Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Receptionist's Desk

Discussion in 'Roleplaying Games' started by AliceShiki, Jan 28, 2019.

  1. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    Registration | Announcement Hall | Dungeon Diving | Event Hall | Quest Board | Tavern | OOC Room | Goods and Services

    This is the thread where you deliver the quests you took in the Quest Board! Please head to the Quest Board for the details of how getting quests work.

    The process is pretty straight-forward in this one, just write a short story of how your character cleared your quest, then post it here while tagging the receptionist that granted your quest... It's really really straight-forward.

    Just uhn... Make sure the quest was actually granted by the receptionist before posting it, alright?

    And don't forget to tag you party members in case you did not take the quest alone~

    Also, follow this simple template when delivering your quest:

    [Here goes Quest taken]
    [Here goes the report, in a spoiler]
    [Extra notes (optional)]
    [Tag of the staff that accepted your task application]

    Example:

    Beat up evil bandits
    I reached the hideout of the evil bandits, they were like "wah!" and I was like "BAM!" they I whacked their heads with a "Kaplow!" Using my super duper hammer they had no choice but to lie dead on the floor! Nyahahahaha!

    And now I'm here, they're all lying unconscious at the guild's doorstep, what do I do now?
    They had pretty coins in their pockets, I kept them, alright?
    @Naraku
    ------------------------------------
    What you shouldn't do

    Honestly, you're pretty free to do the reports as you see please, but there are a few guidelines.
    1. Don't do something as lazy and half-assed as the example report I just made... You don't need a 10000 words report, but at least try writing a short story that properly depicts what happened.
    2. Paragraphs. For the love of God use paragraphs and proper spacing. If you make your report a huge block of text without a single Enter Key, I'm not reading it. Seriously, use paragraphs.
    3. Don't just randomly stroll into the Infinity +1 Sword, magical items are supposed to be rare and like... Super duper powerful artifacts should be super duper rare. I won't really stop you from finding magical stuff, but do use caution when finding stuff that is supposed to be rare and expensive.
    4. Similarly, don't go getting random super great power ups out of nowhere. I mean, you can, but you should avoid it if possible... And seriously remember the guidelines of power level in the registration post, the bigger the overall power level, the harder it is for staff to make content for everyone, so do things with caution.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    About Rewards, Loot and Other Similar Things

    I talked a bit about it just above on the "not get an infinity +1 sword out of nowhere" thing, but it might be important to go a bit more in depth over the matter...

    To start with, those are the guidelines we use when deciding quest rewards, they aren't tight guidelines and we sometime go off them, but that's about how much we generally make a quest be worth.
    Code:
    E-rank: 7-12 Large Copper
    D-rank: 15-27 Large Copper
    C-rank: 40-100 Large Copper
    B-rank: 2-5 Silver
    A-rank: 9-15 Silver
    S-rank: 70-300 Silver
    Why is this important? Well... Assume you were raiding a small goblin hideout for a D-rank quest that gave 20 Large Copper Coins. The goblins were causing trouble and killing people for quite some time, so they had a bunch of stole loot in the cave, including a few small jewels, damaged swords/armors, farming tools and other things... When selling all of the stuff there, you earned a whooping 60 Large Copper Coins! Hooray!

    ... Hooray? Well, we got a problem here... When you get this many coins in one go, you kinda ruin the dev's plans for how much money players of a given rank should have... That's not to say you're not allowed to get loot, but when you get extra rewards that are worth thrice as much as the quest you took, then you're going too far on it... We ask you to please be sensible over how many spoils you get from quests.
    ------------------
    Another important matter to go over are quests that don't give a fixed reward... As in, if an alchemist needs a bunch of herbs that are very easily found, so they make an E-rank quest that pays 1 small copper per herb, and the player is allowed to get as many as they want..

    So... The player realizes they can get as many as they want, and since the herbs are common, they go out there in the plains for 3 whole months (written in about 30 minutes IRL) and get a whooping amount of 8597 herbs! Incredible! And so they get... 8597 Small Copper? As in... 8 Silver?

    It is an exaggerated example of course, I don't think anyone in their right mind would put a number this big, but it still serves its purpose. An E-ranked quest shouldn't be giving rewards worth of an A-ranked quest... There is of course some leeway to do it, if your character is an experienced herbalist and knows the area well, so you search the whole week and gets about 239 herbs, that's about 24 Large Copper coins as the reward, which is around the same amount you'd get from a D-ranked quest... This is not a problem, it's within the realms of acceptable.

    What we don't want you doing, is exaggerating how much your character gets in those quests to the point you earn absurd amounts that would be totally out of reach for your rank normally... As a rule of thumb, I'd say you should try avoiding to go past the rewards of what a quest one rank above yours gives. But it's honestly up to your common sense in the end.
    ------------------
    In a similar vein, let's talk a bit about time dilation.

    If you read the registration thread, you'll probably reach this statement at one point:
    As the quote itself says, it's a rule of thumb and it's not a strict schedule, you shouldn't by any means feel forced to take a quest for 1 week IRL and then clear it in 1 week of in-game time. The simplest example I can give is if we gave a quest that was in the Fairy Land, it would take months to arrive there, and months to get back... We can't expect you to solve that in one week, nor do we have any intentions to.

    However... It's also important to not forget the guideline entirely... A simple example would be a trainee mage. Let's assume a player has a novice mage as their character and is just learning the basics of fire magic. Then, they find a book of advanced fire spells, but they are too complex for them to understand, so they'll slowly take their time to study the book and slowly learn its secrets...

    Until they make a report (or a side story) about how they spent 30 years (wrote in 3h IRL) studying the book and they're now the best fire mage in the world... Yeah, don't do that.

