Fantasy Thriller Drama The Meaning of Hero

Tyson Atarak IC:
~Norkahn River Area, Drahkabor~

The player he pulled aside seemed a little confused, but excited which was good to see. Tyson watched him and waited for his responses to what he had said.

“Yeah, I keep forgetting not to do that. I need to get into character, right?”

Tyson just smiled and shrugged softly. What the player wanted to do was up to him and him alone, he was only offering advice and he told him as such. No point in looking down on him, not when he decided to come into his world and enjoy. At his comments about the inventory and the much simpler way of hunting down the deer, the man reacted amusingly.

“Wait…” he said, holding up a finger. “You can do that?”

From there he was immediately going into his menu screens, it was obvious by the gestures he immediately started doing. Tyson allowed himself a little chuckle at it.

“Don’t tell me….I feel like such a doofus!!”

"The realism of the world must have thrown you off," he mused with a gleam in his eyes. In the end, the man felt silly but he had just paid 'Tyson' a huge compliment. Something he welcomed readily.

“Ok. Let’s do this! Oh, and by the way, I’m Shao Kang. Pleasure to meet you.”

Kang put out his hand, which Tyson accepted and shook firmly. The experience in this VR world an amazing one, like many other simple acts.

"A pleasure, Kang. I am Atarak Tyson," a pause as he chuckled again, "Or Tyson Atarak if you are from the West."

Not long later the two of them were scrambling for the flowers as requested by the NPC Grayson. Kang appeared annoyed due to the fact that many of the spawning points were being camped out by others already, but Tyson just took his time without concern. No reason to rush. There was all the time in the world. He could have offered a few helpful tips, but perhaps that would be suspicious, so he opted to remain silent and follow his companion's lead. It took a while, but they finally found an unclaimed patch and began moving toward it, with him picking up a stray flower on the way.

But then came the shout of 'DEER' from another player. And there was the creature bounding straight for them! Kang barely got out of the way in time with a shout.

“Crazy deer!!”

Reacting quickly, more from being startled himself than anything else, he lunged for the animal and grabbed its rear right leg while tumbling onto his stomach. It struggled for a moment then abruptly slipped out of his grasp and headed elsewhere to be chased by others. Shouts of the hunt were everywhere! It was insanity, but a fun kind.

Tyson himself just slowly rolled over onto his back, marveling once again how much younger and vibrant he felt here in Korr Avana, laughing uproariously at the silliness and spontaneity of it.

"I love it!" he declared. Yes, this was what he needed. This...This was living!

Standing up, he brushed himself off with both hands and a grin in place. So...lets see. Given the situation, what would be best in this situation? Purely physical would make sense. Maybe a couple points in Speed and a point in Agility? Yes, that would work. Opening up his Skills Menu, he added the points swiftly and saved the other 6 points for the time being. He turned his head to look at Kang again.

"Come on! We need to work together to tackle and pin down a couple of deer. We'll do yours first. I can chase one toward you, you can head it off to force it to divert into a good spot for us and we can both get it."

He pointed at a nearby deer. "There's another one grazing. Ready?"

Tag: Kang @Shao Kang ( @Bear Korr Avana if you want to appear in the scene somehow, but don't have to)

 

IC: Zarithea Netherward
Celes Grove, Othya

The players made quick dashes to gather the Starlight Prisms in the surrounding forest. The large wave of celestial beings crowding around to collect the first quest item was overwhelming to Zarithea. The red haired girl, though now appearing as the celestial necromancer, found a prism glowing from underneath a small pile of leaves. She made a beeline to collect her first prism, but quickly came to a stop when someone else managed to snatch it up.

Spotting a faint glimmer shining from the stream, Zarithea sprinted to it, grabbing it just before another player could. She held it up in the light, studying the way it shimmered and reflected the sunlight. Its weight and texture was so real. She almost couldn't believe the detail within this world and had to remind herself it wasn't real. Now this could get addicting!

Remembering the player awaiting their turn to collect a prism, she smiled, amicably.

"My apologies! I may be getting a bit distracted with the graphics. Everything feels and looks so real!" She explained, in a friendly tone.

She carefully placed the prism in her inventory and moved on, on the search for nine more. And as the competition for finding the quest items got harder to compete against, Zarithea decided it would be better use of her time to make a wider circle around the forest, which only few seemed to think of as well. Looking underneath uprooted trees, behind rocks, and up in the trees, she finally counted out her ten Starlight Prisms.

"And that makes ten. Time to head back and turn in my first quest!"

Zarithea ran to the center of the forest again, quickly finding herself feeling tired from needing to run. She stopped before the NPC and leaned over to catch her breath.

"I've collected the Starlight Prisms, as requested." She announced, holding out the collected ten to him.

Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

Alusan



It took him about as long as he had thought, with all of the fish finding their way into his inventory. After he had caught three of the little aquatic creatures however, he came across something interesting. Another friendly player, which was not notable by itself but the realization he was having while listening was on the other hand.



“Hey! Got an extra one by mistake, you can have it if you want.”



Shaking some of the water out of his face from splashing a bit in the middle of the fish retrieval, he nodded toward the man and held out his hands to catch the tossed creature. The casualness of the act was funny, not something you would have seen in ‘real life’.



“Sure and I thank you!”



Setting it into his inventory, the man spoke again while the distant conversations nearby only made his realization get stronger and more confirmed.



“Pretty amazing stuff, am I right?”



“Yes. Who knew a game could be like another life!” he allowed himself to gush a little before flashing a large, infectious grin. He would have loved to ask where the player was from, but felt it was perhaps not an appropriate question from a stranger.



“Any ideas for what we should do after this?” he asked while finishing the quest and enjoying the coast like the rest.



With a slight blush again, he threw a glance toward the NPCs waiting for him to turn in the quest, which he would do after the man answered. Maybe he would turn in at the same time.



Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

IC as Twylla

Twylla could only find herself being carried away quickly. Away from the place they were having so much fun just moments ago. Why? She couldn’t understand that. It didn’t make any sense to her.

She saw the people riding the horses toward them, but Twylla had no idea who they were. Were they important? Scary? All she knew was that she was being carried away with only one other with them.

The two remaining behind with such sad faces, waiting for the horse riders, she could only stare back at and cry out.

“Come with us! Don’t stay there! Come with us!”

Twylla hoped they would listen to her pleas and not do strange grown up stuff like stand around if something bad was coming. If that’s what was happening, why would they do that?

Why?

Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

IC: Shao Kang
~ Norkahn River Area~

He could feel the rush of adrenalin, his blood pumping within his veins, the electrical jolt of excitement coursing through every part of his being. Kang tried vainly to grab the deer’s other leg, but found himself flinching back reflexively as he missed, the hind leg nearly connecting with his noggin’, causing him to fall flat on his rump. It was a frightful, yet exciting, split second that had left him almost breathless, but fully pumped for action.

“It’s getting away!!’ he found himself yelling excitedly, overstating the obvious no less, as he also got back up on his feet.

In his mind, he was glad it wasn’t a real deer they were hunting, though he had to keep reminding himself of that single fact, as the virtual-realism just kept fooling his senses. He had to silently admit, it was a beyond anything he could have ever imagined while being just a bit scary. Just too Real. As for his character, in the manga, Shao Kang was not only King of the Mountain, he was also friend and protector of everything that lived on the mountain, the flora, the fauna and the people. Kang’s Mountain was a place of harmony, which he protected against the dark ones. In a way it reflected himself, but to a more fantastical degree.

Kang gazed expectantly at his fellow player, unsure as to how to proceed. He was good at the 'fighting' parts of the game, not this.

"Come on! We need to work together to tackle and pin down a couple of deer. We'll do yours first. I can chase one toward you, you can head it off to force it to divert into a good spot for us and we can both get it."

“Let’s do it!” Kang agreed excitedly, clapping his hands once. He really didn’t have a preference as to who got the deer first, he was surely enjoying this first task a whole lot more than he’d anticipated. Though, only later, much later, after all was said and done, would Kang make the connection between his new friend’s name and the lore of the area they were in, but for now, they had a deer to catch!

“I see one! Over there!” Kang called out and began to move, ready to put Atarak’s plan into action.


Tag: @Darth_Elu ( @Bear Korr Avana )

 

OOC: I apologize profusely for the lateness of this update, everyone!

Keldbi Starting Area
~Woods of Sanctuary, Atra Zarryn~

The NPC, Tahnu, could only blink and stare off at the quickly retreating Meek. Just what was up with that one? Shrugging, he went back to looking over the others from where he stood.

As Meek traversed a little ways through the woods, he would notice about two pairs and one trio nearby that fit what he was looking for. Well, visually anyway. Whether they would be good enough to get under his sway was yet to be determined.

By a particularly large tree were two Keldbi males, one a warrior by the looks of it and the other was clearly a healer by the way they were dressed. They were holding up some bliss crystals already and nodding to one another. In a small clearing there was a female Keldbi monk and a male healer just standing about and talking casually, without any sense of urgency or worry. Finally, there was a group of two men (one another warrior, the other looked to be the healer) and a female mage. A squirrel was just vanishing in one’s hand, presumably into their inventory, while the mage was having the same occur with a couple crystals. Looked like they were going to be overachievers and do both requests. They seemed plenty capable on their own, but might be the perfect fit anyway.

Or maybe Meek would decide to simply steal his way through the intro quest after all? Only he knew.

Tag: @Meek_LongEars

*****
Sarene IC:
~Scarlet Cove, Othya~

The two siren players, now meeting for the first time, just seemed to float in the light currents of the cove. Enjoying the underwater sensations and truly immersing themselves in their new avatars.

Sarene gave a smile as Achelous starting speaking, having now finally found his voice at last.

“Hi! I am Achelous, my character name.”

“Nice to meet you. That’s an amazing name!” Her voice sounded sincere as she replied with that quickly, her eyes lighting up at his name.

“You made a very beautiful character.”

Sarene’s face blushed, fully feeling her emotions again as she looked off to the side, unable to meet his eyes. What a pair of sirens they already made.

“This game is amazing! . . .Sorry. Forgot I don’t have to.”

Latching onto his words to fight through the blushing over the compliment she was paid, Sarene looked back at him with a grin on her face.

“Right, I noticed that. Is that actual sign language? Whoa…I’m jealous! I always wanted to learn!”

While she waited for Achelous to respond, another Bluefin darted right in between their faces, forcing her head to turn to follow it.

“Ach! I still need two! …Hey, um, want to party for awhile?”

Shyly, she side-glanced at him while trying to pretend she was still watching the fish. Love in Korr Avana already? Or maybe just sheer shyness, barely overcome by the new world? Or something else? Either way, the decision for the simple request was all up to Achelous.

Tag: @Achelous

*****
Ukk’nash Boars
~Ukk’nash Plains, Drahkabor~

The players around Yorr in shouting distance, just looked to him as he let them all know who he was via Gamer Tag. The one. The only. The virtually invincible….GetGood42069!

Some just raised their eyebrows having no idea who he was, n00bs in the purest essence of the word. The slime that trash looked down on in Joe’s likely opinion. But others…oh yes, they knew who he was. You could tell by the silent widening eyes and the whispers amongst a few groups here and there, their eyes constantly shooting him glances.

Much better.

“You guys all suck, watch me become the best player in this game.”

And then with a truly orkra roar that the quest-giver some distance back nodded appreciatively at, the warrior charged forward. It was time to put those Farm Simulator 67 skills to the test!

Within mere moments, he was plowing through the snow and locating his quest targets!



Ukk’nash Boars!

His very roar caused them to freeze in fright, uncertain what to do, with his next movements quickly herding them together and running before him just as he foresaw. There was a fourth nearby that started panicking and running straight for his herd. That could be good, but if he wasn’t careful it could just scatter the three he had perfectly placed.

With another angry squeal, he noticed a fifth charging him from behind, its head lowered and breath puffing up into the air as it worked its deceptively powerful legs through the snow in its own charge.

Hm. His gaming skills were already showing themselves, but Odyssey of Fantasy was also already revealing it wasn’t going to be like the games before it. A simple intro quest…but was this a subtle first sign?

Could this game truly be….

Joe’s first real challenge in ages?

Tag: @Yorr Muarhmah

*****
The Jungle
~Northern Narahul Jungle, Yerkoskei~

Though he straightened, Pax could not make out what was making the plants rustle so. In a probably wise decision, he decided to check out the Flytraps instead. As he neared, it seemed like the carnivorous plants leaned ever so slightly in his direction. Like they sensed him approaching. Kneeling down made the closest lean even further, far more noticeably now. If a plant could be eager, that was it.

