Mas Bagus

[Closed] Lost RPG

Hanging her duffle bag to dry on a nearby mangrove, Sonia finished her preparation by slinging a quiver containing a dozen of bolts and having her knife cleaned and sheathed. Wasting no time, it was time to depart, and they chose the path with less foliage blocking the way.

It was a standard single file formation, with Sonia leading the way, followed by the orange-dressed petite woman, who, after a few small talks claimed to be under the name of Verdant. And that was the only detail she would be willing to disclose. It went without saying that Sonia would respect the code of silence, for such was the customary amongst the traveler and adventurers alike.

Behind her was the female sailor, followed by the old Gideon and Ryland who regularly exchanged friendly remarks to each other. Sonia was too occupied to join their banter but preferred to have them keep breaking the ice. It was good to keep the mood stayed positive.

The forest was thick and the terrain was deceivingly uneven the party had to regularly adjust their path accordingly. Sometimes Sonia had to climb up a tree or use twigs and stones to determine their direction, and they kept moving to the south.

Judging from the height of the sun, one hour have passed since the exploration started, and nothing seemed out of ordinary. There were few signs of water erosion on the ground, and this path must be part of a small river when it rains.

Sonia glanced over at her party members. "look alive everyone! The spring can't be that far."
@spiral origin

[Closed] Lost RPG

"...I'll do my best."

The handshake was brief, but from such a simplest of touch, Sonia could feel the calluses of her hand. Typical for someone who regularly handles short, hilted tools such as knives and dirks. A fellow hunter perhaps? While the long-range weaponry was preferable, a good hunter needed to hone their melee capabilities as well, from skinning the game to protecting yourself in the highest corner, you couldn't survive long enough in this line of business without a proper skill to handle a knife.

"I am sure you will," Sonia assured, acknowledging the awkwardness showed by her new party member and decided to not observe her any longer. "We will depart soon, there is still time to prepare if you want."

And then she left.

The demoness found the black-haired swordsman returned from his small survey. Probably continuing his plan to give the perished proper burials in the soil that has less sand in it.
@Remuri
"Mister Traveler, may I have a moment of your time? We will be searching for water sources in the outlying forest, and I wish you can coordinate with mister quartermaster and others after you are... done."

Sonia was obvious that her words were far from sympathetic, but the priority for the living outweighs the priority for the dead. She wanted the survivor to quickly have some security, in addition to an extra helping hand.

Done with that brief instruction, she returned to the boulders-- supposedly their rendezvous point. Upon her arrival, she was greeted by the female sailor and Ryland, who expressed their initiative to join the expedition. Sonia didn't mind of course, since they seemed capable and armed. However, another fellow approached the party, bearing some ill news about a certain disabled man rolling his wheelchair towards the heart of the forest.

"I did say it clearly that everyone is free to decide how they will survive this island." Said Sonia with clear frustration despite the aloof nature of her sentence. "If he wants to do that, let him be and we will be his trouble no more."

Interestingly she had no idea which man was it with a wheelchair. Must be some desperate imbecile seeking an easy way out.

"Let's not occupy ourselves worrying over people who may have their own plans."

The group nodded, except the old fellow who instead announced "I'd like to go as well."

There was an objection from the young Ryland, but the old man easily dismissed his doubt convincingly. Sonia however still thinks that their group was a bit too large with five people in it.

"I think you should stay. I am not saying that because I am doubting your capability, but rather the security of our base camp being compromised with too many capable people leaving it behind."
"But like I said before, I can't stop you. Perhaps...not now. You can tag along if you insist, and I will still consider you part of the team."

[Closed] Lost RPG

@Remuri

Despite the intense quarrels at the beginning, It seemed most survivors had acknowledged the necessity of cooperative will and began to do their parts. The black-haired traveler was the first to act responsively to the plan, responding to the quartermaster's inquiry by slashing down the trees using his dextrous swordsmanship. It was quite an amazing display, and most importantly had provided them with the beams and supports they needed to construct the shelter.

@A5G

As the quartermaster and the other sailors started to work on their humble lodging, Sonia was approached by a teenager dressed in orange. "I'll go with you. I'm in better shape than most of everyone here."

Sonia turned to her with one of her generic smiles. At a first glance, her physical stature did not look quite worthy of her own assertion. But being this close, Sonia's intuition as a hunter told her there was something more than meets the eye with this girl. And it was a sinister one just by looking at her eyes. Utterly and completely out of her marbles, yet it was still the eyes of a predator. And one that does not discriminate between friends and enemies.

