Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Receptionist's Desk

AliceShiki · Jan 29, 2019

Haxagen said: ↑

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
Click to expand...

Well, this was a... Disconcerting report. I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

The clients seemed satisfied though, so I suppose we'll have to leave it at that. The pay is of 2 large copper coins, being completed by the last coin that came from said Darrion fellow... That is not exactly what I call a promissory note, but I suppose it will have to do.

*bows* That will be all for now Elaine-san, have a good day... Oh, and the 4 guild points of course, you have earned them~

Razogul · Jan 29, 2019

Task: Collect 6 Fly Amanitas [Taken by @Razogul and @Arcturus ]
Requester: Maya
Quest Rank: E
Rewards: 2 Large Copper Coins.
Description: The adventurer Maya got wounded in her latest quest, but needs the Fly Amanitas for a potion she is making. The requester is asking that the roots of the mushrooms are preserved in order to allow them to grow again in the future. The mushrooms should all be in decent shape, and with their caps and stalk intact, if possible however, bring one (the others should still be in good condition) that was partially eaten by slimes as the requester might use it for research material.

Raz comes in with a brown sack and unloads the Fly Amanitas. He hands in the quest report and says, "I'm back."

"So, you ready for going to get the mushrooms?" Raz says this while getting his equipment and preparing to go out. "Hopefully, this can be done quickly, even if it's a bit tedious."

"Well, I don't really have much else to be doing. it's not like I have any money to spend." She snorts. "And I was already ready to go when I came and visited the tavern on the off-chance I could get a mission from someone who hadn't left yet. Everything I need is in my pack and pouches. Anything else that I need I can get along the way." She stands up and heads through the door, holding it open.

I go through the door while saying "Thank you." and start going towards the nearby woods. After traveling a while, they arrive at the woods.

"So, we just have to look for some shaded areas and hope for the best. Let's start!"

"Well, it's a mushroom so looking for damp areas isn't bad either. I think North wouldn't be a bad start." She starts off in that direction keeping her eyes looking warily around her.

I follow after her, making sure to keep an eye on my surroundings at all times. "Lead the way."

"I'll also be keeping an eye out for slime traces, not only because slimes can be dangerous for the unwitting, but if we follow one we might find some quality mushrooms." She quietly glides forward relatively at home in the natural setting.

Following after Selvia for a while, Raz sees a slime eating some sort of plant. Going over to Selvia, he whispers, "There's a slime eating something. Could it be a mushroom?" He then points to the tree where the slime is at.

"That isn't a mushroom. But we can follow the traces it leaves behind from its acidic devourings. Just don't bother the slime. They eat everything you know. And while I probably take it down with my Arcane Arrow since it's so small, I'd rather not have to. Especially since I have a way of transporting the jelly or core which are the only valuable objects." She scans further down and sees the telltale marks of a slime's passage heading north-east.

"Indeed, attacking anything in sight is a waste of effort." Seeing where she's looking, he sees the marks of the slime as well. "I guess we go this way?"

She nods. "I didn't want to leave you behind if you were feeling trigger-happy or actually had some use for the slime. Also, I don't believe I ever learned what you actually can do, I just got your name from the receptionist." She begins to walk off to the north-east, beckoning Raz to follow.

"I use ki, but I don't want to make any unnecessary fights that I can safely avoid. All we're doing is getting mushrooms mainly, not hunting monsters." Saying this, he heads Northeast with Selvia.

She continues walking for a while and then stops. "While these haven't been touched by the slime, we do need 5 more that haven't been anyway, and there's a nice batch right here." She crouches down behind a tree and carefully begins to examine the mushroom patch. She then uses an alteration of her arcane arrow spell to form it into a perfectly tiny blade that she used to carefully remove each stool.

"Just in case, get 6 if we can't find one touched by a slime." Raz starts putting them in his brown sack for safekeeping. "Also, that's a great use of your spell."

She swiftly harvests another and then she shrugs in a manner that seems nonchalant but also is quite obviously preening. "Well, I do study the spells I use quite intently. If you know how they work, they become much more versatile. Plus, if you know how something works, you can hopefully explain why to someone else. Magical education is rather pathetic, only teaching spells when they really should teach the magical structures behind them." She grimaces. "Then again, it's much simpler and time-efficient to learn the spell."

"Makes sense, but it also limits one's effectiveness if they don't truly understand it. I believe in perfecting your own techniques first before learning new ones is better." Saying this, he counts the mushrooms in the sack and nods, tying it up. "It seems like we got the required amount. Do you want to try and find one that's touched by slime or just leave?"

"It's up to you, we already completed the request and it's not like it'll pay more to do otherwise. It'll still probably take less than an hour to find one that's been slightly damaged. That slime has been everywhere and the fly amanita is not rare either."

"Yeah, that's true. I guess we'll go back then." Grabbing his brown sack, he gets up and starts heading back to the guild.

She nods. "Quick and efficient. I like it If she wanted mushrooms that were slimed, she should have offered to pay extra for them." She follows along after, easily keeping pace.

@AliceShiki

AliceShiki · Jan 29, 2019

Razogul said: ↑

Task: Collect 6 Fly Amanitas [Taken by @Razogul and @Arcturus ]
Requester: Maya
Quest Rank: E
Rewards: 2 Large Copper Coins.
Description: The adventurer Maya got wounded in her latest quest, but needs the Fly Amanitas for a potion she is making. The requester is asking that the roots of the mushrooms are preserved in order to allow them to grow again in the future. The mushrooms should all be in decent shape, and with their caps and stalk intact, if possible however, bring one (the others should still be in good condition) that was partially eaten by slimes as the requester might use it for research material.

Raz comes in with a brown sack and unloads the Fly Amanitas. He hands in the quest report and says, "I'm back."

"So, you ready for going to get the mushrooms?" Raz says this while getting his equipment and preparing to go out. "Hopefully, this can be done quickly, even if it's a bit tedious."

"Well, I don't really have much else to be doing. it's not like I have any money to spend." She snorts. "And I was already ready to go when I came and visited the tavern on the off-chance I could get a mission from someone who hadn't left yet. Everything I need is in my pack and pouches. Anything else that I need I can get along the way." She stands up and heads through the door, holding it open.

I go through the door while saying "Thank you." and start going towards the nearby woods. After traveling a while, they arrive at the woods.

"So, we just have to look for some shaded areas and hope for the best. Let's start!"

"Well, it's a mushroom so looking for damp areas isn't bad either. I think North wouldn't be a bad start." She starts off in that direction keeping her eyes looking warily around her.

I follow after her, making sure to keep an eye on my surroundings at all times. "Lead the way."

"I'll also be keeping an eye out for slime traces, not only because slimes can be dangerous for the unwitting, but if we follow one we might find some quality mushrooms." She quietly glides forward relatively at home in the natural setting.

Following after Selvia for a while, Raz sees a slime eating some sort of plant. Going over to Selvia, he whispers, "There's a slime eating something. Could it be a mushroom?" He then points to the tree where the slime is at.

"That isn't a mushroom. But we can follow the traces it leaves behind from its acidic devourings. Just don't bother the slime. They eat everything you know. And while I probably take it down with my Arcane Arrow since it's so small, I'd rather not have to. Especially since I have a way of transporting the jelly or core which are the only valuable objects." She scans further down and sees the telltale marks of a slime's passage heading north-east.

"Indeed, attacking anything in sight is a waste of effort." Seeing where she's looking, he sees the marks of the slime as well. "I guess we go this way?"

She nods. "I didn't want to leave you behind if you were feeling trigger-happy or actually had some use for the slime. Also, I don't believe I ever learned what you actually can do, I just got your name from the receptionist." She begins to walk off to the north-east, beckoning Raz to follow.

"I use ki, but I don't want to make any unnecessary fights that I can safely avoid. All we're doing is getting mushrooms mainly, not hunting monsters." Saying this, he heads Northeast with Selvia.

She continues walking for a while and then stops. "While these haven't been touched by the slime, we do need 5 more that haven't been anyway, and there's a nice batch right here." She crouches down behind a tree and carefully begins to examine the mushroom patch. She then uses an alteration of her arcane arrow spell to form it into a perfectly tiny blade that she used to carefully remove each stool.

"Just in case, get 6 if we can't find one touched by a slime." Raz starts putting them in his brown sack for safekeeping. "Also, that's a great use of your spell."

She swiftly harvests another and then she shrugs in a manner that seems nonchalant but also is quite obviously preening. "Well, I do study the spells I use quite intently. If you know how they work, they become much more versatile. Plus, if you know how something works, you can hopefully explain why to someone else. Magical education is rather pathetic, only teaching spells when they really should teach the magical structures behind them." She grimaces. "Then again, it's much simpler and time-efficient to learn the spell."

"Makes sense, but it also limits one's effectiveness if they don't truly understand it. I believe in perfecting your own techniques first before learning new ones is better." Saying this, he counts the mushrooms in the sack and nods, tying it up. "It seems like we got the required amount. Do you want to try and find one that's touched by slime or just leave?"

"It's up to you, we already completed the request and it's not like it'll pay more to do otherwise. It'll still probably take less than an hour to find one that's been slightly damaged. That slime has been everywhere and the fly amanita is not rare either."

"Yeah, that's true. I guess we'll go back then." Grabbing his brown sack, he gets up and starts heading back to the guild.

She nods. "Quick and efficient. I like it If she wanted mushrooms that were slimed, she should have offered to pay extra for them." She follows along after, easily keeping pace.

@AliceShiki
Click to expand...

Uhn... Could you please not unload various mushrooms with poisonous stalks right in the counter...? *coughs*

*takes some gloves from behind the counter and carefully picks the amanitas before putting them in a sack again* That said, they all seemed to be in pristine condition, and you did as the requester asked, I'm sure Maya-chan will be grateful~

The reward will be of 2 Large Copper Coins for you to split as you see fit and 2 guild points for each, have a good day~ *bows*

*starts cleaning the counter with a rag once you two leave* I'll probably need to throw this rag out later... Haa...

SpearOfLies · Jan 29, 2019

Somehow Sol ends up as leader of the party. Not like he minds. It shows he has a bit of charisma.
"My first mission was a good start." With this thought in mind, Sol hand off the quest report to the cute catlady.

Blue=Amayeh text. Orange=May text. Green=Sol text

It was my first time pairing up with other adventurers let alone with those who are our seniors....

‘Arrgh I am nervous’
Nevertheless, I met Sol and May on time in front of the guild. my stomach has butterflies!! I need to do good in this mission. I need this money....

Censored Chan helped me calm me....Censored Chan was worried for me in my mindscape....

Walking to the entrance may noticed amayah shaking a bit and gave her water gourd to calm down by drinking the water.

May Chan seemed to have noticed something and so gave me something to drink, She’s a nice girl. She oozes youth!! Sigh does she think I am a kid? My self consciousness came back again.....

“Let’s head out” said Sol.
That’s when I notice this boy who isn’t much older than me.
Sol is a .......swordsman ? But unlike May he carries a short sword.... he is cute though with his white hair and a chunni hairband.
He’s acting as the party leader for us three...

As I am lost in my day dreams , we reach the entrance.....

As we arrived at the entrance to meet party Crash, there was a male dwarf warrior, a female elf archer, and a female mage. The quest was about helping them carry their stuff and be a lookout for the night until they reach their destination. Easy job. We introduce ourself and we soon started our journey.

The first day was uneventful. The first night was less uneventful.

At night,
Knowing my appparent battle prowess weakness, I decided to volunteer as the night watch while the other two rested and kept their strengths. My eyes, it seems are better than humans especially at night. At around midnight, I noticed that something was approaching us. It was definitely more than one... Quickly I woke up my companions as we got ready for battle. I was..... scared. Usually I would have run away by now. I am good at hiding and surviving. But nonetheless I brought out my sweet censored Chan and applied mage armour weak on Sol. He might have to be our main fighter/tank after all....

A group of 4 goblins attacked us.

Sol moved near the closest goblin, thrown a bit of spice in the goblin face to weaken him and then kicked it to May's direction to let her finish him off. Sol hopes she didn't mind this action.

Sol saw that Amayah had a bit of difficulty against one of the goblin. With a swift movement, he arrived behind the goblin and backstabbed him.

"Teh!" may slashed her sword across the goblin and finished it off with a stab to the chest.

Hopped up on adrenaline she the charged at another goblin and slashed its feet, then it's chest, then it's head and kicked it down not noticing the small cut on her arm.

Sol and May quickly began to fight their opponents while I was left with only one goblin.
What should I do... I sent my censored Chan to fight him... poor censored Chan was barely the goblin’s chin height. The goblin seemed to be better equipped with a heavy club ... but my summon had nothing. Should I give it my knife ? No I can’t protect myself then... should I intervene and try to melee?No, my skills suck. I couldn’t bear to watch censored being beaten up as it was dodging the goblin around .... but this can’t go along fast. What should I do ? What should I do??

Suddenly Sol showed up suddenly and backstabbed the goblin killing it instantly.
Immediately I ran towards censored... answers equipped it with my punching dagger.... now I can no longer use my dagger as it now became a half corporeal item belonging to the mindscape.... but I didn’t regret it.
With sol protecting me, I got censored Chan to defeat and kill the fourth goblin. May seemed to have soloed her goblin too.... only I was pitiful. But it’s alright I got my first KILL.

The morning party Crash thanks us for let them having a sweet relaxed night. Usually, other parties wake up them instead with properly manage defeat the unwanted intruders. They promise us a bit of extra at end of the mission.

A group of goblin and hobgoblins attacked us. We prepared for the fight but party Crash stopped us. They said that we already did our part of the job so we don't need to help them to deal with this small fry. The fight was very insightful. "So this is how a higher rank party fight" was the thought that passes through our mind.

