Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Announcement Hall

"It's thriving properly."

A gourd crouched over his garden, inspecting a new sprout of plant. It's a nightshade planted in soil infused with tarvine saps, and it was growing quite healthily. The coloration was considerably darker, but that's quite a normal occurence to any plants growing in that kind of soil.

"Time for another harvest, hohoho."

It was simple procedure. The original three batches of tarvines were fully grown now, he tore a vertical slit on the main vines and set up containers to gather the sap. It could be used as poison but for now, their primary function is to condition the soil for further expansion of his garden. He only had a tiny patch of the already small garden changed, several different herbs were growing there including more tarvines, the deadly nightshade, as well as some datura. He reckon it'll take about another month before the sap harvest could exceed the consumption, that's when the main and secondary goal could finally be met.

"Soon, soon. I think it's about time to comission more addition to the garden. I'll be too busy to personally gather them..."

 

Spoiler: The Commission

“And so, I want a rapier, Haruna!”

“Don’t use the phrase ‘and so’ when you’ve literally not said anything else yet! Now, what was that? You want a new rapier?”

*Vigorous nodding*

“Well, I have some rapiers ready for sale displayed around here. Give them a few swings, and tell me if you want to buy.”

“No, no, Haruna, I want to directly commission a rapier from you. How much will it cost?”

“Well, it depends on what kind of material you’re using as the base. Still, iron and steel prices aren’t that cheap these days, since we’re recently experienced a shortage...But again, you already have iron rapiers, so are you intending to get an upgrade to steel ones?”

“Not for now, at least. Take a look at this, Haruna. Do you think it’ll be any good?”

Elaine unslung the gigantic tusk on her back, and handed it over to the blacksmith, who immediately begun appraising it.

“Seems solid enough to be used as material. I’ll go and tinker about with it in the forge, maybe I’ll forge something special.”

“Ah, wait. Here.”

A small bottle was placed on the counter, and Haruna raised an eyebrow at it.

“And this is…?”

“Some kind of aromatic oil. If you burn a little, it smells really good and also improves concentration too.”

“Hoh? That’s rather interesting, all right. Thanks a bunch, then?”

Saying thus, the blacksmith retreated deeper into the smithery, and locked the door behind her. Soon afterwards, the sounds of hammering could be heard.

“Well, I guess I’ll drop by again in a few days, then? Wonder what kind of masterpiece Haruna will be able to make.”

 

Spoiler: The Pure White Blade

“Here you go. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but it’s done. Take a look.”

“It’s...woah. This is so perfect. How much do I owe you?”

“Well, I would have asked for 2 silver usually, but since this is the first time I’ve touched ivory, the experience I earned is quite valuable already. Plus, since you supplied the material...1 silver?”

“Alright, here you go~”

Elaine hands over a silver coin.

“Now, you must be curious about the performance, so here. Follow me.”

The two of them left the forge, going out to the large backyard. There were two scarecrows equipped with similar sets of armour. Haruna rapped one of the pauldrons, creating a solid knocking sound.

“These pieces are all created from steel. Here, try piercing them with this regular steel rapier, followed by your new rapier, then tell me what you think.”

“Sure.”

Elaine lifted the steel rapier. It was heavier than her iron rapier, but it definitely sharper. She gave it a few swings to adapt to the increased weight, then lifted it in a strike.

“Ha!”

The rapier pierced the chest plate easily, but stopped just a few inches inside. When she removed it, there was a nasty screeching sound and a slight bit of resistance before the rapier’s blade was extricated from the armour.

“Now try your new rapier on the other armour.”

The first thing she noticed when she picked up the white coloured rapier…

“This is really light. Almost lighter than the iron one, even.”

Like before, she gave the rapier a few swings, and true enough, there was a noticeable increase in the blade’s cutting speed. It felt really light in her hand.

“Hi-yah!”

With a quick pirouette, she twisted and stabbed the mannequin right in the chest, directly over where the human heart would be located. The rapier tip not only managed to breach the chest plate, it stabbed cleanly through the straw in between, and pierced through the back armour as well. Then, with a smooth motion, she whipped out the blade effortlessly.

“Well? What do you think?”

“It’s lighter than iron yet sharper than steel...Also, I love the carved rose pattern on the sword guard! This is perfect! Haruna, I love you so much!”

“Yeah, yeah. Just remember our ongoing deal, okay?”

Spoiler: Notes

Pearly Rose [Morning Bloom]

A rapier commissioned from a elephantine beast’s tusk, carved by a skilled blacksmith. Lighter than iron yet cuts finer than regular steel. Can be further improved with the addition of stronger materials, handled properly by an artisan blacksmith.

 

((At least she didn't test the blade on Elaine ))

 

((somehow I can actually imagine her doing something like that))

 

"Now it's nice and full."

A gourd dusted his hands, barely noticing that the moon was up. His nightvision wasn't all that good, but there's the ambient torchlight from the neighborhood and he knew the garden's layout like the back of his hand so he could work through the night.

He certainly didn't expect all three requests to be completed within the same day. The plants piled up when he checked the guild that evening and thus he had to properly set the environment and replant it as soon as possible. Plants could die from stress, much like animals.

Now the garden's outer circle was mostly filled, ranging from datura to deadly nightshade and the recently added wolfsbane, doll's eye, and poison hemlock. One corner was filled with henbane, but that one's for personal pleasure.

"It's tilled, a few more days of pessmud conditioning before I plant the tarvines. About a month after that, Red Grass. Sure can't wait."

 

Zinc's Experiments - Mutated Chaurus

• Adventurer's Guild: Experiment #1 - The first Chaurus
• Adventurer's Guild: Experiment #2 - Success?
• Adventurer's Guild: Experiment #3 - Tough Runt and Continued Success
• Adventurer's Guild: Experiment #4 - Failure Upon Failure
• Adventurer's Guild: Experiment #5 - Trying Something New
• Adventurer's Guild: Experiment #6 - Mutation
• Adventurer's Guild: Experiment #7 - Arsenic's POV

 

Spoiler: Potion Creation: Part 1

Reading the alchemical book, I had gathered from the angry dwarven man, I began to study how to craft the various potions that were just basic enough for a novice to create.

