New Shadows in the Shroud (Semi-closed)

[Knight Kat]

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(((New Shadows in the Shroud: Oschon's Owls

Faction: Order of the Twin Adders

[[DM Post]])))

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Lieutenant Mossthorne, a tall Highlander man with graying hair, paced quickly through a Gridania road as the winds caught his Twin Adder coat, and blew parts of it about his form. A tiny mythril owl insignia glistened on his collar. He read an open parchment in his hands as he walked; an unwise thing to do, but he was accustomed to it. He was leader of Oschon's Owls, one of the Twin Adder's reconnaissance squads. He was always busy.

 

[align=center]The parchment read:

“Lieutenant Mossthorne, by authority of the sacred Elder Seed-seer Kan-E-Sena, you are hereby ordered to engage Oschon's Owls in investigative reconnaissance of the unidentified disturbance in the Twelveswood resulting in the deaths of two Wood Wailer patrols, one Gods Quiver patrol, five adventurers and two families of Moon-keepers.

 

You are hereby granted the authority to use any information gathered by Gridanian forces. You are also granted authority to acquire aid from all the guilds in the Twelveswood. However, since this is not yet considered an emergency matter, how much aid the guilds offer beyond the standard minimum is at their discretion. Use resources wisely. Your mission is to discern the cause of the unrest in the Twelveswood, and investigate any links the killings may have to the cause.”[/align]

 

Mossthorne lowered the parchment just as he reached a cottage-sized hut. His pace did not slow as he stomped up the Glade-style steps, and briskly opened the door; coming to a stop right inside to regard his squad.

 

Oschon's Owls, all casually strewn about the furnishings of the hut, suddenly stood to attention as they regarded their leader. There were four of them; two Hyur, one Elezen and one Lalafell. All were in uniform.

 

“Chief Sergeant Burke.” Mossthorne called out.

 

The Hyur man stepped forward. “Ser?”

 

“Contact the rest of the squad. I want you all to gather information regarding the recent unrest in the Shroud. We have authority now. Get reports from the Wailers, Quivers, Entwined Serpents and Adventurer's Guild. You have three bells to do this then meet me back here. I will explain more.” Mossthorne said curtly, but in a calm tone.

 

“Unres', ser?” Burke asked.

 

“There are unusual disturbances, Chief Sergeant. It is now our job to find out more. Get to it.”

 

“Ser!” Burke replied then saluted before he turned to the other three to begin giving orders. Mossthorne moved to take a seat at his glade desk. He opened up the parchment to read it once again. “Investigate unidentified unrest? We better get some damned ginger cookies for this.” Mossthorne muttered.

 

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Three hours passed, and Mossthorne called his squad to attention after their return.

 

Mossthorne's boots clopped against the creaky wooden floor as he took position in front of their line-up. His gloved hands moved to his waist as he regarded the six of them. Two Hyur from before, one Lalafell, two Elezen and a Moon-keeper.

 

“We have new orders. There have been killings, possible instances of Greenwrath and strange behavior from many different groups in the Shroud. The Elder Seed-seer herself wants us to investigate this. That is why I asked you all to gather the reports. Now, starting with reports from the Wood Wailers, what do you have?” Mossthorne asked the squad in his clear, commanding tone.

 

The Hyur woman stepped forth; her gaze steady and calm. “Corporal Attwood reporting, sir. I was the one sent to the Wailers. Other than the loss of their two patrols, they have found nothing, but are continuing to investigate.”

 

Mossthorne gave her a curt nod. “Very well. What of the Gods Quivers?”

 

Burke stepped forth at that moment. “I's the one who wus investigatin' dem ser. Roight bloody clueless they were. Naught more dan the Wailers I'ma 'fraid.” Burke blurted out. He was the second highest-ranking member of the squad, and it showed as Lieutenant Mossthone didn't seem to mind his candor.

 

“And the Adventurer's Guild?” Mossthorne asked, but no one else stepped up at first until the distracted Elezen man suddenly snapped his attention to Mossthorne.

 

“Oh, uh right... The glorified vagrant workers. I talked to a Bard who was attacked during an investigation into one of the adventurer deaths. He was only able to remember silhouetted figures that shot or threw metal projectiles at him, and one even cast lightning magic.” Said Sergeant Marat as his expression betrayed his boredom.

 

Mossthorne narrowed his eyes. The Owls were in his squad because they were skilled at what they did. However, he would not allow too much liberty. “Sergeant, it sounds like this could be our best lead. I doubt you failed to ask him for more details.”