After that event, we arrived at the destination and they finally gave the package to person for their own quest. We didn't give too much attention as was impolite to pry into other party's quest. Our journey to return back started soon after.

The night was uneventful. We decided to talk a bit of old life and our future aspirations.

"Do you guy have a dream?" Sol said while staring the night sky.
"My dream is doing something big. I know that I'm not strong. I don't have any talents. I cannot use magic or any special power. But I don't fear to try and fail. I will never hide against bigger danger. I will climb the rank of adventurer's guild with this body of mine."

‘Dream.... I looked into the crackling camp fire....’
“No I can’t afford to dream. For now I have to grow stronger. I’ll go keep watch.” I said
*leaves*
‘I ran away huh... but dreams, that’s not something I can hope for.’

May looked into the fire with a blank look before shaking her head a bit "unnnn I had no specific goal in mind besides becoming stronger."

She tried thinking about what her life long dream was but sighed "I live more in the mement, one of the reasons I came here was that of becoming stronger. I could've joined the army back home but my pa told me how conceited and dumb they are so I decided on here."

The atmosphere was awkward and heavy. Sol through that maybe he didn't choose the right argument.

May chuckled a bit "don't think too much on it, your dream is pretty nice." she went to Amayah to look take watch too but nothing happened as the night passed by.

We finally returned back. Party Crash gave us a bit of extra before letting us go to the Adventurer's guild to report our quest.

Each one earn a extra 5 small bronze coin.

@AliceShiki @leegood @Amayah

AliceShiki · Jan 29, 2019

SpearOfLies said: ↑

Somehow Sol ends up as leader of the party. Not like he minds. It shows he has a bit of charisma.
"My first mission was a good start." With this thought in mind, Sol hand off the quest report to the cute catlady.

Blue=Amayeh text. Orange=May text. Green=Sol text

It was my first time pairing up with other adventurers let alone with those who are our seniors....

‘Arrgh I am nervous’
Nevertheless, I met Sol and May on time in front of the guild. my stomach has butterflies!! I need to do good in this mission. I need this money....

Censored Chan helped me calm me....Censored Chan was worried for me in my mindscape....

Walking to the entrance may noticed amayah shaking a bit and gave her water gourd to calm down by drinking the water.

May Chan seemed to have noticed something and so gave me something to drink, She’s a nice girl. She oozes youth!! Sigh does she think I am a kid? My self consciousness came back again.....

“Let’s head out” said Sol.
That’s when I notice this boy who isn’t much older than me.
Sol is a .......swordsman ? But unlike May he carries a short sword.... he is cute though with his white hair and a chunni hairband.
He’s acting as the party leader for us three...

As I am lost in my day dreams , we reach the entrance.....

As we arrived at the entrance to meet party Crash, there was a male dwarf warrior, a female elf archer, and a female mage. The quest was about helping them carry their stuff and be a lookout for the night until they reach their destination. Easy job. We introduce ourself and we soon started our journey.

The first day was uneventful. The first night was less uneventful.

At night,
Knowing my appparent battle prowess weakness, I decided to volunteer as the night watch while the other two rested and kept their strengths. My eyes, it seems are better than humans especially at night. At around midnight, I noticed that something was approaching us. It was definitely more than one... Quickly I woke up my companions as we got ready for battle. I was..... scared. Usually I would have run away by now. I am good at hiding and surviving. But nonetheless I brought out my sweet censored Chan and applied mage armour weak on Sol. He might have to be our main fighter/tank after all....

A group of 4 goblins attacked us.

Sol moved near the closest goblin, thrown a bit of spice in the goblin face to weaken him and then kicked it to May's direction to let her finish him off. Sol hopes she didn't mind this action.

Sol saw that Amayah had a bit of difficulty against one of the goblin. With a swift movement, he arrived behind the goblin and backstabbed him.

"Teh!" may slashed her sword across the goblin and finished it off with a stab to the chest.

Hopped up on adrenaline she the charged at another goblin and slashed its feet, then it's chest, then it's head and kicked it down not noticing the small cut on her arm.

Sol and May quickly began to fight their opponents while I was left with only one goblin.
What should I do... I sent my censored Chan to fight him... poor censored Chan was barely the goblin’s chin height. The goblin seemed to be better equipped with a heavy club ... but my summon had nothing. Should I give it my knife ? No I can’t protect myself then... should I intervene and try to melee?No, my skills suck. I couldn’t bear to watch censored being beaten up as it was dodging the goblin around .... but this can’t go along fast. What should I do ? What should I do??

Suddenly Sol showed up suddenly and backstabbed the goblin killing it instantly.
Immediately I ran towards censored... answers equipped it with my punching dagger.... now I can no longer use my dagger as it now became a half corporeal item belonging to the mindscape.... but I didn’t regret it.
With sol protecting me, I got censored Chan to defeat and kill the fourth goblin. May seemed to have soloed her goblin too.... only I was pitiful. But it’s alright I got my first KILL.

The morning party Crash thanks us for let them having a sweet relaxed night. Usually, other parties wake up them instead with properly manage defeat the unwanted intruders. They promise us a bit of extra at end of the mission.

A group of goblin and hobgoblins attacked us. We prepared for the fight but party Crash stopped us. They said that we already did our part of the job so we don't need to help them to deal with this small fry. The fight was very insightful. "So this is how a higher rank party fight" was the thought that passes through our mind.

After that event, we arrived at the destination and they finally gave the package to person for their own quest. We didn't give too much attention as was impolite to pry into other party's quest. Our journey to return back started soon after.

The night was uneventful. We decided to talk a bit of old life and our future aspirations.

"Do you guy have a dream?" Sol said while staring the night sky.
"My dream is doing something big. I know that I'm not strong. I don't have any talents. I cannot use magic or any special power. But I don't fear to try and fail. I will never hide against bigger danger. I will climb the rank of adventurer's guild with this body of mine."

‘Dream.... I looked into the crackling camp fire....’
“No I can’t afford to dream. For now I have to grow stronger. I’ll go keep watch.” I said
*leaves*
‘I ran away huh... but dreams, that’s not something I can hope for.’

May looked into the fire with a blank look before shaking her head a bit "unnnn I had no specific goal in mind besides becoming stronger."

She tried thinking about what her life long dream was but sighed "I live more in the mement, one of the reasons I came here was that of becoming stronger. I could've joined the army back home but my pa told me how conceited and dumb they are so I decided on here."

The atmosphere was awkward and heavy. Sol through that maybe he didn't choose the right argument.

May chuckled a bit "don't think too much on it, your dream is pretty nice." she went to Amayah to look take watch too but nothing happened as the night passed by.

We finally returned back. Party Crash gave us a bit of extra before letting us go to the Adventurer's guild to report our quest.

Each one earn a extra 5 small bronze coin.

@AliceShiki @leegood @Amayah
Click to expand...

Seems like the three of you worked very hard, I'm happy with the results, and I'm sure Party Crash was too, considering that they even gave you an extra reward~ *giggles*

Well, you're still at the start, I'm sure you'll all get better and more experienced as time passes, so don't give up and press on, alright?

The reward are 15 small copper coins and 2 guild points for each, please keep on working hard~ *smiles*

AliceShiki · Jan 29, 2019

AliceShiki said: ↑

Seems like the three of you worked very hard, I'm happy with the results, and I'm sure Party Crash was too, considering that they even gave you an extra reward~ *giggles*

Well, you're still at the start, I'm sure you'll all get better and more experienced as time passes, so don't give up and press on, alright?

The reward are 15 small copper coins and 2 guild points for each, please keep on working hard~ *smiles*
Click to expand...

(( @Amayah @leegood Oops, I forgot to tag you two in it, my bad~))

Amayah · Jan 29, 2019

AliceShiki said: ↑

(( @Amayah @leegood Oops, I forgot to tag you two in it, my bad~))
Click to expand...

T-Thank you....
But is there any chance that I can apply for another task?

Haitaka · Jan 30, 2019

"Its bad Aria", i say walking up to the reception desk holding the small kitten.

"It seems a person was using the cats as a testing subject for a plague they've created", i put the sack with the books, the rings, and the staff on the desk.

"I took these to try and prevent whatever it is they are doing, but if they're as powerful as i think they are it probably won't change much", i say as i put my report on the desk too.

"I made a medical solution which soothes the pain but the cure should be in these books"

[Day 1]

Listening to the request of the receptionist girl, I began to walk around the town in order to try and identify what was effecting the cats of the town.

My first thought was to find a cat, in order to investigate whether what is happening to these cats is just a flu or something worse.
___

Several hours…

Several hours of walking around the town, through alleys and backstreets, I have yet to see a single cat…

“If they are this difficult to find, it means one of two things”, I say kneeling down as I see some hair on some of the cobblestones in the backstreet

“Either all of the cats have fled already”, pinching the hair between my fingers I see the variation in color

“Or they are hiding”, allowing the cat hair to drift from my fingers I see one of the things I was looking for.

“A calico huh?” noticing the small cat weakly walking in the alley way, Vandrin approached it calmly, and softly.

The cat noticed his presence but could only softly turn its head to him as he approached.

“Are you alright little one?” I asks as he slowly and softly reaches his hands to gently pick up the small cat.

I begin to carefully check the small cats health.

The breathing of the calico was shallow, its ears drooped, its nose was dry, and its fur was exceptionally rough.

“It seems it is a sickness that took hold of you”, I sa petting the kittens head softly, “luckily it does not seem to be a curse like Aria feared.

The cat nudged its head against my hand as best it could

“Lets see if this helps”, I say using some of the medical herbs I gathered to create a small paste, mixing it with some water, creating a solution.

After making sure the kitten drinks it, its breathing gets less shallow after a few minutes.

Looking around I smile at the sight of something.

“Luckily for me little one, you left a trail to where you have been”,

Following the trail of calico fur, I make my way towards the area the kitten most likely contracted it sickness.

___

“If that was anyone besides me, you’d have been out of luck little one” I say after spending the last few hours searching for the remaining traces of where the kitten had been based on what was in its fur, the smell it had acquired, and the trail of falling fur that it left.

I came across a simple house, that was seemingly simple in design and nature, but the intuition one gains from living in dangerous situations was going off.

Investigating around the house, I find alchemical supplies, and what I assume are magical components near a cellar door.

“It seems I may have spoken a little soon about a curse”, I say with a sigh.

Checking around to see if anyone is home, I turn my appearance into that of a little halting girl, and I try to open the cellar door.

“Damn thing”, except it doesn’t budge.

‘Seems I’m going to have to report this before I can do anything about it…’ I think to myself with a sigh.

Looking at the tiny kitten in my arms which seems to finally be comfortable after a long while, I resolve myself.

“Dammit”, with that I use one of the daggers and try to pick the lock.

___

*Sigh*

“I guess it won’t be that easy”, I say to myself as I use a focused eldritch blast on the lock, breaking it.

Opening the cellar door, and quickly entering I investigate the insides quickly, while still in my disguise.

“Dammit…”, on the interior I find a pedestal in the center of the room which holds a leather bound book, alchemical supplies, magical components, and … sacrifices in the room.

*Sigh*

Flipping through the book quickly I find that its contents are filled with those of diseases, and plagues. Notes line the pages of the book. It seems the owner of it used smaller animals as a test for a new species specific plague they had been testing out, and were planning on expanding their prospects soon.

“Its better to take this book and their notes”, I say to myself as I take every book I can see in the room and put it in my sack.

“…”, looking around the room I debate destroying the supplies or not, but then I notice a set of rings and a staff.

I take the rings and the staff, and decide to leave the supplies intact that way the guilds can investigate this home as well.

Evil person is making a plague, and the house i found might not be the only one.

@AliceShiki

AliceShiki · Jan 30, 2019

Haitaka said: ↑

"Its bad Aria", i say walking up to the reception desk holding the small kitten.

"It seems a person was using the cats as a testing subject for a plague they've created", i put the sack with the books, the rings, and the staff on the desk.

"I took these to try and prevent whatever it is they are doing, but if they're as powerful as i think they are it probably won't change much", i say as i put my report on the desk too.

"I made a medical solution which soothes the pain but the cure should be in these books"

[Day 1]

Listening to the request of the receptionist girl, I began to walk around the town in order to try and identify what was effecting the cats of the town.

My first thought was to find a cat, in order to investigate whether what is happening to these cats is just a flu or something worse.
___

Several hours…

Several hours of walking around the town, through alleys and backstreets, I have yet to see a single cat…

“If they are this difficult to find, it means one of two things”, I say kneeling down as I see some hair on some of the cobblestones in the backstreet

“Either all of the cats have fled already”, pinching the hair between my fingers I see the variation in color

“Or they are hiding”, allowing the cat hair to drift from my fingers I see one of the things I was looking for.

“A calico huh?” noticing the small cat weakly walking in the alley way, Vandrin approached it calmly, and softly.

The cat noticed his presence but could only softly turn its head to him as he approached.

“Are you alright little one?” I asks as he slowly and softly reaches his hands to gently pick up the small cat.

I begin to carefully check the small cats health.

The breathing of the calico was shallow, its ears drooped, its nose was dry, and its fur was exceptionally rough.

“It seems it is a sickness that took hold of you”, I sa petting the kittens head softly, “luckily it does not seem to be a curse like Aria feared.

The cat nudged its head against my hand as best it could

“Lets see if this helps”, I say using some of the medical herbs I gathered to create a small paste, mixing it with some water, creating a solution.

After making sure the kitten drinks it, its breathing gets less shallow after a few minutes.

Looking around I smile at the sight of something.

“Luckily for me little one, you left a trail to where you have been”,

Following the trail of calico fur, I make my way towards the area the kitten most likely contracted it sickness.