    Again, an exaggerated example, but please understand that the time is fluid to help you and to make the game healthier and more fun for everyone... But it's not there to be abused in order to give quick power ups to your character, or to (as exemplified a few paragraphs above) get absurd rewards from quests that don't really limit how much your character can earn.
    ------------------
    Lastly, I wanted to talk about respecting the stories of other players and the game's lore... This is the most complicated topic, mainly because it assumes you both read the game's lore and the others players' stories, neither of which you're required to read. (it's highly recommended to at least check the wiki for a given subject when you're unsure rather or not something is set about it though, consulting staff members and/or other players is okay too)

    Let's assume player A has spent a few weeks developing the circumstances regarding Village A. Village A is situated in a region with terrible soil and barely any animals leave in the surroundings, it's a terrible place, but it's away from authorities and banditry is small in the region, so the villagers try to survive somehow.

    Then, player A says that a plague attacked the village and most villagers are now sick... So, player A, which is a close friend to the village's head, is searching for a cure to the best of their capabilities, as the village does not have the resources to pay for a cure themselves.

    Following on player A's cue, staff releases a quest from Village A asking for a bit of help in harvesting crops, because they don't have enough working hands due to the sickness and they need to prepare for the upcoming winter... The quest is taken by player B, which in all good intentions not only helps harvesting, but also teaches the village new harvesting techniques that make the most of the soil and will now greatly increase the amount of crops they'll get in the future, and not only that, they also find the cure for the village's sickness! Hooray! Everything will be better now! \(^^)/

    ... Not. You see, even though everything Player B did was good for the village, and it may even make sense for Player's B character to know how to do all that, it's still a terrible thing to do it. By solving all of the village's problems, you're essentially ruining all the set up player A spent weeks setting up with care... That's no good, you shouldn't simply meddle this much with someone's plans and development.

    It's alright to interfere a bit and offer some help if it is within your character's nature to do so, but you shouldn't really break the entire development someone else did... If you really want to get involved with a plotline someone else is developing, please contact said person and try working out the details of how you both can solve it.
    ------------------
    That's about it! Have fun clearing your quests! ^^)/
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2019
  2. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    Reserved~
     
    Haxagen likes this.
  3. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    Reserved~
     
  4. Haxagen

    Haxagen Fallen's|Addicted to Gacha

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2017
    Messages:
    658
    Likes Received:
    12,668
    Reading List:
    Link
    ((Done~))

    The young girl enters the building, looking somewhat tired. She makes her way to the counter, holding out a roll of parchment.
    [Day 1]
    Finding my way around without a map was never a strong suit of mine, but why should I do that when I already have a map prepared? Looks like listening to the old lady nag proved to be the correct decision~ Oh well, I was planning to do so anyway, but gotta give credit where it’s due, aye?

    Anyway, under the guidance of the map and the sun, I managed to make my way over to the village in question without getting myself lost too much. Not too much, I said. An extra hour of detour was completely reasonable, given that these are new lands after all. Yes. It was definitely not because I took a left turn where I should have taken a right.

    Thus, I managed to reach the village before nightfall. I sought out the village chief, who seemed somewhat doubtful that I was an adventurer, before he provided me with what little information he knew. According to him:

    “On certain nights, when the moon is hidden, folks living near the lake have reported hearing a woman singing. Some of the braver ones approached the source, and saw what seemed to be a glowing woman on the other side of the river. None of them were bold enough to get any nearer to see her face, but since I’ve received so many reports, I have decided to make a request to the Guild.”

    I took a brief glimpse outside. The crescent moon was faint, but it was still there. I would not be getting any leads tonight.

    “It seems that I will have to stay here for a while. Are there any empty rooms that you could loan me?”

    [Day 2]
    The village chief wanted to let me stay over at his house, but I politely declined. I was not the quietest of sleepers, and I was here to solve a problem, not add more. As such, after some convincing, the reluctant chief told me there was a house available that I could bunker up in for the duration of my stay.

    The isolated, lonely cabin on the other side of the river. Around where the apparition was rumoured to show up at.

    I didn't blame him. He was generous enough to lend me a place, and I could tell that he was genuinely worried about me. He is a good man, even though he appears so intimidating, that’s for sure.

    I set up camp in this small cabin, which was abandoned and dusty but otherwise in perfectly liveable conditions. There was still some items in here, probably belonging to the previous occupants.

    I’ve spent much of the day combing through the house, taking note of what’s here. After all, if the spirit has been repeatedly showing up around this cabin...Well, the two ought to have some sort of connection, correct?

    On a side note, the moon tonight was even less visible than it was yesterday, but it still shone softly. Tomorrow should be a moonless night, so I’ll pick up my report there.

    [Day 3]
    Again, I’ve spent my day looking through the small house, which didn’t take too long, given that I’ve already searched most of it yesterday. I did find a few memorabilia, however. A few picture frames, the weathered photos still visible enough to show their contents.

    Around the afternoon, I was bored and had nothing better to do, and so I picked up an item---an small wooden toy horse---and started tinkering around with it’s broken front legs. Between dinner (the local innkeeper always made me a few extra sandwiches) and the toy, I was so preoccupied that I didn’t notice the skies darkening. Then I heard it. A soft, lilting song.

    I froze. Silently getting up, I crept across the floor, praying that the creaky boards would not squeak. Perhaps due to my care, they didn’t.

    Slowly, I turned the doorknob, and what found me was indeed the rumoured ‘apparition’. The ghost...was it a she?...hovered a few metres away, her back facing me, or so I thought.

    Then she turned to face me directly, and despite the misty countenance of the lady, I could tell perfectly well that I had been spotted. Apparently I wasn’t as sneaky as I thought.

    Still, she made no movements towards me, still softly singing that song. Just staring at me, and singing. It was eerie, the haunting sounds of the chorus, but at the same time…

    ...It seemed just a bit sad, as well.

    It was dangerous, but I couldn’t help it. I took a few steps closer to the spectre. Her head turned in my general direction, and I was sure of it. She knew that I was here.

    Thinking about it, escaping had been an option. Something told me that she wouldn’t pursue me if I turned tail and ran, but I couldn’t quite do it. I owed the chief that much, at least, to get some information. So I took a few more steps.

    We were separated by not more than a few metres, and the ghost still didn’t stop singing. So I waited.

