[NPC] Dr. Singh
Hello once again science lovers! It's time for the next voting and discussion thread for our first ever Adventure Evolving Item, or AEI for short. This week's poll will close on Friday, February 26th at 4:59 PM PST. Your votes will determine the next evolution of this gripping tale and its associated item set! As always, choose wisely, because once a decision has been reached, there's no going back!
In case you missed our tale, here's the rundown:
Hero's Journey:Vander took a deep breath and plunged into the flames. Through the thick smoke, he could barely see the path ahead, but he knew that somewhere in this smoldering cottage his best friend was in peril. Lyel was a mutt, a former stray, and about as well-trained as a fish, but he was Vander's pup nonetheless, and so the youth was dashing right into the heart of the fire to retrieve him from the remains of the tired old building. It wasn't until halfway down the hallway that he heard a shrill but familiar scream. Aidah?! She must have charged in after Lyel too, once she'd seen the smoke. Damn. As he began to change course, the villagers outside sounded the alarm: The cottage was about to collapse. Two directions, two dear friends, and he could save only one.
A choice needed to be made.
Gaians voted to save Lyel!
Vander stood frozen in panic for only a moment before Lyel began barking more loudly than before. Wait, not louder-- closer! "Lyel! C'mere boy!" Vander shouted and dashed towards the area he knew Aidah was trapped, hoping Lyel was following his voice to safety. As he reached the edge of the smoke, Vander's whole world suddenly tore to pieces.
The bright flash and searing heat were bad enough, but the sheer force of the blast threw the boy directly through the rapidly collapsing walls of the battered cottage. Lyel must have been directly behind Vander at the time of the explosion, as somehow the pup seemed shaken, but perfectly fine. As his eyes regained focus through the haze of destruction, Vander saw that Aidah was somehow unharmed... other than being in the talons of shadowy beast perched directly atop the wreckage.
It hissed to Vander directly before taking flight, clutching Aidah's limp body as it soared high beyond the clouds. Lyel howled as they lost sight of the figure.
Where could he go from here?
Gaians voted to form a rescue party!
Realizing that the situation was dire and he needed to act as quickly and effectively as he could, Vander headed toward the nearby town to get some help taking down the beast that had captured Aidah. However, as soon as he got into town and started searching through the people in town for someone to help him, he felt his pocket grow inexplicably lighter.
A quick blur of a woman darted past him, and in her hand he spotted a very familiar bit of leather—his wallet, which held all of his worldly wealth that remained after the fire. Vander chased after her and grabbed her arm, trying to hold the woman back before she could make a break for it. "Hey, that's my wallet, you thief! You give that back!"
"Leave me alone, you creep!" she shouted, pulling her arm away. A murmur of disapproval swept through the marketplace as Vander seemingly accosted this poor girl. If only they knew! She stared him down with a devilish grin, then in a singsong voice she added, "And you will never find me~!"
"Hey, wait!" he started, but before Vander could process what was going on, she'd turned and ran through the crowd. A hearty chuckle alerted Vander to a brawny armored man resting on the edge of the beaten path nearby. "I saw that scene, kid. I'd give you a hand for some coin, y'know." He gestured to his own satchel of money. "Assuming there's any left once you catch her of course." It was shaping up to be the worst day in Vander's life, but he once again had to figure out what to do. Should he take the thief on by himself, or should he ask the mercenary to help him take her on, knowing he'd have to pay the mercenary back once he'd recovered his wallet?
Gaians voted to hire the mercenary!
It didn't take much for Vander to realize that he couldn't do everything on his own, and he went into town to gather help to save Aidah in the first place, so hiring the mercenary made sense no matter how he looked at it. "Yeah, I could use the help. I'll pay you once I've got my wallet back."
The brawny man laughed and replied, "You got it, kid. The name's Mason, in case that's important to ya." Without another word, Mason took off through the crowd, chasing after the thief with a large, swift stride. Vander followed after Mason, and Lyel trailed right alongside him.
Set near the side of a hill, the village roads were winding and poorly paved, and in the haste to get away from them and out of the village, the thief took a running leap and bounded over the short stone wall surrounding the village outskirts. With his large frame, Mason cleared the wall in one jump, and Lyel cleared it in a jump as well, the tips of his paws ghosting over the top of the wall for only a moment before he landed on the other side. Vander jumped over as well, but as he flew over it, his foot caught on the top of the fence, sending him careening into the ground on the other side. When he pushed himself to stand up, something in his leg felt very different, and rather painful.
At the sound of Vander hitting the ground, Mason stopped and looked back to him. "You alright, kid?"
Vander wasn't sure. His leg felt strange and he didn't know whether or not he could run, but was there time to see a healer? After all, the thief was making off with all his money! Should he stop and ask for more help, or should he keep after the thief so she can't get away with all of his money?
