Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Receptionist's Desk

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

  1. AliceShiki

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

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    I can't say I approve knocking your quest giver unconscious, but you did clear the request, so I suppose it's fine... Hopefully he'll survive the caves somehow...

    A lich though? I'm not glad to know this at all, but it's better than not having the knowledge I suppose.

    In any case, good job out there, the rewards are 63 Large Copper Coins to split as you see fit as well as 6 Guild Points for each~

    Take care now~

    ((*pokes @Unreachable Hope and @Blackwater too*))
     
  2. AliceShiki

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

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    Well... I can only fail the request, but... Those are some gloomy news... Thanks for the report, Nero-san, Lethe-kun.

    Be careful now, hopefully this passes soon...
     
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  3. AliceShiki

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

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    Glad you were able to solve everything Fen-san, to think it was the guard captain the one causing the troubles... At least it's not a problem anymore~

    Congratulations, you're officially a D-ranked adventurer now~

    Please take this Bronze Guild Badge, as before, it has your name carved in its back, though not as shoddily as it was last time... And as before, a fine will be issued in case of loss, so please be careful with it~

    Good luck in your future endeavors, gods blessings upon you, don't relax just because you have a higher rank, alright~? *bows*
     
  4. AliceShiki

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

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    *puts fingers on her forehead* When I read that knights wanted their deathmatch being seen, I instantly thought they were from Randgriz... What's up with those people that believe some town guards have knightly titles?

    No wonder they were scammed... Still, glad you two were able to solve it, hopefully the rest of the guards learn their lesson from this~

    The rewards are 19 Large Copper Coins for you two to split as you see fit, as well as 4 Guild Points for each.

    Take care now~

    ((*pokes @Dovey too*

    And oh God, I loved this report, it was hilarious! xD))
     
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  5. AliceShiki

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

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    Well, what he wanted was a break, and I think he got happy with teaching you some basics about fighting, even if it wasn't a big challenge to him~

    Good job Ayumi-chan, the rewards are 7 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now~
     
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  6. AliceShiki

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

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    Oh gods, this was a wonderful design~

    I wonder what will Jack-san's reaction be to this when he finds out about it~

    Thanks for the hard work Lykke-san, the reward will be of 10 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now~
     
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  7. A5G_Reaper

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

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    "Raphtalia?"

    "Ra'Talia."

    "Alright, so, the whole place's all dry for about a year but recently a particularly large area, your village included, remained dry. That's why you didn't realize it until you leave the afflicted place."

    "Yes, that's about right."

    "Alright, I'll look into it."

    Leaving the client's lodging place, the gourd looked on the direction of Skyfall keep.

    "Sure hope it's not that place acting up again."

    *****

    Travelling toward the village, the gourd soon enough walked into the 'dry circle'. It's a patch of land that abruptly switch from green grass into arid land, like someone carelessly splotch brown on a field of green. According to the map the ratkin's village should be quite further in, so there's still some way to go before reaching it.

    "...it's kinda curving?"

    The gourd observed the dividing line. It's straight at a glance, but at the distance it noticeably curved. Unerringly consistent too. As if it's a giant circle instead of a splotch of land...

    "Vertigo."

    Within half a minute of freefalling, the gourd eventually got to see it from a bird's eye view. There was indeed a massive circular patch of dead vegetation, with the village about a third away from the closest edge. He couldn't see anything near the center, but it's worth investigating.

    Cancelling the Brand, the gourd plummeted back down to the earth with occasional reactivation to slow down his fall. Landing lightly on his feet, he resumed his trek to the middle of the dryland.

    *****

    "Should be around here..."

    The gourd was about the center now. The heat noticeably spiked when he's about a kilometer away from it, so he was sure there's something around there. Now that he reached the center the air was twisting from the heat, slowly cooking him like an old oven. The gourd looked around, feeling that something's amiss, when the ground rumbled.

    A crack formed, rapidly rose, nefore breaking to reveal a massive red lizard with black spots running from its snout all the way to its tail. About half the size of the drake he fought in the dungeon, he reckon. It roared,warning him not to come closer, as the black spots burst in shower of flame.

    ".. why is there a salamander in the middle of the plain"

    It roared again, blasting a gout of flame from its mouth. The gourd hopped aside, scalding heat licking him as the blast went wide, and draw his blade.

    "Kill first, questions later. Arcane Armament."

    The gourd dashed forward, avoiding more fireblasts as he circled the fire lizard. The moment it halted to draw breath he Darted in, drawing blood from its sides. Its tail attempted to swat him but a cast of Shadowflip sent him crawling under the creature's shadow, emerging on the other side to land more blows.

    He fought steadily, opening wounds that leak blood all over the place as the salamander grew more sluggish, yet it thrashed so much desperately as time passed. The gourd made another pass under its chin, opening another would that robbed it of its front leg, sending the lizard backward... before it braced and stop.

    "...huh? That's the hole it came from."

    Why was it protecting the place? He recalled that the salamander attcked less fiercely when he's in the direction of the hole...

    ...the silence was broken by light cracks, followed by light keening sounds from within the hole. The salamander eemed to forgot about the gourd as it rushed back; he followed carefully to find the momma salamander surrounded by a bunch of tiny ones the size of a gecko.

    "Ah. So that's why? Troublesome creatures."

    The gourd made shooing motion at the salamander the moment it turned to glare at him. Seems that the message went through as it slowly lumbered further into an existing tunnel down that hole, the little ones clambering atop of its back.

    After about ten minutes, the heat slowly receded and there had been no sound from the tunnel for a while. The gourd went down to examine, finding that after few steps the dirt tunnel turned into polished granite passageway. It had collapsed at that point for a while and dirt buried the breach until that salamander reopened the path.

    The depth was pitch black.

    "Yeeeah, not investigating that. The lizard shouldn't be coming back."

    He collected the eggshells before returning. They're orange and warm to touch. Perhaps there's some use for those alchemists, they tend to need the weirdest stuff.

    -Cause of the heat: a momma salamander waiting her egg to hatch.
    -Solution: evicted momma salamander and her kids.
    -Additional: found what seemed like part of an ancient underground network. Probably dwarven.
    -Gains: salamander eggshells. Rather warm to touch.
    @AliceShiki
     
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  8. Blackwater

    Blackwater Well-Known Member

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    @AliceShiki
    Having taken the quest, I immediately head out to find Elias and get rid of his problem. Being the target of a one-sided love without regards to the other person... truly, a terrible thing. Whilst this probably does not require an execution, I must be ready to fight for justice if required. I doubt that the stalker will stop peacefully.

    Finally reaching Elias' shop, I knock on the door. Someone inside opens the door a tiny bit and then heaves a sigh of relief, fully opening the door. The orc which enters my eyes is dressed in brown clothes stained with various kinds of dirt and oil, but what I notice the most is how frightened and timid he seems.