What are you and what do you want? Any experienced hunter worthy of the name would have asked that in a heartbeat, or just pelt the creature with arrows or bolts already. But now the situation calls for a more diplomatic approach, and being a freak herself (why with those eyes and horns!) suddenly Sonia felt she was too exaggerating, and...rude.

Extending her hand to offer a handshake, that was more than just a first step to a civilized introduction, but was also an act to redeem herself after making unspoken yet crass assumptions.

"Nice to meet you. Let's take care of each other from now on!"

[Closed] Lost RPG

Leaving the nobleman to deal with his newfound existential crisis, Sonia returned to her favorite boulder and sat there, crossbow perched on her lap as if a symbol of authority, seized from those who dared to step forward and propose unworthy proposals--"

She sighed, shaking off the thoughts, and returned to reality. Being a leader had never been her strong suit. It was the fact, and yet she still try to bargain with herself. Was that a statement based on incompetency or cowardice? Probably both. But the problem with being partial with your answer was it showed your duality, making you undecided but can be arbitrary at the same time.

But perhaps now was not the day, she would prefer to keep it balanced.

"The basic of survival is shelter, water, and food." She announced. "All three are in that order. But since we have it easy on the first day, we can shift the priority but still adhere to that three basic rules. Now I understand some of you wanted to find the captain and possibly your kin. We shouldn't do that today."

Sonia could hear murmurs coming from the sailors. The woman with a daughter was still trembling and confused, probably didn't hear what she said. Only then did she realize that another layer of politeness had to be discarded.

"Now hear me out. Ensuring our survival is more important than finding the missing. We don't know where they are, and sending yourself on a wild-goose chase unprepared is not only foolish but also suicidal. Until we have secured our basic needs and have the area of this island mapped, we can't do anything about it but hope they are as fortunate as we are. this will be as far as my advice goes. After that, you are free to decide how you will survive on this island. I have informed you of my general capability, and you may choose to whom you would listen to. I have no problem with everyone for himself, nor would raise an objection if the majority prefer to be under sir nobleman's rule, as ridiculous as it sounds."

"If you choose to listen to me, I would expect you to be fully committed to that decision. I am not promising anything, not even a guarantee of your survival. But if we work together, our chance to stay alive until the rescue comes would be a lot higher."

One would be forgiven if they think she would ask 'who's with me?' to the crowd, but thankfully she didn't. Speaking for this long had been a strenuous task for her, and the last thing she need was to give a closing statement like an unconvincing politician.

Now, to address the exploration plan, and for those who decided to listen.

"We can start trekking into the forest as soon as possible. But it is inadvisable to have a party of more than four. The terrain can be dangerous, and most of us are not in our best condition. Additionally, we need to construct a shelter, preferably soon. Tonight the sky will be clear and we can combat the chill with a proper campfire, but we can't predict tomorrow and the days after that. Even the rain can be deadly if we keep exposed to the elements."

"So we also need people to be here and secure the base. And if there is no objection, I will be in charge of that exploration team. The objective is to search for the source of fresh water. How far the exploration will go? It's still undecided, but I would prefer for us to return before dark. Any question?"

[Closed] Lost RPG

@Zim0cron

Sonia felt her confidence restored when the elf approached her to say such kind words.

"Any help will be appreciated and since building shelter will be one of our priorities, that could prove valuable."

She paused, and had they were not mere acquaintances, she would have affectionately ruffled her hair and give the promise to protect. But now, she would settle with just a warm and reassuring smile. "And miss Vivian, thank you for trusting me."

@Eviledd1984
The mage with the goat mask finally shared his opinion. Quite a hasty plan, essentially similar to what the black-haired fellow had previously suggested, and Ember responded to this plan and raised a valid point. Fresh water, another priority they have to secure immediately.

However, the opinion was challenged by a certain... woman? Teenager? Clad in an orange bright overalls that seemed to have been salvaged from a certain someone's container. She raised another important point; doing any exploration was a gamble with uncertain rewards, but it had to be done. Sooner or later they would need water, and they couldn't always rely on coastal vegetation to sustain their daily intake.

The majority seemed to have favored the exploration to be held as soon as possible, for any reason that had nothing to do with surviving. How did she know? A hunter's intuition perhaps. It was not like she was completely against the idea, but treating it as a mere adventure was inadvisable.