___

“If that was anyone besides me, you’d have been out of luck little one” I say after spending the last few hours searching for the remaining traces of where the kitten had been based on what was in its fur, the smell it had acquired, and the trail of falling fur that it left.

I came across a simple house, that was seemingly simple in design and nature, but the intuition one gains from living in dangerous situations was going off.

Investigating around the house, I find alchemical supplies, and what I assume are magical components near a cellar door.

“It seems I may have spoken a little soon about a curse”, I say with a sigh.

Checking around to see if anyone is home, I turn my appearance into that of a little halting girl, and I try to open the cellar door.

“Damn thing”, except it doesn’t budge.

‘Seems I’m going to have to report this before I can do anything about it…’ I think to myself with a sigh.

Looking at the tiny kitten in my arms which seems to finally be comfortable after a long while, I resolve myself.

“Dammit”, with that I use one of the daggers and try to pick the lock.

___

*Sigh*

“I guess it won’t be that easy”, I say to myself as I use a focused eldritch blast on the lock, breaking it.

Opening the cellar door, and quickly entering I investigate the insides quickly, while still in my disguise.

“Dammit…”, on the interior I find a pedestal in the center of the room which holds a leather bound book, alchemical supplies, magical components, and … sacrifices in the room.

*Sigh*

Flipping through the book quickly I find that its contents are filled with those of diseases, and plagues. Notes line the pages of the book. It seems the owner of it used smaller animals as a test for a new species specific plague they had been testing out, and were planning on expanding their prospects soon.

“Its better to take this book and their notes”, I say to myself as I take every book I can see in the room and put it in my sack.

“…”, looking around the room I debate destroying the supplies or not, but then I notice a set of rings and a staff.

I take the rings and the staff, and decide to leave the supplies intact that way the guilds can investigate this home as well.

Evil person is making a plague, and the house i found might not be the only one.

@AliceShiki
Click to expand...

I... Thank you for the quick report Vandrin-san, and as much as it pains me to say so, you shouldn't have forced the door's lock nor taken the supplies... Whoever was using that house as base, is definitely not doing so any longer.

Still... Fuu, at least we have some leads, and I appreciate the effort... This is turning out to be bigger than I hoped... Haa...

In any case, you did the job... Partially, you gave us good clues, but what I requested was a cure, not leads over the occurrence. I still appreciate everything you did, but this was not a proper completion of my request... At least we now have those books, I'll request for some of the guild's alchemists to look over it, but it might take some time.

I'll have to apply a penalty to the promised reward, you'll get 7 Large Copper Coins and 3 guild points instead of the full amount... Have a good day Vandrin-san... And... Thank you, really. *bows*

FuRen · Jan 30, 2019

AliceShiki said: ↑

Task: Lullaby [Available]
Requester: Mr Low
Quest rank: E
Rewards: An old Lyre worth 8 Large Copper Coins.
Description: Mr Low's wife left this world and a child behind. As his house is behind the AG tavern, the wailing of the half-orphaned kid is disturbing both father and tavern patrons. Mr Low is unable to read or write, thus contacted the Guild on the 28th of Mid Winter, to hire an adventurer skilled in pacifying children gently. The request is specifically for teaching him an effective lullaby, but we recommend teaching him other methods as well.
Click to expand...

Entering the guild, I approached the counter and submitted my report.

Stepping out of the guild building, it did not take me long to arrive before Mr Low's house behind the tavern. Knocking on the wooden door, I heard a weak voice calling out from within.

"Who is it?"

Although the weak voice made me worry, I replied, "I am Venefica. I accepted the quest you submitted to the guild."

"Really?! Please wait, I'll be at the door in a moment." The voice said, sounding excited, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps.

Moments later, I heard the sound of the door unlocking and being opened. Beyond it, I saw a slightly emaciated man standing there, looking very sickly.

"Please, come in."

"Pardon my intrusion." I answered, reining in the questions I had.

Entering the house, I could see that its interior is just like its exterior, simple. Mister Low took me to a living room, seemingly in an attempt to be accommodating, but I noticed that he was rather fidgety, so I said.

"Mister Low, please take me to your child." Though I said that, I wondered whether I was too bluntly. But he did not seem to mind, instead appearing to be happy at those words.

"Right this way." He said, leading me to a room.

Inside, I could see a young baby laying on a bed at the other side of the room. As we approached, Mister Low started to explain.

"My child, Alto, when it's day time, he only occasionally wails either because of hunger or something else. But at night, he constantly wails for whatever reason I can't seem to find out. Every attempt of mine to placate his wails always ends in failure." Mister Low explained with a sigh.

Hearing his explanation, I took a closer look at the baby lying on the bed, Alto.
There was no defining feature and I found nothing too odd about him. After some thought, I said to Mister Low.

"If you do not mind, may I wait until night comes before coming to a further conclusion?"

At my words, he seemed to be slightly disappointed, but he kept on being accommodating, accepting my words.
We then proceeded to the living room where time seemed to pass on slowly. Although it is of no matter to me, seeing that Mister Low continued to be fidgety, I asked him.

"Mister Low, may I ask why is it that you used a lyre as the quest reward?" He jumped at my words. But he soon answered with a bitter smile.

"Actually, that lyre is from my late wife's collection. She died after giving birth to Alto. She was a minstrel who played the lyre, you see. I fell in love with her and the music she made. She also taught me some of her skills, but I can never seem to reach her level." Mister Low's eyes were filled with melancholy as he explained, smiling faintly as if remembering a happy memory. "As for why I used it as a reward, I'm barely scraping out enough to feed me and my child, I don't think I could give much reward after that. I hope you don't mind." Reaching that point, Mister Low stared at me with worry.

"I don't mind. Either way, I have already accepted the quest." I said to reassure him.

We then continued to chat until the sky outside finally turned dark. At that moment, I could clearly hear the sound of wailing coming from Alto's room.
Without needing a word, I entered the room. Once inside, I saw that Alto was wailing loudly as if to burst my eardrums. Knowing that Mister Low must have tried every ordinary method he knew to placate his child, I attempted another method.

With my open palm facing the child, I chanted, 「O, divine light, bless us with your grace, 'Light's Grace'」 motes of golden light then started to appear out of my open palm and entered the child. As it did, I could faintly hear the sound of shrieks coming from the child as a black gaseous substance left his body and dissipated into thin air. Not long after, the child no longer wailed and peacefully slept. But the sight of black gaseous substance leaving the child refused to leave my mind, causing my expression to turn grim.

"Aside from you, was there anyone who came into contact with Alto around before all this started?" I asked Mister Low who had been standing behind me.

My voice seemed to break him out of his daze as he answered stutteringly.

"N-no, I was rather down after my wife died, so I rarely left the house and spent my time taking care of Alto here."

Hearing his explanation, I thoughtfully looked around the room. Nothing seemed off until something caught my eye.

"Mister Low, is that a lyre?" Following where I pointed, there is a lyre covered in white cloth.

"Ah, yes. In fact, that is the exact lyre I planned on giving you."

Hearing his words, I approached the lyre and removed the cloth covering it. The lyre is made out of wood and the design is simple. Aside from its aged appearance, nothing seemed to stand out about it.
But the moment my eyes landed on it, a bad feeling filled my heart. After a moment of thought, I reached out my hand and once again chanted, 「O, divine light, bless us with your grace, 'Light's Grace'」as golden motes of light entered the lyre, a harsh shriek suddenly came out of it as a black gaseous substance swirled into the air. The lyre strings strummed wildly. Mixed with the sound of shrieks, I could feel my eardrums about to burst.

Fortunately, after another Light Grace spell, the black substance disappeared into the air, leaving nothing but an ordinary aged harp behind. Seeing that, my body went limp and fell to the ground. Using three basic light spells truly took a toll out of me.

"Goodness gracious! Miss Vanefica, what was that?!" Behind, I could hear Mister Low shouting in shock.

"That was, I believe, a curse. Fortunately it was only a weak one which can only slowly temper with the mind, otherwise I would have failed to do a thing and might have even died." As I explained, I carefully raised my body and turned to look at him. "I advice that you seek help from people more specialized in exorcising curses just to make sure."

Nodding his head nervously, he seemed to have taken my advice to the heart. But he then continued carefully.

"I don't think that my initial reward is enough to compensate this. Is there anything you want to ask of me?" Hearing his words, I pondered before finally saying.

"How about above receiving the old lyre, Mister Low also give me some guidance on playing the lyre? I believe you said that your wife also gave you some pointers?" Hearing my offer, Mister Low looked delighted.

"No problem, just come at anytime you like, I'll be sure to guide you as much as I can."

After receiving his confirmation, I went to report to the guild and spent the next few days learning about playing the lyre under Mister Low.

Managed to placate the child and received guidance on lyre playing from the quest giver. But discovered that the old lyre actually contains a curse and is the source of problem.

@Naraku

Naraku · Jan 30, 2019

FuRen said: ↑

Entering the guild, I approached the counter and submitted my report.

Stepping out of the guild building, it did not take me long to arrive before Mr Low's house behind the tavern. Knocking on the wooden door, I heard a weak voice calling out from within.

"Who is it?"

Although the weak voice made me worry, I replied, "I am Venefica. I accepted the quest you submitted to the guild."

"Really?! Please wait, I'll be at the door in a moment." The voice said, sounding excited, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps.

Moments later, I heard the sound of the door unlocking and being opened. Beyond it, I saw a slightly emaciated man standing there, looking very sickly.

"Please, come in."

"Pardon my intrusion." I answered, reining in the questions I had.

Entering the house, I could see that its interior is just like its exterior, simple. Mister Low took me to a living room, seemingly in an attempt to be accommodating, but I noticed that he was rather fidgety, so I said.

"Mister Low, please take me to your child." Though I said that, I wondered whether I was too bluntly. But he did not seem to mind, instead appearing to be happy at those words.

"Right this way." He said, leading me to a room.

Inside, I could see a young baby laying on a bed at the other side of the room. As we approached, Mister Low started to explain.

"My child, Alto, when it's day time, he only occasionally wails either because of hunger or something else. But at night, he constantly wails for whatever reason I can't seem to find out. Every attempt of mine to placate his wails always ends in failure." Mister Low explained with a sigh.

Hearing his explanation, I took a closer look at the baby lying on the bed, Alto.
There was no defining feature and I found nothing too odd about him. After some thought, I said to Mister Low.

"If you do not mind, may I wait until night comes before coming to a further conclusion?"

At my words, he seemed to be slightly disappointed, but he kept on being accommodating, accepting my words.
We then proceeded to the living room where time seemed to pass on slowly. Although it is of no matter to me, seeing that Mister Low continued to be fidgety, I asked him.

"Mister Low, may I ask why is it that you used a lyre as the quest reward?" He jumped at my words. But he soon answered with a bitter smile.

"Actually, that lyre is from my late wife's collection. She died after giving birth to Alto. She was a minstrel who played the lyre, you see. I fell in love with her and the music she made. She also taught me some of her skills, but I can never seem to reach her level." Mister Low's eyes were filled with melancholy as he explained, smiling faintly as if remembering a happy memory. "As for why I used it as a reward, I'm barely scraping out enough to feed me and my child, I don't think I could give much reward after that. I hope you don't mind." Reaching that point, Mister Low stared at me with worry.

"I don't mind. Either way, I have already accepted the quest." I said to reassure him.

We then continued to chat until the sky outside finally turned dark. At that moment, I could clearly hear the sound of wailing coming from Alto's room.
Without needing a word, I entered the room. Once inside, I saw that Alto was wailing loudly as if to burst my eardrums. Knowing that Mister Low must have tried every ordinary method he knew to placate his child, I attempted another method.

With my open palm facing the child, I chanted, 「O, divine light, bless us with your grace, 'Light's Grace'」 motes of golden light then started to appear out of my open palm and entered the child. As it did, I could faintly hear the sound of shrieks coming from the child as a black gaseous substance left his body and dissipated into thin air. Not long after, the child no longer wailed and peacefully slept. But the sight of black gaseous substance leaving the child refused to leave my mind, causing my expression to turn grim.

"Aside from you, was there anyone who came into contact with Alto around before all this started?" I asked Mister Low who had been standing behind me.

My voice seemed to break him out of his daze as he answered stutteringly.

"N-no, I was rather down after my wife died, so I rarely left the house and spent my time taking care of Alto here."

Hearing his explanation, I thoughtfully looked around the room. Nothing seemed off until something caught my eye.

"Mister Low, is that a lyre?" Following where I pointed, there is a lyre covered in white cloth.

"Ah, yes. In fact, that is the exact lyre I planned on giving you."

Hearing his words, I approached the lyre and removed the cloth covering it. The lyre is made out of wood and the design is simple. Aside from its aged appearance, nothing seemed to stand out about it.
But the moment my eyes landed on it, a bad feeling filled my heart. After a moment of thought, I reached out my hand and once again chanted, 「O, divine light, bless us with your grace, 'Light's Grace'」as golden motes of light entered the lyre, a harsh shriek suddenly came out of it as a black gaseous substance swirled into the air. The lyre strings strummed wildly. Mixed with the sound of shrieks, I could feel my eardrums about to burst.

Fortunately, after another Light Grace spell, the black substance disappeared into the air, leaving nothing but an ordinary aged harp behind. Seeing that, my body went limp and fell to the ground. Using three basic light spells truly took a toll out of me.

"Goodness gracious! Miss Vanefica, what was that?!" Behind, I could hear Mister Low shouting in shock.

"That was, I believe, a curse. Fortunately it was only a weak one which can only slowly temper with the mind, otherwise I would have failed to do a thing and might have even died." As I explained, I carefully raised my body and turned to look at him. "I advice that you seek help from people more specialized in exorcising curses just to make sure."

