melodiesoflife | Mooglehunt

Entry tags:

Mooglehunt

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.

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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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

Edited 2015-11-09 21:53 (UTC)

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.

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!"

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.

The vendor marks the approach of the two with a straight face. Neither have the look of anyone about to buy any food from him and the question pretty much confirmed it. Still, business was going pretty well for him today so it couldn't hurt to be polite.

He gave them both a look before leaning in to look at the picture. It wasn't uncommon for people to lose their friends and loved ones in the crowd but there was always the chance that it was a made up story for one reason or another. The last thing they needed was trouble making for bad press and make the city seem unsafe.

"Hmmm, don't think so...lots of Moogles around here. But you say he forgot his medication? I'll keep an eye out and tell my boss."

Ales tightened the clasps holding his cloak together ad shivered. He wasn't too bothered by the cold, but having lived in a warm forest for most of his life, it took plenty of time to get used to. At least the weather was a good excuse for covering his face.

"We'd really appreciate it, sir! He has a tendency to run off, it's his age, really. He thinks he doesn't need any help, but..." He looked down at his folded hands. "We've been running around all day, and we're starting to get worried."

"Yes. Quite worried." He didn't seem like he had much information to give, but mention of a boss... That might be a decent angle they could work.

"Does your boss see a lot of Moogles?" she asked. She nodded at one of the candy confections before placing a coin on the stall and nudging it forward with her finger. "We could ask him directly, if that would save some time."

"I uh, I mean I guess here does? There's a lot of moogles in this city?" Aiming for his boss was a bit beyond what was needed but she was still making the man nervous. He offered her the candy as requested.

"Anyway, um, I mean I can keep an eye out for you and let you know? But maybe he wandered off to one of the other attractions in the city. Have you tried the blitzball stadium? The tournament this weekend has been bringing a lot of people to town."

"Ellie," Ales tugged on her skirt. "We'll have his boss know, and then we can check the places nearby."

With one extra set of eyes searching his area, they could worry less. Ales planned on making one last round throughout the Horror Square to be sure, but if the booth attendant was right, the blitzball stadium would have a giant crowd of Moogles that Artemicion could blend into. Hiding in plain sight, so they say.

"Sir, we'll look around one last time, but thank you. He might have run off like that - he's a stubborn old Moogle, you know how they are." He continued looking at the ground and holding his hands in an attempt to look nervous while still hiding his face.

(no subject)

vonspielburg - 2015-11-19 22:59 (UTC) - Expand

NPC

not_most_days - 2015-11-21 20:33 (UTC) - Expand

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.

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.

Kidd's intel had already told her that Artemicion hadn't been spotted at the Mognet offices. Even though he'd easily be able to hide among his own kind, the post office was a place that saw a lot of bounty notices and wanted posters go through. As much as they supported each other the little fluffballs likely didn't want to risk an office shutdown over harboring a fugitive. The mail was sacrosanct.

On the other hand, if he wasn't here, that meant she didn't have to worry about keeping herself hidden. Even so, she opted to go out and about as Mary. With any luck their moogle quarry wouldn't have much memory of her real name or appearance.

The moogles fluttered around in different colorful costumes like many of the other denizens and employees of the city. Mary stood at the information desk, speaking with a moogle holding a quill as big as its own body.

"I apologize. If the director is available I'd like to speak with him. It's a rather urgent matter." Mary was a bit cagey in her purpose. She didn't want to have to play something as visible as the Hero card if she didn't have to.

Ashelia had followed Mary into the building, and stepped up beside her when she addressed the moogle at the desk. She cleared her throat, still not used to the feeling of being someone completely different - let alone a portly middle-aged man.

"Y-yes! I insist - 'tis a matter most urgent!" she interjected, slamming a fist on the desk. "I'll not stand for it, I shan't! Theft of a client's shipment is inexcusable - Kupo Nuts or no!"

Kidd couldn't help but recoil a bit. Ashe was laying it on a bit thick. Then again she was getting the poor moogle behind the counter fairly flustered as well. And her use of the Illusion skills were rather good. Even the Assassin was fooled by her friend's display. It was merely the fact that they were here on the same business that clued her in to the man's identity.

Clearing her throat she raised her arm, trying to play the good cop...trader? angle.

"Yes. I apologize. My associate here is a bit excitable but his concern is legitimate. We need to find a lead on what happened to our recent shipment or else the money he invested will be completely lost. And then we'd have to abandon the possibility of shipping kupo nuts to this city."