“It seems I have plenty of supplies for to try making a few Health Potions”, I say as find the passage for them.

____


Health Potion

Description

A potion to cure wounds, the most basic thing people expect from alchemists. Apply it directly to the wound if you want a focused effect, or just make the patient drink it for a spread-out effect throughout the body.

It's one of the easiest potions to make, but it's important to pay attention during the crafting process or you might kill the person you're trying to save with it.

Ingredients

· 3 Blood Lilies

· 1 Fly Amanita cap

· A few petals of a Moonlight Flower

· A vial of water.

Directions

1. Mash the Blood Lilies into a paste in your Mortar and Pestle.

2. Soak the Fly Amanita cap into the paste and start applying your mana to it slowly, it should start absorbing the paste and its tone should start becoming a more vivid red. Continue doing it until all the paste is gone.

3. Mash the Paste soaked Amanita into a new paste. It should be almost melting by this point.

4. Put the Moonlight Flower's petals into the mixture and start adding water. Pour your Mana together with the water and make the entire thing melt into a paste, the petals are there mainly to stabilize the mana flow.

5. Once the water runs out, mix it for about 2 minutes and it should be fine to pull it back into the vial. Seal it and it should be ready for serving.

The potion should have a blood red color tone, if its leaning towards the purple it probably became poisonous, if it became brown it will feel like mud when drinking and might get the person sick.

Even if it still has the right color, the texture should still be mostly liquid, make sure to shake it a bit and see if it's not too thick... Excessive thickness means you failed and it should be thrown out.

It's a simple potion and the side effects are generally not terrible if you drink poorly made ones, but it might just be enough to kill an already wounded person, so make sure to properly check it before trying to sell the potion.

_____

Reading through the directions, it seemed simple enough to attempt despite not listing very specific instructions.

“Let’s go ahead and try this”, I say setting up my alchemical supplies up in a fairly friendly place.

Placing everything onto the table, the mortar and pestle, the 18 Blood Lilies, the 6 Fly Amanita Caps, 3 Moonlight Flowers, a vial of water, and a large bowl to mix it.

Taking one of the Blood Lilies at a time, I began to mash the flowers into a fine paste, making sure to leave no part un-mashed.

Following closely to the instructions, I place the Fly Amanita Cap into the mortar. It quickly begins to absorb the paste as I focus my mana directly at it. I keep the flow steady, trying to use just enough mana to make it absorb the paste.

After around five minutes, the cap had become completely red, all of the paste having been absorbed. I could sense a significant amount of mana inside of it.

I begin to mash the cap with the pestle. A faint bit of bubbling can be seen the more I mashed the cap, and a growing heat could be felt.

Moving the completely mashed paste into the larger bowl, I place four of the Moonlight Flower petals into the paste, while slowly allowing water to enter the mixture, focusing my mana on it as I poured. The water and mana seemed to gather around the Moonlight petals, swirling in the bowl, gathering the paste with it, mixing together without the use of a pestle.

The mixture began to “melt” into a pure substance, which was completely red in color. Following the instructions, I moved the mixture back to the mortar after the water vial emptied, mashing it into a semi-liquid state.

Pouring the mixture into a vial, I pour more mana into the potion, turning it into a mostly pure liquid state.

“I think I succeeded”, I said with a sigh, looking at the remaining supplies, “I should have more than enough mana to make five more”, and with that I went to work.

____


Having successfully made all six potions, I sigh with exhaustion as my mana is mostly depleted.

“It seems I may have a talent for this”, I say joking to myself.

The tiny flame spirit and Stella seem to be dancing with each other when I turned to look at them. They notice my gaze and stop moving, which causes me to laugh.

“Oh well”, I say with a stretch, “Lets go see if any adventurers want to buy these first”, and with that I leave for the Tavern.

 

Spoiler: The Cursed Oni - Rei's week-long cultivation

After completing the request of saving the small raccoonkin girl from bullying, I felt it was time I focused on my training.
I told Aria that I wouldn't be around for a while because of personal matters, and head towards the "dancing mace" inn I am lodging at.
At the inn, I paid upfront for 7 days and asked the innkeeper to not let anyone disturb me in my room except for meal times.
For the next 7 days I am planning on meditating and cultivating my Ki reserves and path.

First day -
I have woken up a small time before sunrise and performed my daily morning drills.
I cleaned my body at the washing area before joining the rest of the costumers at breakfast.
Afterwards, I entered my room, locked it, and began cultivating on the floor.
Before I can create and use any large Ki arts I first must increase Ki reserve's upper limit.
By the time lunch was ready, I had cultivated enough to increase my upper limit enough to cover my whole body with a thin layer of Ki for a couple minutes, which grants me a small boost in defensive power.
It was enough to block a blunt strike like a fist or a kick, but useless against any weapons.
Good thing I had my chainmail.
Lunch was a delicious, venison stew. Yum.
I continued to cultivate through the second half of the day until dinner.
Now I had enough reserves to make the layer of Ki thicker and last an hour.
I went to clean myself again in order to go to sleep.
I accidentally went into the male side though and surprised Bryan, who froze in place with a face so red it was like a tomato and a towel covering his hips.
After deeply apologizing I left and went into the female side while feeling relief it was only Bryan in there.
I may have been a male before but it is different now, I am not so stubborn and stupid to think it was fine to show my current body in front of men....... Eh? what about Bryan? He is just a kid, so there is nothing to worry about.
After finishing to clean myself, I returned to my room and went to sleep.

Day 2-
Same as yesterday, I performed my morning routine and ate breakfast.
As my cultivation progressed and Ki reserved increased I now have enough Ki to cover my whole body with a layer of considerable thickness.