When the demoness considered every option available, the crowd became more vocal with their individual opinions. A certain young woman suggested they should look for the captain first, which was a sound plan, if only they know where to look for. The beach exploration sound quite feasible actually.

Then there was the quartermaster's turn.

Then the nobleman and his unreasonable demand.

Then everything becomes more chaotic. Was this madness? Nah, just democracy.

Then this one particular survivor who was so relentless with his advance. She admitted he was rather handsome, and it was actually rare for a human male to be interested in her in that way. Whatever it means, Sonia was not used to it, and now was not the time either.

Between the hectic discussion below and the man's wooings, Sonia had had enough and retreated, politely dismissing Ryland's advance by gesturing that she will get back to him in a moment. That moment passed, and Sonia, now armed with her crossbow returned to the podium, eyes observing the commotion with a murderous glint, and within a swift aim, opened fire at the sand next to the nobleman.

The bolt landed with forceful impact, hurling sands at the nobleman and his page. Was that magic or a technological marvel, it was a company secret, courtesy of Alhazen Industry.

Now, as the man's attention now diverted to the demoness, she already had a bolt loaded. Finally, some quiet, and Sonia enjoyed this brief tranquility as she gradually lower her weapon.

"That bolt can take down a wendigo with a single shot. Has everyone here ever seen a wendigo?!" she yelled, nobody answered, so she continued calmly. "A nasty, big, green, bipedal menace, very territorial. But the pelt is a very prized commodity."

"Like a bigfoot?" one of the sailors cracked, to Sonia's amusement.

"Yes, similar to that! Petty smart fellow aren't you?"

The praise left the sailor grinning ear to ear. Sonia then returned to the crowd, particularly to Landon. "Now, I beg your pardon, I am not one to use violence to make a point, but certainly, a little sand hardly counts as one, don't we all agree?"

"All right then, now that all of us have agreed to put that little distraction behind us, I think it's my turn to speak. It will be a bit obvious, so please bear with me. I am a hunter, which means I make a living by surviving in the wilderness. Now I don't claim to be the expert on every terrain, if you think you are better than me, you should speak up, and tell us your plan, if there is none..."
There was a brief pause, and Sonia glared directly at the pompous nobleman.

"Well, don't let me stop you. If you want to be a king, so be it. But the king is nothing without his subjects and who will be the subject of your rule, milord? Obviously not this humble venerer, neither those sailors after their derisive commentary to your rule. Are we traitors now? Go ahead and arrest us then. Can you even enforce your rule with sticks and harsh language?"

She snickered, scorning the very being of that nobleman almost like how a demon should.

"Of course you can't. This is my hunting ground, not your court. I have a weapon and expertise, you don't. Now have you ever seen a Wendigo? They have horns, just like me."

[Closed] Lost RPG

@Remuri
Sonia listened patiently, and there was a hint of amusement... or sarcasm in her smile When the man voiced his opinion in such an elaborate manner.

"Mister Traveler, I simply asked for a plan. Your plan, not mine, nor dictate or suggest how should I carry out my plan." Sonia stepped down from her stone podium and sit on a nearby, more elevated boulder. "There is no leader to vote for yet, let alone elected. And I have not disclosed my plan, not yet. But I think I definitely understand where you are coming from."

"As for giving the dead proper burial. I agree with you, but I am not in a position to assign anyone to fulfill anyone's behest." Sonia pointed at the resting sailors who were mostly quiet during her speech, taking their time to enjoy the meal. "But I think the gentlemen over there would be willing to help you as a token of gratitude for the food you have generously prepared. As for the file, formation as you might call it, I think it will be reserved for later."

"Anyone else? Mind sharing your ideas?"

[Closed] Lost RPG

"Don't think you can trick me with your words, witch!" she exacted with conviction. "I'm no fool as to listen to the words of a demon, whose foul magic I just suffered!" It didn't seem like reasoning with her would be fruitful, the unhinged woman's judgment entirely clouded by fearful prejudice and distress.

Sonia had grown tired of hearing it to the point of complete numbness. She had given her options and would not force any of them upon them. But to think about it again, it was the child that matters now. She deserved better than... this. And to have Sonia almost turned away from them had been such a sorry state of affair.

Then, came the second voice of reason, delivered with such impact. The slender mage stepped forward.

'Listen to the woman, if you know what's good for you-- There's only ONE witch around here, and it's ME.'