 

Marat regarded the Lieutenant more directly. “He said it happened too fast. The figures were quick, moved through the brush and performed a great deal of jumping. He said he was struggling to survive their attacks, so he could not even tell if they were man or beast-man. He survived by using his magic music to employ what he called a 'swiftsong'.”

 

The other Elezen, a female Sergeant third class by the name of Hainaut, crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Am I the only one who thinks music during battle would be impractically difficult even if it is magic?”

 

Corporal Attwood turned her head to regard Hainaut. “Moogles use music during battle.”

 

“Moogles are strange, Corporal.” Hainaut responded.

 

“Cease the chatter.” Mossthorne blurted out; bringing the squad's attention back to him.

 

He regarded the squad for a moment before the Lalafell, Corporal Heriyo, stepped forth.

 

“Sir, I believe we are dealing with Garleans here.” He declared.

 

Mossthorne raised a brow as he gazed on the Lalafell. “This does not seem like Garlean tactics.”

 

Corporal Heriyo may have been low-ranking in the squad, but he was a transfer from the Maelstrom. He had different knowledge about Galeans since the ones in the Shroud had been kept at bay almost more by the forest rather than Gridanian forces. The peoples of La Noscea did not have that luxury.

 

“The Garleans have a new force called the Shadow regiment. They employ a whole different set of tactics. They use stealth, sabotage and ambush. It is their attempt to try and adapt to Eorzean battle tactics with limited resources on their end. Since we have a means of jamming Garlean communication in the Shroud, it makes sense for them to use Shadow units to scout the forest. Mayhaps in preparation for an invasion?”

 

Mossthorne raised his second brow, but as a highlander, it looked more like the widening of his eyes.

 

“That... Is not too bad of an assessment, Corporal. Instances of Greenwrath which the Garleans seem to cause even more than the damned Ixal, bandits and poachers becoming more aggressive which Garleans have been known to use as a diversion before -and- the motive for doing all this... However, we will not conclude this without evidence. Listen up, this is our plan.”

 

Mossthorne surveyed his squad as he paused. He then took a deep breath. “As much as I would like to split up and search, that could lead to ambush. We stay together. Best way to confirm if it is Garleans we are dealing with is to find and capture one of these units. We need to confirm if they are being deployed from the Garlean Castrum. If not, then mayhaps by airship or through the East. Finding out which units they are deploying will tell us for sure if we are dealing with their Shadows. We have a lot of ground to cover, so we will call for some support from the Adventurer's Guild.”

 

“Sir...” The previously quiet Keeper suddenly spoke up.

 

Mossthorne regarded her then nodded. “What is it?”

 

“Do you not want to know of what I learned from the Entwined Serpent guards?”

 

“Let me guess, nothing.” He said plainly.

 

The Keeper, Sergeant Mhuun, slowly nodded. “They said they have learned nothing as they have not officially launched an investigation yet.”

 

Mossthorne grew an amused smirk. “You see, Sergeant, our best lancers in Gridania, and they spend their suns standing around in the general vicinity of the Elder Seed-seer. Just bow to their almighty greatness and move on.” He said in a tone that might have been mildly sarcastic.

 

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One hour later, Sergeant Marat arrived at the Carline Canopy. He handed Miounne the leve requisition letter. She instantly knew what it was. “The Adders needing aid with the recent misfortunes, Sergeant?” She asked in her usual friendly tone, but her expression showed how tired she was.

 

Marat just gave her a curt nod then walked out. He knew his comment about the adventurers was what made Mossthorne order him to deliverer the letter. Miounne just watched him as he left then opened the letter to read the specifics. She let out a sigh when no one was looking. The situation was a mess. Just when she was starting to feel like the Twelveswood was regaining its former greatness...

 

Suddenly, she realized something; a clear idea sparked by a spontaneous remembrance. She quickly moved to one of her labeled drawers behind her massive desk-counter. It had been labeled with the insignia of a broad, ornate tree resting with some exposed roots upon a patch of ground. She pulled open the small drawer to reveal a large quantity of linkpearls.

 

“I haven’t distributed many, but it's a good place to start.” She said to herself as she smiled. Her fingers moved to pick up a single pearl, and examine it. “Matron, there are those who might save your crown.” She said silently in prayer to Nophica.

 

[align=center]((This is the introduction of a new upcoming plot that will take place primarily in-game. A Master post in the Balmung Events section of the forums with more info is coming soon. The primary LS used in this plot will be Nophica's Crown; created and mastered by Magellan (Lyra Blueflower). http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=10314 ))

 

((I will be the plot's primary DM. If you're interested in the plot, watch for the master post. It will tell everyone how they can get in on it.))[/align]