#pacodyssey

[logan-pkmn-archive]

PAC Odyssey - Bittersweet Gold

Characters: Logan, Cherise, Adina

Training wasn't all Venturis needed to tackle the next floor of the labyrinth. Their equipment was getting out of shape, and simply wasn't up to the task of serving them against the new enemies they were coming across. As such, Logan stood looking over the railing of their airship, watching the ground roll by.

"Spot anything yet, fearless leader?" Adina asked as she walked up beside him.

"Not yet," Logan said cheerfully, looking up at her. "I'm sure it won't be long though, the place is relatively untouched."

Adina quirked her head at that and looked down to the ground herself. "How can you tell? Looks all the same to me."

Logan smiled and looked down too, crossing his arms over the railing and leaning against it. "We grew up on a farm, just outside a small town a ways away, so I know a little about the natural land, so to speak."

Adina glanced over her shoulder to where Natsuki was piloting Nightshade with Cherise next to him, her seeming to carry a conversation by herself prodded only by a few nods and fewer words from the Dancer.

"Why did you leave?" She asked, only turning back to him once she'd finished speaking. "I know farm work is difficult, but it can't be worse than risking your life like this every day."

Logan suddenly looked decidedly less cheerful. "Wasn't much of a choice. We don't have the farm anymore."

Frowning, Adina leaned in a little closer. "What happened?"

At first, Logan didn't answer. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "How long has it been since we got the guild together?"

"A few weeks? Almost a month?" Adina answered, cocking her head slightly, curious about the apparent change in subject.

"Then its been about two months since some bandits attacked our farm. Burned it to the ground. Cherise and I weren't there at the time, but..." He shook his head and stopped talking.

The Medic put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it. But if you want to, I’m here, okay?”

Logan nodded idly, still staring over the side of Nightshade, but staring past the ground and off into space. Fighting monsters had turned out to be a great distraction from the destruction of all one knew and loved. Logan had been more concentrated on staying alive, and keeping the other members of his guild alive, to dwell on the reason he was here in the first place. He could feel it all bubbling up again, and he squeezed his eyes shut to try and fight it.

It was a losing battle, but only until Cherise called out, “Look! Vegetables and cattle! I bet that would fetch a nice bit of Ental!”

Logan focused on the sound of his sister’s voice and opened his eyes to look where she was pointing. “Y...Yeah…!” Came his slightly delayed response.

He could see Adina looking at him, concerned, but he focused down towards the supplies and called out to Natsuki to try and coordinate a landing to snatch it all up. Within a few hours, the hold was packed, expertly arranged by Benji and Adina to hold as much as possible, and they headed back to town with smiles on their faces.

With a much fatter wallet, Venturis retired that night feeling high on spirits, though Logan and Cherise stayed behind in the common room while the rest of the guild retired for the night.

“Hey…” Cherise said, sliding over to her brother. “How are you doing? I saw what happened earlier today… You were thinking of them, weren’t you?”

Logan nodded, his eyes drifting to the fire, and ended up looking straight through it, much like earlier. “It’s been easy not to lately. So much going on, life and death situations and all that. I… Sometimes…”

As Logan struggled to find words, Cherise seemed to complete them. “It sometimes feels like they’re not really gone. Like we’re just away for a bit and when we’re done we’ll just go back and everything will be normal again.”

“Yeah…” Logan choked out, nodding slightly as tears welled in his eyes. “I miss them so much…”

Cherise wrapped her brother in a hug, rubbing her face against his shoulder blade. “I do too…”

When they finally left the common room, the pair had swollen eyes, but at least were too exhausted to let their minds wander much more.

[logan-pkmn-archive]

PAC Odyssey - Training Day

Characters: Logan, Cherise, Natsuki, Benji, Adina

“How come you two always get to pick where we go?” Cherise asked, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, causing it to tip a little.

“Don’t tip in your chair,” Logan said offhand, standing at the head of the table with Benji sitting around the side on his right. “And it’s because he’s the map guy who knows the area, and I’m the leader.”

“I didn’t vote for you as leader,” Cherise said with a shrug, and setting her chair back to normal.