    She finished one song, and begun on the next. I waited. And waited. And waited.

    After the tenth or so song, she finally paused, before floating over. The mist that had been covering her face begun clearing, and she spoke.

    “Thank you for having the patience to hear me sing. It’s been a long time since anyone has stopped and listened to the whole thing.”

    Snapping out of my stupor, I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I had been listening idly for almost 30 minutes.

    “No, it was lovely to listen to. Thank you.”

    If she attacked, I would probably be gone for, but the spectre didn’t seem threatening. It just seemed confused, but more than that, it seemed lonely. She glanced at me.

    “Have you been repairing that old horse? Thank you. He was always quite upset after it broke.”

    I realised what she was talking about. In my haste to investigate, that simple wooden toy earlier was still in my hand.

    “Did this...belong to someone you knew?”

    The spirit’s face cleared up even more, and I realised something else. I had seen that face before, when I was going through the house…

    “Yes, my boy always kept it with him, no matter where he went. He always boasted to others how it it reminded him of his father…”

    This spirit...was the lady in the family picture.

    “...I’m sorry for asking.”

    Her eyes sparkled, and I had a feeling she smiled wanly.

    “It’s not your fault. Let me tell you my story. You want to know why I’m here, correct?”

    I nodded, interested.

    “As you probably already know, I used to live here, long ago. I had a happy marriage and a caring husband...But the good times didn’t last. My husband was conscripted into the war, and off he went. I have been here, waiting for his return…”

    [Day 4]
    I’m on my way back to the city, to turn in my report. I have already told the village chief of what I’ve learnt, and it seems that he had believed me. I could not do anything more beyond that, even though I would have liked to.

    Instead, I’ll just hand this over to the receptionist, and hope that they will be able to do something about it. Something where I wasn’t able to.

    “...Every moonless night, like on the night of our parting, I would sing this song. To remember him, to hope that he is safe, and to pray that he returns to me someday…”

    There haven’t been any major wars in forever. How long has this lady been waiting? Years...Decades...Centuries? Waiting for someone whom she probably knows will never come home...This is…

    I think I'll need some time at the bar, later...
    @AliceShiki
     
  5. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    Welcome back Elaine-san. Let me see... *looks it over*

    This is a disturbing report... Something will probably need to be done about it, the baron probably won't be happy about having a spirit appearing with this frequency near his lands... *sighs* Makes me wonder how nobody noticed it before.

    Thank you for the information, it is greatly appreciated. You can have the large copper coin and the 4 points for clearing an E-rank quest~

    Have a great day~ *bows*
     
    Haxagen likes this.
  6. FuRen

    FuRen [Lime]

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2016
    Messages:
    100
    Likes Received:
    2,084
    Reading List:
    Link
    Entering the guild building, I wearily placed an earthen case on the counter, "Here are the herbs..."
    [Day 1]
    Leaving the guild building, I departed for the nearby mountains following the map provided by the guild.
    Although a bit far, I should be able to reach there within a day, I thought to myself.

    On the way there, I managed to gather several wild fruits and plants as ration thanks to my herbalism knowledge.
    By the time night arrived, I have already reached the base of the mountain. Thinking that it would not be a good idea to visit a mountain filled with undead in the dead of the night(pun intended), I decided to setup camp.

    Fortunately, there are a bit of trees at the base of the mountain, so I gathered several long and dry tree branches on the ground and a dry leaves, and made a simple tent. Fearing that fire may draw unwanted attention, I kept myself in the cold, which I already have experience in. It did not take me long for me to fall asleep once my head hit the makeshift pillow made out of leaves. Apparently I was more tired that I thought I was.

    [Day 2]
    Waking up at dawn, I left the makeshift tent and prepared myself to scale the mountain. Fortunately, although my body is not robust, it is fit enough for long physical exertion.
    In the end though, my worries were for naught as apparently trekking through the mountain was not as difficult as I thought it would, as it already has a trekking path made.
    It did not take me long for me to reach the peak and find the place I was searching for, the Caves of Undead. Based on the quest description, the herb should have undeads around it, and based on what I have read in a book once, the herb, Weiss Managor, grows and appear only when the undead mana in the air reaches a certain level. Currently, the sun is still shining and the undead do not quite favor sunlight, which gave me the chance to look around without worry.

    But after making several rounds around the cave and not finding a hint of the herb, I finally concluded that the herb should be growing within the cave. Unfortunately, since it is still daytime, all the undeads should be gathering within the cave. Still, after moments of contemplations, I finally chose to gather my courage and enter.

    The moment I stepped in, I begun to let out a thin string of mana and used it to mark my return path.

    But it was some time after delving into the cave that I heard the sound of groaning, causing me to freeze on my tracks. Based on what the quest description said, the undead would not attack unless I alert them, and since I have never read a book on the undead, I could not make any other reliable reference. Hence in the end, I chose to trust the quest giver.

    In a few moments, zombie, a humanoid with its flesh peeling all over its skin, began to approach. It slowly closed onto me and I could clearly hear the sound of its feet dragging through the rocky ground.
    It did not take long for it to arrive right before my face. Right then, I could clearly see the maggots crawling within one of its hollowed eyeball, causing a chill to rise up my spine, forcing me to bite the bottom of my lips to keep myself from letting out a whimper.

    Fortunately, the zombie soon lost interest and moved past me. Once I confirmed that it had already left, I let out the breath I had been holding in and grasped my chest, feeling my wildly beating heart.
    Once I recovered my composure, I continued to delve deeper into the cave.
    Several times, I encountered zombies, skeletons, ghouls, and other weird undeads. But fortunately, they were all in groups of one, and me holding my breath in every time allowed me to survive every encounter. Unfortunately, I failed to get used to it no matter how many times I encountered them.

    It felt like an hour passed when I finally managed to find a large opening shaped in a dome. Inside, I could see the ground covered with nothing but Weiss Managor herbs, just like a flower garden.
    The herbs appears just like a moonflower but dark blue in color. They also let out a constant marine colored light in the darkness, just like what the books have said.

