isleofavalon | Cult Classic Quest

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Cult Classic Quest

🧙 WHO: Hanabi & Thrawn
⚔️️ WHAT: Cult Classic Quest
🕒 WHEN: September 13th
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot
⚠️ WARNINGS: Some violence due to the nature of the quest, but nothing too graphic

Perhaps a non-combative quest might have been a wiser idea for her first quest, but given her training, fighting one person seemed far more appealing to her than trying to shear tiny fire breathing sheep. The other quest option she’d seen involved a strip club. Not a place she wanted to be, and it was a place where she’d surely stand out as someone who didn’t belong there.

Hanabi had the sense to take Thrawn’s advice to not go alone for such a quest, and invited him to come with her. She thought she could learn from him, and she appreciated his calm and direct manner.

Determined to be a good student, she’d taken the time to do her research. She unrolled a map she’d bought, pointing to places on it that she’d lightly put tape on for reference points.

“These are the places where he attacked people before. I thought looking for patterns might help us figure out where to search for him.”

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Thrawn was a man of his word and accepted Hanabi's invitation to accompany her on a quest. When he saw which quest she'd accepted he became interested to see her in action, and was relieved that she hadn't chosen to go on the quest she had no business going on. He would have talked her out it if she had. This quest would be a good learning opportunity for her.

Thrawn examined the map, his hand going to his chin in thought, feeling pleased that she'd done some research ahead of time and was trying to work out a pattern. "Very good." He regarded the map, looking at the reference points. Already something was coming together in his mind. But first he looked at Hanabi and asked, "Do you see any patterns or have a clue as to where he may strike next?"

Even if he had an idea, he wanted her to contribute, and see if she could work it out herself.

"Every place where he's attacked someone has had alleyways nearby. If he's smart enough to do this with a costume on to hide his identity, he might have a quick change of clothes left in his escape route."

Her schooling taught strategies involving misdirection, and that seemed like a reasonable way to avoid detection. Especially if the man liked to act - if he was passably good at it, a quick change of clothing and in body language would do wonders to help him escape.

"Um...he also seems to be pretty good at timing his attacks for when the local authorities aren't close by, so he might have figured out patterns in their patrolling schedules."

"Very good," That was his reasoning as well. He had a clever one on his hands. He pointed to the map, and glowing blue dots appeared on it, marking alleys. "These are the places he has been sighted," Some of the dots turned red to represent those spots. "And this is the current patrol of local authorities." A green dot appeared and moved along the map, representing the authorities.

"I believe he is planning to make another appearance here," A yellow circle appeared around one of the blue dots. "It would take the authorities too long to get to him there, especially if his timing is accurate."

Hanabi appreciated the visuals that the dots provided on the map. Especially that of the patrols. It helped assemble everything.

"Most of the attacks were in the evening, so if we arrive in the late afternoon and shop around the area, we probably won't scare him off."

One thing occurred to her that would be useful for Thrawn to know that he didn't know already - her magic types. She hadn't mentioned it to him when asking him to join her on this quest, and she hadn't known what they were when she first met him.

"Oh...um, I've got elemental magic and blood magic. With the blood magic, I can sense the presence of nearby living beings, so if you turned invisible to sneak up on him, I'd still know where you were."

It could be useful for restraining the strange culprit. And speaking of restraining...she reached into the backpack she held her supplies in to reveal the rope she'd brought along.

"I brought this for after we catch him."

"You certainly came prepared," There was no mistaking the approval in his voice. "I may ask you to distract him long enough for me to sneak up on him while invisible. If he is about to attack you, do not hesitate to defend yourself." While he didn't doubt she was competent, he was still more experienced than she was just by virtue of being an adult, and he felt some responsibility as her current quest partner.

He let the glowing dots fade from the map, since they now had an idea of where to go. "If he manages to evade us and run away, do you think you could summon enough wind to blow something at him and slow him down long enough for us to catch up to him?" Since she'd just gotten here, he wasn't sure how practiced she was with her elemental spells.

"I'm better with lightning and fire than with wind, but I think I could. Or I could throw something and make it fly further with wind."

It was good that they were discussing options now, though. While Thrawn would probably know what to do regardless, Hanabi still had to learn how to adapt to working with others.

To demonstrate, she let some electricity crackle around the palm of one of her hands for a moment.

"If I hit him in the legs with lightning, it would be hard for him to run away."

"If you do, make sure to only temporarily stun him." They were there to capture him, not kill him, after all. "But, I believe that our first plan will go along smoothly and there will be no need for electrocutions or using the wind to our advantage." Thrawn would prefer a sneaky approach, one where their target thought that he had the advantage, before they sprung the trap.

