The Ride of the Pillager[[Open Roleplay]]

The Ride of the Pillager

Introduction
One of the things I noticed when I came back to the WoW forums this year was a distinct lack of actual RPs on the boards, and so; to not let us europeans be outdone by our american counterparts, I have decided to start this open Roleplay!

The plot summary so far:
Your character has come along on the journey of a Kul Tiran ship named the ‘pillager’ on a secretive expedition to the jungles of Zuldazar, whatever your reasons or motivation. The explorer’s league has issued great rewards for the retrieval of certain relics and artifacts, and a Void Elf by the name of Mahli’ficia Darkstar has been appointed to lead the League’s party in the expedition.
In short; get the treasure while avoiding losing your head to trolls or being eaten by the big dinos!

There are a few very simple rules to follow.

  • No godmoding.
  • Stay within what’s reasonable within the lore. We are not elitists, but we do draw the line at your half-twilight dragon queen ninja cyborg.
  • Your character can die. Keep that in mind before trying to fist fight a dinosaur!
  • And most importantly: Remember to bring a good and positive attitude as a player! ^^

Also, I will create a dedicated OOC thread for this Roleplay. Post all OOC messages there to avoid clutter in this thread. Link below to OOC thread.

https://eu.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/ride-of-the-pillager-ooc-thread

Everyone is free to join! This is primarily an Alliance roleplay however, so if you have a Horde character, you will have to come up with an idea for how you will play. I am planning for this RP to have about 3-5 active players, but I will allow for more in the beginning as some people might drop off.



                            Arrival

Beneath the tall, white cliffs and the sprawling green jungle above could be seen a mighty Kul Tiran warship resting in the crystal clear waters of the western Zuldazar shoreline, its huge size and sails hidden from view by the steep cliffs surrounding it on either side.

The battleship was named ‘The Pillager’, boasting more than a hundred guns across its many decks, and lead by a Kul Tiran Captain by the name of “Blackteeth” Bellowsworth, who was said to have never stepped on land for the last 20 years, and to not have been sober for just as long. With the navigational skills of her Kul Tiran crew and the illusionary magic of the Alliance battle mages aboard, it had sailed into the waters of Zuldazar undetected in the black of night, and now in the early morning hours was unloading her peculiar cargo. A cargo of men and women.

The Pillager’s primary mission had been to safely deploy a group of Si:7 operatives into the jungle of Zuldazar along with any necessary supplies. The Si:7 operatives had wasted no time, having vanished into the thick of the jungle almost as soon as the Pillager had dropped its anchor. Yet its large cargo holds had also allowed her to bring a collection of more uniquely interested parties. Mercenaries, adventurers, archeologists or mystical wizards and sorceres pursuing their own esoteric goals; whether for gold, adventure or general revenge on the horde.

They all had been given three days to do whatever they wanted in Zuldazar by the Captain. Those who were not back by the third morning would be left behind.

A small encampment had formed on the bright sands of the beach before the ship. Beneath the clear blue skies and a scorching morning sun, the rugged Kul Tiran marines were busy at work setting up security in the form of cannons, fortifications and buried mines. This was for the most part just regular procedure, as it was well understood that if they were discovered, the mission would be scrapped. A few masked Alliance battle mages could be seen moving about in their hoods and gilded armor as they cast their rituals and wards around the beachhead, to protect it from magical scrying or other supernatural influences.

In the middle of the hustle and bustle however could be seen a lone tent with a Void Elf, sitting cross legged and leaning back in a sleek chair with a chalice of water in hand as she watched the commotion around her with a pair of shimmering but impatient eyes. She was clad in an intricately decorated and regal attire, yet on her facial expression was a less regal look as she gazed around with clear look of impatience.

“This heat is almost not helping my patience… !” She groaned with irritation, as a fan was moving up and down next to her; seemingly held aloft in thin air as it worked to cool her down.
“This was meant to be a group effort, but at this rate, I am half tempted to animate some of the furniture. At least that would at least furnish me with a team.”

She was Void Sorceress Mahli’ficia Darkstar, and the chief contact person with the Explorer’s League’s interests who had arranged for her part of this expedition. If her mission was a success, there was a potentially huge payment of gold upon her return to Ironforge. Yet, the fact she had seen none of her other supposed teammates made her worry.