Nodding his head nervously, he seemed to have taken my advice to the heart. But he then continued carefully.

"I don't think that my initial reward is enough to compensate this. Is there anything you want to ask of me?" Hearing his words, I pondered before finally saying.

"How about above receiving the old lyre, Mister Low also give me some guidance on playing the lyre? I believe you said that your wife also gave you some pointers?" Hearing my offer, Mister Low looked delighted.

"No problem, just come at anytime you like, I'll be sure to guide you as much as I can."

After receiving his confirmation, I went to report to the guild and spent the next few days learning about playing the lyre under Mister Low.

Managed to placate the child and received guidance on lyre playing from the quest giver. But discovered that the old lyre actually contains a curse and is the source of problem.

@Naraku
Click to expand...

"Well, you didn't exactly complete the request, as it was specifically to teach him a lullaby, but since Mister Low gave you the reward, everything's fine."

Scratching his head, Gaap sighed, as contrary to what he said, not everything is fine. A curse, someone wanted to kill his wife ? Since his wife was a minstrel, she was in contact with the Lyre during quite a lot of time. Oh well, looks like there would be work for more adventurers. Perfect... it meant more paperwork.

"That's my job anyway... well, the client is satisfied, so good work, you succeed your quest. Well, thank for the report, it is useful.
Hope to see you for more succesful quests.
Eh, later in the tavern, you could perhaps play the lyre."

Gaap smirked and began to report some issues.

Fossil · Jan 30, 2019

Challenge the Mentalist Beastkin

After I received my quest, I left the guild to wander the streets. My thoughts? I have no clue where I’m going, but the beastkin sounds famous enough that she should be easy to find. Wandering the streets in search for a crowd is my best bet at the moment. However...the main issue is that the beastkin isn’t antisocial. She’s actively showing off her skills. That sounds more like a faker than a genuine mentalist.

Reading minds is a great skill, but you have to take into account the dangers of it. You can see right through to the core of people, meaning you can expose their lies. But sometimes those lies are so dark and hideous, as well as so common, that you just want to cut off your power.

There’s a few reasons why the mentalist hasn’t crumbled yet. First is that she straight up doesn’t have the power, which is the most likely. Second is that she can freely control whether or not she can read minds- but they still wouldn’t want to stick out like this. After all, from what I saw outside of the guild, their race is being discriminated. Why would a beastkin want to stick out? As a ray of hope? If so they should have gotten a better power. Finally, the last reason is that they have just as many dark thoughts as the people around them...but that’s the most unlikely considering none of their actions come across as evil.

That’s why I need to get her alone. For that, though, I need to find her, which is easier said than done. Giving up a bit, I walk up to a random person and start talking.

“Hey, could you help me find someone?” I say with a smile, hoping to ease tension.

“I can...but it’ll cost you.” Replied the man as he hid his face.

For some reason I feel like I just got into more than I bargained for…. “Err, I don’t think they’re hard enough to find to warrant a cost. I’m looking for a beastkin. Red headed and said to have mind reading power. Do you know where she would be?” I asked, this time with not as much confidence.

“Oh! Ah, sorry, I assumed you were a normal customer. Sorry about that. If it’s her, then you’ll just want to go to the central square. It’s where she hosts all of her performances.” Performances? That’s what she calls them? Yeah, she’s probably the second type, or is just really good at reading body language.

“Thanks, uh...what’s your name?” I ask him, hoping to make a friend in this world.

“Dorbel.” ...Doorbell? His name is Doorbell?! I know this is a different world, but still! I pity him….

“Well thanks again, Doorbell! I’m Unsei, by the way, come to the Adventurer’s Guild if you ever need something from me!” I say trying to suppress my laughter.

“Aye, and you can come find me anytime you want if you need some help. Just go to the bar and tell them Dorbel sent you. If you ever have trouble I can land you a job.” I didn’t just get involved with the mafia, right? Right?

Well, it’s probably fine. “Thanks again! I’m going to go finish my quest!” After saying goodbye to Dorbel I headed to the central squa- wait, I don’t know where I am….

“Wait, Doorbell, which direction is the center square again?!” I yell after him before he’s gone too far.

-----

After getting proper directions from Doorbell, I arrived at the central square almost an hour later. Definitely not because I got lost. As soon as I got there I saw her...covered in tomatoes?! What the hell happened here?!

“Boo!”
“I’ve been lied too!”
“Were all the other shows a lie?!”
“We want our money back!”

Oi, you never gave her money in the first place. Haa...apparently she was exposed before I got here. I still get the quest reward, right? Well, either way, I should go help her out.

Rushing onto the stage, I stand before her as I start tal- no, wait, I slipped on a tomato…. After getting back up, much to my chagrin, I could only hear laughter around me. Oh well, my goal was accomplished.

Time to head back to the guild- wait, why did she do all of this again? As soon as I had that thought, I turned right back around to grab her, as well as a tomato of an odd golden color that was flying my way, and ran to a back alley.

Once we got there we stopped for breath before I started talking. “You know, I was about to expose you as a fraud already, so why did you have to steal my quest away from me?” I said while laughing to myself about the sheer oddity that this was.

“Huh? Oh, I was the target of a quest? My wonderful figure traveled that far already?” Great, she’s arrogant. Probably just doing this to try and spread her “wonderful figure” around the city. Still, I have to know, how did she botch it before I even got there?

“Yes, you were. Still, how did you manage to get everyone so angry?” I ask with plenty of curiosity.

“You didn’t hear? I simply read a person’s mind that he thought I was more beautiful than his wife!” ...Yep, this person is an idiot. More than me. I mean I’m only directionally challenged...and bad with memory...and, what was I thinking about again? Well, regardless, it should be fine.

“Idiot...no wonder they think you’re a fraud. No man would think that out loud in front of his wife. Oh well. Good luck, I need to go report this to the guild.” I say as I get up to leave.

“Ah, wait, don’t you want your mind read? I’ll do it as thanks for saving me!” She says hurriedly as she grabs onto my shirt.

“Nope, not interested. I don’t have much of a mind to read anyway. Bye.” With that I left the great and power-, who am I kidding. I left the idiot beastkin to turn in my quest.

-----

“And that’s how I got a golden tomato. Is it worth anything?” I ask as I reported my quest to the guild.

-Obtained a golden tomato
-Joined the mafia?
-Slipped on a tomato
-Got lost
-Asks for compensation for the traumatic experience of slipping on a tomato

@Naraku

wraith · Jan 30, 2019

I arrived at the receptionist counter and submitted the report for the quest: Crypt walk

It was early in the morning when I accepted the quest to investigate the town graveyard. The guild staff was pretty dismissive about the idea of undead at the cemetery but one should always keep an open mind. I've seen lots of inexplicable things during my travels which is why the thought of undead doesn't seem too farfetched to me.

The first thing to do is to investigate the area in question. After asking around, I finally reached the graveyard which was besides the town church. A middle aged guard was looking bored and inactive. As I approached him, he lifted his head calmly, "Yo from the guild?" I nodded in response, "Aye, I'm gonna check out the knocking."

"The night guard has gone home and I haven't heard a peep from inside, so I can't help you. You can go in but don't cause any trouble. If you get in trouble, don't expect me to help."

Having learnt nothing, I proceeded into the graveyard, walking past rows and rows of tombstones. Everything seems calm and if there wasn't a threat of the dead attacking me, I would even find this pleasant. But after looking around, all the graves seem undisturbed. The dead aren't the most subtle in their movements and there would definitely be tracks on the soil if they were rising up. What do you know, the guild staff do have an instinct to detect false claims.

Feeling more comfortable, I decide to explore the entire area in and around the cemetery. After a few hours of searching, I noticed a gap in the fence furthest from the entrance. The grass looks like it has been walked upon recently. I try to trace the faint path but it's pretty much impossible. The soil over here is pretty rocky and not even my footsteps would be seen, let alone footsteps of smaller creatures. Even so, this can become a fruitful discovery. Having decided that there is nothing more to be found, I decided to exit this place. As I exited the cemetery, I nodded at the guard,"I didn't see anyone when I was inside. How often do people come here?"

"Absolutely no one has entered this place for the last few days". Hearing this, a grin formed on my face as I went to the market to fill my stomach and buy some dark sheets.

The sun was about to set when I made my way back to the cemetery. It was a different guard this time around and he seemed pretty intimidated by my figure. "I'm from the guild", I said as I passed him, not hearing anything in reply. I quickly made my way to the fence and sat against a tree and covered myself with a dark blue blanket, hidden when looked at from the trespasser entrance. Now begins the waiting game. It as an uneventful six hours as we reached midnight. The weather was pleasant and a gentle wind was blowing. Eventually, the sound of whispering broke the silence.

I peeked around the trunk and saw humanoid creatures sneaking into the graveyard. They were extremely relaxed and were having a civil conversation with each other. I decided to hold my position and observe them as they walked to a rock and knocked in a particular rhythm. Three quick knocks, a pause and two knocks that weren't as quick. After a few moments, the rock decided to open up in a smooth motion and reveal a tiny man blocking the entrance to a tunnel. He moved aside to let the intruders in and had a look around to search for signs of life.

This procedure was repeated throughout the night as I counted 23 people entering and leaving through the tunnel. Many carried small blades and everyone carried some sort of knapsack. I decided against approaching them as there was a good chance of being outnumbered. As daybreak approached, I counted 23 people leaving the cemetery, only the guard was left. It was my chance to move.

I approached the rock and copied the knocking. I heard some shuffling and groan of annoyance. With a click, the rock opened up to present an annoyed dwarf. His annoyance quickly turned to alarm but a punch to the face put an end to it. I took of my makeshift cloak and freed up my arms to grab my spears. The tunnel was moderately long and took me a few minutes to reach the end of. the cramped tunnel eventually opened up to a moderately sized room. It was adorned with wooden chairs and tables, illuminated by sunlight filtering in through the gaps in the roof. Upon further observation, there were three other passageways leading away in different directions. Upon inspection, the room was completely barren apart from the furniture, but as if by magic, my coin purse seemed to get heavier. It was a long night and the lack of sleep was catching up to me. I made my way back and exited the tunnel. The guard was still unconscious and I carried him to the proper authorities. After explaining everything, I made my way back to the guild. I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I would have to go back once more.

@AliceShiki

AliceShiki · Jan 30, 2019

wraith said: ↑

I arrived at the receptionist counter and submitted the report for the quest: Crypt walk

It was early in the morning when I accepted the quest to investigate the town graveyard. The guild staff was pretty dismissive about the idea of undead at the cemetery but one should always keep an open mind. I've seen lots of inexplicable things during my travels which is why the thought of undead doesn't seem too farfetched to me.

The first thing to do is to investigate the area in question. After asking around, I finally reached the graveyard which was besides the town church. A middle aged guard was looking bored and inactive. As I approached him, he lifted his head calmly, "Yo from the guild?" I nodded in response, "Aye, I'm gonna check out the knocking."

"The night guard has gone home and I haven't heard a peep from inside, so I can't help you. You can go in but don't cause any trouble. If you get in trouble, don't expect me to help."

Having learnt nothing, I proceeded into the graveyard, walking past rows and rows of tombstones. Everything seems calm and if there wasn't a threat of the dead attacking me, I would even find this pleasant. But after looking around, all the graves seem undisturbed. The dead aren't the most subtle in their movements and there would definitely be tracks on the soil if they were rising up. What do you know, the guild staff do have an instinct to detect false claims.

Feeling more comfortable, I decide to explore the entire area in and around the cemetery. After a few hours of searching, I noticed a gap in the fence furthest from the entrance. The grass looks like it has been walked upon recently. I try to trace the faint path but it's pretty much impossible. The soil over here is pretty rocky and not even my footsteps would be seen, let alone footsteps of smaller creatures. Even so, this can become a fruitful discovery. Having decided that there is nothing more to be found, I decided to exit this place. As I exited the cemetery, I nodded at the guard,"I didn't see anyone when I was inside. How often do people come here?"

"Absolutely no one has entered this place for the last few days". Hearing this, a grin formed on my face as I went to the market to fill my stomach and buy some dark sheets.

The sun was about to set when I made my way back to the cemetery. It was a different guard this time around and he seemed pretty intimidated by my figure. "I'm from the guild", I said as I passed him, not hearing anything in reply. I quickly made my way to the fence and sat against a tree and covered myself with a dark blue blanket, hidden when looked at from the trespasser entrance. Now begins the waiting game. It as an uneventful six hours as we reached midnight. The weather was pleasant and a gentle wind was blowing. Eventually, the sound of whispering broke the silence.

I peeked around the trunk and saw humanoid creatures sneaking into the graveyard. They were extremely relaxed and were having a civil conversation with each other. I decided to hold my position and observe them as they walked to a rock and knocked in a particular rhythm. Three quick knocks, a pause and two knocks that weren't as quick. After a few moments, the rock decided to open up in a smooth motion and reveal a tiny man blocking the entrance to a tunnel. He moved aside to let the intruders in and had a look around to search for signs of life.

This procedure was repeated throughout the night as I counted 23 people entering and leaving through the tunnel. Many carried small blades and everyone carried some sort of knapsack. I decided against approaching them as there was a good chance of being outnumbered. As daybreak approached, I counted 23 people leaving the cemetery, only the guard was left. It was my chance to move.

