Adventurers Guild Adventurer's Guild - Receptionist's Desk

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

  1. Siostar

    Siostar Well-Known Member

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    "Ehm... I didn't exactly convince Harald, but I somehow brought him to the Chuch of Lord Ralditorias..."
    In this morning the adventures were fighting to find a good job, as more and more got taken I started to panic and took one in haste. It turns out, I need to find a person who is quite far away. While the job is fine, the place in return could be dangerous. To be honest, I have no idea about that place, but the name sounds like bad news for me. Nevertheless, I don't want to drop the job yet, so I began to prepare for my journey.

    After some inquiry to the Guild staff, I found out that I didn't have much of an option, apart from walking through a forest. So I went to the market to stock up some dried rations and other stuff.

    After which, I went to the busy inn I've have been living in. I asked the waitress for a glass bottle and some common ingredients from the kitchen. Sofie, the waitress happily obeyed and said, they have enough to spare even before she checked the kitchen. She also told me that, I could borrow the kitchen if I wanted to. Of course, I took the opportunity and brewed my mother's secret recipe.
    __________________________

    Many hours last later, I was wandering in the forest, I somewhat regretted my plans. I had never traveled so far by foot, so my body feels more strained than usual. Even so, I couldn't rest just yet, for I still have a camp to set up.

    After I found a good spot, I began to collect the branches around me and set up a shelter. It wasn't the best one but a shelter nevertheless. Thankfully, the bonfire was much easier, since the fire can be made in the same way I do at home.
    The last step of my preparation was to burn the mysterious liquid I made this morning. I dipped two sticks in the glass container, and send those to the fire. At first, it wasn't so bad since the mixture hasn't aged enough yet, but a bad stink began to surround the area, as the fire burned the sticks more and more. It works great as a smell repellent against beings with a nose.

    When I was done, the sun has already gone down. I silently ate my food and went to sleep.

    ...

    I... couldn't sleep well last night, the ground was too hard and the unpleasant smell somewhat bothered me. I tried to sleep many times but I could barely relax at all. Before I knew it, the morning came.

    After my breakfast, I left the camp as it is, planning to use it on my way back.
    ___________________________

    A few hours later, the forest changed into rocky terrains, it confirmed that I was on the right path. With sweat on my forehead and ragged breathing, I finally reached near the cave opening. Just to be safe, I planned to take a break about 200m away from the cave.

    As I took a seat on a stone, I noticed something by the corner. At first, I didn't pay attention to it, minding my own business while I drink some water.

    When I was done, the shiny thing still keeps on bothering me, so I went over to check it out.
    As it turns out, the shiny thing was an armored body, lying face planted on the ground.
    I felt very skeptical at the moment, if the person I'm looking for is that corpse like body, and in case that man has died, it means that I had wasted my whole trip.

    Before I come to that conclusion though, I needed to check if he was truly dead.

    I wearily took his arm first and tried to drag it on the other side, so I could somehow turn him. That failed however, for he was simply too heavy. My next attempt was to pull the helmet off, with much difficulty I somehow succeeded, now I jus-

    "YAH!" I screamed, quickly pulled my arm back in safety.
    "Need... food..." The man begged with an outstretched hand, not knowing he half scared me to death.

    Don't suddenly grip my arm... I thought to myself...

    ...

    15 minutes later, the armored man has somehow eaten all the extra food I brought with me. I don't know how, but surely he has trained his jaw power, for the even the dry and hard food rations wasn't much against a strength deprived swordsman. At some point, he reached to the last bite and said:

    "Thank you, my savior. If it wasn't for you, I would have lost my chance to destroy the great evil. I Harald, swear to return your kindness after I exterminate the root of evil."

    So this man was indeed the Templar I had been looking for, even though he had just collapsed for a while ago, he still plans to destroy the lich now!

    "W..wait a minute!" I yelled.
    In a haste, I tried to grab him but suddenly was hit by a dizzy feeling, the next thing I knew everything turns black.
    ______________________________

    I awoke to the sound and feeling of shaking metal plates, a thing I wasn't used to, but I was familiar by fainting out of nowhere. So I calmly asked through my dry throat: "What... happened?"

    "Oh? You are awake?" He said, carried me like, I was a feather.
    "You collapsed with a high fever, I don't how you could make it so far, but I can't leave a defenseless lady there."

    "I'm... thirsty..."

    As soon I mumbled that out loud, Harald stopped and gently lay me against a tree, after which he handed a water bag to me. I took the bag and gratefully drank the cold delicious water. When I was done, I asked the Templar about something that had been on my mind.

    "Why, did you save me?"
    At my question, he began to awkwardly scratch his head, a weird action to do with a helmet on.

    "Actually, I was really torn about saving you or exterminate the undead, but I swore to repay you, and that would be impossible if my savior died. Of course, I will come back there and do my important mission!"

    So this man basically saying, he would have left me to die, if it was not for the promise... (Lykke may have misunderstood him...)
    And he STILL wants to destroy the evil being, he wasn't a bad guy for sure, but I beginning to be annoyed...
    "....Where are we going?" I asked, doesn't want to think about that anymore.

    "I would like to take you to a nearby village, but my map only shows the road to Nagrand."
    I nodded to him, didn't voice that it was exactly what I wanted.

    "Go to... the church of Lord Ralditorias."
    "But that isn't a place of healing."
    Who said I was going there? I thought to myself but was too tired to voice it out.

    "Just. Go. There... And. Met. Soren." I emphasized each word.
    "I... understand." The templar unexpectedly agreed.

    Satified by his answer, I stopped with my questioning and Harald carried me closer to Nagrand.
    __________________________________________________

    The next day it's was raining, I barely remember anything.

    Cold, wet and hot.

    That were the only words I could describe.

    ....

    I woke up one day later, in the Temple of Ophelia, I was so sick that they moved me from the Church apparently. I wasn't sure what happened to Harald, but he paid my medical fee and probably met up with Soren.

    Though, I did hear a rumor about a new templar was punished by Lord Soren or something...
    @AliceShiki
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2019
  2. FallonCreziato

    FallonCreziato Member

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    Yane dragged himself to the receptionist's desk, looking somewhat bedraggled and worse-for-wear. He smacked a small folder with "Defenestration Practice" written on it in small, deliberate handwriting.

    "Here's my report, Aria. No proof of completion, but," He sighed and gestured to his bruised and slightly scraped forehead, "I think these work just fine."

    After I received the quest and directions to the church in question, I immediately hit the trail and headed on my way. No sense in hanging around when there's work to be done, right? It was somewhat far away, but I didn't run into any unsavory types on the road, and no local wildlife bothered me. I'm not sure what they see in me, but most animals tend to steer clear like a plague. I wonder if it's because I've got his shadow leering over me.

