Lawman

Thanks, because after some private chat with @Meraxa I was considering your suggested angle of mercs/adventurers. Would it be kosher to say they are a private investigators agency that have taken a contract put out by Ignatz authorities to assist in the investigation of the theft of the flame-burst fruits and help bring in the perpetrator?

Nice weather to be commuting to work today.

Oh, a question @supernal If firearms aren't a likely weapon the police in Ignatz might use, then do benders/elemancers wield some kind of implement that facilitates their abilities like how mages wield wands or staves? Or are we being faithful to its source of inspiration (I.e. The Last Airbender/Book of Korra) there and that element bending can only be performed with empty hands?

I could go back and do a retcon of my post, no problem.

TV tropes certainly agrees. XD https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SicklyGreenGlow https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GreenAndMean

I apologise in advance if this constitutes flame-baiting or harassment/abuse, but this is an example of what I mean by bait-y stuff that could be easily ignored on a forum, but if posted in a Discord chat would be literally screaming in everyone's faces whether they like it or not; to elaborate on my point earlier. If this post is in violation of the Code of Conduct, I apologise and I really don't have any hard feelings against the person who started said thread I linked, and would be only too happy if a staffer deletes this post.

I'm actually with @Die Shize on this one. One thing that makes Valucre stand out of all the sites I've either lurked or been a member on, is how active the OOC boards are. Based on my own experiences being a site admin elsewhere, I do notice that the OOC boards tend to dry up when a Discord chatroom is added. I personally think that one advantage of OOC boards over a Discord server is how stuff can be neatly categorised into threads and all - which allows me to ignore obvious bait/shitposts - something that is kinda hard to pull off in real-time chats. So my verdict on Discord would be - while it's helpful it's not a necessity for this site in my opinion.

"What!? Treachery!" Alice screamed in her thoughts as Argi told the investigators that he saw something, as her heartbeat began to pick up pace, throbbing so hard it felt like any moment it might explode within her chest as slowly her fingernails began to lengthen and curve into a wicked set of claws. Oh yes, let them check what's on board - she'd hoped that she could take this assignment without spilling any blood, but alas such was not to be. Until it turned out, that it was a brilliant diversion on the part of the young man. "Well, looks like we've got ourselves a lead," Takuma mused. "We should intercept her at the hospital before she skips town," his subordinate and understudy James chorused. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Moreau," the older investigator said with a smile. "Time to go." "Hey, thanks for the tip-off, traveller," James gave Argi a nod and a thumbs up. "You may not be from this town, but you certainly set a positive role model for the citizens of this fine city - we could use more folks like you. Now if you would excuse me, it's time the boss and I got busy - safe travels to you!" the detective remarked as he took off behind his mentor, the two investigators getting ready for what they believed would be a long day ahead of them. Alice would wait until the investigators were out of earshot and out of sight, before stifling a laugh. "You certainly pulled a fast one there, even I was taken by surprise there!" she beamed, patting her strongbox before taking a few deep breaths to steady her nerves. "So here you are, a country lad in the middle of a big city - but who'd have thought you're actually a lot more streetwise than you look?" she added, grinning broadly as she hoped that this would be the last of the hurdles they need to cross before she's safely out of town and beyond the jurisdiction of Ignatz authorities.

"Yeah, you probably heard of the Gaianists right?" Alice replied as Argi asked if she's in trouble. "Y'know, the local religion here... apparently they don't take too kindly to unnaturals," the cat girl pointed at the two men who were going around questioning locals. Well, it was a lie on her part - or rather, half a truth. While Gaians certainly do not take kindly on unnaturals, the men who were after her weren't part of the Gaian priesthood, but private contractors who were contracted to help the police in tracking her down for picking the Fire-Burst fruits as a non-resident of Ignatz and attempting to smuggle them out of town. Not that Argi should know any of these, of course. "I'm just a wandering merchant trying to peddle some stuff, but they clearly don't take kindly to my presence in this city," Alice remarked. "Tell them you didn't see nothing," she whispered as she kept her head low, as the two men approached Argi and his wagon. "Good day young man, I see you're not from around these parts?" The first man - a blue-eyed man in his late-30's with slicked-back black hair and dressed in a gray business suit - greeted Argi as he tapped on the side of his wagon. "Well, your garb and mode of transport were kind of a giveaway there," his partner - a man about a decade or so his junior with blonde buzz-cut hair and dressed in a plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans - added. "I hope you've enjoyed your time in this fine city; I am James Moreau of Black Rock Investigators, and that sharply-dressed gent next to me is my boss and mentor - Kuroishi Takuma." "We're a private investigators agency contracted by city authorities to assist in the investigation of a crime," Takuma remarked as he showed his credentials to Argi - official documentation signed by the chief of Ignatz's police department and bearing the seal of the police force which stated that agents of Black Rock Investigators are currently operating under a contract by the local police to assist in tracking down a criminal. "It was reported that an Outsider had illegally harvested fruit from the Flame-Burst trees, and our sources state that this is a prime suspect," he continued, retrieving a photo of Alice from his pocket for the young man to see. Albeit it was rather pixelated but there was no mistaking the redheaded cat girl. "Those Outsiders are nothing but trouble, aren't they?" James chimed in, crossing his arms - while the two men were clearly doing their jobs, the way the younger investigator addressed the cat girl as an 'Outsider' showed that it was no secret that he had a particular prejudice against those who came from outside realms, as if committing crimes was something that came naturally to them.

