Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Receptionist's Desk

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

  1. Hirame

    Hirame Well-Known Member

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    >.>
    *Loots treasure from plants*
    Maya does collection and exploration quests...
    Maya is bad at killing stuff...
     
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  2. A5G_Reaper

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

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    "Hello there. Sophia and Terry, isn't it? I'm Mr. Gourd, nice to meet you."

    They're sitting in one particular guest room of the Baron, midday with fully open windows and some maids waiting by the side. He was almost thrown out when he arrives initially, but eventually the very very skeptical butler allowed the meeting with condition of having the maids watching.

    The children looks quite normal, curious even. But then looks could be deceiving, considering that it's the exact opposite of dark at the moment. They chattered about the scary witch of the dark coming to eat them every night, unless a lot of candles were lit to banish her.

    The gourd, meanwhile, listened intently. He requisitioned a large piece of blank paper upon arrival as well as some ink and brush, straining the already twitchy goodwill he's granted but they haven't kicked him out. Yet.

    He was drawing some sort of pattern on the paper as he listened, mainly composed of a large circle, a triangle that fit snugly in it, and a smaller circle that overlapped with said triangle. Then there was a few tiny patterns added here and there, but the overall impression was closer to divine than arcane.

    "I've been thinking about finding out if anyone could learn the arts of my home. Would be difficult for older people, but children tend to be more accepting of abstract concept." He said, tapping the edge of his blade to make a tiny cut on his finger. He touched the center of the diagram, pressing it down with his index finger.

    "Now pay attention kids, when it comes to fear you could either embrace its existence or beat the shit out of it with a big stick. I'm terrible at Prayers, but everyone where I came from have some affinity to it - look at the paper, don't blink now," he ensured that their attention are glued to the diagram. "Good. Flashfire."

    A tiny flicker of flame flashed to life by the diagram, he immediately pulled out his hand as the small ember flared unnaturally into wildfire that consumed the drawn diagram. There were shouts of alarm but the flash was over just as soon as it started, the gourd patting the smoldering remains to kill it off. The glass tabletop was a bit blackened by soot but a round of overzealous wiping would easily take care of it.

    A aeries of clanking sounded as armed guards stationed in the next room rushed over, but he paid no mind to it and leaned back on his seat with one hand below his chin. The two kids were in a complete daze as they trailed the main diagram and different portion of the additions...

    Teachings seared to your mind by fire, so that even if you lost your mind you will not lose your way; to promote humility, kindness, and forgiveness. Cross that teachings, though, and Her paladins will ensure there's not enough of you to bury once the holy flames subsidied. Who said that being good is being soft?

    "Ethereal Intervention." "Guardian's Blade."

    The gourd almost fell over off his thoughtful pose.

    The heck?! That was easy!!!

    The younger boy summoned a layer of silvery-violet barrier, a middle tier prayer to resist hostile magic. The girl, though, just called forth something normally available only to the most devout paladins. The pure white blade floating above her would instinctively protect her from harm and could be directed for attacking, and occasionally one could see a faint outline of a winged figure wielding it.

    Well, it all lasted four whole seconds before dissipating. The kids snapped out of the stupor, sweating like they've ran cross country at full sprint but also beaming with smiles. Not surprising, in absence of actual deities the prayer would've drain the user's own stamina and energy to sustain itself.

    "Well then, I suppose so long as you train yourself up you wouldn't ever have any reason to fear the darkness, or what lurks within..."

    The two nodded vigorously, thanking the gourd. The maids and the incoming guards were completely stupefied at the moment.
    • The kids are no longer afraid of darkness. In time, darkness will be afraid of them.
    • In the official report the gourd will skim what he actually did, only mentioning that he "taught a few trick clerics of his homeland usually practices".
    • May or may not have planted the seed of a Holy Order, several decades down the line.
    @AliceShiki
     
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  3. Hirame

    Hirame Well-Known Member

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    Maya found the way~ She marked it with charcoal on the walls of cave itself, is such thing fine?
    Also, Maya may need gloves. Would miss kitty know where to get them?
    Grrrrrrrr...

    Low growl sounded trough valley as Maya slowly made her way to the cave. Maya forgot... Not where to look, but how hard it is to find anything in mountains... Especially when even the person sending Maya here had no idea where exactly it is! And now Maya got to know why frostbite has bite in its name... Again. Maybe Maya should invest some of the money she gets next time to buy better clothes. Only piece she gained from last time was the dungeon hat. And that was not the kind of hat that would keep Maya warm...

    Maya's growling stopped as she got inside the cavern. Not really because she wanted, she had to. Something else took her place in filling the silence of mountains. Growls, shuffling of feet and many, many more strange sounds filled the air.

    Ehhh, this is going to be... Bad...

    It reminded Maya of her home. But that was the problem, wasn't it? Maya would not want to be stranger in her home...


    ******************************************

    It wasnt as bad as Maya thought at first~ Yes, there were thousands of creatures all around, but even the worst of them could at most be described as creepy crawler. There were some pretty big ones, but those seemed to be content on munching whatever small critter came too close instead of chasing Maya.


    If Maya was anyone but Maya she would probably have trouble, but these creatures were not undead or golems. Each soul like a spark, alone almost impossible to see, but the sheer numbers lit the way. For you see, soul doesn't give light, but when thousands cover each surface? They as well might.

    Its pretty dark here, isn't it? Maya doesn't like dark places... Thank you for being my light...

    Maya made a mistake~

    The cavern went silent. What before was canopy of thousand tiny steps, growls and shrieks turned dead silent in the moment. Myriad of movements around her turned to halt. And then they all looked her way.

    *****************************************

    Maya stood there hours, not daring to tempt fate by moving. Most things went their merry way soon after her little blunder, but some didn't. Some just kept staring. Or fell asleep without caring to change position... Maya didn't know and didn't want to check.

    Without anything to do and jumpy from probably being stared at by hundreds tiny eyes, Maya noticed something she otherwise wouldn't. There was wind in the cave. Ever so minute, but it was there. So weak one would never noticed if they moved at all, but Maya was very good at standing still if there was motivation to do so...

    When Maya finally decided to move, she did so slowly and carefully. One feet after other, never stepping too close to any of the critters, but never too far as well. All she could see was where critters were after all, so it wouldn't do if Maya got eaten because she made an empty step and ended up on the bottom of some hole...

    ***********************************

    It took a while, but Maya relaxed again. Whatever crawled all around didn't really care about her steps. Well, or it didn't hear that well. Sometimes, Maya would step too close and earn a bite from whatever critter happened to be there. It felt different every time.

    At some point, Maya started to silently count the steps. After all, one would get bored when everything she has to do is stop to check if wind still blows from ahead once in a while and swarm of dots constantly moving around could be entertaining only for so long.

    123~ 124~ 125~

    Maya counted to five hundred before she forgot to count, then, after a while started again and counted to 231 before anything changed. Slowly, the critters all around started disappearing. Less and less was around until finally, there was none. Maya could still hear them, but none could be seen when first ray of light caught her eyes. At some point, rugged cave walls were replaced by smooth stone worked by human hands.


    Maya was happy~ But that happiness only lasted moment before she noticed... There was something there. Something huge blocked the light as it slowly moved in the distance.

    Well, Maya wont be staying to find out what that thing was... Maya prepared few pieces of charcoal she made on the way to mountains and retreated into shadows once more.

    **************************

    Way back was pretty unremarkable. Maya got bitten a lot and stopped on every crossroads to carefully, without disturbing too many critters make a markings on the wall and check the wind to know where to next.

    When Maya finally saw the light of day again, she had to stop and sit down. Maya didn't really notice in the dark, but with every bite, a bit of her disappeared. Her hands and feet now more bone and mangled flesh than anything else.

    Maya didn't rest long, while no critters bit her outside, cold did. When both inside and outside meant getting bit here... Maya should just go back as soon as possible... After all, nothing will bite Maya in the guild~ Most likely...

    863 words
    Maya bleeds on everything she touches for a while.
    Maya didn't use up all charcoal. Lets say: Charcoal +2


    To say the truth, Maya hates this one... Its rushed, given no thought and just generally bad.
    Ewww.
    @AliceShiki
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2019
  4. Razogul

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

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    Task: Bad And Old, Gods Damn It, Goblins [Available]
    Requester: Dorvar, a miner.
    Quest rank: E
    Rewards: 5 Small Copper Coins per Goblin Head
    Description: I recently found a pretty sweet mining spot that seemed to have no competition, and was pretty happy I could enjoy it fully by myself without needing to worry about it running out any time soon... Meh, tough luck, I came back the next day only to find it filled with goblins, gods must hate me.
    I don't know their numbers, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was at least a dozen.
    Go there and kill the goblins, I'll only give the payment after being taken to the mine and seen for myself that no goblin is left there, so make sure to clear them all before trying to claim the reward.
    The mine is located near Flaminis, talk to me to get the exact location, though you are not to spread the word on where it is.

    Alex and Raz come to the receptionist desk and Raz hands over a sack.

    "In there are 30 goblin ears, I know, they're not heads, but I couldn't exactly carry them all in one sack."

    Day 1

    Getting his equipment ready, Raz looks to his new teammate, Alex.

    "So, are you completely ready? If so, we'll need to go to the quest giver first for the location to the mine." After he says this, he packs up the rest of the stuff into his sack.

    "I am now," said Alex while checking his quiver and following behind Raz "I'm an archer and you?"

    "I'm a cultivator and I am learning the sword as well. I can use enhancement and create water balls. Speaking of which, do you have any close quarter weapons in case the enemies come close to you?" Raz says this with some slight concern.

    "Wow, its the first time I meet a cultivator, so the water ball is like a long range skill?" asked Alex with curiosity.

    "I have a rusty dagger but I'm not very proficient yet. Currently I can imbue 2 effects on my arrows and one self-enhancement: with Magic Arrow I can imbue mana on it to deal extra damage and magical damage, with Retreat Arrow it does a little more damage and can push the target with an air current and with Eagle Eyes I can look further," said Alex with a smile.

    "I see. I guess I'll do the close combat and you do long range when I'm not in the way." Raz says this as he exits the tavern.

    "Anyway, let's go to our quest giver, he's at the inn nearby." He starts moving towards their next destination.

    "That works for me," said Alex while following him "You are more experienced so I think you should lead."

    Nodding, they walk a few minutes and see the inn they were told their quest giver was staying at. Looking inside the inn, they see Dorvar. Seeing him waiting at a table, Raz introduces himself.

    "Good afternoon, Dorvar. Are you the one who issued the quest?" Seeing him nod, he says, "Let's go somewhere more quiet, up to the room I'm renting."

    Alex followed behind Raz and Dorvar to a room on the second floor. After entering he closed the door, turning and seen Dorvar looking at him he said: "I'm Alex and I will be accompanying Raz to clear the quest, what can you tell us about the quest?"

    Seeing the two are in the room, he locks the door and starts explaining. "The quest is to go to the mine that I discovered, however, no one else must know besides you two. All of the goblins must be killed first."

    Taking out a map, he gives it to them and points where it is. "Southwest of Flaminis is where the mine is, it's a fairly large cave from what I saw. Remember, don't tell anyone of the location!"

    Nodding, Raz puts the map in his sack for safekeeping. "You can count on us."

    "Do you know the approximate number of goblins?" interrupted Alex "Or any extra information that you have on them?" I think we have enough food to get to the village of Flaminis, then we could slay some goblins every day.

    "As soon as I saw two groups of 5 goblins leaving the cave and a couple of them guarding the entrance I run so I can't tell you more about it" answered Dorvar "Maybe they are trying to establish themselves there? You should go there fast if that's the case."

    "There might even be more than the initial amount. We should hurry and get there, Alex." Raz says this as he exits. "Hopefully, it's not swarmed by goblins the time we get there..."

    "I was thinking that we should establish ourselves in the village and first hunt the patrols," said Alex while following Raz out of the inn "That way we could work on our teamwork and reduce their number."

    "By the way, do you have enough supplies to get to the village of Flaminis? I barely have any for myself," Alex turned his head, embarrassed by his poverty "If that's the case I think we should depart now."

    "That was my initial plan, given it seems they have much more than initially estimated. Also, luckily, I always carry some rations on me and hunt for food in the forest." Raz shows it and walks out with Alex to travel to Flaminis.

    "Good, on one side I'm excited that we are going to earn more than I thought, but I'm worried about their numbers."

    "Also, if they are establishing themselves there, maybe there are going to be more advanced goblins. What do you think Raz?"

    "Hopefully, they just have regular goblins... otherwise we're in deep trouble. There may be some goblin archers in the patrols. Anyway, time to travel." Exiting the city, they go on their trip.

    After a while, they arrive in Flaminis. Taking out the map, he points on it and says, "We're almost there. Make sure you have your weapons ready at all times on the way. In case you see a patrol on our way, tell me so we can prepare countermeasures."

    "I'm ready," said Alex while taking an arrow from his quiver "You are right, we should try to ambush them."

    Alex took the lead while activating Eagle eyes "There is some blood ahead of us, maybe the just hunted something? we should pursue them and attack" he looked at Raz and asked, "Do you go first or me?"

    "I guess I'll sneak a bit while you keep an eye out for me." Raz goes to where Alex points and sneakingly goes to find whatever caused that blood. After a few minutes, he sees some goblins with rags and rusty weapons near a now dead boar.

    "Hmm, tricky... guess I should wait until Alex can make his move, there are too many for me to go in by myself." Counting the goblins, he counts three of them.

    Seeing Raz take his position and waiting Alex put his arrow on the bow and took his time to aim at the chest of a goblin. I have to take one out on the first shot if possible otherwise were a going to be in trouble.

    Seeing Raz signaling ready to him, Alex shoots a Magic Arrow towards the goblin that had its back to them. The arrow traveled quickly towards the goblin and inserted into the goblin's back.

    "A headshot would've been good, but that works too!" Seeing one of the goblins get taken down, Raz goes up to a goblin before it can react and swings his sword, decapitating its head, blood coming out like a fountain.

    The third goblin, seeing this, glared ominously and hit him straight at the chest with a dagger. Luckily, Raz stepped to the side and it only tore through his robes a little. Seeing it missed, Raz lifts his sword and cuts off its head as well.

    "Seems like it's all clear for now." Waving his hand, Raz signals Alex to come to his location.

    "You are good!" Exclaimed Alex. "I was ready to disturb the second enemy but it didn't look like you needed my help."

    "We should take proof that we killed them and get out of here," Alex said after recovering his arrow and looking around, "Maybe some of them heard us and are on their way here."

    "They said heads, but I think with the number of goblins, we should only collect one part of their body that is smaller. How about their left ear?" Raz says this before that goblin who got shot in the back moved his arm and grabbed Alexes ankle.

    "Watch out!" Raz puts the sword in the goblins head and wryly smiles. "It seems like they require much more careful disposal..."

