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 Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:05 pm
Stepping up to a small pedestal, the six foot two man in his early sixties clapped his hands loudly to get everyone's attention. When everyone's eyes were on him, he began to introduce himself. "My name is Jeremiah, you can call me Jeremy." The group was just the right size for his voice to reach when he speak loudly, so he don't need to use a megaphone. "I am a close and long time friend of Kyou's, and I am the one who organized this search party."
"According to the villagers, Kyou departed from this village heading due north. So we will be heading in the same direction." He pulled a map from one of the pockets of his hiking vest before he continued. "I've marked down seven search grids on this map." Unfolding the map, he pointed to the seven areas he marked with a blue pen. "We will be divided into seven teams, each team will have four people and we will search according to our grids, all heading north. This is so we cover as much ground as possible."
Folding the map back up again, he motioned to a pile of supplies stacked up next to a black board. "You could pick up the map - two for each team at the supplies area over there later. Along with the following to aid you in the search."
One Lightweight portable tent
Two compasses
One lighter and a box of matches
One hunting knife
One Multitool
Some Tinder
Two flashlights
A basic first aid kit
A sewing kit
Four bandanas
A few fish hooks
A survival guide for newbies
"Of course, if you brought along sufficient supplies, you could opt to drop a few things from your supplies package if you want to." Then from a utility belt on his waist, Jeremy pulled out a bright orange flare gun. "This is going to be the only way we could communicate between each team. When your team is in peril danger; when a man is down, fire a red flare and the rangers and villagers over here will come to your aid. You have six red flares, including the one already loaded in the gun, just in case. The green flare." He said the following parts more loudly as he lifted the green flare up. "Only use it when you had found Kyou!! This is important, DO NOT GO NEAR KYOU when you found him, even if he seemed like on the verge of death. WAIT FOR ME!!! I will head on over as fast as I could."
Even though he worries for Kyou's life, Jeremy also worries for the safety of the participants. He is the only one here that had went on fel hunts with Kyou before, and only he know for sure what to do if they really did found the fel essence with Kyou. Which he thinks is the most likely scenario right now.
"This is how you load the flares." Jeremy went on to demonstrate how to c**k the barrel open, taking out the red flare within and replacing it with another red one, then cocking it back in place. "To fire it, just c**k back the hammer here like this, then pull the trigger while aiming at the sky." He further demonstrated without actually pulling the trigger, then he gently clicked the hammer back.
"It's late afternoon now, only a few more hours until night. When it's dark, it's best to find somewhere to make camp. Do not wander around at night!! It's dangerous." He could not emphasize that enough in this case. Since he had already heard some stories from the villagers.
"Okay, now you can go and pick up your supplies. The team info is on the blackboard next to the supplies, you can depart into the forest when you're ready. And uhm... what else.?" Jeremy thought for a moment before speaking again. "Oh remember to bring lots of water! There's a well at the edge of the forest, you could fill up your bottles there."
"Stay safe everyone!! And God speed!"
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WHO: Xiu + Sevilin + We'rika + Lette
WHERE: Kahadlok
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:26 am
“Well then, I guess this is it. See you at the end of the search my friend, “said Xiu as he gave Lazarus’s hand a tight squeeze. “Goodbye and good luck,” Releasing his grip, Xiu then proceeded to the next most important thing that needed to be done and that was finding out which group he belonged to. Xiu knew from his talk with Lazarus that it was unlikely that the two Sigels would be together and was therefore not disappointed with the outcome. “Sevilin, We’rika and Lette,” muttered the Sigel to himself. “What luck! I do know who We’rika is! I shall start there and hopefully come across Sevilin and Lette,” Having made his decision, Xiu left the crowded notice board and began scanning the crowd for the said human. We’rika, if Xiu recalled correctly, was a well built, dark skinned man. Xiu also recalled that We’rika wasn’t too comfortable in a suit at the garden party. The crowd had now moved on to the supplies area. Perhaps Mr. We’rika could be found there. Holding onto the sword at his side carefully so that it wouldn’t jab into other people and raevans, Xiu noticed We’rika from a distance. “Mr. We’rika!” called out Xiu, delighted to have found his team mate. “We shall be traversing the forest together!”
