To Halt A Movement (Private)

[Rue]

(( For this thread the maximum amount of players will be limited to two available slots ))



The stars shone down on the village of Horunka. The Streets were empty and almost peaceful save the loud roars from the local inn. As Rue entered the Inn it's "hospitality" attacked Rue's senses. The roars of the common npc's and drunken players almost deafened Rue. and the smell of beer mixed with the expectedly good aroma of the food ruining her appetite. Approaching the Inn keep he greeted her with a thick Kansai accent. " Hey their miss what can I get you"? Rue expression was mildly annoyed and her tone was bitter. " Is this the only inn in the village "? The Innkeeper nodded. " Yep so your looking for a room? ten col for the night comes with a meal and a beer". Laying the money the innkeeper escorts her to her room, Rue turns to thank the innkeeper and tells him to cut out the beer.

Lying down Rue thinks over her next target. " The Mountains ". It's risky, but it's the fastest way to finishing this dammed floor. Rechecking her items and equipment before she goes to sleep. A knock echoes from her door and the Inn keeper's accent assaults her again. "Dinner!".

" Shadow... Shadow "! A man's yelling woke Rue from her sleep. Half awake she got dressed and exited her room. The man was fairly older than her maybe late twenties, about six foot two with a dark complexion and a shaved head with a soul patch. He continued the run around like a chicken with his head cut off yell shadow In English with an American accent. Rue rubbed her eyes and raised her voiced to break through the man yells. " Stop yelling they probably are just around the village". The man turns towards to Rue towering over her. " She would never leave without telling me where she was going "! The man was erratic, and seemed very concerned about his party member? They must be very close, but he still calls her by her in game name. Focusing back on the man Rue tries to calm him down. "look if you thinks she's missing why don't we go to the last place you saw her". The man tenses up and gets more visible upset. " You think she went missing? maybe a kidnapping... no, no no Shadow"! Rue attempt at calming the man only seemed have made him even more upset. Grapping the mans hands and looking at him with a calm and soothing method Rue slowly calmed the man down. " We can not jump to conclusions maybe she just did not want to wake you, let's calm down and go to the last place you saw her okay". The man calms down a bit and nods.

Opening the entrance to the man's room Rue looks around. It was a slightly bigger room than what Rue had stayed, tow bed with both of them unmade one of the beds blankets lay on the ground signaling a someone who was in a hurry. Pointing to the bed with no blanket. " Is this one your bed sir"? The man responded mildly embarrassed. "Yes that one's mine I usually don't leave in such a mess, but I think you can understand my situation". Rue nodded as she searched the room looking through the drawers and began to search Shadow's bed. " Don't need to feel bad this is... aha". Rue removes the rectangular shaped paper from the blanket. Looking at it more closely it appears to be folded. Unfolding the paper showing word that Rue reads aloud.

"The Path Of Freedom Awaits At Horunka"

Turning to the man who looks just as confused as Rue. Folding the paper back and placing it in her inventory Rue pats the man on the arm and tries to keep his sprits up. " Well we have a least something to go on and we know that the something has to do with the village". The man lets a deep relived sigh. " I guess we should ask around, thanks for the help my name is KnockoutKing thanks for you help and concern. Rue nods with a smile. " It's Rue don't worry we'll find her for such".

[Tsuyoi]

Tsuyoi walked down the streets of Horunka. She was searching for a place to get some food and sleep. She asked the people she met on her way, and the same place was mentioned most of the times. She entered an inn, well it was a good place to get drunk, but it didn't look like a place to get some peace. It was surprising how many drunk players she had met at the inn's she had stayed at so far. They probably just tried to escape the reality that their new life was inside a game. She walked to the bar. "I just want a room" she yelled, to outshout the noise behind her and then she was shown to her room.

As soon as she entered the room she closed the door behind her. The room was quite little, and not very clean. She placed herself on the bed, and planned what to do after getting some sleep.

A man yelling woke Tsuyoi, shadow, it was probably a player name. She got up and opened the door to take a quick look on what was going on, It looked like somebody else already had control over it so Tsuyoi didn't felt like interfering, and now that she was awake it was a perfect oppurtunity for her to get some food. Tsuyoi exited her room and walked down to the bar. It sounded like some drunk idiots was still awake, but at least it had calmed down a little. She took seat at a table longest from the others, and ordered some food.