Thankfully, he was in a safe range.

“Hello my plant friends, will you allow me to pass?”

Sadly it would appear he had no ability to speak with plants, instectoid species or not. The overly large Venus Flytrap just continued to stretch futilely toward him. And a sound of something emerging from the undergrowth from where he had once come, came to his Xskiva ears.

Glancing over he would notice a jungle creature now prowling the area and blocking off the route to where he had come from, though not yet noticing him itself. Had he peered closer earlier, Pax would have been face to face with the beast.



A Nortresh was not to be messed with lightly, according to the lore. That much was remembered. And while Pax could not see its level, this was just a game and a starting area…it couldn’t be too much of a threat.

Right?

Tag: @Pax Vikkin

*****
Otaren IC:
~Celes Grove, Othya~

Seeing off a few other players, the istiel NPC folded his arms and took in his wooded surroundings, seemingly enjoying the simple peace it brought. After a few seconds of this, his head would turn to take in the approaching form of Vaarra. Another to finish the task? Excellent.

Dropping his arms, he nodded to her in greeting.

“I have the ten Starlight Prisms that you requested.”

“So it would appear, nicely done,” Otaren replied calmly while reaching into his pocket and producing a small pouch that he whisked the prisms into, before cinching up. As he finished Zarithea approached as well.

“I’ve collected the Starlight Prisms, as requested.”

“Another diligent seeker. Thank you for your efforts, both of you.”

“Where can we find food? I think I need the energy from racing through that task.”

Handing the pouch to Vaarra, he held up a finger in a silent way of asking her to wait, before pulling out another pouch to put Zarithea’s own prisms into, cinching that up as well and handing it to her.

“There you go. As I need to oversee the others collecting the prisms, I’d like to request you take these to Auratori, just to the south of us. Find Nublias at the Tower of Mages in the city, he will know what to do with them. There, you should also find plenty of food choices. Though there are Torii Fruit growing here and there along the way you can snatch too.”

He smiled his celestial smile at them. “And a little something else for you two.”

The NPC reached into a different pocket and handed each of them 5 Copper coins as payment and offered a wink as their senses tingled, letting them know something else had just happened. A surprise waiting for each of them in their Inventory.

Vaarra had a starting dagger waiting for her. Zarithea had a small scythe, closer to a sickle really, but its blade nevertheless still menacing to any enemies.

And now they also had their next destination given. Would they head straight there or explore? Go together or apart? Time to find out.

Tag: @Vaarra Cudol & @Zarithea Netherward

*****
Zeltron Player IC:
~Troshian Coastline, Atra Zarryn~

The other zeltron male player laughed as he shrugged at the same time, regarding Alusan’s question. He followed the man’s gaze toward the ladies and chuckled.

“Yeah, there’s a reason I picked zeltron. What about you?” he joked, “But I dunno. I might just explore a bit, go off the beaten path…unless the game is more linear than I thought. Supposed to be very ‘free’ though. Want to test it.”

Grabbing his last fish and depositing it into his inventory, the man stretched for the fun of doing it in a virtual environment and began walking back toward the beach.

“Character name’s Dabess,” a sly grin, “As in I’m ‘Dabess!’ Get it?”

Throwing his head back in laughter at his own pun, he waited for Alusan’s reply and the unsaid question of his own name in return.

Tag: @Alusan Zaruul

*****
Those Around Her
~Unknown Location, Yerkoskei~

The two remaining behind did not listen to Twylla’s pleas, just as she feared. The sadness on their faces only deepened, before sharpening into a focus so complete it was scary. One’s fists tightened, another held out their hands so that where once bubbles had appeared so peacefully…water blades with lethal intent came into being.

With a yell, they charged the horse riders.

Why? Just what was going on!?

Still no one explained to poor Twylla as she was carried off and away from the area, the two with her ducking into the woods nearby and not stopping.

Tag: @Twylla Mirtheart

*****
Drahkaborian Teal-Tailed Deer IC:
~Norkahn River Area, Drahkabor~

Their quarry continued to evade them, as well as plenty of others, with great skill for a while. But eventually at Kang’s insistence of spotting another one, they made their way to an unsuspecting Drahkaborian Teal-Tailed Deer (Its tail was, as one might guess, teal in color) grazing on some grass.



With careful timing, Tyson would likely charge it and successfully spook it toward his new partner. From there, it was all up to Kang as the animal would spring straight for him. On his right, other players began yelling as they chased their own deer or were talking about the flowers, this made the creature’s ears twitch.

If done well, there would only be one plausible direction it would veer when Kang made his presence known. Away from the other players, meaning he and Tyson would already know in what direction to jump for.

Depending on how well he acted, there was even a chance he could pin the deer without further assistance from Korr Avana’s creator.

Meanwhile, whether he was searching for one at that moment or not, one of these same deer suddenly bounded out from behind a tree to the left of Bear. It was just moving away from the sound of others, not yet actively chased and it hadn’t even seen the man.

A lucky break? Yet to be seen.

Tag: @Shao Kang, @Darth_Elu, & @Bear Korr Avana

 

OOC: My first combo here, with @Zarithea Netherward

IC Vaarra Cudol and Zarithea Netherward
~Celes Grove, Othya~

Vaarra felt a tingle as she was handed the bag. She thought about what the male Istiel had said I’d like to request you take these to Auratori, just to the south of us. Find Nublias at the Tower of Mages in the city, he will know what to do with them. Ok, that’s next. she thought. He suggested that she and the female that had walked up while she waited could go together or separately. Her head whipped over, eyes opening, Go with someone else, already?[/i]

Stepping back, eyes closing slightly she instead focused on the tingle first. Checking, she found that she’d been given a dagger. Taking it from where she’d found it she tucked it into the soft belt of her robe. Having stalled long enough she looked back up, starlight eyes meeting the same of the female, ”I’m Vaarra, do you want to find this place together?” her voice soft as she asked.

Having exchanged the Starlight Prisms into the awaiting Istiel, Lily felt a small vibration within the suit. She saw the payment of 5 copper pieces arrive in her inventory and the collection of her first weapon, a small scythe. She inspected the look and feel of it. Incredible!

Zarithea looked at the nearby Istiel player who met her gaze with starlight eyes, although Zarithea took note of the oddly placed eyes, though said nothing of it. It wasn't her business, after all.

”I’m Vaarra, do you want to find this place together?”

A small flicker of shyness at the offer, but she quickly decided a friend could be rare and valuable in this strange new world, and who knew for whatever else lay ahead of them.

She offered a small nod in return. "Hello, Vaarra. I'm Zarithea, a pleasure to meet you. I would certainly enjoy the company."

Hooking the small scythe onto her belt, she looked into the distance. "I suppose we follow this path then?"

Following the eyeline of Zarithea, Vaarra had to remind herself of the name, she saw the path her new companion had seen. Looking around the clearing she didn’t see others which meant this was probably the one they needed.

”If it isn’t the right one we’ll find out soon enough. We may even find someone to ask if that’s true.”

Looking up at the sky she tried to judge the time of day from the sun, ”I think we have enough time to get some way down it before night.”

Walking across to the edge of the clearing she took a first, nervous step onto the trail.

Zarithea followed, alongside of Vaarra, taking in the sights and sensations of the forest they were in. One hand carefully on the scythe hanging from her belt, considering it was always good to be safe than sorry. In the previous games Lily had ever played, it wasn’t uncommon to be “jumped”.

“It feels like a dream here, and yet everything seems so real!” Zarithea remarked in wonder of the world to her new companion.

The celestial being marched down the path, looking up to the sky and watching a bird, native of the area, soar across.

Vaarra smiled at the comment, the world was sharp, more in focus than she could recall. She marvelled at the sights, the smells, wondering why it all felt new and almost perfect.

”Why this forest? Don’t the prisms appear elsewhere?”

The question had been on her mind since she woke and it slipped out. A quick gathering of crystals and then sent off to find a person, no other information than a name, Nublias.

As she thought about it the forest seemed darker, less friendly than her first impression had been. ”Is it usual to only be given a name? How will we really know that the person saying they’re this Nublias is who they really are?” she asked as she looked around again.

The Istiel carrying the scythe listened to Vaarra's question about the starlight prisms being in the forest, to which she lightly shrugged. "Ah, a beginning quest. They try to keep it simple at the beginning!"

Zarithea inspected her companion at her next question and that was when she noticed a glaring detail she had somehow missed before.

“Oh, well in the multiplayer games I’ve seen before, there are usually names showing... Strange not in this one." She said, looking ahead at the path.

"Well, I'm sure we can just look for the person all the Istiel are gathering around!" She offered with a hopeful laugh.

Zarithea glanced again at Vaarra, deciding to fill any awkward silence. "Ah, have you played many games before?"

Vaarra looked over at Zarithea with some confusion in her eyes. ”Games…?” she asked. Her demeanor changed slightly, as though favoring a leg now, as she walked.

When she spoke again, her voice had taken on a new timbre, ”I’m sorry, I am playing Vaarra as though this is all real. It’s what my counselor suggested.”

Her voice dropped off as she walked and her scan of the forest took on a more professional movement. When she spoke again it was haltingly, ”I...don’t get out much. Not since...the war. The psych said it was...a way to...interact with people and managed to get me a unit. Honestly...it feels too much like a Mech Suit which makes me sweat.”

Zarithea immediately felt awful. She noticed the change in tone and the way Vaarra was walking.

“Oh, I am so sorry! I suppose I was trying to avoid any awkwardness… my apologies!” She grimaced at her verbal misstep. “I honestly meant no ill will.”

Now she felt even more awkward! She looked to her fellow Istiel and offered a small smile.

“I don’t usually role play, so excuse any weirdness!” She chuckled softly and cleared her throat a little.

“So, Vaarra! What do you intend on using your five copper for in the town? You mentioned food, I could certainly go for something myself!”

Zarithea had hoped she could easily guide their conversation away from anything negative and back to enjoying the world. And off in the distance, she spotted buildings. That must’ve been the town they were supposed to travel to.

A short, sharp shake of Vaarra’s head was followed by ”You didn’t know. I have to try, I’m tired of feeling like a pariah.”

Her movements slowly faded back to how they had been at first, she seemed more cheery and enjoying the walk.

Her stomach rumbled at the question, ”Food for one, yes. I feel like I haven’t eaten for days.”

She saw that her companion’s attention was further down the path. Eyes widening she let out a little cry of joy. Grabbing Zarithea’s hand she surged forward, ”Come on, let’s eat and find this guy, maybe he’ll give us another reward and we can find some new clothes too.”

Zarithea took note of Vaarra's statement about her real life-self, but said nothing in return for fear of making matters worse. But she would remember to steer clear of any similar topics in the future. She was well aware there were just some issues you don't bring up.

She did laugh a little at her comment about being hungry and again when Vaarra took her hand, running off down the path. She felt the wind on her celestial face as she ran at her side, billowing her cloak around her. Her feet pounding on the ground and the fresh clean air entering her nose and mouth, it was still hard to believe this was just a game.

Soon she would have the chance to explore a town in this world and see even more.

Vaarra giggled as they ran, pounding down the path. The fresh air, the birdsong, the greens and browns of the trees, grass, and path. The feeling of the dirt under her feet. Such beauty. As they got close to the border of the town she slowed.

Catching her breath she wanted her joy at the experience to shine but also was concerned that in the town were all sorts of people, not just Istiel. But then she thought that perhaps they would get to meet some humans, she’d not spent much time with them but from the stories they sounded fascinating.

As they reached the first buildings she turned to Zarithea, ”Food first or find that Nublias first?”

Zarithea's starlight eyes scanned around the town, thinking over Vaarra's question.

"Hm. I think business first, pleasure second!"

Zarithea was glad to have Vaarra with her. Having someone else to travel and explore with made it more fun gave her some confidence not going it alone. Now to find this Nublias…

Tags: @Darth_Elu, @Zarithea Netherward

 

IC: Achelous
~Scarlet Cove, Othya~

Floating in the drifting currents I couldn't help but wonder again at how real everything felt. Speaking, speaking! It felt as natural as it ever had to me. I didn't know what to do with myself beyond just enjoying it and going with the flow.

The woman, Sarene, smiled at me. Said she liked my name. I guess it is good? I mean I like it, but then I don't have a famous gamer tag or cool number names like N00bKill3R13. I could not help but doubt her sincerity, after all I didn't think it was that good.


