Megathread - Link Start: Honeyhome Village

Honeyhome Village

The pathway from the Maithe Woodlands led you here!

After braving their first taste of the wilds, players find themselves in a peaceful little hamlet by the name of Honeyhome. The air smells heavily of flowers and fresh pastries, wafting from a small bakery with an elderly woman hard at work within. There is a low hum of life as the villagers go about their day, stopping to welcome those that interact with them. A general store offers basic armor, weapons, and other simple items to those than can afford them while the tall steeple of the town's temple casts its shadow over the road through town. A kindly priest sweeps the entrance hall and a few worshipers murmur praises to Uene for a bountiful harvest and rains for the crops.

Scattered gardens, worn benches, and kind faces abound. Such a kind and welcoming atmosphere can be a rare thing to enjoy and the village is happy to house any who are not yet ready to begin the dangerous adventures awaiting them.

Activities

Some of the NPCs have snippets of advice about the world around them to offer up amidst polite conversation and a few have errands and quests!

The old baker, Mrs. Whittle, needs the combs from Honeyhome's namesake hives to make honey cakes. The hives are located all over town, surrounded by swathes flowers.

Two twin girls cry over their lost and scattered marbles, now hidden all over the village. The shine of glass sparkles in nooks and crannies all around town.

A farmer mutters crossly at his son for letting his prize-winning hens get loose, despite the boy's insistence that they've been spoiled rotten to the bone and gone mad with power.

There are many more people of the land waiting to be spoken to. It would also appears that these people will gladly provide food and lodging for a bit of help.

Instruction

• This thread is for new players logging into TS for the first time.
• There is no posting order and you are free to come and go as you wish.
• Tag those you want to address using @Username.
• Have fun and get to know one another, MMOs are funner with friends!
• You can move between this thread and the other link start threads, but you may only RP in one at a time.

 

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It was that time again! Yep, time for a new batch of adventurers to come and play in the wonderful world of Terrasphere for the first time. So many smells and voices filling the air. Ah yes! New people!. A certain NPC that looked remarkably different and much more colorful than the rest of usual sorts you'd find in a village like this.. This sky blue haired girl stood near the entrance to the village. She was simply standing still with her eyes wide at each new arrival. A smile of such enthusiasm that it looked like she might explode. She would go up to each person and make a attempt to introduce each player to the village. Her eyes sparkling with interest. Anyone who would ignore her she would simply give them a friendly salute and move on to the next.

"Hello! Hola! Bonjour! Ciao! Konnichiwa! Welcome to Terrasphere! We hope you enjoy your adventures!"

 

Seated on a wooden stool beneath the shade of a tree, Kaeliel concentrated on putting the finishing touches on a painting. She wanted to bring pictures of peaceful, idyllic places like this back to the elves' village in Astoria, as reminders of the beauty of the world in which they lived. This was also an ideal spot to meet new people, considering that it was located in the midst of the new player spawn area.

With the last careful strokes forming wisps of smoke from the bakery's chimney, Kaeliel's painting was complete. She stood with satisfaction and stretched her arms as she looked over the finished product. Admittedly it might have been a bit too modern of a style, but that couldn't be helped. Besides, it was technically the future.

Looking back towards the village entrance, she noted the blue-haired girl greeting newcomers. She lifted a hand in a gentle wave- more to the people the girl was greeting than to the girl herself, though she certainly wasn't leaving her out. She paid particular attention to the ears of the newcomers, hoping to spot more Yladian arrivals.

 

Ben's eyes sparkled with delight as he bent down and picked up a peculiar marble, lifting it to the sun to inspect. It shone brilliantly. He tucked it into his pocket, already thinking about the pretty penny he might earn if he sold the marble, when he spotted another.

His lucky day!

Effortlessly, he slid over to the bush, bending down and plucking the sphere into his hand. A blue-pinkish one. He made to tuck it away with the other, when a distant cry of, "STOP THAT YOU HORRIBLE THIEF!" startled him into inaction. The murmurs as village folk turned to look at him, whispering about his ears, did not escape Ben. He turned in the direction of the shout and spotted two identical girls sprinting over to him before they tackled him into the ground.