    "Thanks, I think the left ear is fine," said Alex while kicking the dead goblin again to vent his fear turned into anger.

    "I was nervous at first so I didn't take my chances and shot at his chest but looks like it's not enough" Alex smiled wryly while using his dagger to cut the goblin ears. "Should we continue towards the cave?"

    "We should check the surroundings a bit more, there may be more around here. Can you check quickly?" Raz says this while keeping an eye on the surroundings so that they're not ambushed.

    "Sounds good to me." Alex turned and entered into the forest to return a couple of minutes later.

    "Another patrol is coming but they have an archer with them," said Alex "What do you propose? They will be here in a couple of minutes max."

    "How many are in the patrol?"

    "Four of them, but I think we should take out the archer first."

    "Stay hidden and try to kill the archer. Also, if you have the time to, try killing more. It seems like the guy's info was much vaguer than anticipated." Raz prepares for a sneak attack.

    "I don't think this was an E-class quest either," said Alex while he took two arrows from the quiver. He aimed with one to where the goblins would appear from and channeled Magic Arrow and Eagle Eyes waiting for the goblin archer to show himself and ignored the others.

    As soon as the goblins appeared and before they could scream at the bodies of their dead companions, Alex left the string free and loaded another arrow while the first one pierced the goblin archer's neck.

    Coming out from behind them, Raz cuts off one of their necks and shares the same fate as the previous goblins.

    Seeing a goblin ready to slice him, he concentrates his ki and shoots a water ball. It penetrates the goblins heart and falls down.

    Looking at the remaining goblin that was ready to strike at Raz, Alex released an arrow that only managed to pierce the goblin arm but successfully interrupted the attack.

    "Thanks!" Seeing the goblin got interrupted, he decapitates the goblin. Looking at the goblin that got hit with the water ball, he thrusts his sword into its head.

    "Just making sure, given last time." Pulling out his sword, he then gets the ears.

    "So, any more around here?"

    "I haven't seen more close, do you think we should continue?" Alex tried to recover his arrows but one was broken "Should we investigate the cave today?"

    "They are going to notice the missing patrol anyway, maybe we can draw them to the cave entrance and at least see how many there are before running away."

    "Yes, try recovering some of the goblin arrows as well."

    "Looks useful, do you think their weapons are worth something?" said Alex while he counted the arrow with a stone head "9 more arrows will be useful haha"

    "I was thinking that if there are only two guards we could try killing one and injuring the other at the same time and see who goes out of the cave. What do you think?"

    "Seems good. I have limited ki, so you should probably do this. Good luck." Raz says this as he cleans his blade while waiting.

    "Ok," said Alex, hiding that he was running out of mana as well "Wait for me here."

    Alex advanced for a few minutes and seeing the clearing and the cave he took cover to see the entrance. Seeing the two goblins in the entrance he took two arrows from the quiver and prepared.

    He aimed one arrow to the first goblin knee, realized it and quickly shot the next one at the chest of the second goblin that was already running towards him.

    Hearing the screams of the first one, four goblins went out of the cave, he turned around and run in the direction of Raz as fast as he could while hearing something chasing after him.

    "How many are there!?" Raz says this while running with Alex. "Also, do you think there are even more in there!?"

    "I shot one on the knee and hopefully the second died," said Alex almost running out of breath. "Yes, I don't think the leader is after us."

    "This is my last shot with magic, let's hope it works." Alex took one arrow from the quiver, he turned around and shoots a Retreat Arrow to the feet of the first goblin, hoping he would fall and delay the others. He turned around without seeing the result and keeps running after Raz.

    Looking at Alex shoot another arrow, he turns back a bit and sees them still on their tail. Seeing three of them still coming, he launches three water balls, vastly depleting his ki.

    Seeing it hit them all, he smirked. Two of them hit them in the body, causing a hole in each of them. However, one only caught its arm.

    "I'm almost out of ki, but I think if we're careful, we can take them out."

    "Let's do this!" Alex said while drawing his bow with another arrow. He aimed and released at the goblin that just lost its arm, thanking the gods that it pierced his head.

    Seeing the two injured goblins closing in on Raz, he hurried to take another arrow from his quiver and shot an arrow without precision towards one of them, praying it finds its target.

    Seeing that Alex's aim was on point, the arrow went into another goblins head. The remaining goblin got closer and attempted to attack, however, Raz slashes at the goblin while using enhancement on his weapon.

    "Phew... time to finish those two guards, I'm all out of ki. After we're done with them, we should collect their ears and recover our strength."

    "Let's hurry," said Alex while collecting the ears with his dagger and lamenting at the 2 broken arrows. "If you don't see anything else valuable, we should go and rest at the village for tonight."

    "Yeah, let's go." After they collected the ears, they find a place to rest.

    "We currently have 13 goblin ears... I wonder how many more there are. Anyway, I'm going to replenish my strength and cultivate." Getting relaxed, he goes into the lotus position and starts gathering ki.

    Looking at Raz gathering ki, Alex also sits to try to recover some mana and reads his ancestor's book, trying to understand more about the next skill he will learn.

    Day 2

    After a day passes and they're at their perfect condition, he looks towards Alex.

    "You ready to go another round at the cave?"

    "Yes," said Alex while grabbing his bow and quiver and making sure his dagger was on his belt. "What's the plan for attacking the cave? I don't think they will go out this time."

    "We may need some torches to light our way in there, god forbid if there are any traps or hidden entrances that they may use. Maybe we can ask for some spare ones that nobody uses around here?" Raz says this while preparing his equipment once again.

    After asking around the village, Alex got a torch from the village chief and presented it to Raz, "I can't carry it, sorry."

    "No problem." Rads hold the torch and started going towards the cave.

    "Are you ready?" Asked Alex while looking inside the cave and taking an arrow from his quiver. "I will be right behind you."

    "Yes." Lighting up the torch, Raz slowly goes in, making sure that there are no traps. Seeing that he's a bit past the entrance, he signals Alex to come.

    It didn't take long to find their first group of goblins. Alex released an arrow as soon as he spotted them and pierced the head of one of them. As the other three closed on them he sends a Retreat arrow at the first one, making him stumble with the rest.

    Seeing the two that came up, Raz slashes one of them in the body then punches the goblin with his free hand in the face, making the goblin fall down. Raz quickly thrusts the sword into the head of the goblin while it's trying to get up, blood spilling out soon after.

    Seeing the other goblin get up, he gets ready to attack again.

    But before the goblin pounced on Raz, Alex fired another arrow that pierced his head, "Luckily next time they fall before you so you can slay them easily."

    "Are you ready?" Asked Alex after recovering all of his arrows.

    "Thanks, also, yes." Getting their ears, they go further inside, making sure the torch is illuminating forward and checking for any hidden entrances. After a few meters, they observe 2 different pathways, one leading left and another leading right.

    "What a predicament, which pathway should we take?"

    "I don't hear anything, we should flip a coin," Said Alex while taking a large copper coin and throwing it up, "If it faces up let's go to the right."

    "Okay then, I guess you'll flip it," Raz says this while making sure nobody sneaks behind them.

    "Left it is," Said Alex after catching the coin "Let's go to the right tomorrow." Alex entered the left tunnel just before he heard some noise coming from behind him and turned back to see what was coming.
    I look back to see what's coming and see three goblins coming from behind Alex.

    "There are three goblins! Try and fire some arrows, I'll go in and try and attack them!"

    Alex aimed and fired an arrow, but the first goblin had a wooden shield and blocked it. He decided to try again and changed his tactic while Raz ran past him. He fired again at the head of the goblin, knowing he would block it, and quickly charged a Retreat Arrow and fired at his knees. Taking advantage that it couldn't see the arrow because of protecting his head with the shield, the arrow effect canceled his charge and forced him a step back, causing the two goblins behind to crash into him and fall to the ground.

    Seeing that they're on the ground, Raz quickly acts and starts thrusting his sword in their heads, making sure he's stepping on a few of them to keep them down on the ground. After the last one had its head pierced, he pulls out his sword and looks at Alex.

    "That was quick thinking, luckily it was only three. Let's see what is further inside this entrance." Raz takes the torch again and goes further inside with Alex.

    After walking from a while Alex could hear some noise from the front and see some light, he turned to Raz "What do you think if we put out the torch and try to ambush them?" said Alex while he prepared and arrow.

    "Indeed. I'll go in and inspect the site." Raz quickly puts out the torch and decides to go in. He quickly sees the room is covered in gold ore and two goblins surrounding a dead corpse.

    "You take the one on the left, I'll take the one to the right." Raz goes in and slashes at the goblin on the right.

    Not long after, an arrow pierced the neck of the other goblin. Seeing it fall and stop moving, Alex looked around, impressed with the gold ore on the walls he ignored the other body in the room.

    While stabbing the second goblin in the head, Raz's sword broke in half. "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Maybe there's something on the corpse I can use..." Seeing the corpse closer, he looks to see an iron shortsword and for what seems to be a bow on his back.

    "Well, this was quite lucky..." Tossing his copper shortsword, he wields the iron shortsword.

    "This guy is lucky, this gold mine will net him a fortune. I bet someone already had their eyes on here before he even showed up though. Maybe the employer will give us an extra reward once he finds out?" Saying this casually, he sees this entrance is a dead end.

    "Well, let's collect the goblin ears on our way out and explore the right entrance a little."

    Looking at the composite bow on the dead body and the bow in his hand, Alex did not think twice before exchanging bows. "Thanks," he said bowing to the body.

    "Do you think he has something to identify him? we could report it to the guild," He turned to Raz who finished collecting the ears and said, "Seeing this much gold and goblins we deserve a better reward, I think."

    "Let me check for some identification." Going around the corpse's body, he sees no signs of identification and the bodies flesh has long since been decomposed.

    "Seems like there's nothing sadly. We should talk to him later about this, but for now, let's go back to our previous position and enter the right entrance."

    "Lead the way," said Alex following behind Raz. they walked the way they came but just as they were closing in, both of them stopped hearing some screech from the front.

    Knowing what that means, Alex took an arrow and prepared for the incoming fight and thought hopefully there are only a few, I'm low on mana.

    Seeing two goblins come up, he shoots water balls at them. They fall over and get pierced by iron shortsword. Lifting it out, he sees the sword is still perfectly fine.

    "This works wonders! When we get back, we should report the corpse to the guild as you said. Maybe they can use magic to identify him." Taking off the ears, he turns back and says, "We should probably rest again. We've been doing nothing but wasting hours in this cave just walking."

    Seeing that he didn't even need to use his arrows, Alex relaxed. "You are right, we should return tomorrow."

    Nodding, they go out and quickly collect the ears from the initial fight and leave to go rest. They decide to recuperate before they go back.

    Day 3

    After the day passes, Raz readies his equipment once more. "Ready for the final one, hopefully?"

    "Ready," said Alex excited at the notion of testing his new bow. He counted his arrows and worried that he only had 15 left. Hopefully, we found a goblin archer next and some arrows.

    He followed Ratz to the cave and walked inside before stopping at the entrance of the right tunnel.

    "Well, let's get this done quickly." After saying this, they go down the entrance and see more and more gold on the walls. After walking a fair bit, they see light inside.

    "Get ready, I got a feeling this will be a tough battle." Peeking a bit, he sees seven goblins, five being regular goblins and two being goblin archers.

    Alex got nervous after seeing the group. 'Calm down we have come a long way to fail now.' "Can you last again the goblins while I slay the archers?" Alex asked nervously knowing it was going to be hard going against 5 goblins at the time. "It won't take long, I promise."

    "It's all yours." Raz prepares himself for the worst.

    Alex aimed and shot a Magic Arrow at one of the archers, it pierced his head and his body falls before his companions. The goblins turned, screaming and charged at our position. Knowing that Raz was not going to last if he took his time. Alex started running to his right, after a couple of steps he felt an arrow pass by his head and stopped. Thank whoever god is there protecting me.

    Aiming with the arrow that he just got from his quiver and he fired quickly. The goblin didn't have the time to reload when the arrow pierced his eye, killing it. He turned to see Raz while loading his next arrow and the new spell that he just learned yesterday.

    Seeing them come, Raz gathers his ki and enhances his weapon. Satisfied, he quickly lops off two of the goblins heads at once in a circular motion. The three other goblins come at him, he quickly shoots a water ball at one of the goblins head and kills it.

    "Shit!" Not having time to dodge due to the numbers, a goblin hits him in the chest with a wooden club, making him go back a few steps. Angered, he shoots a few water balls in the direction and kills the goblin that hurt him.

    The final goblin, looking at him, attempts to retreat.

    Alex worried when he saw the goblin hit Raz but he kept channeling his mana. When he finished, only the last goblin was left, he aimed and fired his new skill Piercing Arrow.

    The arrow pierced the goblin at his waist and went from one side to the other and inserted itself on the wall. The force of the arrow cut the goblin in two halves that fell to the ground.

    Alex was tired from using all his mana but still ran towards Raz, hoping the blow wasn't strong enough to kill him. "Raz! How are you!?" he screamed.

    "I'm fine... I just got hit in the chest. It hurts." Getting up, he feels the pain in his chest. "They're all dead now. Let's get the ears and let's leave, I'm done for now."

    "You wait there," said Alex still worried about the hit. He went from one corpse to the other cutting their ears with his dagger and collecting any arrow that he could still use. He found 23 on the goblins archers side and counting what he shot he still had 35 arrows.

    "That's 30 goblins in total and three of them were archers" he looked towards Raz and said, "Let's get out of here and rest in the village for today. If you feel up to it let's return to town tomorrow."

    "Indeed." Following Alex out, they go to the village and rest. Seeing his chest, he sees a big bruise which hurts. Sighing, he cultivates. After a few hours pass, he feels his wound start to feel a little better and then goes to sleep.

    In the morning, Raz wakes up and looks towards Alex. "Let's go to the quest giver first before we hand in our report."

    "Yes, considering the danger and the value of the mine, I think Dorvar should offer a little more," said Alex while taking his equipment. Following after Raz they make the way back to Nagrand. They make their way to the inn where they last meet Dorvar.

    Going inside, they see Dorvar and Raz motions for him to go up to the room again. "The quest is done, however, when we went in there, it was a gold mine, literally. There were also a lot more goblins than anticipated. Instead of a dozen, there were 30 goblins." The miner seeing this smiles at there being a gold mine and thinks for a bit.

    "I can give you each 20 large copper coins extra. You also killed 30 goblins, huh. The reward for the goblins will be in the guild, here are 20 large copper coins for each of you." He quickly hands over 20 large copper coins to Raz and Alex as he practically runs out of the inn.

    "Well, it seems like this has been a good quest... let's go back to the guild and do the report." Feeling his wound still, he goes back to the guild with Alex.

    "Finally it ended," said Alex while walking to the guild "I hope that the guild gives us a few more point for this quest, it was more dangerous than it said it was and let's not forget to tell them about the body, he didn't look like a nobody."