Logan sighed and rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore his sister for the time being. “Anyway… Now that we’re all back up to full strength, we need to figure out how to get deeper into those woods. Considering how easily those monsters took us out, Benji and I have agreed we need a bit more training before we go too far in. There’s a nearby area, not far from the woods that seems to be good for what we need, a small orchard, right here.”

There was a mark on the map Benji had made up that Logan pointed at, not far from the mark that was labelled as the woods themselves. Logan glanced at the Runemaster and he cleared his throat before speaking.

“The orchard has some tougher monsters than we’ve seen so far, but it’s easier to come and go than the woods, which makes it safer overall. Adina thinks we could find some good materials to bring back to Berund Atelier, which means we’ll be able to afford some better gear for the trip through the woods as well.”

“It all works out!” Logan said with a smile. “So, let’s pack up our stuff and head out!”

Within hours Venturis was marching through the orchard, hunting down monsters. The battles weren’t always easy, but they managed. They even, as Adina had mentioned, found some new materials to collect and sell. It was during one of their collection periods that a deer wandered into their area. When Cherise pointed it out, they all froze and watched it. It didn’t seem to make a move at first, and then suddenly it yelled and charged at them.

They all quickly drew their weapons and jumped into formation. The young deer didn’t end up being as dangerous as they expected, and managed to kill it without too much problem, but yet Benji seemed unsettled as they slowly relaxed.

“Benji?” Natsuki asked, alerting the others to the look of unease on the Runemaster’s face.

“That was a Furyfawn…” he said quietly. “And where there’s a Furyfawn…”

A loud roar cut Benji off and the entire guild traded nervous glances.

“Maybe we should leave…?” Adina clutched at her staff and was already taking a couple steps back towards their airship.

Everyone nodded in agreement and after another moment of startled inaction, Logan led the way quickly back towards the exit. Just as they left the immediate area, a much larger, much scarier, much more dangerous looking, fully grown, purple deer burst out from the trees and wasted little time in charging after the adventurers.

“RUN!” Logan shouted, tearing off towards the door ahead of them.

No one wasted any time in following his order and they burst through the doorway that marked the halfway point back to the airship. They didn’t slow down as they did a U-turn back the way they came but on the other side of a thicket of trees, and past a pond that they had no way of crossing easily.

The deer, however, had apparently little trouble clearing the pond with a large leap, and landed directly in front of the guild, cutting off all exit.

“Back! Back!” Logan shouted as they all skidded to a stop, turning around and leading them back towards the door.

When they got close though, Logan turned them to the right, away from the door, and into a loop they’d mapped earlier. They ran through the trees, hearing the deer behind them. Logan’s change of plan worked though, as when they looped back around, the way was clear. The only problem now was that the deer was catching up to them.

“It’s going to catch us!” Cherise called out.

“Then slow it down!” Logan called back.

He heard frustrated grumbling from his sister, but she half turned and flung blinding dust at the monster. Benji followed it up with a fireball, and both attacks seemed to slow it down enough that the guild was able to slip around a corner. They could see the airship ahead, and it seemed to invigorate the adventurer’s to pick up their speed. The deer hadn’t stopped though. They could hear the stomp of its hooves getting ever closer, and Natsuki was sure for a moment he could feel the hot breath from its nose against the back of his neck at one point.

The raging monster pursued them all the way to the airship, and the entire guild practically collapsed onto the deck as soon as they reached it, aside from Benji and Natsuki, who quickly got to work getting the vessel into the air and out of reach of the creature.

They floated just outside the orchard for a bit, listening to it shout and rage while they caught their breath and wondered what they had just escaped from.

“So… successful training day?” Logan said, still slightly out of breath.

Cherise smacked him on the shoulder and glared. “You are so not picking the next place we go.”

[logan-pkmn-archive]

PAC Odyssey - Dancing Shadows

Characters: Cherise and Natsuki

Blood bears turned out to be the least of Venturis’ problems. The very next day, they had set out for the second floor of the Lush Woodlands, but mere moments after setting foot in the new labyrinth, were forced to retreat when a baboon tossed an extra large Roller at them, knocking out Logan instantly and nearly flattening Cherise. The rest of the guild wasted no time in fleeing back to Tharsis to recuperate and come up with a better plan.

