Grim Moon(IC)

[Old Tanokiana]

"Yeah Honestly... I think it's best we head back and figure our next steps..."

He contemplates on the idea of getting a new guy to interrogate himself from this "deus" cult, but judging from that fight, that's a task too hard for an Idiot like him. Oh well, worth a thought anyway.

"I just follow your lead, so Acey, after your friend's place, what then? Visit a Metalsmith for knick knacks?"

[Canis Rex]

"That...that sounds good." Acer tried to cheer herself up at the prospect. It was a good plan and they did need to think over their decision. While all the big guilds had some workings at the highest levels, the experiences in each one could be very different so they needed somewhere they would fit in. "I think I know a good place for souvenirs."

Lycara, the town in the very heart of werewolf territory. The environment seemed to emphasize all the dark aspects of fairy tales, shadowed winding woods that stretched for eternity and allowed only slivers of moonlight through. The calls of midnight creatures and breaking of branches that somehow constantly sounded like it was coming from right behind you. Shapes flickered among the borders of the surrounding darkness and one could be forgiven for thinking it was some monster lunging to drag them away. The Silversteel Legion watched over it all.
Their troops could be seen patrolling around the short, fort-like houses, armor and weapons gleaming under the eternal moonlight. Citizens mostly didn't bother them so as to not interrupt their jobs, but the small interactions or quick conversations that did happen were positive and grateful. The legion put their lives on the line to protect the common folk from the jaws of living nightmares and were highly respected for it. And though Underworld Fortress loaned their own manpower at times, the players made sure to not grab attention from the NPCs. They were auxiliaries, not the primary force.
If one could deal with the horror aspect of the place, it was a good spot for travelers. Lycara blacksmiths were highly skilled given how much work they did for both the legion and Underworld Fortress and the people were very hospitable, happy to welcome any strong person for the simple bit of protection they could offer. Prices on products were low, sometimes even free when it came to small items like food, and lodging was the lowest in the entirety of Grim Moon. Acer had led them to one place in particular in the settlement, a squat, thick-walled blacksmith shop with 'Lopath's Wares' engraved above the entrance.
"It's a little bit of a tourist place." The girl explains. "Sells mostly trinkets, but they're well-made and they'll do custom orders. I got a collar for that dog from here before."
Inside the space is smaller than the outdoor markets of more civilized areas and so even without too many customers it appears busy. There are a couple clerks chatting with potential buyers, but Acer doesn't seem in a rush to flag them down.
"Um, since this is the HQ for Gren's g-guild, it will be easy to get in contact if we, um, decide to go with them as well."

[Old Tanokiana]

"This... Is an odd place for souvenirs... You'd think putting yourself in Nightmare Woods would be bad PR. I guess it gets the blood pumping huh?"

No wonder my business is sinking, all the good stuff's here! Oh what an omen, that merchant stuff is behind him now anyways so f#@k!

KT taps his foot in an effort to calm himself at the dumb decisions that rushed his memory.

"G-Guild? Are you stuttering? Are you alright? What's up?"

[Canis Rex]

"Y-Yeah!" Acer chirped, wandering closer to one of the display cases and scanning the items. "I'm always...shy here. But it's a great settlement! They sell this kind of stuff to attract people. They want as many strong travelers as they can get coming through, for protection. The Silversteel Legion tries, but they can only do so much. The monsters here are bad." Her gaze passes over a couple necklaces and she points them out. "Like look at these. They give a small stat boost, it isn't much, but they're less than thirty Rivs. The decorative stuff that doesn't improve anything is mostly less and only gets more expensive if made from very rare materials." She looks to KT, her expression softening. "What about you though? I hope the area isn't bad for you or anything. I-I didn't know if you had been here before."

[Old Tanokiana]

"Well, if my memory still works as it should, this is the farthest I've ever been from my home. So far, it seems fine, nothing's trying to kill us yet so that's a bonus."

He eyes the necklaces Acer pointed to, eventually wandering towards the repetitive dinging of steel.

"You think there are blade thinners here who'd work my sabre? Could use less weight, and perhaps a dex boost, y'know?"

This is a very peculiar place but Acer's reclusiveness is much more peculair
Probably group anxiety, you'd think that'd be gone after a few years in the game, but he doesn't blame her. This place has scrambled his noggin before, likely it affects folks differently.