"Now then, shall we go and await his arrival?"

Hanabi nodded. Though her control over lightning magic was good, she hadn't had it long enough to know the exact amount of force that was appropriate for only stunning someone, should she strike the core body where all the vital organs were. If she did find herself in a position to use it, she'd aim for the arms and legs to disable the man. Ideally, things would go according to the first plan.

"Yes, let's go."

If they arrived early enough, they could get themselves a light snack and find somewhere to eat it that gave them a good view of the area where the man was most likely to attack. Something that would look fairly innocuous rather than like two people on a quest.

"It may be wise to hone your other elemental powers in between quests," Thrawn suggested. "For situations such as this one."

Thrawn pulled his hood over his head, having bought a hooded sweater to better blend in, and motioned Hanabi to follow him. It wasn't a very long walk to the alley where they expected their target, and there was a deli just across the street. As if he'd read Hanabi's mind earlier, he went inside so they could get something to eat while they waited. There was a nice big window that overlooked the alley, so they could keep an eye on it.

"Earth magic would have been useful for trapping him," she agreed thoughtfully.

The deli was an excellent vantage point, and an inconspicuous place to watch from at that. As long as the shop owner wasn't in any hurry to rush customers out to make room for new ones - but even then, that was something that could be solved by buying something else.

"I wonder what sort of costume he'll wear," Hanabi wondered quietly at their table after having a small sip of her juice. "What a weird person."

He clearly had enough presence of mind to think his plans through and effectively evade the local authorities, but she couldn't understand why anyone would attack innocent people just to act out favourite scenes from a story. Robbery would have made far more sense.

"He wants to get attention, so I would assume he is going to wear something eye-catching. I do not doubt that we will know it when we see it." Thrawn sipped his tea, then sampled the pita chips and hummus he ordered for the two of them. "But it may not be anything too complicated either. Rather, it will be something he can change into and out of in a hurry."

Hanabi dipped one of the pita chips into the hummus, and took a small, dainty bite, mindful to completely finish chewing and swallowing before speaking. Table manners and etiquette had been driven into her, and though she might be a bit more casual about some things now that her father and governess weren't here to reinforce them, she'd been raised to value manners.

"Attacking people to act out scenes from stories seems like an extreme way to get attention," she remarked. "I wonder if he's an unsuccessful actor or something like that."

There was only one way to find out - and that was to succeed at their mission. Catching him was more important than his reasons behind why he was doing this.

"Perhaps," Thrawn nodded. "He could also simply wish to live out the stories that he loves without regard for who gets hurt." Much as Thrawn hated to admit it, he knew that there were just those who didn't care for the welfare of others and were willing to hurt people to get what they wanted.

He took another chip. "If you want more food, you need only ask." He could make an entire bowl of chips and dip last for a while, but he was a grown man and she was a growing girl.

Thrawn was right - there was that unfortunate possibility that someone could be that callous about harming others, even if it was a mindset that Hanabi couldn't personally understand.

"Thank you," Hanabi replied to the offer, "I think this is going to be enough, though."

It wasn't wise to fill up right before being in a situation where she might have to fight, after all. It was better that she eat what she needed to keep her energy up, but not so much that her movements would become sluggish. She could eat a big meal later when the job was done.

After several more chips, she noticed a tall and muscular man with sandy brown hair moving toward the alley they'd set their sights on.

"Do you think that's him?" she asked, watching the man intently.

Thrawn gazed out the window, seeing the man in question. The man looked around, as if checking to see if the coast was clear, before he entered the alley. "I believe it is." He drank the last few drops of his tea before standing up.

"I will make myself invisible before we leave, and then we will approach him. We can ambush him more easily if he doesn't see me ahead of time." Especially when Thrawn stood out so easily, and even if he wore a hoodie, his eyes still glowed red and might draw unwanted attention.

It only took a second for Thrawn to summon his familiar and vanish from sight. He put his hand on her shoulder, so she knew that he was still there.

Thrawn's hand on her shoulder helped. She could sense his presence with her blood magic, but it was more of a pulsing presence among many. The hand on her shoulder allowed her to separate between those who were further away and Thrawn who was only a step away.

She did her best to behave casually, approaching the store beside the alley the man ducked into and looking thoughtfully at the display in the store's window as if trying to decide whether or not she wanted to go in the store. Even if the man in the alley was probably their culprit, if they didn't wait for him to appear in costume and begin to instigate a fight, they could get in trouble with the local authorities themselves.