He boomed, and then the air changed, winds howling and the sky darken. He lifted up his hand, and suddenly an arcane aura formed. He stood before the woman seeming now tall beyond measurement, terrible and ethereal. And needless to say, such a display of power replaced the woman's fear and distrust with pure, real terror. And between her pleadings and cries, she shifted to Sonia, asking for it to stop.

Then the mage let his hand fall, and the aura faded. After a few more words, he left, just like a subsiding storm. Sonia was equally stunned by the show but quickly recovered, and now in front of her was the same mother, full of suspicion and bigotry she was, but now terrorized and scared. Sonia couldn't say in which state she would be more reasonable.

With all that was left of her now-dwindling kindness, she smiled at them. "Please help yourself and rest. You are free to join us... or not."

The last part was uttered with clear frustration. On one hand, she was glad there was someone who put his trust in her, in another hand, she felt patronized by him butting up on something she can resolve peacefully. Might as well beat the mother into submission if we are to use fear to control.

Sonia was far from being illusioned by the grim reality they were in right now, and she knew there will be a time when she had to use a similar method to keep people in line. But that was as far as her premature consideration went. If someone expected her to be in charge, she needed people to trust, listen and be willing to work with her. Awfully optimistic and probably would get them so far, but she had to try, and maybe time will weed out those who did not adhere to the same principle.

But once again she thought it all too prematurely. Surely she could not be the only one with a plan. That would be incredibly helpful if someone else would come up with a better solution.

Being a leader had never been her strong suit. She kept reminding herself of that fact.

__________

The smell of grilled seafood was thick in the air and everyone had gathered to have their fill. Looking up to the sky, it was already past noon and certainly, time would not wait. If they wanted for some coordination, now was the time to lay out a plan and find the common ground.

Standing upon a half-buried boulder, Sonia was ready to make an...announcement? Like any other normal person, public speaking was a Yikes for her.

"Everyone, would you be so kind to spare a bit of your time, please? Thank you. My Name is Sonia Al-Hathya, a hunter by trade. As you might have noticed, we are in a very difficult situation now and-"

Stopping mid-sentence, Sonia decided to discard her formal demeanor and be more direct. After all, they are in the wilderness, her hunting ground for goodness' sake!

"We are stranded, to put it simply. On an island somewhere in the equatorial zone. That could possibly mean help will be weeks or even months away. Fortunately, being a tropical island means food will not be a difficult resource to obtain provided that this group conducts a thorough exploration of the interior of this island on a regular basis."

Sonia glanced at the so-called group and mentally assessed their capability. A few mages, a traveler who travels a lot, some cabin crews, and many civilians, mostly upper-class citizens, usually not much of survivalists, but she hoped the men could at least do some physical work. Could be a pain in the neck to deal with all that pompous attitude. A speculative assessment, yes, nevertheless if there was a different view, she wanted to hear it now.

"Now I am sure some of the upstanding gentlemen here already have a better grasp of our situation even before I addressed this matter. Let us not dawdle any further, does anyone have a plan? Let's hear it."

@spiral origin@Grade@A5G@Eviledd1984@wierdw@Zim0cron

[Closed] Lost RPG

"Y-you stay away, witch!"

In the human world, actions speak louder than words, and it was even tougher for those who were different. Sonia decided to no longer waste any breath dabbling into a senseless contention. So when the woman held a praying pendant and postured it against her with mounting enmity, Sonia waited for her to finish, hoping the solemn prayer would bring her back to her sense. Whoever god she worshiped, surely He wouldn't smite her down for trying to help a desperate woman, right?

But it seemed the wrath of god didn't necessarily have to wait. At the end of her prayer, the deranged woman hurled a handful of sand at their supposed helper, startling Sonia.

"Begone!"

Such a common word for her to hear, yet this time it cut deeper than she had ever imagined. Sonia opened her lips to deny the unwarranted allegations, but every word uttered only echoed in her mind and never get out.

She steeled herself and took a few steps back. Assessing the situation. The woman was kneeling on the sands, with a daughter who was equally terrified by the situation, while she was standing, being higher than them. Not an ideal position to confer, so she kneeled, eyes met in equal height.

"Madam." she started, her expression softening. "I have but a simple question. How you are going to find your husband by your lonesome, in this situation, in an unknown place?"

"Shut it, Demon! Not your business. Begone! Let us be!" despite saying that, the woman clasped the daughter's hand and assured her. "We will find dad, we will walk on the beach looking for him. Just like the holidays we had before. Right sweetie?"
The daughter nodded, letting the mother affectionately nuzzle her forehead.