Cherise decided to stay on the couch in the inn’s common room, and generally feeling put out thanks to her injuries. They weren’t that serious - Logan was even already up and looking things over with Benji and he’d been hit far worse than she - but it still hurt to move sometimes and really, what better reason did someone have to complain? So she sat and pouted, slowly growing more and more bored, until she caught sight of Natsuki slipping outside.

Considering she had literally nothing else to do, the Nightseeker got to her feet and followed the Dancer out into the streets of Tharsis. She followed him for awhile, wondering where he could possibly be heading off to, especially as the crowds thinned and he continued on into the quieter part of the city. It was also at this point that Natsuki finally looked over his shoulder, and Cherise quickly jumped to the side to stay out of sight. The act made her hiss in pain, forgetting for a moment about her injuries, but she managed to stifle it. Then she questioned why she was taking so much effort into not being seen.

“...Because it’s more fun that way,” she muttered to herself before peeking back around the corner and seeing Natsuki on his way back down the street.

Using the skills she had being a Nightseeker, Cherise managed to slink after Natsuki until he finally came to a stop in a large park area that was completely empty. She found a good hiding spot to keep an eye on him, and settled in to find out exactly what it was Natsuki was doing all the way out here.

Then he started to dance. The moves weren’t too dissimilar from the ones she’d seen him perform in combat, but these were slower, more… meaningful? Maybe not the right word, but it was the one Cherise was sticking to for now. She sat and watched the entire dance through, the performance being far longer than the ones she’d seen before. Natsuki finished, straightened, and then turned to face the exact spot Cherise was hiding. She froze, and her eyes widened.

“You can come out, I know you were following me,” he said simply.

Cherise huffed and made her way into plain view. “How?”

“You’re not as nimble as usual with your injuries. I noticed it as soon as you followed me out the door. I only want to know why.”

The Nightseeker shrugged. “I was curious.”

“And bored,” Natsuki guessed correctly, though Cherise didn’t offer him a reaction. “Why didn’t you just say something?”

“More fun this way,” Cherise answered with a small smirk before moving on to her own questions. “Why are you all the way out here? What was that? It looked like your battle dances, but, slower?”

Natsuki nodded. “I was practicing, and it’s easier to do with less distractions and lots of space. The dances I use in combat are faster, more energetic, but to pull them off correctly, I like to spend time practicing them at a slower pace. To make it more fun for me, I change it up a little too. I don’t just dance for fighting, you know.”

“Obviously…” Cherise said, her mind still lingering on the dance moves.

Natsuki smiled, just a little. “Did you want me to show you?”

“W-What?” Cherise asked, taken aback. “O-Oh, n-no, um, it’d probably, hurt with the, uh…”

“You should be fine. In fact, it might even help a little,” Natsuki assured.

“Well…” Cherise hesitated for a moment, fidgeting a little and playing with her hands. “If… You want to. I guess.”

“Sure, come over here,” the Dancer said, moving Cherise into a better position.

[illestdarkdj]

PACOdyssey: Leadership

Characters Involved: Jeong, Mitchell, Chloe

This new, waterlogged stratum was...something different. The atmosphere surrounding them had been water...but not water. They’d breathed as normal, but their movements were slightly slower, while hair and loose clothing had a tendency to float halfway up into the 'air’. ( Jeong had to ask Chloe to braid his hair because of it. ) Their stays in the labyrinth were brief, and they almost never went further than the initial thicket of coral and azure foliage for a long time.

There was danger lurking throughout the floor in the form of large, amphibious raptors that were admittedly slow, but definitely faster than they were. Their forays into the thicket had gotten longer....and longer...from one day...to two....to four...to a week....

“Come on, everyone! We’re going further down!” Guild Striga would have heard the youngest of the five call as he’d re-entered the campsite, moving to begin taking down their tent.

“What do you mean, Mitch..?” Chloe asked, confused. “Jeong said we’re going to spend some more time here until we’re used to it.”

“We’ve been in this stratum for a week straight, now and nothing bad has happened! It’s been two weeks since we’ve made any actual progress! And, if I remember correctly, someone is looking for an artifact in a part of the labyrinth that no one has ever reached, correct?” He’d cast a pointed glance at Jeong, whose eyes narrowed into a soft glare in return.