Then of course I had stumbled and blurted out something I shouldn't have said out loud, with my hands and my mouth. I am such an idiot. Sarene’s face blushed as she looked away, unable to look at me. Yup, I definitely put my foot in my mouth, not even had this thing back for a whole mission. Although glancing down in embarrassment after more words tumbled out I guess fin was the right term now.

Looking away for a moment I was truly surprised when I looked back to see that Sarene was actually looking at me with a grin on her face! I mean she had not swam away, oh man, I was so lucky right now! It was like expecting chili and finding a bowl of gumbo instead good! I had no right to feel that relieved, but I did.

“Right, I noticed that. Is that actual sign language? Whoa…I’m jealous! I always wanted to learn!”

Those words caught me off guard, I felt like a rock had been planted in my chest. Hands limp from years of keeping myself from signing anything rude when someone says something like that. Too bad the new system didn't keep my mouth from talking - "I never wanted to." I had spoken soft and gentle but full of held back anger. At first I had thought I had merely thought it, softly in my own mind, but no. I had said that out loud. Luckily another Bluefin swam quickly right in between their faces, forcing her head to turn to follow it. Maybe she had not heard him? He could only hope.

“Ach! I still need two! …Hey, um, want to party for awhile?”

"Sure." I couldn't help but say, glad to have something to say besides think of what I had just said on accident. "Two by two I am sure we can catch what we need if we work together." Two by two? What was I thinking! I groaned in my head to myself while trying to keep some form of a 'happy relaxed' expression? Yeah, I was either grinning or wincing in internal pain at the moment.

Come to think of it I actually only need one more fish, but without thinking I had just said the same number as her for what we needed to get. Oh, I can be such a silly southern soul sometimes. Well, at least this will let me test out more features of the game. That's a plus. Now if I can just keep my feet or fins out of my mouth I could finish this mission and see what comes next.

Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

Pax Vikkin
Northern Narahul Jungle, Yerkoskei

Pax carefully surveyed the creation, his four sets of eyes taking in all its beauty. It was quite the marvel of a being, the delicate, brightly colored feathers around its neck, coupled with the two horn-like appendages that came off its head. Nature was truly a wonder in what it could create. Of course, this thing was not created by actual nature but by a human programmer, but art imitates life after all.

It appeared as though the creature had yet to spot him, slowly crouching down Pax would observe the creature at a safe distance, studying it for any patterns or signs of further movement.

If the creature caught wind of him he would puff up his chest and spread his four arms out wide in an attempt to make himself look as large as possible. From Hyun's studies, she knew that a creature like this would not attack unless it thought it could win. So trying to appear as an imitating threat to stop any initial confrontation was always a good idea.

In the meantime, Pax looked around himself to see if he could locate any well-sized rocks or pieces of wood he could use as a distraction.

But here he was quite content to sit and admire the beast until he could find something or it found him.

TAG: @Darth_Elu

 

Capital of the Istiel
~Auratori, Othya~



As the two female istiel players made their way into Auratori, the Capital of the Istiel within Othya, they would find it much like one would expect to find a city. Busy!

There were a ton of people, obviously all NPCs, moving around on their own business. Living like one would expect in a fantasy world based on medieval times. Things were cleaner than the actual medieval period, but nevertheless, things were fairly accurate.

As they moved about the city, they came across a number of other races. Not just istiel. Humans, Elvestri, sirens, and even asvuur abounded in this area!

Merchants lined their stalls and shops, hawking their wares to passersby. Children ran amok in the streets, playing together, with an adult telling them to ‘watch it there!’ every so often. Guards patrolled the streets, and mages seemed possessed of self-confidence and possibly had a crowd around them as they moved. There was one thing they did notice that was interesting, though perhaps less so if they had paid attention to lore.

There were istiel, of course, but not nearly as many as you’d expect if unaware of their mysterious origins. They were actually outnumbered by the non-istiel by a significant margin, yet all knew the place as the celestial race’s capital due to the high concentration of them present and the declaration by the Mage-King in the game’s canonical past.

For Vaarra and Zarithea, they now were faced with the first dilemma after having decided on business before pleasure. Exactly how to find Nublias in this mess! What was it Otaren had said?

There were a few people watching or waving at them, that looked like promising places to start asking if they didn’t want to search blindly.

A human woman running what looked like a vegetable stall off to their right, waving toward them. Probably to attempt selling her products, but it was a possible place to start.

There was a fellow istiel, a man, behind a miscellaneous trinkets stall up ahead, situated right between a fork in the main road from where they were at. He too had seen them looking about and was now waving to get their attention. Trying to draw them in before the other merchants.

And finally, there was an asvuur male who was leaning up against the side of a building to their left, his fiery orange eyes watching them silently and arms folded. For some reason they had caught his attention, but the obvious NPC wasn’t doing anything. Just observing. From the way he was armored, he was either an adventurer of some sort or perhaps a guard. Hard to gauge currently.

They could take any of these options or none at all.

Tag: @Vaarra Cudol & @Zarithea Netherward

*****
Sarene IC:
~Scarlet Cove, Othya~

Whether or not Sarene had heard Achelous, the quest had managed to distract her. At least for now. She turned her head back to him and heard his mentioning of them working together, agreeing to her proposal. The woman smiled and nodded.

“Alright then! Lets see if we can get them quickly! Try to get them caught between us, maybe?”

She then darted off after the fish that had swam past them, urging Achelous to follow her. Their tails moving as rthymically and naturally as a siren's would be expected to be.

Regardless how the two of them went about the hunt, it would not take too long. Especially when working together.

Tag: @Achelous (Combo Optional)

*****
OOC: Actions taken by Pax in this update were given permission by the player.

Nortresh IC:
~Northern Narahul Jungle, Yerkoskei~

Pax was in luck as he would find a suitable rock not far from him. Behind the avatar, Hyun was likely pleased by this. Meanwhile, the nortresh seemed to sniff the ground in search of something, quite possibly prey. It seemed to move down the path a bit, almost disappearing completely from sight. But then it backtracked, thankfully still not noticing him, before beginning to turn around and head the other way again.

A programmed route or specific behavior? It was hard to say.

As the rock was grasped, it stiffened. Head jerking up. It hadn’t spotted him yet, but the Xskiva monk wasn’t as quiet as he’d like. Though he hadn’t completely given away his position at the moment. Just as its head seemed about to turn in his direction, Pax was able to deftly turn and throw the object far too his left, the sound of it landing on the ground and passing through other foliage causing the creature to straighten up further. Its attention staring in that direction.

It stayed like that for a heartbeat. Two. Three. Four.

And then with great speed…Woosh!…It was gone, following after the rock to investigate. Pax’s maneuver was a good one and he was now safe. Of course this also meant he had lost track of the animal and there was no telling when it would return or from where. The flytraps also remained staunchly where they were and vaguely reaching for him, uncaring of what had just transpired.

Anything left to do for the quest would not be much or take long, so he could easily return to the Quest-Giver and turn in the wand for experience. Or, as taken with the environment as the player was, exploration was always an option…

Tag: @Pax Vikkin

*****
Continue Combo: @Meek_LongEars

 

IC: Bear
~Norkahn River Area, Drahkabor~

He'd gone off on a tangent hunting deer, probably at his expense. He was trying to get ahead, but that didn't seem possible at this point.

Bear spent his time checking the bushes and trees, foraging for the typical fare one would find early on in a quest that proved relevant months later.

Sometimes, a seemingly inaccessible enemy would become a great threat later on or -

He grumbled, vexed.

I'm meta-gaming.

Shaking it off, Bear opened himself up to the sounds of the forest, to the wind upon his skin, and relaxed, deflating a bit and accepting his role and purpose.



He nearly fell over as a deer appeared to his left. Bear managing not to, holding into a crouch and remaining as still as he could.

Guess its not an optional quest, then. It must have moved away from the others.

He couldn't risk drawing his sword, all he could do was wait for it to close and then LEAP!

Bear's hands sought to close around the legs and sweep the deer up, intending to keep it upside down off the ground.

@Darth_Elu

 

IC: Shao Kang
~Norkahn River Area~

Shao Kang hid and began to peer behind a brush as he saw what Tyson was doing in his attempt to herd the deer his way. Kang decided that the element of surprise was his best option in this situation, so he crouched low, held his breath, and made his presence as small as possible.

All at once, the deer was in motion. Kang felt his own heart beat faster inside his chest, his own adrenalin once again responding to the stimulus of the chase. It took a great deal of self discipline to remain as he was, and wait for exactly the right moment to pounce. He would only get one chance at this.

The deer was quick and nimble, but completely unaware of him. Tyson did a good job at spooking the animal in the right direction, that much was certain. Kang’s eyes followed the action as his mind made the necessary adjustment- and before he knew it, the deer was nearly upon him.

Kang pushed off with his legs and reached out with his arms, launching himself like a human missile at the deer while it was still in mid-leap. Kang could see the poor deer’s eyes bulge in surprise as it attempted to change course, but it was too late!

Kang wrapped both arms around the deer’s neck and went for a take down, all the while thinking:

Please let this work, please let this work, please let this work!


Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

IC Zarithea and Vaarra Combo with @Zarithea Netherward
~Auratori, Othya~

Vaarra stuck close to Zarithea as they entered the city. It was the capital of their kind but they were only small numbers of their kind total, even here. Which meant all sorts of beings they walked past as they began to search for the one they’d been sent to find.

Entering the bazaar area, she noticed certain things, like the Istiel at his stall waving to get their attention, the scent of fruit and vegetable wafting from the stand of a human woman who seemed also to be getting their attention, and slightly more disturbing was the asvuur who seemed to be watching them.

She leaned closer to Zarithea, ”So many people here, where do we start? Where is this place where that man is?” came out in a whisper. Nodding her head, ”I think we have three choices to get an answer to that, I just don’t know which would be best…”

Zarithea couldn’t believe her eyes. Entering the town, the two istiel found several kinds of races walking about and going on with their life.

Stepping into the bazaar, Zarithea like Vaarra noticed the three people trying to get their attention. An istiel man, a human woman, and an asvuur.

She heard Vaarra ask her which one they should try and in response, Zarithea locked her gaze on the Asvuur.

“I do not know for sure, but I’m thinking that one over there.” She nodded her head in his direction. “Almost looks like a Nublias, or perhaps that istiel tending to that stall, though I think that one may be less likely.”

Zarithea looked to her companion. “Want to try?”

Vaarra glanced over at the Asvuur again, trying to decide if Zarithea was right. A small smile reached her lips, ”He could be a Nublias.”

The other two were still attempting to get their attention but the suspicious looking one was now her focus. ”If nothing else, we can find out why he’s staring at us. And possibly whether he knows Nublias or not, otherwise.”

Starting to wander toward the trinket stall, the path would take them by the alley, she tried not to appear as though she was heading for the Asvuur. ”Hope he doesn’t run off when we get close…” whispered to Zarithea.

Zarithea caught on to Vaarra’s movement. The other istiel wasn’t trying to be too obvious about approaching the asvuur. She didn’t much see a reason for needing to be sneaky, but she happily complied, following Vaarra.

She used this opportunity to scan the wares of the stalls as they got closer to the alley.

“I hope it is the person we need. I can hardly wait to try some of the local food!”

”I hope so too!” her stomach growled as Zarithea spoke.

They drifted closer to the Asvuur and she scanned the stalls, already making plans on what she was going to try after they spoke to him, hopefully finishing what they needed to do first.

Tags: @Darth_Elu, @Zarithea Netherward

 

OOC: Little reminder, no one has any weapons yet with the exception of Vaarra and Zarithea currently as quest rewards from their starlight prism gathering.

The Deer IC:
~Norkahn River Area, Drahkabor~

Given the surprise of the deer as it emerged right next to Bear, the man was able to recover and make his capture successfully. His hands closed around the creatures legs and though it dragged him for a moment in the motion, it was then effectively swept up as he regained his feet. With only a bit of struggle, he could then quickly deposit the creature into his inventory with but a thought.

A few players slowing down with a huff nearby, snapping their fingers in dismay as they saw him take down the prey they had been too far behind.

Elsewhere, not too far from him, was the human spring, Kang!

The deer trying to get away from him was momentarily in awe of this being so majestically denying its wingless state to fly anyway! If it could truly think rationally, it would think to itself before being disappearing into the player’s inventory: Yes, if I must go out. May it be to one such as this.

Of course, the fact that Kang could not in fact fly and was merely in mid-lunge would escape its notice. Why?

Because it was a deer.

In any event, the monk’s arms successfully wrapped around the creature’s neck and with a sound of initial protest, come crashing down to the ground. Pinned effectively. With but a thought, Kang could put it in his inventory.

