October Open Quest Log

[flapsin]

🧙 WHO: Drake Mallard/Darkwing Duck and whoever!
⚔️️ WHAT: Taking on a number of this month's quests
🕒 WHEN: Throughout the first half of the month
🗺️ WHERE: Various places
⚠️ WARNINGS: Headless Horseman in Prompt B

A. Smashing Pumpkins [Pumpkin Mayhem - Drake/Darkwing]

[At first, Drake Mallard loved the idea of decorating some pumpkins! Nice way to get into the Halloween spirit. So one can join the civilian duck as he paints and/or carves some pumpkins. Of course, most of the designs he uses are based on Darkwing Duck and some of his villains! Join him during the calm before the storm and help him with decorating pumpkins... or when they start to come alive and take the off-duty hero by surprise!

Or later on, after he's made a costume change, Darkwing Duck will do some more patrols of the area and see if anyone else is having any trouble with rogue pumpkins...]

B. Heading Places [Don't Lost Your Head - Darkwing]

[When he hears rumors about the headless horseman, it sounds like a job for Darkwing Duck! ...A particularly scary job, but a job nonetheless!

And so, he ends up showing up to protect some volunteers who are cleaning up bodies in Celliwig. He keeps some distance from the volunteers and watches from the shadows because of his aesthetic. Perhaps someone is staking this out with him, or is one of the volunteers that this duck is trying to protect.

Or skip ahead to when the Headless Horseman makes his entrance, and Darkwing springs into action... starting with his catchphrase, of course!]

I am the terror that flaps in the night!
I am the dental floss that has been dropped into your candy bag!
I am... Darkwing Duck!

C. Beddy or Not [Bunker Down - Drake]

[So what happened at the end of last month sure was depressing! He felt some relief in being able to do his part to help save people from Lestari, but especially as a hero, he feels the punch from all of those that weren't saved elsewhere. So he throws himself into some relief work so that he can do something to help the survivors!

And so Drake can be seen at the woodworking sight, where he tries to help out with constructing some bunk beds. One can catch him in one of several scenarios. Tired out from all of his work, he could end up taking one of the unfinished beds for a trial run by passing out on it. Or he could be seen doing some strange work for one bed, like making the carving of a duck head coming from the foot of a bed, and also several imperfectly-shaped wheels off on the side... is he trying to make a Darkwing Duck racecar bed...?]

D. Wildcard

[Feel free to come up with an alternate prompt or hit me up for plotting!]

Comments

B

[cameprepared]

[Claire had ended up in a similar situation, heading out to the ruins of Celliwig with some of the other volunteers. Pistol strapped to one hip, her gigantic black ghost-dog of a familiar at her side, she's ready for whatever comes. The Headless Horseman's appearance is no surprise, given the information she's had on his whereabouts and MO...but Darkwing Duck is something else entirely.

Her eyes widen as he appears, presumably on a tree-branch or some other suitably dramatic platform, completely bewildered. She remembered Drake from the other month, but she thought he'd been joking...]

...Holy shit, there really is a duck superhero.

[What the hell!

Totally ignoring the stupid headless guy for now to stare.]

[flapsin]

[That sure is a duck posing heroically atop tree branch, with fashion including a small mask, a fedora and a full-on caping!

He will take all the attention he can get! Darkwing takes in the human woman's comment with a smirk as he looks towards her.]

Of course! Every species has its champions. Who better to defeat for ducks than Darkwing?

[There isn't much time for pleasantries, however, as the headless horseman doesn't seem much for conversation. It races forward, ready to lop the tree branch right off, forcing Darkwing to spring for the ground.] Whoa!

[cameprepared]

Look out now!

[Seriously, Darkwing, be careful! Claire's gun is already up and tracking the monstrous horseman, but she doesn't shoot yet. It's too close to Darkwing, and she's not going to risk hitting an ally.]

...Guess we need to corral this guy and stop him from charging us. He's going to be a problem if he gets in and attacks the volunteers.

[flapsin]

I'm definitely looking out now! [He quips that frantically as he runs along the ground, diving away from the horseman's latest assault!]

Right, keeping him away from them is priority number one! That sounds like a plan! Maybe I should lure him somewhere...! [He stays on his feet while he thinks!]

[cameprepared]

Yeah! Good idea!

[The Dog lunges at the horseman's horse's ankles, snapping and biting with huge demon-doggo jaws. It whickers and moves away, corralled by the barghest's jaws.]

I'll help with the horse. You give him a target to fixate on.

[flapsin]

Thanks for the assist! [He exclaims with relief while the doggo does its thing.]

I'm good at being fixated on, leave it to me! Just... uh... maybe keep an eye open to make sure he doesn't actually get me?

[He starts waving his cape as around to taunt the enemy!]

[cameprepared]

I can do that.

[Her gun clicks as she ratches back the slide.]

Let's go, Darkwing.

[flapsin]

Excellent! Now, let's get dangerous!

[With that, the duck launches himself into action! He keeps himself moving and conjures random images and bursts of light with his light magic to draw the horseman's attention and keep it on him. So far, so good!]

[cameprepared]

[Claire, conversely, draws shadows around herself to keep out of the line of sight while her familiar urges the horse to move too. She's taking her time in lining up a shot, not wanting to risk hitting Darkwing. This is about driving off the horseman, not Duck Hunt!

The rider seems none the wiser, assuming she's fled for the moment, and pursues, waving a sword as he charges towards Darkwing, swatting some of the illusions.]