"Those are our marbles!" one shouted, clinging to one of his arms.

"Yeah, why are you trying to take our marbles?" the second girl pouted, clinging to his other.

Ben groaned, sitting up and shaking his limbs out, as if that would get them to let go. It didn't. "Do the marbles have your names on them?" he asked, snorting when they shook their heads. "Were you holding them when I grabbed them?" Another meek shake of the head. "Then they're not yours."

Apparently, the kiddos didn't like that conclusion, because they started sobbing and calling him all sorts of horrible names. "It's not our fault! Those are our marbles, we just lost them!" they cried simultaneously, their grips quickly tightening on him.

Yeah, they certainly had lost their marbles.

Ben smirked at them. "Finders keepers," he pinned them with a contemplating look, "losers weepers." Common knowledge in his world, probably common knowledge in theirs.

 

Eleanor kept her head down. She hadn't played many games, but like all of them, she much preferred to skip the monotonous 'tutorial' process. As she saw things, it was much easier to learn from action and experience, rather than a cookie cutter text box telling her what to do. But in this world, things seemed less cookie cutter, and with many less text boxes.

Regardless, she'd ventured down the road without anyone spotting and stopping her. Whether they were other players, or NPC's, she did not bother trying to differentiate the two, instead focusing on avoiding them in general. The sooner she could get out of there, the sooner--

The loud voice of a nearby @Trinity struck her. Keeping her head down, Eleanor hoped that the rim of her hat, and sulking disposition would be able to deter the incoming conversation. She was not one to rudely eject herself from a conversation, yet she simply wished to avoid having the option to. There was places to go! A world to see! As Eleanor perceived it, beginning areas only held people back. The real world, so she hoped, was just beyond this place, perhaps in any direction! All the people about made her feel quite uncomfortable, so hopefully she could escape without any sudden interactions!

"He took our marbles!" Eleanor screeched to a halt. Having her head hung down, she hadn't really been looking where she was going. Keeping her head pointed towards the ground had resulted in her nearly stumbling into a young girl. "He took our marbles, can you get them back?" The girl seemed to be sobbing her damn eyes out. The young one pointed to an... Odd looking male. sitting on the ground, with what appeared to be an identical looking young girl clinging to him.

"Sorry, ehm... I don't know about that." Raising her hands, it was as she was presenting a defenseless pose. With a step back, Eleanor hoped to quickly sidestep this distraction, getting on to the real game here. Cautiously, she winced, as the emotion dripping girl stepped forward to wipe her eyes on the bottom of Eleanor's blue coat.

"You're a detective, right? You'll help us?" The crying girl, with eyes barely considered dry by any standard, shot a pained look back up towards Eleanor. Reaching up a hand to the back of her head, she ran her fingers through the back of her hair. "Please?" The young thing was so desperate... With a sigh, Eleanor stood defeated, bowing her head in an agonizing nod. Her teeth grit together with discomfort.

"Excuse me, sir." Eleanor let her shoulders hang low at her side, her hands slipping into their designated pockets on either side. She approached the man who appeared to be at fault here, @Ben Dover. The little girl who had commissioned her clung to the back of her coat, walking close behind. "I was informed that you took some of this child's belongings?"

 

He looked over in disbelief as yet another person approached him, with one the spawns of satan clinging to their coat. Although he'd initially assumed the other a guy, their voice clearly said otherwise. When had the little girl even left to cry wolf? He clicked his tongue and fixed the newcomer with an irritated look.

"Well then," he stared through his long lashes, "you were clearly misinformed. I would do no such thing."

At his words, the little devil clinging to his arm reached out and stole the marble still in his palm. "LIAR!" she cried, right into his ear. "Here's one of 'em! The other's in your pocket! You're a lying thief that lies!"