Day 3-
My Ki reserves are now sufficiently large to perform low level arts, Of course I have no intention of stopping to grow it.
It is time for control training.
At the end of the day I was now capable of controlling the thickness of the protective layer in different locations, however, the transfer of Ki from one spot to another was still clumsy and slow.

Day4-
I can now fully control the protective layer to cover where ever I want, and how I want.
I can now proceed to the next stage, the arts.
Each Ki user has different arts according to their affinities and personality.
My former path was that of a powerful all-around enhancer, I most likely have the same attribute again but this time it might be better for me to focus on speed instead.
Not long afterward, I was successful at activating a basic physical enhancement.
When I finishing training I went to the washing area and noticed that certain parts of my new biology were a little bit bigger than before.
At this rate I might need to visit the tailor again soon....... is it the meals?

Day 5-
When I talked to the innkeeper at breakfast she looked at me part shocked, part amused, and part with pity.
She pointed to the small jar of milk I have been drinking as part of the breakfast set each day and told me THIS was the reason for my "growth".
In today's cultivations, I was able to progress my physical enhancement to a level suitable to use in a fight as well as incorporate the defensive layer into it at the same time.
Next, I tried practicing an old trick I learned from my master.
By spreading my Ki into the space around me I can sense the presence of other beings who touch it, the range is directly proportional to my Ki reserves.
Incidentally, when I used it, I noticed someone pacing in front of my door and seemed to be wavering on whether to knock or not.
By their body size and other factors, I could determine it was Bryan.
Shortly afterward he left the corridor. What did he want? Oh well, if it was REALLY important he would have knocked without hesitating

Day 6 -
During today's cultivating I noticed something was different.
I felt two different types of energies I haven't felt before in my body.
After multiple attempts to bring them out, and to my surprise I found out I now have the attributes to use Fire Ki arts and Lightning Ki arts.
However, they couldn't be used together at the same time.
I spent the rest of the day training to gain control over my new found might.
By evening I had full control of them but I also found out I couldn't make them leave my body.
by the way, I was scolded by the innkeeper because she could smell the fire and smoke coming from my room.
I now have to use the empty corner of the backyard near the well when I want to practice my flame arts.

Day 7-
During my training with flame arts and lightning arts, I found out I could use them together with the physical enhancement to give it a big boost in either power or speed, depending on the element.
With the flame enhancement, I gained more power and durability, while with the lightning enhancement I gained more speed and piercing ability.
I spent the first half of the day on practicing my martial arts while using flame and lightning enhancement in turns.
It took some time to get used to the changes but now I had new combinations I could use in battle.
After lunch (which was very tasty as usual, thank you very much bear-kin cuisine!) I headed out to buy some adventuring supplies, like preserved rations, and a waist pouch.
While climbing into bed after cleaning myself I decided that tomarrow I will go to the guild and take a quest.
Thus my week long training (shut-in) arc was concluded.

 

Spoiler: Sword Training

Exiting Nagrand, I wander around into the surrounding woods, after leaving the calico cat with the Barkeep for a time.

Finding a clearing on the snow covered ground, I unsheathe the sword at my side.

"So, you are sentient, no?", I ask looking directly at the steel longsword.

"...", silence fills the area, no sound can be heard, not even the chirping of birds.

"You spoke to that child", I say not wavering in my actions, "What was your intention?"

"To train", a voice whispered into my ear, causing a chill to go down my spine.

"Why did you want to train him?", I ask trying to hide the fact that the whisper unnerved me.

"To make stronger", the voice said when speaking again,

"And for what purpose did you do that?", I ask the sword.

A black energy began to gather around the sword like a mist. It slowly begins to move up my arms, creeping up towards me. Not flinching, I begin to gather my own mana, pushing back against the black mist.

"You never answered my question", I say keeping a straight face, seemingly unmoved.

"...", the sword does not reply. Instead the dark energy begins to grow more numerous, as if its trying to corrupt me.

"So this is what you were training him for then", I say focusing more of my power to counteract the sword, "To be strong enough for him to use you"

"...", no reply again, but the black energy weakens, eventually resending back into the sword.

"Well luckily for you", I say holding the sword in a stance, "I happen to need to get stronger, even if it means having to deal with your curse", I swing the sword in a 'training pose', slipping slightly but catching myself, "So lets get along Mr. ?"

"Night Lily", the sword replied.

"Nice to meet you", Vandrin says holding it near his face again, "I am Vandrin, and you are going to teach me swordsmanship", I said begin to swing again.

Spending the next two hours or so swinging the sword, with advice from Lily coming in about my posture and grip, I managed to feel more comfortable with the weapon, if only slightly.

 

Spoiler: Offering

Honestly, he didn’t know where this tradition came from some people said it came from the desire the older generation had to prevent their loved ones from turning into undead while others claimed that it all stemmed from a tradition lost long ago. Whatever was the case, it was one both he and the others in slums used to honor their fallen.

Propping the firewood the best he could in the alleyway. He started the fire, with the embers moving across the air like they were all in a daze. He moved forward and dropped the snacks he bought from the festival into the fire.

“Sorry it took me so long to call y'all guys again, a lot of things happened after you guys disappeared.”

Bitterly chuckling, he shook his head and muttered, “Through, Leon I have to give you credit. You were right about the guild kicking me out. After all, I was always the greedy one in our group. It’s just a shame I couldn’t get more money out of them before leaving.”

Lighting up, he said, “Though you guys this new place I moved to is pretty interesting I wasted most of my money on my way here but they have all sorts of stuff the bards in the bar never told us about, walking Gourds, flying cats, and even dinosaurs!!!”

