Private - Visiting A Friend

The sun bore down on the stone path that paved the city, with the slight breeze and not a cloud in sight it was an ideal day to walk about Stokbon. The previous day having been caught in the rain in Brisshal, Ilya was more than happy to have the warm sunshine back. Not entirely knowing what to do on a perfect day like this, Ilya found herself wandering around the streets of Stokbon. Something in which she had not done in quite some time. It was at this moment that Ilya had somehow wandered to the town square. The rowdy central of life and activity taking shape in the murmur of voices and bodies that pressed against each other just to get what they wanted.

In the vision of the rather curious felis, a rather small girl held a basket, with flowers inside. They were rather beautiful in her own opinion. No one seemed to be approaching the girl, yet she was speaking with words. W-what language...? Ilya herself was unable to understand. Flattening her ears she walked forward towards the girl, "Erm.. Are you okay?" The girl seemed to understand what Ilya was saying as she nodded her head. More words flew from the girl's mouth yet Ilya still had no idea what she was saying. The girl held out the basket before drawing it back into herself. She held up three fingers, and pointed towards the flowers.

Only somewhat catching onto what the girl was meaning, Ilya's face grew a rather curious and drawn back expression. Her eyebrows drew in, somewhat closer to the bridge of her nose, "Are you selling them...?" The small girl bobbed her head up and down, holding up three fingers yet again. "Three gold pieces for.. One flower?" The girl nodded yet again.

Having now understanding what the girl wanted, Ilya opened her inventory, drawing forth six gold pieces. Handing them off to the girl, she picked two flowers. "They are beautiful. Thank you so much." One of the flowers that Ilya had grabbed had been a rose, the other being a sunflower.. Her two favorite flowers.

@Claire Thalassa

 

Claire couldn't keep procrastinating like this. But it was always so intoxicating to just dive into the game world and leave behind all her troubles, at least for a little while. And besides, she could always justify it to herself as doing more research. Which was a surefire way to ensure that she never got anything done.

Today, Claire found herself meandering through the streets of Stokbon. There was always a lot going on in the capital city, but this many people seemed quite ridiculous. Though... Glancing upwards at the uncharacteristically clear sky, Claire couldn't blame them. The weather had been rather rotten for a while, stormy and snowing in areas further north. While the sun was out and shining, it was only natural that people would take advantage of the good weather to go about their business.

Unfortunately, that made the area quite the playground for pickpockets. Claire was rather inexperienced in the realm of subterfuge and robbery, but she had picked up enough through her investment in the Rogue mastery to spot a few people trying their luck. Doubtless, there were many more skilled pickpockets that she wasn't noticing.

Ah. Looked like there was one up there. There was a young girl who had something in a basket--from this angle she couldn't see what it was--but it looked like there was a coin purse sticking out of her pocket, slightly. That looked to be too much of a target for one person to resist.

Well. She could cross off her good deed for the day. Lengthening her stride to quickly catch up, she found herself standing nearby and- oh. Looked like there was a familiar face. "Ah, hello, Ilya," she said, smiling briefly at the other woman, who looked to be holding... a pair of flowers? Well, they were nice flowers, at any rate. "I didn't expect to see you here."

As she spoke, she made eye contact with the would-be pickpocket to let him know that he was detected. Hopefully it would scare him off.

 

The sound of someone familiar sounded in Ilya's ears. Her gaze glancing sideways she saw the same icy woman that she had seen in the participation of relief from the war. "Claire! How are you doing? I was not expecting this.." Ilya's eyes watched Claire's. Noticing the eye contact towards something behind Ilya. With a slightly confused expression, Ilya turned her body slightly. Her eyes scanning. Until they befell upon a man who seemed keen upon taking from the small girl's pouch. The same girl that no one seemed to understand.

Ilya stepped backwards lightly. "You should buy a flower, Claire.. They smell beautiful. And freshly picked to.. For only three parcels." Ilya held up her fingers three, the man who had been keen to pickpocket in perfect range for her elbow to "accidentally" knock him back.

With a small grin, Ilya put her hand back to her side, but she "accidentally" swung it backwards. Her elbow making contact with the thief's jaw, knocking him backwards. "Oh! I am so sorry. I did not mean to hit you.. Want help up?" With a fake sorrowful face, Ilya lent her hand out to the thief. He seemed to scoff before standing up on his own and going to find different prey.

Turning to Claire she mouthed a thank you before pointing at the gold pouch that rested in the tiny human's pocket. "Erhm.. You might want to watch that.." The tiny human seemed to bow before Ilya began a conversation with Claire. "So what have you been up to since we last saw each other?"

