Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Announcement Hall

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

  1. Haxagen

    Haxagen Fallen's|Addicted to Gacha

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    ((*Haruna coughs as she felt her second place being threatened*))
     
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  2. A5G_Reaper

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

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    ((I forgot :blobsweat_2: but may I have it? :blobpeek:))
     
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  3. Haxagen

    Haxagen Fallen's|Addicted to Gacha

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    ((*Raises fists*
    It's OUR second place!))
     
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  4. Haxagen

    Haxagen Fallen's|Addicted to Gacha

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    ((*Raises fists*
    It's OUR second place!))
     
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  5. michael.kx5

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

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    After she finished her quest, Rei went o look at the quest board to see if there was anything else she could do to increase her points and income.
    However, before she could reach it a sharp pain ran through her and she could feel her entire body heating up.
    It reminded her of the time she was cursed and the time she touched that portal.
    "Woah, woah, you alright there? Steady now."
    Elaine caught her by the shoulder.

    Rei felt her vision flickering and darkening around her.
    Before she could collapse to the floor on the spot she felt someone catch her by her shoulder and she thought she heard a female voice talking to her but she couldn't figure out what they were saying.
    Soon enough her body went completely limp and Rei blacked out.
    "Well, there's that. I guess we'll go look for Shiori."

    And so, Elaine picks up the girl, and ends up carrying her to the orphanage. On the way, she stops by the general store to purchase some candies for 2 LC, before then getting lost and ending up at the west side of town. After about an hour, Elaine finally made her way to the orphanage which should have only taken a ten minute walk, and knocked on the door.

    When she woke up, Rei was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling and the curious face of an Orc child.
    What happened to her?
    Where was she?
    Rei tried to recall the last thing she remembered.
    As soon as the child noticed she came to, it jumped up on its feet and ran away from the room on its small feet somewhere.
    right afterward she heard a childish voice yelling "Shiori, Elaine, she is awake now!".
    Soon there was the sound of two pairs of feet quickly walking towards the room.
    Two women barged into the room as she tried to lift herself to sit up -
    One was an adventurer with black hair, and a white rapier Rei saw around a couple of times in the guild and the festival.
    The other was a small 10 years old looking girl that had an azure colored hair and for some reason gave off the presence of someone who was older than she looks.
    Speaking of....... her own body was now back to its younger appearance.
    'I guess the effects from the portal incident were temporary.
    But why is my body still sluggish, and my waist area is hurting?'
    It was very faint but she could also detect the smell of blood coming from her lower body.

    "Well, look at what we have here. Elaine, Shiori is not running a charity service. Please don't start bringing all sorts of strangers into Shiori's orphanage."

    The younger girl speaks in a curt manner, staring at her counterpart.

    "Sorry, you were the only reliable doctor I knew in these parts."

    "Well, that's fine. Still, you, in the bed. What manner of mischief have you committed? Shiori can smell the curse on you from here, and it's nauseating."

    Realizing the shorter girl was talking to her, Rei turned her upper body towards them, enduring the pain the came with it.
    "So you can tell I was cursed? You are the first person who noticed.
    Well, not much. About a month ago I just accidentally intruded into a sacred lake of a very high-ranking water spirit and drank from it. She was very mad at me for it so she cursed me into this form."
    At that moment another sharp pain ran through Rei's lower stomach, causing her calm expression to crumble and her hand automatically went to where she was hurting.

    Shiori muttered some inaudible remarks about spirits and their incredible pettiness, before giving the patient a once-over.

    "Well, Shiori can mix some herbs to alleviate the pain by a little, although curses in general aren't Shiori's specialty. You'll probably need a priest for something like that."

    She gave another glance to Elaine, who was standing beside her.

    "So, you know this girl, or what? It's not everyday that you bring this kind of...'child'...to Shiori's house."

    "I don't, actually. First time meeting. Ah, my name's Elaine, by the way."

    *Staaaaaaare*

    "...Forget it, Shiori won't ask. Now, drink this."

    The young girl holds out a bowl of...medicine? Try to ignore the fact that it smells worse than sulfur, and has something that looks like a face floating on it...

    Rei stared at the exchange of the two girls, thinking to herself she was saved by quite an amusing pair.
    Then the smaller girl who calls herself Shiori (probably) offered her a bowl of something that smelled almost as bad as dragon farts and has an ominous look to it.
    Well, nobody would save a person only to poison them right afterward...... and her intuition was telling her to trust them.......Rei took a sharp breath and empties the bowl in a single gulp.
    The taste was.......intense, but as the saying goes, "Good medicine is always bitter".
    She faced Elaine and Shiori.
    "Thank you for helping me and nice to meet you, my name is Rei.
    An E rank Adventurer.
    I have seen Elaine-dono around the guild hall a couple of times."

    As she talked Rei could feel the pain and the dullness slowly going away.
    The "medicine" was working quite fast.

    "...It's only a placebo, sadly. It doesn't cure you of anything."

    The little keeper remarks bluntly, before turning to leave.

    "Well, Shiori thinks the girl can stay here for now. Since you brought her here, you'll be in charge of her, then. Shiori needs to go prepare dinner for the children."

    "O-okay."

    Once the door closed again, the taller girl smiles back, embarrassed.

    "Shiori doesn't really like adventurers, so...please don't mind her behaviour. She's more mature than she looks."

    Then, from outside the room in a somewhat muffled voice:

    "Shiori can hear you, you know. The door isn't that thick."

    "Haha...Yeah. Anyway, you were talking about a curse? Mind telling me the details, if you're comfortable with it?"

    "I see. Well, she isn't the only one who is older than their looks suggests.
    I don't mind telling you.
    Where should I start? I guess with my former life perhaps.
    My name was Raikou, a 55 years old male Oni.
    I was well known as a powerful martial artist and a Ki-user among mercenaries and bodyguards.
    Most of the time when I was not on a job I traveled around and looked for stronger opponents in order to hone my skills.
    One such time, I stumble upon a camp of cultists who accused me of interfering with their ritual to summon "The Lady".
    Knowing nothing good ever comes out of those types I crushed them and moved on, where I found a pristine and beautiful lake.
    I was quite thirsty at the time and my water flask was empty so i drank directly from the lake and the...
    You can guess the rest.
    The spirit that lived in that lake cursed me to take the female form of my younger self.
    Meaning this would be my natural body if I was a girl at 19 years of age.
    Recently I have touched a water-plane portal during a quest and as a side-effect it aged me a bit into my late twenties but......it seems that the effect of that has run off, and I am 19 years old again."

    "I see. Well, I've drank from my share of rivers, so I guess I can understand...I think? Though, it looks like the curse is messing up your systems as well, probably. Maybe? Do you have any idea on how to cure it, or not at the moment?"

    Elaine raises her eyebrows.

    Rei shook her head
    "Sadly, no. I wasn't the scholarly type and the priests couldn't detect anything wrong with me when I was undergoing healing after the raid on the festival.
    I was planning on using the guild's information network to gather clues once I reached a higher rank, and the new ID they issue was perfect for creating a new persona.
    I can't exactly go around and call myself by my old name anymore, imagine what my clients and rivals would say?
    Although I must say this was the first time my body acted like this after the curse, and it been over a month since then already"

    "Well then..."

    Elaine falls silent, unsure of how to keep the conversation going.

    "...Do you need me to bring you anything? I could ask Shiori for a favour. She's a genius with herbs, that one."

    Shiori enters the room once again, carrying a tray of food.

    "Here, dinner for you two."

    "Awww~ Thanks~"

    "It'll be one large copper, as always~"

    "Wait, what? It's not free?"

    "Free for the patient, maybe. Not for you. Goodness knows how much you've earned, so it'll be one large copper from you."

    "Oh, well..."

    The young orphanage keeper stares at Rei, then back at Elaine, and then back at Rei, and then repeats this process for at least 4 more times.

    "...Oh god, Elaine, you're an idiot."

    Rei drinks from the soup on her tray while listening to the back and forth between Elaine and Shiori.
    Soon though she noticed a short silence in the room while Shiori stares at her and Elaine alternatively.
    Did something happen?
    Then Shiori calls Elaine an idiot, now Rei knew something happened and it had to do with her.
    She put down the soup bowl and asked.
    "Is there something wrong?"

    "She's on her, you know, 'that' thing, you idiot! Elaine no baka!"

    "Wait, don't go about calling me an idiot all of a sudden! What is that you're talking about?"

    Shiori climbed onto a chair so that she could be on eye level with the confused Elaine.

    "Once a month, you idiot! It's that!"

    Slowly, the adventurer begins blushing, cheeks crimson.

    Since she still wasn't fully familiar with female anatomy Rei was honestly confused.
    "once a month? that? what is 'that'?"
    An awkward silence filled the room.
    'Did I say something wrong?'

    "...Shiori's not explaining. It's all you for this one."

    "...That's an impossible task..."

    Elaine shuffles her feet awkwardly.


    A couple of minutes and two blushing faces later

    Rei was holding her head in the bed while having a slight identity crisis.
    And to think she would have to endure this every month......
    She followed Elaine's instruction while making sure to note them down for future reference.
    Now aware of her body's new......capabilities, Rei felt extremely tired while she laid back down on the bed to rest.

    The next morning Rei woke up feeling a bit better.
    She still felt a dull pain but it wasn't to the point she couldn't move her body around.
    She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and stopping before the door to her current room, and then someone knocked on the door.
    "Come in"

    Elaine stuck her head into the room, glancing around before settling her sights on Rei. She coughed lightly, for what seemed to be no reason at all, before opening the door.

    "Well, it looks like you're up. Feeling better?"

    Rei looks her in the eyes and says
    "Yes much better now, thanks.
    Although I don't think I will be able to head out for any quests for the time being.
    Anyway, I should probably go now, I overstayed Shiori's hospitality as it is."