Tyson would come up on him with a pleased, triumphant smile. “Excellent! You did that really well. Are you sure you’re not a monk on the other side?”

With a chuckle, he turned and nodded. “We’ve got another deer and some flowers to get.”

This was true of Bear as well, sans the deer. It would be a simple matter of him gathering them. After that, he could simply turn in or linger in the area first for any reason he chose.

As for the two working together, there was a small hill still covered in trees nearby. Or they could go further in the direction of where the Norkahn River curved toward. Where would they choose to hunt their next deer? As for the flowers, as most had gathered them by now, it would be a simple thing for them to get some whenever they were ready and without problem.

Tag: @Bear Korr Avana, @Shao Kang, & @Darth_Elu

*****
Haruunde Blazechief IC:
~Auratori, Othya~

As the two istiel players attempted to play stealthy in their approach to the asvuur, it only took about a minute or so to realize it wasn’t working. While his eyes flicked away to peer over the crowd while they meandered closer to the trinket stall, as they got any closer to him again; his fiery gaze turned back to them fairly swiftly.

An eyebrow shot up. It was questioning and so was his voice.

“Yfnie er gt? Yfnie oe sdie wmdc?”

A pause as an uncomfortable silence would fill the air. Neither of them knew an ounce of the asvuur language! He stared at them a moment, sighed, and tried again.

“Ofef? Uefm et fme salrt?”

….More silence. His eyes stared at them, a slight twitch appearing in his brow. Rubbing the side of his head, it was clear that whatever language he switched to was also unknown to both of them.

With a cleared throat and a halting voice, he then switched to something they both knew fluently in their avatar forms. Natively even. Ravichion! Though it sounded like whatever language they both were actually fluent in, on Earth. It was not his best language, but if it worked, then it did its job.

“You — want? Something — can — do?”

The look of understanding was obvious and the asvuur nodded, relieved to have found a way to communicate. Time to see what these two were sneaking around for.

Tag: @Vaarra Cudol & @Zarithea Netherward

 

Pax Vikkin

Pleased that his little plan had worked, for the most part, he briefly surveyed the surrounding area thinking over what best to do. As he thought it over, he finished up his little quest which did not take long, still as boring as it was before.

Perhaps he should explore, it did seem the natural thing to do in a game as supposedly expansive as this one. Exploration could wait however he wanted to level up as soon as he could so getting experience for the quest would be best, and then going off to explore. Unless anything else popped up in between.

Committed to taking this course of action the six-limbed insect began to walk back to where it had come from, practicing its ability to hover with his wings along the way. It was quite fun really, Hyun had always liked the idea of flying, not that Pax could really truly fly, his hulky frame hovering above the ground.

TAG: @Darth_Elu

 

IC as Twylla

She was still being carried off into the woods with the two still with her. Her eyes wide as she noticed the others yell and charge the horse riders, but going out of view when they did so.

Twylla was scared and very, very confused.

She did not resist being carried by those she trusted, but she did look to them desperately. Her voice betrayed her rising panic.

“Why aren’t they listening? Why won’t they follow us! Why are they doing that!?”

The little girl’s eyes remained wide and wondering as she listened, hoping for a good reason to everything happening all of a sudden.

Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

IC: Achelous
~Scarlet Cove, Othya~

Luckily it seemed to prospect of more shiny fish had made her not notice my blunder, as she smiled back at me before talking. Nodding her head as she went on excitedly “Alright then! Lets see if we can get them quickly! Try to get them caught between us, maybe?”

"Sure." I quickly replied as I nodded my head, of course she was already off after the shiny fish. Shaking my head and laughing, not sure whether more at myself or her, I soon followed after her. Swimming was still so weird, weird because it felt normal to have a tail pushing me through the water, water I was breathing freely.

I tried swimming away from her a bit, to try to do as she asked to push the fish toward each other. If I was lucky this was going to be a quick mission.

Sarene quickly chased after a number of fish, losing herself in the excitement of it all (which you could tell by the laughter she was giving) and thus losing the fish. Shaking her head to get herself focused, she noticed Achelous getting into position and re-shepherding the fish back toward her, thus saving her from her own bumble of a job.

Flashing a grateful smile and thumbs up, she darted back in toward them from the other side, panicking the fish. Given their naturally aquatic forms, the movement of the ittle creatures wasn't impossibly fast for them, so they could easily give chase. Two shot to the left, one to the right, one went down lower toward the seafloor, and three tried to go up and above Sarene as she came forward.

She herself began to bank to her right, reaching her hands out for their targets. But what of Achelous?

I saw her loosing herself in the swimming, and just had to shake my head as a grin spread upon my face. Swimming towards her as soon as she was ready we soon had a good school of fish startled, as she came in the one I was after went up with a couple of friends and I chased after them.

Sarene gave a little 'whoop' as she managed to snag at least one of the two she was aiming for, quickly depositing it into her inventory. Turning to see how he had done, she would notice that Achelous would be right on top of the three fish he had gone after.

And these three were now starting to split up again. One banking sharply to the left, one diving down suddenly to the right, and one trying to put on a burst of speed as it zoomed straight ahead.

I mean, I figured I was past her and so went after the one little fish that was turning down and to the right. A spin just, I don't know, it felt right. Left was too sharp a turn and all steam ahead , well alright, I might of made the wrong choice looking back a half-second after making it. But I was committed now.

Time to hopefully nab a fish and then repeat this odd fishing group. If I caught mine and she caught hers, well I just might be done with this and ready to complete the mission. Or however the newer kids were calling it.

It only took a few seconds and the determined fish nearly escaped his grasp once more, but Achelous would find himself getting purchase on his quarry. With no effort at all, he could deposit it into his inventory with but a thought.

Sarene let another little 'whoop' out in excitement. "Nice! We just need one more each now!"

Thankfully, this seemed to be going rather smoothly so far. It certainly paid to swim like they now could!

I smiled at the simple act of catching yet another fish. I knew I didn't need anymore but she did and her method seemed to work for us both getting one in a pass. So might as well, right?

"Alright. Once more?" I asked with a circling finger. Nodding I went ahead and put my words to action. Taking to the water like a, well like a fish! This was easily already the best game ever, and I say that not only because it lets me have a voice again.

Within no time at all, they had their fish hunted down and captured, placed securely within their respective inventories. Sarene grinned and motioned upward to indicate the surface, then maneuvered that direction without further waiting.

She broke the surface of the water with a gasp of breath that might not have been necessary, but clearly wanted to do anyway. With another laugh, she shrugged playfully at Achelous.

"Thanks, that was fun! Think I've got the hang of moving around in this body now," she smiled and then looked about till she located the Quest-Giver, "I guess we go turn them in now?"

I have to admit I admired her actions. Any man that has ever seen any one of the dozen versions of the Little Mermaid would agree the hair flip or the gasp coming out of water is just something that draws the eye. I certainly couldn't look away for a second. Deer in the headlights, ocean going type anyway.

Right, words. Having come up smoothly with no real thought to breathing beyond just doing it at this point I dumbly nodded at her. "If I remember, yes, yes I believe we do turn them in to him. Lets go, curious what happens now." I added with a smirk.

Leaving my arms at my sides I focused on swimming with just my tail. I know I had done it earlier without thinking, but now that I was focusing it was harder. It was just such a different way to move, to swim like a fish. Awesome.

Nodding at Achelous, Sarene moved with him toward the Quest-Giver who remained above water and near a cove wall, just watching everyone. Occasionally speaking to a player who turned in the quest, then set them on their way.

Before long, they were next up as they approached. His eyes turned toward them with a smile.

"Done then?"

Sarene beamed, "Yeah! We both have got the fish you asked for and I already got the grass earlier. I assume you did too, Achelous?"

Using my hands I rubbed back my wet hair away from my face, nodding. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I got enough grass. And I have the fish, where should I, uh where should we put them?"

I felt kind of silly floating there with my tail swishing under the water trying to think of how to hand off my fish to this NPC. It wasn't like there was a floating box with the words 'Complete Quest' to cause the items to vanish. Or maybe I was over thinking it and thinking it was how I can do it just like moving the fish to my inventory? Hmm. Well, least I could do is give it a try.

The siren quest-giver nodded in acknowledgment to the players and seemed to pull out a couple of sacks from a little alcove in the cove wall behind him and opened them up for them, one after the other.

"Go ahead and pull the fish out of your inventory and deposit them into here."

Once they had accessed their inventory menu and did so, he'd wrap up each sack and hand them to them. First Achelous then Sarene after him.

"I appreciate your help, and here's a little pay for your assistance."

Having some copper coins 'magically' appear in his hands and dancing along his fingers, the man chuckled before handing them over. 5 copper coins each. Not much, but for one's first quest, it was to be expected. In addition there was a slight tingling sensation on their necks as an alert that something had appeared in their inventory as further reward. In Achelous' case, it was some brass knuckles. A starting weapon for a monk.

Pointing in the direction of the beach, the siren smiled and continued a little more, "If you could now deliver these for me while I watch over the others still hunting, I'd like that and you will be further compensated! Just head for Mur Qaotra, follow the beach and eventually you'll find the road that'll take you the rest of the way. Thank you again!"

So their second simple quest that led them to the Land-Capital of the Sirens had now been given. But the next question was did they go together or part ways now? Followed by...did they even bother with the quest at all?

I didn't know what to say as the man held out of the simple open sack, well except the obvious "Yes, of course." Undoing my inventory I quickly dumped my fish into the sack. Feeling the odd notice and listening closely I nodded at the man. Looking at him I realized I didn't see a name tag anywhere.

"Uh, do I need to say your name there? I am sorry I don't remember yours?" I asked truly confused.

As for her, well we were going to the same place, that is if she was to deliver the items as I was. "Soooo. . .Want to go together? If your going, we are going to the same place anyway." I was bumbling again. Perhaps I should just run?

The siren man smiled as he handed over the sacks, with a simple shake of his head. "No, my name won't be necessary over there. Only the goods, though thank you for asking. Didn't seem like anyone particularly cared for my name, so figured I wouldn't bother. Seeing as the help was the main thing, I was ok with that. The name's Neres. And yours?"

Sarene blinked and smiled nervously while introducing the two of them, "Um...I'm Sarene. And this is Achelous."

"Nice to meet you both. Always good to see friends working together for the good of Othya. Now go ahead and get going, doubt you want to be out here too late or anything."

From there, the lady siren nodded and glanced at Achelous regarding his questions. That nervous smile was there again. "You make a good point...lets keep together then. It'll be fun! So, I guess we follow the beach. Lead the way!"

I nodded with thanks to the mission giver, and taking the sack that had magically filled with fish, had it disappear into my inventory just as the fish once had. I had to admit, this was an interesting game.

As to the woman's words to me, well I hate to admit if she had not said her name again I would not of known her name. Wait, what was it again?!? Uh, S-s-s-uh, Sarene! Yes, that was it. "Okay." I stated with a grin, throwing the hand sign as well as I turned away from her, gently swimming in the shallow water beside the beach on our way to the city.

TAG: @Darth_Elu

 

IC: Shao Kang
~Norkahn River Area, Drahkabor~

Kang ‘Yahoo’ed and pumped the air with his fist as the deer simply ‘warped’ into his inventory.

[One Drahkaborian Teal-Tailed Deer acquired]

Kang was feeling pretty accomplished after his initial hesitation, seeing how he’d let his imagination run away with itself, thanks to the hyper-realistic virtual world.

“We did it!” Kang exclaimed gleefully at Tyson who was approaching with a triumphant smile of his own.

Kang raised a hand to give his hunting partner a ‘High Five’ to commemorate their first joint success.

“Excellent! You did that really well. Are you sure you’re not a monk on the other side?”

Kang was taken by surprise by Tyson’s words, his hand only half-lowering involuntarily as he took a second to reflect on this.

“Wait? Did you watch my VLONG? I spent a whole year at the Shaolin Temple when I was doing research for me…er…Shao Kang, I mean. Were you…uhm..one of my classmates?”

Kang regarded Tyson with a measure of curiosity, but then shook his head. Clearly he was just imagining things. Besides, discussing RL matters was a no-no.

“Nevermind.” The young monk said, chuckling at his overactive imagination.

“Ok, ok, so let’s go get you your deer and then collect those flowers, I wanna see what’s next after that!”

Kang was already on the move, his excitement bursting to the surface once again.


@Darth_Elu

 

Alusan


“Yeah, there’s a reason I picked zeltron. What about you?”


