Mooglehunt

[not_most_days]

Characters: James Kidd (Mary Read) and the Heroes she's approached about her Assassin's Guild
Where: Trano Golsaucia
When: Begins November 6th and hopefully ends by the 9th
Summary: The information that Mary has gathered has lead her to believe that the fugitive moogle Artemicion has been spotted in Trano Golsaucia. She's decided to take a small group to take him in herself.
OOC notes: This log is semi closed to people who Kidd has had CR with. However the first prompt will be open and if you want to try to come on board please contact me via plurk or message. Even so, she wants to keep party size limited so to not spook her quarry. OOC post here: link

Largely this will be a first proper mission for her guild's pc trainee's. Information on the Artimicion will be supplied by the mods as they're able to help us out. Beyond that this is sneakytime fun. I'll handle any npcs that we interact with. I believe the best way to do it would be for each player to pick which location and date they will be searching an area during the trip, covering the 7th and 8th. On the 9th a move will be made and hopefully the moogle will be captured.

___________________________________________

On the 5th, letters go out to a few particular Heroes, and not through the normal Mognet channels. Instead they are dropped off quickly and quietly, though a keen eye may still spot the hooded moogle jumping from hiding place to perching point as she goes about her deliveries.

The letter reads:

Dear Friends,

Ever since the vanishing of Palitutu I have been reaching out to various contacts that I could make around the world, trying to find out what I can about her movements. While the Tarutaru has remained elusive, there seem to have been sightings of a particular moogle that I would like to investigate and I'd appreciate your assistance.

Please meet me at the Eagle Eye pub tomorrow so that we may discuss matters.

Yours,
James Kidd

Comments

November 6th - Pub Mingle

[not_most_days]

Kidd sat at the back of the bar, back to the wall, waiting for her allies to arrive. Those she had spoken to previously about her nature as an Assassin or for potentially becoming members of her guilt all received letters. Of course, if any other Hero happened to wander into the pub that afternoon they would still find her as well. If they proved trustworthy perhaps she'd even be willing to take them along.

Either way, she took another pull from her ale as she watched the door.

Open to all

[needsteaplz]

Saori finally did it. Before joining up on the ghost ship quest, she managed to fulfill the request Biggs gave her. Guess you could say it was a piece of cake since it did involve baking. Regardless with how she did it, the Thief job was hers which meant she could access the Assassin advanced job.

When she received the letter, honestly there was no way she could turn this opportunity down to help. It would be easy for her to convince her superiors to let her go into the field for a few days. She donned her Assassin's gear when she entered the pub. After ordering a beer, she made her way to the table where Kidd sat.

"I hope you weren't waiting too long. Have you been doing well?"

Of course, being a bit of an early bird by default, she helps keep an eye out for any other heroes. It did dawn on her she didn't have an idea just how many of Kidd's friends were coming let alone who they are. Well, now's a chance to do so.

[umslay]

The door opened once more. Some of the pub-goes turned their heads to check on the new arrival, only to find empty space where a human's or hypello's head would be. Some where smart enough to look lower, and sure enough, a small hooded figure was closing the door behind himself.

The cloak wasn't enough to hide his blue snout, but he did take off his hat and wig. Better to say small for an operation like this, even if it mean abandoning the comfort of his giant hat. He felt so unprotected and venerable without it, but drastic times call for drastic measures.

He hopped onto a seat by the table Saori and Kidd were sitting and sat down. His head didn't reach the top of the table.

"...Is this everyone?"

November 6th - Pub Mingle: OPEN

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie seemingly just appears at the bar. Her feet are already inclined on the table and she has a beer in her hand. How she got into that position was anyone's guess but she looked like she needed it.

She was exhausted but she was slowly pulling through. She didn't make any effort to talk to people. When she caught Kidd's gaze she rose her glass indicating that she's in but otherwise kept to herself.

Yuffie didn't really feel like talking.