[Rue]

Walking down stairs, KnockoutKing and Rue walked towards the bar and called for the innkeeper. Rue spoke to King, " Ask to see if the innkeeper has seen your friend and also ask to get a list of all people who have stayed at this inn for the past few weeks and also about the note". King nods at her. Rue asked one last thing, " Can I get a description of your friend i'm going to ask around the bar while you talk to the innkeeper"? King takes a breath in and describes her as best he can, " she's eleven years old four foot eight and around eighty five pounds, she has a lighter shade of skin then mine and has straight black hair with the back tied into a braided bun. Has hazel eyes and bouncy personality, she also has a bad habit of overusing the phrase YOU KNOW". With a enough information to give a good enough description Rue nods to King and moves around the bar asking about Shadow.

As Rue moved around the bar asking about Shadow most of them says they only remember see her and King last night when they were eating in the bar. One of the drunks spoke up, " Remember the girl, nice girl happy personality makes you forget your were you are. She kept going on about this path or something, she said that she was going to find it and free everyone". Rue thanks the man who was surprisingly coherent considering his state.

Walking back over to the bar to report her findings and see what King got out of the innkeeper Rue see a young girl over by the counter. She was smaller than her which was odd to say the least. Walking over to the girl, Rue got a closers look. She had pink hair and looked to be of Japanese descent. Rue sat next to her and spoke to her in Japanese, " Excuse me miss, have you seen a eleven years old girl, about four foot eight and around eighty five pounds. She has lighter skin tone then the man talking to the innkeeper, and has straight black hair with the back tied into a braided bun. Has hazel eyes and bouncy personality, she also has a bad habit of overusing the phrase YOU KNOW.

[Tsuyoi]

Her food arrived and she started eating. The man that woke her a moment ago entered the bar, with a women. Maybe he had found the shadow he had yelled for, or else this was the person who got him under control. The women started to go from person to person, while the man talked to the innkeeper. At last she approached Tsuyoi, and asked if she had seen a girl. Around her own age actually.

"Well i don't know if i can help u more than anyone else in here. But i do remember seeing a girl, fitting to the description. She was eating last night, with that man. When i entered the inn" She pointed at the man. She held a short pause and stuffed her mouth with some more food. "Well i didn't speak to her, i did hear her talk with a man though. Something about her looking for a way to get out of this game i think" she explained. She put the money for the food at the table, and stood up. "why? is she missing?" She asked. She had already figured that was the case. But asked anyway.

[Rue]

Rue nodded to the girl. "Yes it appears so, her teammate who is most likely her father said he last saw her when they went to bed". looking slightly away and placing her hand under her chin. " Apparently she must of been approached by someone, when King the man you just pointed at was not near by. Whoever it was must of also handed her this paper with promise of freedom". Rue slides the folded paper over to the Pinked Haired Girl. Looking more deep into thought, " Under normal circumstances I think she would be smart enough to not listen to strangers, however desperation and a wish to save her father must have been clouding her judgment". Rue sat it silent as she thought about Shadow a bright star, hiding her fears and worries underneath.

King came over to Rue and placed a couple of pages in front of her and spoke with a worried tone. " The Innkeeper said he saw shadow leave early today with a man in a white hooded cloak, and he also said recently people have been coming here more recently in search of the path of freedom". Rue looked over the pages, and looked up at King. " What about the people who were searching for this path has their been sightings of them afterwards"? King shakes his head. Standing up and handing one of the more recent papers of customers, Rue's expression an voice became more serious. " We have a time limit see if you can find anyone that may have a location of the hooded man, will use the inn as a meeting point". King nod with a fearful expression and leaves the inn hastly. Rue turns back to the Pink Haired Girl. " Thank you for your cooperation".

[Tsuyoi]

The girl handed Tsuyoi a note, apparently a note that should have made the girl leave. -The Path Of Freedom Awaits At Horunka- Tsuyoi had never heard of this path of freedom, but she didn't talk to many people or npc, so that could be the reason. Tsuyoi gave the girl the note back. "I don't know, what it means. Sorry"

The man came over and placed some pages in front of the girl. A man in a white hood was seen leave with his daughter, Tsuyoi hadn't seen that man yesterday, but maybe he wasn't a player. Tsuyoi thought about what was happening for a while, apparently a lot of people had come missing after searching for this path of freedom, and now a little girl too. She had bin seen leave with a man in a white hood. But why would a player want a little girl to join him in this kind of search. While Tsuyoi was occupied in her thoughts the man left. The girl then thanked her. Tsuyoi nodded. "One more thing, that man in the white hood, i don't think he is a player. Maybe and npc, ask the innkeeper if he has seen him leave with other people from here before" Tsuyoi couldn't help but think that something weird was going on "you can find me in my room if you need help later on" and with those word she were about to leave the bar.

