Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Announcement Hall

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

  1. Haitaka

    Haitaka [Always Busy]

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2017
    Messages:
    275
    Likes Received:
    4,688
    Reading List:
    Link
    "Thank you for your purchase", a cheerful voice cried out of a shop.

    The exterior of the building was fairly plain in design. The foundation seemed to have been made out of hardened wood, or perhaps a more malleable stone. The wooden building itself had a contrasting coloration compared to the others in the surrounding area, being much darker in color, as if the porous wood had absorbed a numerous amount of smoke.

    A figure could be seen walking out the shop, cloaked in black. They could be seen carrying a wooden box, about medium size, hiding much of their midriff, well if their midriff could be seen.

    The sun had just begun to set over the horizon. Mothers called their children home, people stumbled their way to the tavern after a long days work; the hustle and bustle of the street began to quiet down for the night as the figure made their way through the street.

    ___

    In an open field, the evening frost beginning to set in during these wintery months, a figure cloaked in black could be seen sitting down a wooden box on top of a tree stump. Moving a few logs large enough to sit upon closer to the stump, the figure opened the box.

    Revealed inside was a ceramic tea pot along with two glass cups and a tea kettle, in addition to these items, a smaller box existed inside. The figure taking the smaller box out and opening it, revealing tea leaves seemingly freshly picked.

    Setting up the tea kettle, the figure gathered some water from a stream flowing nearby, filling the kettle with it. The figure gathered some wood which appeared to be dried out, and created a small fire shortly afterwards.

    Blowing into their hands to warm up slightly, they placed a small tripod over the fire, setting the kettle on top of it. After getting the kettle set up, the figure set up the tea put, putting two to three servings of loose leaves into the strainer sitting inside the pot.

    Roughly fifteen minutes later, the kettle began to boil at an appropriate temperature. The figure, picking up the kettle, poured the boiling water into the tea pot, creating a steamy effect with the cold air. Putting the lid back on the tea pot, another three minutes passed as the figure waited for the tea leaves to seep into the water.

    Lifting the lid, the figure seemed to give a small chuckle, admiring the aroma. Quickly setting the up the cups on the tree stump, the figure began to pour two cups of tea.

    "Its delicious", the figure said with a smile on their face after taking a sip of the freshly brewed tea.

    "You will enjoy this blend", the figure let down their hood, revealing the face of Vandrin, bushy bearded, looking up at the night sky.

    The night sky, unaltered by the lights of a major city, revealed the majesty of the universe before his eyes, taking his breathe away despite how many times he had seen it before.

    Constellations filled his eyes, seeing many familiar sights. However, he was looking for a specific cluster of stars.

    Shortly after, "Ah there you are", he found what he was looking for. A cluster of stars in the shape of a woman took up a portion of the night sky. This constellation, Vandrin was very familiar with, so much so he was not surprised as it began to move.

    The cluster of stars began to come down in front of Vandrin, taking the shape of a woman. The figure, approximately human sized, set down on the log on the other side, picking up the other tea cup, taking a sip from it.

    "It really is delicious", the woman said with an elegant voice, which seemed to soothe the nerves of those who heard it.

    "I was hoping you'd like it", Vandrin said with a smile, taking another sip from his glass.

    "You don't have to come and see me during these chilled months you know", the woman said with a worried tone to her voice, "What would I do if you got sick?"

    "I promised to keep you company always", Vandrin said with a small laugh, "That includes during the wintery months"

    "What am I going to do with you boy?" the woman asked with a sigh, but seemed to be smiling.

    "Well for now", Vandrin started, "Enjoy that cup of tea, the whole set cost me fifteen large copper coins", he said with a nonchalant laugh

    "I really did pick a troublesome one", the woman said, taking another sip from the cup.

    "It is good to see you again", Vandrin said to the maiden made out of stars

    "I'm never far", she replied with the same smiling presence.

    "I know", he said taking another sip from the cup, "But its been awhile since you and I have sat down to drink tea together" he said with a smile.

    "It has", she said with a presence reminiscent of a sad smile, "hopefully we can drink together more often now that you are out of those woods", she said touching his face, "You really do need a shave Vandrin", she said with a laugh

    "I've realized", he said with a chuckle, touching her hand on his face, closing his eyes, "I'll be back to do this soon"

    "Good", the same elegant voice said.

    Opening his eyes, Vandrin found no trace of the woman made of stars.

    Looking around briefly, his eyes eventually focused on the empty cup sat opposite of him, "It might be time to trim it up a bit", he said touching his beard while smiling.
     
    MaliMi and Razogul like this.
  2. Arcturus

    Arcturus Cat, Hidden Sith Lord

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2016
    Messages:
    9,273
    Likes Received:
    17,814
    Reading List:
    Link
    She sits, lost in though for a few moments while petting Sera.


    ‘I am very glad to finally have a chance to do some research. It’s extremely frustrating. Almost all of the research done is performed in limited quantity in either the labs of individual magicians who, if they ever achieve a breakthrough, will hoard it until their untimely deaths, or in the seclusion of the mage guilds who are almost as secretive and exclusive, but also far more conservative with who they give research funds to and what research they fund. There’s so much potential for magical research out there and the funds and time and genius of outside more progressive mages is lost.’


    The anger shows on her face for a moment before she shakes her head.


    ‘I probably won’t be able to do a huge amount of research or do anything significant here, there’s not really any funds for it and there certainly isn’t the proper tools for it. I’m probably going to have to spend way too much time simulating and experimenting with limited arcane magic in a very tedious way. Well, let’s begin.’


    She looks through the books provided. ‘Hmm, one large book on the subject matter of magical plagues themselves with quite a large quantity of notes in the margins.’


    She gasps.


    “This is a copy of Archmagus Pneumonic’s Introduction to Organic Invasions! This is his seminal introductory work on using infectious organisms and how to carefully start using them without infecting yourself.”


    She looks around quickly before muttering to herself, “I’ll have to copy these books, with my luck, the Adventurer’s Guild will probably burn them or lock them away and the knowledge, while dangerous, is too precious to be lost. I can do that while studying the disease though.”


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Selvia’s Notes:

    Day One


    It’s taken me a day just to get through all of the notes written down. There is a substantial body of notes written down here. Further, there is something missing. It almost feels as if there was earlier work done on this plague that hasn’t been included here. Regardless, actual consideration of the plague and its effects will really have to wait until tomorrow.


    Selvia’s Notes:

    Day Two


    I’ve finally begun to attempt to figure out what the plague does. Symptoms initially include weakness and vomiting and coughing. This is followed by extreme weakness, difficulty in keeping any food down (possibly related to the increasing weakness, but I sense muscular pain may be related as well, inhibiting movement), significant problems with breathing. Ultimately, the cats end up having seizures and collapsing. It does appear to be a disease that is meant to cause prolonged suffering and inability to work before death. Sera, thankfully is in early stages. According to the notes, it is difficult to say what exactly is powering this disease. I will have to narrow down thoughts on this subject later.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    She strokes Sera’s head gradually coaxing food down her throat.


    “Come on, you need to eat if you want to live and help me cure the rest of your kind.”


    Selvia sighs. Sera is a very willful cat. And when she doesn’t want to eat, she doesn’t want to eat. She is still moving around quite a bit though, which indicative of her still being relatively healthy. Her eyes narrow. She even knocked over some of the glass equipment the Guild had leant. Thankfully they were spelled for hardening, so nothing shattered.


    She forms a magical construct intended for analysis and attaches it into the next bite of food. Selvia again coaxes it into the cat’s down and then gets her to swallow.


    ….A few hours later….

    She carefully takes control of the analysis construct, now that it’s made it’s away into Sera’s body. She examines the data contained within. It seems to have detected some alien organic substance spread throughout the body. It is likely that which is causing the issue. She smiles. It appears that it is not some strange new plague, in fact the areas where the construct indicates the highest concentrations of the organisms is in that which is common for bubonic plague, which, while deadly, thankfully has cures and much research around it.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Selvia’s Notes:

    Week 1 Conclusion


    I have managed to synthesize the notes and after using some small arcane magic to test how it affects symptoms in Sera’s body, I have come to the conclusion that the magic is not inherently connected to the disease itself in terms of being a superplague. This is excellent, since a magically entwined plague would not only be highly resistant to cures, but also be indicative of a supremely skilled biomancer with a specialization in biophages. I’m not sure I would be able to do anything to solve this issue in a quick amount of time if that were so. Thankfully, this appears to be a more novice-usage.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Selvia is much less happy. While she finally finished copying down the book and squirreling it away, creating the cure has proved much more troublesome. Basic magical methods for eliminating the disease have been very ineffective.


    She gets up from where she was seated inside of the pentagram with Sera. Selvia slams her fists down on the table in frustration. Sera jumps and gives her a strange look, but instead of running away, simply begins to limp away from Selvia.


    “Aaaarrrrrggggghhh!” she screams in frustration.


    “This should be so simple. There are well-established ritual spells for curing well-researched diseases like this one. But none of them are working. It’s not like it’s a magical superbug.”


    She hangs her head for a second, before shaking it and focusing back on Sera.


    “Hmmm, maybe the damned sorcerer made it so that the plague avoids magical rituals like mine. They are optimized to be able to be fast and usable by any mage. And if the sorcerer were careful, they could definitely find ways to get around the optimizations.”


    She thinks for a second and then nods after jotting down some more notes.


    “I’ll have to go check with the alchemists on the task, they should know more about what’s going on since their cures are more comprehensive.”


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Selvia’s Notes

    Week 2 :


    Sera is weakening. She is definitely entered into the second stage of the development of the disease. At first, I came to the conclusion that the magical elements of the disease were merely controlling the spread of the disease and the way it targeted and enhancing the vectors through which the plague spread. Unfortunately, I have begun consulting with the alchemists hired by the guild. According to them, the basic potions and remedies typically used to combat the basic plague aren’t working. Given this evidence it seems as if the magic must have been used to mutate the biophage. It is certainly resistant against the basic cures for plague that I have tried through magical means and that the alchemists have tried.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Selvia looks over at the cat. Her face tightens. No matter how much she would refuse to admit to anyone, she has become attached to the cat. Sera has stopped moving around much at all. Of course all of the powerful restorative, Feline’s Felicitous Tonic that could cure the disease were bought up by the rich and powerful for their pets.


    She sighs. She gently pets Sera’s head.


    “Well it’s not like I could have used it to cure you anyway. Not if you were going to be a good research subject for me to create an actual effective cure.”


    She gives a bitter laugh.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Selvia’s Notes:

    Week 2 Conclusion


    Based off of the symptoms, we’ve moved on to more generalized elixirs to cure the cats. Apparently, part of the issue is that most alchemical solutions to deal with magical plagues have been researched on other animals and for the purpose of curing humans. They and I are breaking new ground in altering existing methods to cure this plague. One of the alchemists did use an extremely potent generalized restorative to cure one of the cats. But it is not a restorative that it is able to be distributed en masse. Both the cost of the restorative and the supply of the ingredients are prohibitive. Many of the cats have begun to grow extremely weak. Something doesn’t feel right.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Selvia walks through the back alleyways of Nargrand. The bodies have begun to grow far too common. Rotting in the back streets and not enough effort to remove them. And the sight of a cat that is visibly sick and limping around is even more ubiquitous. The spread has been all too quick and, even for its relative slowness, deadly.