“Though, I’m not stable enough to get you guys something interesting from here yet. I’ll be sure to grab ya guys something nice once I get the hang of this adventuring thing. Hell maybe once I’m done I’ll get us all proper graves for once. Look forward to that~ I’ll be sure to get one for you guys one day. Just make sure to keep some room for me up there once my luck runs out. Anyways se-”

Cutting him off, screams and explosions coming the festival echoed across town. Pulling out his water skin he murmured “Well, Leon it seems I might be meeting up with y’all guys faster than I expected.” before he doused the fire and headed the source of the chaos.

 

Spoiler: ”Something changed.”

As always, meaningful stories only happen at night.
As always, after the day passed, the half-elf returned to the campfire, meeting with his close ones, people he would be unable to leave no matter what he did. The bonds formed with each other might be tense, but they would never break, can you change blood ties you have with people? Of course not, can you change the past?
Of course not, time simply goes forward, it can only go forward and never anywhere else. You can not come back, never ever. Every night is different, they just seem to be the same when they never are, because one thing changed, time. time changed. It is not the same.

Sometimes, people notices a chance, sometimes, they don’t.
As always, Cinis came back, with an horse that was completely ignored, at the very least, they still fed it, but this time, even after dinner, Liya and Aelia did not go to sleep, they both seemed troubled as they stared at the adventurer who felt quite perplexed before understanding what was going on. Hornety stayed on the sidelines and smiled awkwardly, as if she knew what was going on.

“Cinis, we need to talk.”, immediately, when Liya began to talk and called him ‘Cinis’, the half-elf’s eyes became colder and sharper, as if he was upset that Liya called him Cinis which is quite odd considering how close they are supposed to be. Something was wrong, it seemed that he was putting a certain distance with both of them.

“I refuse, you can not do that.”, there was something behind the scenes, since the adventurer didn’t even hear what he said, no, he already knew what he would be speaking about if he wished to hear and listen him. It was not the first time.
Calmly, Aelia intervened and said in a impudent tone, disrespecting the fool in front of her.
“Cinis, I will be honest. You are never here, in one day, we could be gone. And you, would be left alone, with nobody at your sides. You won’t be able to find us as well, then, tell me, can you really refuse?”

Once again, Cinis became quiet, he stood up and stared at the both of them, simply repeating what he said already so many times.
“I said, that you can not do that. I can not allow you to do that.”, everything was foggy to Hornety, she did not understand anything in this talk, do what? What is the topic of this conversation? What was the thing they were circling around?

“We are tired and sick of this, give me a proper reason to why would it be a problem for us to go in the city. Until now, we respect your wishes, however, we are tired of it, we can’t continue this way any longer. At the moment, I just want to punch you.”, Liya took back the initiative and showed how much he despised the current situation, even if his face seemed to stay cold and expressionless, he was furious, they were tired.

“Do I need to justify myself? We escaped, I saved you. If I did not do what I needed to do, we would be dead, no, it would be worse of course, isn’t it?”, using rhetorics, Liya sighed and removed his coat, rubbed his hands and clenched his fists, so it comes to this.
“I am tired, your last words before getting wrecked? Or perhaps give me reason that will make me be softer.”, no matter what he said, it looks like, no matter the case, his bones will crack.

“Alright, if you leave, they will find you, as long as you are hidden, they will not come out, they will not attempt murder on us. They will not try to kill us. You know how powerful they are, you know that if it happens, we will be screwed up. Until then, I need to become stronger, and stronger, until none of us will be in danger.”, again, it was an issue, he only thought about himself. The problem was that he did not realize that he was weaker, that he should not be the one wandering outside, his leg was crippled, he was an easy target, he could die so easily, however, he was still the one.

“I see. That is one more reason for me to beat you up.”
Seeing this, Aelia sighed and put her right hand on her eyes and then put her left hands on Hornety’s eyes, it was not going to be a pretty sight. At the very least, it was clear as for why it is happening to Hornety. She asked her just in case.

“Are you pursued and Cinis don’t want you to leave the forest?”, it was exactly this, Aelia whispered so low that she could not hear her however she knew that she was not denying what she asked.


“Alright, are you ready?”, slowly removing his coat, Cinis sighed. If only it would rain, at the very least, they would need to stop. However, his hopes were deceived as, before he could finish preparing himself, removing all of his equipments, a punch met his left cheek. Getting threw away on the ground so swiftly, flustered and furious, he did not say a word and simply removed everything, throwing away every weapons he had, to avoid anything that could hinder him in this fight.

Rolling sideways in the dirt, he avoided by a feet a kick that could have killed me if he stayed still, he succeed at getting back on his feet, however, as soon as he saw Liya, another punch arrived, brushing his ribs, instead of avoiding a second hit that will probably arrive, his left fist crushed into Liya’s face.
As expected, a crushed nose will not make him back down. Holding the arm that almost broke his ribs by folding his arm, his left leg lifted and aimed at his comrade’s right side, as he had no choices but to take the kick, Liya decided to tackle Cinis on the ground and to hit his crippled leg with his elbow that would be locked if he did not tackle him.

“Erk!”, a sound escaped Cinis’ mouth as his left knee lightly hit his opponent’s throat, then, as he needed to breath, he backed down, but before he could leave, Cinis’ left foot strike Liya’s head who immediately leaked a bit of blood at this blunt blow.
Both of them were ten feet away from each other, they were staring at each other, Cinis’ scars on his left legs reopened and blood began to plentifully escape his body.

“Tsk tsk, luckily for you, I am a cripple, you ungrateful bastard.”, the half-elf began to curse at his current and temporary enemy who replied on a sarcastic tone.
“How funny, we are both.”, then, they went at it once again. Cinis could not take the initiative as he could not use his right leg to struggle, he could only defend and ripost which was basically what he was best at.
Using first his fist to hit him, it was deflected by the half-elf’s left palm, nevertheless, slipping away from his palm, he caught his wrist and planned to pull this body into his second fist which would be harder to avoid. Quickly understanding this action, instead of trying to escape his grasp, he would only charge, using his left feet to literally jump on his comrade, to beat him.