    She got up -albeit a bit slower than usual- and facing Elaine again she offered her a handshake.
    "Again, you have my gratitude.
    Shiori too, please pass her my thanks for treating me and lending me a bed in her house.
    If you ever have need of my talents or want to party up or even just want to chat, you can find me in the Dancing mace inn near the market district, in the guild, or in the tavern.
    When I am not on a quest of course."

    "Here, I'll walk you to the door, then. Shiori's out at the moment, so I have to watch the children, but it was a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully we'll get a chance to work together in the future.

    Elaine took the professed hand and shook it, smiling warmly.

    Rei silently returned the gesture with a smile of her own and followed Elaine to the front door.
    There, after saying goodbye to Elaine and children Rei started walking towards the market district.

    Once she arrived in her inn, The first thing Rei did was find the Innkeeper lady and ask her for further advice to avoid future incidents.
    Obviously, the Innkeeper was very worried about Rei who didn't return last night without notifying them and once she realized Rei wasn't feeling well she quickly ushered her into her room to get rest, promising to teach her all she needed to know later that day.

    "Goodness though, first you come back from a quest around one or two sizes bigger, then you disappear without notice, and then you come back next morning all small again, and finally you say you are on your very first "big aunt".
    You sure are full of surprises"
    To those accusations, Rei could only smile wryly and laugh.
     
  6. leegood

    leegood Well-Known Member

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    Maywalked around the streets which had become more and more familiar with as time passed on when she spotted a musician looking downhearted whilst staring at some strange instrument that looked broken to even someone seeing it for the first time.

    "Hello Mister, What's going on? why are you sad~?"
    The bedraggled man looked up slowly, his eyes were sorrowful. "My instrument is broken, I can't do anything now, the music of hearts from my travels cannot be spread this way!"

    May looked at the instrument before asking "Why not just fix it?" The musician shrugged "This one is very special to me, unless you can convince me?"

    May then spent the entire day with the stranger, accidentally cheering him up with her actions, and at the end of the day may and the musician found someone to fix the instrument.

    "I know now, The heart of this town! the heart of this people!"
    The man grabbed his fixed instrument and rushed to the tavern to play

    "Ah- I forgot to ask him his name~"
     
  7. Arexio

    Arexio Blob Fanatic | AG Player

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    A week since making plans for a sparring session, Urlagrod woke up and got dressed.

    Rubbing Shadgar's head to wake him up, the large orc headed downstairs to start cooking an energy-filled breakfast. Soon after, Shadgar nuzzled the back of Urlagrod's leg, signalling he wanted his own breakfast.

    "All right, all right! I'll get ya somethin'!"

    Rummaging through his larder room, he took out some meat he'd cured during the week and hand-fed the big black wolf. Ruffling his friend's head, he returned to cooking some porridge for himself. Once the porridge was done, he went over to the dining room and ate at his usual chair - Shadgar came in and sat on the chair opposite him and rested his fluffy head on the table.

    "Want to come on a jog with me and Ryul today, Shadgar? It's been a while since you got to have a proper run."

    *Woof!*

    "All right, then!"

    Finishing up his porridge, he cleaned the bowl before making sure his house was presentable as he waited for his half-elf friend to arrive.

    Ryul made sure he woke up early today as it was the day he promised Urlagrod that they would hold their friendly spar. After a light breakfast at the inn consisting of some fresh bread and fruit, he made his way through Nagrand towards the nice housing district.

    Because he didn't want to arrive too early, the half-elf decided to kill some time at a familiar small park nearby, mostly just observing the stray flying cats and early risers that passed through on their way to work.

    After seeing an interesting scene of two cats wrestling and clawing at each other through the air, an appropriate amount of time had passed. Ryul walked towards his destination and finally ended up outside his friend's three-story house, beautiful garden and all.

    With some butterflies fluttering in his stomach, the half-elf took a long and deep breath before raising a hand to the door and solidly knocking three times.

    "Ahem," Ryul cleared his throat a little and fixed his hair while he waited, signs of his nervousness leaking through.

    *Woof!* *Woof!* *Woof!*

    Hearing the sounds of knocking on the door, Urlagrod smiled as he petted Shadgar's head to calm him down. Enjoying the petting, the big black wolf soon stopped and rubbed his head into the large orc's hand before running to the front door and scratching at it.

    "Yes, yes, I know you want to go out, hahaha!"

    Reaching the door, he opened it to see Ryul fixing his hair before Shadgar jumped onto him in excitement at meeting the nice half-elf again. He started licking Ryul's cheeks in happiness.

    "Hahaha! It seems I'm not the only one happy about today!"

    Urlagrod held out a hand to help Ryul up - his other hand trying to calm the tail-wagging Shadgar down.

    Shocked at being tackled to the ground, Ryul's expression shifted to a joyful one as he felt the wet tongue of Shadgar on his face.

    Chuckling, he ruffled the big black wolf's head, "Hahaha, I guess he's missed me, huh?"

    Ryul then saw his friend offering his hand to help him up. He smiled at the orc as he firmly grasped the extended hand and used it as leverage to help push himself off the ground.

    "How are you this morning, Url? Are you feeling ready for our session today?"

    He bit his lip a little, "I'll be honest. I'm a little nervous, so do please go easy on me."

    "Hahaha! I'm feeling pumped for our session, Ryul!" He bumped his fists together and flexed his arm muscles to show his eagerness. "But first, we need to do a warm-up jog! A bit of light exercise before we start going at it will be beneficial for the both of us!"

    Urlagrod started doing some stretches on the spot, and motioned for Ryul to do the same.

    "How about an hour around the houses? Shadgar will keep up company, too. He's been wanting to have a run for a while now, haven't you boy?"

    *Woof!*

    "Well? You ready?"

    Urlagrod smiled, as he stood at the gate, waiting for Ryul.

    After nodding to the orc's plan for their warm-up and lumbering up enough, Ryul jogged to the front gate as well.

    "I'm ready. Let's go."

    The half-elf followed Urlagrod's lead as he knew the neighborhood around here much better than he did.

    He didn't have any trouble keeping up as they jogged, and Ryul softly smiled at Shadgar running back and forth, repeatedly wandering off to smell something new or other before quickly returning to his owner's side.

    After an hour of brisk jogging, Urlagrod guided Ryul back to his house, where he did some stretches afterwards to not let the muscles go sore from the jogging. Once the half-elf caught up, the large orc unlocked the door and went in, a huge smile on his face.

    "Ah! That was a good warm-up jog! Now for the main event! Let's head to the training room, Ryul! Shadgar! Close the door behind you!"

    *Woof!*

    Shadgar was trying to catch a flying cat that had perched itself on the wall, but was making sure not to leave the premises.

    Jogging upstairs to keep his muscles warm, Urlagrod entered the training room and unrolled a thick rug to keep them from injuring themselves if they fell down. He then looked in Ryul's direction and asked:

    "Want to do hand-to-hand sparring, or weapon sparring first?"

    Following through the front door and up the stairs, Ryul entered the training room right on the orc's heels.

    He leaned against the door frame and wiped off some sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

    "I am fine with either. I'll leave it up to you, Url," Ryul casually replied.

    The heat was getting to him a bit, so he decided to just go ahead and take off his shirt, use it to wipe off extra sweat, and toss it to the side to grab later. Ryul looked back at Urlagrod as the half-elf's bare chest still held a light layer of glistening perspiration.

    "All right, then. We'll do hand-to-hand first! Come over here so we can start! I promise I'll go easy on you...to begin with~"

    Getting into a fighting stance, Urlagrod balled his fists and spread his legs apart, jumping on the balls of his feet to keep his movement fluid as he waited for Ryul to start. Smirking as he admired the sight of the half-elf's glistening chest, he decided to somewhat teasingly provoke him into attacking.

    "I'll even let you have the first move, since it might be you last~"

    "We'll see about that," Ryul's eyes narrowed in focus.

    His competitive spirit ignited from the orc's taunts as he moved into a proper stance and slowly approached his opponent.

    The half-elf knew he was outclassed in terms of power and reach, so he had to beat Urlagrod in a game of technique and speed. Land more hits in while trying to avoid or deflect the other party's.

    Ryul circled his sparring partner, all the while analyzing him for any signs of weakness. It was a solid defense. Urlagrod was a C-rank adventurer, maybe even B-rank all things considered.

    Throwing a right feint, Ryul dived to the left and followed up with two quick jabs aimed at his opponent's gut.

    Seeing through the feint, Urlagrod jumped to the side and high-kicked Ryul's arms, before resuming his stance and sending one heavy punch into Ryul's side.

    "Nice try, but you'll need to try harder~!"

    Visible excitement could be seen on the large orc's face as he watched for the half-elf's next moves.

    "Fuck," Ryul muttered and winced in pain from the hard blow into his right side. Going easy, my ass.

    Why did he agree to this again? Oh yeah, he liked this fighting maniac of a fool. The orc was even getting more and more excited as they continued. A few more feints and punches were traded, none being of significance.

    Then at one key moment, Ryul rapidly circled around Urlagrod's left, his weaker side, and managed to pull off a low sweep with his right leg quicker than his opponent could react. While the huge guy was regaining his balance, he fired off a flurry of punches at the orc's kidney region.

    Distancing himself before he got too greedy, Ryul smirked, "And how was that? Those punches hard enough for you?"

    "Ngh! They felt like little taps! Now it's my turn!"

    Quickly closing the gap, Urlagrod did the same thing Ryul had done, getting behind him and sweeping his leg to knock his opponent, before grabbing his shoulders and lifting him up into the air, before slamming down. With his full weight on top of Ryul, Urlagrod smiled from ear to ear as he had successfully pinned him to the ground.

    "Hahaha! I told you I was going easy on you before!"