Ben groaned and rubbed at his ear with his free hand, roughly shoving the kid's spitting mouth away. "I didn't take it from them. I found that," he made a feeble grab for the marble, "lying in a bush." His irritated glare flicked over to the kids, daring them to contradict him. Do it, he mentally commanded, just so that he could go and point out the other marbles he'd spotted.

They didn't, much to his disappointment, instead tearing up even more and starting to loudly bawl. God. Ben wasn't designed for this. For handling irritating little kids who were far too eager to scream and cry and blame everybody else for their mistakes.

The girl behind @Eleanor Loan sobbed and tugged at the coat. "It's still ours! Make him give it back! Please! Those are the only two marbles we've found so far..." Ben's eyes widened as a small box popped up on his UI. A contract?

"Find and return all 99 Marbles to the Twins."​

"So what are you gonna do," he purred, "fight me for these stupid marbles?"

 

Eleanor grit her teeth. It seemed, between the pestering of the distraught children, and the refusal to come to an agreement from @Ben Dover, this issue had not come to easy resolution. There was not a good stopping point for her to leave the situation behind, simply forgetting about it.

He finished speaking on a threatening message. Particularly, one involving physical conflict. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to--" As she opened her mouth to diffuse the situation, she attempted to take a step back. A quick apology for the disturbance, a shuffle left, perhaps behind a building, and she would be free of these ever so binding obligations! As her heel crept back, meeting the ground, the body of the small child pressed to her back. The little thing stared up at her, eyes full of tears.

"I--" She grit her teeth. Stuck between the devastated face of the girl and the coaxing threat of the male. This had not been part of her plan at all. She cursed herself for entering this situation. "You know what..." Eleanor groaned, lowering her head to scratch the back of her neck, before loosening her collar with a hand. "Yeah, sure..."

In the forest leading up to this point, she noticed that she could bring a certain glow to her hand if she concentrated. This, she assumed, was some sort of magical competence, and while she had not yet used it, there had to be a first for everything. Pointing her right hand towards him, she braced under her wrist with her left palm.

Concentrating, the glow returned to her hand. As she prepared to cast a powerful ray, the light purple grew brighter and brighter. She hoped at least the gritting of her teeth would show that she meant business, as a low hum lingered in the air. Charging... Charging... And all of a sudden--!

Nothing happened. She didn't know how to use the arcanamancy, and while the attempt had been promising, she had spent all of her energy winding up her energy to release none of it. Panting, her right arm swung down to her side, left hand still grasping the wrist. Eleanor leaned down, panting. The spark had fizzled away into nothingness. Without training, the power was useless. What an embarrassing display...

 

Kaeliel had simply been watching from a distance as she waited for the paint on her canvas to dry, but as the situation seemed to be heating up, she decided it would be best to approach to see what she might be able to do about it. From the looks of things, a handsome Yladian man (dressed as some sort of... belly dancer perhaps?) was in the middle of a confrontation with a human, who seemed to have attempted to cast a spell only for it to fizzle out. Nearby were a pair of children who seemed thoroughly upset.

"May I ask what's going on here?" Kaeliel inquired of the group, speaking gently in the presence of the children.

"That man stole our marbles," the girl blubbered, peeking out from behind @Eleanor Loan to address Kaeliel. "We lost them, and he found them, but he won't give them back!"

Kaeliel turned toward the other elf, frowning at him. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" she asked sternly. She was more inclined to believe the kids on this one, but she wanted to at least get his side of the story.

@Ben Dover

 

Missing Marbles

That wasn't what he'd expected from @Eleanor Loan, to be honest. Actually having the guts to try and shoot him with a beam of fanciful light? His tense form relaxed as a disbelieving laugh escaped him. "Really?" he asked, choking on his laughter, "Learn to fight before picking one." He rose, ready to show how a real man fights, when he was interrupted by yet another god damn person.