Knowing each other’s way of fightings since years, instinctively, Liya released his arm and rolled sideway, avoiding Cinis who then had trouble with the landing. Since after all, landing without a leg and trying to stay stable should be rather hard.
Without waiting for him to be stable, Liya rushed him and bashed him with his shoulder when he just got back on his feet, falling backward and feeling his right clavicle crack as more and more blood began to flee. Slowly but surely, he felt weaker, that was really inconvenient like this. How could he win this… it’s impossible to call this a fight, it is a struggle, Liya could simply wait for him to fall unconscious. Right, why was not he doing this?

“Cinis, you would lose no matter what. As I said many times, you are weaker, sure, if you were healed… but you are not. On top of that, you are stronger when you use no weapons, and I am stronger when I use one, so if you were healed, if we used weapons, you would still lose. You should just wake up from your slumber one day.”, since the very start, Liya never realized that on top of still having a crippled legs, some of his bones were already broken which made all of his movements clumsy. However, it should be admitted that whether these were broken or not, Cinis would have fought in the same manner, and lost in the same manner, the fight would simply has been longer than that. Perhaps a little dozen of minutes, perhaps two instead of a few minutes that elapsed rather quickly.

“Don’t you dare leave, you will regret it.”, was it a threat or a warning? None knew at that moment, and none cared as well. While Cinis was away, Hornety heard plenty of things but still found the situation rather pitiable, despite everything, she did not understand why the half-elf did not wish them to go with him, why he wanted to be alone but with them at the same time. Liya and Aelia both understood but they did not agree.

‘We understand but we disagree.’, it was as simple as this, then, the three of them turned back, his siblings did not hesitate a second while Hornety looked at Cinis then at the two who left. For almost a minute, she did not know what to do, but in the end, she left as well, letting some words slip.

“You shouldn’t imprison people like this..”
Imprison? He was not doing this, he fre-... afterwards, he began to think over her words, was he locking them up in a way? And then, she left as well, the only one that was left was an horse, better than nobody he supposed. He laid down on the ground and forced a laughter, each time his chest convulsed, he could feel pain all over his body through his cracked bones and bruises he got, he raised his fist and let it descend, hitting the ground, deeping into the dirt.

“HAAA!”, he could not word anything, he could simply shout, scream until his lungs can’t hold on, each time a scream echoed, his fist tightened, his nails pierced into his skin deeper and deeper, and his hand dug into the ground once again, and again, and again, and again…
He knew that staying like this was useless, but, what else could he do? Chasing them? Begging them? No, on top of that his pride will not allow him to do something like this, they will not listen to him, they would only did what they just did.
Beat him, beat him until there is nothing left, until there is nothing more than a pile of flesh which is dead inside.

“...”, what could he do? For sure, it was not too late, but where could he go? To the Adventurers Guild? Do quests. Why ? He did not know, but that was the only thing he has left. After all, he was an adventurer.
If he did not know what to do… he will just have to go along with the flow. One day, he hoped that they will come back, that they won’t be in danger.
However, he did not have much hope of course.

After all, will he be there? Will he be waiting?
No, he can not wait. That is impossible for him to wait, it will only terrify further and further, sowing deeply in him a seed of mistrust.
He will not be there. He will be gone, just like them.

OOC: Alright! I am soon finished with fixing my timeline, just need the quest and getting to Mary and everything's done~
Anyway, Cinis is thus homeless, not something unusual I suppose. Here goes 2K words~

 

Spoiler: Dream

"Hmm? What-" a wave of drowsiness flooded through him, washing through a sore spot he never knew he had. Could he resist? Probably. But it felt so nostalgically comfortable. When was the last time he truly slept?

Way too long indeed.

Against his better judgment, he allowed himself to fall. The gourd slowly slumped back against the wall, still safe from the rhythmical rise of his chest.

*****

It's an unique experience, having your normal vision overlapping with watching yourself from third person. Nostalgic too, seeing the lithe young man sharing a hold with rats and crates. The man stood up, examining his arms, touching his face. A pristine buckler was strapped to his left arm, barely the size of a dinner plate, while a worn old dagger snugly sit on its sheath. The scar on his face was gone, and with it his left eye also returned.

He is the Wraith of Askaria, bane of Kings. The blood of highborn stained his hands, and yet despite all that glory, he was homesick like any other man.

"This is where it began, I suppose."

He slowly trotted forward. The pounding of storm muffled by the thick hull and the constant swaying of the ship was the background of his walk, alongside a distant sounds of blade clashing. The Royal Guards were chosen from the most skilled and experienced soldiers, and they bled the marauders badly, however they were outnumbered and out of their element in a fight against sea marauders. And amidst the conflict a lone assassin strolled, walking past most of the fight with occasional dagger flashing to reap lives.

The ship was impossibly long, like an endless corridors filled with mortal combats. The man slowly evolved as he walked - his dagger turned into a military pike, the buckler vanishing. Then it morphed into an arming sword with a large round shield to match, followed by his leather armor growing into chain mail. A crossbow found its way to a secondary sheath, before rapidly turning into a flintlock. The change went faster as he started to engage more instead of avoiding the combats, long trail of corpse decorated his wake be it the guards or the marauder. Once he wield a great hammer of black iron longer than his own height, crushing with impunity even the steel-clad guards. It shrunk into a segmented sword that exploded outward into serrated, bladed whip, lashing a deathly dance like the venomous insect it's named after. Then it was a gigantic axe that whispered sweet murder, cleaving with impunity everything on his path. His armor slowly grew thicker and fuller, until it stopped at the elegant iron plate with flowing black cape adorning his back. The final weapon took shape in a jet-black triangular blade that tapered extremely toward its tip, as thin and sharp as it was deceptively lightweight. On his left was a heavy kite shield of black iron and bordered with gold, a relief of a solemn ash tree graced its surface. A rather long pistol sat gracefully in his sheath, layers of blessed silver gracing its barrel. And finally, a peculiar gourd materialized atop of his head.