    Rearranging himself so his legs were pinning the half-elf's, he put his arms over his head and used his large hand to tightly hold the wrists in place.

    "Now see if you can get out of this, Ryul~"

    Their faces were close to one another as Urlagrod watched his opponent to see how he'd try to escape the hold, admiring how beautiful Ryul's eyes were while he was that close.

    After he was forcibly slammed onto the ground, Ryul had the wind knocked out of him and could barely register his opponent shifting around on top of him, locking him in place.

    "Goddamnit," he grumbled out both in pain and frustration. He knew he was going to lose before they began but not this badly.

    Ryul tried wriggling his wrists out of the orc's firm grasp and completely failed to do so. He didn't even try with his legs as that would be just as futile of an attempt as they were even more trapped.

    Meeting Urlagrod's deep gaze, Ryul frowned, "Obviously, I can't. You win, alright?"

    "Ahahaha, if you insist, Ryul~"

    Enjoying the sight of the half-elf's face so close, Urlagrod forgot to get up and just stared admiringly at the pinned opponent beneath him. Remembering their previous conversations, as well as some events since that he did not wish to reveal out loud, the large orc couldn't hold back his attraction anymore. Bringing his lips close to the half-elf's, he lightly kissed him.

    Ryul's eyes widened in shock as Urlagrod put his lips on his own. What? Did his friend truly feel this way about him too? He never really gave off any signs, right?

    A bit lost in his thoughts, Ryul barely managed to focus back in, close his eyes, and actually return the kiss, tilting his head up slightly and applying a hint of pressure against the orc's lips.

    Feeling Ryul push his lips back against his own, Urlagrod's heartbeat quickened as his whole body felt weightless. The large orc parted lips with the half-elf and stared intently into the other's eyes as he thought about what had just happened. After a few seconds, he took in a deep breath before heaving a heavy sigh.

    "Ryul...this may seem forward of me, but...I think I f***ing like you...as in...I'm attracted to you. How about you?"

    "Really? I think I feel the same way....I find myself thinking of you, Url, all the time."

    Ryul swallowed and continued, "But I was too embarrassed to ever say anything to you about it...I even..."

    The half-elf's face flushed bright red as his heart pounded loudly in his chest. After what felt like a century, he steeled himself to spit out the whole truth.

    "I even...fantasized about you...when I was...pleasuring myself." He adamantly avoided eye contact with the orc as he was currently dying of shame.

    Urlagrod hung his head beside Ryul's left ear and gave a low chuckle that made his deep and husky voice go right into it.

    "I f***ing love you for saying that, cos I have to you~"

    The large orc then lifted his head up, then lifted the half-elf's chin and kissed him again, this time more forcefully than before.

    . . .

    . . .

    . . .

    OOC: Your favorite orc (Urlagrod) and half-elf (Ryul) have made their appearance once again in another joint SS. Not as long as last time (2k words), but there's definitely some developments in this one.

    P.S. - This is all we can reveal for public eyes. You'll have to pay for the premium version~ :blobpeek: (AKA PM us for the 18+ rated version) :blobdog:
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2019
  8. AliceShiki

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

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    Apologies for the long wait, the town was too hectic these past few weeks, so we didn't have time to organize ourselves properly.

    In any case, the guildmaster would like to reward each adventurer for their participation in the fight against the cultists, gods know it was no easy endeavor.

    The rewards are based on how much you helped solving the town's problems out and how efficient you were in helping it out... Of course, we couldn't see what everyone does all the time, but we believe the rewards are suitable according to each person's participation.

    Without further ado, please feel free to collect your rewards:

    @A5G_Reaper - 24 Large Copper Coins, 12 Guild Points.

    @Arexio - 28 Large Copper Coins, 14 Guild Points.

    @Blackwater - 8 Large Copper Coins, 4 Guild Points.

    @Ejsarv - 12 Large Copper Coins, 6 Guild Points.

    @Fossil - 4 Large Copper Coins, 2 Guild Points.

    @FuRen - 4 Large Copper Coins, 2 Guild Points.

    @Haitaka - 20 Large Copper Coins, 10 Guild Points.

    @Haxagen - 20 Large Copper Coins, 10 Guild Points.

    @Kysil - 4 Large Copper Coins, 2 Guild Points.

    @kyuukestu - 4 Large Copper Coins, 2 Guild Points.

    @leegood - 12 Large Copper Coins, 6 Guild Points.

    @michael.kx5 - 16 Large Copper Coins, 8 Guild Points.

    @Nahrenne - 16 Large Copper Coins, 8 Guild Points.

    @Razogul - 24 Large Copper Coins, 12 Guild Points.

    @SpearOfLies - 24 Large Copper Coins, 12 Guild Points.

    @strikegunner - 8 Large Copper Coins, 4 Guild Points.

    @TiggerBane - 24 Large Copper Coins, 12 Guild Points.

    @Unreachable Hope - 12 Large Copper Coins, 6 Guild Points.

    @WhitesRabbit48 - 20 Large Copper Coins, 10 Guild Points.

    ((We're not making the exact standards of what we used to decide the rewards for everyone public, but it's basically what Aria's said. How many thingies you did and how much of each thingy you did at that~

    Ah, and... If you reached Rank-up requirements, please poke us, alright? We don't keep track of people's points for the most part, so we might not notice if you reached the requirements already.))
     
    kyuukestu, Arexio, Blackwater and 4 others like this.
  9. AliceShiki

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

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  10. Silver Snake

    Silver Snake Magician of NUF|Show-off|Awkward|Genius

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  11. Dovey

    Dovey Well-Known Member

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    Ooooo, thanks for tagging me!
     
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  12. leegood

    leegood Well-Known Member

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    May led the way until she turned back
    :aww:
    "you lead~?" - may
    "To be honest, I have no idea where exactly we are supposed to go." - Ayumi
    (+. +)/ "then let's go~" may faced north and started walking happily.
    Ayumi nods and starts following May.

    They eventually reached the start of the forest before may grabbed leaves on the ground and crushed them, then rubbed it on her limbs.

    (~^.^) "horned rabbits should be nearer to the exit of the forest, easier to find tasty plants that way~"

    May went on, careful in how she walked.
    "Oh, that's good, we won't have to enter the forest then." Exclaims Ayumi, showing none of the care that May does.

    :blobokhand: "let's go~"
    May started looking for animal trails as she examined the ground semi-carefully, clearly an amateur at it but knowing more than just enough to be asked if nobody else had the skill.

    (+. +) / "over there~" may Whispered as she spied two horned rabbits feuding it out.

    Ayumi opens her mouth, intending to shout out in joy, but closes it when remembering that she would most likely just scare the rabbits away. After awkwardly sneaking a bit closer, she nods to May in acknowledgment.

    May took her sword still in her sheath and grabbed it in a way to use her sword as a club "when your ready~" she Whispered.

    "Mhm." Ayumi manifests her sheathed sword, grasps it by its handle and, after readying herself, shouts: "Go!", charging towards the rabbits.

    "Ah!" may rushed forward but Ayumi had given them away causing may to only hit the side of the horned rabbit she was aiming towards.

    The horned bunny and may started battling, taking longer than it should since may needs an undamaged fur.

    The rabbit Ayumi aims at jumps away from Ayumi, causing her to miss her first swing by far. The rabbit instantly bounds back towards Ayumi, trying to impale her with its horn.

    Having overextended her swing, Ayumi is out of balance. Seeing the rabbit approach her, she drops her sword and kicks at the rabbit, not impaling her foot by sheer luck and kicking the rabbit away from her.

    With her sword manifesting again in her hand, Ayumi advances towards the rabbit carefully. The high weight of Ayumi's sword is an absolute disadvantage against an enemy this quick, and so Ayumi, after some thinking, removes the sword and grasps the sheath.

    Now, with a lighter weapon, she finally manages to hit the rabbit a few times, finally knocking it out without sustaining anything more than scratches.

    A minute after Ayumi knocked out her rabbit, may finally knocked out the one she had "let's tie them up and ask a butcher to do the skinning~ I've only ever Hunted for food~"

    "Let's, whew, take a break first, okay? I'm feeling strangely exhausted..." pants Ayumi, while unceremoniously sitting down on the floor.

    (~^.^) "kay~" may happily sat down after tying the horned rabbits up.


    Her breath slowly calming, Ayumi turns towards May. "I'm curious, why did you decide to become an adventurer?"


    :blobmelt: "because why not~"

    "Just why not? No reason? Being an adventurer is dangerous, you know?"

    (~^o^)7 "aye~ and to become stronger~ unnn~ I forgot~ how about you~?"

    Ayumi simply can't comprehend how someone can be so, so... thinking about it again, she does remember talking to someone before with a similar reason. Are most adventurers like this?

    Shacking her head, Ayumi focussed again. "I became an adventurer to purge evil in the world."

    (+. +) "woah~ so heroic~ like Mr gourd~ dragon slayer and savior if children~"

    "In truth, it's nothing heroic... just me deceiving myself. I did not even think about protecting others when becoming an adventurer..."

    \(~^o^)/,  :blobReach::blobReach::blobReach:*huggles*
    "that's a start~" :blobokhand:
    "you'll be a hero before you know it~ :aww:"

    Suddenly being hugged by May, Ayumi does not know how to react. Flustered, she starts stuttering: "Wha-!? W-well... if you, I mean, maybe... if that's what you say, then..."


    :hmm:
    Noticing the strange flustered look
    :blobReach:
    May hugged her again~
    "hero~" :blob_grin:

    "I-I... I'm not a hero!" exclaims Ayumi, her face getting red.

    :blobmelt:
    "ehehehe~"
    :blobpats:
    "not a hero~ yet!" :blob_grin:
    May looked over to the rabbits and knocked them to make sure they were asleep.
    :blob_grin:
    "rested yet~?"