I approached the rock and copied the knocking. I heard some shuffling and groan of annoyance. With a click, the rock opened up to present an annoyed dwarf. His annoyance quickly turned to alarm but a punch to the face put an end to it. I took of my makeshift cloak and freed up my arms to grab my spears. The tunnel was moderately long and took me a few minutes to reach the end of. the cramped tunnel eventually opened up to a moderately sized room. It was adorned with wooden chairs and tables, illuminated by sunlight filtering in through the gaps in the roof. Upon further observation, there were three other passageways leading away in different directions. Upon inspection, the room was completely barren apart from the furniture, but as if by magic, my coin purse seemed to get heavier. It was a long night and the lack of sleep was catching up to me. I made my way back and exited the tunnel. The guard was still unconscious and I carried him to the proper authorities. After explaining everything, I made my way back to the guild. I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I would have to go back once more.

@AliceShiki
Click to expand...

My my... I didn't know what to expect when we receive this request, but the final report is more disturbing than the original worry... Undeads at least can be dealt with enough priests.

Well, you got the job well done, many thanks. Here is your reward of 7 Large Copper Coins and 4 guild points. Take care now~

Naraku · Jan 30, 2019

Fossil said: ↑

Challenge the Mentalist Beastkin

After I received my quest, I left the guild to wander the streets. My thoughts? I have no clue where I’m going, but the beastkin sounds famous enough that she should be easy to find. Wandering the streets in search for a crowd is my best bet at the moment. However...the main issue is that the beastkin isn’t antisocial. She’s actively showing off her skills. That sounds more like a faker than a genuine mentalist.

Reading minds is a great skill, but you have to take into account the dangers of it. You can see right through to the core of people, meaning you can expose their lies. But sometimes those lies are so dark and hideous, as well as so common, that you just want to cut off your power.

There’s a few reasons why the mentalist hasn’t crumbled yet. First is that she straight up doesn’t have the power, which is the most likely. Second is that she can freely control whether or not she can read minds- but they still wouldn’t want to stick out like this. After all, from what I saw outside of the guild, their race is being discriminated. Why would a beastkin want to stick out? As a ray of hope? If so they should have gotten a better power. Finally, the last reason is that they have just as many dark thoughts as the people around them...but that’s the most unlikely considering none of their actions come across as evil.

That’s why I need to get her alone. For that, though, I need to find her, which is easier said than done. Giving up a bit, I walk up to a random person and start talking.

“Hey, could you help me find someone?” I say with a smile, hoping to ease tension.

“I can...but it’ll cost you.” Replied the man as he hid his face.

For some reason I feel like I just got into more than I bargained for…. “Err, I don’t think they’re hard enough to find to warrant a cost. I’m looking for a beastkin. Red headed and said to have mind reading power. Do you know where she would be?” I asked, this time with not as much confidence.

“Oh! Ah, sorry, I assumed you were a normal customer. Sorry about that. If it’s her, then you’ll just want to go to the central square. It’s where she hosts all of her performances.” Performances? That’s what she calls them? Yeah, she’s probably the second type, or is just really good at reading body language.

“Thanks, uh...what’s your name?” I ask him, hoping to make a friend in this world.

“Dorbel.” ...Doorbell? His name is Doorbell?! I know this is a different world, but still! I pity him….

“Well thanks again, Doorbell! I’m Unsei, by the way, come to the Adventurer’s Guild if you ever need something from me!” I say trying to suppress my laughter.

“Aye, and you can come find me anytime you want if you need some help. Just go to the bar and tell them Dorbel sent you. If you ever have trouble I can land you a job.” I didn’t just get involved with the mafia, right? Right?

Well, it’s probably fine. “Thanks again! I’m going to go finish my quest!” After saying goodbye to Dorbel I headed to the central squa- wait, I don’t know where I am….

“Wait, Doorbell, which direction is the center square again?!” I yell after him before he’s gone too far.

-----

After getting proper directions from Doorbell, I arrived at the central square almost an hour later. Definitely not because I got lost. As soon as I got there I saw her...covered in tomatoes?! What the hell happened here?!

“Boo!”
“I’ve been lied too!”
“Were all the other shows a lie?!”
“We want our money back!”

Oi, you never gave her money in the first place. Haa...apparently she was exposed before I got here. I still get the quest reward, right? Well, either way, I should go help her out.

Rushing onto the stage, I stand before her as I start tal- no, wait, I slipped on a tomato…. After getting back up, much to my chagrin, I could only hear laughter around me. Oh well, my goal was accomplished.

Time to head back to the guild- wait, why did she do all of this again? As soon as I had that thought, I turned right back around to grab her, as well as a tomato of an odd golden color that was flying my way, and ran to a back alley.

Once we got there we stopped for breath before I started talking. “You know, I was about to expose you as a fraud already, so why did you have to steal my quest away from me?” I said while laughing to myself about the sheer oddity that this was.

“Huh? Oh, I was the target of a quest? My wonderful figure traveled that far already?” Great, she’s arrogant. Probably just doing this to try and spread her “wonderful figure” around the city. Still, I have to know, how did she botch it before I even got there?

“Yes, you were. Still, how did you manage to get everyone so angry?” I ask with plenty of curiosity.

“You didn’t hear? I simply read a person’s mind that he thought I was more beautiful than his wife!” ...Yep, this person is an idiot. More than me. I mean I’m only directionally challenged...and bad with memory...and, what was I thinking about again? Well, regardless, it should be fine.

“Idiot...no wonder they think you’re a fraud. No man would think that out loud in front of his wife. Oh well. Good luck, I need to go report this to the guild.” I say as I get up to leave.

“Ah, wait, don’t you want your mind read? I’ll do it as thanks for saving me!” She says hurriedly as she grabs onto my shirt.

“Nope, not interested. I don’t have much of a mind to read anyway. Bye.” With that I left the great and power-, who am I kidding. I left the idiot beastkin to turn in my quest.

-----

“And that’s how I got a golden tomato. Is it worth anything?” I ask as I reported my quest to the guild.

-Obtained a golden tomato
-Joined the mafia?
-Slipped on a tomato
-Got lost
-Asks for compensation for the traumatic experience of slipping on a tomato

@Naraku
Click to expand...

After checking the notes, Gasp stared at this... thing and sighed.

"There is no word to describe properly your idiocy... Just take this. It is your reward."

After reading it, he just wanted him to scram... But then, it would be a nice story to tell and on top of that, that was so pitiable... Half for the nice story, and half for the pity.

"7 Large Copper Coins."

Did he read aloud what was the reward when he granted it to him ? Of course not, he won't even realize that his reward was actually reduced.
Wait... It makes more drink... What if he can gradually ch- no he can not do that. But, free smoke and drinks... No he still can't do that.

He shook his head and said.

"...well, come back later for your next quest. As long as you get the work done."

Then, a internal turmoil between his mentality as a receptionist and his addiction were fighting.

Fossil · Jan 30, 2019

Naraku said: ↑

After checking the notes, Gasp stared at this... thing and sighed.

"There is no word to describe properly your idiocy... Just take this. It is your reward."

After reading it, he just wanted him to scram... But then, it would be a nice story to tell and on top of that, that was so pitiable... Half for the nice story, and half for the pity.

"7 Large Copper Coins."

Did he read aloud what was the reward when he granted it to him ? Of course not, he won't even realize that his reward was actually reduced.
Wait... It makes more drink... What if he can gradually ch- no he can not do that. But, free smoke and drinks... No he still can't do that.

He shook his head and said.

"...well, come back later for your next quest. As long as you get the work done."

Then, a internal turmoil between his mentality as a receptionist and his addiction were fighting.
Click to expand...

"...You know, I may be an idiot, but I can still count. I was supposed to get 10 coins, not 7." I said as I dig out the quest details.

MaliMi · Jan 31, 2019

Task: Find the missing young mistress and her noble guest
Requester: Baroness Kuin
Quest Rank: D
Rewards: 27 Large Copper Coins
Description: The little star of the upcoming high society banquet at Baron Kuin's mansion is missing! The daughter of the Baron family, and her esteemed guest have last been seen entering the Lakeside forest before dusk. While a search party has been sent, they have yet to find the two children. This is an urgent request for able trackers, and just generally all able hands to scour the forest for the missing heirs. The representative of the Baroness is wizard Askel the Red. Meet up with him and aid the fief before word about the missing guest spreads.

Deciding to work with others, Vandrin put in a party request with the receptionist Aria, and was approached by two… interesting individuals shortly there after.

“Here goes nothing” Bob murmured as he made his way towards not only the black-haired half-elf, but also a new life, new beginning. Ever since that night, he had not really talked to anybody unless he absolutely had to. Mustering up enough courage to start a conversation, Bob wore on the friendliest smile he could muster and asked: “Good morning, sir. Would you be interested in having me join you on this quest?”

“The more the merrier friend”, Vandrin said with a smile, “a search on this scale needs a few but skilled people involved with it”

Spotting a cloaked human male in his 20's, as well as a half-elf man with long braided black hair, a five o'clock shadow, and emerald eyes which seem to hold the stars in them standing in front of the same quest - Shadie activated her [Illusive Form], appearing as the woman she registered as, and stepped out of the shadows to greet them.

"Are you both doing the Baroness Kuin quest?"

“I suppose we are”, Vandrin says with a small smile, “would you care to join us?”

“You can never have enough able hands, young lady.” Bob added.

“Hands?...Oh, yes, hands!”

Shadie looked a little flustered, before regaining her composure.

“Yes, I was intending on helping with this quest, since it seemed interesting. I bet those children will be feeling really scared right now. They must be really tasty. When were you two planning on leaving?”

“I suppose as soon as possible”, Vandrin says with a slight contemplating look on his face, though what it is about was anyone's guess.

“Ah, then if it’s alright with you two, I’ll leave for now and meet you at the town entrance. I need to prepare a few things!” Hurrying away before letting Bob and Vandrin have a word in edgeways, Shadie left the building and slipped back into the shadows - deactivating her [Illusory form].”

“Well she’s certainly… spirited”, Vandrin says with a light chuckle, “Well then, shall we prepare too… I’m sorry but it seems i missed your name”

“Oh, you have my sincere apologies, the name is Bob.” He reaches out with his hand.

“Bob?”, Vandrin says with a smile, “It’s a wonderful name”, with that he extends his hand to shake Bobs, “My name is Vandrin”, the smile of the tranquil man displayed his nature to its fullest effect.

“Likewise, Vandrin, likewise. I myself do not have many things to prepare. You will see me at the entrance.”

“I only need to leave this one with someone for the time being”, With that Vandrin points at the small kitten that was napping in his hood, “I’ll see you at the entrance”

___

“Seems you are already here?”, Vandrin says walking up having just dropped the kitten off with the barkeep.

“Oh, I myself just arrived.” Bobs yawns while hugging a small pillow in his right hand.

“You took your time getting here.”

Shadie came out of the shadows, her [Illusory Form] once again active, as she crossed her arms and looked at the two men talking to one another.

“Ah, it seems in my haste I failed to actually get to know who you were…”

She looked sheepishly at the two of them, looking a little embarrassed over her previous actions.

“I’m Shadie.”

‘Is this girl an airhead?’ Bob thinks as he introduces himself: “Bob, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“My name is Vandrin”, he says with a smile, “It’s a pleasure”

“You’re lying, but I suppose it’s a greeting, right?” Shadie could detect not one ounce of pleasure emanating off Bob and Vandrin.

Doing his utmost to hide the ‘are you stupid’ look, Bob just laughs it off while saying: “It is what the people he say when they introduce each other, miss.”

“Oh, I see...Well, since I know your names, let’s be off!...Ah...how are we getting there?” She tilted her head as she looked at them both.

“Well when in doubt”, Vandrin says as he starts moving towards the lake, “walk”

“Walk? We’re not going to travel by ship?”

Shadie looked at Vandrin, a puzzled expression shown on her face.

“No rivers lead directly there, after all it’s a lake in a forest”, Vandrin says with a small laugh.

“Well then, let’s hit the road. I would like to arrive before it gets dark if it is possible.” Bob stores his favourite pillow into a rucksack and stands up.

“But...the map I saw of Ternus showed a river heading straight to the Lakeside Village…”

Seeing the two men walking off without her, Shadie decided to keep quiet about it and stayed in their shadows - using her [Dark Meditation] to keep her Mana up for her illusion.

___

After a day of uneventful travel other than the conversations which took place, the group arrived at the Lakeside Forest.

“I’m hungry…” Shadie muttered to herself. “When will we get there?”

“We’re almost there”, Vandrin says smelling the air, “The smell of water plants is nearby”

After walking for about an hour more they come across the mansion sitting near the lakeside. Deciding its best for Vandrin to go and discuss things with the wizard, he left the two to their own devices for a moment.

“So...Bob…what skills do you have?” Shadie made sure to stay in the shadows of the nearby trees as she asked this, although she was a little tired from constantly recovering and using her Mana.

“Oh, currently just one. I am researching a new one and just need a final push to complete it, miss. Anyway, basically when I sleep I can check if there are any souls in the area.” Bob replied.

“Oh...I see……………...I can lower the nearby temperature enough to slow people’s movements. I also have some talent in illusions, want to see?” She looked a little excited, wanting to play a prank on the man and make him feel negative emotions for her to feed on.

“Be my guest!”

Making sure there was no one except them around, Shadie immediately cancelled her [Illusory Form] and let Bob see his worst nightmares come to life.

At that moment, at that very instant. It was as if Bob had returned to that fateful day. The events kept flashing in his head. It was just like a series of images depicting the biggest regret in his life and what came after. But the vision did not stop at that, it evolved. For what seemed like an eternity, the images came to life and changed, making the scenario progressively worse and worse. Still, in the end it proceeded and ended just like all of the other nightmares he had had. At that final picture.

It was then, when Bob smiled. With blood coming out of the corners of his mouth, he looked at Shadie with soulless eyes.

Bob stepped forward with a rusty dagger in his hand ready to finish what he had started years ago. It was only at the last second that he managed to get a hold of himself and stabbed his left forearm.

“That was something else, miss or whatever you are.” Bob smiled.

