Megathread - Link Start: Maithe Woodlands | Page 6

Surrechis was lost, without a doubt. The sounds of any sort of civilization seemed to get further away the more she traveled along the road despite the fact that she had just traveled along it and found nothing. The path was either incredibly convoluted or she missed something entirely. Giving her bag a quick check, she still had some supplies left. The next town or village couldn't have been too far off. Suddenly, she heard the sounds of a scuffle and a bit of yelling. While bandits weren't common in this area, they weren't completely unheard of. There was no way she would be able to fight off even a single person off by herself and evading them would be difficult if she planned to follow the road. She was lacking in combat skills but a distraction or healing could be useful. She followed the sound, sticking close to the trees to minimize the chances of her getting spotted

Peering over the tree trunk she was hiding behind, she instead found a clearing filled with people and animals wandering about. The animals seemed unusually aggressive however as she witnessed a chicken assault a katana wielding woman. Watching the woman cut down the chicken, Surrechis concluded that she was most likely not a bandit. While the chicken didn't appear to have done much damage, it would be discourteous to not offer her aid.

"Greetings miss, are you injured? I can soothe your wounds if that is your desire. Also, if it isn't too much trouble, could you point me in the direction of a nearby town or village? I appear to have lost my way in these woods."

@Tyra Vigarn

 

Tyra turned around surprised when someone talked to her. Not that she didn't expect to be talked to, but the politeness and the wording was something she had not expected. But she just concluded that everyone played their own little role while playing a game. After all, that was why people played games in the first place. To be someone else than who they really were. Putting her katana back into it's sheath, she looked at the girl. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm alright. I'm new though, so I have no clue where there's a city either. Best bet would be following the road in my opinion. Usually there's some town near the spawn area.”

The girl didn't really seem like a fighter to her. Well, thinking back to the character creation, it was certainly possible to create a character with no fighting abilities. It seemed like a rather difficult way to play to Tyra though. After all, you'd always need someone to help and protect you when travelling. Or just be good at running away. “Say, are you also a newbie or somone that's been around a bit longer?” Maybe the girl could tell her some things. After all, Tyra just appeared right in the game without knowing anything about it.

@Surrechis

 

It seemed she was new to the region as well, unfortunate, she was fairly sure that her map and traveling guide were a few hundred years out of date or were works of fantasy altogether. Still, those terms she had used. Spawn? Newbie? Surrechis had certainly heard those words before but the usage... It was probably slang for something else. Come to think of it she, Kaede and a few other people she had met recently had some sort of aura to them. While not inherently unpleasant, they just felt different. Realizing that she had gotten lost in thought without answering the woman's question, she attempted to correct her mistake.

"Apologies miss, I lost myself in thought. To answer your question, I am not currently part of any organization, guild or any sort of group for that matter. Although I have been traveling for a fair amount of time, this region is quite new to me."

It was a bit of an odd question but Surrechis didn't mind answering it. She had to admit, it was a fairly clever way of finding out more about the region without making it too direct. Speaking of information, she still didn't know the woman's name. Well, time to correct that.

"My name is Surrechis, may I ask your name?"

@Tyra Vigarn

 

“I'm Tyra. Nice to meet you.” In general, Tyra was glad to have met someone to talk to, games were more fun together with others after all. Even if those people were kind of strange, but she didn't mind. Strange people were more fun than boring, normal ones. “There's no need to be so formal by the way, with the miss and all that. Just call me Tyra.”

To be honest, Tyra had always hated formal conversations. Maybe also because they usually either didn't mean anything good, or were a bother entirely. But maybe things would be different here. And if they weren't, she'd just be informal, no matter what kind of situation there'd be. Here, she was able to do so. No rules of society that bound her down to be polite and nice constantly. Of course there probably were certain rules of society as well, but what was the worst that could happen to her? Not finding a guild? A group of people not liking her? Those things didn't really matter.

After this moment of thought, her attention returned to the situation she was in. The question was what to do now. Fighting the low level monsters in the spawn area was always a good option to learn the game and get some training. At the same time, if all of the enemies here were down that easily, things would get boring very fast. Also she'd feel kind of bad, leaving Serruchis to travel on alone, since she didn't seem to be able to fight. “I was thinking of heading on and exploring a bit anyway, want to travel together for a moment? It's pretty late anyway, so finding a town might be a good idea for me as well.” As far as she'd seen in the menu, there was some meters for certain things like food and water, as well as one for rest. So she expected that she had to log off at an inn or something similar to fill that up. It was still rather high, because she just spawned, but having her character be tired when she planned to play the next day would be annoying.

 

Hearing the woman's question, Surrechis nodded. Company often made a long walk much shorter and with the encroaching darkness it was safer to travel in numbers. The request to not use any formalities was fairly uncommon but not unheard of, especially amongst the more grounded guests she had met.

"Certainly Tyra, it would be a pleasure to travel with you. I do have to admit I am quite relieved, while normally safe, this region is quite unsettling at night. If you would let me lead the way?"

Surrechis gave a small bow before returning to the path. She took another look at the sky, it was somewhat obscured by the leafy branches of various trees but she could hazard a guess. One, perhaps two hours if she was being charitable, at most before nightfall. Not a good time to be in the middle of the woods. As she walked along the path, she decided to make a bit of small talk with her companion to pass the time. It a bit of a risk, if they were too loud they could attract something unwanted but accepting someone's offer of traveling together before not speaking another word felt improper.

"If I may ask, what brought you to Astorea, Tyra? It is not a very popular vacation spot considering the... troubling recent events."