    "T-that's..."

    Happy about the change of topic, Ayumi quickly shouts: "Yes, I've absolutely recovered all of mrgh-" ...or at least tries to, as she bites her tongue.


    :blobReach: "there there~"
    May gave Ayumi a comforting hug "pain pain go away~"
    (+.+) "let's go~" she stood up and held a hand to Ayumi.

    Ayumi stays still, rather confused about what May is doing. But the pain really seemed to go away a tiny bit?

    Sill confused, Ayumi grabs May's hand, saying nothing but "Mhm.", afraid of biting her tongue again.

    May happily hummed as she walked holding the rabbits by their feet, one hand holding ayumis as they walked.

    "ah~ look! Another trail~" she followed the trail carefully.

    "What? Where?" Wonders Ayumi, completely incapable of seeing said trail, but follows May.

    (~^o^) "I think we found a burrow~" she triple checked the rabbits before grabbing two rocks out of her pocket "if we make smoke they run out~"

    "What about filling the burrow with smoke and blocking the entrance?"


    :aww: "genius~ let's do it!" may started gathering dead grass and making piles.

    "Alright!" While May is gathering the dead grass, Ayumi starts to get some sticks and stones to block the burrow's entrance with.

    May finished placing the dead grass at the entrance.

    A bit after May is finished, Ayumi partially blocks the entrance with a few rocks, ready to completely block it at a moment's notice.

    May lit the grass on fire, smoking the burrow.

    After waiting for a while, Ayumi thinks she sees something within the burrow. So she instantly seals the entrance off.

    A few moments later, dazed rabbits are trying to escape.

    Ayumi blocks the entrance with more rocks and twigs, trying to make sure that no rabbit escapes.

    Manyinutes pass before the burrow goes silent

    (o o) "do we wait longer? "

    "Maybe a few minutes?"

    (~^.^) "Un~"

    After waiting a few more minutes, Ayumi slowly removes part of the blockade.

    May started to dig up the burrow with her hands as she spotted an unconscious rabbit.

    Ayumi helps May as good as she can, carefully dragging the rabbit out of the burrow.

    After a while they were able to find 4 more rabbits in the burrow.
    . (~^o^) "such a haul~"

    "I think that'S all we need?"

    May nodded as she tied up all of the horned rabbits "Hmm, we seem to have an extra~ let's have the butcher makes snacks out of it~" (+. +)

    "Alright! Food!"

    May happily started walking back to town before she tilted her head "I think town was~ this way?"

    "Which way? Wasn't it that way?" Asks Ayumi, pointing in a completely wrong direction.

    (~^o^) "Ah! I guess so~" and so they started walking towards the road that leads back into the city.


    After not too long, they reach the city.

    (~^.^) "bob~ can you give us the pelts for these rabbits?"

    The silent butcher nodded, took the rabbits, and went back inside.

    (~^.^) "what do you want to do while he's busy?"

    "Well, I don't know."

    (+. +) "we could~ play plow, sword, and stone~" (paper scissors rock)

    "Alright, that sounds good!" Ayumi already inwardly picks sword.

    (+. +) "plow!" may forgot to do the rocking motion.

    "Sword!" shouts Ayumi hurriedly.

    :blob_coughblood: "the mighty may has been slain :blobhero: by the hero ayumi~! :blobangel:"

    May held in her laughter to see ayumis reaction.

    "Wha- l-like I said, I'm not a hero!" denies Ayumi, flustered.

    :p "ehehehe~ :blobReach:" may hugged her ":blobmelt: a soft and fwuffy hero~"

    "N-not a hero..." Ayumi mumbles, her face completely red as she looks away in embarrassment.

    May giggled happily before leading her to the steps of the butcher and sitting down "let's wait then~"

    "O-okay..." mumbles Ayumi, sitting down on the steps next to May.

    May happily hummed a relaxing tune, accidentally resting her head on ayumis shoulder.

    "Hmmm." Ayumi also relaxes, placing her left arm on May's shoulder and pulling her a bit closer. "Thanks for doing this with me."

    (~^o^) "it was no problem~"

    A few minutes passed before Bob came out and handed them the 6 pelts "Thanks" was all he said before going back in.

    (~^.^) "let's go to the seamstress~"

    "Yeah, let's go."

    They arrived in front of a stone building and before may could know the seamstress took the pelts and inspected them "these are great! Come inside so I can measure you both." may nodded and followed her inside.

    Relieved that the pelts are good enough, Ayumi also follows them inside, wondering what the clothes might look like.

    When they walk inside there are rows of clothes on life sized mannequins made of straw. "let me get your measurements dearie, little may first" and shamelessly started May's measurements, shirt off to accurately measure.

    "Wha-" Ayumi is quite abashed witnessing this, and looks away embarrassedly. "P-please warn me before doing so-something like that!"

    The seamstress had a smile on her face "little may, measure your little friend over there while I resize some stuff."

    (~^.^) "kay~" by this point may was already clothed and went to Ayumi "ayumi~ measurement time~"

    "Y-yes? What do I have to do?" asks Ayumi.

    (~^.^) "you wrap a piece of straw around various body parts and and break them off when one end meets the other~"

    May started measuring Ayumi, before asking "eh~? Can I do it over your clothes? I wonder~"

    "Uhm..." stutters Ayumi. "D-do I h-have to take them off...?"

    (~^.^) may looked at Ayumi in 'understanding' before saying "don't worry, the straw doesn't hurt at all!"

    "N-no, that's not what I..."

    (~^.^) "don't be embarrassed~ I thought it'd feel weird too~" *referring to the straw* may started measuring Ayumi, head close to make sure is measurement was right.

    "H-hey, it... it feels weird..."

    "eh, Ayumi your moving too much~" a few moments later may handed the straw to the seamstress, who handed may a better looking version of what she was wearing, and gave Ayumi the set of clothes.

    "I'll be in my room to give you two some privacy to change~"
    . May nodded and started changing.

    Ayumi looks away embarrassedly and starts changing as well.
    [​IMG]

    May happily finished changing and twirled around and spotted Ayumi finish changing, when a note fell out "little dearies I'll be asleep, lock the door as you leave."

    May spoke "these clothes are nice~"

    "Y-you think so? They seem a bit..." Ayumi looks at the clothes she is wearing embarrassedly.

    "A bit~?" May curiously looked at ayumis face.
    "Breezy? Revealing?"

    (~^.^) "umu, it's perfect for going places though~" May gave her a hug "and it increases your hugability~"

    W-what kind of plac-" Ayumi stops speaking as May hugs her for a few seconds. "I-I wasn't looking for huggability!"

    :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
    May pretends to be surprised and grins
    :blob_grin: "I know Ayumi likes hugs~ err, I mean, they'll be better than rags~" "

    "I-I... they are better than rags, yes..."

    May yawned before thinking "where are you staying?"

    "In the alley," answers Ayumi as if it were the most obvious thing.

    :blobfearful: "you can't! Here follow me~" locking the door as she left with Ayumi, she went to the tavern and to the room they are lending may (~^.^) "sleep on this bed, it might be a tight fit with two people but the floor is a no go~"

    "Y-you don't have to! I'm used to sleeping on the floor!"

    May stubbernly shook her head "the bed is big enough~"

    "But..." after thinking it over for a few seconds, Ayumi agrees. "Alright, fine."

    (~^.^) "good night~" may had already taken a side and had started sleeping.
    "Goodnight." Ayumi crawls into the bed as well and quickly falls into a deep sleep.
     
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  13. Zone Q11

    Zone Q11 『The Gas Mask』『Monochrome Plebeian』

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    *clank*

    Zoan puts down a pouch filled with a fair amount of large copper coins before a table. "This is your wage," he briefly said towards Herst. The farmer orc, who was across the table, trembled. Zoan assumed it was from excitement, but retracted that thought after Herst's response.
    "...have I finally served my purpose, sir?" Herst hesitatingly asked. Even though he had been venturing with his employer for a week or two, it was not an uncommon story that employers give a large amount of money before cutting all ties with them.

    Zoan was quite shocked by Herst's response. "...what? Where did you get that idea from? I simply gave you an early wage because I worry about your health." The two were currently at Herst's house at the outskirts of Nagrand. Rather than a farmhouse, it was actually more like a barn. Half of the barn was filled with furniture and equipment for daily necessities, though they were barely acceptable to be called as one. All furniture -which only consist of the table they sat at, the chairs they sat on and Herst's bed- were made of logs, while tableware were hand-carved out of wood as well. The only tool made out of iron was a single knife.

    "O-oh... In such case, I am truly grateful to continue serving you, sir." Herst took the slowly took pouch. He decided to not count the coins until his employer left. From the sound alone, he knew it must have held at least 20 coins. Knowing the nomad, he trusts that they were all large copper coins. 'With this, I ought to be able to survive for a week with three meals a day.' Herst thought.

    "Herst, I have a question for you."
    "Yes, sir. What is it?"
    "This place... It is empty. Do you live alone? What happened to your parents? Your family?"
    "That is..." Herst did not seem like he wants to talk about it. Zoan assumed it was a matter he did not want to talk about and dropped the matter. "Never mind then. I will see you at the Quest Board when it gets renewed."
    Just as he was about to leave the house however, Herst spoke up. "They are no longer in this world." ...a moment of silence took place.

    "Sir, do you remember that day when you found me? Do you remember how I looked back then? You might not have paid attention back then, but I had considered myself to be a thin man." Zoan tried his hardest to remember that day and looks at Herst's current body.
    '...it is true. Compared to the him back then, he seems to have more meat on his bones.' Zone thought. Herst then continued: "My father died adventuring, and my mother died during winter, a few months prior to our encounter. I was the only child and my other relatives had already had enough on their hands, so they couldn't take me in either. All I was left with were some copper coins and the standalone farm that we are in right now." Herst stared down towards the table. Uneasiness was felt within the house.