    I reached the church as the first rays of sunlight began to peek over the horizon, lighting the sky up in a warm, coppery-colored corona. I didn't want to wake anyone, since most people don't usually follow the same schedule as I do, so I sat down on the back of a nearby hay-cart to wait for the morning to come. While I was waiting, I watched as the insects scuttled in the grass, each of them skittering to and fro, acting upon their own unseen schedules. I must have zoned out, because before I'd known it, I felt the familiar prickly heat of sun on my skin and I looked up to see a man in a priest's uniform standing over me.

    "Hello there, May I help you?" He asked, in a somewhat kind but inquisitive tone. I stood, and pulled my guild I.D. out to show him.
    "My name's Yane. I'm here on behalf of the Guild to fulfull a quest for a priest named Logan. Would that perhaps be you?"
    He confirmed that, yes, he was indeed the one who had asked for the guild to aid him, and explained just why he was to be hurtling me out of an opened window.
    "I've practiced many times, with many of your guildmates, so I believe that I've refined my throw enough that you shouldn't be harmed, but just in case, I will put a stack of hay out to cushion your fall slightly." He offered, gesturing to the hay cart that I had spent the dawn in.
    I shook my head, to his surprise. "Either way, I should be fine. Don't worry about me getting hurt, I can cushion my fall fairly well on my own." I said, waving my arm between us and willing it to turn gaseous before him.
    "Oh! That's... certainly a first for me. Well, since you appear to be ready, let us get started. Come inside and we'll get everything in place."

    He turned and, pulling a small key from his pocket, unlocked the front door of the church. He held the door open and gestured me inside.

    As soon as I stepped over the threshold, my skin prickled with gooseflesh and I was pervaded with a tingly sense of wrongness, as if my very presence was out of place there. Immediately, I began to feel somewhat sick, and I suppose I must have visibly shuddered, because Logan was immediately concerned.
    "Are you well, Yane? I promise, I won't throw you too terribly high."
    I grimaced, but assured him that I would be fine.

    We made our way over to a large window, and Logan brought out a small dummy approximately the size of an average person. He set it down beside the window, then turned to me.
    "Okay, I'll give you a count of three to ready yourself, then I will hurl yourself and the dummy through the window. Are you sure that you don't need the hay? It's really no bother and I'd feel much better knowing that I don't have to worry about causing you injury." He said, somewhat worriedly.

    I turned and looked out the window. I could see roughly where I was supposed to land from the small scraps of hay and packed, slightly indented dirt that lie below it.
    "I'm not worried. You seem like you know what you're doing. Plus, even if you were to, say, throw me wrong, I can disperse myself before I hit the ground so I don't get too banged-up."

    I stood in my position by the dummy as Logan read through his mock rites to prepare for the ceremony. He finished his incantation, then marched over to myself and the dummy. He grabbed the dummy and I and, with a surprising display of strength, chucked us out the window like a child would throw a stone into a pond. I closed my eyes and concentrated on dispersing myself before I hit the ground, and...

    Nothing. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't seem to will myself to turn to fog.

    My eyes snapped open, and I began to panic. What was likely little more than a couple seconds dragged on for the longest time, until I finally hit the ground headfirst. My vision was fuzzy, and my head thrummed dully with the impact. I heard footsteps rushing toward me, and I looked up to see Logan, standing over me with an immensely worried, somewhat terrified expression on his face. The coppery taste of blood tinged my mouth, and I turned my head and spat onto the ground.

    "Let's try it with the hay this time, Logan"

    As Logan went about piling the hay up into a makeshift cushion, I sat on the steps of the church and concentrated on trying to get my reaper aspects to work. No matter what I did, I couldn't manage to make any part of myself turn to fog, even after my headache had subsided. Once the hay was piled up, we returned to the church and readied ourselves for another throw. Suffice to say, it didn't go very well. This time I thought to bring my folding scythe along on my... *Ahem* trip... and I managed to flick it out and catch it in the dirt so I didn't tumble so far. We repeated this several times, almost until the sun began to set behind the horizon again. By the time we had finished, Logan had become proficient enough with his throwing that I felt comfortable leaving my scythe behind and going unaided. I dusted myself off after we were finished, and returned to Logan inside the church.

    Logan paid me for my troubles and, seeing that I had begun to burn from being out in the sun all day, quickly retreated to his home, bringing back a large garment of heavy brown cloth; A worn cloak.
    "This was a gift that was given to me when I began training as a priest. I normally wear it during foul, rainy weather, but it seems to me that you could make more use of it, so I'd like you to have it." He said, handing me the cloak.
    I put it on, draping it over my shoulders and raising the hood. It smelled faintly smoky, with just a hint of incense. I thanked Logan, and left at sundown for my trek back to the guild.

    As I voyaged back, I kept testing my reaper aspects. Slowly, they came back until I was able to turn myself and even my new cloak into mist once again, though I couldn't shake the thought that my aspects malfunctioning were tied to the strange wrongness I felt when inside of the church.

    I helped Logan further refine his throws, but discovered that my reaper powers do not work properly in holy places.I received my pay as well as a brown woolen cloak; A parting gift from Logan as apology and thanks.


    @AliceShiki
     
  3. Daisydacrazy

    Daisydacrazy !!

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    Deanna hands in the report paper.
    Early morning when Deanna’s quest was accepted, she takes a look on the map and finds the Doylors. Sighing as she hopes she can get there before the quest is due, she decides to set out now.

    Deanna decides against bringing her horse as she would have to take him over the mountains. Instead, Deanna goes to Doylors with a caravan that was delivering goods to the town.

    Along the journey, the caravan didn’t stop unless it was for allowing the horses to rest. Everyone took turns watching the caravan and soon, they arrived at Doylors.

    After Deanna said goodbye to the people from the caravan, she checked into an inn as it was night. The next day, Deanna woke up early and started walking around town looking for any suspicious place that could be the entrance to the maze.

    Searching for half a day and to no avail, Deanna couldn’t find the entrance or anything that could lead to it. So Deanna decided to take a break and found a small shop selling food.

    Entering, and employee walked up to Deanna and greeted, “Hello, my name is Mimi. I’ll be your server for today.” Mimi then lead Deanna towards an empty table and gave her a menu.

    After looking at the items in the menu for a while, Deanna ordered, “I’ll take the this and some tea.”

    Marking down the order, Mimi turned around and left. Returning with the food, Mimi then places it at the table, “Here’s your order, if you need anything else, please call me over.”

    Deanna soon finished her lunch and called over Mimi. “I would like to pay for this please.”

    “Okay,” Mimi said. She started picking up the dishes and was about to head back when she noticed the Adventurers Guild badge on Deanna’s chest. “Are you from the Adventurers Guild. If you are you would get a 10% discount.”

    Deanna nodded.