Re: November 6th - Pub Mingle: OPEN

[not_most_days]

Kidd nodded in turn and continued to explain the situation to the other gathered Heroes. The information she had was mostly rumor and brief sightings, but at least the trail was still warm. Given the short amount of time since she began building her network it was actually a pretty decent lead. It wasn't as good as she'd like, but it was something.

Once she finished explaining the situation she moved to sit with Yuffie, a bottle of rum in hand. "Yuffie. Thank you for coming. You have been able to access the Assassin job as well, right?"

[vonspielburg]

There was another person present at the bar, perched on a stool and resting her elbows on the countertop. Her hood was down, and she appeared to be relaxing in the warmth of the pub. A mug of foam-topped beer sat in front of her, barely touched, a short sheaf of papers placed in front of her. The tip of a pen scratched a couple of words now and again, but for the most part, Ellie wasn't paying too much heed to her own writing.

Rather, she was listening, and she was watching. She didn't miss Kidd's entrance, her eyes following her from the door to the table. Ellie didn't try to be subtle, and when the assassin noted her presence, Ellie gave her a faint nod of acknowledgment before looking back at her papers.

But all of her attention was on the pirate woman now, particularly when others came to join her at the table. Now this was interesting... Something about ground being covered, a person named Artemicion, and Trano G...os... All right, she missed the full name and had no inkling of how to spell it, but she knew she'd recognize it if she heard or saw it again.

[OOC: Hope that's enough of a hook! If not, let me know and I'll add more.]

[not_most_days]

Ellie's presence wasn't lost on Kidd. Watching for people in hoods was an instinct she honed a long time ago, and from the bare hints she caught she did indeed recognize the woman with whom she shared a brief tussle the day before. It was an introduction that hadn't gone as smoothly as it could have, but they were both Heroes in this world now.

Concluding her briefing with the others she got up and walked over to the bar. She wasn't sure what Ellie had heard but it was worth speaking to her regardless. At the very least she could trust this newcomer to not be an Imperial Agent.

Sidling up to the bar, she signaled for the bartender to pass her a bottle of rum before turning to half face Ellie. "Hello again. How are you finding yourself here? No one is causing you trouble I hope?"

Stakeouts - November 7th

[not_most_days]

For each player, comment here with a major location in or around Trano Golsaucia to look for Artemicion, clues, or simply to work on sneaky skills. Search Team Ups welcome. Please keep each location as a separate thread.

Known locations he's not been seen are the Mognet Office and high Moogle population density areas.

CASINO - OPEN

[thegreatninja]

This was Yuffie's first stop. What's the point of a stake out if you can't have fun while doing it? It's safe to say that Yuffie fit in with the crowd. She dressed in a nice red cocktail dress and actually put on make-up; which took forever. Her long hair is pulled over her shoulder and anyone looking wouldn't have known the girl for the bratty eighteen year old hero.

She smiled at those playing cards and then picked a game of blackjack that would allow her to look out over the room. No one even carded her!! It was amazing what acting and dressing older did for a person. In this case Yuffie put all her princess training to work and surprisingly looked like a sophisticated young woman.

The question now was how long could Yuffie's poise last.

HORROR SQUARE - OPEN

[umslay]

Without a mask and only some cloth to hide his identity, Ales went to the one place where his appearance wouldn't draw as much attention: the hotel and its surrounding attractions. Traveling from booth to booth, he keeps an eye out for small creatures lurking in the alleyways between the rides and game stalls.

"Hey," he whispered to his partner. "Let's try it with this guy." Lifting his hood over the top of his head, covering his eyes, he approached on of the food venders, who was giving out the last of his stock of manticore-shaped chocolates to a Tarutaru child.

"Excuse me, sir!" Ales put on his most cheerful voice. "Have you seen a Moogle about here? Wears glasses, kind of old? We got separated a while ago!"

Re: HORROR SQUARE - OPEN

[vonspielburg]

This place sincerely gave Ellie the creeps. She'd never been fond of the undead, particularly because they were extremely lethal in the Valley of Spielburg, and only a fool would venture out at night into their domain.