[Rue]

" Thanks for the input, but it's really doesn't matter if the hooded man is a player or not. We know that he has seen Shadow leaving with a hooded man in white, and that other have been in search of the path as well. I'm positive that others have followed a man in white through this inn, the inn." Thinking for a moment, Rue turns to the Innkeeper with a fiery expression. Facing the Innkeeper who looked rather nervous, Rue spoke to him in a stern voice. " Sir I am going to asks you once and only once, if I don't think you are being honest I will assume you are in league with a kidnapper and possible murderer. I think you smart enough to guess what that means". The innkeeper nods fearfully in compliance, "Yes ma'am". Rue glares at the man, " What do you know about the hooded man"? The innkeeper looks away, and Rue slams her hand on the counter. " Don't look away from me innkeeper". The innkeeper looks back towards Rue looking like a scared child, " I don't know ma'am he co..comes by every once in a blue moon to pick up ne..ne..new members". The Innkeeper's on the verge of crying, " Please ma'am I don't know nothing, I heard the blacksmith had a talk with him, that's all I know"! The innkeeper drops to he's knees as Rue stares at him sizing him up.

Looking away from the man Rue lefts her hand off the counter and places it next to her sword. The Innkeepers eyes widen and tears begin to fall from his eyes. " MA'AM IT'S THE TURTH PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON ME"! Rue turns to the Pink Haired Girl, " I guess we are going to the Blacksmith".

[Inugami]

There was a mystery here, Inugami knew that from just watching and listening. Or to him there were dozens. How had the player who had gone to sleep hours ago get hold of a rigged pair of dice, where had the missing person gone, who the hell managed the lamps because he could never see anyone actually going off and lighting them. There was one mystery that captured his attention most. How had a slight little girl who was younger than he cause the bartender to plead as if his life depended on it from nothing more than a few harsh words and fire like attitude. Was it something that the game had decided to implement, or had the young girl done something that his careful eyes did not see?

The young adult stood from the far end of the bar and slid in to place by them without a visible care for the scene that had just taken place. "Don't you think that you need to be a bit more discreet?" Inugami asked of the other two. "You seem to be making quite a fuss and drawing a lot of attention to yourselves. What if someone a bit less caring was watching?" He questioned and prodded in a singsong manner without breaking a sweat of nervousness or letting his face shift from the friendliness that was beaming from it like a beacon. "So blacksmith right?" He asked knowingly having followed her to the red haired friend.

[Tsuyoi]

Tsuyoi got the point that no matter if the hooded man was a player or a npc, he was a problem. She hadn't thought about that before the girl pointed it out though. The girl started to question the innkeeper with a raised voice. It seemed like it draw attention from others as a young man approached them and told that they may had to be a little more discreet. The man had indeed right, this could draw unneeded attention, but at the same time the method had worked, and they got the information they needed, from a scared innkeeper. It seemed like Tsuyoi's idea had bin correct, regardless of if the white hooded man was a player or not, he was the only one who didn't come missing after leaving for the path of freedom, and he came every once in a while to lure new players with him.

The innkeeper didn't have much info about the man though, but he had heard him talk with the blacksmith. So now of to the blacksmith it was, and it seemed like they now had gotten another companion.

[Rue]

"Unfortunately I don't think we have time to, be discreet, and i'm not going to waste time to avoid drawing attention" Turning to meet the owner of the voice head on, her expression not as intense as it was to the Innkeeper but still serious in expression and tone of voice. The man was also of Japanese descent, rather tall will pale skin and skinny however not unhealthy his height made him appear more so. Brown hair and eyes, also a tattoo that is trying to be hidden, but it just draws more attention to it.

Looking up at the toothpick, his comment about other listening in interested Rue. "Are you saying you know something about the current disappearance or not, I do not have time to dance around the issue,, and your not coming until I hear your input and your involvement with the missing person".

[Inugami]

Looking back from the younger red haired girl who had said nothing and to the one who spoke with an edge, Inugami carefully decided upon the next set of words to leave his mouth. "Let me pose you a question. Let us say that you were a righteous police officer, and that I was a thief. And let us also say that someone tipped you off of where I currently was. If you turn on your lights and sirens miles down the road to where I would easily notice you, do you think that I would stick around? While that method may halt the crime and keep me from making off with any goods, it would also grant me the opportunity to escape. If you were to have approached silently, cutting off any escape routes before making you presence known, maybe I would have had time to make my way past a lock or two, but in the end be caught." He ended his example with an intake of breath.