    Once I finished admiring the view, I begun my preparation to harvest the herbs.
    The flowers only grows and thrive in a place filled with undead mana, hence taking it away from such a place would instantly cause it to fade into the wind. Hence, following the guide of the book I have read before, I carefully harvested several of the herbs and put them inside a case I made out of earth magic that I have covered with the undead mana in the air. Although the poorly made case might cause the herbs to drop in quality, I could not really care for that currently.

    Now that the herbs have been harvested and put in a case filled with undead mana, it should be fine to bring them away. And once it has been kept for at least an hour inside, it would no longer fade into the wind after being brought away from a place lacking undead mana, although that would cause the herb to further drop in quality.

    Just as I was thinking so, the Weiss Managor garden suddenly faded away like a mirage. It is just like what the quest giver had said. Though in the end, I managed to gather 16 herbs in total.
    Now that I have managed to harvest the herbs, I started to follow the mana string trail I left and begun to walk out of the cave while bracing myself to once again encounter undeads.

    But then, I suddenly noticed that at the other side of the cave, a staircase leading downwards appeared. I was curious. But at the same time, a bad feeling filled me, as if my heart is telling that there is something horrible beyond thee staircase.
    No longer hesitating, I quickly departed from the cave, although the numerous encounter with undead still made my heart leap.

    By the time I arrived outside of the cave, I saw that the sky have been dyed red by the sunset and hurriedly went down the mountain to once again setup camp, not wanting to meet more undeads.
    Once again, I arrived at the bottom of the mountain, right where I setup camp. Furthermore, the camp is surprisingly still at the same state as how I last left it.

    Finding it fortunate that no beast trampled on it, I quickly laid down inside the makeshift tent, dead tired from the numerous undead encounters.
    Soon enough, my consciousness drifted and I quickly fell asleep.

    [Day 3]
    Just as I woke up, I noticed a presence nearing my tent. My body became stiff as I started to worry as to what it might be. I was unable to make any clear conclusion from what I could discern by my magic. Using my magic to attack it first would not be of use as none of the magic I learned could actually hurt anyone. But I took the next best course of action and waited patiently within my tent while holding onto my staff with bated breath.

    Moments passed like hours before a shadow finally appeared right at the entrance of my tent. The instant I saw it, I rushed out and waved my tent, attempting to land the first strike. But my assailant easily grasped onto my wrist and neutralized me. It was then that I realized that it was a human that attacked me.
    Still, that did not make my fear recede as I continued to struggle. In the end, I managed to land a head butt right at the person's chin. My head hurt, but I managed to shake his hold off and attempted to escape.

    "Why you..." I finally heard my assailant's voice, full of annoyance. Still, the voice sounded curiously young.

    "Enough!" It was then that a shout came from somewhere. Looking at where it came from, I saw an elderly man garbed in martial artist attire holding onto the person who is mostly likely my assailant, a boy garbed in a similar attire as the elderly man.

    "Master, she was the one who tried to hit me first!" The boy wailed as he pointed at me. But the elderly man ignored him and turned to look at me.

    "Forgive my apprentice, I found him sneaking out and attempting to steal the Weiss Managor you harvested after finding out that you really did manage to harvest one. It must be because I scolded him so harshly before." He said, bowing while forcing down the boy's head.

    "It was... not a problem." I then continued to confirm my suspicion, "You are Master Lin Zhao? The one who sent out the quest for the Weiss Managor herb?"

    "Yes, that is me." The elderly man, Master Lin Zhao said as he straightened his body.

    "I see... unfortunately, I will have to submit the Weiss Managor to the guild first before you could receive it from the guild, I hope you would not mind." I said carefully.

    "It's of no matter. But with that said, why don't this old man give you a ride back? Consider it something in exchange for the trouble my apprentice gave you."

    Not finding a reason to refuse, I took up his offer and followed him to his prepared ride, a horse carriage, under the resentful gaze of the apprentice.
    With that, I returned back to the guild, curiously while being accompanied by the quest giver.
    Harvested 16 herbs in total. Also made some information regarding the herb and the Cave of Undead.
    @Naraku
     
    Xalysian, Arexio, Ophious and 2 others like this.
  7. Haitaka

    Haitaka [Always Busy]

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2017
    Messages:
    275
    Likes Received:
    4,688
    Reading List:
    Link
    "Here is the necklace," I say entering the guild once again after a day. "I also have confirmation of seven goblins dead," with that I hold up a sack which contains seven ears.

    (Day 1)

    Leaving the town of Nagrand, I began making my way towards Flaminis, the town of the request.

    Taking the time to learn of the location, I came to find out that the town’s population is that of unique white goblins who are actively hostile to people coming towards the town.

    Learning this I changed my idea on how to approach the quest.

    “I’ll have to send you in get the reward after the fact Stella”, I say stroking the head of the small bird on my shoulder.
    Eventually we arrived at the quest location around midday.

    ___

    Having Stella survey the area for the cave, I gathered some toxic plants and the occasional medicinal herb that I came across.

    The sun was still high in the sky around the time Stella came back, leading me to the cave.

    Surveying the area myself, I saw broken branches, imprints on the mud which match the size of goblin feet, and the discarded bones of what I assumed was indigenous wildlife.

    “Seems you were right Stella,” I said petting the birds head.

    Looking closer a trail of blood can be seen coming in and out of the cave, leading to the blooded leather of what seems to have been a deer tanning on the outskirts of the cave.

    “Seems they’ve recently eaten, most likely gorged themselves too,” I say looking at the mess made.

    “This should work perfectly then,” saying that I went to work gathering dry materials from the nearby areas, mixing them together with the poisonous plants I found earlier.

    Changing my appearance into that of an old, sagely goblin using my Patrons ability, I made my way into the cave, moving slowly but with a purpose.

    Investigating the interior of the cave I found the seven goblins in the cave all asleep on their furs, all of them breathing nosily yet shallow. Looking around the cave quickly I found the necklace in the goblins treasure room in the back of their cave.

