first hunt ⚔ subquests and exploration

[rokubro]

Characters: Rokurou Rangetsu | Huntsman (Red Riding Hood); anyone
Campaign: Hollow Christmas Carol
Format: [ brackets ]
Open
Summary: Time to explore, hunt, find some tombstones and deal with wraiths, and maybe work on some shooting practice (because no matter where he is, have to always train!). Most of these have a journal portion as well.

» A: OUT BY THE FOREST «
[When Rokurou came to after all that, it took him a while to realize that hey. It wasn't his vision that was compromised, everything just really looked that weirdly dull around him. After making sure he had his bag and swords still on him, he stared at the dark forest in front of him. Guess this is where he starts, huh? Time to check the journal and see if there's anything useful...]

[ i. JOURNAL: hello? anyone else around here? ]
Hey guys, it's Rokurou. Anyone else by this super creepy forest? According to the journal there are some tombstones to find, so I'm just going to go ahead and head in, see if I can locate them as well as check the place out. Man this place is weird, but hope there are some cool enemies to fight!

[...Somehow his ending line isn't quite right........]

---
[ ii. wraiths ]
[After careful trekking through the spooky woods, Rokurou stumbled onto the first piece of tombstone. Literally, he almost ate dirt and barely caught himself by grabbing onto a low hanging branch. At first he thought it was a huge rock, but upon closer inspection he notices the engravings on it.]

Hm... Maybe this is it?

[He crouches down to pick it up to get a closer look. UNFORTUNATELY while it is indeed a tombstone piece—it's not Ebegeeser's. He feels a sudden chill rise up behind him, and he whirls around just in time to see a ghostly wraith looming behind him.]

Shit—! [He just manages to roll out of the way as it lunges towards him, dropping the stone and pulling out his swords.] Well, I was looking for a fight!

[Despite the surprise, he's grinning as he engages the wraith, blades slicing clean through the apparition. At least it's actually doing some damage.]

---
[ iii. tombstone collecting ]
[After figuring out that he needs to find certain pieces and not pick them all up willy nilly, Rokurou is able to focus more on the task. So when he finally finds one from Ebegeeser's tombstone, he looks at the glowing instructions.]

Find the foggiest...place? [And just going to look around him and just a shit ton of a fog.] ...Yeah that's going to be easy. [Not.]


---
[ iv. learning his inner huntsman ]
[When not dealing with wraiths or tombstones, Rokurou is just going to take his time and venture further into the forest. Occasionally he would hear the sound of hooves galloping through, but whenever he found the place where he thought it was, he never finds any tracks. So weird... There's also not a lot of wildlife here. Kind of begs the question of what they should do for food.

In any case, he's just going to be exploring and figuring out more about his essence. Tracking down things, staring up at trees, lazing around in trees because even great daemon warrior hunters(??) need a break and nap.]


------------------------------------------------
» B: FISHING BY THE RIVER «

[ i. catching some fish...? ]
[After exploring the forest, Rokurou checks out the nearby river since he had read a bridge was needed. He hadn't quite found the spot with the planks yet, so he's sitting on a log with a makeshift fishing pole instead. Might as well see what he can catch right? But.....UUUH.]

...Now that can't be right.

[He holds up the line, staring at the fish skeleton thrashing on the hook.]

---
[ ii. JOURNAL: what's for dinner? ]
Soooo I'm out here by the river trying to catch some fish. Good news, there's fish in these waters. Bad news, I'm not sure how much I TRUST it. A few of these are actually living skeletons and some are... Looking a bit half-eaten.

Anyone in town know if there's food there? Otherwise I have no idea what we're going to do for provisions. Forest is pretty scarce, but I'll try again later.


------------------------------------------------
» C: SHOOTING PRACTICE AND SWORD TRAINING «
[When not helping trying to find things, Rokurou will be out in the field with some makeshift targets made of straw and branches. He'll do his usual sword training regimen, alternating between his two short swords and greatswords, sometimes mixing one or the other. He's adept with the greatswords now, but he still has a lot of practice to get to the level he really wants.

But what he really needs practice on is the whole "gunblade" thing his swords have turned into. So there will be occasional gunfire as he aims to shoot random items off a fence. ...It's not going that great, he's hitting maybe 60% of the time. As evident when a bullet whizzes by an (empty) glass bottle of ale.]

