The night passes uneventfully, and the next day dawns bright a welcome change from the gloom that you've had for some time. As you all sit around enjoying a pleasant breakfast, one of the women on the caravan runs up to you all, clearly upset "Help!! My little boy wandered into town and we're too afraid to go in after him. Its a ghost town, I swear, no lights were on during the night nor have there been any sounds, not even of animals as the sun broke."
Jumping to his feet, Jax grabs his musket, clearing the barrel with one quick action, before loading it once more. Looking to Valen, Jax arches an eyebrow. "Boss?"
Torque keeps his voice calm and even
"Keep calm, Ma'm. We'll fetch him out. What is his name? Could you give a decription of him?"
Jax nods softly, checking over his gear slowly and methodicaly. "We'll get em!"
Valen nods. "Good thinking Torque."
With a shrug and turning to Acune, Valen shakes his head. "Who'd come in after us should something happen? To go in with only a few would be an incredibly bad idea. But at the same time, all of us going in and leaving the caravan alone would be bad as well." Pausing for a moment and stroking his chin, Valen finally speaks. "Miri, Torque, and Fury stay here. The rest of us will go in to search for the boy. Fury, if we're not back before an hour after midday I want you to pack up and head out. You don't look back and you continue on to Varisia. Questions?"
Jax pauses for a moment, cursing his promise to Valen, to stop arguing with him over everything. "Fine... I will do as you say. But I better not need to!"
"Does anyone have a horn or bell that could be used to signal for help? Is there such a thing somewhere on the caravan?"
The woman settles down some at your comforting words and promises her son will be safe "He's only four years old, he was playing with one of the dogs and both of them are now gone. He has sand colored hair and was wearing a blue shirt. The dog is one of those playful, excited types. I'm sure if you find one, the other won't be far behind. "
There is indeed a small church tower visible in the town, so that could be a meeting spot.
"Find the dog, and we find the boy. Gotcha!" Nine Tail pulls down his fox mask and jogs out to take point.
Frowning softly, Jax clears his musket before loading it once more and moving to take a position on top of a nearby wagon. Turning to face the village, he sits there, gun resting across his knees, his forehead creased in concentration.
Nodding and looking at Torque and then Fury, "Should there be any trouble we'll ring the bell," turning to the rest of the group, "everyone ready?"
From up the trail, "Yip-Yip"
"You come back ya hear? You do not want me in charge. Ill break in to peoples houses while they are sleep and wreck up the place. Better be here to keep me in line!"
"Your threats are slowly escalating, Fury. Soon you'll be promising to sell children's organs to zoos for meat"
"Good luck, boss. Best make it quick."
Chuckling, "If you do break into people's house be sure to break their pots. A lot of people store their money in there you'll make millions quickly. Although, I'm not sure why they do it." Then turning to Torque and clapping a hand on his shoulder and smile crossing Valen's face, "Trust me, I have no intention of staying in there any long that I have to." Finally, glancing over everyone he turns to the assembled group, "Alright team, let's move out and find this woman's young lad." As he and the rest of the group leave Valen weaves his hands in various magical gestures and whispers. A faint blue glow outlines his form for a few moments and then fades.
The group enters the town, and its quickly evident that either nobody lives here, or they are incredibly good at hiding their presence. To call it a ghost town would be an understatement. There's no tracks to show anybody's walked or rode through town, no sounds to indicate a working town, and definitely no people out and about.
You also currently see no sign of the little escapee or his furry friend.
"Anyone see anything? Nine-tail, you're good at tracking. Can you find anything?"
Back at the camp and without much else to do, Torque climbs up onto the wagon where Fury is keeping watch.
"Where did you get that firearm from anyway? Alkenstar is a long, long way from here. Is someplace else building them now?"
Jax laughs softly as Valen walks away, shaking his head with a grin with a sigh. 'Damn Mage better come home!'
As Torque hops up beside him, Jax grins, tossing the man a water skin and an apple, before turning back to stare out over the camp once more.
"Well that is a strange story really... I have not been to Alkenstar no. I..." He frowns a moment, scratching the back of his neck, as he looks down at the weapon lying in his lap. "I travelled the River Kingdoms as a young man and came across an old man from Alkenstar... He helped me, and I him. In a way... In a way he was my mentor. He thought me how to keep a weapon, how to build what I need. He thought me everything I know today about making and maintaining this weapon. But not how to shoot... No. That I learned elsewhere!" He nods softly, trailing off, keeping watch over the camp.
"Well strike me down. I studied under a wanderer from Alkenstar as well. Alk was his name. He is the one who invented all the arcane machines I carry - I just build them to his schematics. I'll tell you this for free - if I was given a choice between going home to Rahadoum and travelling to Alkenstar, I'd be bound for those mana wastes without a second thought."