“They better not have bumbled their way into the jungle already… if so I might just take the Captain up on his offer of drink for the rest of this ‘journey’.” She muttered to herself, as Mahli’ficia’s eyes scanned the wandering Kul Tiran sailors and marines, as well as the assortment of adventurers outside of her tent.

" … Please don’t force me to put up a sign… " She sighed, casting a tiny blizzard spell above her chalice to cool it down.

Quickly Lareen decents from The Pillager, clearly displeaced
‘‘Dear lord… I never truly will ever understand these damned ships, they might hold out in the High Seas, but they are just so dusty and untidy. It disturbs me…’’

Then she looks at her diary, clearly looking for her objective
‘‘What was I here to do again…? Oh yeah! Help with the surveing of some dusty old damned ruins… Well, I guess I could gather some rare herbs while I’m here… Who knows? Maybe there’s some great wine reagents here? I guess I could go and report in? Who even is the nearest most high ranking official here?’’

Then Lareen spots Mahli’ficia’s tent, and Mahli’ficia herself
‘‘Well, she looks like the fanciest here to me. Might as well try…’’

Lareen walks into the tent, and tries to report in:
‘‘Why, hello there. It says here that I’m supposed to report in before I can go anywhere, and you look the most official here to me. I am Lareen. I’m here to help with some possibly needed surveying here and there, being an enemy filled area, I’ve heard that it isn’t completely mapped out yet. And possibly do some flower picking runs here and there for myself, I’ve heard that Zuldazar houses some plants with possible magical properties.’’

The frown that had been lingering on the Void Elf’s face would turn into a neutral expression as Mahli’ficia raised a curious eyebrow at the gold-branded Draenei that approached her beneath her tent.

Mahli’ficia’s own attire was by no means modest or humble, but its darker and violet colors certainly lacked the flashiness of the Lightforged Draenei that had just approached her!

“Bal’a dash, Lareen.” Mahli’ficia greeted Lareen with a soft smile.
“My name is Mahli’ficia Darkstar. I am guessing you are part of the Explorer’s League, in which case, I am your person. I intend for us to leave this beachhead in a few hours as soon as the rest of our incognito teammates have decided to show up.”

Mahli’ficia explained; and with a brief arcane gesture and short magical utterance; she would conjure a shimmering prismatic glass in front of Lareen before gesturing towards the water jug on the table.

“And you are quite right! Zuldazar hosts a staggering array of ingredients that are rare on the mainland, but the main reason we are here is what lies in a temple about a day’s walk deeper into the jungle.” Mahli’ficia continued with a smile, whilst tilting her head slightly to the side as if studying Lareen.

“… but while we wait for the others to eventually show up, why don’t you tell me about yourself, Lightforged? What is your role and specialty?”

Lareen looks at her diary for a moment before giving a swift response:
‘‘Well, I’m mainly here to help with the surveying of the place, be it for the ruins or just basic ‘‘mapping of’’ Zuldazar itself for possible future purposes. On top of that, I’m here, like I said, to do a few herb runs for some people back in Kul’tiras and myself. As for my speciality…’’

Lareen is in deep thought for a moment:
‘‘As a former mage, I know my ways around some magic. And as I have also practised Archaeology with the Army of the Light for a few hundred years, let just say, I might know how to properly integrate the two. Magic will make thing a tad bit faster around here, but not too much faster. And I guess I can concoct something from the herbs around here if an emergency would be to happen, but I won’t quarantee masterfulness when it comes to my concoctions’’

Teknetia steps off the boat, a smile on his face and hands on his hips as he looks around at the Jungle before him.

“Yes.” he said to himself “This is the place. Bowser, Hati!” Teknetia whistles, signalling his companions to follow.

A tortoise comprised more of fire than flesh and a Wolf enveloped with electricity follow Teknetia down from the boat.

“Let’s go hunting.”

Teknetia takes 1 step before standing in what appears to be ‘Dino Droppings’.

“Oh for Light’s sake, not again!”

Teknetia stands on one leg as he looks at the bottom of his right hoof. He then looks around for a moment for something to clean it with. Seeing the tent nearby, he hops over to it to wipe his hoof one one of the pegs keeping it attached to the ground. Whilst doing this he looks up to notice both the Void Elf and Lightforged Draenei staring at him causing him to immediately stop. He stands there for a moment with a look of shock on his face as he realises they’d been watching him the whole time. He lowers his leg slowly before speaking.