He only grinned at the comment, offering a truly silent 'no comment' as a reply. In truth, he had no idea how the zeltron race would turn out. Just the idea of pink skin had been very funny to him, so just veered with it in goodhumour. Before he could say anything more, the other manspoke again and said something very interesting!


“But I dunno. I might just explore a bit, go off the beaten path…unlessthe game is more linear than I thought. Supposed to be very ‘free’ though. Want to test it.”


"You are right," Alusan admitted, "I had not thought of that. Myabe Iwill try that too! Starting wandering like the lone adventurer. Yes. I like that image.Very, very good!"


Flashing a grin, he started thinkingabout where to go after this. A big city maybe? Follow the coast?Maybe just wander into the forest close by without any aim and seewhat happens? The idea was fun, but he needed more thought on itfirst.


“Character name’s Dabess,” a sly grin from the other one, “As in I’m ‘Dabess!’ Get it?”


He pointed at him with his grin still on his face. "You are a funny one! We will get along, I think! Come, let us turn in these fish and see what this world has to offer!"


Turning away from the other player, he expected him to follow, he would go to do just that. Hisexcitement was rising now, the idea of exploring without a care in the world like this was new to him. Already intoxicating in the best possible way!


Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

OOC: I hope to update soon.

Tyson Atarak IC:
~Norkahn River Area, Drahkabor~

“We did it!”

Exhilaration and pride over their first catch and rightfully deserved! Tyson could only bask in the glow alongside his current companion, Kang, giving him the high five he desired. And why not? They had managed the task at hand! They weren’t done of course, but it was still something worth celebrating.

They were acclimatizing to their virtual bodies well, as was the whole point of the first quests. It was all going smoothly and he was proud to see that too.

However, Kang’s surprised and slow reaction to his compliment of his early monk skills made his brow raise.

“Wait? Did you watch my VLONG? I spent a whole year at the Shaolin Temple when I was doing research for me…er…Shao Kang, I mean. Were you…uhm…one of my classmates?”

As the man regarded him, Tyson regarded him back with a few blinks of puzzlement. Well, that was certainly a surprise. Kang was a young man, that much was easily garnered from his behavior and the bit of knowledge that rolled out there. But a year at the Shaolin Temple? He was no martial arts expert, but that was impressive!

“Nevermind. Ok, ok, so let’s go get you your deer and then collect those flowers, I wanna see what’s next after that!”

Kang was moving already, trying to put the moment behind them, which Tyson found fascinating in a mild way. He had wanted to speak out a bit, at the very least to deny that he was a ‘classmate’ of his, but he knew that would lead to discussions about their true selves.

Not something he desired. For many reasons.

With a soft, almost inaudible sigh; he followed after him.

“Deer first and then flowers. Sounds like a good plan to me. If we head deeper into the area with denser trees, that seems like the deer are plentiful there. Gauging from the others running about.”

Tag: @Shao Kang

 

OOC: Your Keldbi Overlord has returned. Also Combo with the GM

Meek Longears

Woods of Sanctuary, Atra Zarryn

Hmmm, what to do, what to do, whatever was there to do.

I could try and steal everything from everybody, or I could try to recruit some people and manipulate them forever. Hmmm, such a hard choice, a tough one indeed.

Meek pondered on this for a little bit, even pacing back and forward in his spot.

What a minute I need to think long-term!

I could take everything from these chumps, but it'll only provide me with a short-term gain for such an easy level.

With this revelation, Meek knew what he needed to do, but he was going to smart about it this time.

His ideal candidate for squad members was best embodied in the trio consisting of a male warrior, a male healer, and a female mage. They were try-hards, over-achievers, possibly even speedrunners; Meek thought long and hard about how to approach them best if he seemed too helpless, then they might insult him and walk off, but if he was too sure of himself, then they might be suspicious on why he's attempting to integrate into their group and ignore him.

Okay, I need to be careful about this; I need to create a good balance between confidence and insecurity.

With that, Meek took a deep breath and counted.

3.....

2....

1.....

Go!

Meek approached the group; his demeanor was calm and confident, amicable even. Meek knew he couldn't just ask them straight away; he needed to set the mood, establish a connection and then slowly escalate to asking. Verbal foreplay, if you will, no isolating statements, just general questions, nodding, laughing, a dash of light teasing.

"You guys are definitely enjoying yourselves."

Meek gave a chuckle that sounded genuine.

"This game is really something. How are y'all liking it so far?"

At Meek's voice, the three other Keldbi players turned to look over at him coming over. The healer's eyebrow was raised at his sudden appearance. The other two just watched him neutrally. At his next comment and follow-up question, it was the warrior who nodded and replied amicably.

"Yeah, this is amazing! We knew the advertisements said 'real as real,' but it's usually an exaggeration. So this was unexpected!"

After a slight hesitation, the mage replied with a smile on her face, "Yeah. We're big gamers; most of us probably are, I guess (the other two laughed at this likely truth), but nothing has ever come close to this, and we've just started! How about you?"

The healer said nothing so far, but while it wasn't anything too bad yet, Meek would be able to tell he was initially wary of overly engaging in conversation with him. Probably not all that comfortable his comrades had already, but letting it go for the time being—only courtesy banter at this stage.

For now, the ball was back in Meek's proverbial court.

So far, so good, Meek thought. Everything so far was going smoothly; however, the Healer was wary. It was obvious and depending on if the Healer was the group leader, the others might follow his lead and try to end the conversation.

However, judging from the Warrior's response and the Mage's reaction soon after, it was safe to bet that the Warrior was, in fact, the center of this group, the glue. From there, the dynamic of the group became obvious to Meek,

Warrior - the leader and heart - Enthusiastic, Naive, and eager to please- PERFECT!

Mage - the brains and possible leader- Hesitant but amicable- I could work with this.

Healer - the introvert and dark horse - hyper-aware- A threat that can't be removed but instead could be broken.

So it was like that then, mused Meek.

Many people make a rookie mistake to assume that you have to spend all your time pleasing the silent one in the group, winning them over in a sense. However, to do that would have the inverse effect! You'd isolate the rest of the group and further push away the member giving you the cold shoulder. Essentially making everything awkward.

Instead, the winning solution is to ignore them but make eye contact with them as you would with the rest of the group. Make them subtly feel that despite the cold shoulder, they are welcome to participate at any time and have enough fun with the group to make them feel left out and jealous, eager to join back in.

"Yeah. We're big gamers; most of us probably are, I guess (the other two laughed at this likely truth), but nothing has ever come close to this, and we've just started! How about you?"

Meek chuckled at this at the same time the group did, mirroring their actions, using a technique aptly called mirroring. A term based on the psychology of the human psyche and social dynamics.

Basically, by mirroring the actions of those that you're engaged in conversation with, you unconsciously build rapport, making you feel safe and trustworthy; however, do this too much, and you'll look like a weirdo. Meek needed to hit the right amount of enthusiasm, not overly enthusiastic, and not try hard cool. Meek needed to match the tempo of the group and escalate.

"Yeah, I play a lot. I just love games in general; I even have some older consoles and play games on them from time to time. And I can tell you guys are serious gamers; just look at all the dirt you got on your clothes from chasing squirrels. This game is scarily realistic sometimes."

Meek moved to wipe the dirt off of the Warrior and Mages' shoulders. It may seem weird, but this step was important. Meek needed to find a smooth way to break the touch barrier immediately. Touching connects people emotionally with strong feelings of sympathy, appreciation, gratitude, and, most importantly, vulnerability.

The warrior raised an eyebrow at Meek as he wiped some dirt off his shoulder, while the Mage actually stepped back and waved him off with a look on her face. The warrior didn't seem too put off, however, at least for now, and nodded.

"Yeah, the game is super realistic. I mean, you can see around us too. Going to be a lot of fun. I enjoyed my PlayStation, but this is taking it to the next level."

The healer tilted his head to the side as he looked at this random rogue that had approached them. "You going for squirrels or crystals?"

As they waited for a response, allowing the casual conversation to take place, the woman also began looking about them. Already scouting out for their next targets.

Damn a bit too early then.

Meek cringed on the inside from the Mage's response but did not let it show. Instead, Meek rested against a log, looking satisfied with himself a little. "I'm just doing what my instincts tell me to for now. I haven't really started came out here trying to figure what to do, but I saw how you guys had a handle on things and decided that you guys lacked someone with a light touch ."

Meek opened his skill chart casually, basically an invitation to look without implicitly asking the group to do so.

"Light touch, huh?" mused the Healer.

The mage looked over at Meek, watching him for a moment. "So you're a rogue then, I assume? It's true we don't have one in the group."

The warrior seemed thoughtful, and the healer's face was utterly impassive. Too hard to read. As Meek went through his skill chart, however, the warrior raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going through your skills by chance?" Apparently, they couldn't see one another's menus when pulled up, "How is your stealth? Just wondering."

"My stealth isn't something to be impressed with just yet; however, I'm really good at stealing, and I have decent speech and leadership skills. So with these combined, I could bypass a lot of quests for you."

Meek's ears perked up slightly at the Warrior's question, "Yeah, I am, didn't know other players couldn't see it. Good to know."

Meek looked at everyone in the group, "So what do you say? A quest skipper like me isn't going to fall into your laps again."

The three other players looked at each other consideringly. What to do with this one? The warrior slowly looked over at him, an almost apologetic look on his face.

"We don't really like skipping quests too often. Some of them are boring, but they help gain experience fast."

The mage nodded. "Plus, when in a world as real as this one, might as well enjoy sort of living it, ya know?"

With another look toward each other, the warrior opened his mouth to clearly decline Meek's offer when the healer suddenly spoke up.

"I think he should join us."

"Eray?"

He just nodded while looking at his companions. "Having a rogue could be helpful. Charisma skills have a ton of uses, and none of us really planned to go that way. Might help."

The other two considered this before nodding slowly. "Hm...well, ok then. Sure. What's your name?"

Meek blinked several times as he heard the Warrior rebut his proposal.

Oh boy. Meek thought, and as he waited for the inevitable rejection. A stroke of luck saved meek!

The healer of all people vouched for him. The person he thought was going to have to win over.

Maybe I'm not as good at analyzing people like I think I am.

Meek- no, Mike thought back to his secretary back in the real world and wondered what she ever saw in him if it wasn't his charisma.

Meek shook his head, erasing his original identity from his mind.

"I'm Meek Longears."

"Welcome to the group, Meek," announced the warrior, embracing the addition verbally. From there, in short order, they introduced themselves in return. The warrior being Toma, the mage was named Areesha, and the healer, as had been revealed moments previous, was Eray.

Their personalities still seemed to match up with his initial assessments of them, so how things progressed they did might take some thought. Or perhaps it was better to just move on and see how things evolved from there. Either way, Toma was waving them onward.

"We were collecting squirrels for Eray and myself," Toma informed the newcomer, "And crystals for Areesha. To cover both bases. Maybe to balance it out, we could help you get some crystals too? Or do you prefer squirrels?"

"Already got all my bliss crystals," Areesha announced smugly, despite it not being exactly difficult, "Still have like, what? Four squirrels to get?"

"Yeah," Toma confirmed, "one for myself and three for Eray."

They waited to hear what Meek's plan was before beginning the hunt anew.

Meek berated himself on the inside for questioning himself and his charisma. In the end, Meek was right about their character and only slightly wrong about their dynamic. The Healer had more pull than he thought, but it would only play to his advantage in the end.

"A distraction."

Meek paused for a bit to let the others process what he said, and then he continued.

"I want you guys to cause a distraction. While I steal from the other players."

The mage, Areesha, blinked at him. "You want to what?"

Toma folded his arms, tilting his head at Meek. "Is that really necessary?"

Eray, surprisingly spoke up more in Meek's favor again, though his face remained as impassive as ever. "Clearly, he's practicing his skills. And might be worth trying once."

Areesha and Toma looked at each other, uncertain, while Eray nodded toward Meek. Given the plan he wanted to undertake with this group, he'd have one shot to convince them. One seemed already on his side for whatever reason, but the other two needed some persuasion to go along with it.

Meek expected this reaction; however, this Healer named Eray was quickly becoming Meek's favorite. Before starting, Meek quickly considered the personalities of the remaining group members. And used a dash of the information from his near rejection earlier.

"It's as Eray said, I need to practice my sleight of hand skill, and just like persuasion and leadership, it's a complicated skill to master. I could max out this skill but still fail a low-level skill check if I'm careless. This game is multi-layered, and I want to ensure that when the time comes for us to rely on my skills, I am well prepared to get us out of a sticky situation."

Meek paused once again for the group to process what he said and for dramatic flair. Meek revved up the passion in his voice. It was time to bring it home!