    "You're the adventurer?" Asks the orc hurriedly, glancing over my shoulder from time to time. I confirm it calmly, and continue to ask: "Where is the target?"

    He pulls me inside and slams the door shut behind me, then grabs a paper with a drawing of a woman on it to show me: "This! This is her!" The drawing seems to be of a human woman with long, red hair, in pretty normal clothes. Doesn't look anything special, but if he is this certain, then I won't doubt him.

    "No worries," I console him, "I will get rid of her."

    "Good, good! I simply can't stand it anymore!" exclaims Elias, almost pushing me out of the door. Before slamming it shut again, he begs me: "Just... hurry, please."

    I nod, and as expected he slams the door shut. It must be worse than expected if he's like this? Once outside, I am clueless. Looking around, I do not spot the woman anywhere. With a shrug, I enter a nearby alley and start walking around whilst looking for the said woman.

    Then, after a few minutes of wandering, I spot someone that might be that woman. And she seems to be approaching me? Well, this could make it easier. After spotting her I dash into a side alley, and after a few turns, I somehow both manage to enter an area without people nearby, and get lost at the same time!

    And before I get any further, the woman dashes around the corner behind me, dagger in hand! Well, this escalated quickly. Good thing she still is a bit away. I manifest my sword and the woman is visibly shocked - but only increases the speed at which she runs towards me, probably attempting to get too close for me to chop her.

    I hold my sword in the long guard, waiting for her to get a bit closer, and then thrust at her whilst stepping forward with my left foot, then immediately moving my right one to my front right without it touching the floor. She manages to dodge the blow whilst I am slightly falling towards the right due to my current balance, causing her dagger to only slightly cut my waist.

    I plant my right leg into the ground and kick her left leg with my left leg with as much force as I can muster, and she loses her balance. Not missing this chance, I push her over, and chop her right hand - the one carrying the dagger - off. Surprisingly, she doesn't scream out in pain but only grits her teeth. Whilst I look down at her, confused, she spits at me: "I won't talk, inhuman scum!"

    "You don't have to talk," I say to her, "for I will execute you anyway." After a few more chops into her legs and her other arm, I push her onto her knees. "Take your time to pray to your god, may he forgive you." She starts to hurriedly say something under her breath in answer.

    I position myself behind her and lift my sword, and start to chant: "As this sword I do lift - I wish the sinner the eternal life as gift." Whilst the last word is spoken I chop my sword at her neck. As it digs into it, some sort of blast from her throws me away and I slam into a wall. Shacking my head to get rid of my dizziness, I see her on the floor, gurgling as she slowly bleeds out from her partially cut through neck.

    This suffering will not do. I raise her to her knees again, and with one more chop, sever her head from her body. Good, finally. I really need something to restrain the one I'm executing. Cutting their arms and legs isn't really feasible. I look through her corpse and actually find (damaged) chainmail on her torso, and some weird letter. I tear it open, and as far as I understand the contents (and can read them, as quite a lot is covered in blood)a, she seems to have been sent to steal something from the tinkerer and deliver it to some person?

    So it wasn't love after all. The last thing I do before ending the quest is to cover up the corpse, and deliver it to a church to be buried. The burial is paid from the money she had with her, and I insist on burying her with all of the objects she carried with her. Well, except for the letter.
    Executer the stalker/thief
    Found a letter and took it with her. The latter is only partially readable due to blood.
    "Apparently, she wasn't a stalker, but a thief?"
     
  9. AliceShiki

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

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    Oh dear... Well, hopefully this is the end of this problem... Though I have to wonder why the Salamander would be there, all alone for a whole year while waiting for her children to hatch...

    We'll have to see how it goes I suppose... In any case, here is your reward Jack-san, 26 Large Copper Coins and 8 Guild Points.

    Take care now~
     
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  10. AliceShiki

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

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    I... Think the requester wanted a more peaceful solution, but... Since they also resorted to violence, I suppose it's fine?

    The reward will be of 10 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points...

    Uhn... Try to not go too far from what your requester wants I suppose? Eagerness to do good is good, but it becomes a bad thing if you start troubling the people you wish to help.

    Take care now~
     
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  11. Fairy-chan

    Fairy-chan 『Appreciates Cuteness』

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    "I am back, there were some complications within the request, but I believe it can count as solved.

    "I have a letter from a circle magi explaining the circumstances in case my word isn't enough."

    This request caught my attention because it was there for 2 weeks now... From what the guild's policies seem to dictate, this doesn't seem like an usual occurrence at all... I suppose it means the requester might really need this quest done.

    It didn't matter much to me though, but it was enough to caught my attention... And that was how I saw myself flying straight to Doylors with just my rations and spellbook in my backpack... It's a good thing I don't need to climb the mountains, because I honestly don't think I would be able to, but the wind was somewhat hectic above them, so it was a somewhat troubling part of the travel.

    Nonetheless, I was safely able to traverse them and reach Doylors without much issue after 2 days flying, I needed to rest when I was halfway there, but the top of trees is a pretty safe place overall, for as long as you aren't bitten by snakes that is.

    It's scary to think snakes could come up to bite me at any moment, but I didn't really have a better place to sleep, so that's what I chose. Nothing happened in the night and as such there was no further issue in the travel to Doylors, I arrived there at around the time of the first bell past midday.

    After contacting the merchant, they explained to me that Archmage Zugzwang's hideout was located in an underground cavern to the Southeast of Doylors. I became somewhat wary because it meant I would be in a place away from public eyes, but I suppose it can't be helped, just gotta trust that the requester will try to, at most try to rob me, and I have no coins with me... Though losing Lurie would be troubling.

    At the same time it's better than my life, and I doubt they would go for anything more than that, too dangerous on their reputation if people start disappearing after getting near them. It should be safe, probably safe at least.

    While I was worried with this internal conflict, we reached the cave and went inside it. The first chamber was indeed a giant chessboard with pieces that were all at least twice as tall as me. I suppose this is where my job starts.

    The requester was considerably worried over a child would be able to properly handle his request, but I told him I was the daughter of a wealthy merchant (I had no need to tell him the important of the word 'was' in this sentence), so I had plenty of experience learning chess and knew some magecraft. In the worst case scenario we could just retreat from the second room if I was incapable of solving it, which was enough to convince them to allow me to try, for as long as I got a smaller payment if I didn't finish clearing the whole hideout.

    I flew to the top of the White King to have a better view of the board, then said my first move aloud to see what would happen. "e4." The pawn in front of the king answered me by moving forward two cases, practical, whatever magic was put into this, was also made to understand common notation.