    "...did you not say that you once drove off a pack of wolves with other farmers?" Zoan asked. He might have more brawn than brains, but at least he was smart enough to remember that fact from his first quest with his first employee.
    "Yes, that is so," Herst admitted, and continued explaining: "That was when I was during my younger days, when I was living at my aunt and uncle's farm." Had the employer before the orc not been a paranoid, then he would've probably gained a lot of sympathy. Herst certainly did not lie, however Zoan had not forced him to tell his life story.

    "I see. Thank you for telling me your story," Zoan awkwardly said. He then tried to search something to talk about, as to relieve some of the negative mood. His eyes fell upon a patch of flowers in front of the barn. "Are those... Blood Lilies?" Zoan said as he points his finger towards the flowers. "Oh! I see that you have found them, sir. The original flowers had withered away, so I planted their seeds and cultivated them since you seem to have liked these."

    A moment of yet another silence has passed. This time no sadness, but happiness could be felt.

    "Mm... Thank you for your hard work."
    "You are welcome, sir."

    ""...""

    Zoan left the orc after a couple more minutes, and thus the silence returned to the barn.
     
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  14. A5G_Reaper

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

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    A grand corridor bathed in darkness, with the muffled rumble of heavy rainstorm on the wall and occasional crash of thunder bringing light through the windows. It was eerily empty, after a hard bout of fighting to get there, save for a distant campfire on a ledge far above.

    He turned to his companion-by-necessity, sharing some wary words that wasn't much more than a muffle, before he did the undignified attempt of climbing ledges meant for Armor Guardians to use. Everything was blurry, from the hall of Cloudencasse until the flickering shadow dancing on the wall.

    "...hello?"

    His voice was muffled, like hearing something through water, and the surrounding rippled. The figure sitting next to the fire turned, just as surprised to see another person so far out.

    "Oh... hello."

    Came the reply, as psychedellic as his own. The rippling got stronger as everything blurred, especially strong on her facial features. He said several more words, but it were inelligible. Only some sets of response rang dissonantly clear.

    "Why am I just sitting here?"

    "I'm the best thief in the Eight Kingdoms."

    "But what can a thief do against a dragon? A dagger against wyrmscale? No..."

    "So i just sit here."

    It blurred even more afterward, until he bid farewell and returned down the ledges. The other woman awaited impatiently, jittery with her staff and equally blurry in sight.

    "I didn't hear any fighting."

    She inquired.

    "Just another lost traveller." Came the reply.


    *****

    He blinked awake, almost immediately sensing people in alarmingly close proximity. His body moved faster than his mind, going for the nearest knife, but then he caught up and changed course...
    @Blackwater perhaps you'll find it interesting.
     
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  15. A5G_Reaper

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

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    A gourd wheezed as he walk, slightly staggering but without stop as he went. He stopped the strong facade the moment Soren was out of sight, turning back toward his garden instead of Ophelia's temple. It's not like he distrust his healer, but he didn't want his condition to be known. Less trouble that way.

    He entered with some difficulty, slowly untrapping the shed before closing himself in. The gourd gasped for breath, syruggling to draw air in.

    "Whew. Perhaps fighting Soren after taking internal damage wasn't the best decision."

    Sitting down on the ground, he unscrewed and removed his cuirass now sporting a fist-shaped dent the size of a bowl. He knew it's falling apart despite the thickness, existing cracks turning minor damage into fissures that threaten to scrap the whole thing. He'll need to get it fixed at some point.

    "Nevertheless, not now."

    The gourd wheezed again, the broken ribs making it hard to draw in air. He calmed himself and steadied his breathing, channeling fully on recovery.

    "Would be instant if I could build a Sanctuary... oh well. Slow and steady."

    A faint greyish-silver aura slowly covered a sitting gourd, a tiny bit was drawn in every second. It focused on his chest and if snyone could observe the bone, they slowly repositioned themselves and heal in hours damage that would take weeks to recover from.

    Still, it was dawn the next day before the gourd budge again. He winced at a crack where some of the healed bone broke again, exactly the same as those struck by that accursed blade.

    "Overhealed a bit, huh? I'll be more careful next time."
     
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  16. TiggerBane

    TiggerBane Always asleep yep yep yep| Canidae lover

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    After having gotten her reward for slaying the beast Kathicia decided to start her new training regime, to practice throwing the knives that she had recently acquired. Kathicia heads off towards an area in the forest with mushrooms and other plants that are small and hidden.

    Upon reaching her destination Kathicia marks an x upon the tree than draws a circle around the x and 3 larger circles around the first circle. Kathicia then proceeds to repeat this process on three other nearby trees for later use. After she is done she stands 5m away from the first target and pulls out the iron dagger. She begins slowly rotating and swinging it to get the feeling of the weapon, after about five minutes of doing this Kathicia proceeds to throw the blade into the tree. It hits the very edge of the outermost circle.

    Kathicia continues trying to get a feeling of how the iron dagger has been weighted so that she can throw it with ease and completely accurate everytime. After consistently having hit the x mark by throwing the dagger with her hands Kathicia places the dagger into the chains on her arms. Then she moves her arm backwards and flicks the dagger forward, it launches from the chains and similarly to her first throw it hits the outer most edge of the target.

    Kathicia after repeating this for a good long two hours and only getting to the point where she can actively hit the central circle moves on. “I thought I’d be out of practice using these and it’s a lot more painful than before, I’m going to have to retrain my tolerance for pain again.” Kathicia comments to herself, the chain is completely blood stained from her use of it. Kathicia then moves on from this exercise towards throwing the iron dagger whilst running through the area.

    Kathicia succeeds at hitting the target dead on on her first try and then begins introducing ever more acrobatic feats to her throws still continuing to hit the target dead on with each throw. After about 2 hours has passed of this Kathicia returns to throwing from a stationary position however she is now trying to throw the daggers as fast as possible. Switching between the centre and the very edge each time she throws the daggers

    After this Kathicia is done for the day, and has a break in the forest.
    The next day Kathicia does the same practice however with a different dagger to get used to this one for the next two days Kathicia does similar actions until she is proficient with her hands at throwing the three copper and one iron daggers.

    On the fifth day Kathicia proceeds to go back to practicing throwing the daggers from her chains into the targets, this practice took the entire day using each of the daggers. On the next day Kathicia began practicing rapid throwing and then throwing all 4 daggers at once, with throwing all 4 at once Kathicia did 5 variants of throwing, All daggers in the chains, all daggers in the hands, 1 dagger per chain/hand, daggers all on the left and finally all the daggers on the right side of her body. On the 7th day Kathicia brings back a corpse of a deer to the area that she had been training in and began her rituals to Avrav for the sabbath day as she had still not been able to find an opponent whom is actually worth fighting. The next week the training regime is repeated with far better starting results.
    The targets are about the size of a person’s head.
    Kathicia re-trained herself in the art of throwing daggers both with her hands and her chains~
     
  17. AliceShiki

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

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    Welp, this took way longer than I expected, but the new quest batch is live everyone, sorry for the delays, again~

    We'll try to release the rank-up quests for everyone that still needs them this week~

    On a side note, please poke me if you reach rank-up requirements, we don't keep track of points for the most part, so you'll probably go unnoticed if you don't say anything.

    I know we still own a rank up quest for Haitaka, michael.kx5, Arexio, WhitesRabbit48, Zone Q11, Spearoflies and A5G_reaper, but I dunno if we missed anybody else.


    And as usual, if you don't want to receive those mentions anymore, just poke me and I'll remove you from the tag list~
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2019
  18. Zone Q11

    Zone Q11 『The Gas Mask』『Monochrome Plebeian』

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    Zoan was quite troubled. Ever since he had finished the hunter's quest, he had given the task of watching over the black feathered winged-kin onto an innkeeper. The search of the person who would watch over the kid alone was difficult, but then came the price as well.
    "Forty small copper coins." Zoan doesn't know whether the innkeeper is scamming him or not, and he knows that 40 small coppers is equivalent to 8 cheap meals. To someone who has over 80 large copper coins, the loss of that much wasn't too big.

    The nomad took out his pouch, counted 40 small coppers, and gave them all to the innkeeper. While the latter was satisfied with the payment, the nomad was still left with one big problem: the kid.
    'What do I do with this brat...?' Finding the innkeeper before him is one thing, but after taking four hours to search for anyone to babysit the kid, he understood that the odds of anyone watching over them is practically zero; he only has the innkeeper. He was gone for two nights alone, and the costs is already equivalent to 4 large coppers.
    'Forget the living expenses for me and Herst, this kid is going to eat all my money if I can't get rid of her soon!' With that thought in mind, Zoan went back to the place with the best odds of finding the solution; the Adventurer's Guild.

    --- --- ---

    "I am sorry, but I am afraid that you will have to raise her by yourself," said Miss Aria.
    Zoan gave her a stunned face, taking a moment before asking: "Would you... please explain to me... why or how you came to that conclusion?"
    "Well, the options you have given to yourself -in your own words- were: raising her, sacrificing her for a ritual, releasing her back into the wild, and... selling her off to a slave merchant." Aria slowed down as she said the last option, and showed the nomad a bitter face. "You have clearly stated the pros and cons of each options, but in the end it is obvious that raising her is the only option."

    The two had already been talking about the pros and cons for dozens of minutes:
    -> Sacrificing the winged-kin for a ritual is morally wrong and lawfully equal to committing a crime for practically something that has only around 1% chance of happening.
    -> Releasing her would probably cause more problems, seeing as a quest was what had let the nomad encounter the winged-kin.
    -> Raising the winged-kin would let Zoan have more workers, but then comes the problem of teaching them how to speak and behave properly, and he would also have one more mouth to feed.