With that, he stepped out into the deck. A rumble was muffled by the pounding rain as the whole ship shook. There was a great behemoth on the deck, sending splinters flying as it slammed onto the ship with its massive weight.

With a manic grin on his face, the man stepped forward-

-someone touched him.

And abruptly woken up when a looter tried to relieve his pouch.

"Oh you motherfucker-"

 

New Quest batch is live, everyone~

Spoiler: Member List

Staffs:
@BB_Tensei @Naraku @Nurman @Quaesitor @shad12ow @Way
D-ranks:
@A5G_Reaper @Haxagen @Razogul
E-ranks:
@Adrian160596 @Alcor @Amayah @Aqua Melodia @Arcturus @Arexio @Blackwater @Blitz @Clown333 @Daisydacrazy @Drevart @Ejsarv @Exitiumm @Fossil @Fr0stb1te @FuRen @Haitaka @Harem_lover @Hirame @jbturkle @Kuma Desu @Kysil @kyuukestu @leegood @MaliMi @michael.kx5 @MrAconter @MvD @Nahrenne @nguuuquaaa @Osamaru @Otaku108 @Paradox Ribbon @Silver Snake @Skulkie @Soremad @SpearOfLies @strikegunner @The Everdistant Utopia @TiggerBane @Unreachable Hope @WhitesRabbit48 @wraith @Zek @Zero300 @Zone Q11

Have fun~

And like always, poke me if you don't want to be tagged by those announcements anymore~

 

Spoiler: Talking with a Stranger (Part 2)

Previous Event
--- --- ---
"Er... Could you please explain?" the former farmer confusedly asked.
"You said you were poor. I am an Adventurer, I can cover your expenses. I am good at one-to-one battles, but I still need support when it comes to group battles. I want to hire you."
"But sir, you know that I lack the skills to--"
"I am not asking you to fight. I am asking for your support. Carrying luggage, helping me with non-combat-related quests, throwing items to distract the enemy. Such tasks is what I am asking of you."

"Er..." In truth, this was a rather odd scene. The Adventurer in front of him is a stranger, who happened to pull out an orc hiding in a barrel. There was nothing that forces the orc to help him. The orc had not committed any crimes yet. In fact, he could even rob the barbarian and make him his first victim if the time was right.
However, where would that lead him? Escaping to another town might work for a couple of years, but surely he will be found eventually. Then there is the fact that this orc is too kind to rob a man. His attempt during the attack was only done because of desperation, not kleptomania.

The Adventurer in front of him is offering a poor orc a job. It is highly unlikely that all Adventurers are willing to hire a nobody orc. Thus, after a few minutes of silence, the orc opened his mouth and said: "Very well. I will work for you."
"Good. Very good. I am happy."
"By the way, why did you choose me?"
"Hm? Oh, that. Actually, it did not matter who I was going to find. Be it a half-beast girl or a radical cultist survivor, I will ask them the same question ((about the cultist attack situation)) and if they agree with me, then I will hire them as well. I just need a partner, and you happened to be the first one I found."
The orc was shocked, and immediately felt conflicted. He regretted for working for his new employer, but he also felt relieved that he was the "lucky" person to get hired.

"By the way, my name is Zoan. Human Barbarian," he said as he extends his hand for a handshake. "Ah, right. My name is Herst. Orc Former Farmer," the orc said as he shook his hand with his employer.

 

Spoiler: Dancing Under the Moon

“So, why have you dragged me here? I should be drinking at this hour, so you better have a good reason.” - M

“Well, since you said you’ll fulfil any one of my requests, I was thinking of asking you to teach me to dance.”

The wolfkin held the side of her head in exasperation.

“...Wait a minute. When you say dance, you don’t mean ballroom dancing, that type of dance, do you?” - M

“Yep.”

“You could have asked me to train you in Ki or martial arts. Or asked me to teach you magic. Or requested one of the items from my old treasury. And instead you asked me to teach you to dance.” - M

“Yep.”

“Ask me for arms. Or armour. Or an actually useful skill. Giving or teaching those are easy. But instead you want to learn how to dance. Seriously, it’s not everyday that I offer to go dig up one of my old stashes, you know? If you really insist on learning how to dance, I’ll give you a lesson, but even if you fail to learn, I’ll still count it as having held my end of the promise, understood?” - M

“Yep.”

“...And yet you still persist. This is why humans are so...Nevermind. So many decades, and I still am incapable of determining what makes you humans tick. Very well, since you requested thus, so it shall be.” - M
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Okay, stop. This isn’t working.” - M

After watching the younger girl trip up a few dozen times over a simple sequence, Mika was beginning to develop a headache, and thus clapped her hands together a few times, stopping the practice.

“First of all, it’s not a problem with keeping up. You adapted to the song pretty quickly; no, the issue was with your footwork. What happened?” - M

“Well, something about it felt off...Like, I couldn’t perform the parts which required actual interaction between dancers, since I didn’t know how it was done…”

“Actual interactions…? Ah, I understand. It was a miscalculation on my part to have you practice like that. It’s pretty late, so let’s head back for today. I’ll prepare something when we have our next lesson tomorrow night.” - M

“Next lesson? I thought you were only going to give me a single lesson...Thank you!”

“It’s the student’s fault if the teacher taught everything, but the student failed to learn. It’s the teacher’s fault if they were unable to teach properly. Making up for my earlier mistake is only natural.” - M
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Apologies for being late." - M

“No, I just arrived a few minutes ago myself---?! What are you wearing?”

Mika was, surprisingly, all decked up in formal attire. Attire for guys, that is. Down to the last button on her brightly polished shoes.

“Here, put this on.” - M

Elaine caught the items that were thrown her way; looking closely, it was a set of black dress, black socks, and black shoes.

“You’re giving this to me?”

“You wish. I’ll be taking it back after the lesson is over, so don’t get it too dirty. Now, hurry and change into it. We don’t have all night.” - M

“Wa-Wait a minute! Where am I supposed to change? We’re in the middle of the grasslands!”