    She feels numb.


    When she finishes her research for the night, she cries into her pillow nonetheless.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Selvia’s Notes:

    Week 3


    They’re dying. There’s nothing I can do. Nothing we can do. I canvassed the streets to examine symptoms. What I’ve found is horrifying. I don’t know how much longer I can go on. I feel so helpless. I hate myself for my failures. All of the ritual changes have done nothing to solve the problem

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    …..

    It is now into the third week of research. Selvia looks down upon Sera, trying to comfort the cat, who has been growing more and more skeletal and is even now struggling to breathe. Thankfully, Selvia had been able to use some alimentary magical techniques to preserve some elements the cat’s health and ward off death. Still, the cat has already had one seizure.


    Selvia has avoided going outside. Avoided talking to Aria. She doesn’t want to know. She knows that she has already failed to complete the quest in the given time limit and to see Aria would be to learn how many more have died.


    If she knew, the weight might be too much.


    She lies down for a quick nap…..


    Her eyes suddenly open wide.


    “What if it weren’t a disease.”


    She begins to search hastily through her notes before coming to a stop.


    “Feline’s Felicitous Tonic isn’t just for infectious diseases. It cures everything. Diseases. Old injuries that healed poorly. Bodily disorders. Even…. even curses.”


    She nods grimly to herself.


    “This would have to be an insanely powerful and/or complex magical disease to avoid all of the other methods we’ve thrown at it. But if it were a curse….it would be extremely straightforward. Clever, but not extremely difficult. All it would need to do is have some inbuilt triggers to work against common analytical magical methods. In fact, it could be a quite weak curse, since it takes weeks to kill.”


    She begins to form an analytical construct with her chalk, but then makes some alterations to it.


    “Now if I disguise my method as a disease itself infiltrating the body…. I bet it won’t even be noticed.”


    She smiles again.


    “This is it. It’s a damn curse”


    She collapses to the ground and stares at Sera as tears begin to fall down her cheeks.


    “nyaa…” The cat makes a weak sound.


    “It’s a curse and I’ll be able to make you all better.”


    She smiles to herself.


    “In fact, I know the curse responds to basic curatives and analytical spells, but not plagues, ironically enough. There’s no saying it can’t detect and avoid basic curse removal as well. Plus it’d take forever to perform rituals for each cat, short of a mass healing ritual done throughout the city, which would be incredibly resource-consuming. So I’m going to put all of my research on plagues to fight against this annoying curse. I’m gonna make a magic plague that will infiltrate and destroy the curse.”


    She gives an evil laugh. Sera meows questioningly at her again.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The Next Day….


    She sets down Sera, having performed the ritual and watched as the cat slowly became more and more hale, though not perfectly well.


    “The plag—no cure will not only remove the curse, but also strengthen and improve and heal your bodies. I’m very proud of the way it works. Now I need you to go to your fellow cats and get close to them and spread the pla-- cure, around to them thoroughly. “


    Selvia pauses for a moment.


    “I guess this is good bye.”


    She gives Sera a long hug, kisses her head and then sets the cat on her way. Selvia wipes a tear away from her eye as she watches Sera trot out into the streets.


    She whispers to herself. “I’ll miss you.”


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    A week later…


    Selvia wakes up in the morning to scratching at the window. She looks out it and sees a winged cat scratching at her window. Her eyes widen.


    “Sera…..?”


    She sticks her head out the window to see a winged cat, chasing after a much faster bird.



    Selvia mutters to herself. “Maybe I should’ve done a bit more research on magical plagues before spreading one throughout the population. “


    “Nyaa?”


    “Well I guess I have a cat now too.”
     
    MaliMi, AliceShiki, Razogul and 3 others like this.
  3. Nahrenne

    Nahrenne Sister|Daughter|Niece|Aunt|Mummy

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    Messages:
    229
    Likes Received:
    18,508
    Reading List:
    Link
    Having taken one of the glass flasks filled with red substance from Bill, the bartender, Phinimimilomimo carried it carefully in her arms as she flew out of Nagrand. For several hours, she flew over the hills, fields and farms, until she found a secluded spot with only an outcropping of trees and bushes to keep her company. The little fairy then used [Draw Poison] to take out a single drop of the red liquid, before she placed it on her finger - her skin absorbing it.

    "Hmm, Fris...It doesn't seem to have taken effect, Fris."

    As she said that, a small sparrow landed on a bush a few metres away and started tweeting. Paying it no mind, Phinimimilomimo began examining her body, seeing if any changes had occurred within after absorbing the red liquid.

    "I don't notice any changes, Fris..."

    "Tweet-tweet~ Tweet~ Tweet-tweet-tweet~"

    Phinimimilomimo's brow began to twitch as she drew out another drop of red liquid and absorbed it into herself. Waiting a few more minutes, the little fairy didn't seem to notice anything, other than the sparrow's tweeting getting much louder and annoying.

    "Shut up...Fris..."

    The sparrow didn't hear her and continued tweeting, trying to find a mate. Phinimimilomimo began to tap her foot on the air, as she closed her eyes and tried to tune out the bird.

    "
    Tweet-tweet~ Tweet~ Tweet-tweet-tweet~"

    Getting mad with the noisy bird while she was attempting to figure out the substance, the little fairy used [
    Root Weapon] and made several sharp root needles, before aiming and firing at the bird. The sparrow attempted to dodge out of the way once it sensed danger, flapping its wings hastily in fear. However, the movements of the bird seemed incredibly slowed and miniscule, easily allowing the needles to sink deep into the bird's body with pinpoint precision.

    "Twee--!"

    "..."

    Phinimimilomimo then flew over to the bird and began tearing at it with her tiny hands, forming root claws on her fingers while still using [Root Weapon], as she clawed and clawed and clawed at the bird's body. Eventually, all she saw was red in her vision, as she felt the need to end the enemy in front of her and erase it from existence!

    "Hah...Fris...Hah...Fris...Hah...Fris..."

    3 hours had passed since Phinimimilomimo first struck out at the sparrow, and her red eyes turned normal once again, her mana completely depleted ages ago as her whole body was a bloody mess - with pieces of meat and feathers stuck to her. Seeing the appalling sight before her, the little fairy didn't understand and began vomiting a sparkly liquid in disgust over the scene emblazoned in her eyes.

    "What...happened...Fris...?"

    Looking at her body, she somewhat deduced that she had attacked the poor innocent sparrow. Examining her body for any changes, she noticed that her body held many abrasions, with the pain receptors having been nullified; them only returning to normal after she came back to her senses. She then thought to herself about when she fought against the rabbit, and Tera the deer - how the rabbit had been super aggressive with immense strength, and the deer had felt no pain from Tera's attacks, going at it over and over again until its body could no longer go on. Turning to look at the glass flask filled with red liquid, Phinimimilomimo came to understand some of its effects.

    "I'm glad I tried this out away from people, Fris...But...poor birdie...Fris..."

    The little fairy began weeping for the dead animal, using a branch to dig a grave for it as her sparkly dew drop tears fell down her face and onto her body.

    "I hope your next life will be much better, birdie, Fris..."

    Feeling sad and devastated over her actions, Phinimimilomimo decided to sleep on a nearby tree branch for the night, and think about how to proceed.

    ***​

    The next morning, the little fairy woke up to see all of her small wounds were healed.

    "Hmm, Fris? Was this a side effect of that red stuff, Fris?"

    Examining her body, she saw no other abnormalities, and so turned to the flask of red stuff again.

    "I need to be more careful about not involving innocent creatures in my research, Fris."

    Having recovered all of her Mana, the little fairy used [Entangle] to enclose herself within a dome of roots, before trying out the red stuff once again.

    "I hope I can learn something from these experiments, Fris..."

    ***​

    2 weeks later, all of the red stuff in the flask had disappeared, and Phinimimilomimo was calm as she surveyed her overgrown surroundings. Fluttering her wings, a fine red dust came out and coated the nearby roots. Nothing happened, but the fairy seemed to be happy about that as her face beamed with a huge smile.

    "I did it, Fris! I did it, Fris! I learned how to make and control it, Fris!"

    Within a 20 metre radius of her current location, there were overgrown roots, claw marks, small club-sized craters and no signs of any dead animals. Over the past 2 weeks, Phinimimilomimo had desperately tried learning how to control the urge to destroy all things, as well as how to harness that for a new dust spell. Today, she finally grasped it enough to not be controlled by the affects, but instead how to control them. Pleased with the small progress she had made with the red substance, the little fairy decided it was time to return back to Nagrand so she could get a pat on the head for her hard work from Bill, the bartender. She then flew back to Nagrand with the empty glass flask in her arms, but not before finding a nearby source of water and cleaning herself.
    New spell learned:
    [Berserker Dust]
    - Flutters her wings and releases a fine red powdery dust infused with berserker properties
    - Target must be within 1 metre in the direction wings were fluttered.
    - Multiple targets might get hit.
    - Target becomes berserk:
    - Targets larger than a human might not go berserk.
    - Targets the size of a human will be berserk for 10 seconds.
    - Targets the size of human children will be berserk for 1 minute.
    - Targets the size of a fairy will be berserk for 5 minutes.​
    - When target becomes a berserker:
    - Strength increases by 25% max Strength
    - Speed increases by 25% of max Speed
    - Defence lowers by 50% of max Defence​
    - When effect ends, target will have Strength and Speed lowered by 50% of max levels for triple the length of time they were under its effects, Defence will remain at 50% lower than max for the duration of this.
    - Consumes 20% max Mana per use.​
    1 glass flask filled with red liquid is emptied and returned to storage.
    OOC:
    @AliceShiki is this okay?
    @shad12ow Thought you might be interested in this, since it concerns the red liquid.

    X
     
    Arexio, Zone Q11, MaliMi and 2 others like this.
  4. TiggerBane

    TiggerBane Always asleep yep yep yep| Canidae lover

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2017
    Messages:
    2,020
    Likes Received:
    9,436
    Reading List:
    Link
    Having exited Helm's Deep Tera began moving through the forest that was nearby, it was kind of hard to orient himself however he ends up succeeding in doing so. Tera heads off towards the forest again in the direction of the moon village and begins slowly walking along looking for lizards and such along the way. Tera hears a loud noise in the distance, a beast(Gorilla) roars in the forest and another furred beast(Bear) roars back. The beasts after roaring at each other begin fighting against each other, after a few exchanges between the second beasts to roar slinks away from the original beast and the beast begins beating it's chest. Tera proceeds quickly in the forest whilst avoiding the animals here due to the vast differentials on their strength.

    Tera comes upon a group of lizards sunbathing in the sun and proceeds to find their nests, and steals some of the eggs before quickly running away from the area. After running away from the area with the lizards in it carrying two of his liberated eggs Tera walks past a towering monster with a lumbering gate munching upon leaves. The beast has a long trunk and stands upon four legs with a massive tail, the beasts body is of changing hues of green, gold and brown. Slowly going around the beast Tera continues on with his journey whilst the beast roars and stomps knocking a tree to the ground whilst proceeding to strip it of it's leaves completely and then scraping the bark off the tree. A lizard comes running past the towering monster and it's trunk proceeds to suck up the lizard running past it. Tera began shivering whilst continuing on his journey.