And seeing that, Sonie knew a decision has to be made. She glanced at Vivian, Ember, and others, fully acknowledging that in order to survive this, she needs people who would listen to her, to work together. And the likes of this mother could potentially be jeoparding their chance.

but she wanted to try one more time.

"Madam, did you not see that your daughter loves you? She trusted you and she wouldn't have survived without you. All I ask is for you to do another right thing and let her rest. Look at her, and see for yourself. Do you think forcing her to go on like this is a responsible thing a mother would do?"

There was a sharp retort accusing a demon like her should know nothing about raising a child. Sonia didn't try to argue and instead pointed at the resting point that now had a campfire lit.

"You might not trust me and I am fine with that. So how about this, take your daughter to rest over there." She paused and look at the other survivors carefully. "Those people were also the passengers of our ill-fated ship. The man with rice hat is a nice fellow. Don't hesitate to ask him if you need something. After you freshen up, you may go your own way. It's up to you. But remember, madam. In this situation, a child doesn't get to choose, it's you who do, but sadly it's her who will also bear the consequence of your decision."

[Closed] Lost RPG

Sonia was not so sure how she was supposed to react. Glittering magic in front of her looked unfittingly surreal compared to the depressing scene unfolding on the very same beach they were at. Several wounded sailors could be seen in the distance, and some other, passengers, laid unmoving on the sands. Dead.

Among them was a woman, running back and forth, calling for a name, presumably her husband's. Her daughter was with her, struggling to keep up with the mother's erratic pace. Despite being overwhelmed by all manners of daze and confusion, exhaustion had not overcome the mother yet, but the same couldn't be said for the daughter, who was on the brink of collapsing anytime now.

Sonia made her way toward the panicking woman and assured her that they could find her husband easier if she stop panicking and willing to sit it out for a moment. Initially, her words didn't go through her until Sonia pointed out how dangerous it was for the daughter to be dragged around in a such state.

"At least let your little girl rest." she pleaded, "Can't you see she is not in a condition to follow you around like this?"

Sonia had no idea why would she have to raise her voice like this, and such impudency confounded her.

[Closed] Lost RPG

"You don't have another of those do you dahling?"

@wierdw

"Ah of course!" Sonia expeditiously grabbed a green coconut and slice the lower part of the fruit like peeling a potato. It was effortless, courtesy of her above-average arm strength, and her trusty dagger; manufactured by Alhazen.co, Urstad.

That small surge of information brought up a brief sense of deja vu in her.

"Here you go... si- madam?" She offered almost like whispering at the end of her sentence. What to call him now, she wasn't so sure. The slender mage was very different now without all of his makeup and flamboyant getups, so Sonia tried to play safe by not being so obvious with her choice of pronoun.

Somebody was approaching. A strange fisherman, not sure why Sonia would refer to him as such, likely because she saw him go fishing in the very first minutes of their awakening. A vagrant, or adventurer? His general attire suggested so. Not that there was a stark diffrence between the two anyway.

"Need fire.“ He talked to Ember pointing the cooking spot.

The man asked rather crudely, and it didn't improve her opinion of him a bit. Without waiting for anyone to answer, he continued

"We shall fill up first before we proceed inside the forest. Where may be there is a flat terrain for the. settlement camp. There is no good here to make camp here. High tides will flood the shore. Then we can discuss how to get out"

For the first half of it, Sonia had no comment, everyone might do whatever they wanted at this point. However, the second half of his opinion made her feel a bit restive.

"Appreciate your concern, but the gentleman need not worry about the high tide here, for this area is far from the waters and sufficiently elevated." Sonia sheathed and strapped her dagger to her waist. Averting her gaze from the man, skipping her usual introductry but still trying to remain thoughtful with her words.

"As for the urgency to move to the forest," she turned to the green unknown behind them and shook her head. "I think we should remain here for a while. We don't know where, or how far we are from the rescue. And I believe everyone would prefer to stay in a place where the rescuer could easily see them."

Now sitting on a nearby boulder, Sonia swept the remained sand from her scraped knee and then gave the man one of her less-than-genuine smiles.

"Of course, I am not completely dismissing the notion to explore the interior of this... place, but we need to lay out a plan before making any decision. And first thing first, to gather everyone and discuss that plan. Means we all need to find a common ground first, savvy?"

@Remuri