    Such a waste of money though, there are so many better uses for Silver than to enchant chess pieces in a gigantic chessboard. No wait, even a fool wouldn't waste this much money on it, the enchanted part is probably the chessboard itself and it is moving the pieces, it would be a lot cheaper to make 1 big enchantment than 32 smaller ones. Yes, that's probably the most likely explanation.

    It's still a waste of money, but one that doesn't give me a headache at least.
    Meanwhile, the black pawn moved to 'e5' while I was wondering over the inner workings of the enchantment. I decided to keep on playing with it until an end was reached.

    1. e4 e5
    2. Nf3 d5
    3. exd5 Bg4
    4. Be2 Nd7
    5. O-O Qf6
    6. h3 Bxh3
    7. gxh3 h6
    8. Nc3 O-O-O
    9. d4 Qg6+
    10. Kh1 Re8
    11. dxe5 Bb4
    12. a3 Bxc3
    13. bxc3 a6
    14. Rb1 b5
    15. c4 Qf5
    16. Ng1 bxc4
    17. Qd4 Nxe5
    18. Bxc4 Nxc4
    19. Qxc4 Qe4+
    20. Qxe4 Rxe4
    21. Rd1 h5
    22. Nf3 Ra4
    23. Rb4 Rxb4
    24. axb4 f6
    25. c4 Kd7
    26. Be3 h4
    27. c5 Kd8
    28. d6 g5
    29. dxc7+ Kxc7
    30. Rd6 Kb7
    31. c6+ Kc8
    32. Nd4 a5
    33. bxa5 Ne7
    34. Rxf6 Nxc6
    35. Rxc6+ Kd7
    36. Bxg5 Rh5
    37. Bf4 Ke8
    38. a6 Ra5
    39. Bg5 Ra1+
    40. Kg2 Kf8
    41. Bxh4 Kg7
    42. Bg3 Ra5
    43. Bb8 Rg5+
    44. Kf3 Kg8
    45. a7 Kh7
    46. a8=Q Rg1
    47. Qb7+ Kg8
    48. Rc8#

    Looking back on it, I played quite poorly for this match, but so did the magical chessboard, so it ended up as my win. The movement of the pieces was actually quite entertaining, and one piece broke the other as they fought, which was a nice charm, even if yet another huge waste of money. At the end, once the enemy's king was checkmated, all of the black pieces crumbled and the path seemed safe to move forward.

    I pointed it out to the contractor and they, finally looking somewhat hopeful, ended up moving along eagerly to the corridor visible behind the board.

    The next chamber had many really weird symbols spread all around it, as well as a locked door. Above the door there was a message saying, "Thou that wishes to pass shalt solve the enigma in the ancient language." which apparently means those weird symbols are a language.

    This was annoying, they had no semblance of meaning to them whatsoever, I seriously doubt it was an actual language and not some made up thingy, but it seemed like we needed to go over it in order to proceed. Or rather, I needed, because the requester seemed perfectly content in not doing anything because they didn't know anything about ancient languages.

    This is definitely more than I was paid for... I started going around the room while trying to analyze them to see if I could come up with something, but nothing really came to mind. After five or so minutes like that, I decided to fly up to see if I could notice anything from above. I was not impressed.

    There was a message in the ground actually, apparently those symbols joined together made something that vaguely resembled words in the common tongue, it read the following: 'lul wut? Ya really thought this was an ancient language ya iiiiiiidiiiiiiiiot! Just say 'Open in the name of Zugzwang and the door' will open up for ya!'

    This totally seems like a scam. I decided to play it safe and asked the requester to wait just outside the room before I said the words, a pitfall opened below me with magically lit words at its bottom, reading 'I lied'. Luckily I just flew, so this didn't really affect me, as the fall was big enough to probably kill anyone.

    I decided to say the words 'I lied' next, and then the door actually opened, while the pitfall closed. Such a childish trap this is. I gestured to the requester and we moved forward, they were absolutely scared of falling into the pitfall, but it seemed safe, so we were able to progress without much issue.

    Next chamber was actually the last one, though it might be somewhat underwhelming, it was just an empty room with green glowing words in the wall that read as follows:

    'Greetings from the Circle Magi Gannondorf, if you are reading this, then you're probably a grave robber that found a map in the grave of Archmage Cairos that led here while saying it was the map to the hideout of 'Archmage ZugZwang'.

    'Rest assured that your sinful deeds will not go unpunished, when you said the keywords in the previous chamber, a warning sign was sent to the Coastal Tower Association and a platoon of magi should be coming for you right at this moment. I honestly recommend you surrender or they might use force to apprehend you.

    'Don't worry, grave robbing is not a crime punishable by death, you will probably just remain a few years in a jail.

    'Best regards
    - Circle Magi, Gannondorf, close friend of Archmage Cairos.'

    By the time I finished reading and was about to ask what the requester was going to do about all this, I felt some pain in my neck. "Don't move, or I swear you won't leave this place alive." He said. There was a knife touching my throat, I could vaguely sense a small drop of blood dripping from it.

    What do I do...? I can't... Dad was right, adventuring is for the suicidal, I should have stayed home, I shouldn't have gone out, I should have just let him handle everything like he told me he would do... Please help me... Dad...

    I felt my hands being tied behind my back, I didn't resist, I was crying, my sobs made my throat move closer to the knife and the pain in my neck intensified, that's too much! Please stop!

    No words came out though, I couldn't speak, my throat was dry... The requester stayed behind me and turned me towards the entrance and slowly forced me to move forward, back to the corridor that led to this chamber.

    Before long I heard noises though, must be the mages... Oh gods, please don't kill me, I don't wanna meet mom yet, let me go home, please, I swear I won't cause trouble anymore...

    A group of people came, the knife pressed further into my neck, the pain increased... Please let me go... "Don't try anything, or I kill the girl!" the man behind me said, no no, don't kill me, just let me leave in peace... "You let me escape and she escapes unharmed." S-stop harming me!

    Something suddenly flew through the air, the pain from my neck got smaller, somehow, there was a knife in the hand of one of the mages in front of me, he was grinning.

    Suddenly something pushed me from behind, I fell on the ground, shouts resounded above, a warm feeling spread, then I heard a voice. "It's okay now child, you can rest." Rest? I want to... Rest...
    By the time I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar bed, or rather, an unfamiliar room. I looked around and had honestly no idea where this was. There was also an uncomfortable feeling in my neck, and I tried touching it, it hurt.

    Not only it hurt, there was also something in it, I looked at a nearby mirror and noticed it was a bandage of sorts. I'm not sure I understand my current predicament.

    I tried thinking on what happened so far to lead to this, going from the moment I took a quest in the guild to...