[Canis Rex]

"Should be, the blacksmiths here are some of the best." Acer figures, following along to watch one of the young men in the back of the shop work a blade along a grinding wheel. "And I'd say we were just lucky on getting through. I think the attack patterns of all the monsters are randomized so the players nor NPCs can ever predict how much trouble the area will be any given day. About three months ago they got really unlucky and were under attack for a week straight."
"I can help you." One of the clerks crossed over to them. "Did you want some work done to your weapons?"
A trio of people in Silversteel Legion pushed through the shop doors, appearing harried with damaged armor and at least one broken blade. None seemed to be sporting any wounds, visible ones at least, and another of the clerks was quick to drop what they were doing and hurry over to see what the warriors needed.

[Old Tanokiana]

"Yikes... Guess it was more of those guys and less luck that got us here unscaved." He looks at the smith that opened up to dandie his blade.

"Aye, it's my sabre, she's needing a tiny trim, how much'll that cost?." He looks over to Acer and asks: "You want to get anything from this fine gentleman?"

[Canis Rex]

Acer shook her head to decline as the clerk seemed to consider the job.
"Simple weapon will be fifty Rivs."
"They do have it rough though." The girl eyes the haggard warriors that came in. "The monsters here are malicious and keep spawning while if the legion members die it's permanent. I'd like to check on them sometime before we leave town, see if they need any particular help. We can always talk to some UW members as well since we're considering joining. With this being their HQ there information shouldn't be hard to come by."

[Old Tanokiana]

KT hands over his sword and sheath to the smith, almost hesitantly. KT's gaze not leaving the smith until he disappeared into his workshop.

"Aye, we could probably lend a hand if they allow us. Though I just realised something kinda weird. Where do they even get manpower? Do they just walk to towns?"

He gave it a minute to think about, lotsa morbid thoughts that are best not to dwell around.

"UW? You mean Fortress right?" Well wouldn't hurt to snoop I s'pose?"

[Canis Rex]

"U...you're right." Zalia shook her head. The stress must be getting to her to mess up that kind of thing. "But I think it mostly comes from locals. The legion will accept recruits pretty young. Otherwise, it's travelers like us. They would likely be wiped out if people stopped coming in." She eyes the arrived warriors and motions to give her one second as she runs off to converse with them. She returns with a triumphant grin. "They knew something. There's a detachment of UF forces close to the town border where some of the legion just got back. They might could use help."

[Cainesland]

<One month… One month and not a level earned.> Dawson thought to himself. If one was earned it soon disappeared from lack of training. <Well one doesn’t want to die I suppose> He pondered. It was a hard time on all outsiders such as him.

He looked at the two black horses tied up to his black carriage. “We’ll best be off” He said out loud to himself. Dawson climbed into the back of rolling mode of transportation and the driver started them off. The driver was a fairly pleasant individual, although he had been going through some trouble recently.

As they rolled along, bouncing on small rocks and dipping into potholes in the cobblestone road, Dawson examined his bag. “Saw… check, mortar and pestle… check, mirrors… check” He went through as he confirmed he had everything. It would not be a long trip to the infirmary and wanted to ensure the time would go alright.

Edit:

After a 20-30 minute carriage ride Dawson had arrived at the infirmary. It was a two storey brick building with white plaster. It was a fair bit older than the new hospital that was recently built. Dawson remembered coming here as a player for healing kits and it was one of the possible respawn points before the event and where one would train in medicine.

The inside was painted white as well. Curtains were put up between beds for privacy. Outsiders and locals alike worked together to administer help to the infirm. Looking around it appeared that most patients were outsiders who had received injuries adventuring, although he saw a few locals with work related injuries as well.

Coming in Dawson wore a plague doctors outfit. It was very different from what he might wear in the manor or civilian world, and much different from battle. Here though, Grim Dark had a dark fantasy tone and it’s medical professionals typically used a stereotypical plague doctors aesthetic. He had a black one piece suit with a neck covering, a white tabard with a black belt, a white Raven mask covered by a black hood, black boots and gloves, and a black wide brim hat with a white band.

Looking over the outsiders he noticed something peculiar. Usually stab wounds were rare, a sign of pvp or a brawl or kitchen accident. While fairly common in the first day or two so he heard, he hadn’t experienced it too often since starting. More often then not it was being bludgeoned or bit by a wild animal. The combat guilds weren’t too active here so they didn’t fill up the infirmary. This though, this was different. Almost half the beds had stab wounds. Most were short, precise strokes to the legs and then downward strokes in the arms and back. As if they had fallen and then gotten hit while prone.