“We need to be fully prepared for whatever comes our wa--”

“How are we going to be prepared for something no one has encountered, Jeong?” Mitch asked, tone short. The prince made a face, and his eyes narrowed further.

“So you’d prefer we charged forward at a constant pace, not considering the risks? This stratum is new, and we shouldn’t take it lightly.”

“I’d say two weeks is taking it very seriously! The last three days, we’ve done almost nothing but scout out the floor and catch fish! We’re moving forward!”

“That’s funny, I thought I was the guild leader here.” Jeong’s voice was cool as he’d regarded Mitch.

“What’s the point of being the leader if you’re afraid of everything?!”

“Better to be a leader afraid to needlessly put his guildmembers on the line than one that tempts death with a stupid stunt as means to an end.”

Though Jeong’s voice was still calm, to Mitch, it sounded as angry as any parent’s scolding. The boy fell silent, as his eyes did to the floor. So...Jeong was upset about that, too. By the time Mitch had gotten to look back up to Jeong, the prince’s eyes were still settled into a glare, and the air about them both was tense. It took a moment, but Jeong closed his eyes and let out a sigh through his nose, standing to place a shoulder on Mitch’s shoulder with a sardonic smile.

“But, if you’re really so skeptical of my leadership skills, then you may command, Mitchell. We leave on your command, alright?”

Mitch made a face at Jeong. Was he really mad, or...or was he mocking him?? The boy’s brows furrowed, and he’d taken a step back, not looking at any of his guildmembers.

“F-Fine. We’ll leave in the morning.”

[logan-pkmn-archive]

PAC Odyssey - First Floor Complete

Characters: Logan, Cherise, Natsuki, Benji, Adina

"This is it," Benji said as the group slipped past one of the woods' large bears and through a doorway. "The end of the maze."

"At least for now," Natsuki commented, pointing across the pond to a staircase just visible from where they stood.

Venturis took a moment to relax, though every member took glances at the staircase. It had taken a lot of blood and sweat to reach this point, and it seemed there was an entire other level to the place. Just as they were starting to really settle in, a sharp cry echoed up from the staircase.

"What was that!?" Cherise exclaimed as Logan shot to his feet.

"I don't know, but we're going to check it out. Let's go!'

"Someone got here before us...?" Benji muttered as the guild got to their feet and dashed for the staircase.

Adina came up alongside Logan as they reached the stairs, but they skidded to a halt as a large figure ascended them.

"Little help?" It asked with a grunt.

As the figure came into view, it became obvious it was two figures, not one. A man, an explorer like themselves maybe, carrying a soldier over his shoulder.

"Oh! Yes, put him down here!" Adina jumped into action as the man lay the soldier in the grassy area Adina had pointed out.

"Ahh, thanks. Boy I'm glad you guys are here. Venturis, right?"

Logan blinked. "Uhh, yeah, bu-"

"How'd you know who we are!?" Cherise demanded, cutting off her brother.

Logan shot her a look, but if she saw it, she didn't react, keeping her hands near the hilts of her swords.

"Not how I meant to ask, but it is what I want to know."

The man stretched, seemingly unnerved by Cherise's demand. "Not to worry! I keep tabs on a lot of guilds, and you guys have been making waves, that's all. Not much, just enough to be noticed. Its not often a guild makes this much progress this fast."

"This is considered fast progress?" Benji asked.

The man nodded. "You bet! Few have mapped out this floor of the woods, even fewer have had accurate maps. Your maps and other information you've been collecting and sharing has been invaluable!"

Benji was quite taken aback by this. "O-Oh. Well. I'm glad its been useful."

Logan gave his Runemaster a smile, agreeing with the man, before asking another question. "So, who are you then? And are you down here alone?"

"Ah! My apologies!" The man flourished a small bow. "Name's Whirlwind. And yes, I'm a solo explorer. Dangerous, yes, but that's part of the fun, right?" He gave Cherise a wink, who rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad I was here though. Otherwise this soldier might not have made it... How's he doing?"

Adina quirked her head, still applying potions and spells. She finished her actions and took a breath before looking over. "He'll be fine, but he has to get back to town."

The group took a collective sigh of relief. "Good to hear," Logan said. "Guess we should get him back before exploring the next floor."