    "Indeed."
    Copper shortsword was broken, replaced with iron shorsword.
    Alex got a composite bow.
    We got 20 large copper coins as extra from the miner.
    @AliceShiki @Adrian160596
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2019
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  5. Haxagen

    Haxagen Fallen's|Addicted to Gacha

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    "The quest is done, the lost item has been returned to the owner...But I have some bad news, it seems."

    Elaine hands over her report.

    So, I checked the map and...wow, the location is quite irritating, isn’t it? Just near enough to make walking possible, yet just far enough to be incredibly annoying. It starts about three-fourths of the way between Nagrand and the mountains, and stretches all the way to the base of that huge mountain range, for goodness sake.

    Sylvan Grove. A particularly dense piece of forestry at the foot of the mountains, filled with clear springs and beautiful nature. According to the library, it is home to a surprisingly great amount of nature spirits, but that piece of information in particular came from a book about myths, so I don’t really know if that’s the case. Still, since this place has so much connection with nature, I guess I could see why it’s so popular with the tourists; as well as why it might attract fairies.

    Wait a minute. Something doesn’t add up here.

    Fairies are known to be mischievous, sure, but the quest said that it’s been several weeks since the first incident occurred, and it’s still going on, right? And now, they’ve taken away a necklace. The frequency of these issues don’t seem to be slowing, but the severity of it seems to be slowly increasing...I really hope I’m overthinking this, but it won’t hurt to make some preparations in advance. Let’s see if I can find that particular book.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Walking there didn’t take me more than half a day, but I’ve this odd feeling that at this rate, I might end up not needing a mount, even after I’m rich enough to afford several...What’s with this mysterious feeling of loss that I’m experiencing right now…

    Ah, never mind, I have a quest to complete, but still, this place is just...whoa. I can see why people flock to this area en masse now. It’s just...perfect. A little sanctuary so unsullied, tucked away from the chaotic everyday life. It’s a perfect getaway place for anyone whose feeling burnt out by the hectic daily life...Well, I guess I better start investigating this matter before even this little haven is ruined.

    “Ah? To think that someone else is here, even though the stories of missing belongings have already spread...By that getup, are you possibly an adventurer?”

    I turned around, and wasn’t surprised to see an elf. They were said to have loved nature, after all, and the quest details did mention that one of them in particular was extremely fond of visiting this forest. Hmm, in that case, this should be him, correct? I decided to offer my hand.

    “Pleased to meet you, I’m Elaine. Might you be the elf who issued this request, Mister…?”

    “Ah, to think that someone would respond so quickly. I am indeed the elf who issued this request, but please just call me Tyrion. I’ve only lived for a bit past one hundred years old, after all.”

    He gripped my proffered hand, and shook it firmly. As expected of an elf, his movements were graceful indeed. I didn’t bother asking why he was here, the details mentioned that he loved this forest after all.

    “While it’s not mentioned in the quest, uhm...May I kindly ask you not to use fire as a method? The spriggans, dryads, and treants here are all very peaceful, and fire terrifies them.”

    If someone other than me took this request, for instance, a mage, this little request might have been annoying, but I’ve always fought without magic, and I wasn’t planning to start now. Plus, it was a reasonable request, so I didn’t think much of it.

    “Still, aren’t you worried that they might take something else? Fairies are mischievous in nature, after all.”

    We made small talk as we walked into the forest, and I could see why it was pleasantly lively. Every few paces, there would be a sleeping treant, and so often, I would catch a glimpse of either a dozing spriggan or a dryad ducking through the trees. There was also the pleasant sound of running water that constantly flowed in the distance.

    “Well, I’ll be damned if losing a few small items would prevent me from taking a stroll at a place I enjoy the most.”

    Fair enough. I shrugged, and begun to busy myself with doing absolutely nothing. The environment was too peaceful, which was why I was willing to bet that the victims of these theft cases had gotten too relaxed, and thus failed to notice themselves being robbed. Still, if only small items went missing, I can see why people would think that this is the work of fairies. But…

    I glanced over at the elf, who was also seemingly busy doing nothing in particular, and somehow, I just knew that we were following the same train of thought.

    “It’s too malicious, these acts. Doesn’t seem like the type of things a mischievous fairy would do.”

    “I beg your pardon?”

    He was trying his best to keep a poker face, but after a few more moments, the elf sighed.

    “Yes, you’re right. Fairies take items out of mischief, but in most cases, they would return them and leave them lying about in plain view of the victims, but these things are still missing, as far as I’ve checked.”

    Still not enough. We’re still too guarded, it seems. I doubt they’ll try anything funny while we’re carefully watching. Therefore, I tapped Tyrion on the shoulder, causing him to turn around and stare at me curiously.

    “In the mood for a nap?”

    “You’re thinking that they’ll only target those whose guards are completely down? But if they do make a move then, how are we going to catch them?”

    I grinned, taking out a certain item from my pack, before stuffing it into one of my pouches.

    “I have already made precautions, see?”

    “Pfft. Most amusing, girl. Very well, then. Let’s see what kind of fish hooks onto the bait.”
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    It was about fifteen minutes after I fell asleep that the mysterious thief decided to make an appearance.

    There was a sharp yelp, and I reflexively reached out, nabbing the tiny thief. There was a small struggle, but I had already planned for that, and promptly tossed the being in my hand into one of my bigger pouches. There was the sound of a tiny knife being drawn from inside the pouch.

    “Drop your weapon, thief, for I have no intention of causing unintentional harm. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to drop a few more of those inside the pouch, and then it will hurt like hell, I promise.”

    The struggling stopped.

    “What do you have in those pouches?”

    The elf Tyrion looked back at me, so I scooped a few pieces out of my small pouches, and showed him my outstretched hand.

    “This is...Ah, I see. Forged cold iron pieces. Which means that the thing you just caught…”

    He stared at the pouch with the tiny captive inside, having arrived at the same conclusion as I did.

    “So it wasn’t the mischief of fairies, but rather the work of the fae, I see.”

    The hairs on my neck stood up, and out of reflex, I drew my rapier just in time to deflect a thrown dagger. It reflected off the blade, and I caught a flurry of movements in the bushes.

    *Clang*

    I parried more, and behind me, the elf Tyrion had done the same with a short sword he had kept on his waist.

    “Let’s not get too hasty, fair folk. I have your friend in this pouch, and while I do not enjoy using hostages, I will not hesitate to get nasty if you do not cease hostilities. Of course, if you promise not to attempt to harm us in any form, I promise that your friend will remain unharmed.”

    The surroundings remained quiet, but the fae inside the pouch seemed to be quite smug at having been identified. I rapped the sides gently.

    “I’ve heard that faeries can’t lie, so I shall propose a deal to you. Promise not to try to escape, and I will let you out of the pouch.”

    The silence continued, but I could sense a grudging agreement, probably because it couldn’t twist my words to run away; I had said that I would let it out of the pouch, but I didn’t say I would let it go free, either. Therefore, I shook the pouch slightly, and tipped the contents out onto the grassy floor; a piece of cold iron, and a small creature with green skin and a pair of wings, face held high.

    I stared at the fae, then the elf, then the fae, and back at the elf.

    “Aren’t elves supposed to be, like, the proudest species or something?”

    Tyrion shrugged. Apparently, he got that a lot.

    “Well, never mind. Little guy, I have a few questions for you. Same as before, as soon as you do what I require, you will be free to go. I promise that I will not hurt you as long as you reciprocate that in kind.”

    He/She/It stared at me with emerald coloured eyes.

    “I don’t really have a choice, do I? You’re more cunning than you look, human.”
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    “So, first things first...Seelie or Unseelie?”

    “Which do you think it would be, elf? Do you not have the eyes to see clearly what’s in front of you?”

    Tyrion was negotiating with the fae that I had caught, but instead of calling it that, I’d say it’s more of a shouting match. The elf apparently had no love for the fae, and the fae had no love for him, either.

    “Uhm...How about this? Why did you steal those little odds and ends from visitors?”

    As for now, I’ll join in before Tyrion decides that his jewellery carving expertise could also be put to use in re-arranging faces.

    “Bah! A few coins. Some trinkets. A ring here, an earring there. The necklace. We’ve already taken quite little from you miserable creatures when compared to what you’ve taken from us!”

    Well, that was somewhat true...If it was the warlike fae, they could have just robbed the visitors of their lives and possessions, not to say a few pieces of wealth...Wait, something’s not right here.

    “What was taken from the fae? And why did you target an elf as well?”

    The tiny emerald eyes stared at mine. They were filled with pride, true, but also fury.

    “Don’t pretend you have no idea on what’s going on, human! Coming to our lands in those odd black robes and kidnapping the younger fae! And the pointy ears as well; I’ve seen your kin being part of those groups!”

    What the---?!

    “That’s preposterous! Our monarch has signed a treaty with your Seelie Queen. None of us would do such a thing that risks war!”

    This is troublesome now...I was expecting a simple task, but it seems like things have gotten more complicated than I wanted… The guild might want to know about this.

    “Uhm, Mister…”

    “Skip the mister part, I’m barely over two hundred.”

    Don’t elves and fae have the same lifespan…?

    “If that was the case, why not submit a request to the Adventurer’s Guild…?”

    The fae snorted. Apparently he had no love for the Guild, either.

    “The last time we asked others for help, look where it got us.”

    Tyrion started explaining before I could turn to stare at him confusedly.

    “The fae didn’t always live by themselves, you see. A long, long time ago, they once coexisted with the elves, or so the legend goes. But we eventually drifted apart somehow, and the rest is history.”

    “That’s because your beloved monarch was too scared to fight and abandoned us, long-ear! You elves are worse than the Unseelie Court. At least their Wild Hunt stayed with us.”

    Behind me, I could tell that Tyrion was getting more and more tempted to test out his carving abilities, tapping his blade hilt every so often. I know that elves over a hundred are barely just past the age of becoming adults, but isn’t this still way too hot-blooded for an Elf…?

    “Forget it, hmph. Do as you like to me. I was trying to steal your belongings, so being punished after getting caught is only natural. Go on, do what you want. Cut me into pieces, string me up for the wolves, whatever.”

    Tyrion sneers.

    “Even if the girl killed you, I still wouldn’t be able to get back what belongs to me. Do you take me for a fool? You’re coming back with me.”

    “Silence, miserable Elf. I did not ask for your opinion! Also, if you kill me, you can forget about getting that necklace back!”

    “Oh, you wanna try me? I’ll finish you off personally before plucking the necklace off your dead body, green-skin!”

    “Try it, long-ear!”

    Before the whole fae became two halves of a fae, I hurriedly snatched him away out of the range of Tyrion’s blade. It cut through empty air.

    “Stop fighting! Please, could you return the necklace to Tyrion? I’m not sure about these people that you speak of, but the necklace seems to be quite valuable to him. Some of those little bits and pieces might have been mementos, after all, so please don’t drag the innocents into this as well...”

    “INNOCENTS? Tell me, girl, which of us are truly innocent these days? Even you yourself have blood on your hands, correct? In that case, why shouldn’t we seek vengeance for the suffering we have experienced?!”

    “But two wrongs don't make a right! Even if you pillage every single visitor that passes through here, your kidnapped children won’t return! Why make it even worse when we have the chance to bridge the gap?”

    The fae glared at me.

    “You’re incredibly convincing, human, were it not for the fact that you tried to murder me with cold wrought iron. Will you release me if I promise to do so?”

    “That, and you’ll have to promise not to do so again. Meanwhile, I’ll promise to release you without harm, and notify the Guild of this issue.”

    “...Very well. I promise to do return the necklace to the long ear, and to never do steal from visitors to this forest again. I also promise that myself and my brethren will allow you two to leave peacefully after this, as a sign of goodwill. Now, release me.”

    He was taking a leap of great faith, I realised. Old principles bound the fae to their promises, while the rest of us weren’t. Humans could break their promises, so there was nothing to stop me from keeping him bound except for my own goodwill.

    “Here you go.”

    I cut him loose gently, freeing him from the cold iron piece that had been bound to him. As soon as the iron lost contact with his body, the fae snapped free of his remaining restraints, and grew back to a regular humanoid size. His features still remained as sharp, though, as he reached into his own pouch and drew out a small necklace, before tossing it over to the elf.

    Around us, other fae warriors emerged from the bushes, but didn’t attempt to harm us. I did make the right choice, after all.

    “You have a strange friendship with a short-ear, Elf. I won’t ask you why, but I suggest you cherish it.”

    “Huh? We’re not friends, though?”

    The fae warrior was noticeably taken aback by that statement.

    “You’re not friends…? Impossible. Let me take a closer look, girl.”

    Before I could react, he grabbed my hand and sniffed it a little bit, before settling back into a thoughtful silence.

    “You’re undoubtedly human. I can tell that much. But...there’s something off about you. It’s as if you were...No, girl, you have a strange gift. Otherwise, a wary and proud elf would never have fallen asleep in the presence of a stranger, especially one that isn’t a fellow elf.”

    I think I probably started frowning as well, because the fae reached out and patted me on the head, leaving me too surprised to respond.

    “Well, I’m rather ashamed to admit this, but thanks for reminding us, girl. That we, the peace-loving fae, do not need to repay malice with more malice. We’ll be watching you with interest, so don’t disappoint us, okay? Go out there and make a name for yourself.”

    ...Is it just me, or does this sentence sound damned familiar…? The expectations are piling up...Forget it, the necklace is returned and the fae responsible have sworn a binding oath not to repeat this, so I think this request is completed. Time to head back.
    @AliceShiki
     
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  6. MaliMi

    MaliMi The Cookie Guardian

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    Task: Investigate Mysterious Shrine [Taken by @MaliMi ]
    Requester: Fu Meilin
    Quest rank: E
    Rewards: 5 Large Copper Coins, Tavern discount coupon for two
    Description: On a routine quest, one of our own stumbled on a mysterious shrine. Investigate the location for any hints at its purpose and reason for being in that location. Spirits have been sighted at the shrine, but were not hostile. Measures taken against any more possible encounters are left at the discretion of the quest applicant.
    Relevant Reports:
    OoC: In the end I did not go through my fake report plans as it would not really go well with the story.

    *cracke*

    The fire illuminated the dark forest and revealed bit of the ruined shrine that hid within the overgrown foliage. Bob took a bite from a roasted rabbit, which he had caught earlier in the morning. It was already his second night near the shrine. Fortunately, the wild-life did not dare to come nearby so he was safe as long as he slept on its doorstep. Even for this rabbit, he had to venture deeper into the woods.

    ‘Hopefully tonight will be better.’

    The night before, while sleeping, Bob once again entered the mental plane. However, he did not step into the shrine, he did not dare to. He only quietly floated before it waiting for whatever existence occupied it would allow him to enter. After all, as much as lacklustre the shrine looked in the surface plane, that much mysterious appeared in the mental one. And over there, more often than not, mysterious equals to dangerous. Bob could not quite see into the shrine. It was like the place barred any kind of intrusion and that terrified him even more. And so, Bob waited, waited to be allowed inside.