    As for the option of selling her... "I am afraid we cannot do that," Aria said in a strict voice. "While slavery is not prohibited, it is an extremely discouraged matter in Nagrand. After all, it wouldn't be a place that people of all sorts of backgrounds would go to otherwise."
    Having been founded by orcs, the town of Nagrand is one that is inhabited by many races. The situation is relatively peaceful, and aside from uncommon famine, there was usually no lack of work either. As such, slavery was not a thing necessary.

    However, things are different in the North, where countless beastmen have been and continue to be enslaved or executed by the humans of the Holy Empire of Men.
    Ironically, it was because of these preposterous actions that many people know of the existence and terror of slavery, and it was also the cause that many towns -including Nagrand- prohibit the deed as much as possible.
    "I am unsure about this, but I assume that it might be more common in other towns in Ternus, and... when it comes to the Empire, I am fairly certain that they would allow it there," the receptionist said with an unhappy tone.

    "Hrm..." Zoan was conflicted. He was confused at what to do with the kid that has been tugging his pelt the whole time. At the very least she seemed to have learnt how to not constantly screech anymore. Perhaps the innkeeper had taught that to her, or perhaps she remembers that only bad things happen when she screeches.

    "Travelling to Empire... is not an option. The map is uncharted, and I don't know much of it either. My tribe has only been travelling around Ternus, and avoided going to the Empire as well. So with slavery off the list, it means that..."
    "Raising her in the meantime is the only option," Aria said with a wry smile.
    "Mmn... Are there truly no other options?"
    The receptionist placed her index finger on her lips, and took a couple of seconds to think.
    "I believe that such is the case. We have an orphanage at Nagrand as well, but it is already overcrowded as is, so I that it is not a viable option either. Sorry Zoan-san, but there is simply no other way."

    "Mm... Alright. It's okay. I... will take care of it for now," Zoan said as he scratches the back of his head.
    Aria twitched a little bit, before saying in a strict voice: "...Zoan-san, the black chicken-kin that is next to you is still a person. Please call don't call her as if she is an object."
    The nomad looked at the winged-kin more carefully this time, however he could not see anything that indicates that the kid is a girl. Then again, the other tribe members did say that he has always been bad with recognizing genders when it comes to children. 'I wonder why that always happen? Perhaps it is because of her feathers?' Regardless, Zoan looked back at the receptionist and nodded: "O-Okay..."

    And thus, Zoan has gained yet another employee.
    "...speaking of which, I have to name you, don't I?" Zoan looks at the black winged-kin. It appears that her feathers were functioning more as an accessory rather than wings. He concluded this after seeing her human-like hands.
    "Black Feathers... Yeah, that will do." Zoan then raised Black Feathers to sit on his shoulders, and walked towards Herst's house to explain the situation.
     
    AliceShiki and Nahrenne like this.
  19. A5G_Reaper

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

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    "Finally ready."

    A gourd crouched at the center of his garden, now completely warped compared to its initial state. A set of bamboo fence interlocked to support a series of thick vines growing on it, vines which drip thick black sap every now and then.

    He scooped a small handful of the darkened soil. The color was about right. He ground some between his fingers, feeling the consistency. Took a whiff of the very faint aroma that form once the tarvine sap accumulated. Measuring the numbness on the skin that touched it.

    "Yes, this will do perfectly."

    He unrolled a large piece of thick cloth, in which he haphazardly made a few cuts so it somewhat resist wind and allow a little bit of sunlight to stream through. Then he draped it over the bamboo fence, set up so that the area within the fence were shadowed at all times. The vines would grow over it, with time, but rojiella needed near total shade for it to grow.

    The gourd reached for his multipurpose pouch, taking out a wrapping of wrinkled and dried frond still vaguely red despite how old it was. He cut it in half, keeping one part while the other was cut into small pieces according to the spore pods. He carefully put the pieces into a small bowl and went to set up the environment.

    The red grass was an epiphyte, almost like orchids. It had hardy spores but very steep requirement for it to grow, meaning it rarely grew when all the environmental needs lined up in one place. The fern-like plant had a rather short life cycle too, that also contributed to its rarity.

    First of all, it almost specifically latch onto tarvines.

    Second, it still needed some soil to start growing. Soils infused in tarvine saps worked best - technically it grew almost exclusively on that -, it naturally occured when some soils stuck to the vines from the ground and followed as it grew up.

    Third, it cannot grow with too much sunlight. Quite easy to achieve considering the habitat was in Kadania's jungle-swamp.

    Finally, humidity. When it got too dry the plant withered. He'll need to keep the cloth drenched at all times to artificially increase the humidity of the environment. He also had something custom made for that purpose alone.

    The gourd took out four brown glass jar about the size of a head. Each had small hole on the top and bottom, and was vertically split into equal halves. There was a groove encircling it horizontally so that it could be tied without the rope slipping away.

    First he found a hanging vine around the center of the interlocking fences. The jars were enclosed around it, with lengthy pieces of cloth rolled at the bottom hole like a turban to plug it. Then the jar was tied with leather strips, which also connected to other vines, securing it and preventing fall.

    The gourd then filled the jar with soil from the gap on the top hole, up until halfway point. Finally he carefully spread several spore pods into the jar, and laid a thin strip of cloth over the top hole.

    He repeated it to four different jars, then generously sprayed water onto the thick cloth enclosing the whole setup. He also started a fire to boil a kettle of water inside, all to make it as humid as possible.

    "Phew, done! Would need daily care for quite a while. I guess I can't go anywhere far for too long..."

    The whole setup cost almost an entire silver, especially the extremely specific glassware. Money aside - he could earn that with some work -, his supply of rojiella spores cannot be replenished so he couldn't afford to ruin those. The gourd hoped that at least one of them would sprout properly.
     
  20. Unreachable Hope

    Unreachable Hope Unspecified, Wandering and Doubtful Member

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    Seeing that it was his quest to rank up, Cinis sighed, it was too troublesome. Probably, a noble from the Holy Empire of Men, what a coincidence, considering the quote : “Allow me to see the wonders of the primitive Demi-Human society”, he is probably from the North, or at least between the South and the North. Otherwise, he would be tactful instead of being so straight-forward. But not a fool either, there was some disdain but not as much.

    So, first, he will need to prepare himself before meeting with the envoy, considering his looks, someone in commoner’s clothes, a shabby look, linen bandages on his arms. That is not going to start well, or so he thought. What armor should he take? If he was from the North, around his region, most people are well-versed into weapons and armors. Considering that he is an adventurer, he should buy a protection that will fit to his status of adventurer.
    Since as an adventurer, he needs to travel a lot, all heavy armor or in iron should be excluded, the most effective afterward should be leather according to common knowledge, but, it is still not really efficient. Unless he had a carriage where he could carry anything in it, however, he did not. While leather armors can be good with enough work, it is actually not fit for travelling, plus the fact that there probably won't be any armor that will be worth the money here, he thought.

    “Well, let's just take gambeson, it’s cheaper on top of that.”, Cinis thought as he decided to go into the merchant area, he wondered where he would find gambeson. Not in a blacksmith’s workshop for sure. A tailor perhaps? He tried to see if in his memories, there was someone he saw or heard that seemed to be a tailor.
    Oh well, he will just see how it goes or ask people that pass by, it would be quicker this way. And he will not need time to think about where he could have seen one.

    “Excuse me, do you know if there are any tailor around here?”, instead of searching uselessly, Cinis directly asked a pedestrian that looked at him, rather perplexed before replying to his question.
    “Eh? Well, Itor, Itor the tailor should be around. Probably… further in the northeast, he should be there, not much people go to him due to his temperament, you should just go ask any merchant to get what you wish, it will be less unpleasant.”, it does not begin well, the half-elf thought that Itor must have a bad reputation, which was one more reason to go to him. It means that there won’t be too many people there, it will not be crowded, he will not have to wait, hopefully, the price of gambeson won’t be too expensive.
    “Thank you very much for the details.”, if he had such a bad opinion of Itor, wouldn’t he normally give the name of another tailor instead of him? On top of that, he did not speak about his skill, only that his issue was his reputation, does it mean that he was a decent tailor despite his personality? He was unsure.
    Oh well, in the end, he already decided since the very start, he did not wish to see a merchant, but preferred to go to a tailor to get his gambeson.

    ***

    Some dozens of minutes later, the adventurer found himself in front of a seemingly shabby shop, the door was tattered, the signboard was old-fashioned and on the verge of collapsing and turning to dust. How appealing indeed.
    Understanding a bit better to why his reputation was apparently bad, the half-elf knocked to the door first, to see if it was closed or not. The windows seemed to placarded with wooden planks from the insides. To be fair, it seemed like an abandoned place, it would not surprise him if that so-called Itor was dead at the moment. However, since he owns a place, he supposed that the person should be rather well-off despite everything.

    The wind was whistling, pushing the already crumbling signboard, it felt like it was going to fall off at any seconds, after two little minutes, Cinis took the doorknob and pushed the door, it was open. Perhaps he could put a sign on the door or something similar? He could not know whether it was open or closed from outside, quite impractical and bothersome according to him.

    “I hate waiting…”, he muttered before entering into the building, inside, it was rather small, at least, the room he ended up in. There was a counter, a table and a few chairs, that’s all, behind the counter, there were two doors. Sitting on a chair, Cinis decided to wait once again, perhaps someone will pop up at a moment.
    He looked up at the ceiling and felt rather sleepy, the chair slowly began to lean against the wall along with the half-elf’s head. Why not take a nap in the meanwhile? Waiting was too much of a pain in the ass.