“Ah… erm… yes, hello, my name is Teknetia, I’m here for the expedition? I believe I’m your animal expert for this mission.”

‘‘Animal expert, eh?’’
Lareen chuckles
‘‘Well, you certainly made a well first impression on me.’’
Lareen turns to Mahli’ficia
‘‘So, If I may ask, how many people we’re expecting for this journey of ours?’’

Mahli’ficia takes a long moment to simply peer towards Teknetia, her shimmering cyan eyes narrowing on the Draenei. In that moment, there were two distinct thoughts running through the head of the Ren’Dorei.

First, she was happy that this tent did not belong to her.

And second, she was going to let Teknetia walk a good way in front of the group when tracking!

“Bal’a Dash, Teknetia.” Mahli’ficia nods with a smile from where she sat in the chair towards Teknetia.
“My name is Mahli’ficia Darkstar. And if it is the Explorer’s League expedition that you are referring to, then you have come to the right elf.”

Mahli’ficia explains, before she cocks her head slightly to the side as her eyes narrow on the Draenei’s hoof. The morning sun of the jungle had caused the temperature to become baking, making it feel like an oven even in the shade of the tent. And the warm temperature did do nothing good to ameliorate the smell of the creampie their hunter had dragged with them!

“I can see that you have already started seeking out the tracks. Although there is no need to rush, we will be here for a few hours more. We have a job before we leave.”

‘‘So, If I may ask, how many people we’re expecting for this journey of ours?’’

Mahli’ficia then turns her head towards Lareen’s question, peering up at the taller Draenei.

“To be fair, I do not have the numbers. As many as will show up. And you said you dealt with alchemy? Our team still needs a doctor or a healer. You don’t suppose you can have a batch of healing, antivenom or general cure potions ready for us when we leave? People have a tendency to fall sick or down a cliff during these jungle trips.”

Abilgail Dangerbeard sets foot ashore carrying a backpack full of supplies and an especially sunny mood. She takes a moment to breathe in the scent of the jungle ahead of her and to scan the area for the team of supposed specialists she is to accompany.

Quickly concluding that the one leading the expedition is probably Mahlificia she confidently strides towards the Void Elf and drops her backpack in front of the woman. She takes a moment to eye the elf up and down before lazily saluting her.

“Abigail Dangerbeard. Reconnaissance, infiltration, sabotage and demolition. Best not touch that backpack. There’s enough gear in there to give the Zandalari a little taste of the Cataclysm if need be.”

Contrasting sharply with the Elf and the Lightforged Draenei, Abilgail’s outfit has little flash or decoration. Sturdy leather armour covers her body and her weapons, a large hammer, a long knife and a sawn-off shotgun, and tools are safely tucked away in the various holsters on her belt. The only visible decoration on the Dwarf are the runic tattoos on her right side, down from the neck all the way to her fingers.

Wasting no time, the Dwarf continues: “Not that we’re here for the war, of course.”

Lareen eyes the dwarf
‘‘An expert in explosives then?’’
Lareen leans down to whisper Abigail
‘‘Meet me when you get the chance, I might very well have a… side job for you, there’s some gold in it of course.’’

Lareen rises up, once again facing Mahli’ficia
‘‘Antivenom and general cure potions? Should be simple enough. I presume I have the permission to set up my Alchemy Station, then?
It should only take a hour.’’

“Best not touch that backpack. There’s enough gear in there to give the Zandalari a little taste of the Cataclysm if need be.”

There was a pause as Mahli’ficia raised an eyebrow at the innocuous backpack slumped promptly at her feet. With her fingers resting together in front of her, she gave the dwarf named Dangerbeard a long, deadpan look.

" … yet you dropped it right in the middle of us… ?"

The Void Elf asked, with a tone of apprehension in her voice. However; pushing the mental image of the tent suddenly exploding and wiping out the entire party before they had even begun on their journey out of her head; she decided to continue instead.

“The gesture is appreciated but the salute is unnecessary, Abigail. We are not a military unit, and this is technically a private mission. Granted, Zuldazar is not exactly a tourist destination either, so expect fighting. And since you are a demolitionist, remember that our goal is to remain undetected by the natives.”

Mahli’ficia then gave a nod towards Lareen. “Of course. Just do it at a safe distance.”