    After meeting more wild and varied monsters within the jungles going about their daily lives completely naturally destroying the forest and creating trees and all sorts of different things making the natural state of the forest in constant flux. Tera rests for 8 hours during the night before proceeding on with his journey for ~16 hours in the day. After a time he arrives in the area around moon village where the scenery changes, a small group of creautes that look like small walking trees appear in front of Tera. Tera decides to avoid them rather than engage in battle and thus goes quite far around them before ending up in the moon village where he decides to rest for the night.
     
    MaliMi and Nahrenne like this.
  5. jbturkle

    jbturkle Fruit

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2018
    Messages:
    549
    Likes Received:
    4,923
    Reading List:
    Link
    Dangling precariously from the edge of the chasm, Arawn wondered how it all went so wrong. It was his brother’s fault, he decided. Yes, it was all because of Hafgan. That halfwit.

    _______________


    Arawn’s second oldest brother had indeed enjoyed telling stories, being a bard-in-training. So throughout Arawn’s childhood, he had been regaled with fantastical stories of magic and adventures. Being a child, Arawn was immediately enamored with the idea of being a magician. He read stories and old books on magic from wherever he could get them, hoping that he might be able to find a way to become a magician. It didn’t take him long to realize the futility of this.


    Arawn was the son of a hunter, not like any of the brilliant heroes from his brother’s stories. So he put aside these ideas and focused on different dreams. Magic quickly fell back to the distant recesses of his mind, as the forefront was taken up with his want for an education.


    Years later, the idea of being a magician remained a childish fantasy. Until, suddenly, it wasn’t.


    Arawn had been traveling through the land surrounding Nagrand, familiarizing himself with the area, when it happened. He had chanced upon a mysterious tunnel entrance in the middle of a large forest. Normally, Arawn wouldn’t have given much thought to such a thing, preferring to be aboveground at all times.


    But something strange had drawn his attention. A set of familiar symbols were carved around the entrance. It didn’t take long for Arawn to recall the symbols from his dim memories. They resembled the symbols he had once seen in a particularly obscure book about magic he had read as a child.


    But no, surely they couldn't be. After all, why would these symbols be here, in the middle of a random forest? And even if they were real, magic had nothing to do with Arawn any more. Or did it?


    He was an adventurer now, he remembered. No longer the normal hunter he once was. He would certainly have the opportunity to interact with magic in the future. Even many of the other guild members had some magic of their own. Was this his opportunity to gain some for himself?


    Arawn approached the dark entrance carefully, peering into it. Biting his lip in thought, Arawn made his decision. He checked his equipment and ventured into the darkness with a newly-lit torch in hand.

    _______________


    It appeared to be an old mining tunnel. It had certainly been abandoned for a long time, given how damaged it was. Carefully watching his step, Arawn progressed through the tunnel until he reached a large cavern.


    There was a large chasm in the ground, leaving no room around it to traverse. Arawn stepped up to the chasm and peered into it, attempting to gauge its depth. Unable to see the bottom despite straining his efforts, he picked up a stone from the ground, dropping it into the yawning mouth of the chasm.


    Arawn waited to hear the sound of the stone hitting the ground. Nothing. He gulped, stepping back. Perhaps this is where his little escapade should end. As he turned to return to the surface, Arawn spotted something out of the corner of his eye.


    A makeshift bridge made of wooden planks, nearly invisible in the darkness, stretched across the length of the chasm. Nope. Nope nope nope nope. The bridge- if it could even be called as such- was clearly shoddily constructed, not to mention how old such a thing would have to be.


    Magic, something whispered to him. Magic.


    Arawn gulped and stepped towards to bridge. Testing it with a single foot at first, then with all of his weight, Arawn found that the bridge was surprisingly in better shape than it looked. If he hurried, it should hold out long enough for him to cross. Throwing his torch over to the other end of the chasm and steeling his nerves, Arawn took a few steps back, then raced down the length of the bridge.


    When he was only a few meters away from the other side of the chasm, Arawn heard something that made his heart drop to his stomach. The bridge creaked and then, all of a sudden, snapped.


    Instinctually throwing himself forward, Arawn reached out with both of his arms as the bridge fell away beneath him. His hands scraped against stone and slipped. Then, finally, Arawn grasped the side of the chasm with his left hand.

    _______________


    And so, there he was, deciding to blame his brother for his current situation. Arawn laboriously pulled himself up over the edge, back onto solid ground, continuously cursing his brother for something that wasn’t actually his fault.


    With a final heave, Arawn collapsed onto the floor of the tunnel, already exhausted. Rising to his feet, he turned to survey the chasm from the other side. It was too late to turn back. Without a bridge to cross, there was no way to get back to the other side, where the entrance was. Now Arawn cursed his past self’s idiocy.


    With a sigh, he turned to face the other direction. There was only one other direction to move in.


    Forward.

    _______________


    This time, Arawn met with no more near misses, disregarding the time he tripped over a stone and nearly bashed his head open on the ground. Now, he stood before the entrance to another, smaller cavern. Praying for no more chasms, Arawn stepped into the cavern and observed his surroundings. The cavern was filled with large boxes whose markings had long since faded. At the opposite end of the cavern lay another tunnel.


    However, this one seemed to slope upwards. Rushing over to its entrance, a smile broke out on Arawn’s face. He could hear birds. This tunnel must have lead to the surface!


    Just as he was about to sprint back up to the surface, he paused. Looking around at the boxes, Arawn had an idea. Why not loot the boxes for anything they might have had in them? After all, he was already there, and it would be a waste to leave without gaining anything.


    Opening the nearest box, Arawn rifled through its contents. It was filled with junk and objects too old to be of any value. Disappointed, he moved on to the next box, only to find similar contents.


    Moving quickly through the many boxes, Arawn kept searching, hoping to find anything of value. It was then that he saw something that excited him. One box’s markings had not completely faded away. On it was similar symbols to the ones he saw at the mine’s entrance. He suddenly remembered his reason for entering the tunnel. Arawn was there to find magic! Having forgotten this due to his worries about finding an exit, Arawn was now extremely excited.


    Practically tearing the box apart, he discovered that its contents were limited to one object. A single book. This had to be it, right? Surely it was some tome of magic or something.


    Arawn lifted the book carefully, trying to read its cover. Unfortunately, the title had faded away due to age and was now illegible. With a sense of suspense, Arawn slowly opened the cover and tried to read the first line.


    “Granny Gene’s Gorgeous Gingerbread,” he breathed out in awe.


    Eh?


    Ehhhhhhhhh?!


    Confused, Arawn flipped through the other pages in a hurry, glimpsing titles like ‘Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies’ and ‘Hearty Minestrone.’


    Arawn dropped to his knees in shock. It was a recipe book. All this trouble… for a recipe book? But wait! What of the magical symbols he had seen? Arawn once again perused the totally-not-a-cookbook in hopes of finding anything that he had missed.


    It was on the inside of the back cover that he saw it. In small print were the words ‘Property of:’ followed by the same markings on the crate and the mine’s entrance.


    It was just a signature. Someone with really sh*tty handwriting had decided to scribble their name all over everything! This really was nothing but a cookbook! Arawn felt the sudden urge to either cry or contemplate his life choices. Or both.


    Pocketing the book, Arawn headed towards to tunnel leading to the surface with a feeling of dissatisfaction, but without magic.


    At least he now knew how to bake a mean brownie.
    Acquired: Granny Gene's Book of Recipes- Whether you are a beginner or an expert, this cookbook is for you! Its wide variety of recipes are sure to give you the ability to make as many delicious meals as you could ever want!
    "I managed to impress my parents with my cooking thanks to this book. I finally got them off my back about not being able to take care of myself! Thanks, Granny Gene."
    -An unnamed miner
    OOC: Is this the sort of thing that goes here?
     
    Arexio, MaliMi, Nahrenne and 2 others like this.
  6. Nahrenne

    Nahrenne Sister|Daughter|Niece|Aunt|Mummy

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2017
    Messages:
    229
    Likes Received:
    18,508
    Reading List:
    Link
    Remembering that she had accepted a gardening job at Ophelia's Temple, Phinimimilomimo used an [Illusion] to disguise herself from the flying cats plaguing the town, and flew to her workplace. Upon reaching the temple, she dropped her disguise and headed inside, where the elderly woman from before noticed her and walked up to her - smiling.

    "Ah, you have returned, little one! We were beginning to think you had changed your mind about working for us."

    "Ah, no, Fris! I've been out of town for 2 weeks doing some research, Fris!"

    "Research? 2 weeks? I suppose that would explain why we didn't find any clues to your whereabouts when we asked around."

    "I'm sorry, Fris! I didn't think I'd be gone for so long, Fris..."

    Phinimimilomimo's pointy ears drooped a bit, as she hung her head low in shame. Seeing this, the elderly woman just smiled, as she continued with the conversation.

    "Well, it's not as if we had arranged a schedule for you, so you don't have to worry about it. But, since you're here now, I'll take you to the garden so you can start working your magic~"

    "Okay, Fris!"

    Smiling at the elderly woman, the little fairy followed her to the garden she had been in a few weeks ago. Entering the place, she saw how many of the plants were ready for harvesting, or tending to, and flew past the woman to reach the nearest plant.

    "Ah, Fris! This looks like it's ready for being harvested, Fris! We'll need to work on it quickly, or else it'll wither away within the next few days, Fris!"

    Getting engrossed in her job, Phinimimilomimo flitted about, moving herbs, using [Growth] to encourage other plants' growth, while pruning other plants back. Seeing the little fairy no longer aware of her surroundings, the elderly woman assigned a young girl to keep watch and to take notes on what was done.

    ***​

    After 5 hours of non-stop work, the elderly woman returned back to the garden and saw quite a few piles of harvested plants ready for turning into medicines and such. Looking to the back of the garden, she saw Phinimimilomimo planting some seeds, before using her [Telekinesis] to fill a watering can with water and pour it over the seed patch. Turning back to the little girl who had written many notes, the elderly woman asked:

    "Has she been working all of this time?"

    "Hmm? Ah! Mother Superior!" The little girl stood up, startled, before responding, "Yes, she hasn't stopped once to take a break. I had some difficulty recording all that she did...my apologies about that."

    The Mother Superior looked at the many pages of notes in the girl's hands and smiled.

    "Worry not, dear child. I can see that you have not slacked with your task. I do, however, believe that it is time for the little one to stop for the day, though. We don't want her overworking herself, after all."

    "Ah, of course, Mother Superior!"

    The little girl in white ran up to the fairy and told her she could stop for the day.

    "Hmm, Fris? But I've barely started, Fris..."

    Moving back to the entrance of the garden, Phinimimilomimo saw the elderly woman in white and looked ashamed.

    "Oh? Why do you look so sad, little one?"

    "...Because I haven't worked fast enough...Fris..."

    "Hahaha, what are you saying, little one? You have done an enormous amount for one so small. You can always come back as many times as you want, you know? After all, we are willing to pay you to do so~"

    "Ah..Fris...You're right, Fris! Then, I'll come back when I have the free time, Fris!"