[flapsin]

[Darkwing remains in action! He zips around and conjures up some more illusions. Luckily they don't need to be exceptionally lifelike, especially when the horseman's tearing through them either way, so some of them look very uncanny valley, or like weird amalgamations of animal people and humans. In any case, Darkwing's focused on keeping the horseman's attention and staying a step ahead of it!]

What's wrong, having trouble catching me? [He taunts.] Try not to lose your 'head' over it! [He chuckles and darts off to the side!]

[cameprepared]

That's so dorky!

[Claire cannot help it. But she's doing what she can to help. Mainly by conjuring her own magical aid, covering the horse's eyes with globs of shadow.

That makes it whicker and neigh and move a bit more erratically, forcing the Horseman to work harder to keep control.]

[flapsin]

Dorky? No way, this is gold! This is top-tier heroic banter!

[He defends himself with his words, while continuing to move around and say a step ahead of the horseman! As the horse's movements are thrown off, Darkwing tries not to get too close to the trampling horse - and with the horseman struggling to maintain control, he sends some blasts of light their way to throw them off further!]

[cameprepared]

If you say so!

[She starts spinning up another spell, this time one with Green magic. Plants begin rumbling up out of the ground, rapidly growing...]

What's the plan here, Darkwing? Are we trying to drive him off or what?

[flapsin]

[They definitely the horseman both distracted and disoriented with all of this! But Darkwing does wonder, what now!]

Good - good - great question! Driving him off doesn't feel like the right option. It won't stop him from coming back whenever we let our guards down! No, we need to stop this... capture him or something.

[A beat.]

However... however one captures a headless horseman! I guess I can try to tie him up? [Might as well try the classic approach?]

[cameprepared]

I...guess we could try. He does have arms.

[It's something.]

I'll stop the horse. You see about getting him wrapped up or something.

[Definitely a plan, and in line with what she has growing. Vines begin bursting out of the ground, lashing out at the horse's feet, slowing it's movements and making it stamp and buck.]

[flapsin]

Exactly! Without a head, we take care of the parts he does have!

[He pumps himself up, determined.]

That sounds like a perfect plan! I know how to bind a barbaric bandit. Let's get to work!

[Sure enough, Claire's magic is tripping up the horse! With that, Darkwing takes a length of rope out from his coat as he leaps up onto the horse! He grunts as he wrestles with the horseman, slowly wrapping the rope around him.]

[cameprepared]

[The vines tighten, beginning to release a faint dusting of some purple dust. It wafts slowly off, rolling down the horse's flanks and seeming to numb it. The animal thrashes a bit less as the spore-cloud works.

The horseman starts trying to free himself, wriggling around to reach his sword, but Darkwing's rope is making it hard. If he could roar, he would. He has no mouth, so he cannot scream (in rage)!]

Don't touch that stuff, Darkwing, it'll slow you down.

[flapsin]

[Darkwing pushes a webbed foot into the horseman every now and then to further disorient him so that he can't focus completely on trying to thwart his tying.]

What stuff? [He blinks, but then he notices the purple spores.] Oh, that stuff! It really does match my aesthetic, but - sure. No touchy!

[With that, Darkwing's gotten the rope completely around the horseman! And now he tries to tie as tight a knot as he can manage!]

Sorry buddy, but you're not heading anywhere!

[cameprepared]

Ha! Good j-What?!

[The rope is good, but Claire cuts off mid sentence as the Horseman's whole body starts to fuzz at the edges. The rope drops entirely falling upon the horse as the rider flows away, transformed into mist.]

What the hell? Did you know he could do that?!

[flapsin]

[Darkwing was suddenly securing a rope around nothing! So he ends up stumbling forward and faceplanting onto the horse's back. He grunts the obvious response.]

As a matter of fact, I did not! [A beat.] Where'd he go?

[cameprepared]

I...thought the Headless Horseman was some guy who got his head shot off. Not a ghost.

[The horse, slowed by the spores, sinks down into a seating position. And...not far away the Horseman appears, holding up a sword.]

Darkwing, duck! He's behind you.

[Heh.]

[flapsin]

I guess sometimes you get some overlap when it comes to the undead!

[Darkwing says that as he rises up. At least the horse isn't moving! But then her warning registers, after a half-second when he thinks she's just calling his name, and he quickly ducks under a swing.]

Yikes! Guess you want to dance again, huh? [Now hopping along the horse's back, he eludes the horseman's next strikes while he tries to think of a new strategy!]

[cameprepared]

Geez, he's persistent! I'll...slow him down!

[Claire is not much of a sword-fighter. She's learned a little bit from Chris here, but she's an amateur at best. And her gun isn't really useful with Darkwing so close. Options being limited by the Horseman's lack of vision, she does the one thing open to her: Stall for time.

The Horseman's shadow ripples as she raises her hand, using that to bind his arm a little. It won't stop swings, but it'll give Darkwing a bit more breathing room as they're slowed.]

[flapsin]

Great! Thank you. That.. that's something!

[With one arm bound, it's definitely making it easier for Darkwing to maneuver around. But now, he needs something more. Something that can end this fight! He frowns as he considers his options.]

This might be a little bit risky, but... I'm going for it!

[With that, he lays his hand on the horseman and sets his siphon magic into motion! He tries to drain some of the enemy's evil energy to weaken it!]

[cameprepared]

[The Horseman's movements slow even further! It does seem to be working, now. Clever, clever, dodge the cleaver because his swings are growing more erratic and less focused as he gets desperate.]

Whatever you're doing, keep it up! It's...getting easier to hold him!