    Gathering a few useable pieces of equipment such as two daggers, a short sword, and some leathers, I make my way out of the cave after lighting my seven smoke bombs in areas of poor air circulation.

    As I make my way out I seal the cave entrance slightly with the leather set out to tan. Trying to blocked the air flow as best as possible.

    “Fly away for a bit Stella,” I say to the small bird, “I don’t want to risk you getting hurt.”

    *Flap Flap*

    Off she flew

    Afterwards I set to work making my traps…

    ___

    *Cough Cough*

    *Yak*

    The sounds of coughing and wheezing could be heard

    *Rustle*

    *Wheezing*

    The smoke seems to have taken hold as I watch smoke trails leave from the small gaps in the leather covering.

    It seems the poisonous plants had an exceptional effect on the goblins.

    “I’ll need to make a note of that for the guild,” I say as I hear the first goblin making its way towards the cave entrance.

    *Cough Cough Cough*

    *Wheeze*

    *Wheeze*

    “Gah!”

    The goblin got caught by the slippery leather in front of the entrance.

    *Scrap*

    *Clawing*

    The goblin attempted to dig at the leather, but to no avail.

    *Gasp gasp*

    Its final moments seem to have been that of a futile effort.

    “May the star maiden guide you on your journey,” I say putting my hands together for a moment of silence.

    ___

    “Caw!”

    A small hawk landed onto my arm after a little while

    “Your just in time Stella,” I say patting the small birds head, “I believe things have just finished up here too.

    The cave had been still for around ten minutes, and it was time to fully loot it.

    ___

    Allowing the cave to air out, I looted what remained which was worn leathers, dull blades, and some looted supplies.

    “I should take these too,” I say as I take one of the daggers, slicing off one of each goblin’s ears.

    “Let’s head back Stella,” saying this I look into the small hawks’ eyes which seem to hold the stars in them.

    ___

    (Day 2)

    After resting outside in an open field staring up at the sky for the majority of the night I returned back to Nagrand with the quest item.

    “A nice cup of tea sounds nice,” I say with a sigh as I re-entered the city.
    Goblins seem to be exceptionally susceptible to poisonous herbs.
    @Naraku
     
  8. Naraku

    Naraku 『』『』『』

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2017
    Messages:
    532
    Likes Received:
    16,354
    Reading List:
    Link
    Looking at the questgiver along with the adventurer, Gaap found it quite odd and checked the quest paper then the report made by Vene... Venefica, right. After reading it rather quickly, he rubbed his chin and felt slighty interested.

    "Mmmm... the staircases ? Was it... it will be interesting to check what is there. Eh, I suppose it will come in time... anyway, the old man accompanied you ? If that's not pratical."

    Quickly watching Lin Zhao, Gaap smiled and shook his head while handing the rewards to Venefica.

    "Anyway, that's some interesting information you brought, might be useful, staircases in the Caves of Dead... unexpectedly..."

    He stopped in his track and thought to himself, 'You found it rather easily...', he frowned and rubbed his chin, something felt off. Oh well, it was not his work anyway, he will just report this and give his thoughts about it.

    "...nevermind, you did a good work, you learnt stuff about undead through experiences and survived... here are your promised 3 Large Copper Coin. Good start. Hope to see you later."

    Since the very start, Gaap ignored Lin Zhao with a rather smug smile as if he was provoking him neither did he really watch him in his eyes.
    "Goblins... I am rather perplexed about them... mm..."

    Gaap seemed to have rather a conflicting attitude toward goblins, on one hand, he found them to be a pest but then he thought about hobgoblins, true, they aren't the same nevertheless...

    "Oh well, I should get back to work... Vandrin Vandrin... well, thank you very much for your work, Boltor should get his necklace very soon... what a fool though, to have lost this necklace..."

    Recovering the necklace while shaking his head and sighing, he began to wonder about something and looked at Vandrin for a few seconds.

    "Rather intriguing how from a few random materials, you got to make smoke bombs... oh well, they are easy to find, specially in that region and well, luck can make them rather well-placed I suppose, anyway, here is your reward... 15 copper coins. Good work, hope for you to take a quest later, work never waits nor ends after all."

    After finishing to talk and handing the rewards, there was a small smile on Gaap's face, albeit strange, it was there. He supported his chin with his two hands and closed his eyes.
     
  9. Hirame

    Hirame Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2018
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    1,235
    Reading List:
    Link
    Fetch a handful of Blood Lilies in the mountains

    Chilly winds played with Maya's hair while she looked down at the blood red stalks she was tasked to collect. It wasnt hard per sey, blood red colour flowers gained their name for was easy to spot on otherwise bleak mountain.

    What was hard was getting to them. Small patch of red Maya spotted took almost half a day to even approach. And when she did? It was so tiny... Just few stalks here and there, nowhere near what she thought she would get out of this.

    Ewwww... This will take forever...

    She complained, but what good would complains be? They wouldnt collect those flowers for her! So she got on her knees and started cutting stalks in way lady Lyra showed her. For you see, if you cut it in wrong way or by the gods dare to pluck it with hand, all the sap will leak out, making these flowers useless! Words of lady Lyra herself~


    You should have seen her face when Maya told her she have no knife, hehehe~ Well, all the shouting later Maya got gifted old knife so she didnt really mind getting shouted at so much.

    Why did Maya speak to lady Lyra anyway? Because "Red flower with yellow specks" doesnt say that much... For all Maya knows mountains could be covered with things that look like that... Better safe than sorry and what better way to be safe then asking lady alchemist herself?

    Well, it turned out there was nothing quite like blood lilies in these mountains so Maya was free to pluck everything red with yellow spots she came across. Well, not pluck or lady Lyra would shout again... "Collect" was the word lady Lyra told Maya to use.

    Anyway, with all flowers "collected" Maya set out again in search of greener pastures. Well, redder in this case~

    -----------

    It was almost evening before Maya found another red patch. It was pretty well hidden and by the looks of it, far larger than the one with few flowers she found first. Enough to complete her quest twice over! If only there were no Zombies walking around... But there were. Two to be exact.

