October Quests and Open Log [open]

[amakakeru]

🧙 WHO: Rider (Sakamoto Ryouma) and you!
⚔️️ WHAT: Quests, naps in questionable places, etc.
🕒 WHEN: October
🗺️ WHERE: various
⚠️ WARNINGS: none so far, check thread headers for specifics



[ 1. Don’t Lose Your Head ]

[ A black horse with a rider in white on its back patrols the area where volunteers are dealing with cleanup. It’s a bit upsetting to see the aftermath, but someone needs to protect them as they do their work. The dead deserve a respectful end as much as anyone else.

The thundering of hooves snaps him to attention and he tugs on the reins. It can only be the Headless Horseman. Ryouma abhors violence, however there is a time and a place for it. Used in the defense of others, it’s a powerful tool. One hand on the reins, the other draws the sword at his side. ]

Get out of sight!

[ A call to any volunteers that were nearby and, if there’s anyone else helping to chase off the horseman, he looks to them with a little smile. ]

Ready? If you flank while I charge, we should be able to force a retreat.

[ 2. Any Port in a Storm ]

[ Ryouma is still getting used to a human body and human needs. The most difficult thing to get used to again is the need for sleep. He keeps odd hours at the best of times, so naps are generally how he copes.

The problem is the locations he chooses for these naps. Naps are best taken indoors in a bed or on a chair or a couch, not on a bench somewhere or under a tree or slumped over on a cafe table. You may find a surprisingly well-dressed man in a dark blue shirt and white slacks, sometimes with a hat over his face sometimes still on his head, asleep in any number of places in the city. He’s surprisingly hard to rouse from his sleep and seems more annoyed than embarrassed when he’s woken up. ]

Mm…What? Is there a problem here? [ He yawns and stretches, rubbing at his face. ] What time is it, anyway?

[ 3. Wildcard ]

[ Got an idea? Drop me a starter or PM me here or on discord glitzkrieg#0673 and we can work something out! ]

Comments

1

[catfax]

Are you sure?

[ Izutsumi, for her part, looked a little doubtful. The headless horsemen she'd encountered were implacable spirits, meaning they were a massive pain in the ass -- yet this man sounded sure. And he didn't sound like he was planning to try and kill it, so...

Oh, well. What had hesitation ever gotten her? So she darted forward, a dark shape with a flash of white, hurling some projectile into the horseman's pauldron so as to draw its attention away from a retreating NPC. ]

[amakakeru]

[ He isn't sure, but when did that ever stop him? At least he's sure on horseback, more so now then ever that he knows he can talk to it and understand it in turn. Ryouma urges his horse forward with a shout.

Izutsumi's projectile is enough to redirect the horseman's attention. Instead of going after the mounted rider, he goes after her instead. Ryouma leans down, forcing his horse to go faster to cut off his charge. It's dicey whether or not he'll make it in time. ]

[catfax]

[ Well, no point in doubting now, was there? Not with a ton of horseflesh and armor after her.

At this point was where most adventurers would try to juke left or right, maybe try and open things up with a little fiery explosion or two if they knew their magic. Izutsumi's escape route took her upward instead, her somersault as graceful as a true cat's. The creature's steed was still charging full steam ahead, but Izutsumi was touching safely down on its rump, behind its daunting rider.

Her knife was a quick flash at the reins, slicing through the bit of leather line on one side. She didn't know what this particular headless horseman was made of, but why not gum up control of his horse? ]

[amakakeru]

[ How graceful her jump is catches Ryouma by surprise -- not that he doubted her whatsoever, more that he'd been expected a more conventional escape attempt. He smiles in admiration, giving her a little nod as he continues to put pressure on their foe.

Her little trick works like a charm, too, enough to make the horseman more than a little irate. He can't control his mount nearly as well with just one hand and now he has an extra body on board to deal with. His horse slows, pulling at the reins, the first sign of disobedience its show so far. The horseman twists in his saddle to swat at Izutsumi with his free hand.

Ryouma takes this moment to flank on his current blind side and strikes him hard and fast in the side with the hilt of his katana. ]

Jump on if you can!

[ He's putting a lot of trust in his own horse for this. ]

[catfax]

[ Whoops, time to jump ship! Or horse, as it were. She'd just have to hope that Ryoma's steed was trustworthy.

Izutsumi flipped her way out of the headless horseman's immediate reach, landing just behind Ryoma instead. One clawed arm reached out to steady herself against Ryoma's shoulder, though she'd had them long enough to remember not to dig in with them. ]

Look out!