    “Okay then,” Mimi clapped her hands together and headed back with the dishes in tow. Coming back out, she said, “Your meal is 20 small copper coins. Also may I ask what quest you are doing?”

    “Okay,” Deanna responded. She handed 2 large copper coins to Mimi and then continued, “Someone posted a request asking to test out an underground maze.”

    Mimi froze a second before asking, “So have you found the maze or completed the maze yet?”

    “No, I haven’t even found the entrance yet,” Deanna replied, shaking her head.

    “Oh, um,” Mimi hesitated for a second before continuing, “would you mind waiting a bit for my lunch break. I promise I can help.”

    Deanna thinks on whether she should or shouldn’t as Mimi could be lying to her. After debating, Deanna decides to wait for Mimi so she nods.

    “Okay then, go outside and wait a couple of minutes for me”

    Deanna then left the shop and header outside. After waiting for around ten minutes, Mimi came out.

    She looked around and spotted Deanna not too far away. Mimi made her way towards Deanna before starting, “You know, a couple of friends and I accidentally found the entrance to that maze once. We were stuck there a while before we came out the way we came in.” She chuckled thinking back on her memory. Mimi started walking down the street with Deanna following along.

    “Inside, we wandered around for who knows how long before finally getting out. And we didn’t even make it to the end. We came out through the entrance. Anyways, we never went back there again. But the memory stuck with me as an experience.”

    Conversing for a while, they finally made it to an old house in the outskirts of town. Mimi said, “This is it. Just knock on the door and you’ll get there.”

    After saying their goodbyes. Deanna walked to the door and knocked. Once. Twice. Thrice. The door opened slightly so just a sliver of the inside could be seen. But the inside was too dark, so Deanna couldn’t see anything.

    Deanna opened the door and was met with complete darkness. She took a step in expecting her feet to touch the ground however, her feet touched air and instead she fell several floors down.

    After making sure that she was okay and it was safe, Deanna lit a torch. Looking around, she saw that she there were dirt walls around her and she could either go forward or back. Deanna decided to walk forward.

    After a couple of steps, Deanna heard movement and jumped back out of reflex. And just in time, water poured down from behind her. Causing Deanna to get soaked. Lucky enough, the torch remained untouched.

    Drenched, Deanna continued forward. After walking a small bit Deanna was met with a predicament. In front, laid two paths that she could take. Deanna couldn’t decided so she decided to spin an arrow.

    Deanna took out an arrow and stretches out her arm. She spun the arrow and let it fall, allowing it to spin in the air. The arrow landed, pointing toward the path on the left.

    She put the arrow back before taking the path on the right, he body still drenched. Walking forward, she soon felt the air around getting hotter. She could hear rumbling coming closer and closer. Before she could react, Deanna fell into another hole as a large rush of flames swept over the area of where she was at before. Once they passed, the ground below Deanna started moving and pushed her up, back to the maze.

    Although it was still very hot, At least Deanna didn’t have to walk through the fire. Continuing on, Deanna felt her clothes slowly dry from the temperature.

    Soon, Deanna was met with an intersection. Having three options to choose from, Deanna decided to walk forward.

    Walking forward, Deanna felt herself walking down and she was soon met with a staircase. Deanna walked down the stairs for a long time. When she was about to decide on going back up and changing routes, the ground under her shifted and Deanna found herself sliding down.

    Once she landed, Deanna looked around and saw a clear lake. The place was lit with a dimly lit mana crystal. However, there were many normal crystals around the reflected and multiplied the light.

    Deanna noticed that there were stones on the lake creating a path to the other side. As Deanna walked closer to the lake, she notices these clear light blue fish swimming around.

    Not knowing whither they were safe or not. Deanna takes a piece of dried meat from her pouch, and throws it into the lake. The moment the meat hits the water, dozens of the light blue fish swarm the meat. The next second, the meat is eaten and the fishes go back to minding their own business.

    Deanna heads towards the rock path and starts jumping from rock to rock until she was finally across the lake.

    Deciding that she was tired, Deanna decides to give up, so she shouts, “I give up!”

    Suddenly, the ground under Deanna moves and lifts her up and the dirt above her parts, making way for Deanna. After reaching the surface, Deanna finds herself in nest to a river.

    She slowly makes her way back to the Dorloys and heads home the next day.
    New type of fish?

    Ooc: I’m so sorry this was poorly written, I had more plans for this but I was busy and what not so I couldn’t finish this. :notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:


    @AliceShiki
     
  4. Haxagen

    Haxagen Fallen's|Addicted to Gacha

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    "I'm done! And best of all, there isn't any property damage, nor have I trespassed. Hehe~"

    Elaine hops about on her heels, giggling.
    “Alrighty! The quest says that I have to carry out some pranks. I have no intention to burn down the town or get my head on a bounty, though, so I better stay away from fire and property damage. Let’s see, how should I do this…?”

    Elaine pondered while walking about town, deep in thought as she observed. So deep in thought that she failed to see where she was going…

    *BONK*

    ...And walked right into a pole.

    “Ouch!”

    As she rubbed her head, staring at the offending pole while sulking, an idea popped into her head.

    “Fumu. We could do this...Yes, this’ll do nicely.”

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Nine hours later, when the sun had long since set, darkness had set in, and practically no one was walking on the streets, a certain girl got to work.

    Dressed in her adventurer’s garb, Elaine made her way down the streets, walking at apace that was neither too quick, nor too slow. Every time she spotted a direction sign planted in the ground, she would pop over and tug it free, then proceed to turn it a little bit before planting it back to its original spot...with some really minor changes.

    Of course, she ran into guard patrols frequently, but everytime she did, there was no real need for fuss. She didn't bother concealing her identity, answered the questions truthfully, and cheerfully wished the guards a good night.

    The most common question was: “Why are you out so late?”

    And her answer would be: “On a quest. I’m looking for something I’ve lost.”

    Technically speaking, it was 100% the truth. So the guards nodded politely, and carried on. As did she.

    Ah, but all the signs showing the way to the guild stayed untouched. It won’t do to mislead any potential quest givers; she had to earn money, after all.

    “Alright! After this, I’ll just have to go report to that priestly fellow~”

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    And so, in the course of a single night, most of the directional signs in Nagrand were rotated five to twenty degrees counterclockwise, pointing in slightly off directions. Moreover, since the changes were slight, it would be incredibly difficult to spot any difference, not unless someone went through the whole city and discovered that all of the directions had been slightly extended.

    But should someone follow the signs that lead from the city centre to the city gates, they would discover that their journey would take almost twice as long as it did on previous days.
    @Quaesitor
     
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  5. Quaesitor

    Quaesitor [Scholar]

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    "Well, this should be fine." Mumbles Garret to himself. "Good job with the quest, I don't think there will be legal consequences. Here are your 4 for points, and 8 large copper coins."
     