Horror Square was false, she knew, but something about it still made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It was perhaps the one thing that had thus far managed to unnerve her in this world, and that made her grouchy. She sulked behind Ales as they made their way into the amusement park, but she had to admit, he had a pretty good plan.

"Yes," she backed him up. "He needs to take his seizure medication every six hours, and forgot to bring it. We are afraid that the spooky atmosphere of this place may cause him to make quite a scene. We would not wish to cause the park any expensive liabilities, no?"

Maybe she was taking it a bit far, but when money was involved, she found that people became a bit more pliable - either when they thought to gain more of it, or when they were in danger of losing it.

HUNTING & SURVIVAL - OPEN

[vonspielburg]

Ellie didn't know much about this Artemicion fellow. He seemed to be rather refined, looking at his picture, with a weakness for luxury. Were she in his spats, she would have known that vengeful heroes would look for him in comfortable places, rather than the uncomfortable ones. But that really depended on how clever he was, or was not. She wagered that he had managed to secure a hidden place for himself out of the city, only venturing inward when necessary to buy supplies.

While asking at the tea shop, she happened to hear a pair of rough-looking men talking to one another about "the big game." At first she assumed it was a game of cards or darts, and that had intrigued her. Perhaps gambling was how this renegade maintained a steady flow of gil. It would draw a lot of attention if he won too much too often, however, so perhaps not.

But then they mentioned something called a Mu, and that one man had the misfortune of meeting one without a source of fire. He'd pitched stones at it to chase it off, then was immediately attacked by ice monsters. Ellie sidled up to them, all smiles, and asked if she knew where she might sign up for this intriguing game.

After enduring their comments about the slim chance of a pretty blonde winning a fierce game like that, she left with the contents of their money pouches and no regrets.

That was how she found herself walking over the frost-brittle grasses of the wilderness surrounding Trano Golsaucia, an arrow nocked to her bow. The hem of her thick hooded cloak flapped at the back of her knees as she kept her eyes sharp for signs of anything out of the ordinary. She had no intention of winning this game, although she'd dropped a few troublesome Buers along the way. But as a new Hero and likely an unfamiliar face, she felt she could probably use the hunting and survival game as an excuse were she to encounter the runaway Moogle. But this mission was for surveillance only -- to find traces of his passage, possibly of his dwelling if her hunch proved to be correct, and report back to the others with her findings.

MOGNET OFFICES - OPEN

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia had taken most of her first day in Trano Golsaucia to familiarize herself with the city. She'd spent most of her time in Crystallis in Aqures Ixen, with brief journeys to Balicea, Nabila and Aqures Tosf. To say she was impressed with Trano Golsaucia would be an understatement. The place was alive in a way she had never seen - the flashing lights, the various amusements, the noise. It was almost overwhelming.

After coming to terms with the magnitude of the sensory overload, Ashelia turned her attention to the task they had come to complete. Tracking down Artemicion wouldn't be easy, especially with the moogles' preternatural flying skills, but if there was any place to start, Ashelia thought it would be the mognet offices. She circled the place, her identity concealed behind an illusion. She had, however, let the others in her party know who she would look like - her good friend the shopkeeper, from Aqures Ixen. She looked around a moment - she had left a note detailing when she would be casing the place, and so decided to wait another few minutes and see if any of her companions had decided to join her.

Chocobo Racing [open]

[needsteaplz]

From Saori's understanding, visitors to Trano Glosaucia are here to have fun and sometimes make big gil fast. After all, having some gil in your pocket can give you a big advantage and she was sure Artemicion was aware of that.

Since the Casino was being covered, Saori went for the next big gil maker. The closest thing to the Chocobo races back home were the horse races but she never did pay attention to those. As she entered, she looked up at the boards where the chocobos' names were listed and the chances. Well, the minimum bet wasn't too much so she figured why not.