    It was only after he ate the rabbit and prepared for another session of deep sleep, that out of thin air, a knight sat opposite to him, across the fireplace.

    Putting on the friendliest smile he could muster, Bob greeted the knight: “Good night, my name is…”

    “I don’t like you!” The knight cut him off.

    “...”

    With a slight frown on his face, Bob, after a while of silence, once again tried to strike up a conversation. However, before he had the chance to open his mouth, the knight once again interrupted.

    “I really don’t like you!”

    At the very least, this time the ghost continued his speech.

    “I know neither how you ended up like this, nor the reason for it. Even if I knew though, I bet I still would not like you so, at the very least, drop that pretentious act!”

    “...”

    “...”

    “You know why I am here, don’t you?” With an equal displeasure in his voice, Bob asked.

    “I know, to assess. We are not hostile. We won’t harm you. But tell this to that guild of yours that WE only talk with those, whose minds are pure! Now, begone of this land!” The knight disappeared in the same manner he entered.

    “Oh and also, WE are not afraid to fight.” His last words entered Bob’s mind.

    ‘That @#$! knight! What does he even know! What does that the pharmacist even know! What does THAT idiotic baron..’

    “EVEN KNOW!!!” Fed up with the streak of misfortune that followed right after he awakened to his ability to dream, for the first time in a long, long time, Bob yelled at the top of his lungs.

    Finally calmed down, Bob sat down with a grim expression on his face.

    ‘What now? The quest cannot go on further. Will this be yet another failure? Can I even afford to fail this?’

    Bob already had enough troubles. He did not really leave a favourable expression on neither the Baron nor the pharmacist. He got a part of his second job’s reward only because the receptionist trusted him.

    ‘I cannot afford it.’ If he lost the little trust of the guild he had, he would be forced to look for job somewhere else. ‘I could still go carpenter…’

    Bob almost immediately shook his head.

    ‘No, cannot do. That will just slow things down. Time to go for a broke.’

    With that said, Bob acted on impulse. He decided to trust his intuition and entered the mental plane. The same as last time, it did not take an hour. Perhaps it was the effect of the shrine, but as soon as bob closed his eyes, his 2,6 strong soul revealed its might.

    At the same time, at the shrine’s doorsteps, a ghost knight the size of a little more than half of Bob spoke: “So you did not listen. Let me then teach you a lesson you will not forget!”

    The knight rushed forward with his sword in hand. Meanwhile, Bob did the only thing he knew about fighting as a soul: Devour!

    Two foes, one charging, the other waiting with his ‘maw’ opened.

    The knight arrived and was about to slash.

    At the same time, the Bob’s maw opened up as if ready to consume whatever the knight threw at him.

    “STOP THIS INSTANCE!!!” However, at that very moment, a voice reverberated into both of their heads followed by an invisible pressure that made the knight kneel and Bob shrink back.

    At the doorstep of the shrine, yet another knight appeared. Though this one’s power, was something else. In comparison, the previous one was just like a newborn baby.

    “Darrion…” The kneeling ghost cursed under his breath.

    “Come in, both of you!” The suppression ceased and both of the knights, one annoyed, the other angered, entered the shrine. Meanwhile, Bob was about to divide a portion of his soul, when the one named Darrion spoke once again: “Go with your physical body first!”

    * * *​

    Within the shrine in the mental plane, two ghost knight with their helmets off and one soul held a conversation.

    “Why did you even…” the smaller knight started a tantrum, but was stopped by a slap from Darrion.

    “Seriously, after you got your family back together thanks to one pitiful human…”

    A sudden chilly wind made the rash young knight stop and go silent while piercing Bob with his gaze.

    “I am sorry for the little one. He is too inexperienced.” Darrion laughed the tense atmosphere off.

    “No biggie, no biggie.” Bob reciprocated.

    “Though he is right about one thing.” The knight said seriously, “what demon or devil is hiding there, in your soul?”

    After a moment of hesitation, Bob’s soul opened its maw and from within floated out a single mushroom. “You mean this?”

    Darrion nodded gravely. The rash knight also turned his gaze towards the shroom. However, this time the glare contained as much hate as greed.

    “Thought this thing went extinct already. Where did you find it?”

    “Oh, it was feeding of on a soul of a herb gatherer. I got it while treating his soul. Tried taming it ever since, but to no attempt.”

    Darrion sighed: “This thing won’t really submit. It is mindless after all. Anyway, good thing you brought it here. Now we can dispose of it once and for all.” He drew his sword.

    “Wait!” Bob interrupted the knight. “Perhaps I cannot tame it, but it can still be beneficial to me in other ways. Absorbing its soul is still a possibility.” As if I would just simply hand over such a tonic, he thought.

    The young rash knight was about to say something, but was stopped by a glare from Darrion.

    “Oh, what makes you think you can keep it?”

    “The fact that if something happens to me here, more humans will come?”

    “BUHAHaHaHa, the little punk here did say something right.” Darrion smiled sinisterly. “We Are Not Afraid to Fight!”

    “...”

    “Though on the other hand.” Darrion continued, “just stealing it does not sit well with me. How about we trade?”

    The rash knight looked incredulously at Darrion thinking why would not he just simply take it and kick Bob out.

    “Do you have anything I would want?” Bob asked curiously.

    “Knowledge, little guy, knowledge.”

    “What about this…” Bob then asked for his biggest desire, the Castle.

    “That is too much as a compensation. Also, I am not expert in these things. I mostly only know about ghosts.”

    Hearing that Bob was about to take the mushroom back, but realized that there was no way to leave without completing the trade. “Tell me about ghosts then.” Bob replied in dismay.

    Darrion: “That is still a pretty broad topic. How about I tell you about their birth?”

    ‘Downgraded again, huh?’ Feeling cheated, Bob just told Darrion to go on.

    Shaking his head slightly, Darrion touched his forehead. As he did, a speck of blue light emerged and flew towards Bob entering his body.

    The speck contained countless births of ghosts many shapes and sizes. It contained the movement of both mana and soul as they mended together and created the entity known as ghost. It was just a vision of what could be done, but for Bob, it was like an enlightenment. To anyone else, it might be useless, but to Bob, it was like a treasure trove.

    “Now, that shroom should be worth about as much.” Darrion smiled as he grabbed the shroom.

    Bob did not know why he received such a gift and was too entranced with what he got to ask. It was only a while later that he came to himself and asked about the purpose of the shrine.

    It turned out to be a gathering place for lost spirits. Those, who do not want to leave to an afterlife are attracted to this place as it can slow down and perhaps even stop the process of turning into a feral ghost mindlessly pursuing its obsession. It gives ghosts another chance of being. The ghosts like these gather around this place and once in a while, an escort comes to take them to their hidden community.

    At the same time though, the shrine functions as something like an outpost, defending them from the evil within the Dark Caves, which tries to influence them.

    After that, Darrion spoke his last words: “Oh, and tell Elaine she is welcomed to visit anytime. If I am not on shift, just tell them my name and they will get me after a while.”
    * * *​
    And so, with the first quest ever fully completed (hopefully), Bob headed back towards the guild. Sometime along the way, within his sleep, after some trials and errors, he figured out a new skill.
    Bob got new dream skill. Might or might not write a ss about it in Announcement Hall. Depends on how I will feel. It would not be long though, probably just around 300 words, if even that much. Heck it could even be jus tone sentence You know what? I just added that sentence to the story.

    Staff: @AliceShiki
    Might be interested: @Haxagen
     
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  7. strikegunner

    strikegunner Well-Known Member

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    OOC: 'Blue text' is Fen's dialogues
    [Day 1]
    I went to Oxbow mansion to greet Lady Marilaine, she guided me to the training room. I request her to pick me as dancer candidates instead of a singer.

    I changed to the costume that Oxbow's house prepared, it was very uncomfortable around neck and legs but somehow it is very easy to move around.

    Miss Oxbow introduced me to the instructor, he was in good mood it seemed they were short-handed for male dancers. I tried to dance with my partner but it was terrible. I couldn't control my breath and follow the rhythm at all.

    "Sir, I couldn't do it, it is too much differs from the dance I knew in Seditio and Nagard, Where these rhythms originated from?"

    "It's like you haven't visit Nyllia yet" *laughing*

    "I've have been there just for dungeons but did not enter any towns"

    "Take your time, you got good physical conditions, it shouldn't be too hard for you"

    "ha ha ha" *dry laugh*

    *sigh* What is this sword, I know it decorated for the ceremony but why the edge side is so heavy"
    ((I guess I have to observe them(dancers) first))

    "Hey! taking a break already?"

    "No sir, I think I can grab something from observing others"

    "Hmmm, so do you get anything?"

    "Their sword dance is amazing, I will lose balance if I don't control my centre of mass well, I will also lose balance if I dance alone"

    "You have good eyes, aren't you. So you gonna take their steps?"

    "Um, no I'm shorter than him *pointing at one of the dancing* I have to steal and make it my own"

    The instructor grinned and left ((that smile was scary))

    ___

    [Day 2]

    I used the whole day to practice so it's not have not thing much too report except all small injuries I got from tripping and falling. In the afternoon session, I paired with my partner to practice, I felt like I won't trip from dancing at all. It irritated me when I know there is something I can't do it alone.

    [Day 3]

    I adjusted my footsteps and breathing to match my partner. I felt like I have to improve my upper body movement since other people say my dance is a bit tense, unfortunately, the day ends.

    "Good job kid, you have done it nicely these three days"

    "No, I still have to improve a lot"

    "Don't be too pessimistic others also praises for your quick learning ya know?"

    *nods his head* "Thank you..."

    "Since we don't have a fixed date for the ceremony you can come here and practice anytime. We welcome you!"

    "I'm sure to visit again and please also send my regards to Miss Marilaine"

    "I will definitely tell her when she finished her business"

    I left Oxbow's mansion and went back to the tavern to write this report.
    Lady Marilaine needs more people who have ability to sing to take this request.
    @AliceShiki
     
    Naraku likes this.
  8. Nahrenne

    Nahrenne Sister|Daughter|Niece|Aunt|Mummy

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    OOC: Quest report for this:
    IC:
    Phinimimilomimo and Tera both entered the guild and handed in their quest report to Caligo.
    Tera stops running and moves into a clearing, "Phinimimilomimo can you please get off my back for a second I wish to talk with you about your plan for getting the animal back to Caligo as well as find out exactly what you can do. Ahead there is a monster which spits acid and destroys trees and such. So how are we going to deal with it?" Tera pauses and waits for the fairy to move.

    "Hmm, Fris?"

    Hearing her travelling companion's words, Phinimimilomimo flew off Tera's back and looked in the direction he had indicated. Seeing that it was a lizard spitting out acid, the little fairy shivered in fright, not knowing what such a scary creature was.

    "Ah, Fris! Should I paralyse it, Fris? Then we run away, Fris?"

    Tera turns to the fairy and smiles, "But if we leave it it could set the entire forest on fire due to how the acid works. So you go paralyse it and I'll finish it off." Tera moves slowly towards the lizard whilst watching Phinimimilomomimo.

    "Eh, fris!?! You're going to kill it, Fris!?! How about I just draw out its acid, Fris? That way it can't destroy things, Fris..."

    Phinimimilomimo started tearing up as she thought about Tera killing the lizard before them - her Fairy Land teachings of not harming nature causing some distress in her little mind.

    "It doesn't run out of acid from what I can tell and it's not an animal it's a creature brought about by abnormalities in the mana generation of the world it's only instinct is to kill and destroy there is 0 reason to leave it alive."

    "Muuu, Fris...If you really think so, Fris..."

    Phinimimilomimo flew over to the lizard spewing out acid - making sure to be at the most 3 metres above it, before using her wings to scatter a [Paralytic Dust] onto it, paralysing it. She then immediately flew higher, out of range of the lizard's acid spit and made an [Illusion] of a giant arrow pointing at the lizard. She then closed her eyes, not wanting to see Tera kill the creature.

    Tera proceeded to run at the creature after Phinimimilomimo left him and upon arrival he noted that there was a fair amount of acid around already so he couldn't perform the usual routine so he tried baiting it into charging at a tree, however the lizard was drastically slowed by the paralytic dust, so in the end Tera circled the creature and smashed it's head in with a nearby rock.

    Hearing the sound of something blunt hitting something organic, the little fairy flinched, before opening her eyes to see the bloody mess left by the lizard's mushed up head.

    "...I don't feel so good...Fris..."

    The little fairy proceeded to be sick, sparkly liquid spewing out and landing on the acid covered ground, before she landed on Tera's head, feeling dizzy.

    "You don't like the smell of the acid on the grass do you?" Tera picks up the monster and begins stripping it's skin from it's body. Tera begins moving whilst slowly skinning the lizard to the edge of the acidic area. "Okay I'm going to be spending a little time now moving the dirt so that the acid doesn't get set on fire when it rains." Tera begins moving the Earth after he finishes speaking to Phinimimilomimo.

    "Um...why not let me deal with the acid while you...deal with...that...Fris...?"

    The little fairy's face was a little green after hearing Tera mention skinning the lizard. Wanting to be as far from that desecrating act as possible, she opted to do what she had some skill in.

    "If you insist." Tera begins to strip the skin from the lizard rapidly sitting down and watching the fairy work.

    Phinimimilomimo immediately used [Draw Poison] to gather up the acid, forming it into a ball, as she used [Telekinesis] to lift up a huge piles of dirt to make a crater. After making the hole big enough, she placed the ball of acid inside, before releasing her control over the dirt, dropping it back into the crater and covering up the acid. Once she had done all of that, she used [Entangle] to gather the nearby roots of trees to cover up the freshly turned soil, before sitting on the branch of a nearby tree and waiting for Tera to finish doing his...work.

    "I'm done, Fris!"

    "Okay just wait a couple more minutes need to make sure that I dispose of what it uses to spit acid." Tera begins fiddling around inside the skull of the lizard for a few minutes he then digs a pit and throws the things into it before filling it back up. "Okay all done let us move on now." Tera puts the skin into his backpack.

    "Okay, Fris!"

    Hearing Tera's words, Phinimimilomimo nodded and flew onto his head so she could continue riding on him to their quest location.

    Arriving near the town Tera stops and begins talking, "Phinimimilomimo can we split up when reach the village I'll meet up with you again three hours after reaching there at the entrance to the town. Is that okay?"

    "Hmm, Fris?"

    The little fairy tilts her head, a little confused over why they needed to split up.

    "Should I do anything while I wait, Fris?"

    With this being her very first quest and time in the Lakeside Village, she didn't really know what she should do once they got there.

    "Listen to the residents and such I'm going to a shop that has lots of dead animals and such in it to see about the animal problem from them this is why I suggested it."

