Ploughshares to Swords - RPLOG

Participants

• Felix
• Ixitixl
• Jera
• Mazurek
• Walden

Date

2/11/475

Log

The bounty lists what looks like a quiet farm in an overgrown valley for its location, innocuous enough! It doesn't look like a bandit hideout at all. Still, the orders of the King are rarely wrong, and there must be some reason for such a large bounty being placed. The place is rather quiet, almost an unnatural quiet, disturbed only by the sounds of farmers hoeing the ground.

Mazurek is one of the first to arrive at the farm, the Iguana-dragon having been doing a mixture of flying and walking to get there faster. He looks around after finishing the trek on his feet.

It doesn't take too long for another pair of figures to approach the ominously peaceful farm, a deer and armadillo, both armored and looking a little out of place amongst the peaceful farmers! Felix glances about at the area as he comes to a stop, a frown showing for a few moments "This can't be right, but it's where it said to go." He remarks softly to Walden.

Ixitixl arrives with those on foot, presumably, in his smaller, decidedly less imposing iguana form. Shield strapped to his back and sword safely tucked away in its scabbard, he casts his gaze across the quiet and unassuming farm. He perks as Mazurek lands nearby, stretching an arm high overhead and waving for his attention, though he doesn't dare interrupt the quiet calm of the place by calling out.

Walden shakes his head at Felix and pats him on the back. "You never know. We farmers can get a bit rowdy sometimes," the armadillo teases his friend with a grin. "Besides, the farmsteads tend to be spaced apart enough that people could potentially come and go under cover of night without arousing suspicion. It's... it's actually sorta clever, I think, assuming the information is good."

Mazurek has his arms crossed as he comes to the same baffling conclusion as the others, but keeps his own thoughts unspoken. Noting the wave by the other Iguana he wanders over to him and speaks to the group at large, "I'm experiencing Deja-vu here. I feel like I've been on this mission, or one like it, before."

One of the deer farmers carries his hoe over to greet the menagerie, looking slightly daunted by the armed forces invading what look like peaceful lands. "E-Excuse me? Can I help you? Have you come here to buy fresh produce?" Two more deers approach the group and peer curiously. All three of them are unarmed apart from their farm tools, and completely unarmored. "Freshest produce in the land. We sell directly to the king, even. Not to mention the other noble houses." The first one continues.

"Is that... so?" Ixitixl wonders of Mazurek's comment about deja vu, knitting brows, looking down to his feet, then about just in time for the farmer to come trotting up. He discretely moves himself to the back of the group, or at least as discretely as he may, fixing the swarming farmers with a worried look.

"Oh we'd love to see what sort of produce you all have for sale." Felix offers towards the farmers as they ask their questions, smiling gently as he does so. "What sorts do you grow around here?" He ponders out loud while stepping forwards towards the grouping of deer.

Mazurek is the largest in the group at ten feet, though he is as unarmed and unarmored as they come. He hangs back with the Iguana, deciding to let the other two handle the diplomacy.

Walden raises a hand and wiggles his fingers in greeting at the other deerfolk. "Hello!" he says in a chipper tone of voice, staying near Felix. Sure, his spiny scaled armor might look slightly intimidating, but he maintains a friendly, approachable demeanor to counteract that. "Actually that's not a bad idea," he says to Felix. "Terribly sorry if we've made anyone uncomfortable."

"Some cabbages. Carrots. Potatoes are popular, but those we have to grow in rotation with beans. Tiring to do, and we are simple folk." They suddenly affix the group with weird stares, almost as though they were feeling a little intimidated by the armed forces in front of them. "And what brings you to this sunny valley anyway? It doesn't look like you're here to make business, or on behalf of the king..."

Mazurek leans over and speaks in a hushed tone to Walden and Felix, sticking his head between them. He says one word, "Bodyguards?"

Ixitixl looks up as Mazurek leans in front of him, and ends up leaning as well to peek past the bulky dragon at the farmdeer, grinning sheepishly and wiggling his fingers in a wave to them as he does so.

Walden ooohs, wiggling his fingers in delight. All foods he loves. "You know beans do really well after carrots," he tells the deerfolk. "Or you probably already knew that though. But if you're not working the carrots into your rotation, well, I think you'll get a better yield, personally."

Felix nods along with what Walden says, thinking about what he might be considering doing to get on these farmer's good side. "Aye, it's very important to rotate your crops in the proper manner, and order." He nodnods a bit more!

Despite the replies of Felix and Walden, the deer mutter amongst themselves at Mazurek's comment about bodyguards and nod to one another, wondering if their cover has been blown before raising their hoes in a threatening manner. "No hard feelings, hmm? But we need to make a living too. Sound the alarms! Buy the others time to move the shipments" The apparent leader of the group, well, of the farmers at least, hisses, and the sound of a loud bell rings in the distance. And then, they split up, lunging towards the group.