    “Oh well… let’s sleep then.”, and dream, hopefully, dream about the future, obviously, that was a faint hope, he always was dreaming about the past, can it be called dreaming though? Perhaps it should be called reminiscing? He did not know how to feel about it. Or actually, he did not wish to feel anything about it.
    Gambeson, good ol’ gambeson, the guards were wearing this all the time, it reminded him of the first time he trained with them, it was awful, iron gloves plus gambeson, quite unfair in his opinion when he had nothing. The age matters as well… let’s just stop thinking about it, after all, he will just be a witness to his own memories, as always, as always...
    Waking up to the sunlight, the kid stretched his arms and pushed his hair to the sides, so he could see properly, he thought about how he should deal with it. Getting on the floor, he felt strangely lighter than usual, his bones did not seem to crack, to rattle or anything along those lines, he felt perfectly… fine, oddly fine. It was too comfortable? Maybe, he did not know, what did he know anyway? A child who never entered into a house, who barely knows what is actually a bed, he just knows that it is comfortable and used for sleeping. Although, that was the second or third time he saw one, but the first time he used one as well.

    “Come here, I am gonna cut your hair.”, no greetings, just an order. Cutting his hair? You can do that? Unsure whether it was possible or not, Cinis just shook his head. Seeing this, Liya clicked on his tongue and said after sheathing his dagger, warning him.

    “Well, I warn you, that’s not gonna be alright, just let me tie your hair, it won’t hurt or anything, it will also make your view… clearer without having this bunch of hairs on your face.”, this time, he did not acknowledge Cinis’ reply, he literally took him by the hair, dragged on the ground, scraping his body against the floor, put him on the chair, took his hair and made a hair bun out of it.
    “...you could have told me to sit on the chair?”, the child said as he rubbed his skin who was now slightly hurt due to his bodyguard’s violent behavior toward him despite the fact that, considering his position, he should be protecting him instead of harming him, shouldn’t he? Unless the common folk knowledge was really lacking, it should be like this, from the gossips he heard, unintentionally, nobles seemed to waste a lot of money on their children, preceptors, trainers, teachers, and so on. They did not enter in much contact with them, who took care of their children? Not the parents for sure, but their subordinates. How… peculiar? Was it the word? He did not know, he did not know.

    “Anyway… these are your… soon to be trashed clothes, but still wear them.”, how were these trashed clothes? A white cotton shirt that was in perfect state, that smelt rather nice and was comfortable, a basic black pants made from…. linen? Liya seemed to be unsure when he was asked this, then, some leather boots, because he would need them, instead of walking naked feet.
    Taking them and putting on his new clothes, it felt quite comfy, he thought that it would be a shame if they were damaged, he did not take Liya’s warning to his heart, not at all, he was feeling safe and sound, for now that is, he did not notice anything that seemed to be wrong except this suspicious situation to be picked to be the new Lord’s son? Liya saying not to die too soon and the guards’ urge to train with the young lord that is him for some occult reasons.

    Oh.
    So that’s why his clothes are going to get trashed? The training, the guards are going to train with him, right, was it not the first thing they wished to do once they saw him coming on the field? On their land? Yes, indeed, it was this, it was what they desired. What a shame he did not think about it until he realized the situation he was in. But how cutting his hair was related to this? He wondered a few seconds then it faded, once they were all there, some servants on the side, and three dozens of guards in the training field? No, two dozens? How unfortunate.

    “Good morning sir, it is time for your daily morning training, Priest Alfred shall be taking care of you in case you get injured in any way during our training. Do not worry, no gains without harms, right? You will gain a lot.”, feeling the doom pending on him, the child’s face became colder and colder and colder, he had a little bit of hope when he entered this place, he thought that it will be different than the streets, that people won’t vent on him their frustration, it looked like he was wrong, no, not only wrong, he was definitively beside the point, how foolish, how stupid, how dumb. How like him he thought.
    All of them were wearing a sort of sturdy black cloth? Hardened cloth? He did not know what was the word, if he could ask Liya, he would get an answer, however, he could not, they also had gloves, in iron.

    “Er… can you remove your gloves?”, the first guard, in front of him, did not react and kept them. Isn’t it a bit too violent for a start?
    “Gravis, remove them.”, the guard was named Gravis? What an odd name. Grave, how cheerful as well. Was it his goal? To send him to his grave? How… boring, far from being the first, eh.

    “Alright, alright… I am removing them… I will just…” , before the child could react in any way, he felt a punch right to the belly, then, Gravis removed the gloves, he stretched his arms, threw the gloves at Liya who sidestepped and made a hand sign to Alfred who sighed and grumbled as he went toward the young lord.

    “Oh God… what did you convey me with such a… aaah… it’s only the start and already injured…”, rubbing his head, he inhaled, exhaled and then casted a healing spell on Cinis who restrained himself to puke due to the shock.

    “Eeeeeh, nothing broken it seems… just slightly injured… organs, gosh, you are frail and malnourished as well… what an awful combo. Well, get up now and get beaten a bit later, okay? Try to avoid at the very least.”, he had the right to avoid the hit? That was surprising, he thought that he should take the hit, why? Because he would not have the choice, he would just move a slight bit so it hit at the places that seemed to be the most useless, where it’s flabby like the belly, there is nothing like the things that rattle or can crack in his flesh… it is white when it’s out of the body.

    Standing up, he asked a straightforward question to Liya and Alfred, since the priest seemed to wish to be done with it as quickly as possible.
    “How much time is left?”

    “Probably one hour and fifty minutes?”, great, he did not understand. A sigh escaped his mouth, his eyes became like doll’s, his skin seemed to be… pale? It seemed that there were less… yellow? An optical illusion, they thought as the second guard came.
    “M’turn, m’turn, s’howdya w’nt to deal with it? I hit, you sidestep to the left, okay?”, it seemed to be rather simple, if only he did not have this broken speech partner, it sounded repulsing. What was he? A beast? Couldn’t he talk properly?
    A sigh escaped the child's mouth, while he did not shake nor nod his head, the second guard immediately proceeded to what he planned to do, strike the head, unlike Gravis, he still had his gloves, he could die in one hit if he did not avoid. The young lord sidestepped to the left and then… a kick came from his right side, sending him on the ground for a second time. It was softer, nothing broken.

    “...ya actually believed me… ye bastard, and why the… where… what… I don’t want to continue anymore. It spoilt ma mood.”, then he left. Why? Why did he seem upset by Cinis like this? What was unpleasant? His face, perhaps? Probably, it was expressionless, as if nothing happened, his eyes were still like doll's, there was no emotions they could perceive, anger? No. Regrets? No. Disappointment? No. Apprehension? No. Scorn? No.

    Nothing. Just nothing. They could not know whether it was genuine or comedy. They just did not know, it was perplexing. Despite the fact that he was going to attempt to his life, the child did not show any particular reaction, it was disturbing, he did not wish to continue in those conditions.
    A third one came then, unlike the two previous ones, he did not bother with the greetings and simply started to attack, first, a straightforward and simple strike toward the child’s chest, quickly, he lowered his body and avoided the hit by passing under his arm. But, before he could realize, he felt his left cheek hurting, once again, he fell on the ground, a crack loudly appeared on his jaw.

    While he was on the ground, the third guard’s left leg violently balanced toward Cinis, aiming at his belly, planning to crush it, to make him puke all of his insides, to let the blood flow on the field, unexpectedly, despite it being a first time in a fight, the child rolled on the ground and avoided the kick, he just felt something brushing his back, the tip of iron boots, how… reassuring.

    He gulped and as he was backing down, wondering how he should avoid his strikes, he wanted to gain time… nevertheless, as he was approaching the limits of the training field, something struck him down, from behind, another one assaulted him, he felt his scapulas cracking. Heartlessly, the third guard stamped on his shoulder, provoking the break in his bones.

    A scream was choked, the half-elf was biting on his left arm so he does not let any sounds escape from his mouth, instead, he could taste blood, sweat and soil. His body was trembling, convulsing, breaking. Then, coughs followed the suffering, spreading the blood, everything that was blocked in his throat.

    A sigh escaped the bodyguard’s mouth as he made another hand sign to the priest.
    “Go on, can’t let another one die. Take your time.”, the ones who were expected to train Cinis stared at Liya in rather a furious manner, perhaps because they did not wish him to stay alive? Isn’t that a bit too cruel? It was a child after all. That was the least of their problems, a child? That is basically an object to trade or to train, to pass on their legacy, some people did not wish to see the legacy getting passed due to the lord’s monstrous behavior.
    It was the case for the guards, and it did not bother them in the slightest, since it was far from being the first one, for some reasons, they did not seem to take attention of his unusually long ears.
    Despite being in the north, they did not pay attention to this non-human aspect, it was odd but nobody pointed it out, as if it was normal to treat an elf like any human children, shouldn’t they just lock it in a cage and sell it somewhere, this thought never crossed their mind, never ever.
    Opening his eyes, Cinis yawned and saw someone in front of him, behind the counter, reading a newspaper. It was an old man with decrepit hair, falling skin, trembling hands, smileless face and oddly furious eyes that did not fit his age, according to him.
    Usually, he thought that in old people, he would mainly see people with weary eyes, people exhausted and drained due to time, time that can not be stopped no matter what, as someone once said, you never bath in the same stream. Or something along those lines.

    “Excuse me, are you Itor? The tailor?”, he stood up and slowly went to the counter, ironically taking his time despite what he has thought earlier. After all, despite everything, hurrying yourself won’t bring anything good, only troubles and inattention. Even if death is closely following you, walking in the steps you leave behind, just quietly and slowly walk, if you hurry, death will hurry as well.
    No need to sprint, no need to accelerate the process… or so he wished, he wished he could do this, he thought that he needed to hurry, to do everything he needs in order to feel safe, however, that is probably impossible, so why hurry now? Just calm down and walk peacefully toward the end… he should stop being so redundant, isn’t it?

