[Rina]

"...Why am I here again?"

Disgruntled that he has to do something rather mundane as arrest some thief, Schezo looked around the once lush outskirts of Toad Town. It's depressing that it's been rendered to such a sad state, but Schezo has no sentiment to a town he's foreign to. According to the mission briefing, the thief had made a getaway to Toad Town of the Mushroom Ruins. But...what lead is there to go off of? The thief is likely in hiding, and Schezo can't flush out the culprit by himself.

"And how are we going to find anything remotely resembling a crop around here?"

Among the plains, there seem to be some conspicuously red sprouts of grass. If one is curious enough (and has a bit of muscle), one can try to uproot them.

Grass A	Grass B	Grass C	Grass D
Difficulty: 7	Difficulty: 12	Difficulty: 8	Difficulty: 15

((In this mission, we're going to be playing some Hide and Seek. The thief is hiding somewhere in Toad Town, but we're going to need a bit of clues first. For the sub-mission, there's going to be the red grass tufts now and then that you can uproot, with varying levels of difficulty. What are you going to get? Who knows! Hope you have the Strength to pull them out!))

Crop/Seed Counter: 0

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"..."

Cue Ryu making his way towards Schezo, who seemed to be complaining about his predicament. "We are running short on food, are we not? If this thief keeps doing this, it'll be most likely that chaos will erupt within the Sphere."

The fighter began glancing around until he notice a couple of red patches of grass...Could this be fertile...? He advanced towards one of those patches and tried to pull it off...

X4_OUtuTp_1d20+2(Ryu pulls out Grass D.)

And the fighter did so with minimal effort. He glanced at what he obtained and then back at the red patches of grass.

"You may have our answer here, Schezo."

1d20+2

[Coolshaymin]

"He's right. The Life Sphere needs those crops to keep supply up. Without it some people might have to go without food and we can't let that happen." Aile agreed with Ryu and was not sure on this guy questioning a mission he volunteered for. He did not question him though since they had a thief to focus on finding.

"We will teach him a lesson though. I don't think he could of cleared his getaway that well. He must of left some clues. Let's check out what we can find here first," Aile continued confidently. She looked at the red grass and noticed that giving it a good pull should uproot it. Maybe they were hiding something? It's a good thing she is decently fit in the strength department. She walked over to another one while Ryu attempted to pull one up and tried the same.

tkWzpmArp_1d20+1(Successful pullup on Grass B)

And almost with zero effort she was able to pull up the red grass.

"That was easy. Let's see what we have found."

Merge: None
Damage:0%
Shield HP:40%
Status: Normal

1d20+1

[Rina]

Upon uprooting the grass, the two would end up with the following:

Grass D: A somehow perfectly normal vegetable!
Grass B: A medium-sized, but otherwise normal vegetable!

Schezo raised an eyebrow, surprised that there's vegetables that look edible. Schezo crossed his arms at this observation.

"Huh. So there is some semblance of life here. To think that there is plant life hardy enough to withstand these conditions."

Upon knowing this, Schezo eventually noticed the conspicuously tall tufts of grass scattered here and there. There's only two that looked similar to what his allies uprooted. He walked over to Grass C, and grabbed hold of it. He seems capable of pulling it out...

VaIBAutZp_1d20 (Way to make a fool of yourself, Schezo.)

...but upon yanking it, his grip slipped and fell flat on his back. Wonderful showing there, Dark Wizard. Good job. The rather disgruntled Schezo got up and dusted his cape off, attempting to scoff it off. He simply made a beeline towards the town ruins, starting at the town square.

"We mustn't dawdle. There is a town to investigate."

((The square is quite open, making it easy to spot a clue. You'll likely find something with a Wisdom roll of 10.))

Crop/Seed Counter: 21d20

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Ryu saw that Schezo attempted to pick one of the vegetables, but failed. The eternal wanderer came next to the tuft of grass. "Allow me." He said as he attempted to pull off the patch of red grass the Dark Wizard tried to pull off...

aiGlIyEwp_1d20+2(Ryu trying to pull Grass C.)

...and he did so with little to no problem. Storing the two vegetables he obtained into his hammerspace bag, he walked alongside Schezo to the town square. Now they would have to focus on finding the thief...or anything leading to him.

"I'll do my best on scouting this area." Ryu reassured.

p_1d20-2(Ryu WHAT--)

It didn't take a much thorough look at the square and Ryu noticed something out of the ordinary. He went to the object he spotted. "Hey, I think I may have found a clue to where the theif may have gone to." He called the other two for them to have a look.1d20+2·1d20-2

[Coolshaymin]

"That's three new crops we can add to the Life Sphere when we get back..." Aile commented happily before looking at the final one... Maybe they all were plants? Even if the final one isn't what is the odds it is that bad? "Might as well get one more." She then lowered herself and tried to pluck the last one.