Forget houses; there wasn’t a single shrub in the immediate vicinity, not to say a tree. It was just the grass, the stars, and the two of them.

“Just change here. There’s no one around to see.” - M

“B-But…!”

“For goodness sake, we’re both girls, aren’t we? There isn’t really much to hide here. Plus, I already saw what I needed to see the last time round...plus a lot more, too. Ahem. Anyway, if you really feel that embarrassed, I’ll turn around.” - M

Elaine wanted to question further, but her instincts told her that she would only be at a greater loss if she truly continued that line of conversation, and thus huffily begun changing her clothes.

Meanwhile, a certain beastkin was trying not to turn around, as small mumbles of complaint could be heard from behind her.

“What kind of dance makes people maneuver in such difficult footwear, seriously. It’s so high off the ground, and ridiculously unstable…”

“Oi, are you done?” - M

“Give me more time! This dress is so damned frilly and long, I’m not sure how people even move around in---Kyaaa?!”

“You alright---No, you’re not. How did you even put the dress on to make you end up in such a position...Pffft.” - M

“Oi, don’t just stand there laughing, come help me! Don’t look, but help me!”

“That’s an impossible request…” - M
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I have this. A Record Dial, they call it. It can store sounds of any kind, including songs. They used to belong to a rather close friend...Forget it. Are you ready?” - M

“I-I guess.”

“Well then, after you.” - M

Mika held out a hand. Elaine, though flustered, took it naturally.

“Wait, isn’t this beat from an entirely new song---Ah!”

The day we met,
Frozen I held my breath
Right from the start
I knew that I'd found a home for my heart
Beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall
But watching you stand alone?
All of my doubt...suddenly goes away somehow...

To Elaine’s astonishment, she didn’t get left behind by the unfamiliar beat. Mika’s superior dancing skills compensated enough for both of them as she led Elaine around in a circle. And there was another thing, too; the wolf beastkin was singing along softly.

One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more.

Under the soft illumination, the fabric of the suit glimmered, as if it had been dipped in a layer of pure moonlight. It wasn’t enchanted cloth, not even particularly expensive cloth, but to the young girl, it might as well have been so.

Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this.

There was no audience, no fanfare and no grand stage, but she preferred it this way. It was a little world for only the two of them...Wait, what was she thinking about again?

One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more.

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more.
I'll love you for a thousand more
Ohh.

She could see that her dance partner was mumbling over the words now, but Elaine kept silent about it.

One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more.

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more.

As the song finished, so did the dance; the wolfkin was the first to let go. Stiffly.

“How was it? Do you have the hang of it now?” - M

“Yes. It feels more natural now when I dance.”

“Then we are done here. Give those back to me.” - M

The span of time that Elaine took to change back into her own clothes was completely draped in silence. Neither made any attempts to speak until the former held out the borrowed clothes to the latter.

“You know, if you have something frustrating you, you can always let it out. I don’t mind listening.”

Abruptly, Mika snatched the clothes away, and turned around such that her back was facing the young girl.

“Don’t assume. I’m not frustrated.” - M

Elaine approached from behind and turned her around, forcing Mika to face her head on.

“You are upset.”

“Shut up, mortal. I may be reduced to this pitiful mess now, but I was once great, too. I have witnessed much, and will continue to see more. One such as I does not get upset over a trifle matter so easily.” - M

“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re moody right now.”

With a few deft moves, the wolfkin had the girl pinned against the floor, her canines showing in a feral snarl.

“I could kill you right here and right now, and no one would know about it. Being an adventurer has very high casualty rates, and we both know that fact. Not many people would question the death of a little girl who wandered out of town at night, chasing after a well-known drunkard. Assuming they’ll even find your body, that is.” - M

“Do it, then.”

“......” - M

Slowly, Mika got up, and dusted herself off, turning to leave. Dropping a few words as she did so.

“...The bravest are often the first ones to die, kiddo. Remember that.” - M

And then, she vanished, right as the full moon completely disappeared behind a cloud.

 

Spoiler: The cursed Oni SS - Negotiation

Rei left the guild, still fully covered in a hooded robe.
After a short walk she arrives at the tavern.
Rei opened the doors and entered inside the tavern.
While the chats and loud voices didn't stop, she could feel several wary gazes land on her.
Obviously because of her suspicious attire.
Rei went to the bar and talked to the Bartender.
"Hello Bill, do you happen to know where can I find Vandarin?"

Have been told by Bill that he didn't know who Vandarin was or where she could find him Rei was about to go search for him in the guild's alchemy lab, when she heard the tavern door open and soon enough she saw Vandarin ion the flesh walk towards the Bar and start to chat with another barkeeper.
Looking at Bill for a second, she pointed at Vandarin and said "That's him".
Suddenly a very mischievous thought made it to her head.
She turned towards bill and said "Go give him a mug of dwarven brandy. Tell him it's from me, his 'Golem friend'."
Rei chuckled a bit as she watched Bill do as she instructed, albeit with a raised eyebrow.

Rei was somewhat impressed, not many could just simply chug down a mug of dwarven brandy.
She was tempted to invite Vandarin to a drinking contest but decided to refrain.
She was about to go on a job and she needed him mostly sober for the upcoming discussion.

Jumping off the chair near the Bar, she approached Vandalin and while making sure nobody else was looking their way she took off her hood.
"How are you Van? Haven't seen you since the Golem incident at the festival. Do you recognize me?"

"Yes, I am glad you remember me.
The matter if fact is...I need a favour"
Rei unraveled some of the bandages covering her arm, showing the damage done to it from the portal.
"I heard you make healing potions"

Rei's eyes followed the potion desperately for a short moment before turning back to Vandarin.
"I see, no wonder you posted those quests for materials. I undertook one of them myself.
But, back to the matter at hanud. I won't ask you to give me the potion for free, but could I pay for it in something other than coins? Like an unconditional favor or hand-to-hand lessons perhaps?"