Jax laughs softly. "Star was the name of mine own Master. And I happen to agree with you. If I had to choose between the River Kingdoms and Alkenstar, I'd head to the wastes. Perhaps we will need to some time. That would be interesting. Watch the others sweat without their powers and us flourish!" He grinned.
"Well... Apart from Gremm. Gremm doesn't really have any power. Unless you count being able to tear a mans head off. I do, as it happens!" Jax grins, taking a bite out of an apple, before staring around the Camp.
"The mana wastes would sadly shut down my machines as surely as they hamper the powers of the others. They shape arcane potential in the same way as...you know what, never mind"
"They're like your gun in one respect, though. You don't need magical ancestry or divine favour to get use out of them. I could hand this gauntlet to you and you'd have a good chance of getting it to work."
He grinned, turning to Torque. "I keep forgetting that about you. It must be annoying by now, considering how many hours of the day we spend together. Sorry about that brother. I remember the working of it now, well... As best as a man can, who is not actually acutely aware of any power in this world, beyond that of steel and gun powder!" He grinned, shaking his head softly.
"I am afraid I could not just hand this gun to you, and it would work. It is quite broken, as you see!" He holds up the musket, showing the battered weapon to the Artificer. "It seems only I have the knack to make this old dear work!" He grinned, patting the butt of the musket lovingly.
"Nah, not a problem. If you guys started working out how to do what I do you'd be liable to stop paying me. Come to think of it that gun does look a bit...unstable. I guess you know when to pull the trigger and when it's been jarred out of position? The exact measure of powder? The sound the hammer makes when it locks true and the sound it makes when it won't strike hard enough?"
Jax laughs softly, before nodding. "Well all of that yes. And one truly important thing. I believe..." He nodded softly, patting the gun.
"I believe that every time I fire this weapon it is for the good of me and my band. That every time I fire this weapon it is a life or death situation and I need it to fire, right then, right how I mean it to. I believe in her and she treats me right. All she asks is I keep her clean and full!"
"If you can coax such a tempermental machine to shoot true, it would not be too much of a stretch to teach you to work on of these devices. Learn the basics of technomancy and I could build you a rig to make that gun hit as hard as a cannon."
"And in return, perhaps you could teach me to fire one of my own. I could use the punch that an alchemical cartridge gives"
Nine Tail sets to looks about to see if there is evidence that anyone might be about, especially children. Entering what might likely be a portal to a spirit world, he feels his senses heightened. From within his mask he scans for tracks and any sign of movement.
"Nine Tail, have you found anything?"
Valen, there is a aura of transmutation coming from the ground. You can't make out anything beyond that however. Its one of the more bizarre things you've ever seen, or heard of for that matter.
Nine Tails, you notice that there is some very faint footprints, but they fade away mid stride.
Between the two of you, you guys realize there is something very strange about this town, beyond just the fact that it supposedly just showed up out of nowhere.
Nine Tail stops to examine a small set of tracks. "It looks like the boy was here, but his tracks fade off to nothing...right about here. This may be the boundary of the Town's effect."
Studying the aura and the coming over to Nine Tails, Valen shakes his head. "Ok, I'm throughly confused. There's an aura of transmutation magic coming out of the very ground itself. Which is incredibly strange. Transmutation magic usually involves the changing of one thing to another. Such as turning earth to mud and vice versas. Chaning things or people into other things or people. But I've never seen it just permeate the land like this. I suppose the ground could have been changed to hide or get rid of any tracks one would leave. Lady Helena, you're knowledgable of the natural world. Have you ever heard anything like this?"
Jax nodded softly in thought, before offering his hand to the Artificer. "You teach me and help me to build a rig like yours and I will teach you to shoot and build a gun like mine. You have a deal!"
Torque shakes Fury's hand.
"I can tell you now, this band is really going to be something"
Helena shakes her head "Magic coming from the ground itself? I've never heard of such a thing. If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I'd think you were crazy. I mean, the only thing that comes close are ley lines. I suppose that could be what your sensing, but ley lines can't move, or be moved and I've never heard about any ley lines in this area"
Jax grins and nods, caressing the gun sitting across his lap. "You are damn right. We are already impressive but... With you teaching me to heal and fix and me teaching you to shoot... We are going to make a killing!"
Valen nods, scratching his head. "I suppose it could be one. But from all that I've heard of leylines they tend to be more powerful. This seems somehow....muted. I take a sample and see someone about it later. Nine Tail, is there a general direction that the trail seems to lead?"