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:51 am
".... I can' pronounce any of these names." He tried frowning harder at the team's list, but all it seemed to do was make Sevilin more embarrassed. "Stop! It doesn't matter, I can. Although... I'm not sure who Lette is." It was a name he hadn't come across. Of course, he wasn't up to date on every raevan anymore like he used to be. It was a little sad to be so gossipy and yet unaware of half the juicy bits flying around. Ugh, Sevilin's life was just so sad. "Well, i' better be a woman, 'cause this's turnin' into one big sausage fes'--" The older man was immediately slapped when a raevan came into their space. Apparently he needed to be polite around "other" people. "Oh, Xiu! Hello! It's wonderful to see you again!" He didn't know the raevan very well, but it was still nice to work with a familiar face. We`rika simply nodded to the frei in greeting while he worked on packaging their supplies.
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 8:45 am
The bus ride had been just long enough to ramp up her energy levels again and feel half-human again from her all nighter at the garage. Shrugging on her backpack, she made her way to the blackboard Jeremy had directed the throng of humans and Raevans to for their team assignments.
Picking her way through the crowd, the silver-eyed female did her best not to stare too blatantly at the floating entities scattered throughout the area. They definitely were as individual and unique as any other person, albeit missing half or more of their bodies. Smirking, she thought about the soul bottle and fel essence nestled deep and safe in her pack. She was still unsure what to pair with her essence, but figured this could be a good opportunity to come across something exotic that she hadn’t thought about yet.
Reading over the names, eyes skittering through the teams trying to find her own, she found herself listed under Team B with people whose names she was completely unfamiliar with.
“YO TEAM B,” she exclaimed in an effort to find them quicker, “WHERE YOU AT? Uhh, Shoo, Wheereka, Sevlin?” Dear god, could these names be any more complicated? She was pretty sure she butchered them beyond recognition, but it was better than asking each person individually who was who.
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 9:06 am
“Sevilin, the pleasure is all mine,” said Xiu as he extended a hand to the blue haired frei. Yes. This raevan was definitely Sevilin. Xiu remembered We’rika gesturing towards a blue haired raeven who happened to be talking to Lazarus back then; just before the Garden Maze event started. “We’rika is your guardian I take it?” Turning to We’rika, Xiu was about to ask if the man needed help with the distribution of supplies and gear when a clear voice rang through the crowd. “YO TEAM B
WHERE YOU AT? Uhh, Shoo, Wheereka, Sevlin,”
Ah, that must be Lette “We are over here Ms. Lette!” said Xiu as he waved his arm in a friendly gesture towards the woman. Even from a distance Xiu could see that Ms. Lette had character and was unlikely to fall unconscious (or worse, screaming) at the first sign of trouble. Their team was definitely off to a good start. “We are just about to collect our supplies!”
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 10:16 am
"Sev'lin?" The little frei wrinkled his nose at hearing some semblance of his name. "Hey, she said mine righ'," and that was really all that mattered. Most of the supplies on the table he packed away in his own dufflebag since he was smart enough to take the bare minimum, unlike a certain blue-haired dandy. The only thing he didn't take was the tent, and the flare gun. It was embarrassing to admit this, but he had to. "Okay, who wan's ta be in charge of th'gun? I'm, uh, no' allowed to possess any kinda firearms.... Even if is jes for flares." "I will!" Sevilin cried out, waving his hand eagerly in his guardian's face. "Pff, you wish! You'd shoo' yerself righ' in th'face. Who else?" He looked at the newcomer in their group. She was, blessedly, a woman (even if she was the loud kind). "Lette? Think you can handle i'?" Xiu already had a goddamn sword, so they may as well share the wealth of weaponry among everyone.