While Bob had been suffering through his nightmarish visions, Shadie crept over to him and held onto his shoulders, feeding off all of his negative emotions and reaching max Mana capacity again. Seeing Bob about to stab himself in the arm to come out of her nightmare, she immediately activated her [Illusory Form] to not show her true self.

“Hmm~? What I am~? I’m just a simple human woman~” Shadie smiles at him, feeling sated.

____

“Mr. Askel the Red, thank you for meeting with me on such short notice”, Vandrin says as he offers some herbal plants he’d gathered along the way here.

“If you can help find the mistress and the young master, then no time is too short” Askel states as he accepts the offering.

“So I just need to ask some questions to help with our search”, Vandrin says as he begins asking, “What ages are the two who went missing, what do they look like, and what were they wearing?” he asks with a rather stoic expression for him on his face.

“The age of the young mistress is that of seven, while the young master is aged at five”, Askel began to answer the questions.

“The young mistress holds a stature of around 100 centimeters, has curly blond hair, and light blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a ceremonial dress, though knowing her personality she most likely prepared clothes that are easier to move around in before entering the forest” he then began to describe the young boy.

“The young master is around 80 centimeters tall, wavy black hair, and dark green eyes. He was last seen wearing ceremonial vestiges, though i do not know the young master well enough to know if he’d change clothes like the young mistress” he finished his brief description

“I see, that’ll be useful for the search”, Vandrin says with a contemplative look on his face, “Well thank you for your time Mr. Askel”, he says with a formal bow he learned from the treants.

“I hope you bring them home Mr. Vandrin”, Askel the Red says as he puts his hand on Vandrins shoulder, then walks away.

___

“I got the information we needed”, Vandrin says as he approaches the two after a short while, “we need to start searching now”

“What are you two doing?...”, Vandrin asks seeing the two wrapping a bandage around Bob’s forearm.

“Oh, nothing much. Bob just got a little too into an illusion I made, is all~” Shadie smiles mischievously, as she ties up the bandage.

“The missy here sure is good. You should try it sometime Vandrin. It is really realistic.” Bob replies with no good intentions.

“So, what do our little children look like and what are their names?” Shadie asks while looking at Vandrin.

“The names aren’t important when searching for someone usually but all i got were nicknames, it seems they do not want to reveal the status of their daughters guest”, Vandrin tells the two the information he gathered, and that the nicknames for the two are Soph, and Terry.

“Sov and Tree?” Shadie tilts her head in puzzlement.

“Sure”, Vandrin says without batting an eye, “either way we need to begin our search, now it’s getting dark”

“Well, my usefulness can be displayed only after I finish my sleep, so until then I will just follow your orders, Vandrin. I doubt I know more about the forest than you.”

“It should be fine”, Vandrin says as his face grows serious, “Just keep your eyes on the mud and the trees, footprints and fabric are the easiest things to follow.”

With that the group entered the forest.

___

Night had already fallen, and the cold began to creep in.

“Have you found anything yet…?” Shadie asks in a bored, monotone voice, as she follows in the shadows behind them both.

“Shh”, Vandrin says as his face remained still, searching the surroundings as they keep moving forward, seeing the trace of something nearby.

“Well, not that this slow and steady tactic isn’t a good idea, but I’m going to go deeper in and look on my own. If anything happens, I’ll be sure to scream for my two saviours to rescue me~” She easily slips into the shadows and leaves Vandrin and Bob to themselves.

Immediately, she cancels her [Illusory Form] and starts searching for any negative emotions in the area, thinking that the little children will not be in the best of moods after so long on their own. I want to have a feast!

“No hold back Shadie”, Vandrin said quickly seeing her try and enter the woods alone, “That’s dangerous, even for someone that is an adventurer,” he said sharply, “besides your skills will be more useful than mine if we don’t find a trail”

Hearing the frantic shouting from Vandrin, Shadie pauses in thought, before figuratively stomping her foot on the ground in frustration and returning to the others - reactivating her [Illusory Form].

“You better make this enjoyable, at least. All of this crawling in the mud is so boring.”

‘Hope I will not regret this, but it is for the task’ Bob sighs to himself: “Young miss, after we successfully complete this task AS A GROUP, how about you show me that trick of yours again?”

“Hmm...but you seem to be good at countering illusions, which is boring.”

“You can tie my hands and feet if you are afraid of me overreacting. Or you can just do it to that guy!” He points at Vandrin.

Shadie looks at Vandrin for a few moments, before smiling evilly.

“I’ll take my time coming up with something~”

Unaware of what his companions were saying, Vandrin was looking further down the trail and saw footprints by the side of a stream in the forest, “Seems this is about where they got lost”, he says as he begins following the footprints.

“Ooh, goodie…” Shadie responds in monotone.

___

“The trail thins out around here”, Vandrin says as they are now faced with crossing the stream, “How about it guys? Sense anything?” he asks his traveling companions

“If you let me sleep for about two hours, I will have something. What about you, miss?” Bob replies.

Shadie looks at the cloaked man and smiles.

“I’ll scout out ten metres around us and see if I can find anything, if I do - or don’t - I’ll return after two hours.”

“We should not be separated for so long”, Vandrin says with a contemplative face, “Its unfortunate about Bobs ability having a rest time to be used again, but every minute those kids are out here, the more likely they are to get hurt or worse”

“Pfft~!” Shadie laughs at this. “If they’re alive, then they have skill and know how to survive - another two hours won’t hurt them. If they’re dead, then it doesn’t matter if we take our time, or not~”

“Those are some harsh words miss.” Bob frowns. “I agree and disagree with Vandrin. If there is still some trail, then there is no time to waste on my ability. But, if there is none, then I assure you those two hours would pay off.”

“Hmm…”, Vandrin seems to be deeply in thought before asking, “Can your ability recharge while you are moving Bob? Even if it’s not you walking?”

“It is not about recharging. I can use my ability nearly whenever I want. I need, however, to be asleep in order to do so. What my physical body does while I am asleep is of no matter.”

“Then it’s simple! Vandrin will carry Bob while he dreams about the kids and I’ll search for them with my methods~” Shadie chimes in with.

“My thoughts exactly”, Vandrin says with a sigh, “Shame we didn’t think of this earlier”, he says as he begins to give Bob a piggyback.

“Well...you seemed so sure of yourself, I thought you would make things fun.”

“A trail does not last through running water”, Vandrin says pointing at the river, “It’s the reason most fugitives travel through streams if they have the choice.”

“You know a lot of fugitives, Vandrin?” Shadie asks coyly.

“Met a few bandits during my time in the woods”, Vandrin says with a shrug, “It’s where I learned a lot of the things I know.”

“Hmm...then why aren’t you still with them?” Shadie tilts her head inquisitively at Vandrin.

“I enjoyed my time in the woods, but I have a task now”, Vandrin says rubbing the chin of the small bird on his shoulder.

“Oh, how underwhelming…” Shadie looks at Bob, “ARE YOU ASLEEP YET!?!”

“I assume he is”, Vandrin says with a laugh, “let’s keep searching”

___

Finally, Bob could enter the land of his dreams. He did not show it, at the very least tried not to, but conversing with those two annoyed the freaking hell out of him. Still being polite and open-minded was the key to communication, he believed. Everything was good now though, everything was going to be ok. because now he was home in the mental plane.

The forest disappeared, all of the connection with physical were lost. Only ethereal white with mixture of shades of blue and purple remained. That and two nearby ethereal objects. One bright solid spark, with a mixture of a calming green. The other was a pitch-black mass with an ominous violet streak within. Yet it did not seem all that malicious. What was it? A child-like innocence, perhaps? Bob couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Yea, there is no way that airhead is a human.”

Well, it was not really for Bob to care about who she really was. What mattered was the task at hand. Calming himself down, Bob searched. Each living being had a soul, at least humans had, and each soul had a trace.

With just a thought, a small portion of Bob’s own soul separated from him and searched the nearby area for any clues. It did not take long for a trace to be found. It was, however, faint and only a general direction could be felt.

The portion of the soul rushed, despite the discomfort, towards Shadie as she seemed to be a better existence to communicate with and whispered into her ...whatever it was: “Go north!”

“Waaaah!” Shadie felt an awful sensation within her and immediately hid behind a tree. Realising that it must have been the dreaming man, Shadie returned to standing near Vandrin and thought about what she felt. “Hmm...I have this nasty feeling that we need to go North.”

“Seems his skill works fairly well”, Vandrin says as he begins trekking North with Bob on his back, keeping his eyes out for any trace of a trail.

Travelling further North, Shadie begins to feel the sweet sensation of negative emotions wafting through the forest. Ahhn~! It smells so nice~! “Ahem, I think I can detect them, this way.” Following the delicious aroma, Shadie points to a cave hidden by some foliage.

“Agreed” Bob suddenly says as he wakes up from his dream and jumps off from his uncomfy moving bed.

“Alright”, with that Vandrin pushes forward, moving the fauna out of the way of the entrance of the cave, seeing two small children hugging each other asleep against one of the walls.

“They’re here”, Vandrin says looking back at his two compatriots, “How do we want to handle this?” he asks as he moves towards them

Shadie no longer hears what Vandrin is saying, as she begins walking up to the children with a sadistic smile on her face under her illusion. Subtly activating [Aura of Despair] around the kids, she feeds off their concentrated negative emotions.

Thinking that she might do something weird, Bob waves his hand in front of her indicating not to do anything. Meanwhile, Vandrin approaches the two sleeping kids.

Tapping the foreheads of both of them with two fingers, they begin to stir, opening their eyes after several seconds.

Both of their eyes opened wide at the sight of three people in the cave with them, but after waking up slightly they sigh, relieved.

“Are you here to save us?”, the young girl asked seemingly taking the initiative in the situation.

“No, we’re here to feast on you~!” Shadie laughs as she says that, all the while smiling innocently at the same time as Vandrin was talking.

“Of course we are”, Vandrin says as he contemplates his complacency in the choosing of allies…

“If you say something like that again I’ll have to tell the guild receptionist about you tormenting the kids”, Vandrin says with a sigh

“Hmm~? How am I tormenting them~? All I did was joke about the situation~” Shadie responds seemingly innocently.

‘As if the guild would ever take that seriously, Van. Also, I really hope that was a joke’ Bob just stands there quietly.

‘God dammit’, Vandrin thinks to himself, “Shadie how about you go stand by the stream, you know, away from the children”

“Ehh? Why?” Shadie asks with a drooping mouth, showing she is upset and sad, not moving from her position, though.

Ignoring Shadie, Vandrin begins to tell the children they had been sent by the Adventurer’s Guild to find them, and that while some of the types the guild accepts are questionable *Looks at Shadie*, they are good guys for the most part.

“Let’s get you guys out of here”, Vandrin says nodding at his two companions as they begin escorting the kids out of the forest.

___

Returning the two children to the Baroness’ manor, the group of adventurer’s make their way back to the city of Nagrand.

___

[Day 3]

After arriving at the city, the group parted ways, each with different thoughts. Vandrin did not really find any common ground with Shadie and decided it would be for the best not to work with her again. Shadie herself thought of Vandrin as a really boring man. As for Bob, it would be better to just skip his thoughts...

Other participants: @Haitaka @Nahrenne

@AliceShiki

AliceShiki · Jan 31, 2019

MaliMi said: ↑

Task: Find the missing young mistress and her noble guest
Requester: Baroness Kuin
Quest Rank: D
Rewards: 27 Large Copper Coins
Description: The little star of the upcoming high society banquet at Baron Kuin's mansion is missing! The daughter of the Baron family, and her esteemed guest have last been seen entering the Lakeside forest before dusk. While a search party has been sent, they have yet to find the two children. This is an urgent request for able trackers, and just generally all able hands to scour the forest for the missing heirs. The representative of the Baroness is wizard Askel the Red. Meet up with him and aid the fief before word about the missing guest spreads.

Deciding to work with others, Vandrin put in a party request with the receptionist Aria, and was approached by two… interesting individuals shortly there after.

“Here goes nothing” Bob murmured as he made his way towards not only the black-haired half-elf, but also a new life, new beginning. Ever since that night, he had not really talked to anybody unless he absolutely had to. Mustering up enough courage to start a conversation, Bob wore on the friendliest smile he could muster and asked: “Good morning, sir. Would you be interested in having me join you on this quest?”

“The more the merrier friend”, Vandrin said with a smile, “a search on this scale needs a few but skilled people involved with it”

Spotting a cloaked human male in his 20's, as well as a half-elf man with long braided black hair, a five o'clock shadow, and emerald eyes which seem to hold the stars in them standing in front of the same quest - Shadie activated her [Illusive Form], appearing as the woman she registered as, and stepped out of the shadows to greet them.

"Are you both doing the Baroness Kuin quest?"

“I suppose we are”, Vandrin says with a small smile, “would you care to join us?”

“You can never have enough able hands, young lady.” Bob added.

“Hands?...Oh, yes, hands!”

Shadie looked a little flustered, before regaining her composure.

“Yes, I was intending on helping with this quest, since it seemed interesting. I bet those children will be feeling really scared right now. They must be really tasty. When were you two planning on leaving?”

“I suppose as soon as possible”, Vandrin says with a slight contemplating look on his face, though what it is about was anyone's guess.

“Ah, then if it’s alright with you two, I’ll leave for now and meet you at the town entrance. I need to prepare a few things!” Hurrying away before letting Bob and Vandrin have a word in edgeways, Shadie left the building and slipped back into the shadows - deactivating her [Illusory form].”

“Well she’s certainly… spirited”, Vandrin says with a light chuckle, “Well then, shall we prepare too… I’m sorry but it seems i missed your name”

“Oh, you have my sincere apologies, the name is Bob.” He reaches out with his hand.