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  6. AliceShiki

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

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    Such a fairy tale like bandit... Honestly foolish if you ask me, he angered the wrong people and that's where it got him~

    Well, not matter, you did your job and get your rewards, 18 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now Zoan-san~
     
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  7. Zone Q11

    Zone Q11 『The Gas Mask』『Monochrome Plebeian』

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    Zoan was outside the tavern, eating yet another fresh raw meat of a boar he had recently hunted. As his main source of food comes from the wild, it was a rather cost-efficient way to save up money. After purchasing the bottles of salt and black pepper, he has been adding them onto his meat more frequently. It gave the meat more flavor than just "chewy" and "tastes like blood". The nomad took his time chewing out the flavors from the spiced meat.

    An orc approaches the nomad. It was Herst, the farmer whose living is dependent on Zoan's income. With the money he had been given, he began to raise more crops, but it seems to fail due to the lack of nutrient soil. So for the time being he decided to raise flowers, which for obvious reasons were easier to raise than crops. Even though Herst is a farmer, he is also an unofficial worker who aids Zoan with his quests and non-combat-related quests.

    "Sir Zoan... Do you truly believe this is a good idea? The fee to pay for the damages might weigh more than the money we earn from this quest. I do not believe we should simply drop the quest," the orc reasoned. However, Zoan's blank expression did not waver whatsoever, and he replied: "Don't ask me. Ask this lass over here."
    He then points at the black winged-kin that is sitting on his lap. The girl, named Black Feather by Zoan, smiled at Herst innocently and spoke out the words: "Fey do pranks! Weirdos!" The content of the words spoken were broken fragments of the wonderful entity that is called 'a sentence'. When it comes to speaking proper sentences, she was more of a barbarian than Zoan is when he is waking up. Then again, given her unknown background, it might not be far-fetched to say that she is the same as Zoan; an actual barbarian.

    The two did not know what to do with the girl at the beginning, so Zoan decided that they should let her walk around the town for a bit. It did not take long however, for Black Feathers to get separated from her supposed guardians. By the time they found her again, it was already late in the night and she suddenly learnt how to speak Common Language, albeit in broken sentences.
    They kept asking who had taught her, but she kept saying "Weirdos! Edgey and Nick! Taught Fey speaking!" with a laughing smile plastered on her innocent face. In the end, the two simply accepted the matter and decided to leave it as is. It was also the moment when the two accepted her new name.

    "So the two weirdos taught her how to prank? It is troublesome, but..." Zoan then looks at the things Fey had asked --no, begged to procure. "Well, it does seem to be harmless for the most part, so we might as well enjoy some." Said procured materials consist of: a couple of wooden planks, lots of adhesives, an empty barrel, a rope, a boar carcass, and many, many stones and pebbles. In total, all these materials alone had costed Zoan 68 small copper coins and six hours of work. As for the fee for the incoming damages... well, that remains to be seen. The result was obviously worse than what he had expected, but it was acceptable to a degree.

    Zoan took another chomp from the skinned boar hind leg, and looks at the first victim of the first prank. In front of the tavern, there lies a box. Next to the box stands a sign that said: "To have your palm read, insert hand". Not many people was interested in the box, but one brave ranger moves his hand towards the box and inserted it to the box.
    Upon insertion, the victim felt something sloppy run across their hand. Upon removal, their palm is indeed red. Red from the blood of the boar he had hunted. It was mild prank at best, and the worst part of that one is only the stench of the blood. In fact, after smearing off the blood, the victim grinned as well, though his might have some anger mixed within.

    "Not bad. It seems that the first one was alright," Zoan said while still chewing the meat in his mouth. "Ah. An elf is approaching the second prank." The second prank was literally the easiest prank in the world: It consisted of a barrel put on the roof of a nearby house, with a rope attached to it. Next to the rope is a sign which simply said: "Pull me." Unsurprisingly, nobody had approached that one.
    However, the elf seemed to have thought that he is smart, and used wind magic from a distance to blow the barrel over. ...but it didn't work. The elf was naturally confused by this phenomenon, and after yet another attempt, he decided to pull the rope in the end. Alert of being wet by anything from the barrel, the elf had cast wind magic on himself just to ensure that he will get away as soon as he pulls the rope.
    And thus he pulled the rope, and began to ran away, only to get pulled back by the rope. He was confused, but then realized: his hand has been glued to the rope! As for the reason why the barrel didn't move an inch; it was because it was filled with rocks and pebbles! In a sense, it was fortunate that the elf was a magic caster. Had a warrior pulled that rope with all his strength, then he might have gotten injured.

    The elf screamed angrily at whoever is the perpetrator of such mischief. Meanwhile, Zoan thought: 'What do you mean it's our fault? Everyone had clearly known that it was a trap. You were the one who took it willingly.'
    Herst fidgeted somewhat with his fingers. "Fortunately that glue does not last too long. The elf should be fine... With this, I believe we have caused enough mayhem."
    "Yeah. I think so too. What do you think, lass?"
    "Pranks! Fun! More!" Fey had been laughing at the pranks they have caused, uncaring about the complaints the two adults would have to bear in the near future.
    "Well. Nobody was really harmed, so I think that everything should be fine."

    @AliceShiki
     
  8. Siostar

    Siostar Well-Known Member

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    "Um.. somehow, the pranked people seems happy? Is that normal?"
    Sometimes, I really hate my body. One day, I was fine and the next day, I fall sick.
    Each time I wake up with fever, I was reminded of how weak my body really was. When I fall sick, my family would tell me what I should or shouldn't have done. Though they say so out of good will, it's just further building up my frustration. This time instead, I was greeted by the peaceful mornings, with no family to bother me.

    I never knew that something I've used to appreciate so much could turn just as empty. So to take my mind of those thoughts, I took an easygoing quest, when I was well again.

    I don't know why people get paid for this, but pranking can also be a job apparently, which I have yet to understand. It wasn't something I cared though, so I just went to the inn of Pumpkin Tie.

    At the moment, the dinner area was quite quiet. I got in on about two hours before lunch, so of course the place was silent before the rush hours.

    Never minding the people around her (which are their customers), Sofie quickly approached me and worriedly asked where I have been, and if I was fine.

    I told her I was sick for a while, without giving much of the details on how. As we keep on talking, I eventually led the topic to be about my quest.

    "Um... Sofie, have you pranked someone before?"
    "Hmm... Not really? Why do you ask so?"

    "I got a job where I need to do some pranks, but I don't have an idea on what kind yet."

    "What an unusual... job. Well, my brother was the one to pranking people, he always loved to play with stinky things, just to mess with their noses. Even I was included in that group, so in revenge I would mess with his food each time."

    "Mess with the food? You mean like, making it taste bad?" Sofie simply nodded to me.