Ben barely restrained himself from throwing his hands in the air in disbelief. "Yes, I found the stupid marbles!" he shouted at @Kaeliel Arellende, "But how do I know it's really theirs? There are no names, no nothing." Crossing his arms, he actually pouted at the two wannabe heroes. "For all we know, they could be lying about it."

That got him a squawk of indignation from the two little girls. "We wouldn't! We're good people!"

He snarled at them. Stupid kids. "Yeah, and I can be a good person for a price. I'll trade you your marbles if you're willing to pay," he said offhandedly. It was a half-joke, but since he'd been planning to sell the marbles in the first place, did it really matter where the money came from?

The girls' eyes glazed over, and something in their demeanor seemed to change. "Our mommy will pay you! Find us all our marbles, please!" they cried in harmony.

He didn't bother to read the prompt before accepting the quest, sagging in relief now that the girls had stopped their snotty sobbing. "All?" he asked, brow lifting.

"We had 99 marbles..."

Yup. Totally his fault for not thinking this through in the first place, but now he had to find all these marbles without knowing how much he'd earn from it. Because he'd accepted the quest. Without reading. As per usual. Groaning, Ben pulled a hand over his face. "There, I'm doing my good deed of the day," he said scathingly to Eleanor and Kaeliel. "You girls happy?"

As he stomped off to the nearest glittering object in a nearby bush, one could hear him muttering under his breath. "99 problems and all of them are god damn marbles!"

Thrown die:

29

29 / 99 Marbles Found

Emma and Ella's Mom​

 

Missing Marbles

Eleanor sighed, choosing this time to shut her mouth. At this point in the game, all she had was bark without bite, it seemed. Perhaps skipping through the tutorial area without actually knowing anything had been a poor decision. No, there was no doubt that it had been a terrible idea, and with most poor plans, it had a consequence to reflect it. This time, that consequence seemed to be embarrassment.

She glanced at those still around her, shifting a cautious, humiliated glance towards @Kaeliel Arellende, before looking towards the young girl still hiding behind her. Before the girl spoke, Eleanor twisted her expression into something more comforting. A weak smile crossed her face, and she patted the child's head. "Don't worry. I'll get them back."

Standing and turning away from the little one, the weak, comforting smile was nowhere in sight. As she approached @Ben Dover, it seemed more likely that she was preparing to bash him one across the face. Her expression was cold, even a bit hateful, but with a sigh, she attempted to relieve this tension. At least for now. Attack him again would only result in her failing and making a fool of herself. There was no use to be found in more conflict.

"Hey." Eleanor spoke up, as she approached the man searching the bush. This was something she had to do often in her real life work. To make ends meet, emotions often had to be set aside. Regardless of hate, anger, or disposition, alliances and agreements must be met. It was the... Mature thing to do. "Four eyes are better than two." Her fist painfully distorted into an open hand. "I care not for reward, just that this job is completed. How about it?" A glint catching Eleanor's eye, she squatted down pulling a marble half-embedded in the dirt into her hand. She positioned her open hand forward, for a handshake.

Thrown die:

92

121 / 99 Marbles Found

Emma and Ella's Mom​

 

Missing Marbles

A pair of girls cried in a nearby distance, catching her small ears like the sound of an infant on a plane. Normally, Harveste would want to cover her ears, but one of the perks of simulation was that it used 'normal' senses, not her unusual ones. For once, the cries of a child didn't give her a headache. Theyj just made her kind of sad!

Taking initiative, the girl moved to pat the heads of the twins, a gentle smile on her face. "It's okay, it's okay. Big sis here will help find what you've lost, so try to smile, okay?" Her grin seemed to help ease them, even if only a little, and so she began to listen to their request for finding their marbles. Ninety-nine was a fair number, but if she worked hard, even she could find something that small yet numerous, couldn't she?

"Okay, ninety-nine marbles. I'll find them, just you wait and see!"