“Bob?”, Vandrin says with a smile, “It’s a wonderful name”, with that he extends his hand to shake Bobs, “My name is Vandrin”, the smile of the tranquil man displayed his nature to its fullest effect.

“Likewise, Vandrin, likewise. I myself do not have many things to prepare. You will see me at the entrance.”

“I only need to leave this one with someone for the time being”, With that Vandrin points at the small kitten that was napping in his hood, “I’ll see you at the entrance”

___

“Seems you are already here?”, Vandrin says walking up having just dropped the kitten off with the barkeep.

“Oh, I myself just arrived.” Bobs yawns while hugging a small pillow in his right hand.

“You took your time getting here.”

Shadie came out of the shadows, her [Illusory Form] once again active, as she crossed her arms and looked at the two men talking to one another.

“Ah, it seems in my haste I failed to actually get to know who you were…”

She looked sheepishly at the two of them, looking a little embarrassed over her previous actions.

“I’m Shadie.”

‘Is this girl an airhead?’ Bob thinks as he introduces himself: “Bob, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“My name is Vandrin”, he says with a smile, “It’s a pleasure”

“You’re lying, but I suppose it’s a greeting, right?” Shadie could detect not one ounce of pleasure emanating off Bob and Vandrin.

Doing his utmost to hide the ‘are you stupid’ look, Bob just laughs it off while saying: “It is what the people he say when they introduce each other, miss.”

“Oh, I see...Well, since I know your names, let’s be off!...Ah...how are we getting there?” She tilted her head as she looked at them both.

“Well when in doubt”, Vandrin says as he starts moving towards the lake, “walk”

“Walk? We’re not going to travel by ship?”

Shadie looked at Vandrin, a puzzled expression shown on her face.

“No rivers lead directly there, after all it’s a lake in a forest”, Vandrin says with a small laugh.

“Well then, let’s hit the road. I would like to arrive before it gets dark if it is possible.” Bob stores his favourite pillow into a rucksack and stands up.

“But...the map I saw of Ternus showed a river heading straight to the Lakeside Village…”

Seeing the two men walking off without her, Shadie decided to keep quiet about it and stayed in their shadows - using her [Dark Meditation] to keep her Mana up for her illusion.

___

After a day of uneventful travel other than the conversations which took place, the group arrived at the Lakeside Forest.

“I’m hungry…” Shadie muttered to herself. “When will we get there?”

“We’re almost there”, Vandrin says smelling the air, “The smell of water plants is nearby”

After walking for about an hour more they come across the mansion sitting near the lakeside. Deciding its best for Vandrin to go and discuss things with the wizard, he left the two to their own devices for a moment.

“So...Bob…what skills do you have?” Shadie made sure to stay in the shadows of the nearby trees as she asked this, although she was a little tired from constantly recovering and using her Mana.

“Oh, currently just one. I am researching a new one and just need a final push to complete it, miss. Anyway, basically when I sleep I can check if there are any souls in the area.” Bob replied.

“Oh...I see……………...I can lower the nearby temperature enough to slow people’s movements. I also have some talent in illusions, want to see?” She looked a little excited, wanting to play a prank on the man and make him feel negative emotions for her to feed on.

“Be my guest!”

Making sure there was no one except them around, Shadie immediately cancelled her [Illusory Form] and let Bob see his worst nightmares come to life.

At that moment, at that very instant. It was as if Bob had returned to that fateful day. The events kept flashing in his head. It was just like a series of images depicting the biggest regret in his life and what came after. But the vision did not stop at that, it evolved. For what seemed like an eternity, the images came to life and changed, making the scenario progressively worse and worse. Still, in the end it proceeded and ended just like all of the other nightmares he had had. At that final picture.

It was then, when Bob smiled. With blood coming out of the corners of his mouth, he looked at Shadie with soulless eyes.

Bob stepped forward with a rusty dagger in his hand ready to finish what he had started years ago. It was only at the last second that he managed to get a hold of himself and stabbed his left forearm.

“That was something else, miss or whatever you are.” Bob smiled.

While Bob had been suffering through his nightmarish visions, Shadie crept over to him and held onto his shoulders, feeding off all of his negative emotions and reaching max Mana capacity again. Seeing Bob about to stab himself in the arm to come out of her nightmare, she immediately activated her [Illusory Form] to not show her true self.

“Hmm~? What I am~? I’m just a simple human woman~” Shadie smiles at him, feeling sated.

____

“Mr. Askel the Red, thank you for meeting with me on such short notice”, Vandrin says as he offers some herbal plants he’d gathered along the way here.

“If you can help find the mistress and the young master, then no time is too short” Askel states as he accepts the offering.

“So I just need to ask some questions to help with our search”, Vandrin says as he begins asking, “What ages are the two who went missing, what do they look like, and what were they wearing?” he asks with a rather stoic expression for him on his face.

“The age of the young mistress is that of seven, while the young master is aged at five”, Askel began to answer the questions.

“The young mistress holds a stature of around 100 centimeters, has curly blond hair, and light blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a ceremonial dress, though knowing her personality she most likely prepared clothes that are easier to move around in before entering the forest” he then began to describe the young boy.

“The young master is around 80 centimeters tall, wavy black hair, and dark green eyes. He was last seen wearing ceremonial vestiges, though i do not know the young master well enough to know if he’d change clothes like the young mistress” he finished his brief description

“I see, that’ll be useful for the search”, Vandrin says with a contemplative look on his face, “Well thank you for your time Mr. Askel”, he says with a formal bow he learned from the treants.

“I hope you bring them home Mr. Vandrin”, Askel the Red says as he puts his hand on Vandrins shoulder, then walks away.

___

“I got the information we needed”, Vandrin says as he approaches the two after a short while, “we need to start searching now”

“What are you two doing?...”, Vandrin asks seeing the two wrapping a bandage around Bob’s forearm.

“Oh, nothing much. Bob just got a little too into an illusion I made, is all~” Shadie smiles mischievously, as she ties up the bandage.

“The missy here sure is good. You should try it sometime Vandrin. It is really realistic.” Bob replies with no good intentions.

“So, what do our little children look like and what are their names?” Shadie asks while looking at Vandrin.

“The names aren’t important when searching for someone usually but all i got were nicknames, it seems they do not want to reveal the status of their daughters guest”, Vandrin tells the two the information he gathered, and that the nicknames for the two are Soph, and Terry.

“Sov and Tree?” Shadie tilts her head in puzzlement.

“Sure”, Vandrin says without batting an eye, “either way we need to begin our search, now it’s getting dark”

“Well, my usefulness can be displayed only after I finish my sleep, so until then I will just follow your orders, Vandrin. I doubt I know more about the forest than you.”

“It should be fine”, Vandrin says as his face grows serious, “Just keep your eyes on the mud and the trees, footprints and fabric are the easiest things to follow.”

With that the group entered the forest.

___

Night had already fallen, and the cold began to creep in.

“Have you found anything yet…?” Shadie asks in a bored, monotone voice, as she follows in the shadows behind them both.

“Shh”, Vandrin says as his face remained still, searching the surroundings as they keep moving forward, seeing the trace of something nearby.

“Well, not that this slow and steady tactic isn’t a good idea, but I’m going to go deeper in and look on my own. If anything happens, I’ll be sure to scream for my two saviours to rescue me~” She easily slips into the shadows and leaves Vandrin and Bob to themselves.

Immediately, she cancels her [Illusory Form] and starts searching for any negative emotions in the area, thinking that the little children will not be in the best of moods after so long on their own. I want to have a feast!

“No hold back Shadie”, Vandrin said quickly seeing her try and enter the woods alone, “That’s dangerous, even for someone that is an adventurer,” he said sharply, “besides your skills will be more useful than mine if we don’t find a trail”

Hearing the frantic shouting from Vandrin, Shadie pauses in thought, before figuratively stomping her foot on the ground in frustration and returning to the others - reactivating her [Illusory Form].

“You better make this enjoyable, at least. All of this crawling in the mud is so boring.”

‘Hope I will not regret this, but it is for the task’ Bob sighs to himself: “Young miss, after we successfully complete this task AS A GROUP, how about you show me that trick of yours again?”

“Hmm...but you seem to be good at countering illusions, which is boring.”

“You can tie my hands and feet if you are afraid of me overreacting. Or you can just do it to that guy!” He points at Vandrin.

Shadie looks at Vandrin for a few moments, before smiling evilly.

“I’ll take my time coming up with something~”

Unaware of what his companions were saying, Vandrin was looking further down the trail and saw footprints by the side of a stream in the forest, “Seems this is about where they got lost”, he says as he begins following the footprints.

“Ooh, goodie…” Shadie responds in monotone.

___

“The trail thins out around here”, Vandrin says as they are now faced with crossing the stream, “How about it guys? Sense anything?” he asks his traveling companions

“If you let me sleep for about two hours, I will have something. What about you, miss?” Bob replies.

Shadie looks at the cloaked man and smiles.

“I’ll scout out ten metres around us and see if I can find anything, if I do - or don’t - I’ll return after two hours.”

“We should not be separated for so long”, Vandrin says with a contemplative face, “Its unfortunate about Bobs ability having a rest time to be used again, but every minute those kids are out here, the more likely they are to get hurt or worse”

“Pfft~!” Shadie laughs at this. “If they’re alive, then they have skill and know how to survive - another two hours won’t hurt them. If they’re dead, then it doesn’t matter if we take our time, or not~”

“Those are some harsh words miss.” Bob frowns. “I agree and disagree with Vandrin. If there is still some trail, then there is no time to waste on my ability. But, if there is none, then I assure you those two hours would pay off.”

“Hmm…”, Vandrin seems to be deeply in thought before asking, “Can your ability recharge while you are moving Bob? Even if it’s not you walking?”

“It is not about recharging. I can use my ability nearly whenever I want. I need, however, to be asleep in order to do so. What my physical body does while I am asleep is of no matter.”

“Then it’s simple! Vandrin will carry Bob while he dreams about the kids and I’ll search for them with my methods~” Shadie chimes in with.

“My thoughts exactly”, Vandrin says with a sigh, “Shame we didn’t think of this earlier”, he says as he begins to give Bob a piggyback.

“Well...you seemed so sure of yourself, I thought you would make things fun.”

“A trail does not last through running water”, Vandrin says pointing at the river, “It’s the reason most fugitives travel through streams if they have the choice.”

“You know a lot of fugitives, Vandrin?” Shadie asks coyly.

“Met a few bandits during my time in the woods”, Vandrin says with a shrug, “It’s where I learned a lot of the things I know.”

“Hmm...then why aren’t you still with them?” Shadie tilts her head inquisitively at Vandrin.

“I enjoyed my time in the woods, but I have a task now”, Vandrin says rubbing the chin of the small bird on his shoulder.

“Oh, how underwhelming…” Shadie looks at Bob, “ARE YOU ASLEEP YET!?!”

“I assume he is”, Vandrin says with a laugh, “let’s keep searching”

___

Finally, Bob could enter the land of his dreams. He did not show it, at the very least tried not to, but conversing with those two annoyed the freaking hell out of him. Still being polite and open-minded was the key to communication, he believed. Everything was good now though, everything was going to be ok. because now he was home in the mental plane.

The forest disappeared, all of the connection with physical were lost. Only ethereal white with mixture of shades of blue and purple remained. That and two nearby ethereal objects. One bright solid spark, with a mixture of a calming green. The other was a pitch-black mass with an ominous violet streak within. Yet it did not seem all that malicious. What was it? A child-like innocence, perhaps? Bob couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Yea, there is no way that airhead is a human.”

Well, it was not really for Bob to care about who she really was. What mattered was the task at hand. Calming himself down, Bob searched. Each living being had a soul, at least humans had, and each soul had a trace.

With just a thought, a small portion of Bob’s own soul separated from him and searched the nearby area for any clues. It did not take long for a trace to be found. It was, however, faint and only a general direction could be felt.

The portion of the soul rushed, despite the discomfort, towards Shadie as she seemed to be a better existence to communicate with and whispered into her ...whatever it was: “Go north!”

“Waaaah!” Shadie felt an awful sensation within her and immediately hid behind a tree. Realising that it must have been the dreaming man, Shadie returned to standing near Vandrin and thought about what she felt. “Hmm...I have this nasty feeling that we need to go North.”

“Seems his skill works fairly well”, Vandrin says as he begins trekking North with Bob on his back, keeping his eyes out for any trace of a trail.

Travelling further North, Shadie begins to feel the sweet sensation of negative emotions wafting through the forest. Ahhn~! It smells so nice~! “Ahem, I think I can detect them, this way.” Following the delicious aroma, Shadie points to a cave hidden by some foliage.

“Agreed” Bob suddenly says as he wakes up from his dream and jumps off from his uncomfy moving bed.

“Alright”, with that Vandrin pushes forward, moving the fauna out of the way of the entrance of the cave, seeing two small children hugging each other asleep against one of the walls.

“They’re here”, Vandrin says looking back at his two compatriots, “How do we want to handle this?” he asks as he moves towards them

Shadie no longer hears what Vandrin is saying, as she begins walking up to the children with a sadistic smile on her face under her illusion. Subtly activating [Aura of Despair] around the kids, she feeds off their concentrated negative emotions.

Thinking that she might do something weird, Bob waves his hand in front of her indicating not to do anything. Meanwhile, Vandrin approaches the two sleeping kids.

Tapping the foreheads of both of them with two fingers, they begin to stir, opening their eyes after several seconds.

Both of their eyes opened wide at the sight of three people in the cave with them, but after waking up slightly they sigh, relieved.

“Are you here to save us?”, the young girl asked seemingly taking the initiative in the situation.