    "Hmm.. I think I know what to do now. Thank you, Sofie."
    "No no, it's always a pleasure to talk with you, Lykke."

    "Well, I have to go now. Though, I may borrow the kitchen again tonight."
    "You are always welcome to use our kitchen, rather I will scold my husband if he doesn't let you in."
    Couldn't help it, I laughed at her half joking tone and waved goodbye to Sofie.
    ________________

    Half an hour later, I came back after a trip to the market. The inn was overflowing with customers and the kitchen was busy. As I could not use the kitchen yet, I left my things in my room and got lunch.

    When the rush hour was over, I got my chance to be in the kitchen. With the ingredients I brought back, I started to cook the cookies with butter, flour, and tree sap. The sap wasn't the best sweetener for cookies, but was seasonally cheaper to buy, than sugar in the spring. Unexpectedly, the cookies were much harder to cook in a large amount, and I ended up to get help from the kitchen staff. With some help, the work suddenly went faster, before I knew it the cookie dough was already baked and done.

    To show my appreciation, I shared some of the normal cookies to the kitchen staff, and proceeded to store the cooled cookies in some baskets. Afterward, I placed the cookies on the counter with a nameplate called 'Surprise Cookies for 1 CC'.

    To be honest, it was Sofie's idea to sell the cookies like that, she even calls over the customers to try, knowing very well what kind cookies they were.
    As expected, the people who got a taste of the cookies, began to exclaim how there was too much salt, spice, and whatever kind of taste there were. Strangely enough, the peoples buy more to prank their families and friend too, which I'm not sure if I can understand.

    Anyway, I planned to help out with the cookie sale, but Sofie pushed me away, telling me to leave it to her, and that I should just eat and sleep for the day. So far, I have never won an agument with her, so I just gave up and did as she said. It makes me wonder though, why are Sofie so kind to me?
    ___________________________________________

    The next day, I looked through my bag to check if I have anything to toss out. What I found though, was a glass bottle with a mysterious liquid, a thing I had forgotten until now. For a short moment, I wondered if I should use that as a part of my prank, but decided againt it. It may be fine to let the city smell for a bit, but if a real prankster was to get it...

    Two weeks of horrifying smell would be the last of your worries...

    So to avoid from any future disaster, I save the bottle as a stinkbomb.
    @Quaesitor
     
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  9. AliceShiki

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

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    Oh, poor sod, he must deeply regret his hasty actions by now, Soren-san surely knows how to handle these types~

    Great job out there, you did more than enough~

    The reward will be of 12 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now, don't let yourself get fevers like that again~
     
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  10. Quaesitor

    Quaesitor [Scholar]

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    "I expected something... worse when hearing pranks. But this almost isn't a prank. Well... still, I suppose you did the quest. Here is your reward, 4 guild points, and 8 Large Copper Coins."
     
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  11. Dovey

    Dovey Well-Known Member

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    Roya walked in with a weird owl.. thing? At his heels, he looked pretty happy as he walked up to Aria and passed her the report. "Do I need to register my new friend...?"

    Roya quickly thanked the receptionist before leaving, he has a few ideas on what it could be but he needed to go there to be sure. His current problem was transportation, he hoped to hitch a ride on a merchant’s carriage but he didn’t know how he would be able to convince them. Maybe he could bribe them with free potions? Or maybe he could alter the properties of some of their items? He sighed, if worst comes to worst he’ll just threaten them.


    After contemplating for awhile he made my way to the main gate, stopping a few old merchants on the way, at first none of them were heading where he needed to go, but eventually he found one.


    “Hey mister! Where are ya heading?”


    “Nearby the main river of ternus, got some wares waitin for me.” He had a heavy accent, who knows where its from. All I know if that it’s damn near impossible to understand.


    Royas eyes lit up hearing this, finally someone who might be able to help him get where he needs to go! “Think you could give me a ride?”


    “Depends on what you can offer me?”


    “My friendship?” Roya chuckled a bit, hoping this would work.


    “Nice try kid. If you dont have anything then I think we’re done here?”


    “Ahh, damn. Thought that would work, how about I enhance some of your items?”


    The man cocked an eyebrow and stroked his beard. “Enhance how?”


    “I can make them sturdier, so they wont break as easily and you can sell them for a higher price.”


    “I want 10 of them.”


    “5.”


    “9.”


    “6.”


    “8.”


    “7.”


    “Deal, get in kid.” He smiled and hopped up into the wagon, he sat next to him while we started moving.


    “It should take us 2 days to reach the river, I’ll be dropping you off there.”


    Roya nodded his head, “Thank you, I’ll head to the back to start my part of the deal?”


    “Nn.” He grunted in response, while Roya moved to the back, starting my work.



    TIMESKIP



    “Thank you for the ride Hue.” Roya hopped off the wagon, smiling at the man who had become his friend these past two days.


    “Be careful kid, there have been rumours ‘bout this place.” He quickly drove off, he had to reach the town to get his wares soon.


    “I will!” He smiled and waved at him as he left, once his wagon was out of sight he turned back around and looked at the stormy sky. This might be caused by a weather stone, or maybe a weather mage, however the fact that it only starts raining after someone gets near doesnt make much sense. He sighed, deciding to try to find to center of this storm first.


    Roya pulled his clothing tighter and walked into the storm. As he began trudging through the storm was highly unnatural, the rain seemed to focus on him, alot of the nearby rain hitting him directly. As he made his way farther in the storm grew worse and worse. After nearly an hour of walking through he was drenched to the bone and looks like a lost puppy, his whole body feels heavy and he feels like giving up. However that will leave a bad mark on his card so he can only keep carrying on.


    Eventually lightning starts hitting the ground nearby and he feels an impending sense of danger, the storm clouds were getting darker and darker as he followed the river. At this point he needed a break and began looking for a place to rest out of the rain. After a bit longer and a few lightning strikes nearly hitting him he spotted a small cave that was built into the bottom of a cliff, which he immediately ran towards.


    After entered the cave he let out a sigh of relief and shook out his hair and fur, hoping to dry off quickly. He slid down to floor to sit down before hearing lightning hit the ground above him and he involuntarily shivered, if he hadn't gotten inside fast he probably would have been hit by now.


    He rested for a bit before he looked around the cave, only to find that it went deeper than he had previously thought. He walked farther in until he reached what seemed to be some sort of corridor made of bricks, he walked through it hoping to reach something of significance only to reach a dead end. He sighed and began heading back only to find he was trapped!


    He grew a bit panicky but tried to stay calm, though it wasn't working very well. He looked around the room only to find some words on the wall. “Keep your eyes on the wall.” What? He was rather confused, the wall? He studied the wall for a moment but saw nothing out of place. It was just a normal brick wall? He decided to follow his instinct and walk straight into the wall hoping he would walk through it, nope! He crashed into the wall and fell back onto his butt, rubbing his nose and shaking out his tail. Damnit! What was it then?