"So just put your faith in me, you're my allies now, and we're a team. Let me lead you to new experiences that are invisible to the average player fumbling around in this game."

Toma and Areesha seemed to consider this for a few moments before Areesha shrugged and sighed.

Meek smiled; everything was coming together now. Soon this posse would become the most feared group in the game, and it was all thanks to Meek's genius.

"We'll do it in this order—the Paladin, the gunner, and then finally the Male Keldbi."

Meek cracked his fingers, "Let's get to work!."


"Not my usual style, I gotta say, but why not. Just a game. Let's live a little!"

Toma shook his head again, clearly the most against the idea, but seemed to have his shoulders sag ever so slightly. A sign of resignation. "Fine, fine. Let's go and get this done."

Moving them all ahead toward the edge of a small clearing in the woods, they noticed three players in the area. Two female Keldbi, one a paladin and the other a gunner judging by the empty holster on their hip, were moving around on the other edge of the clearing. Looking for one of the objectives or another.

The third player was by himself, a male Keldbi of a class that wasn't easily determinable at the time.

Toma looked to Meek, eyebrow raised. "So, what do you think? Who should we target first?"

Areesha nodded and then looked to the others. "What should we do to distract them?"

Toma sighed and pointed at their first targets in answer, his voice a little downcast at the turn of events. "You said you already put in a point into your Fire Magic, right? Use some to startle them and get their attention. Eray and I can try talking to them after that."

The woman shrugged. "Ok."

With a hand held out, she muttered to herself a little bit before exclaiming, "FIREBALL!!"

A small ball of flame shot from her hand and landed right in front of the two other girls, making them jump in shock. The fire broke out in a small area, though it didn't spread. It was more the surprise factor that got them than anything.

Toma ran forward, raising his voice and playing the part, even if he didn't really want to. "Geez, Areesha! There are other people there!"

Areesha blinked. "Oh...uh...uh...Sorry! Sorry about that!"

Eray shook his head, then ran after Toma while Toma went about explaining that they thought they saw a squirrel running in front of them and that their "group's mage got a little carried away."

Eray started asking, as any good healer would if either were hit and needed restoring of HP. The two of them shook their heads as they responded back—their attention completely on the warrior and healer. The flames of the fireball attack, about three feet by three feet in area size, were off to the girls' left as they conversed with Meek's new companions.

But just what was the rogue himself up to?

Meek knew his sneak skill wasn't up to par, so he decided to just, but he decided to gamble on his gaming luck skill to steal from both simultaneously in conjunction with his average stealth skill.

Meek prayed that this gambit worked; if it did, it would probably everlasting loyalty to him; if it didn't, Meek didn't know what could happen next. It was all a gamble.

As Meek snuck up on the two players, everything went well. For now. Their attention was completely focused on Toma and Eray speaking with them, profusely apologizing for an (if you believed their story) 'erratic' Areesha. Who was standing off to the side looking sheepish? (Truth was she was more uncomfortable and uncertain what to do, so was doing her best not to look at the other players)

Now that he was in range, right behind them. How would the actual theft go...?

Okay, we've made it this far; all I have to do is do it!

Just do it!

Don't let your dreams be dreams!

Meek pumped himself up before he did the deed, deciding to slip his nimble, agile fingers into the pockets of both the gunner and the Paladin's pockets.

Oh my god, oh my god, please work! Meek thought to himself as he continued to place his hands further into their pockets.

As Meek's fingers slowly dipped into the back pockets of the two players, everything seemed to go smoothly. They did not notice him, still having their attention drawn away from them, though their little movements as they talked animatedly made things a bit more difficult to remain unnoticed.

The gunner's pocket, his hand began to feel the hardness of something that he hoped would soon disappear from her inventory. At least, that was the assumption that it connected to the inventory. As for the paladin's pocket, Meek's fingers encountered a bit of a minor dilemma. Two different kinds of sensations, both hard. Not soft. Given the likely connection to the inventory rather than being a true pocket, there wasn't much more to go off of. There was the sensation on the left side of the pocket and the slightly different feeling sensation on the right side of it.

With only one hand in there and rapidly diminishing time to act, Meek had to choose which to grab. And fast.

Oh god, there are two of them!

Okay, okay, we do like we always do when faced with random chance.

Meek started mentally switching between both sides of the as he mentally chanted this classic nursery rhyme;

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Catch a tiger by the toe
If he hollers, let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
My mother told me
To pick the very best one
And you are [not] it.
​

Meek chose the left side, hoping that he was right.

And with excruciating deftness in a second that felt like an eternity, he grasped that which he desired in both hands and slipped them back out without being detected. Of course, he would need to scamper away from the girls fast before they decided to turn around and notice him standing right there.

He would see in his hands, however...two bliss crystals in one—three bliss crystals in the other. In one fell swoop, he had managed to get the quest achievement. At least for himself. They still needed four squirrels for Toma and Eray, who were still chatting with their unwary victims.

Areesha meanwhile was quietly eyeing Meek from where she was standing while trying not to be obvious about it. A little gleam of mischief in her eyes. She liked what she saw.

Triumph beamed through Meek's eyes, he came he saw, and he kicked some major butt! As Meek began to creep away, he saw Areesha's eyes gleam with mischief; the thrill of the moment had taken her, consumed her, and now she was his. So Meek had successfully corrupted Eray and Areesha, now all that remained was Toma.

Of course, Meek could always take the crystal for himself and run, but that would be incredibly short-sighted. Besides, with the way Areesha was looking at him now, Meek realized that she had linked the feeling of excitement with him, and soon Meek knew that she'd let him part the pink sea. It was always easy for Meek.

Meek knew that if he helped the others achieve their goals now, he'd have eternal pawns to play with and discard as he pleased.

All too easy.

After Meek managed to sneak away without being caught, the warrior and healer managed to eventually disentangle themselves from the two girls and went to look for their next target with Areesha.

The problem was...in the commotion with the fireball and all that followed...they lost track of the other player who had disappeared elsewhere. In annoyance, Areesha threw out another small fireball at a different tree and then exclaimed in surprise.

"Tch....oh! Hey-ey-ey! I actually hit another squirrel on accident. Go get that one, Toma."

After this, they congregated together once more, almost huddled together like a mini-football team.

"Well?" Eray asked simply as he eyed Meek, "What did you get and how much?"

Time to flex on these fools, Meek thought.

"I'm happy to say that your faith in me was not misplaced."

Meek showcased the five bliss Crystals he stole.

Areesha grinned. "A full quest reward in one go. Nice!"

Eray clapped a couple of times and smiled, showing his approval. Toma just folded his arms with a nod at the results.

"Well, I guess that means you're good to go then. That just leaves three squirrels left to hunt. We should get those easily if we backtrack to the spot we were in before."

It was a sound enough decision. But did Meek go along with it, or did he have more plans for his new party?

"Boring!" Meek interrupted,

"This quest sucks; the least we can do is spice it up a bit by breaking the rules a bit more. So I say we go back to the starting area with that NPC and loot everything there. It's bound to have three squirrels already captured, plus it might have other valuable loot too. And besides.."

Meek eyed the entire group, but he suggestively raised his eyebrow to Areesha.

"I've already proven I'm good with my hands."

Then Meek quickly focused his attention back on the entire group.

"So, are you game?"

Toma blinked and grew sour in the face at the rogue. "Is stealing going to be your answer to everything?"

At his comment with his hands, Eray just let out a little laugh, and Areesha shook her head, though chuckling a little as well. "Oh, ooook there! Haha!"

The three seemed to contemplate this for a while before Areesha shrugged. "It does spice things up a bit, I guess."

Toma's face darkened further.

"Since it is a starting area, I doubt they'll have anything really good," Eray cautioned, "But it's worth a check over at least. Toma, you in?"

With an aggravated sigh, he shrugged. "Fine. But I really don't want to just be stealing this whole time. Let's get over there, then. Might be harder to get away with though, a lot of players are still hanging around. Tons of eyes about. You have a plan then?"

Meek grinned at Eray and Areesha's reaction; however, at Toma's retort, Meek's eyes briefly darkened for a microsecond, but with practiced restraint, Meek prevented his malice from leaking out and simply waived away the foolish warrior's response. To Meek's relief, no one noticed this moment.

Then Toma the fool once again questioned him and berated his style of play. Meek restrained himself further, but he wanted to be as clear and forthright as possible to him.

"Look, Toma, I appreciate the comments; you want to do everything fair, and honorably, it's a good trait but not necessarily one that's correlated with fun, especially in a video game. However, have you truly never played a villain, killed an NPC for the fun of it, made a morally questionable choice just to see what would happen? If you have, then realize this is all for fun and lighten up. There is a time and place for both chaos and order, my friend."

Meek left it at that and disengaged from Toma to focus on the original spawn point but still answering the foolish warrior's questions, "A bigger distraction, a bigger fire, so to speak. We need everyone there to believe that they're in danger, but we kept it clean. No deaths."

Meek gave a nod to Toma,

"I have a personal theory about the realism of this word, so Areesha, if you can, set the spawn point on fire and hide nearby. Then, Toma, go with everyone panicking and prevent them from coming back."

Meek turned to Eray,

"Eray, we're going into the burning building, and we're going to stay there after everyone leaves. You'll be lookout. Areesha will put out the fire if she has any water magic, and from there, we are free to loot as long as Toma does his job."

A silence.

"Got it?"

Toma's face soured further. Clearly, the rogue and warrior are not getting off to the greatest of starts so far. He grumbled about 'never playing a villain' but also mumbled about 'it is a game though, I guess...'

He was forcing himself to come around rather than truly doing so. Perhaps he could be bent to Meek's designs with time or would evolve into a perennial thorn in his side. Time would tell.

Areesha chewed on her lip a little in thought at the plan while Eray showed no problems with it.

"I can make my fireball spell a little stronger, but only a bit. We're still just starting out, and I was trying to put some skill points in other stats too. So I won't have a roaring wildfire catching on or anything. But I can try with multiple attacks!"

"Before we start," Eray cut in, "and we run into that rock building where the NPC seems to be standing in front of, I wanted to know. What's this theory of yours?"

Meek nodded at everyone's comments and even Toma's grumblings.

"Good question Eray, my theory is two-fold;

1. Loot is not a renewable resource like quest rewards are; it is instead given on a first-come-first-served basis. And since the world in this game is ever-evolving, there will always be opportunities to loot, but it won't be the same.
2. We can actively change the environment of this world. For instance, if Areesha was at a high enough level, she could start a wildfire and burn the woods to the ground, and they would stay that way for a while. So if she set this building on fire, unlike in other games, it would continue to burn unless someone actively put out the fire."

Meek put his arms behind his back, looking calm; he was ready to do this.

"Any more questions? Because once we start, there will be no time, and if we fail, who knows what will happen."

Areesha just gave a thumbs up with an eager grin on her face while Eray mused over Meek's answers.

"They make sense, and I agree with the environment part; it's what I was thinking as well. To what level is hard to say exactly, but might as well test it a bit."

Toma, naturally, held up a hand. "I only have one more question. What about that Quest-Giver NPC? I didn't see his level; he might be stronger than we can handle. Just in case he doesn't run or something."

It was, surprisingly, a valid question.

Meek had already thought of this; he was going to test Toma's loyalty to him and the group's new way of doing things, and if it all went left as Meek wanted, then Toma may have to do some dark things to ensure the group succeeded. So Meek placed a hand on Toma's shoulder and gave him a genuine smile,

"That is all up to you, friend; you have the hardest job because you are the backbone of this group; you're what's keeping this group strong. I'm the brains, Eray's the ears, and Areesha is the heart. So please do whatever you need to do to ensure that the NPC and all the other players are away, by whatever means necessary, or we might all face serious consequences."

There that should do it, Meek turned away from Toma and began towards the starting area. "Let's go; we all know our roles!"

Toma nodded at Meek's words, though he was quiet and gave no verbal reply.

Eray moved with Meek into the group of players that still lingered in the starting area. The NPC outside the rock hut still stood there, just watching everybody like an NPC would be expected to do. Occasionally he spoke to someone turning in their quest before they ran off for somewhere else.

Areesha and Toma went elsewhere, out of sight of everyone else. The warrior plotting sullenly on what he was going to do to accomplish the group's plan. The mage seemed to be offering ideas as they walked off.

Soon enough, it was just Eray and Meek alone in the crowd. The waiting game was on.

"Do you think Toma will follow through?" the healer whispered.