“No, we’re here to feast on you~!” Shadie laughs as she says that, all the while smiling innocently at the same time as Vandrin was talking.

“Of course we are”, Vandrin says as he contemplates his complacency in the choosing of allies…

“If you say something like that again I’ll have to tell the guild receptionist about you tormenting the kids”, Vandrin says with a sigh

“Hmm~? How am I tormenting them~? All I did was joke about the situation~” Shadie responds seemingly innocently.

‘As if the guild would ever take that seriously, Van. Also, I really hope that was a joke’ Bob just stands there quietly.

‘God dammit’, Vandrin thinks to himself, “Shadie how about you go stand by the stream, you know, away from the children”

“Ehh? Why?” Shadie asks with a drooping mouth, showing she is upset and sad, not moving from her position, though.

Ignoring Shadie, Vandrin begins to tell the children they had been sent by the Adventurer’s Guild to find them, and that while some of the types the guild accepts are questionable *Looks at Shadie*, they are good guys for the most part.

“Let’s get you guys out of here”, Vandrin says nodding at his two companions as they begin escorting the kids out of the forest.

___

Returning the two children to the Baroness’ manor, the group of adventurer’s make their way back to the city of Nagrand.

___

[Day 3]

After arriving at the city, the group parted ways, each with different thoughts. Vandrin did not really find any common ground with Shadie and decided it would be for the best not to work with her again. Shadie herself thought of Vandrin as a really boring man. As for Bob, it would be better to just skip his thoughts...

Other participants: @Haitaka @Nahrenne

@AliceShiki
Click to expand...

Well, it seems your party composition wasn't exactly the best, but... At least your skills all helped in completing the task, you did a good job~

Askel-san did send a pigeon though, saying he was extremely angry at the behavior of the rescuers and over how the children seem to be scared about being eaten alive by the very evil witch that was supposed to save them, and this seems like it will hinder their ability to participate in the banquet... The guild had to return 6 of their Large Coins as an apology for the blunder.

And of course, this means your overall reward will be reduced by the appropriate amount. You'll get 21 Large Copper Coins to split as you see fit, as well as 3 guild points for each.

Have a good day, the three of you... Please be careful over not angering the nearby noble houses, the guild has no need for adventurers that can ruin our relationship with our partners. *bows*

((*pokes @Haitaka and @Nahrenne*

Nice report btw! Me likey~))

Haitaka · Jan 31, 2019

AliceShiki said: ↑

Well, it seems your party composition wasn't exactly the best, but... At least your skills all helped in completing the task, you did a good job~

Askel-san did send a pigeon though, saying he was extremely angry at the behavior of the rescuers and over how the children seem to be scared about being eaten alive by the very evil witch that was supposed to save them, and this seems like it will hinder their ability to participate in the banquet... The guild had to return 6 of their Large Coins as an apology for the blunder.

And of course, this means your overall reward will be reduced by the appropriate amount. You'll get 21 Large Copper Coins to split as you see fit, as well as 3 guild points for each.

Have a good day, the three of you... Please be careful over not angering the nearby noble houses, the guild has no need for adventurers that can ruin our relationship with our partners. *bows*

((*pokes @Haitaka and @Nahrenne*

Nice report btw! Me likey~))
Click to expand...

"You do not need to tell me twice", Vandrin says with a sigh, "Something like that will never happen again", with that he turns to look at Shadie, "At least when i'm involved"

OoC: Thanks lol. It took a minute. Went fairly well for a group project, at least as far as one can.

SpearOfLies · Jan 31, 2019

"Somehow I end up here again." Sol said while giving the fangs and the quest report to the cute catlady. His left arm was still covered with bandages but he could already freely move it as he wants.

"Got your supplies?" The gourd waited in front of the tavern, seemingly prepared for a light travel. Just his equipment, cooking kits, a few bread and jerky, and a waterskin.

Losing quite most of his equipment during his journey to reach the Adventurer's Guild hurt a lot and the money from the previous quest wasn't much. This lack of proper equipment wasn't best but Sol was optimistic enough with his own capabilities. This seems one of mission that forces him to use one of his precious needles but it was well worthy. The reward was a jackpot. The rest of inventories was just 3 eggs, a bag of spice, a bit of bandages, some dried meat and a water pouch.
"I don't think I can be more prepared than this." Sol said.

"I can track the wolves, and they'll attack us if we get close to the lair anyway so it won't take long. Probably two days walking from here, if the guild map's accurate. Come, let's go!"

His new partner seems quite experienced with this kind of quest. Sol had a bit of tracking from his own experiences but it was mediocre at best. "Sure, let's go."

Noon, two days later...

"Yep, we're definitely within twenty kilometers. There's a rather large one among them. Look at this." He pointed at a pawprint the size of a plate. "As for the pack size, about ten? We found four deer carcass so far, hunted in close period. Quite a lot but considering the big guy would eat more, number could be lower."

"Let's travel further northwest, should be in that area. It's about time they start stalking us for opportunity to strike. Perhaps tonight, if we can cover enough distance."

"I don't think we should overextend ourself. They aren't a hungry pack so they aren't despaired enough to attack us immediately. We are already outnumbered, tiring ourself further isn't a wise move."

"They wouldn't attack us because of hunger, but because we encroach their lair. Given that, it's best to have a trapped camp later. With a bit luck we can exterminate the big one and return without needing to corner them into desperation."

After Sol thought for a moment, judging Mr. Gourd equipment, he decides that it wasn't too reckless plan. "If you are confident enough to fight, who I am to stop you from doing that? Let's kill that big bad doggo."

After several hours of marching, the two set camp on a clearing where Gourd started to craft snare traps. It's simple loop of vine tied to a large tree or left in the open surrounding the camp, about the height a normal wolf will pass. Running into it will snare them at the neck, and the harder they struggle the tighter would the vine loop.

"Not many would fall to that, simply missing the snares or the vine snaps because it's no quality rope. Still, it would give some reason for the wolves to be wary of approaching after some of them were caught."

Then he carved several long branches into wooden stakes, left around the camp for quick retrieval.

"Remember where to grab this. Would make decent spear if they get close."

The sun started to set by the time he finished. It would be a long night...

"Oh~" Sol currently lack any equipment to set up any traps but as trickster, he had quite amount of experience with that. With a bit of observation, he changed a little the terrain to make harder for the wolves to see the traps.

Sol took a look to the wooden stakes too. He judged that the best they can do it was probably defend ourself when the wolves charge at us otherwise they hardly will do any damage to them unless you had inhuman strength. He changed the position of few so he can easily grab with a kick.

A few hours after sunset, the gourd shot off into the woods. There was a short sound of struggle before he returned, a severed wolf head in tow. Humming a creepily upbeat tune, he placed the head on a stake at the edge of the camp.

"That's their equivalent of a scout. It should get them coming for revenge, wolves are petty like that. Ooh, you could hear them."

Mournful howls echoed through the night. It's getting closer.

"I think they are quite territorial too so they were going to attack us regardless, it was just a matter of time." Sol prepared himself for the incoming battle. "And with a big leader like this, they will probably be the arrogant type of wolves."

Several tense minutes later, the wolves could finally be seen. They circled just at the edge of the clearing, barely visible from the firelight at the center save for their eyes. No sighting of the big one yet, but it's definitely nearby.

Seemingly decided that the camp was undermanned, they charged in from several directions. The gourd stomped on the butt of a stake laid by his feet, jolting the tip up to let the most eager wolf skewer itself on it. Another came leaping but he knocked it aside with his shield, then he brought the bottom edge down onto the canine's neck.

"How's on your side?" Having a short lul in the fight, he immediately turned to survey Sol's own battle.

With an elegant and swift movement, he kicked on one of the stakes to grabs it and made a wolf skewer too. They will be more wary about this stakes now but they already did a good job.

One of the wolves took the opportunity to attack me from the side thinking I had an opening, but with another swift movement, I threw a bit of spice powder to him. This was especially effective again creatures with a good nose. The wolf stopped and hesitated for a moment, that moment was enough for me to step forward and cut his neck.

"Small fry~ Small fry~" Sol answered to Mr. Gourd's question.

A howl was cut short as a wolf trying to flank the camp ran straight into the snare trap, choking further as it struggled. It's quiet for a moment with no sign of movement, but then a heavy roar that felt like physical shockwave ran through the camp. There was a disconcerting rustle of something huge and agile charging in, way too quiet for something that size have any right to be.

"Here it comes!"

The wooden stake broke with a slap, the gourd barely rolled out of the alpha's way. It's... huge. The size of a rhino at least. The remaining pack followed after it, four of them, three once he offhandedly slashed one's head open. His blade may be broken, but the edge was still sharp.

Sol was more unlucky. Or it was more correct to say he was forced to be more unlucky. He chooses to dodge the big guy with half step, to attack him with one of his needles. If it was a normal needle, it was impossible to go through the wolf fur and skin but that needle was three times longer than a normal needle and it was extremely sharp.

The trade-off for this attack was a broken arm. Nothing too serious that half week of rest and herb medicine cannot solve but for the current fight it was impossible to use.

The needle was very effective. One of big wolf's leg was starting twitching like he feels very uncomfortable. His sense and judgment were probably clouded too. Luckily the guy was only big and not magical. Otherwise, he probably could recover from that much faster.

With one arm with a shortsword only, Sol was prepared for the last struggle.

"Hey, nice poison. Is it poison? I'll take the big guy, mind the regular ones."

The big wolf was definitely limping, the right front leg weakened quite considerably. Gourd circled on the healthy leg's side, the wolf rendered unable to strike with it to remain standing. He charged forward, sliding down and blocking a biting attempt that badly jolted his shield, and clipped through the leg. He pushed himself up and spun to catch one of the normal wolf mid-jump, opening its belly. He moved on before the body hits the floor.

The big wolf already lost its mobility at this point, hardly able to turn to him. He slashed open the hind legs, fully grounding the beast, then grabbed a stake and ran it through a couple times through the softer underbelly.

That should do. He switched his attention to Sol. Hopefully the man isn't dead, he wanted to know where to get that poison.

"Attacking the weaken ring, eh?" The three normal wolves surrounded him. Prepared against this situation, he moved near a tree.

One wolf decided to jump on him but Sol made a side step where was one of the wood stakes he personally put there.
"Sorry but I don't need my hands to make a skewer of you." Using his own weight to keep it firm, he stepped on it to kill the wolf.

Similar to before, one of the wolves attacked him from the side. As he predicted it, he used the short sword to cut the strings attached to one of his small bag of spice and the kick it toward the wolf. The bag exploded, causing a similar scenario like before. Sadly his position wasn't good enough to use his sword to cut its neck so instead, he kicked him only to be cut mid-air by Mr Gourd. "Teamwork."

The last wolf scared tried to run away only to careless finishing into one of the snare traps.

After that Sol saw Gourd finish off the big wolf.
"Hey, do you know how dismantle this wolves corpses? They can be sold for a big amount."

"Of course! Pelt this size worth a fortune no matter where you are, and the smaller ones are plenty too. Would need to give a portion to the tanner to process, but that's fine. How's your arm?"

"It's fine. Nothing with a bit of rest cannot solve." Sol answered very optimistically.

After fixating a makeshift splint on Sol, Gourd insisted the other guy to take a break and let him deal with the wolves. It's not that much work on most part, just cutting open the throat and the front paws then hung then by the hindleg's tendon on a tree to let the blood out overnight. The big one ended up requiring the most effort. He couldn't even move it normally and vines would straight up snap to prop its weight, he ended up carving it on the spot.

Skin whatever surface was reachable, first of all. Then open it up and dispose of the useless organs. The bloody meat taken out piece by piece and hung to drip. Bones removed one by one, if not piece by piece. The jaw were specifically kept for proof, still bloody. It took all night even with his experience greatly decreasing the time spent.

That done, he washed himself in a nearby stream and joined a morbidly impressed Sol for breakfast. Continuing onto the rest of the wolves took up until noon, eventually ending up with quite a large pile of bloody wolf skin. The meat, meanwhile, was decently drained of blood by then. They washed it on the stream and cut them into thin strips, before drying it over flame. That took most of the day.

Sol kept watch over most of the night while the Gourd slept. Probably. His eyes weren't visible and he didn't make a sound.

The following day, the two packed up and left for town.

10 normal wolves worth of skin.
1 big wolf worth of skin
10 normal wolves worth of dried meat
1 big wolf worth of dried meat

"So where we can sell wolves' skin and dried meat?" Sol asked about the small fortune he managed to get this time.

@AliceShiki

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

Razogul [Flag Raiser][Rald's and Carm's Senpai]

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

SpearOfLies [Lucky Dad][Has a lovely daughter]

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

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

Amayah Well-Known Member

Haitaka [Always Busy]

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

FuRen [Lime]

Naraku 『』『』『』

Fossil 「Spooky」「Scary」「Skeleton」

wraith -----------------

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

Naraku 『』『』『』

Fossil 「Spooky」「Scary」「Skeleton」

MaliMi The Cookie Guardian

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

Haitaka [Always Busy]

SpearOfLies [Lucky Dad][Has a lovely daughter]

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Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Receptionist's Desk

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

Razogul [Flag Raiser][Rald's and Carm's Senpai]

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

SpearOfLies [Lucky Dad][Has a lovely daughter]

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

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

Amayah Well-Known Member

Haitaka [Always Busy]

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

FuRen [Lime]

Naraku 『』『』『』

Fossil 「Spooky」「Scary」「Skeleton」

wraith -----------------

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

Naraku 『』『』『』

Fossil 「Spooky」「Scary」「Skeleton」

MaliMi The Cookie Guardian

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

Haitaka [Always Busy]

SpearOfLies [Lucky Dad][Has a lovely daughter]

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