Cautiously Inugami held his arm behind his back, drawing attention away from the tattoo that plagued his in game body. "I do not advise taking your time, but where your outburst had worked, so could have a subtle passing of coin." The merchant was under the impression that money was a primary decider in certain decisions, and as of yet had not found any evidence of the contrary. "As for anything else I know, I know nothing. Just a simple player who thought of adding his assistance to the search." He offered but he let his demeanor change involuntarily from his normal one. With an edge to match that of the other he spoke. "And I do not think that there is anything you can do to keep me from following." As quick as the darkness had come it faded, and Inugami added in. "So to the blacksmith then?"

[Tsuyoi]

As the conversation between the girl and the young man continued, Tsuyoi stood by as a quit observer. She had nothing to contribute with to the conversation, so she decided not participate. Tsuyoi was not much of a talker, and almost never spoke her mind. Also she had no opinion on who was right in this matter, but the man's example did seem very logic, and was well explained. The man talked with a friendly voice, but anyway it felt like he talked down to the girl, indirectly, and it seemed like he was gonna join them, no matter what the girl wanted.

The reason Tsuyoi had chosen to join in on helping with finding the girl was because it sounded exciting. She didn't like being ordered around, and it seemed like the other girl was going to take the leader role on this search, but for now she would follow, since she hadn't ordered Tsuyoi to do any particular, but if it came to that she would most likely leave, or get offended.

[Rue]

Rue's eyes narrowed at the man, he does not seemed to be involved with the hooded man or have any information on the subject. Why would a capitalistic man such as he to take interest in a missing girl. Speaking to him with a stern voice, " I think their are many ways that I could stop you, however you don't seem to be involved, nor do I have the time to argue pointlessly about methods of gathering information. I will not turn down help when it is freely given, as long as you understand that finding the missing person is the number one priority and catching the culprit is secondary".

Rue's expression and voice went back to her usual calm mannerisms. " We've wasted enough time here waxing poetic, we have a missing girl to find".

The mismatched party headed for the blacksmith passing street venders and players preparing for quests and adventure. Reaching the blacksmiths forge they were greeted by the heat of the smiths work. Rue looks around the entrance to noticed a sigh, Masterworks a rather boisterous title. The sounds of metal grinding against stone filled the area. A strong aging voice rang through the forge getting the teams attention. " What do you kids want this isn't no toy shop run along now".

[Inugami]

The jeweler nodded his agreement, as they moved on to the town's blacksmith. He would keep his reason to himself, for there was none. Inugami cared very little for the missing girl, and the same level of thought towards the other two here. Any thought that he could pull as a reason was just that the missing player was just that, a player. With only ten thousand of the human race gathered in this game, each life was necessary. It was why he dealt well with the player killer hunters such as Bloody from the back alley tavern. It was not a compassionate choice, but one that altered the odds of escaping as more and more people died.

Dry air accosted the craftsman's face, the young Japanese man watching each detail for anything that he could find out of the ordinary. With his skill in detection, nothing stood out. Either his skill was too low for what they needed to find, or there was nothing at all that he could see. The blacksmith showed up, holding a scythe that had just recently been sharpened and setting the farming tool to the side. Inugami was not pleased with being called a child, even if by law he still was one in some instances. His irritation only showed in his patience, which at the moment was not being tested. "Just looking to ask a few questions." He spoke clearly, unwavering in his voice. His trained eyes leveled upon the glowing metal of a length of blade that heated in the furnace. It was a tempting thought to make a grab for the heated object and hold it next to the ear of the blacksmith where it would sizzle and pop maddeningly until the information they wanted was spilled from the other's mouth. After speaking of caution the thought was a mirrored one, and not anything that he would act upon.

[Tsuyoi]

The blacksmith was amazing, Tsuyoi loved such places. The heat from the smiths work, the aroma of hot metal, and best of all the many different weapons. Due to the smiths words Tsuyoi actually felt like she was in a toy shop, her big love for all kinds of weapons was hard to suppress, standing next to so many magnificent swords, knifes and etc. She almost forgot why they were here, her eyes was on a incredible adventure studying the different kinds of blades, on every piece of work.

Especially one sword fell in her eyes, a long sword like her own. She just couldn't resist letting her hand slide over the steel blade. The tip of the sword was slimmer than rest of the blade, and a beautiful design was engraved in the steel. The shaft was black and made of tree, and a detailed pattern was painted with dark red. Between the blade and shaft was placed a dragon head made of some kind of metal, and under that was placed a blue sapphire. The swords details was stunning, and Tsuyoi felt like a child again when touching it. Younger child than she were now of course.