Fortunately, the star of the show didn't keep them waiting long. His costume was bright - shades of red, orange and yellow, with a similarly colourful mask that concealed his entire face. It was topped off with a wreath of bright red feathers. Small wonder people had trouble focusing on any other identifying details.

"I am the burning power of vengeance," announced the man, enunciating every syllable. "I have come to avenge the innocents who were wronged by evildoers everywhere! Starting with--" he looked over, and upon realizing that the nearest person was a child, he began to approach a red-cheeked tall man leaving the local tavern, drawing his sword. "Foul cur! You will pay for your crimes against the innocent!"

The red cheeked man looked at the blade with both horror and confusion. "...hold on now, th'barkeep said I could pay the rest t'morrow!"

Meanwhile, Hanabi was moving into position, her kunai drawn. "The only person here that's attacking innocents is you. Leave him alone."

The costumed 'performer' let out a dramatic gasp. "It's Eriselle the Terrible, possessing a poor innocent child! I will defeat you, villain!"

Hanabi was mindful of where Thrawn was, and decided the best thing she could do was play along until he could get in position to sneak on their bizarre opponent. It would, at least, protect the rest of the citizens if the dramatic fellow's attention was on her. "Come at me, then."

Thrawn released Hanabi's shoulder and crept around their target, careful not to bump into anything that would give away his position. He had to time this carefully, so that the man wouldn't run away, or hurt either his victim or Hanabi. Part of him was admittedly tempted to watch her fight, just so he could have an idea of what her combat style was like, but he quickly brushed such thoughts aside.

The moment the would-be superhero got closer to Hanabi, Thrawn sprang into action, wrapping one strong arm around the man's throat and the other around his chest, pinning his arms down. He let the invisibility spell fade, becoming visible once more.

"I suggest you not make this harder on yourself than it need be."

"What's this?!" the would-be superhero exclaimed. "The devious Devdan Graves has joined forces with Eriselle the Terrible?! What a shocking development!"

If Hanabi wasn't watching his body language carefully, she might have assumed he was either oblivious to the trouble he was in, or that he knew but was so dedicated to his performance that he was pressing onward while he still had an audience. It was a very subtle tensing of the wrist of his sword hand, a slight tilt of his head...but she'd been trained to observe miniscule details in people's body language to read intent. The Hyuuga clan excelled at it.

And despite Thrawn's warning, it looked like their quest target was planning on trying to twist his wrist around and jab his sword into Thrawn's leg. Even if it wasn't a particularly forceful strike due to his limited mobility, the blade was sharp.

She darted in, striking that tensed wrist on a pressure point before seizing his thumb and twisting the sword out of his hand. It clattered to the ground as the would-be hero yowled. "Alas, the poor hero is doomed to a cruel fate at the hands of a truly diabolical duo!"

"Should we knock him out before we tie him up?" Hanabi asked Thrawn, ignoring the man's antics. "Or should we leave him conscious and ask him questions?"

Thrawn tightened his grip on the man. Perhaps one day he would study his pistol and figure out a way to replicate the weapon's stun setting with his light magic.

"It may be better to knock him out," He regarded the girl. "Would you like to do the honors?" Seeing as she knew pressure points and could probably do so safely, or just use her magic. Otherwise, Thrawn knew how to knock out a man. If they knocked him out, they could question him later, once he woke up. Thrawn didn't want to take the chance of him getting away.

"It would be my pleasure," Hanabi replied with a nod. It would be much quieter and far more peaceful the moment he was unconscious, and then when they did question him, they could do so in private where he didn't have an audience to give him attention.

Without further adieu, she focused a small amount of lightning magic around the fingertips of her index finger, middle finger and thumb. She was careful to avoid hitting Thrawn as she clamped down on a nerve on the man's neck. His body jolted and he let out a yelp, then slumped forward. His chest rose and fell slowly in tune with his breathing.

Hanabi's body language and expression relaxed slightly once the troublesome performer was out cold.

"Thank you." Thrawn gently set the man on the ground and asked for the rope so that he could restrain him. Once he was all tied up and wouldn't be doing anything after coming to, Thrawn regarded Hanabi.

"You did well, Hanabi."

"Thank you," Hanabi replied with a small smile. "You were a good teacher, Thrawn."

At that, she looked thoughtful for a moment. "...were you in the military or something like that in your world?"

There was something about the way he carried himself that made her wonder.

"I merely gave you the tools to figure things out for yourself."

A tiny smile crossed his lips at her deduction, and he idly adjusted the cuff of his sleeve. "I was, yes. Before I came here, I was a Grand Admiral in a galactic naval reserve. And before that, I was part of my own people's military."