Meek made up that mumbo jumbo about who was what part of the body on the team and whatever. There were two true things in that statement,

1. Meek IS the brains of the group though Eray wasn't too far off.
2. Eray is shockingly aware of things, probably already knew what Meek intended with Areesha.

Everyone else didn't have a real role outside of that, Areesha is an adrenaline junkie, and Toma was stupid, but he would never say these things aloud. Meek hoped to change Toma's disposition and lure him into learning how to like doing immoral acts or at least think of them as nothing but a chore. So when Meek observed Toma's body language, he saw a man at a crossroads, one who is conflicted about everything he is about to do, perfect.

Toma could still screw everything up at this point, but at the cost of his friends, as if it were just Meek, Toma would sell him out. But now that his friends are involved and completely supporting these actions, Toma would either have to go along or cut ties, but the latter option would probably be just as unappealing.

Meek was once again gambling with fate, and he turned to answer Eray's question.

"If he does and we succeed, we have to be there for him; he's likely having a crisis right now. But yes, odds are that he will pull through."

Eray nodded quietly, "He'll live; it's just a game. But I guess the realism can understandably lead to some confusion."

They waited for a while longer, a few minutes dragging by, with some thought as to whether Toma just abandoned the whole thing beginning to creep in...when it happened.

Yelling and flailing arms as Toma began to appear, a fireball striking a tree still a ways off (too far to really grab attention, though...hopefully, Areesha knew what she was doing), a lot of people looking over in the warrior's direction.

Just what was he about to do?

"I hope so. It shouldn't be so serious as he's making it out to be." Meek responded and what followed seemed to be hours, but in real-time, it was probably a few minutes.

Did he bail?

Then some action happened.

Meek squinted his eyes at the scene that was occurring before his eyes. Areesha had started the fire way too far from where she was told to, and Toma was waving his arms like a complete and utter buffoon.

What are they doing? Meek thought, then he turned to Eray and gave a worried look.

TAG: @Darth_Elu

 

Horkizz IC:
~Northern Narahul Jungle, Yerkoskei~

Pax would enjoy the hovering sensation, the air moving about him as he went along, and would soon come upon the quest giver from earlier. No issues springing up along the way. For now, the possible moment of conflict had been avoided.

The NPC, Horkizz (not that Pax knew his name), turned to look at Pax’s arrival.

“You seem imbued with purpose, friend. Have you completed the task I gave then?”

At the monk’s assurance that the quest had indeed been done, Horkizz would clap a couple of his hands happily and take the wand given earlier.

“Great! Then allow me to pay you for the simple service.”

The Xskiva would reach into a pouch hanging from his hip and with the clinking sound of coins, gathered up 5 copper to hand to him. A slight sensation on his neck would have the monk also check his inventory to find that some brass knuckles (for two of his hands), the starter weapon for monks, had appeared as well.

“In addition, since we’re quite some ways from the city, I can give you a rune stone that will help instantly send you back to Xevuzhin. Of course, you can choose to explore Narahul some more if you wish. Choice is yours.”

Horkizz waited to hear what Pax would say before turning to a few other players starting to make their way toward him, intent on turning in their quests too.

What would he choose? Explore the wild opportunities of the jungle? Or check out the Xskiva ‘Capital’?

Tag: @Pax Vikkin

*****
Those With Her
~Unknown Location~

The one running alongside them grimaced at Twylla’s questions, so innocent and unknowing of the world’s dangers. The one carrying her sighed heavily, their voice barely coming out, but answering nonetheless.

“They stayed to protect us, sweet thing…so we could escape…They…They…”

They couldn’t continue, so the other finished the heavy sentence instead.

“…They’ll be right behind us.”

The white lie had been given. Would it be believed? And what ever was to come next as they continued running through the woods?

Tag: @Twylla Mirtheart

*****
Sarene IC:
~Mermay Coast, Othya~

Sarene walked along on land, enjoying the feeling of the sand on her feet, while Achelous swam lightly in the shallow water beside her. It did not take them long to leave the Scarlet Cove behind and get to the main beach, where they then (after some consideration and then a spotting of a sign that pointed the way nearby) turned left and continued along the main beach.

Sarene stretched playfully as she moved, with a pleasant sigh following it. “I wonder what the city is like! Do you think it is very big?”

The siren player turned to look at the other after a moment and followed up with more questions. “And are you going to swim the whole way? If so, I’ll get in the water too. Or do you want to join me and use your legs for awhile?”

A simple thing with simple consequences. Or not.

Tag: @Achelous

*****
Dabess & Zeltron Ladies IC:
~Troshian Coastline, Atra Zarryn~

As they moved back to the trio of quest givers, Dabess laughed at Alusan playfully.

“Glad to hear it! Though, do you have a name too, or shall I just call you ‘Spunky?’”

The fellow player winked and gave an exaggerated bow to the ladies, with the black haired one laughing good-naturedly a hand raised to her mouth in the action.

“Aren’t you just dashing.”

“Ooo, yes,” spoke the dark haired brunette, “And what about you? Are you dashing too?”

The question was clearly directed toward Alusan, the woman’s eyes sparkling with mischief and mirth.

“Just as dashing with a taste for adventure, much like myself,” Dabess cut in boisterously, “Now where should we turn in these fish?”

The blue haired woman smiled and pointed out the buckets close by in silent reminder.

“Right, right,” mused Dabess as he pulled the fish from his inventory and deposited them. When Alusan followed suit, the ‘blue hair’ would speak.

“Thank you, gentleman. Let us give you a modest reward for your help and then you can be on your way. The way back to the city is just along that dirt path behind us, of course…unless you wish to hang with us for longer,” she winked while holding out a hand full of coins toward Alusan.

The raven haired one did the same for Dabess.

They were both paid 5 copper and in Alusan’s inventory, he would sense a tingling on his neck to check it out, he would find a handgun now appearing. A gunslinger’s starter weapon at last.

With the quest officially over, it was time to now decide where to go from there!

Tag: @Alusan Zaruul

*****
Norkahn River Area
~Drahkabor~

Quietly creeping through the woods, Tyson would lead Kang deeper in as suggested. Many of the other players were still running about and chasing after the frolicking deer. Nevertheless, the desire to keep quieter to pursue their next quarry was hard to resist.

Eventually, they would soon come upon a deer not spotted by any other. A very small clearing, with it lying down and its eyes closed. The creature was trying to take a nap! An excellent opportunity! …If they didn’t mess it up.

Not far from them, at the edge of the woods, was Bear who had already finished the deer chasing part. There were some Haranna flowers not far from him he would soon notice. No other players seemed to be looking at them, they practically had his name on them. Just had to scoop them up and turn in. Easy money.

Anything else he did along the way, was up to him. But that was only if he wished to delay the initial reward.

Tag: @Bear Korr Avana (No Combo), @Shao Kang, & @Darth_Elu (Combo)

*****
Woods of Sanctuary
~Atra Zarryn~

It was starting. But just what was exactly starting was hard to say. Meek was already giving a worried look, wondering if his plan was about to messed up by one or two idiots, while Eray exchanged with one of his own concerned looks.

Their thoughts were exactly the same in that moment. What are they doing?

And that was when Toma got in closer, getting everyone’s attention. Even the Quest Giver, Tahnu, was watching him intently now. His brow knitted together in confusion.

“RUN!” The Keldbi warrior now stated, “RUN! THERE’S A HIGH LEVEL FIRE MONSTER…THING…COMING THIS WAY!!!”

Another fireball, still pretty far off but closer now, appeared. So that was what was going on. At least on Areesha’s end. She was acting out the monster bit unseen, making her attacks appear like they were chasing Toma…Leading him into the starter area.

Some of the players froze and looked nervous. Quite a few instinctively began backing up as if to run for it but not entirely sure. But not enough. Not nearly enough.

In fact…

“So what?” yelled back another player who had turned in his first quest and thus was equipped with a sword they now unsheathed.

“Lets slay it like a mini raid boss!”

A few people roared out agreement and seemed to brace themselves. Tahnu meanwhile, remained exactly where he was, though he did appear nervous. His eyes darting this way and that, mostly in the direction from which Toma had come from.

Toma froze and looked back, as if weighing the decision to pause, shaking his head.

“N-No! YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! A FEW PLAYERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN OUT…A-AND…”

“That happens. It’s a game!” Laughed one. Toma threw him a dirty look (this likely agonized the warrior internally) that froze the laughing player.

“THIS GAME IS WAY TOO REAL! THEY WERE IN ******* AGONY WHILE THEY DIED! NOT WORTH IT! I’M GETTING AWAY THEN LOGGING THE HELL OUT!”

………..

…….

….

…

..

.

There it was. Whether he meant it to be or not. Or whomever’s idea it was between the warrior and mage. They had struck gold. The play on the hyper realism. The possibility of true pain in these confines seemed like a great plausibility considering everything so far…

And the creature coming was too high level and had taken out a few players already? With him as ‘eye witness’?

The majority were now either backpedalling from the area, some dropping what they were holding in a moment of not thinking (as Meek had anticipated), some just frozen now. But there were no statements of bravado this time or those running toward the so-called—

From between the trees came something…



That was not Areesha!

With a roar that finally made the rest of the players in the Woods turn tail and run, many screaming for their lives because of the realism messing with their minds, the creature fired off another attack toward the middle of where the players had been gathered. It missed, but it certainly seemed intent on taking out whomever it could get.

Toma was running past Meek and Eray now, he wildly pointed toward the rock hut where they would see Tahnu the NPC practically dropping his staff (though he didn’t) and running inside. There were no words, but it almost looked like he figured they could deal with him given the amount of fright that had been instilled.

The BIG problem with this of course was…

THE ACTUAL FIRE CREATURE THAT TOMA HAD SOMEHOW RAN INTO!

….And what had happened to Areesha….?

“…the hell do we do…?” exclaimed Eray with a look to his new leader.

Tag: @Meek_LongEars

 

Meek Longears

Disbelief and shock

At first, Meek listened to Toma's ramblings, feeling satisfied that the warrior had come around and was now manipulating everyone to believe that there was a high-level fire demon after him, killing players and sending them into unending agony as they perished. Still, it was unclear if Toma actually meant that they died and stayed that way or if they were able to respawn; Meek hoped it was the former to sell the realism and horror of the event. But there was something off, Meek noticed it, Toma was panting and panicking, yelling, his voice cracking at certain moments, and there were even hints of tears in his eyes. Was Toma always this good at acting?

Toma was just acting, right?

Right?!

That's when Meek saw it, a raging demon setting everything that was in its path ablaze, in its all-consuming, blazing, and horrifying glory. Meek ducked down instinctively as he saw the beast doing his best to hide from it as just from appearance alone Meek could already tell that it was too much for them to handle, Meek then eyed the forest and considered running, nothing was worth this, Meek almost turned to run, but something stopped him,

“…the hell do we do…?”

Eray asked Meek,

"...****...," Meek cursed, "What can we do?!" Meek spoke,

Meek began to think for a bit, pondering what they could even do in such a circumstance... and wait, where's Areesha??!! Meek had just spent so much effort into assembling this new team he couldn't let all of his pawns die now. So Meek placed a hand on his head and began to think hard, muttering to himself, it was something Meek always deed when he was in a stressful situation and had to take charge, he probably looked insane to Eray right about now, but Meek didn't care, this was a do or die situation that required everything he had.

"THE NPC! We need to get the NPC out of there; it'll probably fill us in as well as Toma. We need to know-how in the blazes he managed to get that thing after him and figure out what happened and if Areesha..." Meek paused after spoke loudly, becoming aware that Areesha was Eray's friend, and gave a sympathetic look. It wasn't genuine; Meek couldn't really feel for or care about other people, his mind just wasn't capable of it, but Meek knew he had to fake it, caring for others and feeling sympathy.

"We have to figure out whether or not she's dead, Eray. But I'm sure she's alright and just hiding somewhere," Meek was lying about this too; chances are Areesha was among the first to get killed by this thing. As Areesha was likely alone when it attacked and became easy pickings, but there's a chance, a very slim chance she got away, if not Meek would be disappointed, not saddened, he had plans for her. Meek picked up a rock, aimed it, and threw it at Toma, intending to give the Warrior their position. If it hit, the Meek would get up and wave wildly.

TAG: @Darth_Elu

 

IC: Achelous
~Mermay Coast, Othya~

Sarene was walking the beach as I swam, humming to myself. I think we were both enjoying the weird reality of the game. The feel of the water and my own voice humming as she enjoyed the feel of sand on her feet. It seemed strangely fast that we were out of the Scarlet Cove by the main beach, it took me a moment but I saw the sign that pointed the way along the beach. I suppose it would make sense that any city not made to be isolated would be by the shore, but I have to admit that notion didn't come to me for a while. After all, Sarene kinda tripped any thoughts I had working the situation.