    “Aye? Tis me. What do you want?”, not even bothering to rise his eyes to the half-elf who asked him a question, the old man continued to read his newspaper without much care.
    “I would like a gambeson please. If possible one of the highest quality you have. As for the price, I have the necessary money. More than enough for sure, after all, it’s gambeson.”, the old man rolled his eyes and all of his fingers lifted, wasn't it too cheap?
    “5LC? Are you giving me your cheapest gambeson or?”, the young adventurer frowned due to Itor’s attitude.

    “50LC. You said you were ready to pay more than enough.”, he really took him to his word, that was too much. He could buy a leather armor with that if he wanted to which requires much more work and expensive materials.

    “If you are trying to scam, be reasonable at the very least, for example, 30LC, while that is still too much, it is worth it to pay for it in my opinion. Might as well get a pair of leather boots and another set of clothes.”, the old man sighed, stood up and opened the door to the back room.

    “Aren't you supposed to take my measurements?”, if they are wrong, that is even worse than expected, Itor would scan him with wrong measurements… how reassuring! Isn't it?
    “I took them while you were sleeping like a pig.”... well, at the very least, he does his work properly, he even anticipated before the adventurer even speaks out. It was quite practical… albeit, a bit scary since the half-elf did not wake up when his the old man was measuring him. Were some of his belongings stolen?

    “And I didn't steal anything.”, if he says so, he will not believe him and check everything he has on him, if anything is missing.
    After a minutes, it seems that the tailor did not lie and was truthful. There was not much to search after all, on top of that, except the crossbow, the rest of his equipment does not have much value.the crossbow, he had nothing that really had a monetary value, the seax might be of value if Itor knew its history, however, he does not as it is what someone could call, family affairs. Nobody except three people should know anything about it, if someone else knows… then.
    Then, after the tailor left to see if he cold reply to Cinis’ order, the half-elf thought that he could perhaps take another nap. Thus, his eyelids fell, and once again, he fell asleep, going back to his reminiscing.
    nice[/I] meal"]
    What happened after this lynch? is what he would think if he did not remember clearly the suffering that remains on his body, his whole body was aching, as well as he felt sick, on the verge of puking at any seconds. He could barely walk and needed Liya to support him at every step.

    “...Liya… later… cut my hair.”, his bodyguard nodded and wholeheartedly agreed to his order, after all, was it not what he wished to do since the very start? It just that the young lord he was serving was a stupid child who still did not realize what he was going to live on a daily basis.
    “Of course, beside, we are soon arriving to the hall, where you will have a meal with the lord.”, now that he thought about it, why lord? The child thought about how people called nobles in the street, they were calling them by their status, however, since he arrived here, he only heard the word lord, and never heard words like “Baron, Viscount, Duke, Count, Marquis, …” and so on. It was the same for many other terms.
    Without any attention, Cinis did not even watch where they were going, he just let himself getting led by Liya, his retinue, eyes closed, for some reasons, he began to trust Liya, rather quickly despite the many suspicions he had toward him since there were many things which could be misunderstood. Like when he wished him to survive.

    Opening his eyes, he found himself in an unexpectedly small room with three ways, one at the right, one at the left, and one behind him. He assumed that he came from the one behind him. There only one thing in this room, excluding all the sumptuous and hellish decorations that were all around him.
    A round table for six people supposedly, there were two plates, placed in front of each other, to be exact, was it his lunch? Actually, it was not important, Liya left and then the child was left with his father, yes, his father, the lord was here, waiting for him.

    “Come, sit and eat. That is your lunch. Afterwards, I will have a few questions regarding your day here.”, there was no way to refuse anything to him, if he said anything that will upset him, basically, he will become one head shorter which would be a shame, he was already quite small, so if he becomes shorter, it would be terrible, isn’t it?
    Silently, after nodding his head, the child sat on the chair in front of the father and looked at his plate, it was… meat? He thought considering the color and consistency, it seemed that there was some transparent sauce that was slightly red? Like blood, so meat, is it? Beside it, there were carrots with a bit of cheese, it looked like a fancy meal, was there even any bread? Oh yes, there was, in a bowl between the both of them.

    “..uhm… what are those?”, the child took the fork and knife and lifted them to show it to the lord, first, he frowned and then his face seemed to relax after a long sigh.
    “Just watch and learn I suppose.”, then, his father proceeded to eat his meat with his cutlery, odd he thought, a child watching someone eating with interest is indeed a strange sight. It was the first one that did not seem to know anything.
    Was he really that poor? He could not help but wish to know more about his child, to see how he could deal with him to the fullest.

    “How was your life?”, he continued to deal with his meat, finely slashing one piece with a smile that did not seem to be natural. For sure, Cinis could easily guess that as he continued to observe his movements, keeping his pupils on his hands while trying to mimic them, he replied to his question on a disinterested tone.
    “Streets, mud, rain, beating, stealing, eating.”, could he not be more careful with his wording? Did he not realize that…
    “Ah. This morning, I was beaten up by the guards, anyone can teach me how to talk? So, I can beat them with at least one thing.”, an unexpected good thinking, the lord thought, while it was flawed and that the child wished to reply violence with violence, he thought that for someone with so little knowledge, he was already taking the path he wished him to go, before even elaborating a plan, it was already successful, if that is not practical.

    “Then, what about it? I will train you, the whole afternoon.”, he announced to his child with a benevolent smile that clearly did not fit him, while it seemed to be pretty odd. It was fine, as long as he gets what he wanted, he thought that nothing would happen, nothing nasty, and well, since he was willing to help, there is no problem with that, right?
    “We shall start after finishing.”, however, it seemed that now Cinis did not have the choice but to be trained by his father since they were going to train with his confirmation, he could not back down anymore.

    Two hours later, with many difficulties, the half-elf succeed at finishing his plate, for a first time using a knife and a fork, he thought that he was pretty quick. It was time to start with the verbal training.

    “So, how do you wish to speak? Politely? Commonly? Familiarly? Or violently?”, there were different way of speaking, at the very least, the child knew this, since in the streets, for example, near the market stalls, they were these people who were neatly clothed

    "Defiance... so... I suppose violently, but... is violently really a way to speak?", Cinis felt a little perplexed about the four of them, his father, when hearing him, simply nodded and began to speak on a sarcastic and tyrannical tone.
    "So, a simple worthless child like you is beginning to question me? Do you feel overconfident? Do you wish to meet death so quickly? Do you realize that your life is meaningless? That you shouldn't be here, that you should just beg for your life, yet, here you are, questioning, living, and standing up to me, - something along those lines. But it would be in the other sense as for you, I am up, you are down after all.", his tone felt quite insulting, while it did not affect the child in the slightest, he thought that he understood the gist of it, the tone was pretty important, how the words are turned as well.

    “Try to curse at me.”, it was time to reverse the roles and see how that child will deal with this, can he improvise?
    “Looking me from above as I was a waste, calling me worthless and the such, did you see yourself? Do you have more worth than me? If yes, how? Because you have money? Then, what is the worth of money? To buy things? Are they worth something? Do you matter to the world? If you were here, would it be different? No, of course not, I might be worthless, but we are two.”, it was a bit disappointing. It was too general, he was not insulting him but a context, a situation. However, there was something, before that, he will need to extend his vocabulary, that is a bit poor.
    Snapping his finger woke up the adventurer who almost fell off his chair, how long did his slumber last? He was unsure, as long as he was not asleep for a few days, it was fine according to him. If he slept a few hours, it meant that he had a nice rest and did not waste his time overthinking or waiting.
    Itor looked at him and pointed at the counter on which was exactly what he asked, gambeson, leather boots and a common set of clothes.

    “Wear them.”, after a sigh, the half-elf stood up and stretched his whole body, bones cracking, muscles tensing, slowly slipping out of his slumber, he looked at the ceiling and thought about Hornety, he wondered what she dreamt about these few last days, perhaps she helped them survive with her dreams? Or these were not really reliable, he did not know how to feel about it. Let’s think about something else, he immediately proceeded to wear the gambeson along with the leather boots. A minute later, it seemed that everything was perfect, the movements seemed to be rather flexible and the boots were in a pretty good state, it was comfortable on top of that, that’s perfect.

    “Mhmmm, it is pretty good. Better than I expected to be honest. 20LCC, right?”, taking the twenty large copper coins, he handed them to Itor who did not say a word and simply went back behind the counter, he was not really talkative. At the very least, he properly did his job, his personality was far from good, but his skills seemed to be decent which is enough. After paying for the gambeson he was now wearing, Cinis did not speak and immediately left the tailor’s workshop.

    What was next? He did not need to get any weapons according to himself, it was pretty fine with what he currently had, after all, his forte never was using sharp weapons, it was hand-to-hand fights, on top of that, he has a crossbow. Perhaps he could simply brush Odio? Ah, perhaps he should change appearance? After all, what if that envoy knew who he was? It would be rather troublesome for everyone, he might need to kill the envoy. How troublesome was this rank-up quest, could he not get something like ‘assassinating X person?’, it would be much more easier, on top of that, he is not that unfamiliar with that kind of quest while as for diplomacy…

    Let’s say that threats were his thing and he was talented at provoking plus intimidating people through words and… acts as well, from time to time, almost half of the time. Anyway, was it not time to meet that envoy? He wondered, perhaps he should buy a few things before going to him. Strolling around the stalls, seeing what there were, curiously, he thought that it was the first time that he was slowly looking at the market’s products.
    At a moment, he saw something, a necklace with an iron cross, while that was rather unoriginal and common, it was always nice to have one on yourself, or so he thought. Nevertheless, he did not buy it. He only bought ten kilos of carrots for Odio as he exhausted the last batch, around fifteen large copper coins.
    It was time to begin.
    OOC: Poof! 5K words it seems~
    Now, I can begin my rank-up quest~