 

Well, Claire couldn't deny that that was definitely a more impactful solution to the pickpocket problem than the one she had been attempting. Thief deterred for now and that done, she gave Ilya a quick nod. "I see. They certainly seem like beautiful flowers." Might as well help the young girl out, and it was just 3 gold.

She popped the coins out of her inventory and paid the girl, picking out a lovely purplish carnation. "Thank you very much," she said to the girl, though she wondered whether she could be understood. "They're very nice."

And now, to the business of catching up. "Maybe we should move somewhere else? Somewhere quieter than a crowded street corner may be a better place for a conversation," she noted, looking at the people around them. Assuming that Ilya was also in favor, Claire began walking slowly to somewhere that was less overwhelming.

"Well, I haven't been up to much. At least in-game, anyway." Real life was a bit of a different picture, but that wasn't interesting either. It was basically just furious typing to get her articles in before the deadline so they could be published for the holidays. "Did a few quests as I came across them, but nothing too major. I've been meaning to find some new equipment so I've been looking around a few shops in Stokbon. And yourself?"

@Ilya

 

Upon the purchases being completed, a soft, yet icy voice protruded through the rowdy crowd. "I agree." The small sound of her feet thudding the concrete as her bare feet stepped lightly, followed the sound that Claire gave off as she walked. Ilya's own sound coming off lighter and deeper. The sight of Claire once again, made Ilya overjoyed. I was going to meet up with her anyway, glad we could run into each other.

"Me? I suppose you could say I did two quests I came across.. I trained harder than I have before, and met a few new players. New equipment sounds good enough it itself.. I should get some myself.." The words of the red-head had waited to sound until after Claire had asked her about herself. The crowd now lesser as they continued to walk away from the crowded area of the town square.

"What were the quests about? Which ones did you come across? I myself came across one where this theatrical NPC needed actors. It was quite fun.. The other one was a simple errand I had to run for an NPC.. You know all the simple ones, where you end up getting a bit of side gold.. Useful at times."

 

Claire smiled lightly when Ilya walked alongside her. It was very busy that day, so it took a bit of walking before they chanced upon a spot that seemed quieter than the rest of the square. Finding a spot to stand where she could lean against the side of a building, she turned back to the conversation that she was holding with Ilya.

"Ah, nothing so complicated. Sounds very much the same like yours, minus the theater one. You know the sort, retrieve something from somewhere for someone who needs it for some reason. That kind of quest." She tilted her head. "True, very useful. When there's not so much chance to get a steady career here, doing these small requests is definitely quite helpful."

It was rather unnerving how the NPCs of Terrasphere were so readily able to pick out player characters from the crowd. Claire had thought she wasn't being that obvious about the fact that she wasn't native to the game, but the NPCs managed to suss her out every time. And they were understandably wary about trying to offer any sort of stable employment to people who could just blink out of existence at will.

...Hm. Perhaps she and the rest of the players were the unnerving ones in this context. Well, at any rate, it didn't make for many opportunities to get paid, so Claire took little jobs whenever she could.

"It's rather like freelancing," she mused. She definitely had enough of that in the real world, but at least most of these assignments were more exciting. Quite a lot of them offered her the chance to let loose and get a bit... violent. Which she couldn't deny was fantastic stress relief. "Did you discover anything interesting out in the world while you were questing? I'm afraid I've been rather confined to the land nearby Stokbon, so I haven't got the chance to see if there's been anything interesting going on."

 

The spot that Claire leaned up against definitely made Ilya feel rather happy. It was an ideal spot. Away from prying eyes, and quiet enough to hear one another.. Yet not too quiet that it was eerie silence, the only sound their voices echoing on the pavement.

"Quests are definitely a thing I look forward to in this world. They produce not only fun adventures but also nice pay and chances to grow in skills." Thinking back with no steady career of sorts, Ilya's mouth turned downwards into a frown. Yet the frown radiating across her glowing features was not one of sadness. It showed that the young lion was deep in thought.

"We are the NPCs mercenaries haha." Her own comment towards Claire's brought her to charming laughter as she thought that the fact of the matter was true in itself. They really were like the mercenaries that did stuff for money. "Freelancing mercenaries. At least the tasks hold more interesting factors into them rather than the stuff that the real world holds for freelancers. The task of not having enough money at the end of the day for food is not really there. We get gold pieces from practically everything. The larger sums coming from quests, right? The real world holds less security than this world."