Most patients were unconscious and recovering. Dawson approached someone who was awake. “Hello”. The patient looked up. It was a lady. He had seen her a few times with her training frequently. “Hello” She replied. Dawson scanned her for injuries. While lighter than some of the others the pattern appeared similar. “I’ve noticed the injuries you have are common today. Do you know why that is?” She seemed to raise an eyebrow. “You haven’t heard?” Dawson shook his head. “There are a bunch of children dressed as candy corn in the fields outside of town. They are where we usually go to farm animals for experience”.

It seemed weird to Dawson. Why would children be dressed as candy corn and hurting people? Still, others may be killed if this does not stop. It seems likely that not everyone made it back.

“Thank you. Did anyone not escape?” She seemed to shake her head. “No.” She scanned the room. “I don’t know about anyone else, but everyone in my party are here”. Dawson nodded and started to work on her wounds. He intended to bring this information to the guild in town later. When the event happened it was late September. It was possible some new event was happening which could pose problems if not acted upon soon.

[Canis Rex]

Among the rotted wood and restless corpses of a forgotten forest, something stirs. A thin creature in the shape of a man opens its one eye to the eternally dark sky, the red harvest moon hanging above on this special day of the solstice. It stands, struggling free from the muck of its birth, wading through bog and gore to the shoreline. The first breath escapes pale lips. In its right hand it holds a lute.
The music drifts sweetly throughout Grim Moon, silent to all those but the innocent-minded. The small ones who still ran to adults after experiencing a nightmare and believed the little lies told by their parents to preserve a rose-tinted view of the world. The song called to them.
They rose from their beds, clumsy bodies suddenly coordinated and joyous cries now silent. Bright eyes dull even as they picked up the knives and hammers left in kitchens and workshops. Small hands did not tremble as they stood over those that loved them and descended upon their sleeping faces with violence. The land weeped red.
Some died, some did not. Weapons were less effective in the hands of children. But those that survived were left broken and bloody, their crimson-stained offspring retreating out into the night.
Bare feet crushed grass, slapped over lilypads, split open over rocks to find the piper that sang to them. The monsters got some, their last thoughts not of home but why the song was getting quieter. Some monsters feared even the piper and left the little wanderers to perish under their own lack of knowledge. The ones that reached their beloved musical idol fell into skip-step behind him and swayed to his tune as he led them down the path of a great tree weighing heavily with the silhouettes of nooses upon its branches.

[Cainesland]

After finishing his time at the infirmary Dawson made his way to the guild hall. For the biggest guild it was also humble, and this was reflected in its moderate building size and central location in town. It did have everything one might desire in a guild hall however. It had storage space, a cafeteria, a guild bank, commercial vendors for arms, armour, repairs, and other stuff.

Dawson was able to find his guild contact in one of the offices. Being a recent recruit, and one that isn’t too active in guild affairs compared to others, he didn’t have regular access to some of the higher echelons of the guild hierarchy but that was ok. He did see the grandmotherly guild head on occasion.

When speaking with the guild contact, Dawson revealed that he noticed a pattern of stabbing happening. His contact revealed that other people had seen similar issues, and children had gone missing. It was determined that Dawson should look into the matter.

[Canis Rex]

The morning was hard. Ramarko held his wife's hand, the woman still patched up and bandaged while he had only recovered from his own wounds within the last few hours. Wounds inflicted by their own child in the dead of night. A child that was now who-knew-where in Grim Moon.
Crystal Origins was doing him a favor once again, giving her medical attention and watching over her while he would go find their child. While he had no clue where the boy could have went, he was confident in being able to find clues. As odd and merciless as the attack was, Grim Moon was still a game and so an event so significant was most likely a quest. He could manage that.
He wasn't alone either. Judging from the state of the medical ward and overheard gossip the children of the area had risen up under the cover of darkness to strike down their family and disappear. He and some other players as well as NPCs were going to be formed into teams to try and track down the source of the event.
So with his wife stable and asleep he switched his civilian gear into his armor and lifted his mace over his shoulder. Asking the guild assistants directed him to another player he believed to be the investigator and he reported to the man.
"You the one the guild appointed for figuring this out? My wife and me were attacked by our son, like a bunch of others. I'm planning to find him."