NmC5nCZKp_1d20+1(... Nice, Crit Fail pluck)

"No good. It seems to be planted too firmly," Aile resigned as she fell back from failure. She then looked around and noticed the others were already moving on without her. "Hey! Wait for me!" She called before placing the vegetable in her seemingly bottomless pants pocket and running after them.

"You would not of been left behind if you were paying attention."

p_1d20-1(Probably pointless Preception Roll)

"Hm?" Aile slowed down as she approached the two and noticed something out of place in the square and began running towards it right before Ryu called it out.


1d20+1·1d20-1

[Rina]

The plant Ryu pulled out was a vegetable...but this one seems to have gone bad for whatever reason. It's discolored in places in an unappetizing way. Surely not an edible item.

"...It doesn't seem to be edible at all."

With vegetables in mind, Schezo decided to pick out the last one so the group can move on.

CZpDZIanp_1d20 (Nope.)

Schezo attempted to pull at it, but there was nothing doing. Maybe this one is pretty deep-rooted. Whichever the case, the Dark Wizard turned to the investigation, taking a scan of the surroundings.

p_1d20+4 (I spy a lead!)

His allies spotted them, and so did Schezo. Upon catching up with the group, he noticed that there's footprints. They're a little hard to make out, but it's proof enough that someone passed by here. They're round, distinctly unlike the trio's. Who could our thief be, and where did they go? The trail ends off towards the south, only giving some semblance of where the thief ran off to.

"Seems they wandered in this direction. This could be our lead."

Should the group follow the tracks, they'd find themselves at a few more abandoned housing complexes, as well as a path to a forest and an underground tunnel. Both would not be ideal places to wander around in, as they're mazes in themselves. There's much more places to investigate here this time around. Off to the east is another grassy patch with a few more sprouts to pluck at.

Grass E	Grass F	Grass G
Difficulty: 5	Difficulty: 10	Difficulty: 7

The following areas are available to investigate:

• An abandoned house (Difficulty: 12)
• Tunnel Entrance Perimeter (Difficulty: 8)
• Guard House in front of forest entrance (Difficulty: 10)
• A run-down house with a kitchen (Difficulty: 9)

Crop/Seed Counter: 21d20·1d20+4

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Ryu looked at the inedible vegetable in partial dismay as he threw it away before taking a better look at the lead. Rounded footprints? Doesn't look like something a normal human would make. At least, from his world, as far as he was aware. Ryu stayed silent as he looked at where the footprints lead to, and followed them soon after. The trail not only revealed that there would be more places to look at in order to find something, but there was also more of those red grass patches. Looks like it was a good time to pluck those up.

kq5k81|Vp_1d20+2(Ryu goes and pulls off Grass G.)

"Hm, not bad."

The Street Fighter pulled up one of the patches successfully from the ground. Now, he would advance towards a random abandoned location...

p_1d20-2(oh goodness gracious)

...hadn't been for fleeting sand grains riding the wild wind suddenly smacked Ryu's eyes, causing the fighter to dedicate his time into removing them. 1d20+2·1d20-2

[Coolshaymin]

It seems they had found some footprints. These would make finding the thief easier... though they were pretty rounded. What could of made them? Well, in either case there looked like there were some more grass to pluck up before she starts investigating. She made a move for the middle one before moving to pull it up.

C9LDZJZrp_1d20+1(Successful Pluck on Grass F)

"One more vegetable successfully uprooted. Turns out this resource retrieval is turning into a profit. Now, where could that thief have gone..." Well, the seemingly abandoned house seems rather suspicious. She headed towards the house and knocked for a second. "No one home? Well, I guess I'll just invite myself in then," Aile remarked before going to open the door and investigate.

p_1d20-1(Successful search of the abandoned house)
1d20+1·1d20-1

[Rina]

Following the uprooting, the two would end up finding the following:

Grass G: A plant bulb of some kind. Not a vegetable, but it might grow into something useful.
Grass F: ...A flow...no, this is not any ordinary plant. This is actually a mandrake!

"......eek..."

Schezo was about to head on over to the house with the kitchen, only to catch sight of someone uprooting a Mandrake. Schezo's face filled with panic, knowing exactly what happens if you uproot a mandrake.

((Everyone, QUICK! Roll a 14+ on INT to shut out the Mandrake's screech! It's loud enough to inflict 10% damage!))

bqort18Zp_1d20+3

"COVER YOUR EARS!"

Schezo dropped what he was doing and plugged his ears. Once the Mandrake let out her screech, Schezo barely heard a peep, having successfully suppress the sound from doing any sort of damage. She ran off elsewhere, attempting to hide from anyone else trying to pull on her again. After that brief diversion, Schezo resumed his investigation to the kitchen house.

---

The abandoned house looked more like a storage house. It's all barren, and there's random bits of wood leaning on the walls. Though, it seems like someone was clumsy enough to leave the secret compartment open too. Upon inspection of the secret room, there seems to be a chest...with a sack of vegetables to be had! These might be where that thief is hiding them, even if it's filled with only two turnips. They're rather big ones, actually. The thief likely had trouble trying to lug those around and stowed them away here to make room for more loot to pillage.