For one thing stretching her form and sighing, well it just wasn't fair as far as distractions go. “I wonder what the city is like! Do you think it is very big?” She asked after catching my attention. Thank goodness my mouth was at the water line. Taking my silence she ran with it. “And are you going to swim the whole way? If so, I’ll get in the water too. Or do you want to join me and use your legs for awhile?”

"Sure." I dumbly stated. Staring at her for a moment I noticed what a fool I was being. Swimming forward I thought of my legs as my tail brushed sand, and in a moment was walking out to enjoy the stroll beside her. Come to think of it, was my body in the real world being stimulated by all this or just my mind? I was oddly curious if I was going to logoff and discover that I had been flopping across the floor and walking in circles the whole time. Luckily I didn't have anything of value besides the gaming system I was wearing.

"I would guess a large city, maybe a dozen or so quest givers or interactive characters besides the shop keepers. A bunch of people that just ignore us and we cannot act with. Although I never would of guessed this would seem so real or," I rubbed my neck, my vocal cords at that, pausing. "I would never have guessed." I finished, leaving it at that.

This world was amazing and I gestured to all of it around us in a little spin. Hoping it would distract her from my truth, I wanted to enjoy it a while longer. Just being a person that talk again, it was nice in a way it had no right to be, and somehow her not knowing it felt like a gift I didn't want to give away.

Tag: @Darth_Elu

 

IC Vaarra Cudol and Zarithea Netherward
~Auratori, Othya~

The Asvuur began speaking, looking right at them, telling Vaarra that her little deception wasn’t working. The first couple sentences out of his mouth made her eyes water, it was a language she was not familiar with at all. He continued trying though.

She altered her course, moving more directly toward him now. And then he spoke again, a sentence that made some sense.

“You — want? Something — can — do?”

She shook her head, ”You were staring at us as though we meant something to you. Do you know where the Tower of Mages is?”

She still was unsure that he was Nublias and didn’t want to get duped by this demon looking being in her first few moments in a city.

Zarithea watched the interaction with the asvuur, beginning to think that perhaps she might have been mistaken in guessing he was Nublias. She felt uncomfortable now and shot an apologetic look to her companion.

"We are looking for someone by the name of Nublias. Perhaps you might know where he is?"

Zarithea added with a hopeful tone, the hand that had been resting on the handle of her sickle tightened ever so slightly, her body tensing in anticipation as she was now suddenly aware that this could go south fast. She had to remind herself it was no ordinary game.

She kept close to Vaarra to feel safe and to hopefully offer the same feeling in return.

Haruunde raised an eyebrow at Vaarra with her statement, opening his mouth to speak in reply, but was then caught off by Zarithea. As she spoke, he looked at her instead.

Hm. Nublias, eh? So that was the deal. His eyes narrowed at the tightening of the hand on the sickle, its subtle motion not lost to him.

"I stare -- seem -- suspicious," he got out haltingly with his limited Ravichion speaking ability, "Nublias? -- In Tower -- go North."

Pushing off slightly from the wall, the asvuur pointed down forked street, along the right path. "Follow. Turn right. Look for -- purple signs. Follow. Reach -- Nublias."

He eyed them a bit more, but decided they meant no trouble for the time being. New to the city obviously. "Help?"

Zarithea smiled, relieved. They weren't in any danger and he gave them directions. She gave a gentle nudge to Vaarra and an encouraging nod her way.

"That is exactly what we needed. We thank you kindly for your information on his whereabouts."

Looking to Vaarra, she motioned with her hand.

"Ready to move on?"

Vaarra nodded in thanks to the asvuur, echoing Zarithea when she felt the nudge, ”Yes thank you.” said as she worked to remember the instructions he’d given. Surely Zarithea had done the same but either way they’d have a good idea where to go.

Looking at her companion, ”Yes, oh yes. The faster we find him the faster we can enjoy the city, and get fed.”

She started off in the indicated direction, eyes looking at all the wide and wondrous sights as they walked, sure Zarithea was close to hand.

Haruunde watched as they walked off after thanking him. Yes, definitely new to the city. After a moment's thought, he called out to them.

"New to...city? Careful. Inn...fill...fast!"

And with those words, he allowed them to continue on their way without further distraction on his part. The rest of the city may or may not do that however as they passed by numerous shops and stalls of all kinds, people of many races (mainly Othyan) walking about and going about their programmed lives.

They would eventually come to see the purple signs the asvuur mentioned. Little hanging ones with a single star and an arrow pointing in a direction upon them, spaced apart from each other every so often.

Would they follow it dutifully or allow themselves to meander a bit, with the city tempting them from all directions?

“Hm… he said the inn fills quickly. Do you think that will be a problem?”

Zarithea inquired Vaarra, her starry eyes dancing to and fro at the different sights and species. The smells intrigued the istiel. The very sensations within the city were unbelievably realistic.

“Perhaps that can wait until our business is first finished? What do you say, my friend?”

Vaarra wasn’t feeling the most comfortable as they walked through the city more, the streets weren’t that wide and the press of bodies was increasing. There were a wild variety of scents and sounds and she stuck close to her companion.

When Zarithea asked her about the inns after the last statement from the asvuur she frowned. A full inn seemed even more anxiety producing but otherwise they’d have to find an empty space somewhere to rest their eyes overnight. There was a light sigh of relief when the signs began to appear.

Her starry eyes swam as she turned to Zarithea, ”Let’s find this guy quickly and then we can hope there is somewhere to rest.”

“But, the city is beginning to unnerve me, I much prefer the outdoors. I want to hurry more but I have a feeling if we do something bad may happen.”

With their determination to keep to business, it wouldn't not be too long before they finally made it to a large tower with magical symbols glowing in intricate patterns all along its surface from top to bottom. The aptly named Tower of Mages. It was currently quiet at its large wooden door however, so it would take a knock to get an answer from within.

Shortly, it would open to reveal another istiel beyond, looking at them quizzically.

"Can I help you two?"



The door opened and the male Istiel stood there. Vaarra sighed, hoping this man was the one the Istiel in the woods had sent them to find.

”Are you Nublias?” hesitation in her tone. ”We were told to come here to bring something to you, if so.”

She looked to Zarithea for support, if this wasn’t Nublias then that man had to be elsewhere in this Tower and they had to continue looking for him.

Zarithea gave an encouraging nod to Vaarra.

"I'm sure it won't be much longer yet, Vaarra. We can do this! We'll just focus on one step at a time!" She wanted to reach out to her new friend, but hesitated, unsure of what kind of trauma she had been through and she did not want to stir up anything else.

As the two moved further through the city, following the directions they were given, the pair found the tower that seemed to fit the name. Stepping up to the wood door, Zarithea knocked a few times and stepped back to Vaarra's side again, hoping her nearby presence would calm any possible misgivings.

Another istiel answered the knock and Vaarra inquired his name, adding in their business. She caught her gaze.

"And if you are not, we would be grateful for his whereabouts if you happen know such information. We must see him at once, if you please."

The istiel seemed to smile its celestial smile, so much like their own when they would choose to do so.

"I am Nublias. If you are here, I presume it is about the starlight prisms? Please come inside."

Within was the lobby of the Tower of Mages, which was circular as one would imagine. It was filled with bookshelves and writing desks ringed around the edges. Some exquisite circular rugs of dazzling patterns was on the floor and a finely carved wooden staircase was not far away.

The istel motioned for them to take a seat in a couple of wooden chairs, with cushions upon the actual seat, in the middle of the room. He walked off toward a desk that contained a pitcher and two glasses, which he filled, revealing the contents to be water. Moving back toward them, he handed them each a glass.

"You must be thirty from your travels, please drink some with thanks. I will take the prisms off your hands now."

He held out his hands for the bags to be placed in them after being pulled from their invisible inventories. Patience was etched over the man, so there was no sense of urgency pushing them. When and if they drank from the glasses, the water would taste amazingly like water! Though the only note was that it would seem muted somehow. Still, they would actually feel genuine refreshment should they choose to drink.

"Feel free to ask me any questions you may have as well," Nublias offered as he waited.

Vaarra sighed in relief as the male revealed he was the Nublias they had come to find. She took the water when he offered it, holding it in her hand, sitting in the chair, which was both comfortable and not at the same time. He’d asked about the starlight prisms and she reached into her clothes, pulling out the bag containing them.

She held it above his hand, held out to receive the bags from them, ”If we all are bringing these to you, you must have a great need for them. May I ask why?”

Her hand rocked back and forth, the water swirling in the glass as she did, thinking and wondering. As she waited for his response she looked around the tower, taking in the beauty and power of the place. Their kind was strong in power but this Nublias seemed to be on another level indeed.

”Are you or will you be teaching us or guiding us to be as strong?” following up her previous question.

Zarithea felt the same relief wash over her, just as Vaarra did. She smiled in returned and followed him within the building, happy to have one task completed. They could then move on to get a place to stay and explore after.

She took her seat at Vaarra's and accepted the glass of water with a murmured thanks and trying it, surprised to find the feel and taste of it. What a world! She thought in awe at such a simple thing.

Zarithea handed off her bag from her inventory, glad to be parted with it and listened to Vaarra's question. She had none herself, so she sat patiently and kept her attention on the conversation, sipping from the glass again.

Taking the bags with a smile, Nublias tucked them in close, his eyes on Vaarra.

"The starlight prisms have a few uses in the arcane arts, but most predominantly they feature in powering the protective barriers around both Auratori and Shar'eltru. We hope to earn more to eventually protect other cities as well, but we shall get there eventually. So gathering these is a great help to Othya. Thank you, both of you."

Turning to walk over toward a desk, where he set the pouches of prisms down for the time being, he jotted down some notes before turning back to face them both again. He considered them both a moment before giving the smallest of shrugs, his hands held out to his sides.

"I do not think I can help you, I'm afraid. You do not seem to have the right...prerequisites. She, on the other hand," his head turned to look at Zarithea, "I could impart some knowledge to if she is willing to put in the effort and time. Though I suspect there are others more suited to her...talents."

He chuckled, as if remembering something and grasped some things from a small drawer, heading over to them again. He handed them 6 galena coins, each.

"Payment for your delivery. I can assist you however you need, otherwise you are free to explore Auratori with the blessing of the Shar'wyru Magilis Imperium!"

It would appear the quest was at an end.

Vaarra sipped at the water, it was flat and since her companion hadn’t simply dropped dead on the stone floor it meant that if it was poisoned it was one that took a long time to take someone down. It did refresh her somewhat and that was a nice feeling. When the male told her that he didn’t think that he would be able to help her she wasn’t truly surprised.

Taking the coin, she slipped it into her cloak and then into the pouch within that held her money.

She glanced over at Zarithea when the male spoke of her, smiling. ”I leave it up to you my friend, stay and learn from him what he can teach you or go with our plan of finding food and some rest?”

Zarithea mulled over what the istiel had said. She was glad she could do a good deed by aiding the city with its protection. She thought back to what the prisms looked like and was amazed they could turn that into a barrier. Magical, probably.

She gratefully accepted the coins, happy to be officially done with this quest, and looked to her friend.

"The offer is quite tempting - however, I believe we have an inn to find. I hear they fill up fast around here." She smiled in a friendly manner to Nublias, nodding to Vaarra and standing from the chair.

"Shall we be on our way, Vaarra? And I thank you for your help, Nublias."

A sigh escaped Vaarra’s throat, she’d been afraid her companion would take Nublias up on her offer. The Istiel could be considered loners, at least to other races, but she knew no one else here, that she could recall, and the worry of having to wander the town alone had chilled her to the bone.

She smiled and stood, thanking Nublias once more then turned toward the exit to the Tower, ”Yes, we need to hurry before we find ourselves sleeping on the streets.”

She twisted slightly, looking back at Nublias, ”Any recommendations?”

Nublias smiled at the two women as they came to the decision of heading out together and finding an inn. It was a sensible decision. When he moved to return to his own duties, Vaarra asked a question forcing him to pause and look back at them.

He considered the question thoughtfully a moment. "Hm. I have heard good things about the one in the northeastern part of the city. Starry Skies, I believe it's called. Just head out from the Tower and head for the district to the left. Haven't been there myself, but follow the signs. It won't be too hard to find."

With a slight nod, he bade them farewell on the next stage of their adventures.

Tag: @Vaarra Cudol and @Darth_Elu