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 Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 8:31 am
This Quest is for Vodyanoi who is striving to become a Rogue.
 OOC
||. The quest prompt must be answered with a 2000 word reply (can be more).
||. Respond to the prompt given with an adventure of your own creation as long as it meets the requirements of the specific tasks.
||. NPCs may be used as long as they advance the quest in an interesting manner.
||. You cannot include any playable characters other than the quest taker.
||. Your responses will be graded with a Pass or Fail. Those who fail will have to continue with assistance from the staff.
||. Questions about quests can be asked here.
IC
Vodyanoi had been with the troupe training to be a drummer for a while now. Though while he was 'training' his days didn't seem to revolve around practicing with his drum yet. Now the troupe was off traveling, touring Matori and performing each night in a different location.
But while out one night, their lead drummer was bitten by a Bushi, leaving him unable to play and quickly rushed to a healer. He had already missed two days practice and would surely miss the show planned for the next night.
Vodyanoi is but one of the few people able to step up and take his spot; he must compete for the chance to perform!
Quest Tasks
||. The quest should begin with the news that the drummer is unable to play while healing.
||. The troupe is holding a competition in order to temporarily replace their drummer.
||. Vodyanoi must compete to earn his chance at playing in the show the next night.
||. Vodyanoi may win or lose the challenge, the outcome will not effect the quest grade.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 8:50 am
“Mm, slow down a little.” Seko warned him, holding his fingers up to mark the correct rhythm. Vodyanoi nodded, and adjusted his pace.
After what felt like months of scrubbing wagons and gutting fish, he could hardly contain his excitement; Seko had taken to showing the prentice his way around some of the smaller drums used by the troupe, spending an hour or so by his side after they had finished their evening meal. Vodyanoi was not sure if someone more senior had asked him to do this, or if he had just decided to do it himself – but he was glad for the opportunity, and determined to prove himself to anyone within earshot.
“You need to know how to keep the same rhythm. That’s the first thing. If you mess up on the rhy --“
“Stupid… stinking… animal!”
An indignant howl cut through their conversation, followed by the loud rustle of leaves as a figure staggered towards the campfire. There was laughter at first, then silence as the troupe recognized Tomoki, their lead drummer; his arm was hanging swollen from his side, and he was wavering with every step. Eilin, one of the dancers, trailed behind him with a dark flush across her face.
“We were out by the beach,” she explained, glossing over any unnecessary detail or explanation (as if there was anyone at the fire who didn’t know what they had been up to – they’d been flirting around each other since they met). “And there was a sleeping bushi. Just sleeping there, calm as can be, not bothering anyone. And obviously this drunk idiot decides to go and play a song out on its’ shell. I told him it was a stupid idea. And then of course the thing wakes up and bites him right on the arm!”
Once again laughter bubbled up from the troupe… then died away as everyone came to the same realization at once. A wounded arm was no joking matter for a drummer, and especially not the troupe’s lead.
“It’s fine,” Tomoki hissed, perhaps sensing their thoughts. “I’ll be fine. Get me a healer, and I’ll be fine.”
* * *
They sent Vodyanoi to get a healer from the nearby town. It was a young woman, shy and demure – she stayed by the drummer’s side for most of the night, and while she did a good job on lessening the swelling and removing venom, the morning itself saw Tomoki lying dazed on his bedroll and unable to lift his arm more than a few inches high.
“We’re playing in Setal tomorrow,” they debated in the middle of their camp, everyone but Tomoki was gathered around in a tight circle, hands folded or propped out on hips. “We can’t cancel that show; there’s good money to make there, and people are coming from all over for the market that day. If we wait, it won’t be anywhere near as good a crowd.”
There were nods. They all knew that was true.
Finally, Oriole spoke up. She was an older water earthling, with long and unusually pale hair. She was one of the troupe’s founders, and although she rarely played herself she (and Yano, her partner), still had final say on most of the group’s decisions.
“Somebody else will play for him.”
Glances were cast everywhere – mostly at the three players that everyone knew were the closest in skill to Tomoki himself; Satiya, Kitaro and Seko. Each of them opened their mouth to speak, and it seemed like there might be an argument brewing – but then Oriole spoke again, holding her hand up for pause.