    Maya knew she wasnt exactly alive. She was as dead as dead people could get, but not exactly undead... More of a puppet than anything close to vile creations necromancy could birth. Would they notice? Could they feel her being different? They could feel living, but could they feel her?

    They could not. Maya waited for sun to fall and when veil of the night hid her, Maya went to work. Silently, she went from stalk to stalk, trying to cut them right by memory. Well, she probably got most right, it wasnt that hard but seeing nothing would make anyone make few mistakes... (Well, maybe not with a bit more practice, but Maya had none!)

    Few unhappy zombie growls later, most lilies were "collected" and Maya was traveling away from zombies as fast as possible. Which was not that fast as any noise would make them growl. Or maybe it was just coincidence? They growled awfully often.

    Anyway, Maya spent the rest of the night up in the mountains. While cold and uncomfortable, once you find suitable crevice, its not that bad~

    On the way back nothing of importance happened. Maya bound lilies with particulary long straw of grass when her hands got tired of picking them up as they fell on the ground all the time and collected few pretty red stones. For nothing important, Maya swears! They were just pretty...
    Extra stuff:
    Old knife for cutting herbs
    Extra handful of lilies
    Handful of rough red stones.

    Next quest extra status:
    Frostbite: It doesnt really hurt Maya, but it is super uncomfortable... Does she have to walk? Maya doesnt want to...
    @AliceShiki
     
  10. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    Oh, you're back Maya-chan... I... I'm sorry I couldn't give a proper description of the flowers, but I'm glad Lyra-san helped you out with it.

    Good job in getting them, I'm sure she'll be happy with it, just... Uhn... Try not to sleep out there in the cold? You could get sick... I mean, I don't know if you can get sick though.

    Well, you did what you had to do, here is your reward of 25 small copper coins and the 4 guild points for clearing the quest, have a good day~
     
  11. Nahrenne

    Nahrenne Sister|Daughter|Niece|Aunt|Mummy

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    Messages:
    229
    Likes Received:
    18,508
    Reading List:
    Link
    Shadie entered the building with [Illusory Form] activated, and handed in her quest report to Aria @AliceShiki.
    "I found your missing minstrel."
    Leaving the receptionist area, Shadie deactivated her [Illusory Form] and slunk into the shadows of the night - perfectly blending in. Making her way to the tavern, she soon heard the wailing of fully grown orc men; their muscles bulging out of their bodies, as their green skin was sparkling from their tears.
    "Why!?! Lady Selena, come back to us!"
    "How we miss your beautiful lyre-playing and lovely, gruff voice!"
    "Show us those lovely thick thighs of yours again, as you twirl in that purple dress!"
    Listening to their wailing, Shadie made sure to remember the features of the minstrel, so she would know what to look out for in her search. Departing from the tavern entrance, the shade traversed the streets, looking for a short purple dress worn by a person with thick thighs, a gruff voice and holding/playing a lyre.

    After a few hours, dawn began to approach. Not wishing to be caught in the sunlight for too long, she made her way to the lower levels of the slums - a place where the sun never shone. Reaching a deserted area, Shadie found an empty building and entered, not bothering with trying to open the door, since she could easily slip through a crack in a window due to her incorporeal form. Deciding to rest for a while, she went into [Dark Meditation].

    One hour passed by and Shadie started hearing the muffled sound of gruff giggling and hiccuping. Curious as to the sound, she stealthily moved towards the source of the sound, reaching a door that was half-open with some stairs leading down. Following the stairs, the shade soon came upon the sight of a 7 ft tall orc woman in a purple dress, with very thick, muscled thighs lying on her back. Beside her were many empty bottles of all types of alcohol, on her other side lay an ornately decorated lyre. Not daring to make a sound, Shadie felt an excitement within her, as a heavy waft of sadness and despair swept past her.
    "Why can't I think of anything!?! It's been so many days since I lost my inspiration for a song..."
    The orc minstrel chugged down another bottle of alcohol and belched loudly, before scratching her groin area.
    "And what if they find out I'm not a female...? Ah, I've gotta take a p**s..."
    Getting up from her(?) position, she(?) headed to a damp corner of the room and lifted her(?) dress up, before pulling her(?) underwear down - revealing a large appendage. After relieving herself(?) she(?) made her way back to the pile of bottles and began strumming on her(?) lyre.

    After a few minutes of out of tune plucking, the orc lay down and sighed.
    "Ah, I really need something to spark my creativity again...otherwise my dream of being loved and adored by the orc men will go down the drain..."

    Not really listening to what the orc was saying, Shadie had been creeping closer and closer to the delicious meal before her. If she'd had lips, she would have been licking them in anticipation. With only 3 metres between them, the shade couldn't hold it anymore and activated her [Siphon Energy] spell to feed off the orc's negative emotions.
    "Ahhn, so delicious!"
    "What the!?!"

    Hearing the sound of something, the orc turned to the source and saw the most nightmarish thing they could have ever imagined. Screaming their head off, they were frozen in fear as they saw the being get more and more nightmarish with every passing second.

    "Don't worry~ I won't kill you~ After all, there are some people who very much want you alive~ Just stay like that for a while more~ Ahhn~!"
    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"
    As Shadie was trying her best to reassure her meal quest target, she eventually grabbed hold of the orc to ensure she(?) didn't escape, as well as to feed on her faster. Eventually, after about half an hour, Shadie felt sated enough to stop feeding. Slipping back into the shadows, she left behind the unconscious orc - lying in a pool of their own urine with an anguished expression fixed on their face. Did I go too far? Unsure of what to do with the orc, Shadie hid in a dark corner of the room and waited for her(?) to wake up.

    By the time dusk had fallen, the orc aroused from her(?) slumber with a jolt.
    "Myaargh! Huh?"
    Looking around, they saw nothing out of the ordinary except the pool of liquid they were sat in. Scratching their head, with a bottle still in their hand, they noticed it and stared at it.
    "Hmmmmmmm...."
    Picking up the lyre, the orc began plucking a tune that evoked fear and terror before stopping and staying silent.