Thrown die:

30

30 / 99 Marbles Found
​

 

Missing Marbles

He'd been poised to shut her down the minute she opened her mouth to try and talk to him. What had she wanted – apologies? To make up and kiss and have a perfect happy ending? He held his tongue though, luckily. "Are you saying we work together?" he asked, brows lifting. A look of dubious suspicion was clear on his face, even as he accepted the party invite.

"We're going to make it look nice. We both take the reward, then give it to me when we're out of sight. You hear me?" he ordered, trailing after the other as they quickly scouted out marble after marble. At some point, he'd become designated marble holder, balancing them all in a pouch he'd materialised from somewhere on his scantily-clad body. "Speaking of," he counted through the marbles they currently had, "why are you doing this? Trying to make yourself feel good by being a good lil' kid and helping the helpless?" Ben didn't even bother to keep the disdain out of his voice. Everybody had an agenda, and the ones who pushed to be a 'hero' and do good things out of the 'kindness of their hearts' were probably the worst ones.

He picked up the last of the 99 marbles (he'd triple-checked to make sure they were all there), watching as the UI ticked off the objective.

Part of him was tempted to just run off and hand in the quest alone, making him look like the sole good guy here. He hummed, slipping away to find the NPC that would reward him. Annoying twins and a mom… Annoying twins and a mom… Oh! There! With a small pep to his step, he approached the family of NPCs, waving his little pouch.

The jingle of marbles against marble caught the attention of the little girls as they dashed right for his figure. "Our marbles!" they cried out.

He held the bag just out of their reach, looking pointedly to the mother. As the elder woman dug around for her gold coins, he took pleasure in making the kids jump for their prize. Always just a little too high for them to get a hold of. Only when the gold coins fell into his palm did he drop the marbles into theirs. "You're welcome," he purred.

"Thank you, lady!" one cried, looking behind him.

Ben looked behind him too. God damn it, he thought he'd managed to lose @Eleanor Loan!

121 / 99 Marbles Found
Quest Complete
​

 

Missing Marbles

"Yeah, sure." Eleanor truly cared barely at all for the reward, regardless of how large. At least this job of sorts would give her a chance to try out a few functions of the virtual world. While she had skimmed quite briefly through tutorials to get into things, she had caught one thing. With two fingers on her temple, she entered investigation mode. In this mode, details seemed more specific, and the world seemed to take on higher definition. This would become an appliance very commonly used by the woman in blue.

"I'm doing this because I was asked to. Nicely." She did not mind whether he believed her or not, all she was going to do was tell the truth. Eleanor felt as though there was no guilt to be had in her actions, so there was no reason to hide her intent. "In this world, I've got the influence to help people. Might as well." Something she hadn't the will or power to do in the real world. There was a taste of bitterness in her words, biting cold around the fringes of each consonant.

Catching sight of nearby marbles, the sparkle wasn't hard to find. Soon, catching up with most of them, she carelessly tossed them towards @Ben Dover upon discovery. Before she knew it, it seemed that all ninety-nine had been found. Upon realizing this, Eleanor looked up to find her accomplice in this duty had already began heading off to turn in the quest.

Eleanor quickly gathered herself up, rising to her feet from a previously crouching position, and jogging her way towards him. With hands in her pockets, and her head angled downwards, she quietly followed behind him, on one side. She wasn't exactly trying to be stealthy, merely following along as he handed the girls their marbles.

"Not a problem." The woman in blue flashed a smile to the girls, before shooting a cold glare towards Ben. "Thank you for your help." Even here, she felt as though she was having to pull on her customer service skills. For someone with a generally low tolerance for bullshit, she often found herself in situations that strained that tension. Regardless, it was a completed job, and hopefully one of many to come.

121 / 99 Marbles Found
Quest Complete
​

 

He shoved his hands into his pockets, rubbing the gold coins between his fingers. At least she hadn't lied about that. Without even a farewell, Ben stalked off, coming to the decision to leave behind the village before somebody else started accusing him of bullshit and getting girls to gang up on him.

Not that having a little gang-a-bang was a bad thing, perse, but... Eh.

(( EXIT THREAD ))