The Void Elf said, pointing at a storage tent some 100ft away from their tent; before turning to peer back at Teknetia and Abigail.

“We are likely to spend one to two days out in the thick of the jungle. I presume you all brought any necessary supplies… ?” She asked, letting the question hang in the air as she watched both Dwarf and Draenei.

" … yet you dropped it right in the middle of us… ?"

Abigail Dangerbeard mirrors Mahlificia’s pause, including the raised eyebrow, even tapping lightly against the backpack with her foot.

“And yet I dropped it right in the middle of us.”

She pauses for a brief moment, perhaps to make an estimation of what might be going on inside the Void Elf’s head or maybe even for dramatic effect. She puts on a friendly smile and continues.

“Look, it’s not going to wipe the expedition out unless I set it off, so don’t worry yourself about that. Just making sure none of you jokers decide to have a look inside the bag and -do- cause trouble. Trouble meaning an explosion.”

She picks the backpack up again, beginning to turn towards the storage tent.

“Don’t worry yourself too much about the loudness. You’ll be grateful to have me when it comes to clearing out rubble, collapsed tunnels or, who knows, maybe making ourself a new exit in case we need to get out in a hurry. Oh, and you’ll find that I am well-supplied on all fronts, not just the kind that goes -boom-. Got enough on me to last me a week should the whole expedition go belly-up.”

With that said, she continues nonchalantly walking towards the storage tent, nodding at Lareen as she passes the Lightforged Draenei.

‘‘Alright, I think I’ve got the supplies in my backpack’’
Getting the permission to set up her alchemy station, she quickly hurried a few ten feet close to the storage tent, away from putting everyone else in danger if something were to happen there.
‘‘Alright, that goes there, and that goes there. Hmm… Well here’s my Alembic, I’m going to need that first.’’
‘‘Oh yes! And the crucibles! I will be needing those…’’

After taking up a few key tools for Alchemy from her backpack and setting up a tent for it, everything was set up
‘‘Alright… Now it just needs to fire up a bit before I can start using it’’
‘‘I guess, I could wait for the dwarf now, she seemed to be interested in the offer.’’

“Duly noted, dwarf. I think your abilities will be ideal for this task.” Mahli’ficia said with a nod as the shorter dwarf walked off to follow Lareen, before the Void Elf turned to gaze around.

“That seems to be about everyone we are going to get.” Mahli’ficia muttered to herself, as she was left alone in the tent with only Teknetia; her cyan eyes moving across the the camp around them on the beach, yet there did not seem to be any further adventurers approaching them.

And so, she leaned back, and waited.

Yet no more than an hour later, both Lareen and Dangerbeard could hear the enchanted voice of Mahli’ficia suddenly conjured up behind them!

Lareen, Dangerbeard; return to my tent and bring your combat kit. We have an urgent task that we need to deal with before we can launch the expedition~” The incorporeal voice spoke, before Mahli’ficia cancelled the spell, turning her attention towards Teknetia.

“That goes for you too, Teknetia. I need you in a light and quick combat load.” The Void Elf instructed, before she suddenly cocked her head to peer with a curios look towards Teknetia, and then towards his elemental beasts.

" … are your beasts comfortable with portal magic, by the way?"

Hearing the sudden call to action, Lareen quickly scribbles a note detailing the side mission she has for Abigail
‘‘Ahh, damn… Alright…’’
Having made already a batch of antivenom, she packs it up with along a spell book and some equipment
‘‘Time to g…’’
Lareen noticed Dangerbeard non-chalantly walking towards Mahli’ficia’s tent, hurrying up next to Abigail, she passed the note she wrote earlier to her
‘‘Remember that this is optional, I just might have a few guys paying a few thousand for it. The intel I got states that the Venture Company is here in a small force, mining Azerite, the guys paying me for this job want to get to that Azerite. That would mean basicly blowing up their encampment out of the way. Don’t worry about killing the fellas, I already have someone to do that. The encampment is to the north, a short walk away, from the ruins we’re heading to. ~Lareen’’
After passing the note to her, she quickly entered Mahli’ficia’s tent, while greeting Mahli’ficia

As Mahlifici, Dangerbeard and Lareen are talking, they may feel deathly chill and rotten stench of undeath behind them. Suddenly, inside the tent, emerges a tall, and bulky worgen, clad in dark armor, death magic surrounding his form. He approaches the trio and looks at them with his glowing, dead eyes and flashes a toothy grin before taking a polite bow and speaking with hollow, cold voice:

“Seems we arrived. Quite interestin’ this place is aye?”