[Gerdon Laughis]

Mikari: SOS! Save Our Souls!

Mikari cleaved through the mobs that continued to run towards him in the cave. As they brandished their blades, he leapt and dodged out of the way of their strikes and slashes, sending his hammer arcing up directly into the stomachs of one of his foes. He could feel the power surging through what was clearly a critical hit, confirmed by the charging noise coming from the weapons head. Suddenly, as his arc reached its peak, the games engine rewarded the hit by sending the enemy slamming into the ceiling. With a large -CRACK- he bounced of the ceiling just in time to be met with the business end of the hammer once more as he swung it around, crashing into the skull of the unfortunate opponent and sending him sprawled out across the cave floor.

The other enemies, monsters which had taken up settlement close to town, fell one by one to the weight of Mikari's War-hammer. He carved through the shallow opening in the cliff-side, and gave a sigh of relief as the last one of them fell at his feat. He gave a heavy sigh, and leaned against the hammer's head while he waited for his stamina to replenish itself.

"You'd think this would get easier. Maybe I need to respec..." He pondered his current stat allotment as he pulled up his character overview. He hovered over the strength of his armor, his abilities, proficiencies, and his inventory. As one hand went through the inventory screen, the other physically retrieved the item he was looking it, him being able to feel it enter his hand as he switched through items in front of him. He winced slightly as he shifted his weight, a stab wound he had not noticed making its presence know. As he steadied himself through the pain, a red vial appeared in his offhand which manifested as he pulled it from the bag. He popped the cork off with his hand, and drank from it, feeling his wounds bind and heal themselves.

"Much better. These guys don't seem to have anything good on them, shame. Lets hope this reward is worth the detour." He was doing sidequests to try and get as many levels squeezed out as he could on his way to the Capitol. Every 6 months, he would take a trip back to the trading up to exchange goods, sell loot, and resupply on everything he would need to keep himself secured for the next few months of adventuring. The town nearby had a board posting to clear this cave, so he found it a good opportunity to get some good graces and a heavier wallet as he traveled.

After quickly searching over the monsters, and finding mostly nothing of use, he would turn and exit the cave. His walk back to town was uneventful, but a welcome change from the action he had experienced earlier. After all, the less fights he's in the more likely he gets out of here. He walked back through the gates, and moved towards some kind of bar or tavern nearby for a drink before turning in his quest.

[Old Tanokiana]

"I'm feeling a creep can full of heeby-geebies. Is something funny in the air or is that just this place?"
For the moment, he felt a cold breeze go down his neck. yep, heeby-geebies. F#ck that!

"I-I'm gonna go check on the grindstone fella. Maybe my sabre's ready for more action. You do whatever in the meantime, just don't get hurt." He mutters off to his companion, walking away to leave her to her own devices.

He pulls up his HUD and grabs a few rivs so he can pay upfront, maybe wait by the warmth of the blast furnaces.
Surely something's up? Knowing that bastard of a dev, he probably has some twisted hallow's eve event where NPCs disembowel their neighbours or whatever.

He walks into the shop seeing his sabre still on the stone. "A few more minutes" the grinder said, I'll just in the corner and... Where is it.... Ah! My trusty... Slimy cheese wheel... Why did I even bother packing Cheese?

[Canis Rex]

It started on the outer reaches of the Legion's patrols, skirmishes with seemingly panicked monsters rather than the usual bloody battles of mad beasts throwing themselves at the armored warriors. The creatures redirected themselves after getting wounded, the Legion left in both relief and confusion at such easy victories. Then the encounters became more numerous, as if some migration event was driving the things to leave the woods they normally stalked.
The warriors fought off what they could and fell back to tighten their defenses. The yowling and clashes could be heard from town. The defenders were hit with another wave, the monsters seemingly driven back to them, disappearing in and out of the treeline, lashing out in fear. The lycanthropes fell upon them soon after, their unchanged bloodlusted demeanor painting them as the possible shepherds of the crazed herd.
It proved too much in either case, the Legion retreating to their walls where they could take up tighter formations and be within range of crossbows. The fighting was now just outside the town's doorstep, a mess of confusion and familiar bloodshed. The Legion raising their shields in defense, the werewolves gnashing their teeth in craving for flesh, and a whirlwind of aimless beasts clawing at both sides simply wanting to escape.