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Action Id: 3110 Crisis: Participants: Riagnon, Austen, Jasher, Esoka, Calaudrin, Tikva, Eleanor, Jeffeth, Rhea and Umbroise
Status: Resolved Submitted: Feb. 6, 2019, 11:21 a.m. Public: True GM: Puffin


Action by Riagnon

Riagnon lost his turtle, Responsibility. He's assembling a team of the most talented minds, swords, and bows in all of Arx to solve this mystery!

"Hello, my name is Responsibility. I'm a Crownlands hardshell turtle and this... is my story..."

So begins the 8 1/2 page mission briefing and summary distributed to all those involved in the rescue of Responsibility, the reckless turtle.

In addition to detailing the animal's day-to-day at the Acheron's residence in Arx (life on the Grand Shellington Estate, the turtle-sized castle where the noble turtles of House Acheron reside; relaxing by the turtle pond in Acheron's 'Glacial Grove' courtyard garden; drinking at Spirits in the Redrain Ward; the occasional appearance in the entirely mirror-lined locked closet located off of Mydas's former quarters), the documents also include a few wildly inaccurate factoids about turtles as a species. For example, it claims that one can determine the gender of a turtle via smell according to Marquessa Rhea. It also suggests that as turtles age and grow, they abandon the shells of their youth for newer, larger ones found out in nature. A very vulnerable time for any turtle! Who put these two in charge of a place? Oh, right! No one.


Action by Esoka

Dame Esoka Greenblood, Gloria's Sword, former wielder of the Twain of Riven, Disciple Leader of the Templars, and prodigal knight of acclimated esteem, will use all her questing powers to find Responsibility, the reckless turtle. She will utilize her knowledge of turtle habitat and habits gained as a girl in the riverlands. She will ignore the factual inaccuracies in Lord Riagnon's instrutions (bless his heart) and tell the people she meets in her search accurate things about turtles. She figures he found a place under the ice to wait out the winter and will check frozen-over ponds and garden arrangements in the Redrain Ward. She prays to Petrichor that nobody ate him. That'd be a tragic end to their noble quest.


Action by Eleanor

"Riagnon, none of these turtle facts are true!"

Eleanor, the (RESPONSIBLE) owner of all of the other residents of the Grand Shellington Estate, is aiding in the search for the missing turtle. This largely consists of two things:
1. armed with strawberries and every turtle fact she knows, Eleanor will try and marshal the other turtle-hunters into some sort of organized turtle-hunting force. They will look in the pond, they will take a census of the Grand Shellington Estate, they will check the spoopy mirror room, they will (carefully) look underneath any old towels or discarded laundry. They will otherwise listen to Eleanor's wise and excellent turtle-hunting leadership.
2. shouting at Riagnon about his incorrect turtle facts.


Action by Calaudrin

As Rhea's protege, part of Calaudrin's job is giving Riagnon non-terrible advice. He'll try to manage that this time, when he's not combing the streets, looking in sewers, checking puddles, ponds and reflecting pools for the turtle. He also asks numerous tavern owners if they've been serving TURTLE STEW recently. They better not be.


Action by Tikva

Tikva is vehemently ready to go on this great turtle hunt. She blithely discards all of Riagnon's advice when it comes to searching for turtles, but spends her time examining the parks and outdoor areas of the Redrain Ward, and a little in the Crown ward, and a little just like... you know, around. It's like a scavenger hunt.


Action by Umbroise

Umbroise really doesn't know what's up with this turtle business, but she'll help her cousin out and see what she can find. She'll first check her own rooms, to make sure the turtle isn't hiding there! And then she'll use her charm and manipulative skills on the Household staff to see if she can root out anyone who may have seen the little bugger... er... turtle.


Action by Austen

All of Austen's knowledge about turtles comes from Riagnon. This is concerning.

As is the fact that he's trying to avoid Eleanor every time the subject of turtles come up. Which is difficult to do when you're working together to search for a turtle.

Mostly, to help find Riagnon's missing Responsibility, he's trying to figure out what he would do if he were a turtle. This mostly involves making maps of the Acheron residence and moving a little turtle figurine around it.


Action by Jeffeth

When outsiders fight over our souls, when the beast below us threatens to engulf us. When the days turn darkest. We must band together. We must show strength. We must

Find this damn turtle. Jeffeth doesn't have a lot of turtle tracking experience. Though he has found a couple on accident, and he is hoping that real world training will apply to this situation. Like most things Jeffeth really wants to apply himself to, he'll just do it doggedly. Tiredly searching probably the same place ten times over. But he doesn't have any quit in him. So he'll keep a searchin'.


Action by Rhea

Rhea, who has gotten just-- really, really great at this leadership thing, trust her, she'd give herself an A+, is going to give a rousing speech to the would-be turtle questers. She will be sure to ensure these valiant heroes that they will have all the thoughts and prayers they need to succeed in saving Riagnon's failed -- she means lost, sorry, -- Responsibility. Also? PLENTY of turtle facts (likely to be fact-checked on the spot by Eleanor, but whatever). Finally, she will offer a mysterious REWARD to the one who does, in fact, find Responsibility.


Action by Jasher

Jasher probably wishes he brought some rum, now.
Sufficiently moved by Riagnon's eight and a half pages of briefing and summary regarding Responsibility, Jasher will join the others in searching for the lost turtle. While his knowledge starts and stops at what Eleanor can tell when she's not shouting at Riagnon, he can combine what little he knows with good old logical thinking to map out where he would go if he was a normal wayward turtle. Come the Abyss or high water, he's not leaving a rock unturned.


Result

In the Grand Shellington Estate, missing turtles are among the most serious events. The men and women who search for them comprise an elite turtle task force. This is their story.

The staff has the 8 1/2 page document in hand about turtles, though even as Riagnon is beaming about his amazing presentation, Eleanor is already marking through lines and correcting the wildly inaccurate factoids to anyone who will listen - which is mostly Rhea, who is being extremely indulgent as is her wont, and Austen, who has a look of long-suffering on his face - or perhaps he's just anticipating suffering a long time. Eleanor is gesturing with strawberries and handing them out to everyone as she continues her educational conversation.

Esoka searches the pond, her lips moving in a prayer to Petrichor that said turtle is not frozen under the ice, or stolen, or.. or eaten. Turtle soup is a delicacy in some parts. Some parts other than here of course. Nothing so awful would be cooked here - and Esoka finds no sign of Responsibility.

Calaudrin takes the show on the road, looking in streets and sewers and pubs and taverns. If Responsbility is taking the day off, he reasons, wouldn't he want to get drunk? But if the turtle isn't going to get drunk, well - this ale won't drink itself and Calaudrin does an extremely thorough job of investigation, and seems happy enough to do it.

Jeffeth is enthusiastic, to say the least. Enthusiastic, but not terribly effective. He goes through the house calling for Responsibility, and he sounds Very Serious when he does, but Responsibility does not show up.

Tikva, having watched all this for a while, is suddenly nowhere to be found.

Jasher, pleased with what he keeps calling a so-shell outing, joins Umbroise in the search, and the spiders - yes, even in a well-kept estate like theirs spiders do dwell - start to swarm. And they start to lead the way to a room... Casimir's room, as it happens, and there's a scratching on the door.

Responsibility! Found at last, for some reason in Casimir's room, and safe - if a little hungry. And just as Riagnon is happily reunited with Responsibility, Tikva bursts through the door waving a very surprised turtle that looks -just- like Responsibility. "I found him!"

Success!