"Good idea," Whirlwind agreed. "But one more thing." The guild, except Natsuki, gave the man a curious look. "There's something bigger down there. Something really dangerous. The soldier had muttered something about a bear, covered in blood."

That send a shiver down Logan's spine. "Covered...?"

Whirlwind nodded. "May have been a trick of the eyes, but one thing's for sure, something was off down there. You run into that thing you better be prepared, either to fight or run."

Logan traded glances with his guild mates. Aside from Natsuki, they all seemed a little put off by this news, himself included. "A new challenge then... Well, for now, we should get this guy back to town. Worry about any 'blood bears' later."

[logan-pkmn-archive]

PAC Odyssey - Late Night Nerds

Characters: Benji and Adina

The sun was setting on another day of exploration. Venturis had mapped nearly the entire first floor of the Lush Woodlands. They had thought their job there nearly complete, but other explorers and soldiers had reported a staircase leading further into the woods. That was part of the reason Benji was still awake in the common area of the inn, as opposed to resting peacefully in his room like the rest of the guild.

Before him lay the map he’d created during their trips into the woods, a number of books, and pieces of paper with writing on them. He was completely engrossed in them, meaning when Adina sat down across from him, she had to clear her throat to get him to look up.

“What?”

“You sure are into all this paper. What are you doing? Working on your monster book?” She asked, craning her head to get a better look at what he was currently writing.

He smiled and went back to writing. “Yes. Working on my ‘monster book’. If there’s another floor to this place, I want to make sure we at least know everything we can about the first floor before we go down further. Not to mention making sure all the information we’ve come across will come in handy and make things much easier on us.”

“Plus you’re a big nerd who likes monsters,” Adina teased, resting her chin in her palm.

Benji snorted. “And you’re a nerd who likes plants. You’ve been doing much the same with all the plants and materials and items we come across, aren’t you?”

“Mhm!” She said cheerfully. “Except that I’m doing it for my job, you’re just a nerd.”

Adina had to duck to avoid a balled up piece of paper Benji tossed at her, giggling as it flew past her head. “Whatever the reason we’re doing it, I’m sure the guild appreciates it. Makes Logan’s job planning for battles and exploring easier, I’m sure!”

“That’s the idea…” Benji said as he finished writing and put his pen down. “That, and, as you know, I’m interested in all the monsters in the area anyway.”

“You get the most adorable look when we find a new one!” Adina agreed, before dodging another balled up piece of paper. “Well you do! But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. What happens in the back line, stays in the back line.”

She made a cross over her heart and Benji rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

“Want help cleaning up?”

“Sure.”

[illestdarkdj]

PACOdyssey: Do What You Want Because You Are Free

Characters Involved: Desiderio, Ayame, Mordecai

Batavia: A port city situated not too far away from Armoroad. Because of the efforts of several brave adventurers, a trade route had been established recently. Because of its’ abundance in rare fish around its waters, Guild Striga had decided to pay the city a visit.

But...Striga is not who we’re paying attention to today...

“C’mon, kiddos, onto the boat. Nice and easy-like!” A large man, thick and obviously hardened from travel barked at a small line of children, waving each of them up the gangplank. Despite the smile on this man’s face, the children all seemed...distraught, and if one listened carefully, they could hear the faintest of jingling sounds from underneath the ornate cloaks they all wore. This was in a more...secluded part of the port, so not many people had been paying attention. Not many, save for the two children that had been hiding among the barrels a small length of the boat away.

“Aya...I think...I...don’t think this is the kind of trade ship we wanted to be on...” A small boy with a book and wand clutched to his chest murmured.

“Yeah, I’m...preeetty sure those guys are pirates, Desi.” The girl next to him replied back as she’d pulled her scarf up and over her nose. “We should probably help those kids.”

The boy blinked once at his companion, but it was quickly replaced with a grin. Despite the ‘probably’ in her previous statement, he’d learned in the short time that they’d known each other that when she pulled her scarf up, her mind had already been made. Desi couldn’t help but give an enthusiastic nod as he pulled his wand into his free hand.

The amount of chaos two tween-aged children could cause was...frankly? Both hilarious and terrifying. There had been yelling, swords drawn, magic thrown...the shackled children had been trapped behind a wall of ice on the far side of the boat as these two kids had worked at tying the last of this crew of pirates to the masts of the ship. Ayame dusted off her hands after tying the last knot.