    I started crying, dear gods, what was I thinking in taking such a sketchy request, am I an idiot? What kind of dumb person would take the request to go to the hideout of a mysterious archmage that nobody ever heard of? I could have died there.

    I kept crying while thinking of all the obvious signs that screamed that this request was a problem, the so called descendant of Zugzwang didn't know any magic whatsoever, looked poorer than me and was a merchant instead of a mage, even though he descended from an archmage? Even a child should have known this was sketchy. Even the receptionist warned me as such.

    I suppose I am a dumb child though, damn, why won't my tears stop falling, it's already over, crying over it won't do anything, just... Stop!

    "Excuse me, I'm coming in, you're awake yet?" A voice suddenly resounded, I looked to the door and saw a woman in maid clothes coming inside with a food tray in hands, she looked at me with a flabbergasted face before putting the tray in the ground and rushing towards me.

    I jumped backwards and opened my wings, dangerous, I should escape through the window and-

    At this point I felt my legs getting caught and then I was pulled back towards the bed... No gods, don't kill me yet. Please.

    A hug. I felt the woman's arms embracing me and gently caressing my hair. "It's okay now, you don't need to worry... You're safe here, the danger is gone." She kept saying those comforting words while caressing me.

    I was scared, who was her? What did she want? Why was I here? I had too many questions and no answers... But most of all, I felt washed over by relief, I shouldn't feel this, she's dangerous, I don't know who she was, she could be trying something.

    But my body didn't listen to those thoughts, I cried, I buried my head on her and cried, cried cried and cried over and over again for a long while. I would've probably cried myself to sleep if I hadn't just woken up.

    After who knows how long, I finally calmed down a bit, she looked at me with a warm smile and asked if I felt better now, to which I nodded, apologized for the unsightly behavior and then tried sitting on the bed, but she stopped me and instead sat on the bed herself and put me on her lap.

    Then she explained my current situation to me, apparently I was found in the hands of a madman in the latest expedition of the magi, they killed the man and brought me here after I fainted.
    Here, is the Coastal Tower Association, so I'm back at Doylors. She is Layla, a maid of the Circle Magi Gannondorf.

    Seems like she is not privy to the details of what exactly happened, though I suppose it is to be expected judging on her position, this still seems like a good arrangement to me however. If they think of me as someone that was rescued, I won't be blamed of grave robbery and might actually be able to get something out of this. Since I don't even know if I will be able to get the money from the quest at this rate, considering the requester even died in the process.

    She ended up ignoring my wishes and fed me the tray of food she brought instead of letting me eat by myself, then brought me to talk to this circle magi Gannondorf, she knocked on the door, announced us and wished me good luck before leaving me alone.

    I'm slightly worried she left me to my own devices, but perhaps it might be for the best. He said I could come in, so I opened the door, closed it behind me and did a big curtsy before starting to talk. "My deepest apologies for all the trouble I have caused you, Lord Gannondorf. I cannot express how grateful I am towards your kindness, I might have not survived my past circumstances if it wasn't for your timely intervention."

    I kept my head down while waiting for his reply, he seemed to stutter a bit before saying I could raise, so I looked at him and he seemed embarrassed. Such bad luck, it seems like he is not used to being treated with reverence, probably a commoner that ended up joining the circle through talent alone. And here I thought I had some good chance of getting closer to nobility right now.

    Just what can I get from a commoner mage? I can't think of anything right on the spot, I was sure he was a noble since he had a personal maid. I suppose I'll need to let him lead the conversation and look for an opportunity.

    I ended up asking what he needed of me and he realized he should get the conversation on track and started questioning me about my involvement with Mr. Alair, I explained I was part of the adventurer's guild and was trying to earn some money and ended up getting involved with that questionable person.

    While he was skeptical due to my age and the fact someone with no battle capabilities was able to restrain me, I explained that I did not know how to fight either and that I joined because I was desperate for money and was hoping to take only requests that didn't require me to fight. I also told him I could cast some magic for as long as I had a proper catalyst, which he asked me to demonstrate.

    I ended up asking for Lurie and it was, together with my backpack, resting in the side of his room, so he lent it to me and I did some small wind magic demonstration. This much was enough for him to get convinced of my tale apparently, so he wrote a letter explaining my circumstances and asked the guild to properly reward me for clearing the quest, as even if the requester died in the process, I still did what they asked of me.

    He also paid me 10 Large Copper Coins as a reward for getting rid of a Grave Robber, or well, he tried to, which I faithfully denied by saying I could never accept it as I ended up being saved by him already and how he already gave me so much, and he was the one that took care of Mr. Alair in the end, so I had no right to receive it... Meanwhile he tried pushing it to me because it was only due to my help that he was caught, and he also felt bad for a child involvement in this kind of business and wanted to help me a bit apparently.

    After some back and forth we settled for him owning me a favor in case I needed one in the future. Which was exactly what I aimed for from the moment he offered the coins, I'm glad I could earn something from this in the end, it was worth the trouble.

    We ended up bidding our farewells and promising to meet again in the future, which is a nice start, he can become a business partner in the future, not as good as a noble, but it's a start. A shame his clothes seemed to just have the bare minimum to pass a circle magi, his room is also way too simple and without much decorations, so I don't think I would be able to sell him clothes or paintings, I'm going to need to discover if he has any contacts that are more frugal in the future. Or find out if he likes anything that can become money to me.

    After leaving the tower, I flew away to Nagrand again while thinking of everything that happened. It seems I need to pay more heed to dad's words, adventuring is not a safe profession. It would be better to stop, but... I barely got any money or contacts so far, this is not enough. I'll just need to be more careful with what requests I take in the future I suppose.

    I slept roughly in the same spot as last time in the way back, then reached Nagrand a bit before the second bell past midday. Then went to the guild and delivered my report.
    [OOC]I actually played a match against a lv 4 bot in https://chess.com for the match in the 1st chamber because I didn't want to create a match on the spot.[/OOC]
    Mr. Alair was actually a graverobber, Archmage Zugzwang however, was actually the deceased Archmage Cairos, whose grave had a map to a hideout with a trap that sent a signal to the Coastal Tower Association in order to fetch any graverobbers that desecrated Archmage Cairos' Grave.
    Ended up getting owned a favor from the Circle Magi Gannondorf.
    I should be more careful with what requests I take in the future.

    @Naraku
     
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  12. A5G_Reaper

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

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    (( :blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful::blobfearful: ))
     
  13. jbturkle

    jbturkle Fruit

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    Arawn approaches the receptionist's desk with a weary sigh.

    People were strange. That was an undeniable fact about the world. It also meant that by association, much of their actions would be strange. This specific marriage tradition definitely fit under the “strange” category.