    After a few minutes of complete silence, the orc jumped up and exclaimed:
    "I've got it! I've got it! My next song! It'll be the best yet! I, Lady Selena, have done it!"
    Sitting back down in the puddle, seemingly unaware of it, she(?) began strumming away on the lyre, as words began pouring forth from her(?) mouth covered in smudged lipstick.

    Having confirmed that this was the minstrel in the quest, Shadie quietly slipped out of the building and headed back to the guild receptionists.
    So...Lady Selena is a guy?
    "I don't think it will be long before they return to the tavern."

    After saying that, the familiar, gruff, voice of Selena could be heard belting out tunes as she(?) made her way past the building towards the tavern.

    X
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2019
    MaliMi likes this.
  12. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    This was a very... Unexpected revelation about Lady Selena... Well, it isn't really harming anyone though.

    Thank you for clearing the job Shadie-san, here are the 15 small copper coins and the 4 guild points, take care now~
     
    Nahrenne likes this.
  13. Nahrenne

    Nahrenne Sister|Daughter|Niece|Aunt|Mummy

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    Messages:
    229
    Likes Received:
    18,508
    Reading List:
    Link
    "Thanks for the reward."
    Shadie leaves the building and slinks back into the shadows, deactivating her [Illusory Form].
    X
     
  14. A5G_Reaper

    A5G_Reaper [DCLXVI, sohyee, and iampsyx's cute imouto]

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Messages:
    5,794
    Likes Received:
    49,651
    Reading List:
    Link
    "This is rather nostalgic."

    A gourd skipped through the sparse forest, blending rather disturbingly well with the surrounding. He carried a large basket borrowed from the guild, plucking all manner of mushrooms along the way. He had no idea about the target shroom's habitat but mushrooms shouldn't vary much - undergrowth, shaded tree, bushes, all picked up.

    He spent most of the day making rounds before returning to camp. Well, it probably didn't qualify for that. A small pit dug out and surrounded with stones for campfire in a clearing, with a few snare traps built in the surroundings. Not even a bedroll. Good thing the sky was clear.

    "Let's see how many of you are usable."

    Humming an obscure song from a distant land, he separated the mushroom into two piles. The first was the psychedelic-patterned rainbow mushrooms the request described. Second was the rest of them, varying greatly in color and size.

    Still humming, he took a tiny slice of each and simply tasted the thing. The rainbow truffles were returned to the basket. The dreamstress put in their own pile, and finally he started on the other pile.

    "Would go well with chicken soup. This one, indigestion. Next, rash but edible. Then-" he spat out the next tiny bits. "-probably edible, but taste like sandpaper. Mm, crunchy. Next..."

    He didn't discover anything too terrible from the pile. The gourd skipped to the snare traps, picking up a pheasant and a rabbit caught in it. He drained the blood, removed the skin and feathers, and diced the meat. He washed it all in the stream nearby before boiling it on the bonfire, adding some salt and edible mushrooms to the mix.

    With a bowl of meaty soup in hand, he sat against a tree and longingly glanced at the unfamiliar sky. It's been only a few days since he arrived, riddled with wounds so far away from home.

    "I wonder if everyone's doing okay."

    He spent some time examining the guild badge, and carving a tiny grinning gourd above his registered name.

    *****

    The gourd walked into the guild a few days later. Most of the delay from waiting for the finely diced rainbow dreamstress from drying under the sun before storing it in a pouch akin to seven-colored tea leaves. Meanwhile the requested truffles were in the basket, about a third full.

    "Here! You didn't said how many so I hope it's enough."

    He took out a rather finely crafted pipe made out of ivory, stuffing it with the dried dreamstress. He flicked a finger and said "flashfire", a flicker of flame lighted the substance in which he took a deep whiff.

    "Aah, that's some good stuff."
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2019
    Arexio and AliceShiki like this.
  15. A5G_Reaper

    A5G_Reaper [DCLXVI, sohyee, and iampsyx's cute imouto]

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Messages:
    5,794
    Likes Received:
    49,651
    Reading List:
    Link
    @AliceShiki done. By the way, wouldn't this quest be repeatable? The party probably need as many mushrooms as possible.

    Perhaps you could make a handful of unlimited quest per batch that can be completed multiple times? Would be less work for the staff.
     
    Adrian160596 likes this.
  16. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    ((*Whacks Rea-chan's head* Template! Spoiler! Mommy doesn't get special treatment!

    As for repeatable quests, for now we don't want them, but we'll see how things go in the future weeks, if things keep being as hectic as they've been today, we'll probably need them~))
     
    A5G_Reaper likes this.
  17. A5G_Reaper

    A5G_Reaper [DCLXVI, sohyee, and iampsyx's cute imouto]

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Messages:
    5,794
    Likes Received:
    49,651
    Reading List:
    Link
    :blobpats::blobpats::blobpats::blobpats::blobpats:
     
    AliceShiki likes this.
  18. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    Mmmmmmmm, with how troubled the client was, I think you could have hurried a bit in bringing the truffles back, but... Well, we're still before the deadline, so it's not really a problem~

    Be careful with mushrooms found in the wild though, there are definitely poisonous ones out there... Either way, this quest is done, so please receive your 4 Large Copper Coins and 4 guild points~

    Take care now~ *bows*
     
  19. A5G_Reaper

    A5G_Reaper [DCLXVI, sohyee, and iampsyx's cute imouto]

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Messages:
    5,794
    Likes Received:
    49,651
    Reading List:
    Link
    The bastard knows and ate them anyway. Even made the psychedelic shrooms into smoking tobacco.
     
    AliceShiki likes this.
  20. Haxagen

    Haxagen Fallen's|Addicted to Gacha

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2017
    Messages:
    658
    Likes Received:
    12,668
    Reading List:
    Link
    The girl staggers to the counter, looking somewhat tired after a long journey, but no worse for wear. She passes over a parchment.
    [Day 1]
    The village in question was so remote, it wasn’t even on the map. I had to ask around for a while until I managed to find someone from that region, and marked down the rough location on my map. After that, I grabbed most of my stuff, and headed off. Towards that large stretch of mountains in the distance.