“We’ll hold a contest. Tomorrow, at noon. Everyone who wants a chance can play Evening Storm on Tomoki’s drum, and the best performer will play in Setal. No arguments, no foul play. Understood?”
There was a murmur of agreement… and perhaps excitement, as each drummer realized the opportunity being presented. And Vodyanoi, too, was altogether intrigued; Oriole had said anyone could compete. Anyone who was there – and he certainly was, standing to the edges of the crowd and listening to every word. He could play Evening Storm! It was one of his favorites, and Seko had already been practicing the first little bit of it with him in the evenings. He had until tomorrow afternoon to practice the rest, and then he’d get his chance to prove himself while everyone was listening!
* * *
“I want to play in the comtest.” He told Seko, sitting down on the soft sand beside him. Like many of the others, the drummer had wandered away from the camp to practice in relative quiet. Vodyanoi followed him out with a borrowed drum, and now turned towards him expectantly. “Will you show me the rest of it? I’ll practice it myself.
“You’re joking.” Seko looked at him, quirking a dotted eyebrow. “You can barely play a steady beat, and you want to take Tomoki’s role?”
“I want to play in the contest.” Vodyanoi repeated stubbornly. After several long weeks spent travelling and working for the troupe, his shyness had begun to wear off and he was starting to feel a little more like his old self: outgoing, curious, and ever-so-sly when he wanted things to go his way. That was the way he had acted back in Oba, except back then he had been a slave and nothing more. He had had nothing to strive for but an extra helping at mealtime, or a decorative trinket that had caught his eye. Today things were different; he was free, he was in his own land, and he had a lot more to gain than a sweet roll.
“Well, kid, I’m impressed by your determination but I think you’re a little outclassed, if you know what I mean? Some of us have been playing for years, and you… you started last week.”
Vodyanoi did his best casual shrug, and traced blue fingers over the drumskin. “You said I was doing well. So I thought I’d give it a shot.”
“Yeah, you’re doing well for a beginner . Not a lead.”
“Well don’t teach me, if you’re so opposed to it. I’ll just watch you practice and figure it out on my own.”
Seko rolled his eyes, then shifted to sit closer to the boy. “That’s ridiculous, you’re just going to embarrass yourself that way. I’ll… walk you through it a few times. But I have to practice myself, so after that you better find yourself another spot to play, got it?”
“Yeah,” Vodyanoi grinned, moving his borrowed drum into position. “Got it.”
* * *
Evening Storm was music meant for the drums. Usually it was performed by the whole troupe – a dozen drums, from huge ones shaped like fish-barrels to little ones that you held in your hand. The beats were supposed to imitate a stormy sea-side evening – first a little light patter of rain, then the persistent tap-tap-tap of fat raindrops, followed by the crash of thunder and finally the loud boom of overturning waves. When they performed it with the whole troupe, the singers howled and wailed to make the sound of the wind and the shouts of fishermen out on the water, while dancers moved chaotically through the musical fray. It was a lot of fun, and for the most part, it did not look particularly different; there was no one set way to play it, and the musicians were free to improvise and make their own additions where they pleased.
But that was in a group. With only one drum to play the whole piece, it was a genuine challenge. Your hands rarely ever rested – the music just rolled on and on, starting off quiet and then growing louder, then dropping down to murmur and raising up to be louder still, thunderclaps marked with big, open-palmed slaps on the top and sides of the drum. Vodyanoi’s hands were hurting after his third go-through with Seko’s help… and after that the only thing he had to look forward to was spending the rest of the night, and tomorrow morning, playing it again and again and again.
But this was his chance. If he missed it know, who knew how long it would take for the troupe to give him another chance to play? It wasn’t that he minded the cleaning, or the fishing, or the gutting… but he wanted to play. Every time he listened to them perform, all he wanted to do was join in, to move his hands in rhythm and listen to his fingers add just the right beat at just the right time.
He just wanted to play. Not months from now, not years from now… he wanted to play tomorrow.
* * *
The time of the contest drew close; they had a quick and silent lunch in camp, then followed a long and winding trail to the beach. Tomoki’s huge drum was carried high over their heads and finally placed on a sandy rise near the shore. They all settled down around it, and waited for Oriole to speak.