"Of course. Whenever you need my favor, visit the "Dancing mace" inn, even if I am not there at the time you can leave a message for me with the innkeeper or her son.......I hope you don't mind Bear-kins?"
Rei said as she nods.

A dungeon? Is that what he is gonna ask of her?
"Hoooo? Sounds Interestin, Count me in"
Oh, she got sidetracked again.
Quick, before she forgets.
"By the way, I took the quest about moon flowers and tree sap. I mostly understand about moon flowers from reading the library.......what is with that look that says "A muscle head who reads?!" on your face?!......Anyway, I wanted to know what kind of tree sap you wanted. Would any tree from the forest suffice?"

"I see...noted.
Well then, thank you Van. I am looking forward to working together with you later"
Rei took the potion off the table and drank it, the effects were quick to arrive.
Feeling a strange ticking sensation down her injured arm, she undid the bandages covering her hand and watched as her injuries healed themselves away right before her eyes.
She flashed Van a grateful smile, and then she covered herself with the hood once more and left the tavern.

 

Spoiler: Workshop - Part 1

Sol arrived at the workshop. It looks like the previous owner was something like an alchemist. The smell was a bit weird and there were burn marks everywhere. He probably left because the animals keep messing up his experiments. Unfortunately, he didn't leave behind any tools, just junks. The only thing Sol found was a bloom.
"I guess the previous owner give up on cleaning his own mess." Sol started to clean and throw away the useless stuff.

It took more than half a day to clean that mess. He left the burn parts untouched as he didn't have the materials to repair it. The workshop wasn't too small. It was big enough to do safely any experiments he wants. For the actually dangerous ones, he could just do them outside. He still needs to do some repairs to make it a proper workshop but he lacks the resources to do so. Money was hard to earn for an adventurer.
"I guess I need to do something for the animals." Sol started to cut woods to make wooden stakes.

 

Reserved.

 

Spoiler: Getting healed, more or less

Getting into the room, Cinis was quite surprised when he saw Mary, she was a bit smaller than he expected, she was… an angel, literally, she had wings, it made him feel quite weird. The half-elf wanted to ask something to her, about gods, but his mouth quickly shut, no, she might not even be related to gods, and if she was, she would not be down here for any reason, would she? He did not know how to begin the conversation as he was first mesmerized by her appearance, it was not something you could see every day after all, unless you were some higher being.
It was how it is. After seeing that her gaze was directed toward him, a sigh escaped his mouth as he presented himself to Mary on an unexpected polite tone.

“I am named Cinis Pretium Lorem, Cinis P. Lorem. I have come to seek healing.”, perhaps that was a bit too much, he thought as he made himself feel weirded out, he should talk like he usually does, no, yes, no… he did not know how to speak properly, how should he act, naturally, politely… it was strange and unique to be confused in such a way for him, he did not understand how, but it was strange really strange. As she was going to talk, Cinis, unfortunately, continued and exposed more precisely his injuries.

“Apologies for being vague, I have broken bones in my left arm and left leg, while my right leg is partially crippled, as in, I can not run with it, I can only decently walk with a wooden cane. Do I need to undress or is it fine if I stay clothed?”, Cinis asked after showing the different injuries he suffered from by pointing at them with his index.

“Mhm, my name is Mary, don't worry, I will try my best to heal as much as I can despite my small mana pool. You will be up in no time.”

She seemed a bit childish, fortunately, she didn't mind his attitude or so he thought. Afterwards, without waiting, she proceeded to the healing. Unlike the Ophelia's Sisters, Mary did not seem to use Nature Magic which was expected as she was an angel, Cinis thought about the rumors he heard about her, none of them were concrete, as in, they were just theories with no heads nor tails. He wanted to ask, but, he should only take care of his business, isn't it?

It shined, the spell she used had immediate effect, he could feel his bones getting back together, he could no longer feel the pain of moving your arms, neither could he feel his muscles getting stiff due to a lack of movements, he felt glad, then, something happened, his leg. The sensation of his blood on the verge of leaking, of flowing out his body faded as well, before thanking her, he stood up and walked in circles, it was a bit stiff but he did not need his wooden cane. As well that it seems that it has not been completely cured, there was still a slight feeling of pain once he wished to run quickly.

“Thank you very much, it is far more than enough.”, as expected of the angel he should say. It was almost a perfect healing, as well that his handicap disappeared. He could walk properly. Run with difficulty but it we still fine.

“Every of your bones seemed to be in the good position for a perfect healing, so it helped me save up my mana, so I could heal your right leg… but it was a bit worse than expected, so I couldn't heal everything, unfortunately, I am unable to do more than that unless you want to come a second time once my mana pool is filled once again.”, it was already far more than enough, Cinis smiled and nodded to her with a smile. It was enough, he stayed sat and then wondered about how much to pay, so he waited for the Fallen Angel to speak.

As he did not know how much he should pay, he waited for the Fallen Angel to announce the price for his treatment. The half-elf meanwhile, was beginning to take some dozens of large copper coins.

“Well, so, the fee, the donation to the church should be of at least…”, before she could finish to talk, the adventurer just gave her twenty-two Large Copper Coins.

“Is it above the minimum?”, seeing the money, Maria nodded and simply looked at the half-elf who sighed in relief and thought that he evaluated well the situation.
“That’s perfect then, and well… hopefully, let’s not meet again.”, on a playful tone and words, fortunately, it seemed that Mary didn’t misunderstand what he meant.
“Yes, let’s not meet again.”, hearing her words, Cinis left with a smile, it has been a while since he spontaneously felt this comfortable, being able to walk properly without issues, was it no basically a dream for him? Yes it was, it was a dream.

‘Thank you.’

OOC: And done, done done, finally fixed with that timeline, now need to link it
And everything's perfect, I can go to sleep in peace.
(Okay, maybe not. Not gonna lie to myself.)