    She shuddered at the mention of dead animals, as she remembered the butchery done by Tera earlier that day.

    "I'll go explore the village, then, Fris! I've never been to it before, Fris!"

    She smiled happily, as she had leaned forward and upside down to look at Tera as she spoke, before returning to her sitting position.

    "On with the trip then!" Tera proceeds on with the journey.

    Arriving at the town Tera heads off to where he sold the lizard last time he came through the village.

    After Tera left her company, Phinimimilomimo flew around and enjoyed the feeling of nature all around her. She then came across some human children who were playing by the edge of the lake and thought they would be fun to play with.

    As she got closer, she hid behind a nearby tree and cast an [Illusion], making the environment change to that of lots of fish jumping out of the water and making rainbows with the water following them, before falling back in. The children exclaimed in happiness, as they pointed at the sight - smiles plastered on their faces. The fairy continued with her trick as she changed the made the water droplets form into a water fish that swam in the air, then around the children, before making it also go back into the water and cancelling her spell.

    Seeing that the children were happy, Phinimimilomimo then continued with her exploring, before getting chased by several white flying monsters, (seagulls), much bigger than the black one from a previous time. After being chased for roughly 20 minutes, the little fairy eventually flew into window of a shop that smelled of herbs and escaped her pursuers.

    ***​

    Tera left phinimimilomimo behind and headed off towards the butchers shop in the city. Upon arriving at the butchers shop Tera heads over to the counter, "Excuse me mister butcher have you heard that recently animals have been going haywire near here and if so where is the largest concentration of these things?"

    "Well it's to the North of the city I have heard about animals going insane but it's recently calmed down from before." The butcher then looks at Tera and smiles, "You going to buy anything?"

    "Nope I'm leaving now bye!" Tera immediately leaves the butchers shop and heads off towards the tannery to sell the monsters skin. Upon arriving at the tannery Tera notes that the skin of the lizard has gone from a brightish green to a cool red. "Excuse me how much can I sell this skin for?"

    The tanner looks at the skin and notes how it's damaged but the colour is quite nice, "Hmm what exactly did you get this skin from?"

    "One of those monster lizards which spit acid, it's skin must have reacted with some of my partners paralysis dust to change the colour from green to red. So how much?"

    "I'll give you 6 small copper for it deal?" Tera hands the skin over and recieves the 6 small coppers from the tanner. Tera heads off towards the centre of town, upon nearing the centre of town Tera hears a commotion.

    "I wonder what that is all about?" In the central area of town a large stage is set up and 4 men and a woman are held there in chains. One of the men has his hands encased in iron and the woman has her mouth sowed up.

    A man walks over towards Tera. "You wonder what this is about huh? In about 4 hours these 5 are going to be executed for the crime of stealing from the baron.

    ***​

    "Oh? A fairy?"

    After Phinimimilomimo entered the shop, an elderly woman grinding some herbs into a liquid looked up and saw her.

    "Haaah, Fris...This place is overrun by white flying monsters, Fris!"

    Just as she said this, the squawk of seagulls outside the window could be heard, to which the elderly woman chuckled to herself, before closing the window. She held out a finger for the little fairy to rest on, to which Phinimimilomimo greatly obliged.

    "Ah, thank you, Fris! I'd been chased for a good 20 minutes, Fris."

    As the woman brought walked back to her work station, the little fairy couldn't help but sniff at the herbs being ground.

    "Oh, Fris? You're making a medicine for burns, Fris?"

    "I was, how did you know, little one?"

    "I could smell the herbs, Fris!"

    The elderly woman smiled, before pointing to the huge piles of different herbs behind her.

    "I've to get through this whole batch by dusk, or else I'll have customers complaining...there's been some acid spitting lizards nearby to the North-East, towards Nagrand, and the South...and then there are those animals going wild to the North and North-West..."

    The elderly woman sighed, before resuming her work.

    "Ah, Fris! Me and my partner...mmm...dealt with an acid spitting one on the way here, Fris!"

    "You did? I hope you didn't get injured."

    "We didn't, Fris! Although...the poor thing got its head smashed in by my partner...Fris..."

    At the memory of that scene, Phinimimilomimo's face turned green as she was about to vomit again. Seeing this, the elderly woman quickly got a small bowl and placed it next to the fairy.

    "Blergh!"

    She released sparkly liquid into the bowl from her tiny mouth.

    "It seems that fight took its toll on you, little one."

    "I'm sorry, Fris...I dirtied your bowl, Fris..."

    "Don't worry about it." The woman paused, thinking about something for a few seconds, before looking at the fairy, "How about you help me make this medicine? I'll even gift you a few glass flasks if you finish quickly."

    "Really, Fris!?! I'll do it, Fris! I'll do it, Fris!"

    Phinimimilomimo flew into the air and immediately got three bowls out, then placed the correct portions of herbs for each bowl. She then used her [Telekinesis] to use three pestals to grind the herbs in the bowls.

    "Oh my, you really are working diligently~"

    The elderly woman smiled, as she also quickened her pace.

    After 2 hours of herb grinding, with Phinimimilomimo using her hands when she ran out of Mana, then her spell when she'd recovered it, they had gone through about 4/5 of the herbs. Seeing the progress, the elderly woman stopped and patted the fairy on the head.

    "Hmm, Fris?"

    "You can stop now, little one. You've done more than enough to help this old woman with her work."

    "I did, Fris?"

    Phinimimilomimo's eyes became sparkly from the tiny dew drops beginning to form at the corners. The elderly woman smiled, before reaching under the work station and taking out 5 glass flasks.

    "I can finish the rest on my own with no worries, now. Also, don't you have a friend you came with? Won't he be wondering where you are?"

    "Ah, Fris! I completely forgot, Fris!" Taking the flasks in her arms, she looked really weighed down, but still managed to fly. "Thank you for the gifts, Miss, Fris!"

    "Oh my, calling me, 'Miss', I haven't been called as such for decades. You can call me Agatha, little one."

    "Ah, okay Agatha, Fris! I'm called Phinimimilomimo, Fris!"

    "I see. Well, I'll be sure to remember it, little one~"

    The elderly woman used her finger to pat the little fairy's head, before opening the window for her to fly out of.

    "Bye, Agatha, Fris!"

    Phinimimilomimo flew out of the window, overencumbered with glass flasks, as she headed back to the village entrance - careful to not be seen by the white flying monsters on the way.

    ***​

    After meeting the man in the central part of town, Tera continues to wander around for a couple of hours meeting people and finding out about the local specialities which sadly were not eggs. Tera headed on back towards the entrance where Phinimimilomimo and him entered from passing by the thieves waiting to be executed again. "I wonder what that fairy would think about this? I bet she would throw up at the sight." Tera continues on with his journey in a blaise manner. Upon arriving at the gate Tera decided to stand by a tree in the shade.

    ***​

    Phinimimilomimo reached the entrance, completely bypassing the central part of the village, and saw Tera standing in the shade of a tree.

    "Waaah, Fris! Tera, help me carry these, please, Fris!"

    She flew very slowly towards the Struthiomimus and landed on the ground in front of him; in her arms the 5 glass flasks she was gifted.

    "Did you manage to do all you needed to, Tera, Fris?"

    She saw his backpack wasn't as bulky as before when they entered the village.

    "Yes I did Phinimimilomimo, it seems you had fun in the town what with getting these glass bottles I guess, anyway cause of your hardwork you also got 3 small coppers but I'll hold on to that as well till we get back from the quest." Tera takes off the backpack and opens 5 of the lower pouches and puts in the glass bottles. "Anyway did you find out where the wild animals are going crazy cause I heard from a person that deals with them that they are in the North. Further I heard that they have lessened their attacks probably some guards decided to go hunting or some such I bet."

    "I helped Agatha grind up herbs for burn medicine, Fris!"

    The little fairy's face beamed in joy over having helped her. Feeling relief from Tera putting the flasks in his backpack, Phinimimilomimo thinks about what Agatha had said to her concerning the recent activities in the area.

    "Hmm, Fris...Agatha told me that those acid lizards had been attacking people South and North-East of the village, Fris. That's why she was making the burn medicine, Fris. Hmm...she also mentioned something about animals going wild in the North and North-West, but she didn't say anything more on it, Fris."

    She flew onto Tera's back, her legs on either side of his neck to keep her in place.

    "Since both of us heard people say the activity is in the North, should we head that way, Fris?"

    She began stroking the scales on Tera's neck, liking the feel of them on her skin.

    "Okay let us go towards the north then." Tera begins heading off towards the North and begins looking around for wild animals or any minute change in scenery.

    ***​

    "Hmm-hm-hmmm~"

    Phinimimilomimo began humming happily on Tera's back, all the while looking for anything weird around them.

    "Say, Tera, what skills do you have, Fris? I feel like we should know what we both can do, if we get into another fight, Fris."

    As she asked this, she saw some leaves rustling a few tens of metres ahead, and flew onto Tera's head to get a better view of that area.

    "Well I don't really have many skills other than making a freezing armour around myself to protect me. I can get a power up from eating eggs and well I can get past peo..." Upon hearing the rustling bush Tera stops speaking and moving.

    "You heard it too, Fris? Do you think it's what we're searching for, Fris?"

    A few seconds later, a fennec fox with lots of vines coming out of its ears and fur stepped out. It noticed the two of them and immediately started growling - before charging right at them.

    "Waah, Fris! What should we do, Fris?"

    Phinimimilomimo flew into the air, to give Tera an easier time of moving.

    "Let us catch it for now cause this is far weirder than what we have heard about." Tera ice's up so as to injure it less when he attacks. "Okay can you try to paralyse it or do you think that this is a bad idea due to mixing chemicals." Tera begins backing away from the fox.

    "Ah, Fris! I can use the nearby roots to catch it, Fris!"

    Phinimimilomimo flies closer to the plant/animal hybrid and casts [Entangle] on it. Pretty soon, the nearby tree roots all gathered around the vine-covered fennec fox, wrapping around its legs to stop it from moving anywhere. Just as it got captured, it breathed out a red mist as it struggled to get escape.

    "Wah, Fris!"

    Phinimimilomimo quickly flew out of range of the mist, but close enough to maintain her spell.

    "Tera, don't kill it, Fris! Just knock it out, Fris!"

    "I'll try not to kill it okay?" Tera slowly moves towards the creature wrapped up in vines whilst holding his breath so as not to inhale the red mist that it expelled. Tera proceeds to chop it's neck twice to make sure that it faints.

    Seeing the creature had fainted, Fris cancelled her spell - no longer in control of the roots wrapped around it. Using her wings to blow the mist away from the area, she also went up to it.

    "What do you think it is, Fris? And that red mist, Fris?"

    "The red mist likely has something to do with the plant and the plant is the source of the berserking of the animals? I guess I mean I haven't heard of this creature before so unless it's some kind of monster?" Tera replies whilst looking at the nearby trees. "Anyway once I get a stick I'm going to tie this thing up with it and take it away from here. And once we have done that let us get a few more samples to take back."

    "A stick, Fris?" Phinimimilomimo looked puzzled, "Ah, Fris! I can make one for you, Fris!" She said after hearing why he needed it.

    Using her [Root Weapon] spell, she formed one of the nearby tree roots into a long wooden pole, large enough for Tera to hold and carry the monster, while being sturdy enough to not break under the weight.

    "How about this, Fris?"

    The little fairy moved the pole in front of Tera, showing him it, with a happy smile on her face. Before seeing if he took it, Phinimimilomimo flew over to the creature and used [Draw Poison] to try and get a sample of what it had spewed out. Very soon, a red liquid came out of the creature's pores and formed into a ball.

    "Ah, Fris!"

    Flying with the orb close to her, she went to Tera's backpack and got out her flasks, filling them up with the liquid.

    "I think it would be a good idea to examine this stuff for the future, Fris."

    She then put the flasks carefully back into their bag slots.

    "Ahh thanks for this, but is it wise to use your mana like this?" Tera cuts the roots but leaves enough length to tie the creature up on the pole. Then manoeuvres the creature and the pole so that he can easily use all the roots to tie it up and so that it can't easily manoeuvre to cut the roots. "Okay let us get 3 more afflicted creatures shall we Phinimimilomimo?" Tera starts moving out whilst holding the creature.

    Phinimimilomimo giggled at Tera's concern over her Mana consumption.

    "You don't need to worry, Tera, Fris. I could do these things when I was born, so this doesn't take much out of me, Fris. Using my Arcane magic, though...Fris...That still somewhat tires me out, Fris."

    She flew onto Tera's head, looking at the creature he was carrying.

    "That creature wasn't always like this, Fris...The Nature element is all skewed inside it, Fris...I hope other animals won't be as messed up as this one, Fris."

    "Yes I also hope so as well this creature should be in a lot of pain and the effects will likely leave some form of lasting damage or residual effect." Teras heading continues further north whilst looking for plants with a similar tinge to that of the ones growing on the fox.

    Phinimimilomimo flew onto the creature and started patting its head while crying a little - little sparkly dew drops flowing down her cheeks.

    "Poor thing, Fris. We'll try and get you cured, Fris."

    After roughly a few hours of trekking through the forest, the sound of growling could be heard from both sides. A deer with red glowing eyes came out from the left; a rabbit with red glowing eyes came out from the right. Phinimimilomimo hugged Tera's neck- a little afraid.

    "What should we do, Tera, Fris? They have red eyes and are growling at us, Fris..."

    "These creatures seem to be highly aggressive we are going to try and kill them whilst damaging there bodies as little as possible." Tera replies to Phinimimilomimo. "You take the bunny I will deal with the deer. Tera immediately moves due to still being covered by his ice armour and begins rushing at the deer.

    "Killing them...Fris..."

    Phinimimilomimo started tearing up as the rabbit on the right began running straight towards them. Seeing that she needed to do something, at least, the little fairy used [Entangle] to create a net of roots, ready to catch the rabbit. However, the rabbit immediately jumped into the air and went above the treeline.

    "Ah, Fris! Where did it go, Fris?"

    Looking up in the air, she maintained her net and moved it with her to above the trees. Searching for the rabbit, it was 2 metres above the trees and coming straight for her.

    "Kyaaa, Fris!"

    The little fairy instinctively put the net in front of her and caught the rabbit, which had begun gnawing at the roots to escape. Seeing this, Phinimimilomimo flew back to the ground and used [Root Weapon] to make a small club. Just as the rabbit was about to fully gnaw through the roots, the club fell on top of its head, knocking it out.

    "Phew, Fris..."

    The little fairy then fixed up and added more to the root net, before cancelling her spells. Once she was done, she turned to see how Tera was doing with the deer.

    After having forgotten to drop the pole in the first engagement Tera ended up holding the deers hooves which where kicking at him and trying to stop the pole from rolling down off his shoulder. In the end Tera let go of one of the legs and shifted to the side that he was grabbing whilst breaking the bones in the deer's leg.