    "Good girl~ Such a hardworking fairy~ Here is your pay for today's work, then: 5 LC's and food."

    Rummaging in her white dress pockets, the Mother Superior pulled out 2 bags. She then pulled out a third, smaller bag and placed them on a nearby garden bench. The elderly woman then took out 5 LC's from one bag and placed them into the smaller bag, before opening the second one and taking out 5 dried berries - also placing them into the small bag. She held out the small bag to Phinimimilomimo and smiled.

    "Here is your pay for the 5 hours of work you did today~ Thank you for harvesting all of those plants for us, it's been a great help."

    Grabbing the string fastening the bag in her hands, the little fairy's face beamed in happiness at hearing she'd helped a lot.

    "Thank you for letting me look after the plants, Fris!"

    "Don't mention it, little one~"

    "Bye, Fris!"

    Phinimimilomimo conjured an [Illusion] of herself waving back at the elderly woman, as she flew out of the garden, before changing it to her disguise for the cats once she got out of the temple.

    ***​

    Reaching the tavern, Phinimimilomimo sat on the bar counter and handed her goods to Bill, the bartender - but not before taking out 2 berries from the bag.

    "They really must like you, little one. Giving you food as well as money."

    "They said it's because I helped them greatly, Fris! I'm just happy to be with the plants, Fris!"

    The little fairy nommed happily on the berries, as Bill looked on with a small smile.
    Was paid 5 LC's by Ophelia's Temple.
    Was 5 dried berries by Ophelia's Temple.
    Stored the money and 3 dried berries in the Tavern.
    Ate 2 of the dried berries.
    X
     
    Arexio, Zone Q11 and MaliMi like this.
  7. Adrian160596

    Adrian160596 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2017
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    85
    Reading List:
    Link
    Dad didn’t come back last night. I always knew it was a possibility but that doesn’t make it easier to accept. It wasn’t easy to accept that my only family member left would not come back from his hunt and not knowing what I was going to do in the future didn’t help. Last night I cried until I fall sleep while remembering the face of the man that raised me and taught everything I know. Every show of affection as well as every scolding he gave me appeared in my head like it just happened yesterday and brought me a smile between all my tears. Thank you dad ...was the last thought that went trough my head.

    * * * * * * * * * *
    Day 1


    Alexander woke up the next day and started to think what would be his course of action. He knew that he didn’t have the necessary skills to survive alone for ever; add to that the he always longed for civilization, he decided that he would to the town of Nargrad. His father had talked about that place and his adventurer guild, he knew that even with his skills he could make enough money to survive.

    Having decided in that he started to check the hut for anything that could be of use for him. Beside a rusty copper knife and its scabbard, a belt, a leather quiver, some thread, 5 large copper coins and the Book of Cra where every single skill passed by in the family was explained, there was nothing else of use.

    His family has been one that specialized in the Magic Archer profession since the ancestor was summoned from another world, he wasn’t strong enough to fight against the dragons, like the heroes from the legends, so he hid and tried to make the family flourish with the knowledge from the other world skills. In the Book of Cra he wrote every single skill he knew, how to learn them and how to use them and the book has been passed from one generation to the next. Apparently every time the skills one managed to learn were less because my dad's generation only knew [Magic Arrow] and [Eagle Eyes]. The difficulty lo learn them its probably why there is only one left in the family.

    Alex first mission was to get enough food to travel. He looked to where their last chicken and rooster were tied and grabbed his knife. He made short work of them and started to dismantle them. He stored the feathers for later, disposed of the everything else except the meat which he later left to dry while he worked on other things.

    As an aspiring Magic Archer, Alex second mission was to make a bow and and arrows. he went to the forest, and found a young pinewood tree, he cut it down and took it back to the clearing. He returned and found a tree with a fibrous bark, he removed from it and took it back with him.

    Back at home, and remembering what he was taught, he started to cut the pinewood to about 1.2 meters in length and slim down to what he remembered. After giving it the right size. Alex began to reform the borders of the wood to give it his desired shape as well as to form the handle.

    After that he started to work with the bark, he began with separating the inner bark fiber and after that the bark strips. Once he got enough strips, he began to make a string with it. After a long time, when he thought he had enough, he grabbed the piece of pinewood that he prepared earlier and looped one end of the string with one end of the bow. He tied the other end while using his knee to bend the bow and then used his knife to gave it the finishing touches to the bow.

    His third mission was to make arrows. He went to the forest where he started to collect pinewood saplings and tree resin. When he got about 20 of them he returned and immediately started to work on them. He first cut it, scraped the bark from one and made a notch at the end of it. He grabbed the feathers that he got earlier, split them, and then cut them in three. He stripped the end of each piece and put them to the side.

    After working on that, he used the tree resin to stick three feathers on the shaft. Later, he used a bark strip to secure them in place. He started the fire and used it to sharp the thick end of the arrow against a rock. As a finishing touch he trimmed the feathers with a hot piece of wood.

    He worked the next arrow the same way until he got 23. Having finished his work, he realized it was already night, he stored everything and returned to his hut to rest.

    * * * * * * * * * *
    Day 2


    Alex woke up early in the morning and started gathering his things. He put the leather belt on, strapped the rusty iron knife on its scabbard, stored the dried meat and the Book of Cra in a pouch. He grabbed the arrows and stowed them inside the quiver and he put the quiver on himself, he grabbed the bow he made yesterday and started walking to the south. He turned one last time to watch the clearing we he had spent his entire life before he entered the forest while a tear escaped from his eyes.

    Nothing happened on the first day as he walked in the forest avoiding everything and hiding when necessary. Before nightfall he found a big three were no animal was seen and climbed to a big branch, he strapped himself against the trunk and entered his dream while missing his bed.

    * * * * * * * * * *
    Day 3


    When he woke up the next day on an unfamiliar place he tried to move before looking where he was, luckily because he was strapped to the trunk he managed to stabilize himself easily. He ate the dried meat before climbing down and continuing his journey.

    Alex walked for hours and while he was eating a portion of the food he heard the howl of an animal he prayed he wouldn’t found. He was running before he knew based on the instinctual fear that a predator made you feel. Before long he could hear something closing in on him.

    His curiosity made him turn his head around and activate [Eagle Eyes], so he could see farther, while running and saw one silver wolf chasing after him, he knew that they were never alone and the sound of a small branch breaking to his left affirmed this thought.

    He tried to calm himself down and control his fear. He knew that he could not fight both wolves at the same time, so his only option was to made some distance with one of them and he had the skill for it. Up until know he had been practicing [Retreat Arrow] whit his father weapons but had not managed to complete it well. He knew that it was similar to [Magic Arrow], he had to imbue the arrow with magic and an air current that would be delivered on contact would push the target away from the archer.

    He grabbed an arrow from his quiver and started controlling his mana and channeling in the way that the book showed him. Once he got thought he got the right image in his mind, he imbued the arrow with mana; he turned around, aimed at the feet of the wolf chasing him from behind and fired almost instantly. He start running immediately after that and started channeling, on a new arrow, [Magic Arrow], that is was a skill that imbued mana on an arrow to add magic damage to it. An instant later a yelp made him realize that his first arrow worked.

    He turned again this time but to wolf that was coming from his left and he aimed at the wolf. His heartbeat accelerated while from the corner of his eye he watched the other wolf getting up. He knew the arrow would not kill him but still worried him that he stand up so fast. With the left wolf in front of him, he fired [Magic Arrow] and it pierced it right trough his head.

    Hearing a noise from the side, he started to channel [Magic Arrow] while grabbing an arrow from his quiver. He turned to saw the wolf charging at him a knew he had to hurry. But before he could finish preparing and aiming [Magic Arrow], the wolf was on him. He rolled to his right while the wolf charged past trough him and just as the Wolf turned around and returned, the point of an arrow was in front of his eyes.

    Alex didn’t wait and released a [Magic Arrow] at the forehead of the wolf. He dropped to the ground at the same time of the wolf body. He was tired but he knew he had to go away. The blood could attract other predators and he didn't had the time to dismantle the wolves nor the strength to stay alive while doing it.

    Alex got up and kept heading south until he stopped before nightfall. He slept the same way as the day before

    * * * * * * * * * *
    Day 4
    Alex woke up early, ate a portion of his supplies and kept walking, it didn't take him much before going out of the forest and into the prairie were grass as tall as his waist was found. Apparently yesterday he almost made it out.

    He was lucky to find a road going in the same directed he was, and didn't take him much finding a caravan that was going to Nargrad. He talked them into allow him to travel with them in exchange for helping them if there was danger.

    Luckily for him, nothing dangerous happened before they arrive at Nargrad. He asked the guard at the gate for the direction of an inn and the adventurer guild where he would go the next day. After he got the directions he said goodbye to the caravan leader and went his own way.

    I'm finally here,hopefully there are nice people here Alex tought.
    Items acquired:
    *Pinewood Hunting Bow
    *Leather quiver (20/30 arrows)
    *Rusty Copper Dagger with scabbard
    *1 leather water pouch(8 Oz)
    *Book of Cra
    *5 LC coins
    Skills acquired:
    *Magic Arrow - Imbue mana on the arrow to deal magic damage (++damage, magic damage)
    *Retreat Arrow - Imbue mana on the arrow to release an air curret that pushes the target on contact (+damage, push target)
    *Eagle Eye - Imbue own eyes with mana to see farther
    *Bow Mastery - Skilled at using bows
    *Dismantling - Skilled at collecting the materials from a body without damaging them
    *Bowyer - Skilled at making a bows
    *Fletcher - Skilled at making arrows

    OOC: a little late but:sweating_profusely:
     
  8. michael.kx5

    michael.kx5 [Sloth Incarnate][Lewd Overlord][The mediator]

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2016
    Messages:
    113
    Likes Received:
    965
    Reading List:
    Link
    After a week-long journey of a mix between walking and hitching rides on passing by merchant carriages (her new appearance contributed in finding merchants willing to let her on their carriage), Rei was finally standing in front of the south gate of Nagrand.
    When she passed through the small side gate made for people without a carriage and tried to hand over a few coins as an entry tax, the guard surprised Rei by refusing to take it.
    According to the guard, the entry tax was abolished to allow free flow of adventurers from within and outside the city.
    This astonished her as there was no other city which allowed free pass through their gates without a tax, some greedy city lords even taxed the merchants going through their city - which of course caused the trade in said land to dwindle.

    After she entered the city, the first thing in Rei's list in her mind was to find accommodation and food, then a tailor and a smith, and finally registering as an adventurer in the guild.
    When she asked around the market for where she could find a nice (but not a high-class) inn in town, she was pointed towards the "The Dancing Mace" in the market district.
    It was perfect since it was also close to her next objectives.
    Rei entered the inn and approached the counter to find out the exact prices for a night and the meals.
    She was very surprised to find a young bored Bear-kin manning the register.
    'Another unique feature of this town, huh?'
    She hoped she was able to stop the surprise from reaching her face.