[ The horseman swung his sword; even before the weapon came down, Izutsumi could hear the force behind the swing in the whistle of the air around it. ]

[amakakeru]

[ Ryouma has the benefit of animal magic to talk to it to keep it calm. There's barely so much as a pull on the reins from the horse as it takes on the extra passenger.

The problem now comes in that the horseman's sword is quite a bit heavier than his katana; it's not made to take that kind of force. He has his pistol, too, but that would mean relinquishing his grip on the reins to pull it out. He can trust his horse to go where it needs to go. It's the mindset he has to put himself into right now.

This is why he learned to fight at all, isn't it? Violence is okay when it's being used to protect others. That's what the point of this is. One shot should be enough to chase him off. ]

Cover your ears!

[ The sword comes down against the tsuba of his katana. He releases the reins and draws his revolver. A single shot rings out, aimed at the horseman's side. What damage it does really can't be said, but the sound of the gunshot alone is enough to make his horse rear up and, with the cut reins, he can't easily keep control.

Who knew the headless horseman could become the horseless headless horseman?

Ryouma's quickly to holster his pistol and regain control of his mount. No, they're not stopping, because he's still a problem with or without a horse. ]

[catfax]

[ While Izutsumi had done as bidden, the shot still came as a surprise. It was so loud, and unlike Marcille's explosions, it took place not a meter from her poor ears. ]

Augh!

[ She dropped from Ryouma's horse, only partially out of shock (the other part was not wanting to wait around in case he had another of those awful boomsticks about.) She landed in a patch of tall grass, lightfooted as you please.

There had been a metallic impact from the direction of the horseman, which she took to mean it had been hit... and yet it didn't seem much hurt. She figured this was due to it being some sort of spirit or other, for whom physical injury was little deterrent.

But she did notice one thing as the armored creature advanced on Ryouma again. There was a loop of something at its waist. While Ryouma had its attention, perhaps she'd take the opportunity to stalk up behind it and see if she couldn't lighten its load... ]

[amakakeru]

[ He at least has the advantage of being mounted. Even though the horseman isn't human, he's still slower than the relatively fresh horse Ryouma's on. He sees what Izutsumi is doing and tries his best to keep the creature's attention on himself.

The best way to do that is to taunt him. He gallops ahead of the horseman, cutting him off close and shouting as he passes him by. ]

Over here! Come get me!

[ Their foe's focus is solely on the Rider right now, so Izutsumi should have a good chance to do what she needs to do. ]

[catfax]

[ Quick as a cat, Izutsumi lunged for her prize, avoiding a distracted swat from the horseman's heavy sword as she rolled forward and past the creature. When she came up, there was a dark loop in her hands.

The horseman had hardly paid attention; it was now picking up speed as it marched toward Ryouma with singleminded purpose. Though it wasn't as fast as the horse, she had to wonder if it was capable of tiring.

Probably, she didn't want the answer to that question.

Izutsumi cocked her arm back, then let fly with the horseman's whip, for that was what her ill-gotten gain was. Even if they couldn't permanently remove the creature, perhaps they could at least contain it...! ]

[amakakeru]

[ Since it didn't retreat the way Ryouma expected it to, containing it is probably their best option. They just have to drive it into a corner...Or find a conveniently placed cage. It's not really a cage, per se, probably something used to transport goods -- doesn't matter. It's about the size of the creature and wide open.

The problem comes down to the distance. It's not too far away, all things considered, but any distance is too far when it's dealing with a supernatural beast. Ryouma starts to drive the horseman towards it, staying tight on his flank, his sword out once again just in case he needs to defend himself. The whip keeps him moving forward without a whole lot of options for escape...

Maybe this will work out. ]

[catfax]

[ This wasn't so bad, right? At least the creature's armor was solid, which meant that... uh, if the horseman was merely possessing the armor, it'd have to go naked if it wanted its freedom.

In theory. ]

Ugh, whatever! I don't want to think about weird theories!

[ The horseman seemed ill-inclined to take the full brunt of the whip, too, so that was progress! She just had to focus on the job at hand! ]

[amakakeru]

Huh?

[ What on earth is she yelling about? It's briefly distracting, enough that he almost gets struck by a wild swing from the horseman. A clang of metal-on-metal rings out as he narrowly blocks it and is forced to hang back for just a second.

It's not enough of an opening for their quarry to escape. Between her whipping and Ryouma corralling him, he ends up driven into the cage. ]

Quick, close it!