Horizon Odyssey, Chapter 1, A hopeful fresh start

[Straybow]

"Nice to meet ya Vic," Ezekiel said with a smile, glad he hadn't seemingly disturbed anything. When Vic asked where he was from his grin grew larger. "I come from the small town of Etria located on the kingdom of Lungre across the sea to the east; we just recently discovered this land to the west of us. Some time ago quakes opened up a labyrinth though by the time I left the place was practically cleaned out." His smile shrank a little bit. "Just a few odd items were supposedly missing if I recall correctly. Though that was at least a year or so ago so I'm sure they've been found already."

"Anyway, where're you from Vic? I've never saw any of those," he pointed at Vic's guns, "when I was in Etria. What're they and how do they work?"

[FrankerZ]

"Etria? Can't say I've heard of that place... Nor am I familiar with this Kingdom of Lungre..." Both of these statements were lies. Many things were heard in places where adventurers gather... Laagard was no exception. He had heard tall tales of other labyrinths and other trees... If you had tried to convince Victor of another Yggdrasil a few years ago, he would have laughed in your face. But here he was, about to explore another labyrinth in another tree. Although he had only heard the name Etria spoken by drunkards and bards, a tree in this Etria place certainly wasn't out of possibility. If that were the case, then this Ezekiel may potentially have labyrinth experience aswell. And that had the potential to be a problem.

"But, glad to have you aboard." He said. "And these? My... You must be from far away." Returning to the table he picked up the rifle he had propped up. "This is one of my firearms 'Sasha'" He chuckled to himself upon realizing how silly it sounded to introduce a weapon. "You may find it odd to name a weapon like that... But with the amount of times Sasha has saved my life, I believe she deserves the recognition. But I digress. Now... how do I best describe what it does...?" He thought for a moment and produced a round from his pocket.

Holding it up as to let Ezekiel see it, he explained: "Firearms like this are capable of firing projectiles like this at a velocity high enough to pierce through some metals. I guess the easiest way to describe is to let you see it for yourself; and we'll do that in the labyrinth." Shoving the round back in his pocket, he continued a fake smile. "Some foreigners think of these as a coward's weapon. They can be just as mighty as any blade and be faster than the bat of an eye. Let's just hope you don't think of them that way!" Victor laughed to himself.

"As to where I come from, it's rather chilly most of the time. Weapons like this are common staple and there's a tree much like the one here... There's really not a whole lot to say about it... I just learned how to make and use guns for much of my childhood."

He propped the rifle back up against the table and sat down with a sigh. "We're waiting on Ishan and that other person I suppose... Anybody else care to share any home stories?" Victor said this to specifically hear from Reo. The more he knew about her and where she came from, the better it would be for him. Victor wouldn't mind hearing from Robin or Aaron either.

[Rothene]

Looking at the time, Robin sat at the desk and unfurled a scroll. Taking a glance at it, the guild master looked back at the four people seated before him. It was getting late and it would be unfair for those sitting around to wait for too long. Ten more minutes, ten more minutes I'll give before I send these lot on their way. Some guilds actually did well alone, four is just one short of the optimal anyway.

Clearing his throat to gather everyone's attention, Robin asked, "If within ten minutes no one else arrives, will the lot of you be comfortable venturing into the labyrinth with just four? You will need a map maker though and that problem will have to be rectified before I send all of you off."

[Riseatrance]

i hate writer's blok

Reo yawned as, at that moment in time, Victor's little spiel was glossed over in his mind, instead taking bigger priority in what Robin had to say. The others were late. So, if this kept up, they would enter in as four. Which, Reo supposed, wasn't entirely bad nor stupid. That led to the problem of the mapmaking tools. One of them probably did get mapmaking tools easily, but she was way late. Reo fidgeted in place. He rummaged through his pouch and procured what appeared to be a cylinder of some sort, placing it on the table.

