Heart of Gold - IC [Party 1]

[SensFan]

The Summer Solstice in the town of Eterna could only mean one thing: the Gala of Summer. The annual festival held in this coastal town. As usual, hundreds have flocked to Eterna for the celebration, from all surrounding areas and beyond.

It was mid-afternoon on this particularily hot day, and you all were in the vicinity of the large fountain, a huge stone statue of a Dragon, spewing a jet of golden-coloured water at least 100 feet in the air. The slight cooling effect of the misty water felt wonderful on anyone close enough to the fountain to feel it, a perfect way to deal with the heat of the day.

One person in particular seemed to be really enjoying the fountain. The Halfling must have been no more than 8 or so, a young child. He was frolicking about in the mist of water, laughing and giggling, trying to catch the water in his outstretched hands.

Then, all of a sudden, an Orc ran past at break-neck speed, grabbed the child, and ran off just as fast. It all passed so quickly, no one realized what was happening until a few seconds later, when the Orc was out of sight.

Another minute or so pass as you check your surroundings, check for any other danger, and what have you. Before you have time to even really react to the incident, a Halfling woman ran up, hysterical.

My son! My son! she screams to the six of you, What happened to him? He was just here a few minutes ago! Did any of you see him?

The six of you are the only ones close enough to have noticed the incident, though there are a couple dozen or more people within 100 feet that are now looking or walking over, attracted by the screams.

[d13]

Cassandra

Turning around and seeing the woman, Cassandra sighs.

"I guess my holidays are over.
Well, ma'am... Never been able to see a lot since this... Accident..." pointing at her scar. But that's not important right now.

"Might as well tell me something about your son. I've seen a lot of people today, walking around."

[Rizban]

The kreen continues to sit there cleaning the remnants of his last meal from his mandibles. He seems unconcerned by the halfling mother, as he just doesn't understand this 'motherly instinct' common in mammals. If her young wasn't able to fend for itself, then that's just the way of the world. It's not as if she won't have a dozen more the next time she lays her eggs.

[Febreezium]

Marshall stands up, dusts himself off and then approaches the Halfling woman. "Hi there, erm... an Orc took him... kind of ran in that direction... Maybe we should follow him?" He points, generally trying to indicate that action could be a good overall idea.

[d13]

Cassandra Sunburst

"Where to? There?"

Without waiting for an answer, the one-eyed girl starts running in the direction the man pointed.

I usually get paid for doing this... But still, today, everyone is supposed to be having fun.

[Rizban]

"Kal'orc jat-gak." The Kreen looks at the halfling mother a moment as if awaiting a response then makes what can only be described as an irritated sound when he clicks his mandibles together three times.

"Forgot I this tongue use. As I past say, Orc maybe hungry is. Not old food better taste. Yes? Think I halfling no good at tasting."

The kreen standing there still does not quite seem to grasp the significance of the orc stealing the halfling. After all, what would one want with a young fleshy meat thing other than food? Large, hungry creatures eat the small defenseless ones. That is the way of things.

[SensFan]

The woman is visibly offended at just the sight of a talking Tri-Keen, and seems to have her fears and doubts realzied with every word you speak. How...how can you say such a thing? she stammers through sobs, my...my...my only son....taken from me....Please help....please...anybody help me...

Cassandra
Due to his sizeable headstart and the fact he can push through the heavy crouds easier than you, the Orc is well ahead of you. As you're still trying to run through his wake, and all the mess he's caused running through, you see him run out of town in a south-western direction, still holding the child.

[d13]

Cassandra

"Move, goddammit! Move!"

Realizing that she won't be able to catch the Orc on foot, she stops, slamming her guisarme to the ground.

"Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!"

[Rizban]

The kreen bobs his head in a sharp motion that another kreen would interpret as an slightly insulting gesture similar to a human giving an exaggerated eye roll. He mutters under his breath, "n'Ral-chak... Ke dus'laj g'lat k'Orc-g'kik..."

The kreen suddenly takes off weaving and leaping through the crowd at a full run, bounding over obstacles in his way as he follows in the wake of the orc and strange red elf. His vastly superior land speed (50ft) causes him to close the distance to Cassandra rather quickly. He skids to a stop just in time to see the orc dart out of the city carrying the child. With another sharp head bob, he looks to the elf and says simply, "We follow."

Without another word, he snatches Cassandra, tossing the elf into an almost sitting position on his back, braces her in place with his lower arms as he moves, and takes off running out of the city in the same direction as the orc. This slows him down slightly (medium load = 40ft instead of 50ft), but it is still faster than the orc and faster than the elf could move on her own. If she protests, he doesn't seem to notice now that the hunt is on and the scent of blood is in the air.

[d13]

Cassandra

"What the-" were the only words Cassandra managed to spit before the Kreen bolted forward.
It seems like it was following the orc too, and it was absurdly fast.

On the things I never thought I could say, "I used a Kreen as a mount" was one of them.... Still, it wasn't that bad, considering her life. It was just... Uncomfortable.

[BenTheJester]

Ssvern was standing near the city's gate at the time. He did not enjoy the festival, he hated those festive, pointless holidays.

The only reason he was here was from a directive from the Dragon Queen herself. He was supposed to come here to meet fate, an obvious sign of what he was to do, who he was to meet.

While the orc kidnapping a child did catch his attention, he expected something greater. Something like an elf on the back of kreen chasing the aforementioned orc.

The path was now clear. He got on his fast double-jointed legs and followed them as best as he could.

[Febreezium]

"Fantastic!" Marshall says and runs after them, the chase on.