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 10:52 am
“We are over here Ms. Lette!” responded an elegant looking male with long white hair. Taking long strides over to the group she set her backpack on the ground and reached out to shake the hands of the individuals standing around their supplies, unknowingly missing what the dark skinned man said about his gun prohibition.
"Hey everyone, nice to meet you. Name's Lette, I'm a new guardian to the Lab. And no need for Ms., I'm not that old yet," she responded with a wink.
Looking over the 3 surrounding her, she soaked in their details. A well built, dark skinned man with interesting ears, a fragile looking Raevan with blue hair, and the individual who had responded to her call. "So who is who, and sorry about mispronouncing your names, they're...interesting."
Glancing over the supplies, she noted what she may be able to pack away with her things in conjunction to what she already had. "I don't mind carrying the flare gun, it doesn't scare me. And I've got a pretty good understanding of how they work. That is, if you don't want it," she directed to the bigger of the Raevans, glancing at the sword that he had strapped to his person.
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 3:49 am
A look of mild surprise crossed Xiu’s features at We’rika’s statement. The man was not allowed to carry guns? Didn’t that meant that ... No his mind quickly chided him. There can be many reasons. He could be terrified of guns and was banned from them by a therapist; he could have been caught messing around with one as a kid; he could...Is that really all that important though? Right here and now he seems like a dependable guy who knows more about the forest than you do Shaking all of this conflicting thoughts out of his mind, Xiu smiled at Lette. “We’rika would be the gentleman over there, Sevilin is the raevan with blue hair and Xiu would be me,” “And by all means, be my guest,” said the Sigel. “That flare would be better off in the hands of someone who has actually had experience with it,” Noticing that We’rika had not taken the portable tent, the Sigel reached forward and picked the item up easily enough. Xiu had only brought a small backpack with him and was glad to see that sturdier and larger camping bags filled with supplies were provided. Transferring his own items into the provided supply bag, Xiu hoisted the camping bag onto his shoulders and left the smaller bag behind. It was awkward with his wings getting in the way but somehow Xiu managed it. “Do we have everything we need?” asked Xiu as he held the ‘Survival Guide for Newbies’ in his hands. The book felt sturdy and Xiu felt comfortable holding on to it. “Umm...anyone with any map reading experience?” Looking from We’rika to Lette and finally settling on Sevilin, Xiu felt a pang of camaraderie towards the slender frei. “Sevilin right?” said Xiu, pronouncing the frei’s name as he had heard We’rika pronounced it. “Would you like to be in charge of the flashlights? I can’t quite fit them into my bag,”
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 9:41 am
"I'll take one of them!" Sevilin beamed immediately. He didn't exactly have map reading experience per se, but how hard could it be? It was just a map, and he knew how to find north (sort of). Opening his dufflebag, the little frei took the offered flashlights and packed them into his already bulging bag beside his plushies. "Well, I trus' myself more," We`rika said bluntly. "Bu' can' carry one, so our lives and Kyou's is in yer hands. No pressure or anythin'..." The older man handed it over with the box of flares. "Alrigh' are we done here? Kinda tired of standin' around..." He pointedly ignored the eye roll his son gave him.
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:01 am
Settling the flare gun and its box of ammo into her bag, Lette reached for any left over items and shoved them as deep into her bag as she could get them. She hadn't packed overtly much in the way of her own supplies, but she wanted to make sure they didn't leave anything behind that potentially could come in handy later.