The three deer thugs fall to the ground, defeated. It was nothing more than a minor scuffle, though the leader is still alive, coughing out his last words. "You'll never...recover the weapons we smuggled...from Firmament...the others are moving the shipments away from the farmhouse...as I...s-speak..." Then he collapses to the ground in a pool of blood, no longer moving.

"Ah! N-no, please!" the iguana had blurted out at the beginning of combat, though he was soon forced to draw his sword and take up the fight. When all is said and done, he frowns and utters a quick prayer for the dead, holding a fist over his heart.

Walden kneels down and checks the vital signs of the deerfolk, shaking his head. "I thank you for willingly giving us information that we did not know. Weapon smuggling. This just got interesting," the armadillo says, looking up at the others. The dead bodies don't even seem to bother him. He's just too hardened these days, apparently.

Mazurek did not do as well as one might have expected, for he is using a new soul gem. He's fighting what looks to be unarmed, using his claws while also kicking. he is very ineffectual compared to the rest of the group, who are more than likely using their more established gems. He sighs as the leader says his final words, "Great." He looks to the other Iguana and rests a hand on a shoulder, "Such is the way of some things."

Felix sure didn't want to end up fighting nearly unarmed bandits, and as the battle comes to a close the only deer still standing lets out a deep sigh. "We'll have to give them a proper burial after this whole thing is done with...Let's go get those weapons." He steels himself and nods quickly "Before they're used to harm other innocent people." Felix remarks as he starts taking off towards the farmhouse.

The farmhouse looked normal from a distance, but from up close, a complex security system of runes and other mechanisms have been set up to lock the door to prevent anyone from entering without knowing the proper way to handle the levers. One more versed in mathemagic, or experienced with such toys might be able to figure out how they work in a jiffy.

Ixitixl stammers before taking off after Felix quick as his heavy suit of armour permits him, keeping a hand at the ready on the hilt of his blade in case more farmer thugs jump out of nowhere to ambush them, somehow, but when they arrive at the barn he skids to a halt, eyes widening at the sight of the complex getup. "This is... this is awfully complicated, for bandits, isn't it?" he inquires of no one imparticular, looking from person to person in their motley band of heros.

Mazurek follows at a steady pace, using his longer strides to his advantage...not to mention going airborne if he needs to. He notices everything strange about the farmhouse when they get to it and he raises a hand up swiftly, "Wait!" He studies everything that can be seen and slowly rubs his snout. Before long he steps over to the levers and proceeds to manipulate them. The dragon has an air of confidence that speaks of GREAT familiarity.

Walden stays near Felix as they approach, but he stops when Mazurek calls for it. "Oh? Oh wow. You've got this all figured out," he says with a grin, holding his hands together. "I like the setup! I just- I don't think I would know where to begin."

Felix was most likely considering figuring out the complex maths and devices with a precise swing of his warhammer, but with Maz moving in and examining instead he decides to postpone the destruction, for now! "Aye, I don't know at all where I would start..." He murmurs as he watches him work.

Ixitixl too is left staring in awe upon Mazurek's masterful handling of the complex contraption, standing alongside Walden and Felix but leaning for hopes of a better understanding through a closer look. "Mazurek... I... I hate to ask, but -why- do you know how to operate this device?"

The door slides slowly open, gears clicking into place, the runes disappearing almost immediately as Mazurek disarms the trap and opens the door to reveal that inside the farmhouse, bales of hay and hastily emptied crates lie around in a mess. Some of the weapon parts are still lying on the floor, though most of the valuables have already gone. Another party of thugs come up to stall for time, a bunch of wolves this time, and a lot better armed. "Get them!!!"

Mazurek smirks, "I took a page from Ryusho long ago and hunted for Knowledge Crystals that would help me understand how to operate various machinery, decypher languages, and other things." He huffs as he is interrupted by the wolves, "Oh, how fun. More lapdogs!" He charges right in with a flying kick.

Walden pumps his fist, along with its bladed knuckles, into the air with a grin. "Go ahead and try!" the normally meek armadillo calls out defiantly! He's geared up and raring to go!

With the appearance of new troubles, Felix makes to move into the building as well, most likely to engage with the enemies before they can reach those who might like to fight from a distance!

Ixitixl can only draw his sword with a trembling hand, practically cowering behind it as he adds his own battlecry to the mix: "O-oh dear."