    He looked over at the wall that was a dead end and decided to walk back over to it, he decided to just stare at the wall for a bit, hoping it would do something.


    1 minute….


    2 minutes….


    3 minutes….


    4 minutes….


    5 minutes….


    Ect…


    After 12 minutes he gave up, this obviously wasn’t the way. He looked around a bit more hoping he would find something different. He didn't, obviously. He just stared at the wall while backing up towards the other end, hoping being farther away would let him see more. Little did he thing he would directly walk through the wall! He tripped and stumbled once again, wincing. Luckily nobody was here to see that or his graceful image would be destroyed.


    He surveyed the new room only to find it mostly empty, it had a few papers, a bottle of ink with a quill sticking out of it on a desk and a door but that was it. He first walked over to the papers, shuffling through them hoping to find a hint. Sadly there was none so he could only walk over to the door and directly try to open it.


    Upon doing so a gauntlet burst out of the door, smacking him across the cheek before flipping back into the room behind the door that promptly slammed shut. He was completely shocked and he didn’t know how to react for a moment. After a moment he raised a hand to where he just got slapped and touched it, wincing a bit. After a moment of hesitation he spoke, “C-can I please come in?” Nothing happened and he just chuckled, obviously nothing happened! It was stupid ide- BANG.


    The door sprang open and smacked him in the face, this time however, it didn't close. He stumbled back a few steps and bent down cradling his poor face in his hands, this dungeon must have something against beautiful people, ah! After the stinging went away he finally looked back up at the open door, on the inside he found a weird looking… owl? Maybe, but it was shivering in the corner and didn’t seem to notice he had arrived.


    “Oy!” The bird looking things head popped up to look at him, the creatures eyes grew excited looking at him and trotted over. Little did he know the rain stopped right once he called out to the animal, however they were too far into the cave to notice. He looked at the beast with strange eyes, it was kinda… cute? But it also looked like it could probably kill me? He hesitantly reached out the pet it and the bird nuzzled against his hand. What was it, a cat? Well either way, this seemed to be the end of the cave so he turned back around. Exiting the same way he came in. He noticed the animal following him but gave it little thought, it didn’t seem to want to hurt him.


    Once he reached the cave exit he quickly grew confused, the rain had stopped? But how? Was that puzzle the thing that solved it?


    The weird animal thing rubbed against his leg and he shooed iit away, not wanting to deal with it while this confusing situation was happening. The beast however quickly began cowering while the rain started again. Roya paused and looked down at the beast and then back to the rain. “Aw, its okay. I didn't mean it.” He pat the owl things head and it quickly became happy again while the rain stopped. He let out a sigh, so it was something like this.


    The beast must be some kind of weather controlling animal that makes it rain when its afraid, it could probably sense the people from down there and got scared or something. Well now he had an actual reason to bring it along with him, lucky him. He chuckled and looked down at the owl thing that looked up at him while chirping.



    “Wanna come with me?” The bird chirped again and flapped its wings, something Roya took as a yes. “Let’s go then.” He spoke with a grin on this face as he began his treck back to the guild.

    Got a weird friend, the little jerk didnt show me he could change sizes until halfway through our journey home.

    Turns out that the little guy was making it rain, I've found out he does this when he gets scared. Cant seem to control it though.

    OOC: Unedited and written mostly at 2am in the morning cause I forgot about it until now, I'll come back and edit it later.
     
  12. Dovey

    Dovey Well-Known Member

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    ( @AliceShiki I'll remember eventually...
     
  13. AliceShiki

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

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    ... I am honestly surprised you didn't even consider a holy place might get in the way of your reaper powers...

    Well, at least you did a good job, the reward is of 8 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now~
     
  14. wraith

    wraith -----------------

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    Nero returned to the adventurers guild and submitted his report.
    @AliceShiki

    "The person we are looking for is a certain Mr.Dahad. No one has seen him for a few days", Mr. Ginkosan finally reached the crux of the matter, " His house is pretty near to the port. I'll lead the way."

    Nero had reached the Hero's Port after a grueling week of travel. He had taken an entire day to navigate the mountain range and reach the other side. Luckily for him, the weather gods were on his side as he didn't have to deal with adverse conditions like the ones on his last quest. He had arrived at Hero's Port at noon and had to spend the entire day looking for Mr. Ginkosan. Mr. Ginkosan took his sweet time in getting him briefed on the situation, and the sun was about to set by the time they reached the house of the missing Mr. Dahad.

    The house in question certainly gave the impression of wealth. The large house was on the wealthy part of the town and was pretty imposing even when compared to the others next to it. After looking at the state of the front lawn, Nero deduced that not even the servants had been here for a week or so. The grass was long and the plants were starting to wither up from a lack of water. But more than anything else, there was a feeling of eeriness that emanated from this house that was sending his instincts into overdrive. He knew that something was wrong and he had to get inside immediately.

    He closed his eyes and concentrated on his link with the devil familiar and poured his mana into it. Parcae, the tiny fist sized devil had been summoned. As soon as he was summoned, Parcae turned around, faced the house and uttered his first words of the day, "I can tell why you summoned me. This house is creepy."

    "Yeah, we need to break in. Go in through the chimney and unlock the front door for us", Nero didn't waste any time in giving his orders. He had a telepathic link with the devil and wasn't overly concerned about Parcae running into a trap. In the worst case scenario, he would simply undo the summon if he sensed danger. Not even a minute had passed from the time he had given his command that a clicking noise was heard from within the house and the front door swung inwards. Nero calmly walked forward, "Mr. Ginkosan, lets go in, but stay close to me."

    "Ah, yes. If anyone catches us, I'll put the entire blame on you", the local magician was definitely a little nervous about breaking in, but didn't make much of a fuss as he had an opportunity to the phantom singing. The three of them explored the house from room to room and eventually made their way into the study. A large wooden desk sat adjacent to the window and an even larger bookshelf adorned the wall. There were notes and pages on the desk and Mr. Ginkosan and Nero decided to rummage through the pages in order to find the missing page.

    "Something's up with the bookshelf. I can hear a noise from the other side, it's getting closer", Parcae's voice invaded his consciousness and warned him. Nero got up and silently gestured the magician to stay alert. Parcae, meanwhile, had decided that the best thing to do was to hide on top the bookshelf. A few moments later, the bookshelf moved sideways to reveal a dimly lit passageway on the furthest corner of the room. A figure emerged from inside this hidden corridor, pale, lean and with blood red eyes. He looked at Nero and hissed, "Intruder! Get out of my house."

    "It's a vampire, be careful. I can try to possess him if required, but I don't know if it'll be successful", Parcae's voice rang in his head.

