able to catch what they were saying. Case in point.
Glimmer was giggling.
"It's wonderful to hear from you too, my love. I'm not sure when the next time will be when I'll get a chance to pass by, but I'll be sure to make it a surprise." She said with fondness in her voice. A chuckle came from the screen.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Glimmer." That must be 'Ren'. Glimmer had mentioned him during their first few days of traveling, her fiance. Some important noble who ran a small, but vital nation at the borderlands of the front against the Mechana.
-
A chuckle escaped Cinder's expressive beak. She sat at her seat, listening to a younger she Gryphon talk excitedly. That must be Maple, Cinder's daughter. Cinder didn't talk about her much, but it was clear from their current interaction that the younger Gryphon meant the world to her mother.
"-nd then I totally thrashed them, just like you showed me how to!" The younger Grphon declared happily.
"Good work, kiddo." Cinder said with a warm, maternal glow about her. "Keep up your training like that, and you'll be in a team for sure. Hell, you might just end up with a Guide."
"You really think so, mom?" Maple asked.
"Definitly." Cinder said as she frowned at the time. "Listen, honey, I've got to go. My Team's got a job to do, then we're probably going to be on another adventure."
"Don't worry mom, I understand." Maple stated with a happy tone. "Kick some butt for me, will ya?"
"Oh, don't worry, they'll be plenty of butts for me to kick, all of them signed off for you." Cinder chuckled. "G'night, kiddo. I love you."
"Love you too, mom!"
-
Tyco sighed dejectedly.
"You sure she's not around?" He asked hopefully.
"Sorry little bro, she's not in the shop." The Lagomorph woman on the other side of the screen uttered. Tyco's sister. Come to think of it, Teth couldn't recall ever hearing Tyco mention her by name. "In fact, she's not been in the shop since you left to go adventuring."
"Oh...Alright then." Tyco uttered, sounding down. "Then, the next time you see her, tell her I'm still thinking about her, okay?" The Gunny Rabbit uttered.
"I will, Tyco. You take care of yourself out there, y'hear?"
"I will. Tell mom and pop I said hi too." He said as he cut the connection, reclining in his seat with a defeated sigh.
-
As the rest of the team came over, Sombra waved them over while Teth got his helmet back on.
"Alright, guys, it's gotten dark, so whose up for finding a place to sleep for the night?" The Night Dog asked. "We can get to work in the morning." There was a pricey, but comfortable and safe motel not too far from the Comms. Station to rest at for the night, or they could always just do some camping and save on cash, though it wasn't like they were running low on it or anything.
>Suggest something for Teth to do.
>Suggest something for the Team to do.
- Location
- MN
>go with the middle option, go for the motel but try to save a few bucks buy sharing rooms. Boys get one room and girls go in the other.
>Teth, what can you tell us about your old crew?
>Teth, what can you tell us about your old crew?
- Location
- Florida
>Say hotel is best option for now, got the money to afford it after all
On the Delivery Road, Pt. 2
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
That sounded like a good idea to Teth. After suggesting it to the rest of the party, they agreed.
"Alright, sounds like we're staying at a hotel!" Tyco gleefully stated.
"For a night, don't get carried away." Cinder chuckled as she reached over and messed with the Gunny Rabbit's ears.
"Still, though, a hotel!" Tyco uttered. "With big, comfy beds and everything!" A collective chuckle went over the assembled Team. Teth himself was fine with whatever, so long as they got some rest in them.
---
"Yeesh, so much for not spending too much." Cinder muttered. Indeed, the cost for the five person party to rent out two rooms for the night ended up eating L400, bringing the total amount they had down to 1000 Lucre. "Enjoy the beds, because the ones near the bigger towns and cities are even more expensive, and I'm not being cheap just because I'm a Gryphon."
"No, yeah, this is definitely hurting our wallet." Sombra agreed. "One night here and already we lost the cash we earned from winning that eating contest and helping out the postal office."
"Well, no use standing around and bickering about it." Glimmer uttered as she nodded to the males on the team. "You boys have a good night."
"You too, Glim." Tyco uttered. He then looked to Teth as the women went ahead towards their room. "So, you ready to get some shut eye."
"I think I've slept long enough, but I could do with sleep on a proper bed." Teth stated.
"Cheer up, big guy." Tyco patted the larger Hound's arm. "This is a real treat we're having."
"I'm not upset." Teth stated firmly.
"Really? Hard to tell with that helmet you wear all the time." The Gunny Rabbit said as he opened the door and entered the room. It was a lightly furbished affair with two beds and some seats around a dining table near the small kitchen. Tyco called first dibs at showering, leaving Teth alone to silently wonder if the snacks in here were free or not.
Oh, his old team? Where to start.
Discounting their old Partners, his team had three members: Himself, Hama Tyrilian, and Asar Ulion. He was confident the head voices could tell what he was like, as he hadn't changed much since his old days with his team.
Asar had been the heart of the trio, easily the kindest, which was ironic given that his skills lay in using his Aetherworks to terrify their enemies. He was the Reaper, the Terror, and the Executioner for a reason. Nice guy all around despite that, hated being the scary one.
Hama was the brains, being the best user of Aetherworks out of all of them, out of all the Hounds in fact. She could rival the mortal Median Magi orders of magnitudes her senior in age. She was the Mage, the Caster, the Devote. That last one came from the fact that, unlike the majority of the Hounds, she worshiped the Eleven Aether Beings that ruled over the Aether. If she wasn't talking about her magicks, she was singing praises to them. She was also the real scary one of the group. Asar had his Scythe-Axe, Teth had his Hammer and Cestuses, but Hama? She had a humble spear, her magicks, and a lot of creativity.
He shuddered at remembering this one time where she promised to tear out an Elder God's internal organs out through its eye sockets before shoving them back down its throat....And then going through with that threat.
Basically, don't piss off Hama. She kills monsters with her mind and she makes good on her threats.
"Almost done here, buddy!" Tyco called out from the bathroom. "You got a change of clothes?" Not really. The armor was self cleaning, even in its damaged state, so he didn't really need to change clothes. As for a shower, did he really need one? He's hardly worked up a sweat the last few days. He still smells only like lilac instead of dead flowers, so he wouldn't say he 'needs' a shower....might feel good though.
>Suggest something for Teth to do.
- Location
- Florida
>Might as well take a quick shower. Relax a little bit while the time allows it