There was man in his forties or so, collecting bets. Before it was her turn, she loosened up her assassin's uniform just enough to reveal some skin. "I'd like to bet on this one," she pointed to the name of the Chocobo. It did seem to have a decent chance given the odds. "Oh and I do have a favor to ask," she slipped out some extra gil from a pouch she pulled from her cleavage. She hated pulling off cheesy fanservice but she had to make it worth his while.

"If you or your coworkers happen to see an old moogle with glasses around her, could you let me know? I'm afraid he owes our family a lot of gil and Daddy's running out of patience with him."

THE SHOOTING COASTER (aka all over town) -Just goin' for it.

[vindr]

Manami's generally pretty 'lucky', although he himself might not see it as just luck. But he does get 80% on tests by just using pencil rolls, and he does place himself at the right place at the right time quite often.

This weekend was going to be a fun-filled trip to Trano Golsaucia! Simulated monster fights where you still felt the pain? A roller-coaster that went all over the city? The place sounded like a festival was happening all the time! Count him in!

And then he was in the right place at the right time. He ran into Yuffie, and one thing led to another, and now he's also included in the small group keeping an eye out for the moogle Artimicion.

He'd met that moogle once before. The guy really stood out! So Manami figured, if the moogle was wanting to hide, he'd need a disguise. And Illusionists were the best disguise makers! Although he'd not had other Illusionists to practice against, he was reasonably sure that he could sense a disguise spell. Even if he couldn't pin-point where it was, it'd for sure be helpful, right?

And the best way to survey the whole city in one go? The Shooting Coaster!

...He better ride it a few times. Just to be sure~
At different times of the day. Just to be extra sure~

The search continues - November 8th

[not_most_days]

For each player, comment here with a major location in or around Trano Golsaucia to look for Artemicion, clues, or simply to work on sneaky skills. Search Team Ups welcome. Please keep each location as a separate thread.

Known locations he's not been seen are the Mognet Office and high Moogle population density areas.

BATTLE ARENA - OPEN

[thegreatninja]

This time Yuffie was herself. She really can't keep up the princess thing for long even with her most recent bouts of practice. She's back to wearing a tank top and long pants. She has a hood pulled over her head and a small tail of dark hair falling out as if pulled over her shoulder. She kept her head up though with her height it would take a lot of effort to see the face within the hood.

She wore gloves but her arms were bare. She had a red ribbon tied around one arm which looked very appropriate considering the upcoming season.

Her plan was to make bets but a part of her itched to join the battles. She wasn't sure if that counted as a stake out but then Yuffie's had worst ideas in the past. Taking part in the fight might not be an awful idea.

TEMPLE OF WIND - OPEN

[vonspielburg]

To be perfectly honest, Ellie had little hope of finding Artemicion hanging out at the Temple of the Wind Crystal. It was too open, too drafty, with too few places to hide. Nonetheless, if the crystals were indeed being targeted by those who wished the Calamity to thrive, then there was a chance he might have been nearby to keep an eye on it.

It couldn't hurt to check, particularly up in the higher areas of the temple. Moogles could fly, so it was possible he'd found himself some small alcove to give him shelter from prying eyes.

More importantly, she wanted to get a look at this crystal for herself. She ascended the steps, strong winds unfurling her cape and loosening a few rogue strands of blonde hair from the braids she'd pinned up. Something about this wind was slightly invigorating, and it called out to her blood with silent songs of adventure and freedom. She brushed her bangs away from her eyes with gloved fingertips and stepped into the temple.

AUCTIONS - Open

[vindr]

As soon as he steps into the auction house, Manami feels a bit out of place. He can tell, it's going to be way too rich for his blood wallet! But that doesn't mean he can't watch, right? He just wants to see the cool, 'rare and precious' stuff, not buy it.

And from his brief impression, Artimicion seemed like a stuffy-type that would like to collect stuff, Manami thought.

So while keeping an 'eye' out for any illusion spells, dyed moogles, or other curious happenings, Manami watches the auctioneer...

"Okay! Here we have a lovely chest! And inside..."

[[The interesting stuff doesn't come out as frequently as he could wish, and art is kinda boring. What a disappointment~ I give him about an hour before he gets bored and moves on.]]