    Arawn was told that it was common practice in the Church of Sin to defenestrate newly married couples to consolidate their love. Defenestration. A rather strange word for a rather strange activity. The action of defenestrating someone was to throw them out of a window. Why anyone even needed a term for that action was beyond Arawn.


    But, regardless, defenestration was an old tradition, and it was to be followed by those who worshipped Sin. So Arawn ignored the unusual nature of his quest and prepared to be thrown out of a window. He arrived at the small church at mid-morning and was greeted by the young apprentice priest, Logan. After exchanging greetings, the newly-acquainted pair got down to business.


    Logan led Arawn to the large window they would be using to defenestrate the couple. It was a wide, tall thing, with enough room to fit both adults. Peering out of the window, Arawn saw that there was a stack of hay piled up under the window, presumably to cushion the fall.


    “I put that there to make sure you don’t get hurt,” Logan explained. “After all, I’m just trying to get some practice in throwing.”


    Arawn nodded in acceptance placed his bags on the ground. He positioned himself before the window and motioned to Logan. The apprentice priest stretched his arms lightly and approached Arawn warily. “Well… I’d like to apologize in advance,” Logan said. “This doesn’t always go right.”


    He seized Arawn with a grunt and heaved him towards the open window. Arawn’s legs caught on the windowsill and prevented him from falling out gracefully. Instead, part of his body remained indoors as the rest came into contact with the wall directly under the window outside the church. He then slid slowly down the wall until he laid in an “L” shape, face pressed against the hay, but with his body pressed against the wall. Not as graceful as he’d hoped.


    Arawn shook off the dizziness and rolled off of the pile of hay onto the grass. Meeting the gaze of the dispirited Logan, he tried to cheer him up. “That didn’t go as well as it could have,” he admitted. “But you just need to warm up and get over your nerves.”


    He clambered back up to his feet and headed back into the church for another round, still as hopeful as he had been when he had arrived. After all, it’s not like Logan could be that bad, right?

    ______________


    Motherf*cker. This d*mn uncoordinated imbecile. Logan had managed to fail the toss not once, not twice, but no less than thirty-two times. They had switched to different stances to test if that was the problem, but there was no change. Logan had even managed to suplex Arawn right into the window frame once. That time, Arawn had sworn he could see his deceased grandfather beckoning to him.


    Now, the duo comprised of a downtrodden apprentice priest and a battered hunter was back to the original position. Of all attempts, the first had been the least painful, so Arawn was hoping it would work.


    Logan grabbed Arawn once more, this time without the grunt, and propelled him out of the window. Arawn’s body drew a smooth parabolic curve in the air and landed in the pile of hay with a light thump. It worked!


    Arawn held back his cheer of excitement. After all, it could have been just a freak accident. There would be no celebrating until they had replicated the action. He raced back into the church with a noticeable pep in his step.


    Several tries later, Arawn was cheering with joy. Logan replicated his previous throw with little deviation. He had finally gotten the hang of it after so many failures. Arawn turned towards Logan in order to congratulate him only to be greeted by a strange object.


    The apprentice priest held out a life-size dummy towards Arawn with a smile on his face. “Now we’ll need to practice with you holding this,” he said. Noticing Arawn’s flabbergasted expression, he continued. “After all, there’s going to be two people when I actually do this for real. We’ll need to simulate that.”


    Arawn blanched in horror at the thought before realizing that he had nothing to worry about. After all, Logan had proven himself to be newly titled Defenestration Master. He’d surely do fine this time, right?

    ______________


    Motherf*cker. This d*mn uncoordinated imbecile. Apparently, no, defenestrating one person and defenestrating one person and a dummy was not the same. Logan seemed to have lost his title of Defenestration Master, bashing Arawn and the dummy into the walls and window frame, or simply missing the bed of hay entirely.


    Luckily, it had taken him fewer attempts to master this form of defenestration this time, and Arawn was let off with only a few bruises and scrapes. He was seen off by a joyous apprentice priest who invited Arawn to be defenestrated by the Church of Sin if he ever got married.


    Arawn made a promise to himself that day. The first was that he would stay well away from the Church of Sin from now on, given that they were all weirdos who threw people out of windows. Defenestration. What a terrifying word.
    @AliceShiki
     
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  14. AliceShiki

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

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    I'm really sorry to say it Arawn-san, but I couldn't hold back my laugher while reading this report~

    At least you didn't get any major wounds from it, even if you almost saw your grandfather once~

    In any case, the reward will be of 8 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now, I highly recommend getting married at the church of Sin, I'm sure you'll enjoy the feeling~
     
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  15. Naraku

    Naraku 『』『』『』

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    After reading the report, Gaap looked at Riguël and let out a sigh, he did not know what to say. While he could simply say 'Solved, here are your rewards.' and get done with it, it was really not his style, the receptionist seemed to be thinking for some minutes, obviously, he already had the rewards in hand. Another sigh escaped his mouth.

    "Haaa... I am definitively no good at this kind of situation. All I can say is that, just in case, when you are done with a quest, never do more than needed. Leave directly, don't search more details... then, learning to fight might be useful, or at least, to avoid and flee. Sorry to say that, but I don't see you figthing at all.", probably because she is a child, but that is a detail he will not mention.

    "Then... yes, indeed, requests that do not require fighting would be the best for you. From what I have read and heard, something including social skills would be what fits the most... then well, I have nothing more to say I guess? Overall, don't be curious. And as for the quest... obviously, it is solved, I can't say you failed, far from it, anyway, let's just get to the point.", Gaap scratched his head and then handed to her the rewards.

    "Here are 7 Large Copper Coins and well, you get 4 Guild Points as well. Good luck with the next and be as careful as you can. Aye, and sorry my "advices" are useless or seem too shady. Giving advices ain't my thing usually. Don't count on me to be neutral as well, I am as biased as one can be."
     
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  16. Fairy-chan

    Fairy-chan 『Appreciates Cuteness』

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    "The quest is done, he didn't quite give me a proof of completion or anything of the sorts, but I believe there are more than enough eye-witnesses that live in the surroundings in case they are needed."

    While I was somewhat worried over the safety of having people being thrown out of windows, it should be safe for me for as long as I have enough time to stabilize my fall with my wings. In this case the job should not be a troubling one.

    It didn't take too long to reach the small church in question, mom said this was the church she married dad in, so it's not like I was unfamiliar with it, but it was still a bit surprising to compare its size to Ralditorias' one. Although the latter is now broken up, it is still bigger than this one.

    After arriving, I met up with Mr. Logan, that eagerly waved at me before walking nearby. "Yo, little Rigël, what can I do for you today? Haven't seen you ever since... Oh, sorry, haven't seen you in a while." A bit too late to say sorry after you leave the sentence about mom's death incomplete, isn't it.