"Well imagine my shock!" Alice Prime exclaimed as the summoned doberman received yet another buff, this time causing them to grow an extra head - and taking yet another level in badass. "Shit!" Alice Gamma exclaimed as the three remaining two-headed canines unleashed their powered-up water cannons, rolling out of the way just in time to witness the hydraulic blasts punch right through the chassis of an abandoned delivery truck - having received yet another boost in magnitude they now possess a power comparable to an industrial-grade water cutter. "It won't be pretty if those things connect, nya," the cat girl remarked. "Hey, you missed, dumbasses!" she taunted, mimicking the sound of a dog growling(!) as she made a run for it, leaping onto the top of the truck before firing a shot into the air to further taunt the dobermans while flipping the bird with her other hand. "Keep em distracted, get them to cluster together so we can take em' out in one shot!" Alice Delta called out, the plan being for Alice Gamma to try to get the dogs to swarm around the damaged truck, and should they take the bait she would let loose with another pudding bomb aimed at the vehicle's fuel tank, looking to use a combination of the truck's explosion along with her own spell's explosion to take out the remaining canines in one fell swoop! "Heads up, incoming!" Alice Beta shouted to Alice Prime as the other trio of canines attempted to make dog food out of them, as Alice Prime would sidestep one of the dobermans as it attempted to tackle them, grabbing its hindlegs as it whizzed past, before performing a giant swing with the two-headed dog, using it to bat the other two canines out of the way before slamming it onto the pavement, which Alice Beta followed up by firing three shots into its torso near where the heart and lungs would be located, before Alice Prime attempted a coup de grace by jumping up and stomping hard on its spine. @Thotification @HollowCipher

"Mountains, you say?" Alice asked, her ears twitching slightly. And with that the cat girl would retrieve her phone from her coat's pocket to refer to a map of Terrenus. "I don't suppose by any chance you'd be heading northeast?" she wondered. At least when Argi revealed that he came from the mountains her initial assumption would be a mountainous region to the Northeast of Ignatz; she'd heard that the highlands were inhabited, but she'd never really seen any of the settlements there in person - since it wasn't as if she had any business there; but still... "I remember there's a rest stop along the road passing by the highlands to the Northeast, the road that connects Ignatz to Langley's Keep," Alice remarked, showing the map on her phone to Argi and pointing to the location she'd marked. "You can just drop me off at there, then continue on your way home." And with that the cat girl would send a message to her client, to update him on the progress of this assignment. "So, there... and I think we better make a break for it; there are some nasty people who don't want me around here," she remarked as placed her cargo onto Argi's wagon and jumped right in before pulling her hood over her head to keep her feline ears hidden. Right across the street were two men dressed in plain clothes, but the firearms kept in holsters strapped to their belts was all that Alice needed to know that they were most likely Ignatz's local law enforcement who'd caught wind of her escapades and have no doubt begun a manhunt as they went around showing photographs and questioning locals. And Alice knew that she'd have to make a move quick, before they realised that she was right under their noses!

"Oh..." now that was pretty dumb of herself to assume things, as Alice would soon realise. Turns out that the man brought there by Argi turned out to be a stranger - and wasn't close to him in any capacity. But apparently the young man felt driven to help regardless; as a gun for hire, this concept would be something that was rather foreign to the cat girl and for a while she would struggle to find that word used to describe the nature of his actions. What was it anyway? "...That's pretty altruistic of you," and so did Alice manage to find the word. As far as she was concerned, typically her motivations for doing things tend to boil down to the following - being incentivised by material rewards, to avenge a wrongdoing against herself or someone she cares about, or just because she felt like it, so needless to say, 'because it was the right thing to do' was a concept that while she'd heard of, it was something she had a hard time wrapping her mind around; since she could hardly imagine herself doing something without being motivated by either a monetary reward or the thirst for vengeance. But then again, she supposed - if people can do something because they felt like it, nobody says they can't choose to be nice because they felt like it, no? The street goes both ways - probably. "I think the world could certainly use more people who think like you," she nodded; this seigi no mikata (lit. Ally of Justice) funk is clearly not her thing... but she can certainly respect those who embody these ideals. "And right, all I need is a lift out of town - to wherever you're headed." Or in other words, the further she can get away from Ignatz's borders, the better.

"Alice Schrodinger, and don't worry, I don't bite," Alice replied to Argi's introduction. "Well, pardon me for my... straightforwardness, but you seem kind of upset that you couldn't follow that man into the hospital... a loved one, I take it?" she wondered. "That's why I thought, perhaps if I help you out you could then help me out in return?" the cat girl asked. "I could watch your wagon for you so you can spend whatever time you need with him, and in return all I ask, is to be able to hitch a ride out of town," and with that Alice would tap on Argi's wagon, making an offer to watch over it for the young man so he could head inside to spend some time with what was presumably his loved one. "Well, this is going a little too smoothly, nya," Alice thought; her training and background have often taught her to expect the unexpected, and for complications to occur when one least expects it, so naturally when everything seems to be going according to plan was when she would start to get a little apprehensive, as her tail twitched left and right underneath her coat.