"OK, this thing, it contains something that will let you draw things on parchment or some other sort of surface. It's something that we from our clan use to sign contracts and the like. Unfortunately it uses red ink, do not ask where the ink comes from, mind, but it can serve as a makeshift scribing tool. We'll just need some other supplies for the mapmaker if worst comes to worst."

[Curry-Kohai]

(Sooo busy recently, so sorry.)

Ihsan was tired, very tired.

She had gone to sleep in a cheap yet somewhat trustworthy looking inn, however, the nights in this land were far from desirable.

Quakes were uncommon in Riyadh, but they did happen, so Ihsan didn't mind too much about those. her lack of sleep came mostly from the loud patrons at the inn, and the climate. The people downstairs seemed to be partying, or feasting, regardless, their loud talking was interspersed with bouts of laughter, it took a while for their party to subside, and when it did, Ihsan had another problem.
The nights there were far too warm, and she felt uncomfortable throughout the entire night. It didn't help that her bed was uncomfortable, at one point during the night, she went to her bag, and slept on that.

After the poor sleep she had, she didn't realize that she was late, thinking she had woken up early. She browsed various shops and had a hearty breakfast. Before realizing that not only was she late, but that she had forgotten to bring her map supplies! She ran into the inn and grabbed them, and ran towards the guild house.

She ran through the door, breathing heavily, seeing the rest of the party, she sighed in relief.
"Sorry I'm late, I didn't sleep too well, it's hot at night."
she panted, setting her bag on the ground and sitting on it.
"Are we ready to leave?"

[Rothene]

"Well...that is something," Robin muttered, not entirely confident that it was enough. "I suppose that could work you'll just need erm...well, I suppose basic walls are good enough."

He anxiously looked at the large clock in the hall, something he invested quite some ental into, the ten minutes was almost up and he was fully prepared to give the order to move out when Ihsan came bursting in. Due to the time, the guild master decided to ignore the pleasantries and get straight to the point, "Ah, excellent, we have all been waiting for you."

Robin did a loud clap and said, "Now that five of you are here and it's getting late, the five of you will have to go ahead to the labyrinth. Make sure your badges are in plain sight so that the guards will let you pass." scratching his chin as he opened up a scroll, "They would probably stop you the first few times you venture to the labyrinth until they are familair with the badge, so don't get too offended."

Unfurling the scroll he had on the table, which was a map of Horizon itself, Robin pointed out the location of the labyrinth entrance, which was a short walk east from where they were situated. As most explorers know by now, Yggdrasil's entance lay on the West Wing where all the guild headquarters were situated.

***

"So...Simon, why did you chose to be a guard?" a soldier asked leaning on his spear near the entrance to the Yggdrasil labyrinth. He was playing a game of chess with his partner and winning.

"Because I didn't want to work near the wall and be the first to die if war breaks out?" Simon answered moving a rook to take out a queen out of desperation. He knew he was about to lose in the next step, but damn if he didn't take down something valuable, which his partner clearly dangled before him. "What about you Gumba? Why did you sign up as a guard?"

"Eh, I needed the money. To fund my education of course, alchemy classes are not cheap you know? Plus I've got no one to help teach me the basics or supply me with one of those alchemist arms." Grinning, Gumba moved his rook in for the kill, "Slow day today. I think only what, four guilds entered this time? I think their numbers are shrinking."

"I'm not surprised, word's getting out about entire guilds going in and not seen again."

"You think they're starting to kill each other for the loot? Or you really believe in those rumours of monsters far more terrfying than those seen to date?"

"Both. I can't imagine what sort of deranged mind or courage does it take to be an explorer."

"Beats me," Gumba shrugged rearranging the board pieces, "Another game perhaps?"

[Straybow]

"Oh that is an interesting weapon if what you say about it is true!" Ezekiel said, excited at the prospect of seeing how 'Sasha' worked soon. "I'm sure that they're even better bows if the ammo can pierce metals."