    I decided to ignore it and continued the conversation. "I heard you were looking for some help with practicing the marriage ceremonies? I am impressed, it's not often an apprentice gets such a big responsibility, you surely grew."

    Mr. Logan laughed at my reply. "Says the girl that talks just like a grown up now! Your father surely drilled that heavily into you, didn't he?

    "Got any luck in getting work with a nobleman yet? Or better yet, got a marriage arranged?" His eager looks were a bit painful to deal with.

    "Nothing so far sadly, but I got a circle magi to own me a favor, he is of common descendant though, which limits the reach of his words, but it is still a nice start." I answered honestly.

    "A circle magi? That's a great start! How many merchant apprentices of your age have this kind of contact? Be proud of yourself, girl!" It is hard to feel proud over it when the contact came from him saving my life however, but this is not something I need to tell him.

    "Mr. Logan, I appreciate the thoughts, truly, but I am honestly worried over rather you would be able to conduct a marriage ceremony well if it reached the point you needing help with the practice even reached my ears. Is there anything I can help you with?" I decided to change the topic back to the task at hand. It would be easier if I could just tell him I'm here for the quest, but I won't risk having this information reaching dad.

    "Ah, yeah, about that... You know, your lack of faith hurts!" I looked at him with as much of a lukewarm gaze as I could. "Ah, I get it I get it, my fault for even asking for help...

    "Sorry for breaking your expectations though, but I actually got plenty of help in practicing it out, so I'm fairly confident in my throw now!" I suppose this is Mr. Arawn's fault? He was listed as one of the people that took the quest.

    "I see. Care to show it to me then?" I asked him.

    "Of course!

    "Wait, you mean, throwing you?" He asked dumbfounded.

    "Yes, is there a problem?" I asked back.

    "Well... I can't throw a girl like you..." He looked away.

    "But you can throw newlyweds just fine? Just what is the difference?" I pressed on.

    "It's different alright! That one is part of the job, and they're grown ups! And there is no cute little child among them." The last part was said in a very small tone, but it was hard to not hear it with how quiet the church is.

    "I see, so you are scared that touching me will awaken your pedophile tendencies, so you prefer to only practice with grown ups?" I asked him back.

    "What!? No! What came over you!? And since when do you even know those words, Rigël!?" His reaction was honestly funny, but within expectations.

    "Did you really believe dad wouldn't teach me about what I am supposed to be wary of? And don't try changing the subject please." I retorted.

    "Alright, fair point. But how could I not try to change the subject?! Dear Sin, you really learned how to hurt others with your words, Rigël, you grew up so fast..." He whined, I understand how he feels, but I suppose I will need to press him on a bit.

    "I see, then should I report you to the guards for your unusual preferences as you clearly show no intent of going through with your word of wanting help?" I told him.

    "Wait wait wait! Fine fine, you win, you win! I will let you help me practice...

    "Dear Sin, who needs to be blackmailed into getting help? You can surely be vicious at times, you know that?" I just smiled at that statement.

    "Alright, so how were you doing your practice?" I walked near him as he guided me to the usual defenestrating window.

    "Ah, here, I threw my helper through this window into a stack of hay, then once I got the hang, of it, I started throwing him and a dummy in order to practice with two people, I ought to say it went very well!" He seemed very proud of himself, but...

    "Hay you say?" I asked just to be sure.

    "Yes, to make the fall softer, is there a problem?" He asked me confusedly.

    "Unless you intend to put Hay there in the wedding day, it's a very big problem." I replied.

    "What do you mean? It's there just for the safety of those helping me practice." He answered, his tone seemed to be wavering a bit.

    "One word, landing. Just how did your helper land during your practice seasons? As in, in the successful ones." I asked him.

    "How? On his back... Ah, I see." He finally got it.

    "I suppose we still need to practice then, come on, take that hay out and then we'll start." I answered and urged him to move.

    "Look, are you sure you want to do this? What if you strain your leg in the fall? Or worse? Hit your back and your legs stop moving? Your father would be devastated, you know that..." He said worriedly.

    "It's alright, I can stabilize my fall with my wings, so don't worry and just do your part, I will do mine." I answered reassuringly.

    Mr. Logan seemed honestly worried, but properly moved the hay out of the way. I was thankful for his concerns though, if only dad showed half this much...

    Before long he was done and we started. The first throw was... Disappointingly bad to say the least, I would no doubt fall on my back if I didn't change positions mid-air and readjusted myself with my wings.

    The next ones weren't much better, but some progress was slowly coming. After some time we changed to a position with me being princess-carried by a dummy that somehow was able to maintain a solid position even while holding me, I suppose it's because I'm light.

    It was harder to readjust the position mid-air while being carried by the dummy, but since it always hit the ground first, things somehow worked out.

    By the time the dummy was starting to at the very least fall in its feet instead of... Any other part of the body, we decided it was enough to call it quits as the second bell after noon had already rang and he didn't want me to stay out any longer than that.

    He thanked me for the help and said he would work more on it to make it a proper landing when someone else came to help, I was honestly glad to help for once, so I said he shouldn't need to worry about it.

    And well, while he didn't know about it, I was being paid for that. Still, he told me to come to him if I needed help on anything and he would try doing something. Mr. Logan is a good person, it was a good idea to talk to him again after this long.
    I helped him practice the throws in order to have the newlyweds land on their feet.

    @Nurman
     
  17. Nurman

    Nurman ( ಠ∩ಠ) [Retired Ton]

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    "Sounds good, and I appreciate the good work ethics of keeping the newlyweds on their feet. 10 points to Griff- *cough* -here's 8 Large Copper Coins and four points. Keep up the good work."
     
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  18. Haxagen

    Haxagen Fallen's|Addicted to Gacha

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    "All done. I've got 10 for research purposes, hopefully they'll be enough."

    Elaine leaves a wrapped bundle on the table.
    Cue the two day journey. Cue the obligatory four hour walk in the wilderness, trying to figure out where the heck I was. Cue the tussle with a few Kijin, and nearly falling off to my death few times of the mountain. We won’t talk about that.

    Instead, sometime halfway up the mountain, I stumbled into the place I was looking for. It was also almost midnight, so I preparing to pitch a camp for the night...Until I saw the roses.

    Hundreds upon hundreds of roses blooming in the moonlight, sparkling in various shades of silver. It was breath-taking.

    As soon as I kneeled down, and reached out for one close to the edge of the patch, however...

    “Ouch!”

    The rose had swiped it’s razor sharp leaves at me, giving my fingers a small cut. A bit of my blood dripped onto the floor.

    Looks like trying to pick them is out of the question, huh. But if I tried cutting them, I’ll probably end up damaging em. What to do…?