    Managed to reach the foot of the mountains in good time, although with the sun setting and night starting, I decided not to set foot in the mountains area yet; it’s already dangerous enough in the daytime. I have selected a tree with thick interlaying branches, and bunked up for the night here.

    [Day 2]
    I don’t know what it was, but I thank my stars that I had chosen a tree with great amounts of shade. Sometime last night, I was woken up abruptly by loud screeching, followed by the rustling of leaves as something---something huge---blew by very close to my tree. It was followed by an unfortunate squeal of one of those goat-like things I found earlier. Minutes later, I heard the same screech again, much further away, but that wasn’t the issue. More screeching echoed from the distance, but I was able to get back to sleep, if uneasily.

    Thanks to that, I woke late, but if I hurry, I should be able to make it through before it gets too dark. I shouldered my gear, and entered the valley between two huge mountains.

    [Day 3]
    Sustained a flesh wound earlier in the day. Damned mountain goblin sneaked up on me and tried sticking me with the pointy end. Thankfully, it was an idiot and tripped over a branch just in time to avoid a more serious wound, so I ended up shanking it with it’s own dagger. Or so I’ve decided to generously call this sharpened piece of rock. The wound doesn't seem to have been poisoned, so I gave it a few pats and wrapped it up somewhat.

    I have slowed down somewhat to conserve my energy, but I’m making good progress. The area I marked down should be nearby, but...this will take a few hours of searching. Or so I thought.

    It didn’t take me more than a few minutes before I spotted the first building out of the corner of my eye. It was constructed flimsily, and looked on the brink of near collapse. I heartily doubted that anyone lived in that.

    Unfortunately, I was wrong again. The rickety door opened, and a person walked out of it, leaning on a cane. He looked ancient, like a fossil.

    This village didn’t even have a fence to encircle it...Just how bad were the living conditions here…?

    As I would later find out, much worse than I expected.

    [Day 4]
    I didn’t stay overnight at the village. In fact, the moment I met the people I was supposed to escort, we prepped everything and started off immediately. Time was wasting, after all.

    It was a family of three. The two adults, Anne and Frank, both looked very lethargic, and spoke little beyond basic conversation. Their little boy, who I decided to call Boris, was shy and didn’t say a word either. Well, I suppose staying at that kind of place for too long does get to you…

    Watching them eat rock hard bread just didn’t sit well with me, so I decided to add some ingredients to their food. The goat-like creatures, which I shall dub the ‘Bihorn’, tasted good when roasted over a fire. Somewhat like real mutton. Of course, we couldn’t risk a fire, so I did the cooking in a ruined shrine we found on the way. Watching them eat meat over the warmth of the campfire felt pretty good...At least my knowledge was able to help someone. Since we were making great progress, I asked them to go to sleep early, while I took the night watch.

    [Day 5]
    We had a few more bumps in the journey the next morning, but we made pretty good pace, and by the late evening, we had managed to reach the destination.

    When I asked them what they were planning to do from this point on, Anne told me that they would be able to find decent jobs to feed themselves with. Apparently, she used to be a weaver long ago, while Frank still retained some memories of woodworking.

    When I asked if the two of them were going back to their old village, both of them smiled rather sadly.

    “The little village is slowly vanishing, bit by bit, as more and more of us leave to seek our fortunes elsewhere. Soon, only the elders, the ones that have decided not to move, will be left. And when that they have passed on as well, the village will be no more.”

    I was rather discomfited by that notion, and somewhat disturbed as well, for reasons that I didn’t know. It just didn't seem right, somehow. I looked up just as Anne placed something in my hand. When I inspected it closely, I found out that it was a small wooden hairpin, carved to resemble a small bird of some kind.

    “Thank you for everything, Elaine. If you ever drop by this area again, our home will always be open to you. See you around, friend.”

    I looked on as they left, clutching that wooden badge. It didn’t seem like it possessed any kind of magic, but it was important, that was for sure. As to how and why, I would have to find out myself. I carefully put it on.

    But what about Boris? Well, that was a matter that occurred the previous night, during the watch.

    Boris joined me as I tended to the cooling embers. We sat around the fire in silence, for several minutes, until I heard his voice for the first time.

    “Thank you for the meal, miss.”

    It was soft, softer than a boy would sound like. And I swore that I’ve heard than kind of voice somewhere before. A quiet voice that hinted of untold sorrow.

    “Pay it no mind. Everyone should be able to eat heartily and have their fill, no matter how good or bad of a person they are. Eating is a basic right, after all.”

    Once again, my spine was tingling. The boy in front of me wasn’t as simple as he seemed.

    “Nevertheless, I thought it was about time to say goodbye, miss. You have brought me to where I was searching for, after all.”

    Before I could ask him what that meant, the neighing of a horse interrupted the conversation. My hand was on the rapier’s grip before I even turned my head, but the boy ran over to where the noise seemed to be coming from, near the shrine entrance. I braced myself, my blade drawn, but instead of something hostile, a fully armoured knight entered the shrine.

    He caught the boy in a big embrace, and chuckled warmly, even as he tousled the boy’s hair into a huge mess. The visor was down so I couldn’t see his face, but the visitor did not seem to have any ill intentions.

    And the next thing I knew, I was staring at the blank shrine entrance. Both the knight and the boy were gone, but the fire was still smoldering. Not much time had passed since I zoned out, but for some reason, I could not remember seeing the two of them leave the shrine, no matter how hard I pondered.

    I did, however, after rummaging through my pockets, find an extra piece of large copper, along with a note.

    “Thank you, young lady. For bringing my son back to me.” --- Darrion

    Then the realisation hit me, and I gasped a little as I understood. The answer was pretty simple. They never left.
    @AliceShiki
     
    Arexio, MaliMi and FuRen like this.