    Rei called out to the young Bear-kin
    "Hey, Onii-san. How much for a night stay and a meal here?"
    The young Bear-kin was shocked stiff in his place for a moment before rebooting and answering.
    "A night stay is 30 small copper coins, and a meal would be 15 small copper coins. A towel and soup set would cost an additional 5 small copper coins, you can wash yourself with water from the well in the backyard, there are wood basins laying around there near the divided washing area. You can also visit the Bathhouse down the street but it will be more expensive. By the way, my name is Brian, I am the innkeeper's son. What is yours miss?"
    Rei raised an eyebrow at the self-introduction but decided to not give it too much thought, overanalyzing things tends to lead nowhere.
    "I am Rei"
    "Nice to meet you Rei"
    Brian smiled and offered her a handshake.
    Rei decided to pay for a meal and a one night stay.
    After eating lunch and thanking the innkeeper (a middle-aged Bear-kin lady), she asked for directions for where she could find a tailor and a blacksmith.

    After Rei left, the innkeeper Barda watched her son humming as he was cleaning the register and the tables - something he rarely did on his own - he was obviously in a good mood.
    Her female intuition told her it was more than likely had something to do with the cute costumer from earlier.
    Certainly, the Oni girl had cute features, a well-toned body, and bearings which indicated long training, and her expressionless face and strong-willed eyes had their own charm.
    However, Barda could tell from the girl's attitude, the way she spoke, and her limited knowledge of Oni phisiology, that she was older than she looked. Whatsmore she seemed to be on the dense side.
    Barda sighed as she looked on with pity at Brain who was unaware he was going to have a tough time ahead of him.

    Meanwhile, following the map she got from the kind innkeeper, Rei has arrived before a street full of crafting noises, and bustling merchants aiming to buy or sell items and materials to the craftsmen.
    She walked down the street, looking at the signs hanging over the various shops and stalls until she finally finds what she needed - a signboard over a show with a needle and thread painted on it.
    She entered the shop and approached the counter.
    Behind it was a small bunny-kin (or was it a moon-rabbit? It was sometimes hard to tell), obviously bored and sleepy.
    She jumped up on her feet as soon as she noticed Rei, and with a bright smile on her face she asked "Are you a customer? What can I help you with?"
    Rei was slightly surprised and wondered whether the shop didn't get much business.
    "Yes, can you modify these clothes to fit me?"
    She took out a bunch of black Dougi outfits and some ripped cloth that was leftover from when she messed around with her clothes near that river, and leather from a hunted game.
    The rabbit-kin(?) tailor took a look at the hill of clothes on the counter, after examining them, she looked at Rei and asked "Those are Men clothes. I would have to do more than just modify them, I can only create a new outfit from scratch using them as raw materials. Is that acceptable?"
    "Yes. Five outfits if you can"
    "Alright, since you are the one who provided the raw materials it will be only half price. what style do you wish to wear?"
    "A full-bodysuit which allows as much freedom of movement as possible, with leather protectors over vital areas...... oh, and do you have some undergarments and socks?" the last part was said so quietly the tailor almost missed it.
    "Sure we have. Just let me take your measurements in the dressing room back here."
    Led by the Rabbit-kin to the back of the store Rei entered the dressing room, took off her robe and slipped out of her clothes, allowing them to fall to the floor. When she looked at their ragged and dirty appearance she decided that they were unsalvagable and she will throw them away later.

    ...Cue peaceful image of a flower field and bunnies...

    After taking Rei's accurate measurements and providing her with 2 weeks worth of socks and undergarments (since she was "undeveloped" in certain areas, a sarashi was enough), the tailor told her to wait for a few hours while she was working on her new outfits. Meanwhile, She sold her a common set of pants and a shirt.
    Rei decided to use the time needed to make the outfits to visit the blacksmith.
    Leaving the Tailor's shop behind she went towards the sign with the anvil on it, on the other side of the street.
    Luckily for her, the blacksmith and tailor shop were close to each other.
    When she entered the shop, she saw rows of weapons and armor lining up the walls and tables, all of them are of considerably good quality.
    Rei looked around the armor section for anything that might fit her size and tastes.
    Since her old armanents - Kanshou Bakuya - were now too big and powerful for her, she was now looking to buy a replacment.
    After a while, she noticed a pair of black arm-guards and leg-guards as well as light chainmail, all of which can fit her new size.
    Rei took a look at their prices and confirmed it was all within her budget.
    After paying for it and her new clothes she will left with only 51 large copper coins though.
    Rei took the items to the counter and asked the dwarf sitting there if she could purchase them.
    The dwarf was obviously happy but tried to conceal it under a stern look, and grumbled something under his beard about slow buisness and ores.
    After adjusting a bit her new arm and leg guards with some help from the dwarf, Rei paid for everything and left the shop.
    She stopped on the way in the tailor to confirm whether her new outfits were ready or not, and after being told to come back in another hour or two she decided to go to the bathhouse.

    As a very stereotypical Oni, Raikou loved taking a bath when she could afford the time and money.
    However that was as "Raikou", not that she was Rei, she wasn't very secure about walking into the women's bath.
    She already saw herself naked when cleaning up and "picking flowers" but seeing other ladies was a different matter.
    Gathering her courage, Rei stepped into the dressing room and was relieved to find it completely empty.
    'I probably arrived during one of the slow hours'
    She took off her new clothes and undergarments and carefully folded them and placed them inside the basket.
    She opened the door to the public bath and walked inside.
    Around 40 minutes later a group of housewives went inside and gave Rei a shock of her life as they fawned upon her shy attitude.

    After She left the Public Bathhouse (which cost her 1 large copper coin, leaving her with 50) and picking up her new clothes around two hours after she last visited the tailor, Rei headed for the Adventurers Guild, making a stop in the inn on the way to drop off all her unneeded luggage.
    As she entered the Guild she felt many curious eyes focus on her but most of them were gone the next moment.
    'I guess most of them have seen an Oni or aren't easily deceived by outwards appearance anymore'
    After standing in line for 10 minutes at the receptionist counter where an old man was stationed (which was the shorter of the two since the one with the cat-eared lady was almost reaching the door), Rei finally approached the counter and asked to register.
    The old man asked her a few questions such as name, gender, race, age, class, and skills.
    As she answered those questions a little mischevious thought entered her mind, and deciding to entertain it, Rei leaked some of her Ki Aura for a short moment.
    The color on the face of the old man and some veterans seeming adventurers changed, however, they didn't try to do anything.
    Satisfied with the reaction, Rei took the badge and thanked the receptionist.
    "Thank you, don't beat yourself up. You just showed me that the Guild staff were more than competent"


    POV Change
    After visiting the guild to register I checked out the quest board to find out that all the quests have already been taken or completed.

    "I guess can try to wait for new quests to show up" I murmured and headed towards the tavern. It's been a while since I last drunk some good alcohol ever since I left on my trip.

    When I entered the tavern the chatter completely stopped for a moment and I could feel all of the eyes focus on me.
    What are they......oh right. I sometimes still forget what I look like right now. Better get inside, before it gets awkward.
    I stepped inside the tavern as navigated myself all the way to the Bar-seats.
    When I approached the Bar I made myself known to the Master and made my order.
    "Hello, a glass of mead please"
    When the Master saw me, for a sec his eyes went wide but then he regained his calm self but before he could reply I could feel someone trying to grab my shoulder from behind.
    Before he could do it, I grabbed his hand and glared at culprit- A young and arrogant looking human male, too muscular to even move around in battle, clearly an amateur.
    I could see he was surprised that I noticed him and grabbed his arm but soon the surprise was replaced by anger and a smug face.
    "Little girly, don't you know this is a place for ADULTS? Bad things happen to kids when they try to act like grown-ups. Why don't order a glass of milk instead and scram? Then I might overlook ruining the great men's dinner. You should be thankful I am so forgiving, you lowly monster---"
    Apparently, he was dumb too, since he didn't know when to shut up and couldn't even feel my killing intent.
    Before he could say another word my knee buried itself in his crotch. Once he tumbled over from the pain I hit both his temples and then his chin in a way that will rattle his brain.
    By this point he was completely groggy and incapable of resisting so I went for a wide wind up and landed a dropkick on his head that buried his face into the floor.
    "Slear my kin again and I will use that overgrown arm of yours as a bat to spank you! Also for your info, I am older than you (probably)"
    The whole tavern went silent again, this time from shock. Nobody dared to move a muscle.
    I turned back to the master and apologized " Sorry for making a fuss and breaking your floor".
    The master smiled and nodded his head.
    "It's ok. It's a common thing here, the guild will pay for the damages later. Ofc the money will come out of THAT's account. Anyway, you wanted a drink, right? Wait just a minute"
    I was positively impressed.
    "You are not surprised?"
    While still making my drink he talked over his shoulder
    " I saw more than my fair share of weird folks pass through here. I can tell when a powerful individual is standing before me. I admit your appearance did startle me a little. Been a long time since anyone could make me feel like this. Here, freshly brewed mead. We got a new batch just yesterday"
    He passed me a big glass of mead with foam forming atop.
    I took a big gulp and sighed. Yeah, this was definitely the good stuff. Perfect for my rejuvenated body.
    I kept sitting on that seat for the next half hour drinking mead and ordered dinner on the way as well.

    POV change
    After feeling halfway drunk and sated, Rei paid for her meal and drinks and headed towards the inn to sleep in her room.
    On the way out she thought she saw people sleep on the floor and outside, but she wasn't sure as she was not very focused.
    When she arrives at the inn she was successful at getting to her room without any trouble, even in her drunken state.
    ''My alcohol tolerance has also gone down. I forgot how lightweight I was back then. Or maybe it's because my new body is even smaller then back when I was this age'
    Thanks to the Oni-folk natural minor resistance to poison it was harder for them to get drunk compared to normal humans and they didn't have to fear a hangover, but it did make them more weak and sleepy than usual. It is said that this trait was born in them after a mighty ancestor of their ingested the holy sake "shinpen kidoku" and was slain by a human mystic. Naturally, Rei made sure to lock the door of her room and bar it in case someone gets any funny ideas. She doubts someone would actually desire her body for how old she looks but it doesn't hurt to be careful.
    She wrote herself a note to make sure to exercise and train her Ki in the morning once the innkeeper comes to knock on the door to wake her up (as she requested when ordering the room).
    ''Well, time to sleep."
    Rei tiredly dropped on the soft bed and soon fell asleep.
     
    MaliMi, AliceShiki and A5G_Reaper like this.
  9. A5G_Reaper

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

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Messages:
    5,794
    Likes Received:
    49,651
    Reading List:
    Link
    "Poison is so expensive."

    He idly played with the three small vials no more than a finger thick, containing the refined essence of three different plants. Supposedly each of them would be lethal upon ingestion - especially in such thick dose. The herbalist who sold them explained that the first was refined from a type of wild berry that was sweet as sin, the second was a low wide-leafed plant that secrete the poison on its leaf and normally absorbed from skin contact, and finally the seedpod of a rare blue fruit that had delicious and completely edible flesh. The commonality of them all was that they cause terrible muscular paralysis that would stop both the lung and the heart from functioning when introduced to a living thing's system, whether when ingested or otherwise introduced through the bloodstream.

    "Deadly when consumed means deadly in wound. Still accurate, as far as I know."