    I stared at the patch of roses, and I had a feeling that they were staring back, somehow. It was rather eerie, getting the idea that I was being watched, and yet unable to do anything about it. It wasn’t as if I could tell them to quit it, so I just stood there, and stared.

    *Soft growling*

    Startled, I jerked my head up, staring at the far end of the flower patch. A mountain lion was standing beyond that, growling at me. It took off sprinting, heading towards me via the shortest path...right into the flowers.

    It was grotesque. The second it completely waded into the patch, the flowers got to work. Some were squished by the sheer weight, but the ones that didn’t immediately showed their figurative fangs. The growls turned into howls of pain.

    It just signed it’s own death warrant. There’s no way it can escape now, the poor fool...

    Snarling defiantly, the mountain lion stomped hard on the ground, but it was already on its last legs. The silvery flower petals were being splattered with red splotches.

    A death from a thousand cuts. Quite a slow, painful, and gruesome way to go.

    I stared on, watching for anything that might help me, when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a moving shadow. It flashed for a brief second, but I was sure of it. There was something in the flower patch...and it was moving very, very fast.

    *SNAP*

    As the unfortunate mountain lion roared in pain, falling, I caught a glimpse of a gaping maw, and then outstretched jaws shutting like a vice...I looked away. I didn't need to see the killing blow. The cry of death was enough for me.

    “...Whoa. That’s...disturbing.”

    To my not-so-pleasant surprise, when I checked again, the flower patch looked perfectly normal. There was no carcass, no crushed flowers. The only thing that remained was the blood; the sole indication of a struggle having ever happened, and even that was slowly draining.

    ……?

    Feeling weird, I stood just far enough to avoid the flowers’ reach, and stretched my hand out, so that my hand was hovering over the edge of the patch.

    ……!

    I withdrew my outstretched arm, just in time to avoid the snapping fangs. In that brief second, I managed to see it clearly.

    My first thought was: a snake. But snakes had eyes. This didn’t. It was completely dyed in a mossy shade of green, with exception of it’s teeth, which was spotlessly white.

    Second thing: when the bastard reared and tried to strike, I realised that it was connected to something, and that something was stopping it from moving too far away. A closer look...Oh.

    “Well, this could be a problem.”

    At that range, it couldn’t touch me, but I’d have to get closer to strike with my rapier. And I’m not stepping into that flower patch.

    ...I really wish I had more abilities. Something like Sensei’s Lightning Magic would be nice right now. She looked so cool whenever she used it…I wish I could do it, too. Her Spear of Laguna would be the ideal move for this occasion; just place her hands like this, then like this and then…

    *BZZZZT*

    ...Eh? Did I just see lightning? No, I must have been imagining it, right? Here, let me just do this, and this, and…

    *BZZZZT*

    ...No way? Then, if I mimic Shiori and do this...Place my hands in this gesture, and focus on that rose…

    *Snap*

    An uprooted rose landed at my feet. It seems like it worked---Woah, the drain on this thing is pretty crazy, I’m almost out of mana already.

    I guess I’ll sleep on it first, while I figure out how to do this. It’s not as if they’ll disappear in the morning.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    “I request a duel.”

    Yes, it was undoubtedly crazy, talking to a whole patch of flowers, but I had a hunch that it’d work.

    The flowers slowly parted, shifting outwards in a ring and leaving the centre empty. They passed by me, but unlike earlier, didn't seem to be so threatening. I didn’t get any cuts.

    “Well then, shall we start? Or do you require more time to prepare?”

    Classic trick, making the voice seem like it’s coming from everywhere. It’s somewhat distracting, but the intimidation factor won’t work on me.

    “Now would be good, if you don’t mind. I have to hurry back to turn in the quest, after all.”

    “Very well. Let us begin.”

    Immediately, the snake leapt at me.

    Fast!

    I rolled aside to avoid it, but then the thing bent midair, and attacked me from behind. I tripped, fell, and it missed me again. Getting to my feet, I swiped at it a few times, but the snake proved surprisingly agile and dodged all of them.

    This is...annoying.

    The snake reared and bit my arm. If not for the armbands, it would have hurt a lot more than it already did, but even so, it hurt like a bitch.

    “Tch!”

    I deliberately swung in a wide arc, leaving a glaring opening. The snake twisted and headed straight for it.

    “Hah! I got you...Eh?”

    Even though it was at almost point blank range, the scaly bastard actually dodged?! Then it tried to bite me again, that asshole!

    I backflipped and retreated, giving myself some breathing room.

    That thing’s faster than my normal attacks...What to do…Should I try what I did last night? But if it doesn’t work...

    The snake approached once more. No more time to waste.

    No, if that truly works in the manner that I imagine it to, then there’s only one thing left to do! My dearest friends...lend me your might!

    From Sensei, I borrowed [Spear of Laguna].

    From Shiori, I borrowed [Bandersnatch].

    And then, I added them to one of my own, my [Knight’s Blitz].

    “Behemoth beyond the surface, strike out with the fury of a thousand storms! [Glass Hunt]!”

    Sensei always moved in an unassuming manner, and when she evoked Spear of Laguna, not many opponents had the foresight to immediately drop their weapons and start fleeing. That was because they underestimated those small sparks which danced around her palms.

    In actuality, the small sparks in Sensei’s hands were more dangerous than a lightning storm. One could go inside a building to wait out a storm, but if Sensei was on the hunt? No amount of houses would hide her target from her. And when she caught that unlucky target...Bzzzt.

    Shiori, on the other hand was a pacifist, but if she was pressed, she wouldn’t hesitate to defend her own. Her Bandersnatch worked in the reflections, dragging thieves off into places that didn’t really exist, and that was it. It was a perfect ability for an unassuming warrior.

    And also the perfect ability for hiding corpses...Okay, let’s stop there. I fear for what I may stumble across if I continue that line of thought any further...

    That’s why I was always watching those two fight. It was often a one-sided slaughter, excessively brutal, an extremely rare sight, and also a form of art. I loved it, and this move was adapted after them. Not every hit will land, but the ones that do...

    “I’ve got you in my sights!”

    ...makes everything count.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The grass rustled, and before me appeared the figure of a girl with jade-coloured skin. She seemed to be surrounded by plants. And of course, I hadn’t the foggiest idea on what kind of species she was.

    “...A dryad?”

    Shiori did mention that they appeared around nature, after all.

    “Dryad? No, no, I’m a Yakshini. Regardless, very well done, young one. You have passed my test.”

    Finally, it’s over…I’m tired.

    “This place here, it’s yours? And...what’s a Yakshini?”

    “Yes, and no. I have lived here for as long as I can remember, but the roses have been here for far longer than I have. Although, at the start, they were merely just ordinary roses. And to answer your second question, Yashini...you can think of us as a mixture between nature and warrior spirits.”

