17th-Triloth-3407 LDII - Minutes after Michael Hayes Arrival.
Institute Research State - Piclifton City - OutWolder Sensor Array Control Room.
A large room has several maps along the wall showing the whole continent, different maps showing elevation, population density, weather patterns and possible domain city movements.
A larger map sits embedded into a large table showing many holographic golden dots with dates hovering next to the dots, too many to count. Floating above it, an overview of the Domain of Air and other clouds that cover the planet.
Suddenly a golden glow appears above the Domain of Air and a golden dot appears. It starts moving down toward the east but suddenly goes out. A man monitoring the map in a grey uniform takes notice of this as an alarm sounds, filling a crystal with mana he speaks aloud.
“Sir, Alert 14. An OutWolder has arrived and has headed toward the East, but before we could get a lock on its position it disappeared. We will require further investigation to narrow it further down.”
“Inform our agents to the East, from the centre longitude of the continent to the far East and even the islands.”
“Understood”
34th-Tecumnora-3407 LDII - Days after Michael’s meeting with Lord Head of Farmers Rest Island.
Institute Research State - Piclifton City - OutWolder Informant Agency.
Behind an overcrowded, small desk filled with a veritable mountain of paperwork sits a young Trax, a relatively new trainee to this understaffed department. The vast majority of the people reported as OutWolders turn out to be nothing but angry partners, business relations gone sour or tales of impossible monsters.
Quite frankly this entire department could chuck 99% of all its mail and it would not be any less useful.
Opening a rather ostentatious looking letter from Farmers Rest Island, a bunch of self important hillbillies who want nothing more than wanting nothing to do with the rest of the continent.
The letter just goes on and on about some mysterious traveller who’s a “Muahaix Aiwatito”. Yea, like I’ve never heard that before. There’s another letter stapled to it from the same address but from the “Lord Head” of this backwater.
Getting up they walk over to their superiors desk, another older and heavyweight Trax who looks like he’s been glued to his chair for the last 30 years.
“Just want you to have a look over this letter, looks like it’s from an actual official.”
“Hm? Where from?” “Farmers Rest Island.”
“Ha! That backwater? Not a chance, let me see?” Reading the two letters quickly he hands them back to me.
“As I thought, just some dispute. The guy in the letter must have pissed off this Illiard. File and Forget it.”
2nd-Radlem-3408 LDII - Day of Michael’s Arrival at Oghqoa City.
Oghqoa Institute Branch - Oghqoa City - City Gate OutWolder Detection Array.
In a small room showing maps of the city and its surroundings a lone Institute operative is leaning on his chair with feet up on the map table. The older Elf there is eating a quite nice pastry, until an alarm sounds that is.
Upon an Alarm sounding he jumps up and looks over the map, after panicking for a moment the alarm suddenly stops and a message appears in a holographic display over one of the city gates.
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Possible OutWolder Detected. Initial Report from City Guard:
TimeStamp: 04:34:56 EII (SWGI) 34th-Tecumnora-3408.
Possible false alarm, was wearing pendent from Kingdom of Bramland’s OutWolder: Bainlis Varengueuil.
Subject arrived with a Dr Rath for the Medical Conference and Exams of which subject was reported to be attending.
Subject is human, male, approx 24 years old, fit build, brown hair and short beard, large pack on back.
Scan Probability: Possibility of OutWolder - 45%
Report Generated by: Landuff Browning, Guard Number: 11045632.
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Hmm, that pendant, amulet thing pops up every once and a while but it is strange that the Scan shows the probability at 45%. Well, anything above 30% we are to investigate anyway but it’s most likely a false positive.
Moving over to a crystal, filling it with mana the Elf speaks, “Sir, we have a possible OutWolder who entered the gates, probability 45% but was wearing an OutWolder pendant.”
“It is still 45%” the disembodied voice replies, “Forward me the report and we will look at it.”
“It’s on its way now.”
Later, several Institute operatives leave their large building and split up heading to different sections of the city in teams of two.
Cartning, a young elf who joined the Institute a year ago is teamed up with another younger elf just a year his senior. It’s the first time they have had this alert before and so are quite excited at the prospect of possibly meeting an OutWolder.
“Ok, where are we headed Vonway?” Vonway, the other elf replies “Heading for the Docks, the other teams are going to do a walk of the perimeter and through the rest of the city.”
“Why send us to the docks?” “Well, it’s an easy job but it is possible that if they want to get out of the city, the quietest way would be through the docks.”
Over the next few hours they move through the city, they pass a few people who match the description but the sensory crystals they had did not do anything. After moving up and down the docks several times, after a few hours they find something.
The crystal starts buzzing as they near the Harden entrance again, there are a bunch of people around as a large Harden leaves the entrance and makes its way to the embassy. “That might be Lord Depths of Blaintona”
“Well, that’s why the crystal is buzzing, it always gets confused around Harden.”
“Yea, but it’s not buzzing in his direction. It’s toward the city now.” Turning to the city they see the back of someone walking down an alleyway “Let’s follow.”
Walking down the alleyway they find it stops at a dead end, with chain locked wearhouse doors.
“Uh, didn’t some guy just go down here?” “Must’ve gone into one of the buildings.”
“Yea, but they're locked from the outside. And look, the security system is still on. Power?”
“No clue.”
A communication stone starts buzzing and taking it out from his pocket Vonway replies “Vonway here.”
“ We have been trying to contact you, somethings up at the Adventurer Society, head down there.” “Got it.” Putting the crystal back they start heading back out of the alleyway.
Earlier that day, near the Adventurer Society building.
Taal, an older Trax, is headed toward the Adventurer Society. It’s a good chance that if this OutWolder is in the city it would definitely head for the Society.
Walking in, there is a long line of people and a group of them are talking and looking toward the Hoist room, always present in tall buildings like these.
Walking up to the group I ask “Hey, what’s going on?”
Several of them turn, Adventurers in armour and resting polearms and halberds against their shoulders “Some newbies were signing up and one of the pens started glowing, one of the Guild Receptionist’s just whisked them away upstairs.”
“You Institute?” asks one of the party. “Maybe, maybe not.” Taal replies. Walking away from the group and outside Taal brings a communication crystal out of his coat. “Confimed OutWolder, Society pen test confirmed it. They're probably meeting with the Guild Master now. All units come here.”
“Understood” replies the voice from the crystal, “we’ll recall the other teams.”
Some hours later there are several teams surrounding the Adventurer Society building and several operatives inside the main lobby, unfortunately the OutWolder did not reappear and may have left from another exit. It’s likely that it will be back tomorrow for an exam if it has not already had it..