And then Robin joined in and told them that they'd be leaving soon even if they were short some people. The only problem Robin seemed to have with it is that they lacked mapping supplies. Ezekiel started digging in his pack for supplies but before he could so much as take out his medicas one of the other guild members raced in. They seemed to already have the mapping supplies which was probably a good thing Ezekiel realized; in his haste to get ready earlier he hadn't realized he had packed his old maps from Etria along with his mapping supplies.


"Well then," Ezekiel said after Robin had finished speaking and pointed them to the entrance to the labyrinth. "Who else will be taking the front with me? I may be a protector by trade and, although I do have some experience, even I cannot defend an entire line from vicious monsters all by myself."

[Riseatrance]

Reo glared at the protector.

"I'll stand with you. I don't believe we've met. I'm Reo. Sword for hire, though I suppose in this case I have an extended contract." he mentioned brusquely as he fidgeted with his scabbard again. "I, however, am obviously not built to take blows. I do killing before I am killed. That is the Dead Law where I was raised from."

(( uhh super short but i'm sleeping so yeah. ))

[FrankerZ]

"Haha. There you are, we were about to leave." Victor said to Ishan as she burst through the door.

He was somewhat pleased with Reo offering to share his 'ink' but he was still rather confused why she had brought ink used for their contracts. He said nothing of it. He was exceedingly pleased with the fact that Ezekiel volunteered to take the front line. Anybody willing to take the front like that had to be dedicated, and Victor was certainly happy with the prospect of somebody being able to take most of the blows.

But when Reo volunteered to take front... Reo being on point was something that hadn't crossed his mind yet. If she proved to be a problem, some 'friendly fire' might prove to be a very acceptable solution he thought. He hoped it would have to come to that though. 'With any luck she'll get herself killed up front... Better her than I.' Victor concluded that if she was willing to take the hits, he would let her so long as she didn't prove a wrench in his plans. Of course, he also figured that 'accidents' like friendly fire could work both ways, he resolved to stay out of sword's range whenever possible.

Answering his questions he said: "I don't know if they're better... They're more powerful but they're certainly louder. If we need a quiet kill we'd need an alternative... Well anyways Ezekiel, I'm afraid ranged folks like myself don't fare too well up front. I'll take the rear with the alchemist. I trust we'll have their backs, correct Aaron? If that's all settled, let's go!"

Victor picket up his bag from the corner, strapped on his rifle and put his sidearm in the holster on his belt. He walked up to Ishan.

"May I have the mapping items please?"

[Curry-Kohai]

Holds out a small sack towards Victor briefly, then pulls it back to her side before he could grab it, winking mockingly.
"What, you don't trust me with these? Tsk tsk, I thought we were friends here."
She was teasing, of course, but she genuinely wanted to know why he wanted to be the one to map the labyrinth out.

[Rothene]

Leaning back on his chair, Robin smiled and reminded the party assemble before they set off to the labyrinth, "Time is ticking, I wish you all good luck in the labyrinth. Remember, safety before all else."

***

"Alright, screw chess. We should play checkers! Much simpler and fairer for me!" Simon grumbled flipping the chess set over in anger.

Gumba shook his head and started picking the pieces and muttered, "With that attitude, you'll never get better."

"Oh look, seems like a new guild is coming through. Heh, more meat for the grinder," Simon remarked snickering when he noticed the guild members of ITL approach.


OOC: The later's just the scenery when your PCs reach the labyrinth. You're still free to mentions what happens on the trip.

[FrankerZ]

A direct answer was an answer he was not going to give Ishan. It was true he didn't trust her, he didn't even have enough faith in her to buy the map so he reserved his own! He tried to play off his own eagerness as best he could.

"Heh. If I had known you wanted to map then I wouldn't have asked..." It was clear that he wasn't very happy about that. He wanted to hold the map, he figured it would give him more control. But he would say no more of it, it wasn't worth making a scene over.