    He walked into the rented garden, having surveyed it earlier and finding it satisfactory. The soil wouldn't produce normal herbs but it was no normal herbs he wanted. The gourd started by filling three little pots with soil, arranging shades with rags to keep minimal sunlight from streaming through, and finally took out a withered vine from his satchel. Several wrinkly little seeds were growing off it, he took great care to remove nine of them. Into the pot they went, three each, then he added three pieces of bamboo placed upright in the pot for the vines to grow.

    Next he watered them until the soil was practically soggy, and for finishing touch poured the different poison into each pot. He stirred it with a random branch until it's satisfactorily mixed, before standing up and dusting his hands.

    "Kadanian Tarvine, best grown in swampy soil infused with their parent's sap. None of it in hand, figures that I could replace it with other substance of similar properties... hope it works."

    He stared at the pots for a while as if it would help make them sprouts faster, but eventually left.
     
    MaliMi and AliceShiki like this.
  10. Unreachable Hope

    Unreachable Hope Unspecified, Wandering and Doubtful Member

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2017
    Messages:
    121
    Likes Received:
    1,136
    Reading List:
    Link
    The sun descending, the moon rising.
    As usual, after questing, training, working, Cinis left Nagrand toward the forest where the promised rest was, towards the clearing where the promised circle was, towards the campfire where the promised warm was residing.
    Three figures around a campfire, waiting for someone for dinner, waiting for the adventurer to return to their home. None of them were hidden in a coat this time, they all showed their true colors and appearance.

    “Welcome back home, sir.”
    Liya, a person that has been close to Cinis since a very long time, it will make soon twenty years that they know each other, at first, it was a simple guard-noble relationships until it developed into a sort of reluctant fraternal friendship, there is still a barrier between the two of them, they can not get rid of their past relationship and treat each other like friends.
    Liya is taller than Cinis by five inches or so, his hair is blond and dirty, his blue eyes are as clear as water, his figure is rather broad, he seemed to be physically robust.

    “Back, eh ?”
    Aelia talked on a more casual tone unlike Liya, she has been with Cinis since much a shorter time, however she is as close as Liya was with this young master, originally, she was supposed to be his sister however, due to some circumstances, she instead became her servant, like how a bastard child from a noble family would be under the service of the legitimate one. Nevertheless, Cinis never was a legitimate child as well. She is a young girl, a bit older than Cinis, pale skin, yellow eyes, curled silky dark hair, her arms were tattooed by herself, it seemed that she had a certain passion for it, shamefully, they did not have the materials as for now.

    “Uh… welcome back ?”
    Then, there was Hornety, who came only a week ago, she barely knew anything about what was going on, however, her dreams have been darker and darker as she kept staying here. It was indeed thrilling as she expected, but also terrifying as she felt apprehensive about what they lived. There was only blood with lingering emotions. Hornety was younger than all of them which were all in their twenties, she was young and did not know much about history, politics, people and stuff… those dreams that were so dark just seemed so unreal, to be precise, the meanings seemed to be unrealistic, there can’t be that much blood in one’s body, right ? She had unkempt brown hair, brown eyes as well, her clothes were rather shabby contrary to the trio.

    Cinis did not say anything and only sat near the campfire, between Liya and Aelia out of habit, there was no smile or anything as his head leaned on Aelia’s shoulder. Wordlessly, Liya sighed and made a hand sign to Hornety who immediately began to cook the meat Liya hunted previously.
    The adventurer is only present at night, the day, he is either training, at the tavern or questing, his legs seemed to be less clumsier than the first day, for example, before, if he stood up and stayed still without the cane, he might fall, while today, he wouldn’t fall. That was a good sign, he was recovering from his severe injury.

    Later on, silently, they began to have dinner, each of them eating an equal piece of meat, they did not need to communicate nor did they wish to, they had a lot of things on their mind, to complain about because of someone’s unbearable attitude, as well as their narrow-minded judgement.
    Despite everything, all the issues they had between each other, they kept their mouths shut, they needed to be united for some reasons, if there was any issue, they will keep it, and it will appear once too much is bottled up, it will explode. Since the very start, Hornety could feel this tension, the silence was pressuring them, little by little, each of them seemed to be showing more and more stressing gestures.

    Liya’s tic seemed to be snapping his fingers, he kept doing this when his friend was there, while Aelia was clicking her tongue at every opportunity, it could be seen as quite comedic from a third party’s point of view, but internally, between the three of them, it was violent. Unlike them, Cinis did not show any sign, except one, staying awake until they are sleeping, usually, all of them were sleeping together, in each other’s arms, like siblings in one day, nowadays, Cinis was keeping an eye during the night, on the other side, crouched near the campfire, staring at Liya and Aelia, almost forgetting that Hornety is there until she begins to ask questions about his life until she faints out of fatigue.
    Each night, Hornety would keep asking questions, and questions, and questions, again and again and again… always the same, usually, they are usually replied by only one thing, silence, however, she kept insisting, it could be called harassment, but Cinis did not care about it in the slightest, he did not give a care, he just glanced at her then looked away. Knowing that she will fall asleep while leaning on him at a moment.

    This night, Hornety had her first reply after hours of questioning his silence.
    “Hey hey, why… do you stay with them..? You… don’t even talk, you just greet, then eat then sleep, then go away then… everything goes…”
    She yawned, on the verge of falling asleep on him.
    “...every day is the same, why don’t you… just talk with them ? Or simply… le...ave…”

    Like any other night, she fell asleep like the two others, Cinis thought, after a while, he sighed and whispered into her ear as her head was on his left leg.
    “This is because without them, I am dead.”
    Now, she knew a bit more. That is, if she listened to him while she was sleeping, whether she remembers it or not is another question. The next nights, when she asked this question, he would simply reply, not with silence, but with “I already replied to your question.”

    “But… you didn’t…”, she would say every time he responded.
    Then, each night became the same, slightly different, until he repeats what he said to her, while she is awake and clear-minded that is.
    Of course, he will never do that.
    Aelia alternative.jpg
    Cinis.jpg
    Liya.jpg
    Hornety.jpg
    OOC: Not much about it, just developing a bit Cinis' family living outside the city.
     
    Arexio, MaliMi and AliceShiki like this.
  11. nguuuquaaa

    nguuuquaaa 『Grade SSS Hentai Genius Supervert』

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2016
    Messages:
    182
    Likes Received:
    1,919
    Reading List:
    Link
    Circuit Making: The Lost Technique
    - Various authors

    The history of enchanting dated back hundreds years before the dragon war, when people noticed that drawing certain figures on an item would bless that item with a particular effect based on what was drawn. But not until the dragon war, when the need to strengthen humanity's power to rise against dragons that enchanting knowledge was spread wide and researched upon.

    Enchantments could be applied on any item that can hold the sigil, or magic symbol. A shard is an enchanted crystal. In the early day of enchanting, every type of material was tested to find the best for base item. While crystal wasn't as good as mythril, depending on the type of crystal, it could surpass most known metals like iron or silver. More researches showed that the shape of the shard does affect the strength of the enchantment.

    Up until the first half of the 4th century DE, shards were mostly used for making enchanted accessories like rings or amulets. Genou Q. Vermis (326 DE - ?) was the first to introduced another use of shards: making circuit. By placing shards on a metal frame in a certain pattern, the result, a circuit, can produce a new and unique effect that is completely unrelated to the component shards, while still keeping the individual shard effects. This characteristic of circuit is what makes it problematic to work on. It's already difficult to speculate the end effect, but a good end effect may require a curse in one of its component. Genou may be the only one in the last 300 years who has complete understanding of the essence of circuit creation. He succeed in making the first series of autonomous humanoid artificial beings, also known as automatas, called the Valkyrie series, out of circuit technique. It's said that only 1 out of 100 enchanters understand the left-behind documents of Genou, and even that one enchanter lacks the ability to reproduce the Valkyrie series due to the complexity of the blueprints and the method to create the exact same shards, which is hindered by Genou's messy drawing and the inability to see those components in various angles.

    Nowadays circuit has fallen out of trend, due to the high cost of creating shards and unpredictable outcome. Researchers focus less on circuit, and more on efficiency of enchanted items. But the arts of making circuit is still a nice topic to touch on, and this book provides an in-depth look on understanding its nature.
    [​IMG]

    OOC: this one probably has a huge effect on lore I think (how the last part of dragon war played out, naming convention, rings/amulets enchant, automata race....), so feedback is appreciated :sweating_profusely:
    OOC2: anyone with interest can contact me to contribute to the circuit science
    OOC3: Takako is a walking piece of fortune but please don't dissect her :sweating_profusely:
     
    MaliMi, A5G_Reaper and Haxagen like this.
  12. A5G_Reaper

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

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Messages:
    5,794
    Likes Received:
    49,651
    Reading List:
    Link
    "Must be here." A gourd doublechecked the address, confirming that he did stood before the Twin Hammer Smithy, a rather huge complex with at least five forges and double its number in smith manning them.

    "You there with the pumpkin! What are ye doing blocking the way?!"

    And the gourd was shouted at by a bossy old dwarf. Probably the owner of the whole place from how the other smith deferred to him. The gourd noticed that he's standing smack dab in the middle of the entrance and slithered in as fast as he politely could.

    "My bad, looking for one mister Urdun Ironhammer. Caligo recommended him."

    "Aye, that be me. Adventurer then? Whad'ya need?" The dwarf was as blunt as he could possibly be.

    "I need you to fix this." He unlatched the remains of his shield. Half of its mass was melted by the drake's firebreath, dripping to the ground before cooling like candlewax. He also pulls out said puddle-shaped mass of iron, which he recollected after that battle.

    "...it's scrapped, son. Best I can do is reforge it, that'd save you the material cost at least. A new one wouldn't cost much more and you could walk out with it within five minutes, quality guaranteed."

    "Ah, reforge it then. It's sentimental."

    "It's yer money. Forty big coppers, come back next week for it. At least the iron's looking fine." The dwarf said gruffly, counting all the coins before returning inside with the shield and its melted remains. "And get that blade fixed, it's an eyesore!"
     
    MaliMi, AliceShiki and SpearOfLies like this.
  13. AliceShiki

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

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
  14. SoulZer0

    SoulZer0 Heaven Refining

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2016
    Messages:
    12,478
    Likes Received:
    24,483
    Reading List:
    Link
    Me, thanks.
     
    Coler likes this.
  15. Coler

    Coler Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2019
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    501
    Reading List:
    Link
    Solars
    My name is Solar Dustgold.
    I just registered on the Adventurers Guild.
    Before my registration I stumbled upon a tavern a tavern in the city of Nagrad. My coming there was to just get a glass of water but when I went there the atmosphere was very, very strong. At first I thought no one would be there and that I was to late but once I entered the tavern my legs just couldn’t move anymore. Those Adventurers pressure was way too strong. I got scared a lot and was about to faint but thanks to two kind Adventurers my mood relaxed and I went to the Adventurers Guild to the registration counter.
    When I went there a lot of people mocked me. I never knew registration was so difficult so I tried my best and for about 3 hours I got my papers right. Thank goodness the lady at the counter was kind and gentle else I would have be eaten up by those wolves. As a Loli, my appearance and body is desired by many. Fairys have it had since they are mostly females. Only in special circumstances males are born. Still tho, yesterday was fun. Thanks to everyone that helped me.