---

p_1d20+4 (Clues found!)

Upon entry of the house, he noticed that the fridge is swung open, as if someone tried to raid it. There seems to be round hand prints on them, which is much smaller than Schezo's hands. Smaller than anyone's, really. Is the thief even human? Schezo put a hand to his chin, pondering on what the thief actually is. With some deliberating, Schezo headed out to the center of the area to share findings.

"Has your search provided clues?"

Unbeknownst to them, they're being watched...

Crop/Seed Counter: 51d20+3·1d20+4

[TheSpatialWeeg]

As Ryu successfully managed to wipe his eyes from the sand "attack", he noticed that from the patches of grass came a...flower girl? He wasn't aware of the fact that was a mandrake, but when Schezo said to cover his ears...

LPMUEEYQp_1d20+1(Ryu's avoidance of getting deaf.)

Ryu was not about to question that and covered his ears. Thankfully, no ear-piercing scream was able to hit him. As the mandrake ran off, Ryu uncovered his ears and let out a rather confused sigh. "That was...unexpected." He commented before trying to pluck the remaining patch of grass.

p_1d20+2(Grass E pluck success.)

He managed to do so, albeit with a little more restrain than usual. Maybe it was more rooted that the other ones...? Who knew...

"I will proceed and check over the tunnel entrance."

The Street Fighter tried to look at the tunnel's entrance...

p_1d20-2 (Yay for bad rolls.)

However, he saw nothing. Maybe his vision needed to be adjusted?1d20+1·1d20+2·1d20-2

[Coolshaymin]

LRw7z|O2p_1d20+3

"Huh? Who are you?" Aile had no experience with monsters like this... On top of that it seemed so organic and not artifical plant life. Holding it like this almost made her not want to stop feeling it. It was kind of an alien sensation that made her curious. However, she was not so entranced as to ignore Schezo's warning. She quickly dropped the Mandrake and covered her hearing to avoid the sound harming her. Huh, painful sound was a new one.

Regardless she managed to find some more crops in the house. It looks like this house was used for temporary storage. Well, it was not like the thief paticularly deserved this over the Life Sphere. She picked up the crops and stored them in her bottomless pants pockets^TM and then moved out to check some more.

"Right, I will go check out the forest entrance!" the Mega Man called to Ryu before making a run over to the guard house to check it out.

p_1d20-1(Just barely discovered something)
1d20+3·1d20-1

[Rina]

Grass E yields...a rather tiny bulb of a vegetable. It's not much, but every bit counts.

---

"Understood."

With that area covered, Schezo decided to head on over to the sewer perimeter and see if there's any clues around there. Going in there would not be a good idea, as it's pitch black by just looking down the pipe. Schezo pondered around the entrance, wondering what would a thief do in a place that's pitch black.

JkyQqaJhp_1d20+4 (FOCUS, DARK WIZARD!)

...but unfortunately for him, his train of thought somehow derailed, having barely fell short of hitting the mark. He scratched his head, a little bit miffed that he can't think of something useful.

---

Right around the forest entrance, there's a little guard house, specifically made to keep watch of people coming and going to the forest. It must have been rather dangerous if this thing was made. Unfortunately, there are no footprints to be had, meaning that the culprit hasn't been here at all. No evidence found, but at least that throws out the possibility of the thief having come by here. Once the trio regroups, Schezo tells his findings.

"Have you found anything? From my investigation of the home with a kitchen, there were hand prints that don't even look human at all."

And still...there's that inching feeling that someone is watching them... In fact, it's starting to stink up the place for some reason. As if someone went down the sewers.

(If you roll 11+ on your WIS roll, then that stink is going to be evident.)

Crop/Seed Counter: 61d20+4

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Ryu wasn't exactly sure if he was going to check the entrance again, but he eventually decided not to and regrouped with the rest. "I have not found anything. Forgive me, I need to train harder." Ryu went on to say to the group.

VkejEHekp_1d20-2(Good WIS roll finally.)

Before any other statements were made, he noticed something felt...wrong. And that feeling was not originating from his teammates, that much was certain. He quickly gazed around the place as he readied himself for a batlle.

"Something is not right here."

1d20-2

[Coolshaymin]

Rj|d0Rw0p_1d20-1(Not very good at smelling today apparently, just barely)

"I think we could already guess he was not human by the footprints. Besides that though I did find what looked to be a temporary stash with some crops. I think the thief was using it to hide extra crops he could come back for. It was in that abandoned house over there," Aile said motioning to the building. "I did not find anything by the forest though. I checked it pretty well too so he probably did not head that way to escape."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. Maybe there was not much over there. Not sure training would help searching this place. I am sure you tried as hard as you..."

"Wait, what do you mean 'something is not right'?" Aile asked, obviously not aware of what Ryu felt or sensed.

1d20-1