    Tera then moves away from the deer and drops the pole on the floor. Before moving towards the deer again. Tera ends up getting his injured foot caught in a hole trapping himself the deer charges at Tera with it's broken foot whilst Tera tries to escape from the hole. Tera is able to break free just before the deer rises to kick him with it's hooves so he jumps at it and tries to break it's neck. The deer ends up kicking Tera however forcing the ice armour surrounding Tera to break.

    After awhile of dodging the deer Tera finally is able to bring the deer down due to scratching it enough to drain it of it's energy. "This beasts skin is quite ruined I must say." Tera retrieves the fox creature and begins dragging the deer over towards where Phinimimilomimo is.

    Phinimimilomimo saw the ripped mess of the deer and began crying for the poor thing.

    "Teraaaaaaaaaaa, why did you have to hurt it so muuuuuuch, Fris!?! Waaaaaaaaaaah, Fris!"

    She immediately flew over to the deer and used [Entangle] to wrap its wounds with the roots, before tying it up to ensure it didn't escape when it woke up.

    "Did you notice anything strange about it, other than being aggressive, Fris? The rabbit could jump really high and was managing to gnaw through the roots, Fris..."

    Phinimimilomimo looked a little concerned about her observation, and wished for Tera's opinion. While she asked this, she controlled the root net holding the rabbit to get closer to Tera, so he could tie it up to the stick.

    Well it could walk with a broken leg fine and it should have knocked itself out about a minute ago but not much else really. Also rabbits can normally chew through roots it's one of their main sources of food I heard from a trapper in the tavern. Anyway time to make these two easier to carry." Tera proceeds to move to kill the rabbit and the deer.

    "But, I've never seen a rabbit gnaw through 10 cm thick roots in a matter of seconds, Fris..."

    Phinimimilomimo waved her arms in the air, as she flitted around Tera's head. Then she picked up on what Tera said about making them easier to carry, and her expression changed to that of horror.

    "You're going to kill them, Fris!?!"

    She desperately placed an [Arcane Armour] on them, in a bid to stop the Struthiomimus from killing them.

    "You can't, Fris!"

    She flew in front of him to block his movement, her tiny arms and legs outstretched.

    "What do you mean I can't kill them? Do you understand how hard even one of them would be to carry let alone two of them also we can't feed them for the 5 days journey back can we. Cause they eat way to much for me to reliably be able to keep them controlled and fed, the fox is fine as we can feed it the deer over a couple of days as well as a few berries but deers eat quite a bit same with rabbits."

    Phinimimilomimo cried, as she came to understand Tera's reasoning. She cancelled the spell as her arms and pointy ears drooped. She then looked at Tera - with teary, sparkly eyes - and held her hands together.

    "Please, make it as painless as possible, then, Fris..."

    Phinimimilomimo flew off to a tree a few metres away, landed on it with her back to Tera, and covered her ears so she didn't hear the sacrilegious act of killing animals and butchering them.

    Tera Proceeds to crush the skulls of the deer and starts cutting up the deer and drains the last of the blood. So that it can be more easily stored in the pouches in the bag. Meanwhile for the rabbit he strangles it to death so that the man can have as good a sample as possible before storing it away basically intact. "You can come back now Phinimimilomimo I'm done with the animals and they are stored away."

    Hearing Tera's muffled voice, Phinimimilomimo flew back to the sight of a bloody Tera surrounded by a bloody ground.

    "...I feel faint...Fris..."

    Tentatively sitting on Tera's head, she looked at the bulky backpack and shuddered.

    "What should we do now, Tera, Fris?"

    Phinimimilomimo's voice sounded lethargic and quiet, as she was trying to process internally the current situation.

    "We can either look for plants like what is found growing on the fox or head back. I'd suggest finding the plants so you spend more time getting used to dead animals and such. After all shock therapy is one of the best ways to get beings over their fears!" Tera begins spiralling away from the battle site whilst scanning his surroundings.

    "If it's the plants, then I can sense their presence through feeling the similar feeling from Nature as the plants in the fox, Fris."

    With that, she familiarised herself with the presence of the plant inside the fox, then proceeded to fly above the trees - moving further away from Tera as she searched for the incriminating plants.

    After roughly 10 minutes, the little fairy soon felt multiple presences similar to what was inside the fox. She flew into the trees and saw what looked like 3 vine monsters with lots of red flowers on them. Every now and then, she saw a flower release a red mist of spores, similar to the red mist the fox had produced.

    These must be the plants, Fris.
    She thought to herself, before making an [Illusion] of the environment without her in it. Flying close to the 3 vine monsters, she very subtly cast [Entangle] on them all, trapping them in the roots. The little fairy then flew as high above them as she could, while still being in range of her spell, and cancelled her illusion, before moving the plants to Tera's location.

    Not needing to go slowly this time, she reached Tera's location after only a few minutes, with the vine monsters wrapped up securely - flowers included.

    "I found some, Fris!"

    Phinimimilomimo then dumped her cargo in front of Tera, for him to deal with.

    "I'm going to cut off a flower from the vine now you are okay with that right then you can replant them I guess." Tera proceeds to follow up upon his statements and cuts off a fair sized portion of the vine and wraps it up and then places it in one of the jars.

    "I suppose...Fris..."

    Phinimimilomimo coats the plants in a [] before she and Tera leave the forest with all of the stuff they set out to collect.

    "It's still strange how those animals ended up acting like that, Fris...It was like they'd gone berserk, Fris..."

    Thinking about that, the little fairy chose to thoroughly examine the substance she'd poured into the flasks, while giving one with the quest report.

    After a few days of travelling back to Nagrand, with Tera feeding the fox the butchered meat of the deer - while Phinimimilomimo looked the other way - the two adventurers eventually returned to the orc town. Heading straight to the guild, they wrote up their report and handed it in to be checked over.
    Tera has 6 Small Copper coins, 3 of which he is holding for Phinimimilomimo.
    Phinimimilomimo kept 4 glass flasks filled with red liquid, currently in Tera's possession.
    Caligo was given 1 glass flask filled with the red liquid.
    Caligo was given the living fennec vine fox.
    Caligo was given a dead berserk rabbit infected by the red mist.
    Caligo was given some vines with flowers from the vine monster that infected the animals with red mist.
    @shad12ow @TiggerBane

    X
     
  9. shad12ow

    shad12ow 『Semi-Offline』

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    The masked alchemist, Caligo, let out a sigh every now and then as he read the report from the two. If one could see his real face they would see him frowning every now and then too. He then put down the report before calling some guild's staff to take away the goods into the research laboratory. The men put some sleeping spell into the fox and then covered its cage and then took it away, together with the corpse of the berserk rabbit. After they were gone, Caligo looked at the two and let out a sigh.

    "It seems that the condition is much worse than we expected." He then looked at the vines they brought. "I don't think this plant can be found there. Either someone, or something, brought these there. Not to mention that fox that is anything but native too." Another sigh escaped his mouth. "Troubling. Very troubling."

    The masked man then pulled out a sack of coin and then put it on the desk, pushing it forward toward them.

    "This is your reward, all 15 Large Copper Coins. I'll tell the staff to also give you 4 guild points for your service." He then bowed his head to them. "Thank you for your hard work. Not only did you make a detailed report, you managed to get a perfect specimen I can work with, an alive one and a dead one. And also whatever this strange liquid is. You've done well, Oh, and Phi...Phimi...," he paused a bit, raking his brain to remember her name. "Phinimimilomimo. I've got your custom badge. I will need 5 Large Copper Coins for that." He then put a small box that contained the small badge with a receipt on top of it. "Aside from that, thank you and good luck on your adventure. I will ask you two for more quest in the future."

    Caligo waved at them before continued reading the report again.

    "...My goodness....this is both interesting...and troubling," he mumbled to himself.

    OOC:
    @Nahrenne @TiggerBane
    Well done, you two~ Splendid job and thank you for setting up a lore for the next storyline quest. Good job~! :blobowoevil:
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
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  10. A5G_Reaper

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

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    @Nurman will you take the report
     
  11. Nurman

    Nurman ( ಠ∩ಠ) [Retired Ton]

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    Laying on a beanbag hidden from sight behind the counter and finishing off some confiscated pudding, Fu considered lowering the rewards for a report that was recently returned to the guild. "hmmm, interesting how I wasn't even aware that someone took my request even though the reward is coming out of my own pockets. Perhaps I should spice up this report and add some sfx effects and Shyamalan twists?"

    Taking out a brush and preparing to whip up a masterpiece, Leonhart picked Fu up by the collar and stared at the empty pudding cup in Fu's hand. "Fu, my grandson's pudding that I left at my desk, have you seen it?"

    Looking confidently into the master's eyes with a stern expression, Fu shook his head, "Pudding? Never heard of it."

    Letting out a deep sigh, Leonhart placed Fu back onto the floor. "You would think that after traveling so much you would come up with better excuses, then what's in our hand?"

    Both of them turned to the empty container in Fu's hand, keeping his stern expression, Fu turned to the guild master again and flatly said "Confiscated goods".

    *Fu was then dragged into the back office and a long discussion ensued about trespassing and commandeering desserts...*

    Two-hours later...

    *Creak, click*

    After leaving the room with a sly smile Fu stopped by Aria's desk and noticed an interesting report. Picking up the report and flipping through it his smile grew wider.

    "Interesting solution, but... the heck? That was too easy! If possible I should try to find out what materials the parchment was made from and the origins of the ink. It's a shame that there wasn't more information about the pattern..."

    Laughing to himself, Fu made some minor changes to the report to hide the children's potential. "Let's watch these promising seeds spread their roots, in time even if the trees do collapse it'll at least bring down the surrounding trees with it..."

    Fu stopped by another staff and handed them 19 Large Copper Coins and the report before walking off. The staff looked at Fu confused, "Umm, Master Meilin, you gave 10 Large Copper Coins too many?"

    Fu continued without turning back, "Jack has great potential, the additional 10 Large Copper Coins is to get him a Working with Children Certificate from the council so that he can enlighten more fledglings~"

    Shaking his head at how eccentric Fu was, the staff went to deliver 9 Large Copper Coins and a Working with Children Certificate to Mr. Gourd.

    Later that day two letters were sent away from the guild.

    OOC: Kek, @A5G_Reaper, let's keep this storyline running.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
  12. A5G_Reaper

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

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    __original_drawn_by_demizu_posuka__78e9cad771293ea9d6a8f8cc2bff8d9d.jpg

    ((Jack and his child soldiers growing bands of little whippersnapper, coming to your storybooks in fifty years))
     
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  13. Naraku

    Naraku 『』『』『』

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    "Alright, Aria-chan seems to be resting so let me appraise those reports while taking my time..."
    Gaap sighed as he begean reading the first report after stretching. At the very least, he will lessen his colleague's workload, that's the least he can do.

    "I see... Thirty Goblins, eh ? Rather good you got unscathed of it. Let's see... if we consider the quest, normaly, 5 Small Copper Coin per golbin, so 15 Large Copper Coins to split. On top of that both of you got 20 Large Copper Coins each, if that isn't good."

    "Anyway, each of you get 2 Points for your quest, congratulations. As for the body... a composite bow and a iron shortsword, eh ? I guess we shall see if someone issues something that might be related to this person."
    Noting something on a paper, Gaap finished his appraisal.

    "..."
    After reading the report, Gaap stayed silent for a few seconds, how troublesome it was. Faes, he did not think there would be issues with this kind of creature, noting a second thing on the paper, he sighed a second time.
    The first report was troublesome about the misinformation of the questgiver, but this one was rather... he did not find the word, but worse than troublesome he supposed ? Come on, Aria drowning her sorrows about dead cats and now this... what was the worse between the two ?

    "Anyway... well, good work Elaine, and yes, that is in some ways some bad news depending on what eye we see it from... I do hope the next reports will be a bit more cheery than this one."
    After finishing talking about his irrelevant problems, Gaap began to search for the rewards and gave it to Elaine with a small smile.

    "Here are 9 Large Copper Coins, you get 4 Guild Points as well. Good job and see you around for another quest later on."
    Grumbling after reading a third report, Gaap confirmed in his mind that Aria being away was definitively worse than Fae being a trouble.
    Staring at Bob while smoking his last cig, after reading the report, he realized that the requester was Fu, he laughed for a bit before preparing the rewards.

    "Bob... well, you have done your work quite finely, Fu will be probably be happy with what you reported as the content is really interesting. Good work on this quest, it was not obvious to investigate but I suppose your abilities made it easier than expected."
    Handing the coins, Gaap gave the rewards promised by Meiling to Bob, for a second, Gaap hesitated whether to give him more of Fu's money... he prefered not to do it.

    "Here are 5 Large Copper Coins, 4 Guild Points gained as well... and a Tavern discount coupon for two, worse case if you are alone, you can eat for two. Anyway, see you around later, I have a last report to appraise..."
    "Mm... I see. So, she still needs more people to dance and sing, eh ? I do hope the ceremony will happen soon, if I am bored, I might as well go watch it..."
    Gaap said after realizing that he was finally finished, a smile appeared on his face as he prepared the rewards, he was rather in a good mood now.

    "Perfect, so here are 9 Large Copper Coins, you get 4 Guild Points as well."
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
  14. AliceShiki

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

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    Ma-Maya-chan! Dear Gods, what happened to you!?

    Gloves you say...? You should visit a healer first instead of worrying about gloves... Dear Gods... You can get the quartermaster to lend you some, I'm sure he'll agree when thinking of the current circumstances... Just make sure to pay them back later, since you'll probably be asked to keep them.

    As for the report... It's fine in all honesty, though it would've been ideal if you had discovered what was the thing blocking the path, whoever tries traveling through it will have to find out by themselves.

    Here are your 10 Large Copper coins and 4 guild points... Please do take care of yourself... Haaa... Dear Gods, really now...
     
  15. jbturkle

    jbturkle Fruit

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    Arawn stumbled up to the desk to turn in his report, still exhausted from his quest.
    Arawn stared up at Lok’Tar with a look of confusion on his face.

    “So… you’re sure you saw Bigfoot? As in, the hairy-giant-not-quite-human-orc-or-any-other-race-local-legend, Bigfoot?”

    The brawny woodcutter nodded impatiently, tired of repeating his story numerous times. He sighed in frustration and began to speak quickly.

    “He’s shown up in the woods. As I said, he’s come to take revenge on us for the trees we chopped down! You’ve already accepted the job, so hurry up and get rid of him already! I can’t do my job with that monster wandering about in there.”

    Lok’Tar pointed towards the entrance of the dark woods, which was nearly eighty meters away from the pair. He had stopped them at this point, refusing to get any closer to the woods.

    “You can find his footprint straight down that way. You said you’re a hunter, right? So then, go… hunt, or whatever it is you do.”