    OOC: Well, you heard her right. Treat her well she only has some hundred of years to live anyway. [ Hahahaha, Twisted laughter]
     
    Aqua Melodia likes this.
  16. AliceShiki

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

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
    So... This story is an insight of what has been happening behind the scenes while you all do quests~

    >.>
    <.<

    It was written yesterday during all the hectic time of people taking quests and reporting tasks like they were nuts though, so there were many many many interruptions to this, which... Might have made the story have some mood jumps... >.>

    Also, I didn't proofread it, so be wary of typos... Oh well~

    *Knock Knock*

    What...? Why is someone knocking in my inn room this late in the night? I told the innkeeper to not let anyone disturb me...

    *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

    Gah! Don't make this much noise! You'll wake up Nina-chan! "Who... Who is it?"

    "Leon. Aria, open up." The guildmaster...? Why so late at night...?

    "J-just give me a sec, I need to change clothes!" Ugh, don't make me speak so loudly with Nina-chan here... Good, she is still sleeping... Haa... Just what is going on...?

    I quickly took off my nightwear and put my usual work clothes... Ugh, my hair is a mess, I didn't have time to tidy it up... Well, can't be helped, let's see what this is about.

    I opened the door and Leon was indeed there in his usual work clothes... No wonder the innkeeper didn't stop him... "Is something the matter...?" I tried asking.

    "You're coming with me to a meeting. Good thing you're already in work clothes, saves the trouble." He turned around and started walking, so I hurriedly closed the door and locked it before running after him.

    "A meeting!? This late at-" He cut me.

    "Tone it down, we're meeting some higher ups, you're coming because you happened to be involved." Eh? Oh dear gods, what did I do? They're not going to berate me because of the flying cats are they? No wait, he'd just berate me by himself, there is no need to arrange a meeting for that, nor this late at night... But then what...?

    "I don't..." He cut me again... Why won't even let me speak!? >.<

    "You'll understand when we get there, for now just follow." Aye aye guildmaster, I hear and obey... *sighs* He can be such a handful at times...

    We walked mostly in silence, it felt as if I wasn't allowed to talk right now... It was constraining... I hate this feeling... Haa... Hopefully this will be over soon...

    After a while we took a left turn and... Wait, this is not the way to the guild... Where to then...?

    Didn't take too long to find out, we reached the biggest church in town... Lord Ralditorias, probably one of the weirdest deities I heard of, but... Just who are we meeting in the middle of a church? I mean... Soren? Why not just meet during the day though? It's not like he is a wanted criminal or anything...

    We got inside and as soon as a priest saw us, he quickly led us to a small room to the side... I never saw anyone that was not from the church getting here... They aren't going to try baptizing me are they? No that would be to silly... Stop escaping reality Aria, stop escaping, look at what's in front of your eyes.

    It was a surprisingly plain room... Just... White I guess? With a table surrounded by 4 chairs in the center, it's a pretty table by the way, probably made of marble. And surrounding it were... Soren and... Grom? Why is the mayor here too? This can't be serious...

    "Sit." Leon simply said... They all seemed really serious about it... The air felt stifling... Could they tell me what is going on already!?

    I sat down in the nearest chair, Leon sat to my left, Grom at my right and Soren in front of me... I was never good with dealing with him, wish he was in another position... "So? How are the festival preparations going?" Leon started... The festival though? We're here to discuss the festival!? Why make a shady meeting in the dead of the night like that just for the sake of a festival!? >.<

    "No good, we're seriously lacking in manpower, I don't think we'll have enough henbane to make any relevant effect, and it will be a miracle if someone actually takes that quest to the Lake of the Ancients." Soren answered... Wait, what kind of effect are the symbols supposed to do anyways?

    "Tsk, you and your stupid ideas, I told you, we should just throw the town guard at those idiots and get rid of them, no point in doing all this covert nonsense." Grom grumbled... Wait, what is covert about a festival? And get rid of whom!?

    "Aria, close your mouth, the gaping fish look is disgusting." Leon said.

    "DON'T CALL ME DISGUSTING YOU STUPID GUILDMASTER!!!" Wait, what did I... Oh gods, I really did it now... I put my hands over my mouth and looked around for help, oh dear gods, I'm so dead, stupid stupid stupid! Why did I have to snap?!

    Grom started laughing. "You sure have an energetic girl working under you Leon! Younglings these days are crazy I tell you!" Do-don't laugh at my misfortune! I appreciate the compliment though~

    "Leon, did you explain just what is going on to the girl?" Soren asked... Oh thank gods a sane soul in this room!
    ... Wait, I shouldn't really say this kind of thing should I? Well, I didn't say it, so it should be alright...

    "... I figured she'd understand on her own, there aren't that many possibilities." 2 heavy sighs resounded in the closed room... Nope, not mine, those were Soren and Grom's reactions to the Guildmaster's dumbass comment.

    "We're talking about how to cleanse this damned curse some dumbass cultists decided to throw in the town for gods know what stupid reason!" Oh, Grom likes to call them dumbass too... Wait, I think I should pay attention to more important stuff.

    "Uhn... So... We're meeting to discuss the curse that Jack-san, Sol-san and Nero-san reported?" I asked just in case...

    "Indeed, it seems the heavens put quite the ordeal in face of us." Uhn... Could you please cut the religious speech? I appreciate clarifying things for me, but I really am no good with that...

    "And then I'm here because...?" And will someone complete the phrase please~?

    "Because we need you to understand what's happening so you can properly shut up about it and not ruin everything by spreading the words to the four corners of Edhellen." Hey! That's incredibly rude you damned guildmaster! And don't you know it's better to just not tell someone a secret if you want it kept!?

    Grom sighed and went on with the wonderful explanation... Don't you love those NPCs that just exist to tell the player all about the setting they should be 100% aware of if they lived there all along~? Oh wait, I'm not a player, damn, wish I had plot armor on my side... "In summary, that adventurer party got rid of the stuff cursing the river, which means 1/2 of the problem is gone already, but as you know all too damn well, there is a curse afflicting what is probably the whole town and the minstrels are just making it worse. So we're going to need to host a massive ritual to clean everything up.

    "The problem however, is that we have no time to prepare, some priests looked over me and Leon and it seems we have less than a month left, same must be true for the rest of the citizens... I suggested just getting rid of the cultists and throwing a bunch of money at the ritual, but those 2 idiots refuse to accept and came up with dumb undercover ritual-festival thing." He sighed once again... Oh great, so those bunch of festival quests were to make a magical ritual to save our lives? Now I'm a lot more worried... Thanks for telling me.

    "We already went over this Grom. It's necessary to hide our intentions to cleanse the curse in order to avoid having the cultists ruin the ritual. They definitely have spies within the city, even if we succeeded in defeating their hideout, it wouldn't matter if we were to die due to the curse... We need to be low-key and avoid sabotage." Leon talked back.

    "Indeed, we cannot risk losing the lives of the believers to the blasted curse. It is best if we do not raise their attention." Thanks Captain Obvious, I mean, Soren. My bad, my bias is coming out~

    Grom started grumbling at that point. "As if they aren't aware we'll try something after finding out their hiding spot within the town and taking out their hideout from which the curse came from..." He has a good point! You should hear him out!

    "Not this shit again..." Wow Leon, you're so rude, your mother should wash your mouth with soap. "One more time... Even if they do suspect we're doing something, they'll have a hard time sabotaging if they don't know what... We all get the festival is flashy and all, but they might think it's a ruse to distract them while we do the ritual somewhere else... Having the very festival being the ritual is the safest option, we need to prioritize our survival, and this has the biggest chances of working." Ugh... It's a solid point too... I'm lost... Who should I side with...? Oh wait, I don't need to side with anyone, it's already been decided haven't it? So... Why am I here again?

    "Enough! We already decided our course of action, Lord Ralditorias will surely guide our path to salvation, persevere my comrades and-" Oh dear gods, I get that you're trying to be the tsukkomi of the group, but we don't really have a boke here... This guy is hopeless... "So, what do we do now?" Oh, he was still talking? I totally missed that... Well, I bet it wasn't important anyways~

    "Oh oh! Question question!" I raised my hand like a good child! "Why am I here?" Three large sighs! Ha! Take that Grom! I beat you!

    "You dumb or what?" Hey! You're being incredibly rude, stupid Leon... I pouted inside my head, but didn't show it to my face... Or well, I think I didn't. "We don't want to alarm the citizens by spreading knowledge of the curse, we don't want the cultists to know we're fully aware of how the curse works, and we don't want them to know we're preparing a counter, and even if they suspect us, we want them to get the wrong impression... Guess what could ruin everything? A loose mouth that knows almost everything about the curse blabbering on about the town's impeding doom!" He smacked my head!? How dare he smack my head!? He doesn't have the right to... Damn lack of work rights, he totally has the right to. I miss Tasarin at times.

    "Okay, I get it I get it, so I just need to keep my mouth shut... Should I try shutting the gourd up too?" I got some totally incredulous faces from this sentence... Priceless~

    "What?" Grom was the first to get his composure back, as expected of the mayor~

    "Yeah, you know? The adventurer that is a living gourd controlling a body... Or is he just a guy with a gourd helmet? Heavens if I know, but well, he was part of the group that found out about the curse and all... He's been spreading the info about it with no restraints whatsoever since he came back, I bet the entire tavern knows by now." Oh oh! I got a facepalm from Leon! This night isn't that bad after all, is it~?

    "Gods damn it... No, don't do anything... Better to leave them out of the loop... Alright, we wasted enough time, to the main topic." Oh? We weren't at the main topic? Ah, right, it was a meeting... If it was just to tell me to shut up, Leon could have done it by himself in his room and... Wait, but they did say I was here just to tell me to shut up... Dear Gods, those guys are dumb, how is this city still on its feet?

    "Right, back to business, so... Henbane is not doing well, and we're hoping for a miracle for the Holy Water, what about the Holy Symbols?" Grom asked.

    "Adventurers were surprisingly eager to take this task, it seems you have many competent carpenters under your command, guildmaster. It is probably a blessing that was hidden, waiting for the moment to ripe..." Haa... Done yet Soren?

    "Some good news for once... Any news on the cultists' movements, Grom?" How do you expect him to have leads on the cultists dumb guildmaster, we discovered their existence like... Two days ago?

    "No unusual movements from their hideout, seems like they already expected the riverbank base would fall after the lab within town fell." Wait what!? You already know their hideout?! "That said, they didn't really brief any of the new initiates on the fact it fell, so they're probably wary of us." ... And we have people inside their group already at that... Okay, that's how this town is standing on its own two feet, but I still think I shouldn't be here! >.<

    "Not a good sign for sure... We must persevere however, nothing will come from losing hope-" I honestly don't care about your motivational speech Soren... Please go to the main point already... "And as such, I must ask... Does the guild have enough funds to pay for the adventurers in case of an attack? Their forces outnumber the guard, and my priests will mostly be busy with the ritual, I'm afraid we'll be relying on your forces for protection in case the worst happens." Oh, thank you! You reached the main points finally!