He smiled as Robin tried to push them along. "C'mon everyone, I think Robin is trying to tell us we should get goin'." He said as he made his way out the door.

[CD-Man2021]

The clock had started to tick down, but Ihsan returned just in time. Aaron had wanted to ask more about Ezekiel’s home as well as the transportation he used (he had heard rumors about there being something powered by steam, which sounded amazing) but that would have to wait until later. Ihsan looked…defeated. Aaron was about to offer to make some wake-up tea for her, but he doubted he would have enough time to make it before they left. He was also worried about how she would take the taste of it, since it nearly caused him to lose what little breakfast he had eaten.

Reo and Ezekiel would take the front while Aaron and Victor will attack from behind. Would Ihsan also stay in the back? Aaron wasn’t familiar enough with her or her strategies to know how she acted in battle. Either way, Aaron nodded at Victor‘s comment. “We’ll make sure to watch over you lot.” He said. The labyrinth excited him. Not for the fighting of course, but over the mere thoughts of what new plants, animal species, and maybe even chemicals and monsters he might find in there. Of course, he would have to work under the assumption that everything would try to kill him, but the risk would be worth it.

[Rothene]

After going through the trouble of showing off the guild badges to the entrance guards, the guild ITL enters the fabled Yggdrasil Labyrinth. But not before one the guards mutters to his comrade casually, "Wanna bet how many come back out alive from these new lot of rookies?"

A mere step into the labyrinth instantly makes one feel like stepping into a whole new world as vibrant verdure greets the very eyes of the explorers. Various trees and vines seem to grow so tightly packed together that it is difficult to distinguish between what might have been an ancient wall with green overgrowth or just a whole bunch of trees so densely packed together it might as well be walls of living wood. The air is fresh with the clean fragrant smell of scented flowers, some pine and a hint of mulch. Here, nature once again proves its superiority to anything mankind can muster with their weak attempts to duplicate natural smells with perfumes.

Sweet chirping can be heard as birds of various species can be seen flying around making their nest and in the distance some squirrels can be seen climbing trees, going about their daily business of foraging for food. Every once in a while, a rabbit pokes its head out of a hole to stare curiously at the explorers before ducking back in. With the air so fresh, far fresher than even those who live in the countryside ever experienced in their life time, it is no wonder that some explorers who go in refuses to leave the labyrinth, so entranced by its majesty.

But despite all its beauty, a hint of wariness remain in the explorers. The primal beauty also unleashed an inner primal instinct in all explorers. This is nature's domain, and it is ruled by the laws of the weak perish while the strong survive. Behind every rose are thorns of pain and despair. Welcome to the Yggdrasil labyrinth of Horizon.

From the entrance, there is only one long visible path branching off to the east to what looks to be a large clearing up ahead.

[Straybow]

"Ah, excellent," Ezekiel said warmly as Reo introduced 'herself' and volunteered to take the front with him. "Worry not, I specialize in drawing the monster's attention away from my allies. You needn't to worry too much about being struck by those beasts in the labyrinth."

Shortly after he finished speaking they were off to labyrinth and made it in with little trouble. Ezekiel had heard what the guard said but chose to make nothing of it; there was a labyrinth that needed exploring and he wasn't going to let some rude guards ruin his mood.

Even though he had seen Etria's labyrinth many, many times this labyrinth gave him the same mystical feeling of being in a labyrinth for the first time. However the feeling only lasted a moment as he recalled how dangerous a place the labyrinth was. Spear in one hand and shield in the other Ezekiel looked down the eastern path towards the clearing. There was no evidence of monsters, as far as he could tell anyway, and for that he was relieved; he was eager to explore, not eager to die. "I don't know how much experience the rest of you have but I would just like to say to never take a risk without being prepared for the consequences. Unforeseen dangers like seemingly safe fruit or spots that seem great for a rest are what kill beginning explorers like us. Anyway let us be on our way. It wouldn't do to linger too long and be ambushed by monsters."