    "Mr. Dahad, I've come in peace. Why don't we have a talk", Nero decided to calm things down and get the vampire to get his guard down. Unfortunately, his companion wasn't a man who didn't know to read the situation and keep his mouth shut.

    "Mr. Nero, that's a vampire!", a panicked whisper was heard and it signaled to everyone that the chance of a peaceful negotiation was just thrown out of the window.

    "Looks like I can't let you guys get away", the vampire smiled and moved to kill the two intruders. Vampires are incredibly quick and agile creatures and this one appeared in front of Nero in an instant, before anyone had found the time to react. The vampire jumped up and delivered a punch, right to Nero's face, causing him to stagger a couple of steps backwards. The vampire appeared to his right and delivered another punch, this time to his side. Nero grimaced in pain as the vampire delivered a series of punches that would have killed a normal human many times over. Not only was this creature blindingly quick, it was also much stronger than one would expect from a creature of this size. Nero wasn't barely able to make out the vampire's movements, but in this cramped space, he didn't have the opportunity to evade and move as he would normally.

    But it wasn't an entirely hopeless situation. Nero was getting used to the vampires speed and the punches he received told him that his opponent was much weaker than him when it came to power. Eventually he would get used to the pattern of attacks and then, the cramped space that was currently hindering him would turn advantageous instead. It was only a matter of time before he would get his hands on the vampire and then it was game over. His opponent simply didn't have enough power to land a decisive blow.

    Just as Nero was beginning to block and parry the attacks, the vampire staggered and started clutching his head. He felt the link to Parcae become faint and he lost the ability to communicate telepathically with his familiar. The devil was attempting to possess the vampire.

    Not the one to pass on such an opportunity, Nero closed down the struggling vampire and grabbed him by the neck before lifting him off his feet. In the following moments, the vampire displayed an incredible range of emotions in a very short time span. It started with an expression of pain and confusion which transformed into triumph. However, this look of triumph quickly turned into terror as he realized that he was going to be punched into oblivion, never to return.

    As the vampire crumbled onto the floor, Nero felt the link with Parcae become stronger as his familiar returned into his body after his attempted possession.

    "It was a successful possession! You attacked me when I had completely taken over his body!", an angry devil was making his voice heard as Nero tied up the vampire.

    "Why don't you take over his body, now that he is knocked out? That should keep him from waking up", Nero asked.

    "Will do."

    Mr. Ginkosan and Nero decided to explore the hidden room while Parcae kept watch over the unconscious vampire. The most striking feature of the room was a barred prison room that contained a couple of dead bodies in servant uniforms. There was a desk outside the prison that contained some notes and a few books. Apart from this, the room also had a chest filled with various artifacts. Mr. Ginkosan avoided the prison and focused on the books and the artifacts. He grabbed a book and a couple of trinkets from the chest and stuffed them inside his coat.

    "Mr. Nero, looks like we've got all we came looking for."

    "What about the vampire?"

    "The Mage Guild will take care of it. I've already called them here when you were fighting."

    "I see."

    As they spoke, Nero felt Parcae grow stronger. A flood of memories entered his consciousness as he saw glimpses of the life of a certain Mr. Dahad. Some memories were pretty old and unclear, there was one which stood out. The vampire master who attacked Dahad last week and converted him. Looks like something sinister is going on in Hero's Port.

    "Hey Parcae, have you become stronger?", Nero asked after processing the memories of the vampire. He was currently seated next to the
    unconscious vampire as a mage treated his injuries.

    "Yeah, that happens when devils consume souls. Magical beasts like the vampire are really nutritious and it's almost impossible to get the opportunity to consume one", Parcae replied.

    In the end, the magicians got all the necessary items to deal with the Phantom singing. Unfortunately, they were not able to gain any information from an unresponsive Dahad. Nero decided to spend a couple of days at Hero's Port before making his way back to Nagrand.

    Completed quest
    Possible vampire threat at Hero's port.
     
  15. AliceShiki

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

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    *sighs heavily and loudly* Zur-san will have to pay a fine for this one... The water prank was alright, though it could get you sick... Fire and Piranhas though? Those are definitely deadly! What part of that is "non-lethal"!? >.<

    Sorry for the trouble Deanna-san, I'm glad you came back safely.

    The reward is of 10 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now~

    ((It was still a fun read, no worries~))
     
  16. AliceShiki

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

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    *giggles* Okay, those were fun, alright~

    Just uhn... Try not to put something right in front of the tavern that has the stench of blood? You'll make potential customers shy away from the establishment.

    But... I'll let this slide this once, the reward is of 8 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now~
     
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  17. AliceShiki

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

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    So... Some kind of magical beast that can control the weather? I'm pretty impressed a baby of this race can already do this much... Makes me wonder what an adult or an ancient would be able to do... You sure this isn't some sort of mythical legendary being or something? Be careful, last thing you need is its parent going after you.

    As for registering, you don't need to? Unless they're going to be an adventurer that is...

    In any case, I'm sure Lyra will be glad the problem was solved, the rewards will be of 12 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points~

    Take care now~
     
  18. WhitesRabbit48

    WhitesRabbit48 Well-Known Member

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    A little teary-eyed, Lethe handed over the quest report.
    After a sneeze and a sniffle, Lethe sipped on the warm cup of tea Rufus had provided.


    “You should take better care of yourself, young’un. Here; all I can offer to go with the tea are these here cookies. Hope they’re not stale… Haven’t really had many visitors recently.” Rufus comments as he sheepishly places the cookies in question in front of Lethe.


    Lethe settled even further into the couch in Rufus’s living room after grabbing a cookie to munch on. Thankfully, not stale– just a little bland. He then waited for Rufus to get himself situated and ready to tell of his younger years and the adventures that accompanied them.


    “Glad you came, really. Got a touchin’ story to tell that you might enjoy, might not. And, ya know, I just need someone to talk to every once and a while… It gets kinda lonely stayin’ here by myself.”


    Without further ado, Rufus began his tale:


    “I grew up in a simple place, a bright place. Caring family, cutest younger sister there ever was, but that changed; it changed so quickly.


    Then I was alone– all alone. I was so hollow, so empty; it was unbearable. The world I saw, the life I lived: it all meant nothin’ to me. My heart, it had died with my family; but, still, part of me searched for somethin’, anythin’ to fill that gapin’ hole– it was sickenin’.


    I never knew why I was still alive, why I didn’t just end it all and join my family in the goddess’s arms. But I was a coward, a terrible, revoltin’ coward– an outright shame to my father’s name. And I was weak, so pathetically weak. It disgusted me; I disgusted me.


    Hate: that’s all I could bear to feel towards myself. Why hadn’t they found me too? Why had I been the only one to escape their torment? Anythin’, anythin’ would have been better than me, alone, desperate, terrified, empty.