That moogle was sweating bullets now. He couldn't even stammer out a response before flying off to the back room in a panic.

Ashelia shifted slightly - or so it felt to her. She wasn't yet used to the shopkeeper's heft, and so for a moment it looked as though she may keel over. She shook her head, breathing deeply to calm her nerves. The moogle doesn't know. He can't. That's the point.

"You came just in time," Ashelia said to her companion, smiling for just a moment before switching back to her jowled frown. "I could use a 'good inspector.'"

"Happy I was able to lend a hand. I don't expect we'll be finding our quarry here though. What little I was able to gather confirmed this as a place he hadn't been seen abouts. But still some moogle may know something. Correspondence perhaps."

It looked like they had a moment before the moogle would return so Kidd leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of anything important on his desk. "And what about you? Any thoughts on what we may be able to find here?"

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 old sack of gil from the cleavage trick is indeed a classic. The man can't help but watch as she does so and stammers a bit as the money clinks into his palm]

Ah...sure...I mean there's a few moogles who wear glasses so can you be more specific...ah....Miss?

[Oh crap. Right. Best not to use her actual name in case their target got wind of Heroes looking for him.]

Inari. Haruka Inari is my name. You know I think I have a drawing of the moogle. Now hang on...

[Saori winced mentally. She honestly wanted to avoid using the Inari name, her goddess name, in this world but it was the first thing that came to mind. She figured Artemicion wouldn't be able to remember every single detail of every Hero here so maybe it would be alright.

She tugged at her jacket as she "innocently" looked for it. Might as well play it up some more with the fanservice until she did pull out the drawing of him. Though any more fidgeting the clothes might reveal a little too much if she wasn't careful. Seriously, the police wouldn't notice a copy of Artemicion's wanted poster had the illustration cut out. She unfolded the piece of paper and leaned ever so closer to the man as she gave it to him.]

Here you go. Sorry for the wait. By the way, how hard is it get into to these races? My baby brother's been begging to join one for ages. It's all he ever talks about.

[The man's attention continues to follow her as she fidgets around. He doesn't leer but he is distracted and it might do her well that the name Inari is quickly forgotten as he was just trying to feign politeness. She isn't the first dame to ever come up here and try to use her feminine wiles to try to get an edge, but at least this one didn't seem to be trying to get money out of him.

Taking the picture he looks it over and frowns, eyes glancing down once before going back to the image.]

Hmmm, maybe. Not sure though. I think I remember someone asking about placing bets for the blitz tournament but I told him to get lost. He mumbled something about a moogle when he left. Wasn't really paying attention to him though.

[He grunts and sits back, checking the ongoing race reports.]

If you have a bird of your own you might be able to enter the amateur races. Otherwise you need a sponsor. Or wait until there's an open tryout in the amateur leagues.

The blitz arena, hmm? Thank you very much. I'll be sure to check there later then.

[Well she supposed that arena would be much easier for him to hide in compared to here. At least that's what she saw from the guidebooks she read on the flight over.

She gives him a few more gil to further emphasize her appreciation. Information is far more valuable than gil in this case. Besides, even if she did lose her bet in the race, it wouldn't hurt her wallet much.]

Hmm that might be a problem then. I'll have to find a chocobo first.

[The gil is graciously accepted, but the man gives a bit of a shrug.]

You can see if they have a spare bird for you to use. I ain't stoppin ya. Just don't wanna get yer hopes up.

I see. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for your time.

[She's let these poor gamblers behind wait long enough. So it's time for her to duck out and find herself a seat in the crowd. ]

(no subject)

not_most_days - 2015-11-25 16:25 (UTC) - Expand

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~

[Practice makes perfect. While there is never any sign or clue of Artemicion on the ride, after playing the game enough to win a few scale models, eventually Manami scores high enough to win the grand prize.

A pretty parasol.]

~~pending mod approval~~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mooglehunt

Stakeouts - November 7th

CASINO - OPEN

HORROR SQUARE - OPEN

Re: HORROR SQUARE - OPEN

Horror Square NPC

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HUNTING & SURVIVAL - OPEN

MOGNET OFFICES - OPEN

Re: MOGNET OFFICES - OPEN

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Re: MOGNET OFFICES - OPEN

Re: MOGNET OFFICES - OPEN

Re: MOGNET OFFICES - OPEN

Chocobo Racing [open]

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

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