He looks at the three and bows once more.

“Nice meetin’ ye all. Name’s Gilrom. Lookin’ forward to workin’ with ye.”

It was the smell she noticed first.

The sickly sweet scent of a dead dog baking in the sunscorched beaches of Zuldazar. And when Mahli’ficia turned her head around to look, what she saw was not much different, except more bipedal and much more armored.

And in the 30 degrees temperature, the smell was made all the worse!

"So he was the cause of the stench aboard the ship… " Mahli’ficia thought to herself.

“Bal’a dash, Gilrom. You arrived just in time. My name is Mahli’ficia Darkstar, Void Sorceress and leader of the Explorer’s league interests here.” Mahli’ficia said with a smile, suppressing the urge to cover her nose. With a gesture towards her levitating fan, it instead started fanning towards the worgen death knight, as if to attempt to push his stench out of the tent!

“These are your teammates; Lareen and Teknetia. We have a dwarf too, but she is outside.” The Void Elf said as she gestured towards the two Draenei in the tent, before peering towards Gilrom.

“While I have my suspicions, why don’t you tell us about your skill set? This is a jungle expedition with a lot of travel and potential encounters with beast and troll alike~”

Dangerbeard carefully steps into the tent, her face and arms painted to better blend into the surrounding jungle. Visible weapons include her hammer, a long knife, a sawn-off shotgun and a vicious looking claw on her left hand. She grimaces as she sees, and smells, her new companion.

“Aw, I was hoping this one would go with the Seventh.”

She nods a greeting at Mahlifica and rests her hand casually on the hilt of her hammer.

“So, about this little task…”

‘‘Ughh, that stench is unbearable…’’
Lareen turns around to find the source of the stench
‘‘Oh… Undead… I should have guessed… I hope we can trust you’’
Lareen’s expression darkens as she turns back around to Mali’ficia

"Very well, here is our first mission~ "

Mahli’ficia begins whilst waiting for the death knight’s answer, before rising up from the chair at Dangerbeard’s question and walking towards the edge of the tent. From there, she would gesture towards one of the large cliffs surrounding The Pillager. The cliff rose more than 100 meter up into the air above the water, and a thick carpet of dense jungle could be seen on top of it; about 700 meter away from where they stood in their tent.

“Atop that hill are six trolls, presumably scouts. They have been watching our landing since we arrived this morning. Fortunately, the Si:7 operatives that entered the jungle this morning were kind enough to kill their messenger for us.”

The Void Elf explained as she stepped back into the tent with a smile on her lips.

“Now the good thing is that they do not know what happened to their messenger, or that we know where they are. It is likely only a question of time however before even their troll brains figure out their messenger went missing, and send a new one, and so we will have to eliminate them before that. And since they are likely to flee the moment we try to approach them, I have devised a teleportation circle earlier this morning that will send you immediately atop the hill with them.”

Mahli’ficia moved over towards an area of the tent covered with a carpet. With a gesture towards her levitating fan, it dropped itself onto the chair; before the carpet was suddenly pulled away, revealing an intricate but currently dormant teleportation circle at the party’s feet.

“Your objective will be to kill every last one of them. Not one of them must escape. Speed is crucial, as is subtlety, so avoid any noisy, flashy spells or explosions that can be heard from far away. These are simple trolls, so expect them to be lightly equipped and quick on their feet. Their main weapon will likely be throwing spears, which pack quite a punch at short to medium range; but also expect poisons and possibly even lesser voodoo magic at worst. When you are all ready, I will activate the teleportation circle. Any questions?”

Mahli’ficia asked at the end as she cast an expectant look towards the unique group that was gathered in her tent, pausing before adding.

" … also, if anyone have any phobias or issues related to teleportation or portal magic, now is the time to speak up~"

‘‘So… A stealth mission? I do believe I have a dagger somewhere in here…’’
Lareen digs up from her backpack not a dagger, but a sword
‘‘Well… Not what I was exactly expecting, but I think I can still manage with this. I’m ready whenever the others are, oh and I think I’m ready to heal some minor spear induced cuts with what I have, if need to be.’’