    “Oh, so that’s what the deal with the snake was. You summoned it, then gave it fighting capabilities, huh. It was truly a pain in the ass to deal with…”

    Hahaha. Her bell-like laughter echoed.

    “I’m sorry. Not many people come up here, so I’m still rather wary around new faces. Therefore, I usually test their character by having them fight a bit. Nothing says more about a person than how they behave in combat.”

    “True...Did the previous group wake you up during their battle, or something like that?”

    “Nay. I was originally a spirit of strife, actually. I was created from the widespread death and destruction that arose as a result of a battle that occurred here, a long long time ago. Then, over the decades, I got bored, and started tending to the flowers...There weren’t any worthy opponents to be found here, just some wild animals.”

    “So the roses were your doing?”

    “Yes, I slowly converted the shattered blades into raw metal, and then slowly dissolved them into essence for the roses. Beautiful, aren’t they?”

    “Yes, they are pretty, but...they seem a bit…extra, if you know what I mean. Roses already have thorns to protect themselves, so giving them a body of steel is a tad...excessive.”

    “You do have a point there...So, should I switch them back?”

    “Nah. Not worth the trouble.”

    And thus, the conversation ended. Not that there were much to talk about in the first place, but now it was just getting awkward, standing there.

    “Then, uhm...Could I harvest some of these? I need them to complete a quest.”

    “Sure, go ahead. Take what you need.”

    I harvested a nice batch of about 10 roses, and bundled them up, but just as I was about to bade farewell and leave, I stopped.

    They responded to emotions, right?

    (Unreported Bit)
    “Say, if you’re bored on this mountain, why don’t I bring you somewhere else? I know a good place.”

    “Oho? You’ve caught my interest. Tell me more.”

    “Well, I have a friend who’s planning to move out of the city, but since she’s still young, I’d like to find some way to……”

    “Fumu, interesting! I’ll tag along and see for myself, then! Let’s go!”

    And so, I reckoned that Shiori, if she was truly planning to move house, would find the surroundings quite safe indeed.
    @AliceShiki
     
  19. Zone Q11

    Zone Q11 『The Gas Mask』『Monochrome Plebeian』

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    "So you want a ride all the way to Asphodelus? Sure, just spread my name and I'll give you a ride." It was a sunny day, and two men are talking to each other at the entrance of Nagrand. Having been told by Herst that a walk to the Trade City would take 9 days by foot, he decided to use the same transport to travel towards the Haunted Forest on his first quest. The only problem was that the gracious merchant who had brought him and Sol free of charge last time was nowhere to be found at the time, and thus Zoan went to search for another merchant. Fortunately the one before him is also merciful, and doesn't charge him any money.

    --- --- ---

    Upon arriving at Asphodelus, Zoan could already hear tradesmen shouting, advertising about their merchandise. However, when he took his time to listen to his surrounding, he could faintly hear people gossiping about the execution. In general, they seem to dislike the act of execution itself.
    'Weird. For a city where human merchants are in the majority, they seem to be unhappy executing a local bandit.'

    The merchant looks at the nomad, giving him a carefree smile. "You're probably wondering about the rumors, right? About the execution of the bandit?" The merchant then continued explaining, "The local bandit who's going to be executed is a rather well-known one. He only steals from the rich and gives it to the poor. It sounds ridiculous, but he did make a fairy tale come true. His actions caused him to gain fame from the starting merchants who often got scammed by the experienced megalomaniac tradesmen."

    "In other words, no matter whether the man dies or not, the executioner will always get the blame?"
    "That's pretty much the gist of it. I kinda feel sorry for whoever is going to be the executioner this time, but at the same time I had hoped that the man would live."
    "..." Zoan did not say a word.

    --- --- ---

    "I have come from the Adventurer's Guild. I am here for the quest."
    "Hm...? You look familiar. Weren't you the adventurer who took my quest as well a couple of weeks ago?" Zarek, the Head of the Guards, looked at the familiar adventurer.
    "Yes. That was me."
    "Well in that case let's just go to the point," Zarek then shoved the hilt of a sword towards Zoan's chest. "Here is the sword. Just kill the person on the stand, and you can go back immediately." The sword had a blunt tip, but aside from that, the sword's edges looked exceptionally sharp.
    "..." The nomad took a moment of short silence, before he asked something from the Head of Guards.

    --- --- ---

    It was not long after noon when the execution took place. People were gathered at the stand, with many of them shouting "Stop the execution!" "Don't kill him!" etc. The executioner took his place at the stand. He was wearing brown ragged cloak, covering everything of his big body. From head to toe, even his face, were covered with the cloak.
    The executioner looked at the bandit. He was kneeling with both feet, his hands were tied in front of him, and he was wearing a bag over his head. The man was looking at the ground, and raised his head towards the public. He did not say anything. "Please, don't kill him!" "He is not evil!"

    The bandit turned his head towards the executioner. He nodded, and returned looking back at the ground. The executioner continued looking at the man kneeling before him. He raised the sword, and decapitated the bandit in one fell swoop.
    The people in front of the executioner mainly consist of those who have been helped by the bandit, and now they were enraged. Had the guards not been there to hold them back, then they are surely to kill the executioner instead.

    --- --- ---

    After the execution, the citizens were forcibly calmed down by the guards. Many, many of them attempted to attack the executioner, but none had succeeded.
    "Thanks, and sorry for the trouble," Zarek said in a worn out voice.
    The reason why none of the guards could execute the bandit is because the starting merchants had their eyes wide open during the execution; the majority of the guards were forced to be present during the execution as to maintain order, while the ones who were not present were followed by other merchants, and if they didn't have enough eyes, they simply hired some beastmen from the slum to do so.
    Zoan nodded at the Head of Guards, took the money, and returned back to Nagrand.

    --- --- ---

    'Why couldn't the guards replace the late executioner?' Because they would lose their reputation had they acted as the executioner. They would be hated by a big part of the citizens. They cannot afford that.
    'Why couldn't they choose someone else from Asphodelus?' Because nobody wanted to be the executioner. Unlike the guards of Asphodelus, not many citizens could afford to protect themselves from the angry merchants. They would be killed either physically, or socially.
    This is the reason they chose a third party, all the way from the other side of the country; because they do not care what happens to a stranger. ...well, desperate times calls for desperate measures after all.

    @AliceShiki
     
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  20. AliceShiki

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

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    So they basically absorbed the metal of the fallen weapons? How unique~

    I wonder if Lyra-san will be bothered by the fact you removed the source that made those flowers grow... Not like it matters much anyways~

    The reward is of 26 Large Copper Coins and 8 Guild Points~

    Take care now~
     
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