    And so I lived, pretendin’ it was all okay. Laughin’ with my mates, smilin’ like nothin’ was wrong– like my family hadn’t been tortured to death and burned to a crisp in their own home.

    The screams, I could still hear the screams every night in my dreams while I relived their final moments. My parents cryin’, beggin’ for them to let my sister go free. She was just a girl. They would do anythin’, anythin’ at all if they just let her go. But all they did was laugh, laugh at them for their pitiable attempts to save their young daughter. And all I did was hide, hide and watch as they beat my father and broke my mother and dear younger sister.

    While I was frozen in fear, they began to flay my father alive bit by bit, piece by piece. I watched, I watched as the blood poured and the light slowly left his eyes. My mother, she couldn’t take it: he had been her soulmate her one true love. Madness consumed her and she laughed, insanity floodin’ her despairin’ eyes. My sister, her eyes had glazed over– it was like looking at a porcelain doll. She had left reality behind in search of comfort in the deep recesses of her own mind.


    And they, they laughed even harder, tears streamin’ down their faces like it was all some sick joke.


    Somethin’ in me that night knew that both my mother and my sister were gone. Even if they were still breathin’, they were no longer alive. I couldn’t bear to see it. Those I loved so much turnin’ into people I couldn’t recognize, people broken beyond repair.


    And then rage, undying rage came upon me. I could not let those swine go free! Revenge! I had to have revenge! They would suffer: suffer as my father, as my mother, as my sister had suffered!


    While they were preoccupied plannin’ what to do with my insane mother and unresponsive sister, I moved to ambush their sorry hides. As I prepared to attack, I took one last look at my mother and sister before what I was certain would be my final moments. For an instant, a hint of clarity entered my mother’s eye and she turned in my direction, happenin’ to see my small form. I will never, never forget what she mouthed to me at that moment: run.


    How? How could she ask that of me? I was her son! She was my mother! I could not just leave them! I didn’t know what to do, but her lucidity faded rapidly and she once more began to cackle. In her madness, my mother lunged at one of the scums, somehow managin’ to grab one of their weapons. In one fell stroke, she plunged the blade into my sister’s heart before yankin’ it out and plungin’ it into her own.


    Seein’ that scene, tears streamed down my face and I followed my mother’s last wish: I ran. It took but a moment for me to escape the house in the ensuin’ chaos, but somethin’ in me could not just let those vermin be. They had cost me my family, my home; and I would not let them leave before I took something in return.


    Outside, I looked for anythin’, any weapon or any tool I could use to exact my revenge. As I searched, my eyes passed over the fat and oil we had recently acquired to keep out house brightly lit in the evenin’s and had yet to move indoors. With that observation, came my plan: I would burn the swine where they stood. My house would be the last house they terrorized and they would pay for what they had done.


    Workin’ quickly, I smeared the fats and oils on the walls of our small wooden house and dropped a rushlight into a pool I had created in front of the door.


    In didn’t take long for the whole house to go up in flames. Screams echoed in the night as I heard the scums’ desperate attempts to escape the raging inferno, but their luck had run out. The brightest blazes were at the only true exit and the few windows we had; there was no escaping.

    Every night, it was that same dream. Reliving that moment over and over. Seeing my family die again and again.


    Of course, no one around me knew what had actually happened. To them, I was just lad who had lost his family in a tragic house fire at the tender age of eight.


    A part of me hated them for their ignorance; but, mainly, I hated myself: pretendin’ everythin’ was okay.


    As soon as I grew old enough, I left to become an adventurer– hopin’ for death.


    Luckily, it never managed to find me, or maybe I never really searched hard enough.


    Salvation finally came my way when she came crashin’ into my life.


    Cliché, I know, but that’s simply how it was.


    I had been draggin’ my bruised and battered body through the perimeter of the Haunted Forest when I heard a sudden crash and was promptly crushed by some sort of feathered being.


    After they scrambled up and started apologizing profusely, I could finally figure out what had landed on top of me: an angel!


    I was gobsmacked. How in the world was there an angel here and what were they here for?


    I later learned that she was not, in fact, an angel but a swan birdkin. Her names was Amala and she had unfortunately crashed landed due to her disastrous flying skills. She also had no sense of direction… Amala was a fellow adventurer and had been trying to make it back to Nagrand to turn in her quest for months, but kept managing to go in the wrong direction.


    Seeing the girl was rather hopeless, I asked whether she would like to travel as a party until we returned. I had a quest report to turn in myself and I couldn’t leave such a featherbrained girl all on her own.

    Slowly, durin’ the course of our travels, she was able to clamber over the walls I had built trying to protect myself from others or, as I liked to think of it, others from me.


    Amala drew me out of my self-loathin’ and showed me how to open my eyes and look around; how to enjoy life in the moment.


    Even after returnin’ to Nagrand, we decided to travel together as a permanent duo. She brought out the best in me, and I did the same in her.


    As time passed, I slowly recovered to the me I had been before the incident. Without Amala’s support, I don’t know how I would have made it through life in one piece.


    A few years after out meetin’, though, she fell sick. I still have no idea what it was, but it came fast and hard. I traveled everywhere and did anythin’ I could to try and stop it from takin’ her from me, but I was to slow and it was too fast. She wasted away right before my eyes and there was nothin’ I could do to stop it. I was helpless.


    Even in her final moments, she was thinkin’ of me and what would happen to me after she was gone. Her very last wish before she left to see the goddess was that I live well, for her sake if not for my own. The day she left me was the day I lost the love of my life.


    Since that day, I continued on as an adventurer and am now the old man you see before you today.”


    Having come to an end of his story, Rufus let out a heavy sigh.


    “Thanks for listenin’ young’un. I know it wasn’t the happiest of tales, but I’m glad I had someone to share with.”


    Lethe quickly wiped away a few tears that had gathered before giving the old man a hug.


    Chickling Rufus returned the hug.


    “Ah, a sweet one are ya? Thank you. Now scamper off and turn in that report. I know how this thing works.”


    Before pushing the downcast rabbitkin out the door, Rufus gave him a pat and reminded him that he could visit any time.


    With that, Lethe hesitantly left to turn in his report.
    -Rufus has lead a rough life
     
  19. AliceShiki

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

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    So... Right after Lethe-chan brought back an ancient vampire back to civilization, we immediately get a vampire attack in the Hero's Port?

    Good grief, can I just hope this is a coincidence? Let's hope so, otherwise Nagrand might be next...

    In any case, the reward is of 18 Large Copper Coins and 8 Guild Points~

    Take care Nero-san, those beasts aren't to be taken lightly~
     
    wraith likes this.
  20. AliceShiki

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

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    It's a sad story indeed... I hope he got some peace of mind from sharing it.

    9 Large Copper Coins and 4 Guild Points for you Lethe-kun~

    Take care now~