Terrasphere itself was truly marvelous, something Ilya thought of on numerous occasions. It produced many opportunities for the world around her. Ways to adapt the very world they lived in as if it were real. It produced real scenarios. This game is just another real world.
Her mind drifting her through her imagination, Ilya drew back stopping the flow of her imagination, her creativity coming to a halt. Her small rounded ears perked up as she thought of the outside world.

"Mmm, to be completely honest I only went out a little bit. Most of my quests revolved around Stokbon or Brisshal. Though one quest did take me to Astorea. That was rather fun. I also visited the spring there, the one with the ancient tree. for the sake of the gods, I cannot remember the name of the spring as of right now. But once it comes to me I can let you know.. It was beautiful. A small creek wrapping around the tall tree. I would advise you to travel there." Ilya always seemed to have stories to tell, a feat that she had yet to be disappointed by. One thing she always noted was that through her ability to tell others of her experiences came the ability to connect with others and offer valuable advice.

 

"Oh, absolutely," Claire said, agreeing with Ilya's assessment. "One of the few times when experience really is good payment."

Something about being in-game, and actually being able to see your 'skill' grow in hard numbers was satisfying. She could even feel the difference that it made in her combat, the way that taking out a stray creature or two felt so much easier the twentieth time around as opposed to the first. If only it really worked like that in real life...

"Mercenaries, huh." Claire hadn't thought about it that way, but it made sense. "Yes, I suppose we are. Haven't taken on any assassination jobs, but you never know." She tried for a smile, hoping it would make it obvious she was joking. The business of killing people for money wasn't something she was ever intending on getting involved with, regardless of whether this was a game or not.

There definitely did seem to be more openings for jobs and requests here, that was true. She didn't have to frantically scour the internet and classifieds in a hopelessly competitive environment. Though there were adventurers and players all around Terrasphere, there never seemed to be a shortage of goods to deliver, monsters to exterminate, so on and so forth. Maybe it really was better in-game than out.

Brushing those thoughts aside for now, she tilted her head as Ilya began describing her travels to Astorea. "Huh. I've been to Astorea a while ago. Back when it wasn't Astorea yet. Ade-something Forest. Well, regardless. The siege didn't leave much time for sightseeing so I don't believe I've been to the creek you're speaking of."

She offered Ilya a smile. "Well, if you ever find yourself heading that way again, let me know? Perhaps we can go together."

 

"So, what happens to be your favorite experience while out on a quest?" Due to the two of them talking about the quests in themselves, Ilya supposed that it would be alright to ask personalized questions. We are friends after all.. Right?

The small joke that Claire had made, initiated quite a bit of thoughtfulness on the other side of the table. The very thoughts that spiraled through Ilya's mind seemed to cloud her other thoughts. The ideas of killing people in the game was not something she had been fond over. The fact that no one knew whether someone was a player killer or not only added to her disdain.

"I bet they have some sort of side of Terrasphere where the quests are all assassinations. I suppose then the players would need to know where to look. I was never too fond of the idea of killing players.. Even if this is just a game.. It would still feel all too real.." The smile that had played along her lips had at this point had become somber and sincere as her lips rested in a straight line across her face. No smile evident as she spoke of killing people.

"Ooh! Going together would be so much fun! We could even go to this one frozen lake I went to while it was much colder than it is now.. Though, I did get inspiration from you and picked up Hydromancy for myself.. You seemed so cool when we first met.. If the small lake is still frozen over we can go ice skating! Though if it is not.. We can always work our magic together."

Ilya's left hand lifted, her palm faced towards Claire as she wiggled her fingers slightly. Small snowflakes sprung from her finger tips. As soon as her hand stopped moving and she dropped it to her side once again the snowflakes continued their descend to the ground before nestling onto the stone pavement.. Melting slowly.

 

"Hm, a bit of a tough question. Hard enough to pick from all the experiences. Most of them had something good to offer." And then there were the few that were utterly terrible. "I wouldn't call that experience very good as a whole, but I did visit a coastal village during a festival a while back. It was to celebrate Ahra, one of the pantheon goddesses. And that festival involved quite a bit of human sacrifice."

She tried to inject as much disdain as she could into that sentence, making it clear that she didn't think very highly of it. Fine, the NPCs were entitled to their worship, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Regardless of how it actually went, I did meet a friend there. It's been a while since we met up actually, I wonder how she's doing. But anyway, meeting some good people while out on a quest is always a welcome experience." She paused, and gave a smile. "Much like how we met, I guess."

At the thought about player killing, Claire grimaced. Oh yes, she was very much in agreement with Ilya on such matters. Though come to think of it, there was that other quest a while back about investigating some player killers. Hm. Well, she hadn't heard much about it recently, so perhaps it had been resolved?