Aargh, what the hell am I doing wrong? I hit the other one...

[He knows practice makes perfect, but jeez. Even he can get frustrated. Compared to how expertly he handled the swords, he definitely is an amateur at firearms.]


------------------------------------------------
» D: WILDCARD «
[Wildcard option! I only focused on the tombstone subquest, but he'll be helping out with all the others as well as just generally exploring to see what he can find about the place. Feel free to hit me up on Discord or laenavesse]

Comments

[rokubro]

That is...one crazy alternate personality. [Just going to study him for a moment, still wondering.] But do you have that same strength and fighting technique as you are now?

[chippedsoul]

[He grips the hilt of the blade Roku has temporarily offered him, almost guarding himself for something.] No, but I can hold myself fine in a fight without it.

[rokubro]

Except when you start, then it pops out. Do you not have any control over it?

[chippedsoul]

...To an extent, I do. If you're worried about me coming after you, I won't.

[rokubro]

[There's just a blank look before he laughs.]

Worried? No way! Honestly I'd enjoy it and I'll be honest—I may try going after you instead.

[chippedsoul]

What? [But why? His brows furrow.] Don't be stupid.

[rokubro]

Hey, I'm a war daemon. [Smirks.] Fighting is my life, and I'm always looking for strong opponents.

[Congratulations, Asougi. You made it onto his hit list.]

[chippedsoul]

...You say that like I should know what you're talking about. [He huffs, shaking his head.] Is that why your face is the way it is?

[rokubro]

Pretty much. Basically I'm just a guy who let all his bad emotions take over and lost his humanity, becoming a daemon as a result.

At least I didn't turn into a lizard or a wolf man.

[chippedsoul]

...Uh-huh. [Is this guy really an Aspect or actually a native to this world?] I would describe you as a mischievous imp. [He doesn't doubt his fighting capabilities, he's just...not what he was expecting of someone who claims they're a demon.]

[rokubro]

[He'd fit in pretty well in this place, huh?

But he laughs at that remark.]

You just haven't seen me go all out yet.

[chippedsoul]

[He hums quietly. Quietly, the challenge does pique his interest but...] If I had to fight you, I'd rather fight with my own skills, not...whatever this place has done to me.

[He stops, staring ahead of him. The fog had gotten so thick that he could barely see what's even right in front of him.] Are you still there? [Cause he just realizing that he can't actually see Roku now.]

[rokubro]

[It's a good thing Rokurou is actually paying attention in walking with him. Or at least mostly. He had turned to look around as the fog rolled in around them, and he momentarily loses sight of Asougi.]

Yeah, I'm here! I think on your left?

[BLINDINGLY GOING TO REACH OUT hopefully doesn't smack his face.]

[chippedsoul]

Hm? [He glances to his left and immediately feels a hand grabbing onto his arm. He goes tense, resisting the urge to push him back.] . . .So you are. [Anytime now, you can let go once you've gotten your bearings, please.]

[rokubro]

[Ah, so it is. Don't worry, once he feels Asougi's arm he'll let go, moving only a little closer so that he can vaguely see the man's form.]

Haha, sorry. But we were supposed to look for the foggiest place, right? This looks like it should fit the bill.

[chippedsoul]

[He sighs a relief once he does so. He looks down at the glowing piece, expecting something to happen. Maybe putting it on the ground will trigger something? He sets it on the ground and it starts to wiggle on it's own. Or was it the only thing shaking? ] ...We should back up. [Something big seems ready to burst from this glowing piece.]

[rokubro]

[...Yeeeeah that sounds like a good idea!

He'll be taking a few steps back...and then outright jump out of the way when more tombstones just pop up right where he had just been standing. Although it's not the entire graveyard, just that one piece created a sizable section of it.]

Whoa, not sure if I should be impressed or creeped out.

[chippedsoul]

[...Well, a few tombstones is better than monsters.] We've got a lot of work ahead of us. [If this is only just one piece.]

[rokubro]

Should be easier to find this place at least. Looks like some of the fog has lifted off this area.

[Still pretty thick, though.]

So back to the site?

[chippedsoul]

[Has it? It's pretty subtle.] If we can find it again through this fog. I'm certain the pieces are going to be scattered about regardless. [And he picks a direction to walk, supposedly backtracking, but who knows if it's the same route.]