"Well quite honestly I'm sure anyone other than myself would be better with the map. I have difficulty gauging where to go even on those nifty theme park handouts they give you." Shouldering her bag back on and glancing out to the forest, she looked back at her group. "I see no reason to wait around any longer, lets go. Which way?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:53 am
“I guessed we had better,” said Xiu as he watched several of the other teams make their way into the forest. “Sevilin can take one map and compass with him for safe keeping. And umm...if you would bear with me...,” Never having used a map or compass before, Xiu was a little worried. What if he read it wrong? What if he got them lost? ... Well, that was the reason they were given flares right? No worries then. Spreading the map with the marked locations flat onto the supplies table, Xiu took one of the provided compasses and stared at the map. The sudden telephone call from Alex and the scant preparation time given did not allow for much preparation to be made. But the white Sigel had made an effort to learn the basics of compass reading at least. Xiu just wished that he could have had a trial run of it first. Aware that the rest of the team were impatient to start off, Xiu quickly placed the compass onto the map’s surface and aligned the needles of the compass with the True and Magnetic North. Having done that, Xiu then took out a ruler and a pencil. Drawing a straight line from their camp to their destination (the length of Gridline B), the white Sigel quickly made the necessary arrangements and corrections with his compass. Alright...everything seemed according to the instructions found on the internet so far... Straightening up and rolling the map, Xiu then glanced at the calibrated compass. “We shall have to go that way, towards that lightning struck tree in the distance,” said Xiu pointing to a direction slightly to the left of where they currently were. “Once we have reached that, another reading should be taken to ensure that we are on the right path. Mind you though, this is coming from someone who has never done this before...,”
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Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 5:19 am
It was probably a good thing that Sevilin had watched Xiu actually use a map properly (even if he was sickeningly modest about it); otherwise, the boy would have just winged it. And winging it would lead to no good certainly. Maybe he would just stay in charge of the flashlights. That was within his capacity not to mess up. "Well, it works for me," We`rika grunted before walking in the proffered direction. The older man wasn't all that worried about getting lost. This wasn't exactly a barren wilderness or an endless desert to traverse. It had park rangers and attendants. Really, it was a glorified playground.
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Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:34 am
Watching Xiu trace out measurements and directions made Lette feel more comfortable with the group. While he said that he had never done it before, it seemed a lot better in his hands then it would have been in theirs. Looking towards the tree he pointed towards, she took a deep breath and began walking over. This was her first time on a rescue mission and she didn't even know 95% of the people out here. This was gonna be an experience for sure. Adjusting her bag she looked to the surrounding forest and its dark depths. What exactly would they find inside?
"Sounds good to me too. Everyone else seems to be rolling out, better to not get left behind." she had to admit to herself, her competitive side would really like to be the one who found Kyou first.
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Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:52 am
The sights, the sounds, the smells;- never before had the Sigel, in all of his five years, encountered such an array or stimuli all at once. Following We’rika’s lead as they made their way towards the tree, Xiu gazed about the forest in awe. The trees were huge and looming, the ground littered with fallen leaves and shrubs. Here and there unfamiliar sounds greeted his ears. “This is rather exciting,” Xiu said, barely containing his excitement as he fell back to float beside his fellow raevan. “I have never been out of the city before, have you?” A clear note sounded far above the group and looking up, Xiu noticed a small wood thrush. Fascinating the Sigel thought to himself. The forest is teeming with life. It is unfortunate that nature would have to take second place in our quest of searching for Dr. Kyou. Perhaps in the future when there are no pressing matters to attend to...
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Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:42 pm
Tiny thrushes are not the only creatures living within Kahadlok. As befitting a jungle, the avian life within the woods is prominent and varied and their calls join the cacophony of insects and the many voices of the other teams as they begin their own searches for Dr. Kyou. Once or twice you might hear a startled cry as someone somewhere comes into contact with a snake, upturned root, or particularly large insect but otherwise the mood is light but determined.
Unlike some other teams, a worn path - most likely made by generations of herbivorous fauna - stretches out before your team. Here and there it is starting to show some signs of being reclaimed by the jungle, but along with animal tracks the path shows what appear to be human footprints in the dirt. Whether these belong to Dr. Kyou or the natives in the village Jeremy spoke of is unclear, but a place to start is a place to start.
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