Well. She wouldn't bring it up now. "Yes, it's quite distasteful."

She raised her eyebrows at the admission that Ilya had taken up water magic. "Ah. Well, that's, uh, flattering." She didn't think that she was all that 'cool', but couldn't deny that it was nice to hear from someone else. She watched with interest as Ilya demonstrated her control over the snowflakes.

"Sounds like a plan," she said with a smile. She conjured up a few snowflakes of her own, letting them drift to the ground to join Ilya's, though it did take a touch more concentration than it appeared to have taken for the lion-eared woman. "I haven't ever been ice skating in real life, much less in the game. I suppose this is something I'll have to pick up from you, then."

 

"Meeting friends on quests are fun indeed!" Out of all of her own experiences in quests it was the company she enjoyed the most. It took mere seconds for what the quest was about to process in Ilya's mind before she spoke, "Sacrifices!.... That does not sound very delightful. Though I suppose you did meet a new friend. Maybe she or he could meet up with us if we are together for very long. I haven't really socialized with more than one person at a time.. Apart from various parties I have been to."

Grinning at Claire as she raised her eyebrows, Ilya held back a laugh. "I guess so. You just seemed really useful while I stood there doing things that people had already made. I also ended up taking up the hobby of cooking though.. So now it sort of fits hand in hand.."

As soon as Claire admitted to never having been ice skating before, Ilya let out a loud gasp of surprise. "NEVER BEEN ICE SKATING?!" Taking a few breaths to calm down, Ilya grinned again. "Ice skating is so much fun. I used to ice skate all the time when I was younger. I can teach you, and now we should have to ice skate!" Ilya pondered for a moment, before picking a day. "If you are available, maybe on --- --- --- We could go ice skating together?" At the moment, Ilya was not ready to depart from Claire, having still much to talk about. Yet, picking a time to meet up to ice skate seemed of great importance at the moment in time.

 

"I suppose so." Huh. Claire didn't expect Ilya to get so excited over such a little thing, and she was rather taken aback by how much the other woman seemed to be looking forward to something simple like going ice skating. She smiled lightly. "If you're sure, then."

Mulling over the date, she didn't recall any pressing business around that time. "Sure, that sounds good. Hm. Let's say sometime late morning, maybe around 10 to 11 or so? Just share the coordinates with me and I'll be there."

Ah, it looked like things were beginning to pick up here. Though this area of the street was practically deserted when they arrived to speak here, the brief moment of privacy they had looked to be broken. Not really enjoying the idea of having to raise her voice to ludicrous levels just to carry out a conversation, Claire looked away from the wave of people who were fast approaching this street corner and looked back to Ilya.

"So, it looks like things are getting busy again. I did come out here to Stokbon to look through a few weapon shops, so if you want to join me, then maybe we can keep talking? Or, if you have other things to do, then I don't want to bother you. We have agreed to meet up for ice skating, after all."

@Ilya

 

The shops around Stokbon were certainly full of items to purchase at any moment in time. Ilya had found that out rather easily, while during Black Friday she had entered Stokbon for the first time. That was where she had managed to obtain her Alicorn Blood.. Which in the end, turned out to be not what the little lady that had sent her on the quest to find materials was looking for, despite the rarity it was, along with the price tag that had been quite high in number. Yet, in the end, Ilya had been able to keep it.. Which left her unsure what to do with it. Perhaps she could sell it off to an alchemist of sorts? Perhaps that one Duke.. I hear he is adept at alchemy..

Either way, it had taught Ilya the value of going from shop to shop in search of items. That was what the two were to do now, set out and find various weapon shops.. "Got any shops in mind? Or shall we go exploring and find one? What types of weapons are you looking for?" For all Ilya knew, Claire could have altered her talents in ways, much like Ilya had..

I might as well look out for a pair of gauntlets as well..

 

Claire nodded, giving Ilya a smile when it looked like the woman would be sticking around a bit more. Having the time to catch up with a friend and not being in a rush to do something or go somewhere was just what she needed. For now, she let her worries about everything she needed to do melt away.

"I've found one that seems pretty decent a while ago. It's not too far from here, actually." She began walking somewhat southward, where many shops that dealt primarily in trade with Pormont resided. The plain-filled region saw its fair share of raiders and bandits, not to mention the bands of gnolls wandering about, so there were quite a few arms merchants there.

"I've still stuck with my quarterstaff," she said. "It's seen me through a lot. But the metal tips at the end have gotten a bit... dented. So I was wondering if I should find someone who can fix that, or if I should replace the whole thing. And what are you looking for?"