The idea of galactic travel was something that was purely fictional in her world, but then, there were probably a number of things in her own world that wouldn't be possible in Thrawn's. She was impressed with his rank, and secretly pleased that she'd guessed correctly. Thrawn was very controlled and composed, and not easy to read. But then, that probably came with the disciplined behaviour of a military life.

"At my school, we're taught combat, about espionage, survival training...things like that. Girls have to go to extra classes to learn how to pretend to be civilians."

She frowned slightly at that. Although she was polite in school and didn't argue about having to attend the extra classes, she didn't like them.

"Those are useful skills to have," Thrawn commented. Combat and survival training were part of the curriculum for both the Chiss and Imperial military academies, but espionage was only taught to those who wished to pursue that career track. Thrawn's own skills at espionage were mostly self-taught.

"Though, I am curious as to why only girls are required to take those extra classes. Are boys simply not expected to ever need such skills or is there a base assumption that they are not good at pretending to be a civilian?"

"It's because it's rare for civilian girls and women to learn to fight. Most of them never go on to join any military branch. They do a lot of domestic work, and work in shops and clerical jobs, mainly. It's more common for civilian boys to learn some form of combat, although they're never as well trained as any boys and girls coming from a shinobi academy. Civilian men are more likely to work in physical labour jobs."

This was more or less the way things were done throughout her world, and it was only upon meeting people from other worlds that she'd learned how other societies might operate.

"The girls-only classes teach us domestic skills and some of the hobbies that are common to civilian girls and women so that we can blend in better."

It was somewhat of a moot point for her and anyone in her clan - their eyes stood out. It was her main objection to having to attend the classes. She was unlikely to ever be given an espionage mission.

"I see." In that way, it made sense that girls were given training to pass as civilians, but Thrawn still felt that it was impractical to only teach that to girls. Not to mention the idea that learning to fight was considered a male area.

"In the Galactic Empire, men and women are allowed to enlist and train with the military. Though, admittedly, women tend to enlist with the Navy more so than the ground troops." There weren't very many female Stormtroopers, but the Chimaera had lots of women serving on her. "The Chiss military also has many women among its ranks."

"I wish I didn't have to take them. People in my clan don't get assigned to work undercover because of our eyes. I suppose it's good to learn how to cook, but I'd rather not get graded on how it turns out."

The small grimace on her face spoke volumes for where her level of cooking skill (or lack thereof) was. She was used to doing well at most things - either through natural talent, or through perseverance and effort.

"Do people have special abilities like magic in the Galactic Empire?"

"Cooking is a valuable skill, regardless of how well it helps one to blend in." Thrawn had some rudimentary cooking skills, enough that he could feed himself at least. And of course he knew survivalist cooking, having made use of such skills when he was on that deserted planet.

Though he saw what she meant about how it was impractical to expect her to blend in with others, thanks to her distinct appearance.

"As a matter of fact, yes. In my universe, there is a power called the Force, and some individuals can manipulate the Force to do all manner of extraordinary things."

"I can make food that's edible. I'm not talented at it, though. My older sister is much better at it."

Nor did the opportunity to practice at home present itself. She was the youngest in her clan, and the heiress. Her responsibilities involved a great deal of study and training. She had to learn etiquette, diplomacy, and a wealth of academic facts, while also training intensely daily in her clan's fighting style.

"What can people do with it?"

"Just so long as you can prepare food in a way that makes it safe to eat, then that in and of itself is useful." Even Thrawn knew the dangers of under cooked poultry and not washing produce before eating it.

"Admittedly, my experience with Force-users is limited, but those who can wield it are telekinetic, can influence minds, leap great distances, and have some form of future-sight." Thrawn had looked up historical records on the Jedi, and seen holos and artwork made during the Clone War, which provided him with a lot of information.

That much, she could do. She understood the importance of hygiene and adequately cooking meat. It was making it all taste good that was beyond her current level of skill.

"Oh, so it's a bit like if someone here had kinetic and cognitive magic, then," Hanabi said thoughtfully. They sounded like the closest equivalents, in any case.

"In a way, yes," That was probably a good analogy, anyway. "They also use special laser swords for weapons."

They weren't quite at the point where Thrawn would trust Hanabi with information about his people's Force-sensitives. Not that he thought she was untrustworthy, and not that it mattered in this world anyway, he was just in the habit of not blabbing about secrets that were meant to stay within the Chiss Ascendancy. Some habits were hard to break.

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Cult Classic Quest

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