“Those who want to compete, rise and sit on the other side of the drum.”
Six of them rose. Satiya, Kitaro and Seko stood as they had been expected to, and with them also stood Oni and Lea, one a younger drummer and the other an accomplished flute-player who sometimes played the drums himself. Vodyanoi rose with them, and earned a couple of chuckles as a result; but for the most part the troupe was far too excited to see the results to care. The six of them sat on the far side of the drum while the others watched, and waited once more.
Oriole chose Kitaro to play first. He performed well, as everyone expected. Oni was better than people expected her to be, and Lea’s variation was… different, to say the least. Then Oriole called on Vodyanoi, and once again there were curious grins from the group.
Tomoki’s drum was tall; almost too tall for the prentice, who was growing but not yet full-grown. You had to stand to play it, and until this moment Vodyanoi had never even dared to touch it (well, he hadn’t been allowed). But it was, in theory, similar to the smaller drum he had been practicing on, except for the fact that the sound was so much… deeper, and richer, but also sharper and louder and bolder. It was a beautiful drum, and for a second Vodyanoi thought that… even if he failed miserably, it would have been worth it just to lay his hands on the thing.
He took a deep breath, and let his fingers fall onto the skin.
The first part was the whisper-like sound of a drizzle; his fingers barely rose from the surface, just dancing and sliding across the top. Sometimes this part was barely audible, but the troupe knew what to listen for, and Vodyanoi felt a bit of an adrenaline rush when he realized that they were, in fact, listening; they were listening to him the same way they had listened to Kitaro, Oni and Lea. Encouraged by this, he picked up speed, his fingers working harder as the rain picked up. The drizzle became more of a pitter-patter, mostly steady and consistent except for when it was pushed and twisted around by the wind.
After a while he forgot his audience. Even thought that was all he had cared about at first, playing in front of an audience, he soon found that it was just too much to focus on once the song became quicker, louder and more complicated. Even with all of his focus on the drums, he found himself stumbling, fingers slipping or landing on an off-beat. He corrected himself after every error, though, biting down on his lip in an attempt to keep focus. His arms ached, his back screamed from the awkward angle of his shoulders (he should have probably found a box to stand on, or something of the sort), and eyes were watering. Sweat dripped down from his chin onto the drumskin, one actual drop in a cacophony of musical ones.
When he was done, there was first a little silence, then scattered claps that grew into proper applause.
“Hey, the kid’s not bad!” Someone shouted from the back. “Not bad at all!”
* * *
When all the drummers had played their piece, they once again settled before the drum. Oriole and Yano were talking off to the side… quiet, long out of earshot, but the focus of everyone’s attention. Finally the two older women walked back into the circle and took their seat in the sand. A rumble of murmurs rose from the group.
“Alright, quiet down.” Oriole rolled her eyes. “You’ll have your answer in a moment. You all played well, but it’s not easy to be the lead. The lead must be confident, bold, and decisive. We have listened to your performances… and we choose Seko to take Tomoki’s place in the performance in Setal.
There was loud cheering from the group; a few of the other competitors looked let down, but joined in all the same. After all, they would all get other chances to move up in the ranks, and the more time they spent playing their instruments, the better they would get. Vodyanoi clapped and smiled as well; to be entirely honest, he had never even considered that he might win, but he felt as if he had accomplished something all the same. The troupe had heard him play, and they had clapped for him like he was one of them – surely, he would get another chance someday as well?
It turned out, however, that the chance would come sooner than he thought.
“Since Seko will be playing Tomoki’s drum, we will need someone to take his usual place. That role we will give to Vodyanoi, our apprentice. He’s shown us all that he can play by himself… so let’s see if he can play with the group.”
This time the cheers (although not quite as excited as the ones that Seko had received) put a huge grin on Vodyanoi’s face.
word count: 2366
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 8:53 am
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 11:05 am
Class Quest Result
Pass!
Vodyanoi has passed and received a rank of Rogue!
Congratulations Vodyanoi!
Stereochrome For an interesting quest, Vodyanoi may choose 1 regular shop item. Please PM Suhuba with his choice.
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