    Arawn gave up hope of gaining a more detailed explanation from the man and strode towards the woods. As he neared the woods, Arawn turned his head to look at Lok’Tar, only to find that the woodcutter was speedily retreating in the opposite direction. Stunned, he watched the other man’s escape for a few moments before turning back towards the woods and continuing on his way.

    “Bigfoot,” he scoffed derisively.

    ______________

    As Arawn walked deeper into the woods, he immediately noted the gloom, the abundance of large trees having blocked out the sunlight. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light before continuing on.

    It was then that he noticed something strange. He couldn’t hear anything. There were no animals. No birds, no squirrels, not even the sounds of insects. Immediately on edge, Arawn glanced around carefully before continuing on, this time making a conscious effort to hide his presence.

    After a few minutes, Arawn finally reached the footprint Lok’Tar had spoken of. He walked up to it and tried to see what kind of creature could have created it. It was roughly oval-shaped, with markings for what could have been five toes. Four smaller ones grouped together, and a larger one off to the side. It was similar to, but also very different from a human footprint. Even this, Arawn could have attributed to another race, if not for one thing.

    The footprint was large. Nay, gargantuan. From heel to toe, the thing was almost the length of Arawn’s torso. Definitely not something that a human -- nor any other race he knew of -- could make.

    Arawn gulped nervously before glancing around at his surroundings again. He noticed some damage to the foliage to his right, where the monstrous footprint was pointed towards. Assuming that to be the direction “Bigfoot” had traveled in, Arawn began to follow the signs of destruction.

    ______________

    Night soon fell, and Arawn was unable to make any more headway in his tracking. Deciding to climb a tree to wait out the night, he moved towards a large tree next to him. However, he soon realized that it would impossible to do so, given that the trees had no lower branches to climb up using.

    Arawn picked at the tree, contemplating using his dagger to help climb the tree, only to find that the wood was far too soft, and his dagger would likely be of no help. Sighing, he turned to survey his surroundings, unhappy at the prospect of having to spend the night on the ground with a mysterious monster in the woods.

    Deciding quickly, Arawn moved towards a dense cluster of trees, using them to protect his back from any unwanted beings. It was hardly the most ideal of shelters, but it would have to do. Before settling in, Arawn set up rings of traps around his new campsite. Nothing major, only a few ways to warn him in advance if anything was approaching.

    Finally finding his defenses acceptable, Arawn set up a small fire to avoid freezing during the night, counting on the numerous trees to block it from the sight of other creatures. After doing so, he placed his weapons within arms reach and began to sleep.

    ______________

    As the flames for the campfire began to burn low, Arawn was suddenly awoken. Something had triggered one of the traps he had set up earlier. Immediately feeling his drowsiness disappear, Arawn leaped to his feet and snatched up his dagger, trying to identify the direction that the intrusion had come from.

    A second signal from the inner ring of traps clued him in. East, and whatever it was, it was moving very quickly. Arawn turned just quickly enough to see the massive creature throw itself through the trees in his direction.

    Eyes widening, Arawn threw himself to the side, barely avoiding one of the massive fists that came down on the spot he was in only a moment earlier. Arawn hastily retreated, hoping to put some distance between them.

    The creature followed him, shifting direction and bludgeoning forward with another large fist. Once again, Aram managed to avoid the blow, but this time, he found himself with no more room to retreat. As the creature tried to strike him again, Arawn picked up and threw a handful of soil at the creature’s face.

    It wailed in pain and began swinging its arms wildly, blinded by the soil. Arawn tried to use this time to once again escape but was unsuccessful. As he moved, the beast swung its arms out and, out of sheer luck, managed to clip Arawn. The large fist struck him on his right side, sending Arawn flying towards his campfire.

    He hit the ground hard, gasping for breath. Spots dancing across his vision, Arawn found himself struggling to stand and unable to wield his dagger, as it fell from his numb right arm. And then, he saw the campfire, which had almost fizzled out. He reached out and picked up another handful of soil.

    The creature, now mostly recovered from its earlier blindness, once again advanced on Arawn. When the beast was close enough, Arawn once again threw the soil at the creature’s face. However, this time the creature was on its guard. Ducking low to avoid the dirt, it moved its hands above shield itself from the soil.

    It was now that Arawn had thrown something else. A large, burning branch trailing sparks and ashes followed the soil closely but aimed slightly underneath the first projectile. The creature, completely unprepared for a second assault, felt the full impact of the fiery branch on its face.

    Screaming hideously, it fell to the ground in pain. Arawn scooped up his dagger and charged at the colossus, hoping to take advantage of the sudden weakness. Judging the throat the be the least protected area, he slashed and carved at its neck violently. Once, twice, thrice, more times than he could count, he cut. Sticky blood gushed over his arms and chest as he slashed, nearly making him lose his grip on the dagger a few times. Even so, he did not stop attacking until the creature had fallen still.

    Arawn stepped back to take a deep breath and regain some of his composure. In the light of the rising sun, Arawn observed his mysterious assailant. It was a large, bipedal creature, covered from head to toe in fur, with only a small, wrinkly face bare. The creature was nearly four times Arawn’s height, with massive fists the size of boulders. He was dumbfounded by the idea that he had managed to take down such a massive creature, even if it had been mostly because of luck. Arawn collapsed to the ground, overcome with fatigue but elated nonetheless. Many things ran through his head, from 'What was that thing?' to 'Why was that monster here, of all places?' but he disregarded them. Not his problem. Not today, at least. Only one thought now ran through his head.

    “This better have been worth it…”
    @Naraku
     
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  16. Naraku

    Naraku 『』『』『』

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    "...there was actually a Bigfoot like a real one ?"
    Dumbfounded, the receptionist stared at Arawn for some minutes before leaving the desk and checking the adventurer's injuries. It seemed like fist injuries but... the size of those fists were humongous.

    "...a monster that hasn't been recorded ? Ah, let me get the rewards."
    Gaap handed the rewards to Arawn as he remembered his talk with Caligo.

    "Here are 2 Large Copper Coins, you get 4 Guild Points and a ship in a bottle, if you don't want the latter, you can try to sell it to someone and... Do you have the coordinates of the corpse ? We will need to check it."
     
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  17. Blackwater

    Blackwater Well-Known Member

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    An interesting quest, he said. Should be careful, he said. Who does he think I am!? Some kind of bloody novice, incapable of bashing someone's head in? Come to think of it... I am not allowed to kill the animals. But the boy was not mentioned? Oh, so they want me to kill him! Ah, but, I don't know whether he really really really is evil yes.

    Humming a merry tune, I leave the guild after thinking about the quest for a bit and make my way towards the farm, my iron pipe having appeared in my hand at some point, which I drag after me. The clang clang noises it makes as it bounces over the stone floor are quite funny, but it also attracts some weird stares from those around me.

    Meh, who cares about them. The closer and closer I get to the farm, the more my anticipation grows. I. Get. To. Punish. Evil. Again~. And soon, so very soon, I see the first animal. A cow! Screaming a battle cry, charging at me. I raise my pipe, careful to not have the nails on the end I'll strike the cow with.

    As it closes in, I roll out of its way and charge after it. But, I never knew cows are so fast! I stop, grumbling to myself, and wait for it to turn around and charge back at me. I wait, and wait~ and then! It arrives. I jump out of its way, holding my pipe where it is going to pass by, and watch it knock itself out on my pipe, the impact tossing the pipe out of my hand.

    Somewhat annoyed, I walk after it. How am I supposed to knock out more animals without my weapon, after all? And as if to answer my question, a group of... chickens appears before me. Furiously pecking at me. I somehow manage to hold back my kicks enough to not break their necks and heads, but still knock them out. Man, this quest is more annoying than I thought... I have to hold back. The animals aren't really evil after all, only controlled.

    After chickens come donkey, but at this point, I have my pipe back and make easy work of them, though I do leave behind a few slight wounds on their head. I make sure to bandage them (with horrible skill) before I continue. Cows, horses, a cat and a couple of dogs. I feel sorry for striking down these fluffy animals, but I have to purify them.

    As I progress with my work of beating the evil out of them, I can feel a smile growing on my face. Doing good feels great. Before long, I break out into song. "A~yu~mi~! Beats the evil out of you! A~yu~mi~! Just stop running to and fro!" And so on, on so forth. Most enemies aren't much of a threat, and those that are - mainly the cows - always attack in the same way. There simply is no way for them to hit the greatly skilled me like that.

    And, finally, the farm is peaceful again. It was fun, but not as much fun as I thought it would be. As I didn't find the boy at the farm, I can only shrug my shoulders and sigh in regret, hoping that his father will discipline him properly. Humming a merry song, I return to the guild, the rhythmical clang clang of my iron pipe accompanying my song.
    The boy was not at the farm, probably whereever his father is right now.
    The animals were all beaten down, mostly uninjured, and the injuries were bandaged with cloth found at the farm.
    Ayumi approaches the receptionist's desk, the end of her pipe without the nails a bit bloody. "I'm back~"

    @Naraku
     
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  18. Naraku

    Naraku 『』『』『』

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    "Eh ? Look like the quest was done rather nicely."
    Gaap said as he read the report, he chuckled as Ayumi really aimed at their heads to make the animals go back to normal, the most unexpected was that it actually worked.

    "The kid hasn't been found eh ? I guess his dad will issue a request about that as well later on. Anyway, about your rewards... here are 7 Large Copper Coins, you get 4 Guild Points as well."
    After handing her the rewards, Gaap began to hum as he took one cigar that has been given to him by Caligo, he decided to limit his consumption to one per day, as well as trying to make the cigars as durable as possible. A good one can last two hours or so after all.
     
  19. Haitaka

    Haitaka [Always Busy]

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    "Let's see, we have to go straight up east, just slightly in the north to be to Flaminis... Unless we find a way to go straight ahead, I don't see how the travel go wrong."
    Cinis said after remembering how the map looked like. He rubbed his chin and wondered aloud.

    "How many days do you think we will take for the trip ?"

    "The trip took around three days last time, but I found a carriage going near the town" Vandrin said, "If we walk it might easily be over six days"

    "Let's take the carriage, do you think we need to pay or they don't mind giving us a ride ?"
    Cinis asked while he was fixing his coat and checking his equipment.

    "Well if we can find one already going in that direction again, we can always offer some protection on the way", Vandrin says with a contemplative face, "If not we'll most likely have to pay for a ride"

    "Alright, let's go there."
    Cinis took the initiative and began to search for a carriage. First toward the east gate, there were some carriages that weren't moving, stationed at the entrance. As for now, all they needed to would be to talk to carriages' owner one by one, asking them if they need to move or stuff along those lines.
    If none needs to move, they will need to pay some coins.

    Splitting up to cover more grounds, the pair spend the next thirty minutes to an hour trying to find a carriage which was going near Flaminis.
    Luckily they found one delivering supplies directly to the city. It seems that the owner of the carriage is a merchant trusted by the hobgoblins of Flaminis.

    "I could always use a few extra hands to protect the carriage", the merchant said cheerfully.

    "Thank you. I promise you we will get out food ourselves so we won't be a burden."
    Slightly bowing, the adventurer climbed on the carriage and made himself as if he was home. Then, he began to take care of his crossbow, it needed a bit of maintenance, not much but still.

    As the merchant told them that he was going to depart in one hour or so. Cinis asked on a sarcastic tone.
    "Shall we begin the story time ?"

    Vandrin getting in the cart, sitting on the opposite side of Cinis smiled at the sarcastic comment, "Only if you feel like sharing", he said with a chuckle.

    "Well, you should already know some stuff about the HEM and how they treat other races than humans, isn't it ? What happened is roughtly easy to guess."
    Cinis shrugged as he said this. In his opinion, it is rather obvious what kind of things went one. Then he cracked his bones once again. Closing his mouth after saying this, he sighed.

    "I've heard a few stories, but most of them were just that", Vandrin said as he moved his finger across Stella's beak.

    "My story is fairly common for Half-Elf's, or at least the stories I've heard match up pretty well", Vandrin said with a small sigh, "Abandoned in the woods as a child, I was raised by the forest and eventually some bandits" he said with a placid look.

    Rather simple and lucky I suppose ?"
    Letting a snort escape, he decided to give some more vague details about his past life.

    "I am lucky as well. I wasn't a slave, I wasn't sexually abused and I am still alive. I was just a forgotten bastard child that was found by a guard that passed by. My father, a tyrant, recognized me, I wonder if that's unlucky or not, if I stayed in the streets, I will be dead, well I was taken by them. On top of being high ranked, he was rather keen on torture and incest."
    Whistling, he thought that maybe as for now. He will take a nap, let's not talk about everything in one day. Perhaps.

    "Sounds like the type of individual which causes people to become bandits", Vandrin said with a sigh, "Unfortunately I do not know as much about social rankings as most people, but those type of people seem to abuse their power", he takes a brief pause, "Or so i've gathered"

    "Nonetheless, you're here now", he takes a look at Cinis leg, then back at his face, "little worse for wear, but still you're here", he starts to smile calmly, "Thats fairly lucky in my opinion"

    "Indeed, this is why I consider myself as rather lucky to be here, becoming an Adventurer trying to gain his life more or less properly..."
    Nevertheless, something did not change, he needed to become stronger, to heal his leg as well. Slightly smiling, he continued to talk as his eyes slowly closed.

    "Let's take a nap. There isn't much to do after all."

    "I'll keep an eye out for now", Vandrin said letting Stella fly up, "We'll begin moving soon"

    After around thirty minutes or so, the merchant who is allowing them to use his carriage came back, and with the twos help managed to set off quickly and without hassle.

    Hours later, the sun quickly rose up but also descended as well, the first day passed rather quickly. During this whole time, Cinis only slept, his slumber only seemed to become troubled once the night began to appear, once the moon began to rise up in the sky.
    For some reasons, he preferred to sleep during day and stay awake during night. Maybe that was because of his inherent nature he developed during his whole life.

    Keeping watch through Stella's eye, Vandrin meditated during most of the trip, learning from the dreams of the Star Maiden showed him.

    Part way through the journey nearing the territory of Flaminis, his connection to Stella alerted him to something coming.

    "Cinis", Vandrin said his name loud enough to try and rouse him, knowing trying to wake a trained individual by shaking them to be a bad idea, "some monsters are coming"

    Spontaneously opening his eyes, Cinis removed his coat, fixed his light shield to his right arm and took his crossbow with his left hand.

    "Okay."
    Nearing the carriage's exit, he closed his eyes and listened attentively to the sounds. His blood was boiling, it could feel it coming, the blades will descend, the arrows will flow, it has been a long time since adrenaline took over him.
    Considering the sounds, he roughly thought there would be...

    "Between five and ten."
    He commented, as his eyes peeked outside. And then continued to talk, quickly informing Vandrin of his abilities.
    "Close-mid ranged fighter, using blades and bolts."