“Phew. You can let those kids out now, Desi!”

WIthout a word, the wall of ice came down, and the five children behind it stood huddled together, teeth chattering in both fear and from the cold. “Wh-Whoops...sorry about that...” Desi murmured. “Show me you guys’ hands..?”

The children all wordlessly complied as Ayame strolled over, and one by one, the metal shackles around their wrists became cold and brittle enough for the boy’s companion to break the chains with a strike of one of her blades. “There! Now you’re...free...” The children didn’t give either of them enough time to speak before rushing off of the boat without so much as a word of thanks.

All of them but one. Aya and Desi both looked back at him, poor boy looking for all the world that he’d been staring down his death.

“U-Uh...you’re not...gonna run, are you?” Desi asked.

The boy shook his head.

“Are...are you scared of us...?” Aya asked.

The boy nodded.

Both children looked at each other, and slowly, Aya stepped forward, gently placing her hands on the boy’s shackles and beginning to pry them off.

“We don’t wanna hurt you, promise!” Desi began, nodding back at the pirates tied to the ship. “Those guys were just...bad and you and your friends looked like they were in trouble. We wanted to help! Really, we did!”

The boy continued to stay quiet, long ears drooping at the sound of one of his shackles snapping off. It took a moment, but when he spoke, his voice was quiet and strained from obvious disuse. “You...you guys help people?”

“We try to, yeah.” Aya answered as she went to work on the boy’s other hand.

“And we punish bad guys! Like those pirates!” Desi nodded back to the mast once again. “We’re the good guys!”

“Can...Can I help people too...?” The boy asked.

Aya and Desi both looked at one another and blinked, grins slowly spreading on each of their faces. “You wanna come with us?”

The boy nodded.

“Well, what’s your name? I’m Ayame! Or Aya!”

“I’m Desi...J-Just Desi.”

“M-Mordecai....”

“Nice to meet you, Mordecai!!”

[logan-pkmn-archive]

PAC Odyssey - Decoy

Characters: Logan and Cherise

Things were picking up speed. Ever since their victory against the baboon a few days ago, Venturis’ time in the labyrinth had become much less painful, generally speaking. Each guild member had fallen into battle pattern, with Logan directing on the fly changes as necessary. He was taking hits better than ever too, and with Adina always having a healing spell on hand, he was never in too much danger, especially with the rest of his guild striking hard and fast while he drew the monsters’ attention. They were really growing into their roles. Enough so that Cherise was able to focus a little less on fighting and a little more on other things.

“Come on, over here!” Logan shouted, banging his mace against his shield, distracting the enemies Venturis faced.

“Yeah, over there! Hit him!” Cherise shouted back, just, not from where Logan was expecting.

Looking around, Logan spotted another version of his sister standing right next to him, mirroring his motions. The Fortress stood confused for a moment and it left him quite open for the baboon’s swing.

“Oof!” Logan grunted as he hit the ground.

“Logan!” Adina shouted, running over with a healing spell while Natsuki, Benji and a snickering Cherise moved in to attack the monster. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured the Medic, standing up and feeling grateful for the spell. “Why are there two of her though…?” He shook his head. “Later. Let’s finish this thing off.”

“So, like my new trick, bro?” Cherise chuckled after they had defeated the nearby monsters. “Picked it up a few days ago, finally found a use for it!”

Logan rolled his eyes and groaned. “The least you could’ve done was given me a warning… I feel lucky to not have been crushed…”

“Aw, you’re tougher than that!” Cherise slapped Logan on the back. “All that armour and stuff. Plus, telling you would’ve ruined my part of the fun.” Logan looked like he was about to tell her off again so she cut him off. “Look, look, I just had to do it once, okay? Besides, now you know about it. The plus side is, I can use this to help distract enemies too! In case you need a break or, something. I dunno.”

Logan sighed and smiled. “Yeah. Alright. Just… be a little more careful? We’re doing better, but if we make a mistake…” He shrugged. “Just be careful?”

Cherise smiled at him. “Of course! You know me!”

“That’s what I’m concerned about…”

Cherise snickered and moments later the rest of the guild was wondering what they were laughing so hard about.