    And wait what? Relying on a bunch of mercenaries for town defense in case of an attack!? And wasn't the whole point of the festival to avoid having them know what you all are doing anyways!? The hell is wrong with these guys! I can't follow!

    "It's fine, we have the money for it. That greedy receptionist over there extorts people for some pretty unbelievable amounts, you'd be surprised." Hey! I'm just doing my job okay! I'm not thaaaat greedy! "Though you know how those folks are, don't expect much coordination from them to say the least."

    "Just having bigger numbers will be a big help... Hmph, in the end we have to prepare for an invasion even though we're doing all this low-key hiding thing..." Grom is grumbling with good reason, you know!? Why go out of your way to do an undercover ops if you think they'll attack you anyways!? >.<

    "Shut up Grom. It's really unlikely they don't know we're trying to do something, so they'll try to stop it. As long as they can't sabotage the ritual from inside though, then our efforts won't be wasted... On the plus side, they probably aren't very confident in winning a direct confrontation, otherwise they wouldn't have worked gods know how much time on this plan... Probably years." Ah, I guess...? I dunno, I think Grom's straight-forward approach is soooo simpler... >.>

    "Then this will be enough for this meeting." What...? "Let us continue our efforts to the best of our capabilities and may Lord Ralditorias guide our steps. Persevere my brethren, never falter in the face of adversity." Haa... Does Leon deals with this guy regularly? Dear gods, I'd die if I had to.

    More importantly though, this meeting basically accomplished nothing! They just exchanged some small tidbits of information that could be easily exchanged by letters and gave me a bunch of info I didn't need to know about! If it was just to tell me to shut up, just do it in your room damn it! Why set up a shady meeting in the dead of the night like that!? I need to wake up early tomorrow to work alright!? Don't got bothering others with your inefficient schemes!!! >.<

    They all seemed happy enough to end this pointless meeting though... Don't tell me they do this kind of thing regularly...? Oh well, why should I care?

    For some reason though, after going out of the room, Leon started accompanying me to the inn... I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to have an escort when traveling at night, but I have to wonder why... Bah, why wonder, just ask already. "So... What was this all about?" I started.

    "Didn't you hear? To tell you to shut up." Bleh, annoying.

    "Yeah, right... As if you couldn't just tell me in your room that you were doing something related to the curse already, and that I shouldn't be spreading any rumors about it... You know, you have this scary face, but I still respect you quite a bit." Well, not in my inner monologues though~ "I'd trust you if you said something was being done and would've just kept my mouth shut about it.

    "And well... I'm pretty sure you know all that... And this entire meeting felt honestly pointless, so... Why?" I was honestly curious on what was the look on his face right now, but... Heavens if I will ever be able to read the expressions of lizardkin.

    We walked silently for a while, I honestly wondered if he would just leave me in the vacuum, but eventually he answered. "Experience."

    "Beg your pardon?" Like, experience for what!?

    "You're a good girl, you have a promising future ahead of you, and we never know what will happen in the next day... It would be no good if something happened and the guild's remaining staff had no experience in dealing with the higher ups..." He took a deep breath. "Somebody needs to take the reins if something happens to me." Okay, what the fuck!?

    "I'm not sure I follow..." I tried saying, but...

    "Yes you do. Don't worry, I'm not pushing any big responsibility on you, nor am I telling you you're the only candidate available, but it's better to have backup plans in case something goes wrong." I blinked a few times at that...

    "Don't throw me a big bomb like that! I almost had a heart attack! What would you do if Mary took all my savings away!?" He started laughing at it! Laughing! How could he! I'll beat the shit out of this dumb guildmaster! "Ugh... So... In summary, you basically got those guys to a shady meeting in the dead of the night to talk about these things just to give me some experience in handling them? And they all agreed to it? Nice and dandy?"

    "Don't be silly, everyone has more important things to do than tutoring someone that has worked in the guild for years now." Well, thanks for saying how unimportant I am then. "This was just a good opportunity that happened to have decent reason to involve you. The real reason for the meeting is just to have the information pass as little hands as possible... You never know when a curious courier might open a sealed letter. It's easier if there is no registry, and even better if nobody sees it happening." Haa... So they did have some reason to make a shady meeting just for a status update I guess... I still would rather not be involved though! >.<

    We just arrived at the inn's doorstep, so I figured we'd better stop here. "Alright, I got it then, thanks for taking the time to explain it all to me guildmaster." I bowed to him. "I'll be sure to keep quiet about it and let you all handle your stuff from behind the scenes, let's hope everything goes well then, for our own sake~" And for the first time in the night, I finally broke into a smile.

    "Yes... For our own sake. Have a good night, Aria." Leon turned around and started walking away... And so did I, back into the inn...



    Haa... That was a great waste of time. I got inside the room and slumped down into a chair, when I finally thought I could relax though, I heard her meek voice... "Aria... You're back?" I turned towards her... Her eyes were teary... Damn.

    I got up and held her hands. "Sorry Nina, did I wake you up? You should rest... Your sickness won't go away if you don't sleep properly..."

    "Where were you...? I woke up... It was hurting... You weren't here..." She coughed, she seemed so much in pain... Damn it all, why today Leon!?

    "I'm sorry, guildmaster called, it was urgent, but it's okay, I'm here now... I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere..." I tried calming her down... It's so sickening to think I'll need to leave again for work tomorrow...

    "Promise...?" Haa... She looks so much like a child right now... Hard to believe she's already 18... Poor girl...

    "I promise, I'll be right here... So rest assured..." I let go of one of her hands in order to caress her hair a bit... She seemed to relax...

    "Okay... Good night Aria..." It didn't take that long for her to sleep after this... Seems like she's still pretty tired...

    "Good night..." I whispered half to herself and half to me before heaving a sigh... Just what am I supposed to do with her now...? Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to let her sleep in my inn room for now... What am I thinking? I'm just wanting to run away from responsibility...

    Gods damn whoever was the bastard that made a cat sickness that affected a ratgirl... Gods damn these cultists, they should all burn in hell.

    Haa... I shouldn't be having this kind of thoughts... Seems like I'm too tired... I better go sleep.

    I took off my work clothes and put my nightgown back before sitting back on the chair I'm using to sleep now... Then made sure to hold Nina's hand again before starting to doze off... Bless whoever invented work rights and stopped bosses from going into employees homes in the middle of the night for work... And curse whoever stopped those rights from reaching Edhellen... Haa...

    I hope things get better soon...

    Hope you all enjoyed it, we have a few more things planned for this week, so stay tuned~
     
    Arexio, MaliMi, Razogul and 9 others like this.
  17. A5G_Reaper

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

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Messages:
    5,794
    Likes Received:
    49,651
    Reading List:
    Link
    How could Kadania survived so long without metal source or a proper army?

    The answer would be the Woodswraiths that tended to their jungle with religious zeal.


    "Growing nicely, if a bit thin. I'll feed the next generation better once they start seeding."

    A man emptied three bottles of poison into three different pots, each of them had a thin vine starting to grow encircling a bamboo stick. The shortest was twenty centimeters while the longest was at twenty five, but the fact that they grew at all means they're compatible with the poisonous plants he used to nurture their soil.

    He prepared the garden for the eventual moving of the plants, erecting bamboos and tying them into blocky skeletal structures where the future vines would grow. He'd stop needing to provide nutrients at some point considering that the thick sap of the tarvine would be the best fertilizer for its own growth, once he had enough of them. But that time was nowhere close.

    Adding water to the three pots before returning them to the shade, he's thinking about where to gather the native poisonous plants. Surely some herbalist grow it, or otherwise know where to find them? He'd need more than one kind if he's ever to cultivate the Red Grass. If it's even possible at all.
     
    MaliMi and Haxagen like this.
  18. AliceShiki

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

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Messages:
    24,647
    Likes Received:
    98,364
    Reading List:
    Link
  19. SpearOfLies

    SpearOfLies [Lucky Dad][Has a lovely daughter]

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2015
    Messages:
    1,080
    Likes Received:
    12,425
    Reading List:
    Link
    Yihog is a race of proud warrior that has a dark past. They have good affinity with all kind of basic elements of magic but their best element is darkness magic (different from black magic, undead magic and demonic magic). They can use a large variety of weapons with great skills but the tentacles lack the strength to deal meaningful damage without hitting their opponents' weak point.

    While their raw swimming isn't as fast as other aquatic creatures, they acrobatic maneuver in water wasn't second to none, allowing them to be very good at dodging and attacking enemies from their blind spot. On land, their tentacles were their strength and their weakness. Attacking from multiple unpredictable directions can overwhelm easily any enemies but they are also huge slow target that can be as easily take down.


    Yihog can have between 7 to 12 tentacles. At end of growing period, tentacles can range 1 meter up to 3 meters. Having more and longer tentacles aren't better because it requires more time to master various activities and have different drawbacks. Short tentacles are pretty common. They are better for warrior Yihog as they are much easier to control and master. The difference between 7 and 12 short tentacles is just their speed of learning and the abilities cap. Very long tentacles are extremely rare. Tentacles are filled with most their mana circuits which mean the longer are the tentacles, the better attitude to magic they have. The biggest drawback of having long tentacles is being much slower in water and nearly impossible to move on land.


    Yihog tentacles have a very strong regeneration ability. They can grow back from 1 hour to 10 hours. But the back side of it(the part that wasn't used to grab things) is pretty sensible because of mana circuits. It is pretty rude touching this part without permission. Cutting one of the tentacles will cause intense pain to the Yihog. Swim speed will be reduced by 1/3 while magic will be cast 50% slower and 20% weaker.


    Short tentacles are more common for male and long tentacles are more common for female. Very long tentacles (2,5/3 meters) female Yihog was called Matriarchs. The longest tentacle Yihog is called Queen. The King is decided with a tournament between males every 5 years. King and Queen don't have a marriage relationship. They don't hold any real political or military power but they are well respected within the community. They don't have a true hierarchy system. Their civilization is strong but primitive. Magic is free to learn and teach but only Matriarchs learn magic up to masteries. Some of the medium tentacles Yihog tried to master it but always capped to medium magic. None of the short tentacles Yihog bother to learn more than blind and confusion of darkness magic.


    During the dragon era, Yihog was considered a very weak race. Bullied by everyone, they couldn't develop properly. They were treated like slaves and toys. At end of it, most of the races vanished and they could finally prosper. Because of their past, they developed a great sense of justice. They actively offer to patrol neighborhood territories from danger and defend the weaker races from being bullied. Even with a big part of the military outside of their territory, the King, the Queen and the Matriarchs are still very strong protection. They end up as one of most popular sea races.
     
  20. A5G_Reaper

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

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Messages:
    5,794
    Likes Received:
    49,651
    Reading List:
    Link
    "That was quick."

    An amazed gourd inspected a box of soil with three plants in it, one sproutling and two fully grown. It's probably not a herbalist but the taker was quite careful in doing so. And considering that it's fresh enough, probably taken within the day. That he could work with.

    Back to his garden, he planted it in a small cluster at one side. After watering the thing he checked the other plants, which had no visible change from when he left it several hours ago. Well, it would be weird if there was.

    "I suppose that was anticlimatic? I'll see it again tomorrow."
     
    MaliMi and AliceShiki like this.