After a prolonged and exhausting fight, the three hardened thugs collapse to the ground. While the thugs come in suspicious groups of three, there doesn't seem to be any more disturbances, leaving people to survey the grounds for any hints that might come in useful apart from unwanted, mass produced weaponry.

Ixitixl was forced to take up his dragon form by that exceptionally heated battle, and at its conclusion he's huffing and panting, planting his sword in the ground and using it to brace himself upright. He struggles not to sigh as he regards their fallen opponents, then as his gaze wanders... it settles almost immediately on a discarded weapon. "H-hey... what's this?" He sheathes his own weapon and approaches it, picking up the stave and turning it slowly, his nose wrinkling at the stench coming off of it.

Felix doesn't look too happy to be straight out killing bandits, but after that battle they put him and the group through...Regardless, the deer goes for leaning against one of the walls near where the battle had been taking place "Let's make sure to search this place top to bottom, maybe we can find a location of where they're moving that stuff." He remarks as he watches Ixitixl produce the staff.

Walden looks around with some concern, though the armadillo doesn't seem to have any particularly useful leads. "I'm trying," he tells Felix. "Nothing useful yet. Oh hey?" he says as Ixitixl finds a staff. "Oh, neat!"

Anyone with a keen enough nose can find that the staff's disgusting scent seems to have left a trail some way or another, which is quite abnormal. The scent trail ends abruptly at a corner of the farmhouse.

Ixitixl sticks his tongue out in disgust, holding the glorified stick at arms length and turning his head away. "That's... ugh, foul! Do you suppose if... um... I mean, if we could trace this smell... it had to come from -somewhere- right? ...It's going to take all week to scrub this out of my gloves, ohhh..."

"I don't really want to smell it too closely..." Felix mutters as he eyes the staff with a bit of disdain, not wanting to get that scent /too/ imbedded into his mind!

Walden curiously sniffs, following the invisible trail. That armadillo's got an inquisitive personality, and he's led toward the corner. He kicks at something with his foot, then crouches down to try to open a trap door. "What's this?" he wonders curiously.

The square door is rather large, well concealed by the hay. It opens with some effort, the hinges rusty but apparently having been used recently, as flakes of rust lie nearby, telltale sighs. If the staff was bad, the scent behind the trapdoor is many times worse, though its undeniably the same acrid smell. Whatever was handling the weapons, or well, the staff at least, is underneath the trap door. A rope ladder hangs from the side, leading into a dark, craggy cavern.

Ixitixl follows shortly after Walden, with a huff and a heave sending that staff flying as far away from himself as he can. He arrives just in time for the ceremonial opening of the trap door... and gags as the overpowering stench wafts up, clamping both hands over his nose. "Creators, it smells worse than death!"

"And I thought it smelled bad, from the outside." Felix mutters as he takes a glance down through the trapdoor, frowning again "I'm sure there's something even worse down there..." He adds, just to show what he's expecting to be down there.

Walden peeks back at the others and shrugs. "I bet. Something, or someone." He's the first to climb down; perhaps his armor and his hard carapace will be of some use if there's a trap waiting for him. He's holding his breath though a bit... the smell's bothering him!

As the bounty hunters make their way into the caverns, they're greeted by a foul sight. Corpses lay on the floor, some fresh, but most decaying and half eaten, which explains the horrid smell. The shipment of weapons and bandit from the bounty is there, his allies all having fallen. The faint light in the torch he's holding reveals his trembling, and it illuminates the cavern enough to reveal a massive hound, glowing with unnatural magics and coated with shadow. "HELP ME!" The bandit swings his sword wildly before he is mauled by a massive paw with a sickening crunch. Sniffing, the massive beast turns to the cornered party.

Ixitixl keeps his blade leveled until the shadow has completely dissipated, he seems convinced it may possess someone or something else at any moment. And even after, surrounded by so much darkness, he's clearly scared out of his wits, jumping at every little sound, even those coming from the others in their merry band. "What a... what a terrible mess... what a waste of life... O, Creators!"

"Well, now that I know they were harboring a creature like this..." Felix begins, gaze going from the hound to the multitude of eaten corpses, he just shakes his head "I think no mercy for any of those other bandits that are found." He mutters with a deep sigh once more.

Walden walks over to the corpse of the bandit, prods it with his foot a couple times, then starts to look him over for any sort of identification. "I assume this is the one," he says. "Either that or the one's already dead. Either way, looks like we're probably done here, huh?"

The caverns turn out to be a secret exit upon further exploration. Despite everything, the crew has completed their bounty. When they do return to Firmament, the king rewards them lavishly with bags of crown, sending soldiers immediately to recover the stolen weapons. And for everyone else, just for one quiet moment in a war torn land, all is well. The next week, there's a mysterious shortage of potatoes in the marketplace.