Blitzball Stadium

[needsteaplz]

Saori had been meaning to see what this sport was about. The Chocobo races could wait really. She probably wouldn't participate in it herself but it would be fun to watch. Well, that was assuming there was time to once they tracked Artemicion down. Like any other sporting match, it would be hard to track movement when the crowds were constantly active.

She gave up staying her in her seat and looked around for another place to perch and watch. After looking around, she slipped away to climb up on a perch several feet above crowds. Everyone's eyes would be fixed on the game instead of the rookie Assassin sitting so high up. Surely their target's movements would be easier to spot from here.

THEATERS: open

[fusedshadows]

The truth was, Midna had not really been back to Trano since Hibiki had turned to crystal. The last time she had been to the theatre district was when she had come here with that helpless girl, intent on showing her a thing or two about protecting herself... when in reality, she had been the one that had learned to let loose a little that day.

She had little interest in the happenings themselves, and had disguised herself as a tarutaru that looked as though she belonged to one of the acting troupes -- it was easier to gain backstage access that way, all the while keeping her eyes open for that crafty little moogle, or even Palitutu...

November 9th - Springing the trap

[not_most_days]

Against the odds, the plan seemed to be coming together. With the excitement of a Minor League tournament going on at the blitzball stadium, it seemed to be a good place and time to hunt their target. That would have been enough of a draw, but then Mary and Saori had the luck to spot the moogle in the middle of the crowd the day before. The timing was all wrong to make a move at that moment, so now the bets were being hedged on the 9th.

With the large crowd and all the lights, it meant that Artemicion would be unlikely to see them. However with a game in progress the stadium's security would be alert. They'd have to do this quietly and smoothly. If even one of them got caught the cover of the others could well be blown.

From a rooftop across the way Mary watched as people filed into the arena. The game would be starting soon. "Is everyone ready?" She glanced back at her collected allies. She trusted them to pull this off.

Re: November 9th - Springing the trap

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia gave only a cursory glance up and across the stadium, squeezing her baton absent-mindedly, as she'd seen countless guards do. She walked along on her route - disguised with her illusionist magic as a guard, no one would be able to tell otherwise, at any rate. She couldn't hear Kidd prompt the group to see if they were ready, but reached out with her mind at just the right moment anyway.

< In position. > The words echoed in the minds of all the gathered Heroes. Ashelia couldn't hide a smirk - she enjoyed her psychic skills much too much.

Mooglehunt, epilogue

[not_most_days]

It's a few hours later when Bonnie goes from door to door in the inn, having used her moogle skills to arrive quickly and distribute letters as needed. The notes direct everyone to a bar at the outskirts of town, away from the lights and attention.

The incident from earlier in the day had mostly been passed off as some performance. So for the moment it seemed like it wouldn't come back to bite them in the rear. Likewise no monstrous Weapon had shown up to attack the city. It was at least one tiny light of hope. That maybe the mission hadn't gone so bad as to drag the people of this city into it even if they had been briefly held hostage.

At the back of the bar Kidd frowned as she looked over the note that Yuffie had stolen. Its contents were troubling and she waited for everyone to take a seat before she read it off to them.

"First off, thank you Yuffie for acquiring this. We didn't get what we came here for but this is still important and perhaps all we might have learned from him anyway." She placed the note down on the table so everyone could read it.

"It seems the Ultima Weapon isn't the only one of its kind. They're seeking something called the Diamond Weapon in the Lost Continent. They've been searching the north of it but they haven't been able to find anything yet. With luck this puts us at the same point in the search that they are." Simply knowing it existed was better than not knowing at all.

Re: Mooglehunt, epilogue

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie grinned brightly when Kidd mentioned her. Yeah, she's awesome and now everyone else knew it too. The great ninja lightly clicked her tongue looking a little upset about something.

"There might also be others. Gaia had Ruby, Emerald, Diamond and Sapphire... I mean besides Ultima."