    "Alright", Vandrin said assessing the situation through Stella's eyes, "They seem to be coming from the North / North-West direction"

    "I'll provide ranged support, I hate it when my hunch is right", he said seeing the face of the enemy, "Goblins"

    Getting out of the carriage, a bolt was quickly launched, without much issues, it lodged into a goblin's head who died rather quickly. Just one shot.
    Thirty feet away. He had the time to reload once, but not the time to launch the enemies.

    Eight goblins it seems, or to be fair, seven goblins. He clicked on his tongue, alone it would have been bothersome. But since he wasn't alone, it should be fine. Fortunately, they were only coming from one side, approaching.

    Stepping out of the cart, Vandrin cast Eldritch Blast, hitting one of the goblins in the chest, knocking it out. He moves closer to the front of the cart in order to protect the merchant and the horses, while keeping his attention of the goblins rushing towards Cinis.

    Raising his staff in the air, he casts Armor of Agathys onto Cinis, readying another spell for when Cinis gets ready to draw his sword.

    Seeing the armor protecting him, he could casually kill another goblin with the crossbow before throwing into the carriage. Quickly, he drew his Khopesh.

    'Two dead, one knocked out, five more or less conscious of the situation.'
    Three goblins seemed ready to jump on him while two were still lagging behind. His Khopesh horizontally beheaded one of them, with his wooden cane, he hit one's head, while the shield provided by Vandris protected him from the third one who got injured by the spell.

    'Three dead, one knocked out, one soon getting up, one injured and two more or less fine goblins.'
    In his mind, he counted the enemies he was facing and their current states, honestly, it was easier with someone behind your back and fighting.

    Using another Eldritch Blast, Vandrin hits on of the goblins in the leg, causing it to fall on its on sword. The situation of the battle seemed to be heavily in their favor, but being at ease is never a good idea, especially in a life or death situation.

    Firing another Eldritch blast, he hit one of the goblins, which was leaping at Cinis, directly in the face, killing it instantly.

    "Make sure you don't kill the one which is knocked out", Vandrin said as he watched the last goblin and Cinis eye each other down.

    'Five dead, one knocked out, one injured and one fine goblin.'
    The situation was really turning in their favor, Cinis thought that he should be careful as in not to damage too much the materials, so what they own can be sold.
    Rising his right hand to protect himself from a hit, he shield bashed the goblin who attacked him, then turned back to the injured goblin who leaped toward him, he simply pointed his sword at the second goblin and...
    Slash. It killed itself on Cinis' weapon. There were still two goblins. One knocked out, the other slowly standing up, disoriented due to the previous bash.

    As for now, he could keep his time, he threw his Sica at the confused goblin, blood gouged out from his throat and he fell on the ground, limp and still rather warm.

    'Seven dead, one knocked out.'
    Afterwards, he stayed alert and observed around him, trying to see if there was any other enemy.

    Focusing his vision through Stella's, he quickly surveyed the area. After around a minute, he spoke up.

    "Seems we're clear for now", Vandrin said as he began walking towards Cinis.

    "What are you planning to do with the last goblin ?"
    Retrieving his bolts, his weapons, everything he has thrown, Cinis asked as he was already ready to go back resting in the taverns. On the way, he also picked up every weapon owned by the goblins, each of them had one.

    "I'd like to find out where they are coming from", Vandrin said as he moved towards the last goblin, "this is the second time I've seen a group in this area, this one a few members larger than the last" he said checking the breathing of the goblins, "shallow but steady"

    "If you are okay with it, I'd like to see where this goblin leads us", he said standing up, moving towards Cinis, "Of course after escorting the merchant to Flaminis", he looks at the surroundings briefly before saying, "it should be more than twenty minutes away from here"

    "Why would I have a problem with it ? We can take their weapons and then sell them to someone, it will make more money for us. And it will be more likely for me to heal my leg."
    Sarcastially, Cinis said while shrugging, he had nothing against it, neverthless, he wondered about who they could see those weapons. Quickly, he looked at the merchant who sighed in relief as all the goblins were cleaned rather easily.
    Before proposing a little deal with him, he looked at the weapons, all the weapons seems to be in bronze, so from around half a Large Copper Coin to around one Large Copper Coin. Their quality were... decent, not really good, but not that bad despite being owned by goblins. To be fair, they are rather damaged, so the prices should be lower.

    "Mmm... eight weapons, damaged but still good... 20 Large Copper Coins ..."
    To sell them the quickest possible, he could just try to sell to the cheapest price to the merchant htye were with. He rubbed his chin a few times and then proceed to ask the merchant something, he had some bodyguards, however, they did not move as the two adventurers advanced before.
    Fondamentally because their goal is to protect, while Cinis and Vandris concentrated on extermination.

    "Mister, since we killed them, we now own their weapons, each of them seem to be in bronze or in a equivalent value, do you think we could simply sell them to you for... let's say 25 Small Copper Coins ?"
    First high price, then negotiations come next.

    Looking over the weapons, the merchant called out, "10 small copper for the bulk"

    Vandrin, not knowing much about haggling just decided to watch from the sides.

    "For the bulk ? Dear, that is quite the scam, isn't it ? One bronze weapon is usually between 50 Small Coppers Coins and 10 Large Copper Coin, I was talking are you trying to scam me? That's true, they are damaged but they can be used and still decent for fighting ! So half of the lowest price should be fine ! 25 Small Copper Coins per weapon."
    Cinis emphasized on the word 'scam', then he shrugged and felt an urge to threaten the merchant and gave him a chance for forgiveness. He might be a cripple but in any means is he weak.

    "Oh, maybe, you misunderstood my words earlier and thought that when I said 25 Small Copper Coins, I was talking about the bulk, but no, of course not, I was talking about 25 Small Copper Coins for each bronze weapon."
    Insisting on the word 'each', Cinis widely smiled as he kept snapping his finger, as if he was restraining himself to attack the merchant, sometimes rubbing his belt where his weapons were. Of course, it was an acting. But it was enough to send a certain message.

    "I am willing to believe that it was all a misunderstanding."
    The adventurer hated a lot of things, cheating and lying were part of them.

    "I believe you are misunderstanding my words too", the merchant said with a smile that seemed frozen in place, "I simply meant 10 small copper for each weapon if i'm going to buy it in bulk, and seeing as there are eight weapons there, it seems it is in bulk" the merchant said with the same frozen smile, "But I believe that might have just been a misunderstanding, no?"

    "Mmmm... I admit, I am sorry for misunderstanding as well."
    That was rather troublesome, nevertheless, Cinis did not feel any shame for his error. Quickly changing his originally upset attitude to a polite one. Was it really a mistake however ? That is something that will not be replied.
    In the end, Cinis should have worded his sentence in a finer way.

    "What about just making it just 8 Large Copper Coins then ? It is easier for both of us, it is cheaper for you, and easier for us to split the money won from selling them on the spot."
    Having a large pouch for a lot of little coins was actually something that bothered the adventurer quite a bit, to him, it was just too troublesome for nothing.

    "Hmm", the merchant seemed to be thinking for a minute before speaking, "That offer is acceptable considering you dispatched the goblins promptly", reaching into a coin pouch he pulled out 8 Large Copper Pieces, "Here is the payment for the weapons"

    "Alright, it was a pleasure dealing with you."
    On a rather neutral tone, Cinis took four of the large copper coins and gave the other half to Vandrin, always more money is never bad, specially when it is free like this.

    "Anyway... Back to the goblin, how will we follow this goblin to its headquarters ? We finish escorting the merchant then we release it in the nature ?"

    "I think thats a good idea", Vandrin said pocketing the four coins, "If it is acceptable, I'd wish to remain here to watch the goblin, as its less likely to run back to its base of operations if it had been moved", he said with a stoic face, "This way it will think that we had thought we'd kill it, and it was just lucky"

    "Is it acceptable for me to remain here while Mr. Cinis escorts you the remaining twenty or so minutes?" Vandrin asked the merchant waking up to him.

    "I do not see the problem with it", the merchant said with a warmer smile, "Goblins are bad for business, so if you can find their base and dispatch it, my business can go underway easier"
    "It sounds fine. Just find a way to tell me where the goblins' headquarters are after I finish escorting our client."
    Taking a glance at Vandrin's bird, Cinis returned to the carriage without saying much. He just dragged the corpses out of the road so they will not bother the future carriages, after all, rolling on corpses will greatly trouble the merchants.

    "Be careful."
    Letting some last words before parting from his comrade, the adventurer decided to have a short nap. Closer they get to Flaminis, less there is danger, closing his eyes shouldn't be a bad idea.

    "Of course", Vandrin said as he had Stella fly up onto top of the carriage.

    Deciding to hide behind some bushes, Vandrin turned himself into a shorter goblin, and began waiting for the goblin to wake up.

    After around half an hour, the goblin began to stir. Watching closely, Vandrin watched as the goblin screamed upon seeing its dead friends, it checked each and every one of them for a breath, but seemed to lament when none of them were alive.

    "Grek!", the goblin yelled as it began running in a South Eastern direction, Vandrin followed closely behind.

    Some dozens of minutes later, Cinis left the merchant's carriage before they continued their way toward Flaminis, planning to enter into it.
    He could see Flaminis from afar, white figures, holding weapons and heavily guarded, it was rather unique to see a simple town being so... guarded. On top of that, the... hobgoblins were either smiling or tern, there was no other expressions or at least, it was how it seemed to be.

    After leaving, Cinis turned back, bidding goodbye to the merchant by waving, he was waiting for a sigh, waiting to see where he should go to join his fellow adventurer.

    Trailing the goblin stealthily, Vandrin goes eventually comes across a cave hidden behind tree vines, roots, and moss. Inside he could make out the sounds of angry yelling, and pleas.

    Stella flew in front of Cinis, guiding him towards Vandrin.
    Arriving near the cave, Cinis could hear the repulsing noises from the cave, those creatures were partying it seems, having a buffet, eh ?

    "Any estimations on how many they are ?"
    Despite being rather slow, Cinis should have arrived earlier than expected as before Stella came to guide, he was already walking toward where Vandrin originally headed.

    Dropping his goblin disguise seeing Cinis approaching, Vadndrin shakes his head no at the question.

    "Their numbers are quite massive though", he says pointing at the ground, drawing attention to the footprints

    "Too many footprints on footprints and so on. We can't guess, we can only say it is in dozens. Aren't they too common those goblins ? Like a pest."
    After noticing this, Cinis sighed and wondered if they should investigate or not, he was keen on the latter. It was not their quest, they could just report it to Caligo later on.

    "Well, thoughts ? Quest or investigating the goblins ?"

    "The quest is our main priority", Vandrin said without hesitating, "But we should report this to the guild, the movement of goblins has been increasing in this area", trying not to think of the worse case scenario, he looks back at Cinis, "Lets hurry to pick those flowers so we can report this"

    "So we need two baskets of those flowers... Do you know where are those ? They should be quite near to the village I suppose."
    Since they seemed overprotective about the village, so obviously, there must be so valuable stuff here. And currently, it seems that those checkered avens are like this, thus they should grow near to them.

    "I think I know a spot", Vandrin said as he began to guide Cinis for the next twenty minutes or so to a clearing in the middle of the woods.

    Inside the clearing, hundreds upon hundreds of flowers were growing, protected from the wintery frost. Towards the center, the Checkered Avens they were looking for grew.

    "Mmm... Let's pick the black and white flowers then. It was said that ones with more than two colors were poisonous. Do you have anything to transport the flowers ? As for me, I have my coat I can use as a bundle as well as inner pocket but it doesn't so good. We need an equivalent of two baskets."
    Removing his coat, he unfolded it and began to pluck the Checkered Avans.

    "I have an equivalent", Vandrin said flipping his cloak to the black underside, and making a makeshift basket out of it.

    Picking the black and white checkered flowers, it takes him around an hour to completely fill up the makeshift basket.

    "I guess we are done here ?"
    Using his coat as a sort of bag to carry the flowers, Cinis looked above and began to walk back towards Nagrand...

    "Unless we go to the merchant and we can just sit in the carriage and slowly get back to the Adventurer Guild. Fairly good."
    And that is hoping that the merchant didn't leave yet. A trade usually doesn't take that much time. Specially with people like the villagers in Flaminis, trading with them must put such a pressure that makes the merchant wish he could leave as early as possible.

    "We should start walking down the same road, hopefully running into them" Vandrin said picking up his makeshift basket, "As far as i'm aware the town is not very accepting of people they don't know, so its safer this way", he said as he followed after Cinis to Nagrand.

    Walking toward Nagrand, both of them could clearly see that the carriage already went ahead, unless they could run without issues and for a long time, they would be able to catch up to the carriage since it seemed they passed very recently.
    Unless the carriage stopped, they would not be able to catch up to the carriage by walking that is.

    "Well, I can not really run. But if you run quickly enough, you will be able to get back to the carriage rather easily."
    Cinis' pace slightly accelerated, sincerely, he hoped that they made the horses take a break in the middle of the road, which will be quite stupid as they could have rested in Flaminis... except if the merchant did not wish to stay there.

    Shortly after they came across the same carriage resting off the side of the road, the two horses sitting down with blankets across their backs.

    The same merchant from earlier waved them down, "It seems you both found your flowers", he said with the same friendly smile.

    "Indeed. It seems that your trade went quite well. Can you give us a second ride with the same conditions as earlier ?"
    Cinis remarked and then asked as he replied to the merchant's sentence with a slight smile. As expected, the merchant's smile twitched but then he nodded, agreeing them to be on his carriage. There was not much to be said, it seemed that mentionning his trade would not be a preferable idea considering his reaction.

    "Looks like we are lucky, we can have a free ride to Nagrand and rest as well."

    The two rode back to Nagrand on the carriage, arriving just about a day after they first left. Thanking the merchant for his generosity in allowing them to travel with him, he only smiled and gave both of them seven large copper coins.

    "This is the payment for helping protect the carriage", he said with a smile, "If you ever need me, either of you, just look for the Walsh Trading Company, ask for Philip"

    "We will", Vandrin said with a smile and a polite bow, "Thank you again Mr. Philip"
    Gained 4 Large Copper Coins each due to selling weapons to the merchant.
    Gained 7 Large Copper Coins each due to escorting the merchant.
    Goblin activity seems to be in rise.
    Returning back to the guildhall, Vandrin looks for the masked mage, eventually finding him.

    "Here are your flowers", he says as he and Cinis set their makeshift baskets on the receptionist desk, "And here is the report" he said with the same calm smile
    @shad12ow @Naraku @Unreachable Hope

    OoC: Everything should be right, but we did it in a conversation so if anything feels like its missing, just say so and we'll try to fix it real quick lol.
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2019
  20. jbturkle

    jbturkle Fruit

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    "Ah... well, I'm not quite sure about the precise location of the body, but the forest is a few kilometers directly east of Nagrand, if that helps any," Arawn answers, embarrassed by his lack of foresight.

    "Sorry if that's too vague," he apologizes.
     
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