 

Tyra followed Serruchis as she returned to the path. While the insistence with which Serruchis seemed to try and act like the game was not a game still confused Tyra, she was also amazed by it. She had never even thought about doing so, to her it was normal to accept a game as a game. Even though she was using it as a way to be someone else than she usually was. Maybe she should try making this world seem as real as possible as well? Making Tyra Vigarn a real person in a real world, the thought certainly seemed nice. There was no reason not to try, she decided.

“Which troubling recent events? I'm really new to the area, so I have no clue what's been going on here.”

Well, at least now she knew what the area she was currently in was called. It dawned on Tyra only now, that she could've used the map from the menu to check for nearby towns. Better late than never she decided. “Wait a moment, I just remembered I can check my map for towns in the area.” she said and stopped walking. Wouldn't want to run into something or someone while looking at the map after all. Then she opened the palm menu and pressed the button for the map. After zooming out of it she spotted a town a bit down the path they were currently walking. “Alright, seems like there's a town not to far along the road we're currently following.” Saying this she closed the palm menu and map again, looking back up at Serruchis.

 

As @Tyra Vigarn asked her question, Surrechis had just realized her mistake. They weren't in Astorea at all, they were in Brisshal. She sought to correct the misinformation instantly and to answer the woman's inquiries though she was mildly surprised that Tyra had not heard of the takeover. Maybe she came from distant lands, Surrechis recalled that the type of blade she wielded was quite uncommon.

"My apologies Tyra, I misspoke. This region is not Astorea, it is Brisshal. My mind must have somewhere else... Anyways, to answer your question there was a recent conflict between the Yladians up north and a place that used to be called Adecus Forest. Adecus Forest was under the control of Falderan but a group of people aiding the elves took over the region and claimed it as Astorea. Times have been turbulent recently, mercenaries and merchants alike flocking to profit from the conflict despite the embargo."

Surrechis paused and turned to Tyra as the woman began to... look at her own palm? She had heard that some people could divine other's fate through some sort of palm reading ritual but never anything about directions, perhaps it was some form of diving guidance searching? Well, it seemed like they had some assurance that they would be able to reach the town soon. She was slightly curious though, how Tyra was so sure of her statement.

"That sounds wonderful but forgive me for asking, how did you divine that information? I am not sure how palm reading works, pardon my ignorance."

 

Sharara looked at the rest of the members of her impromptu party, she wanted to fume at them for getting involved. But she had to separate herself from the role play for a moment. She knew that getting involved with the wolf was a dangerous prospect, and she did it anyway, people out of the goodness of their heart came to help and that was really the long and the short of it. They didn't need to do that, they could have just let her character die and that would have been it.

Characters in mmos die all the time and she would have been just another statistic.

Besides that, Sharara was supposed to be a hero, she was supposed to be modeled after Mighty Hercules, or crafty Sinbad. Those old school heroes that all other heroes wished that they could be. Even with all their might and craftiness they knew that they couldn't accomplish every single task alone. No one person could... Being a braggart was not being a hero.

Sharara lowered here ears back and readied her sword.

"Hey, before we get started... I want to say thank you. Thank you for saving me from that wolf because it would have made me into dog food. I'm trying to become the strongest player on this server, to carve my name on the top of the highest mountain. But in order to do that I need to realize that I can't do it alone... So thank you."

"As for that I have a plan... I'm already injured so I might as well take the opportunity to keep the wolf busy. When I do that I want @Verity and @Amrita to herd the wolf with ranged attacks, try to put in as much damage as you can but also keep it from getting to my side. If you do your job well enough then @Raudra should be able to come in with the final blow and take down the wolf!"

"Does that sound good?"

 

Upon Serruchis' question, Tyra had to hold back not to hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. Whether she was annoyed with Serruchis' insistence on the 'role' she was playing or with her own stupidity for not taking into account that using the menu wouldn't fit if she tried to make the game world as real as it could be, she didn't know. Never once did it dawn on her that Serruchis really might not have a clue about it at all. Instead she was trying her hardest to come up with an explanation for her using the menu. After all, she had decided to act like the game was real for now, and if she made a decision she would definitely follow through with it.

“It's kind of like... magic. I really need to get a proper map in the next town though.” Saying this, Tyra walked on along the road. “Let's go, maybe we can reach the town before night falls.”

Probably not the best way to explain the thing but whatever. Now it was time to move on with the topic to hide her little mistake. Although she made a mental note to take some time later to think about what she'd need to do and not do in order to go through with the act she had decided for now. The first point on her don't do list was already made, don't use the menu. Now, time to think about what Serruchis had told her before. Yladians she already knew about, they were one of the races she was able to choose from when creating her character back then.

“Really sounds like there's a lot going on up north. And down in the south, is there anything going on as well?”

 

With his eyes closed, Merlin felt the breeze on his face. He could smell the bark and the leaves on the trees around him. He could feel soft grass and dirt beneath his feet. Slowly, Merlin opened his eyes and was greeted with an entirely new world.

"Oh, wow... this is pretty amazing. I thought it would be pretty glitchy since I figured it was an alpha or something, but this! Good Lord..."

Merlin twirled around taking in the area around him. As he did he felt the breeze on his legs.

"Oh, no... don't tell me..."

Anxiously, Merlin looked down to see what he was wearing.

"Oh! okay, just your classic wizard robe type stuff huh? For a second there I thought I was in a dress or something. Being female... I... I don't know if I would have been prepared for that. Merlin blushed awkwardly and scratched his head. An... Anyway, not too shabby! Beats doing all that laundry I had piled up in the hamper anyway. Man, I should really get out of my apartment more."

Merlin felt a weight in his right hand, looked, and noticed he was carrying a staff. Feeling the wood with his free hand, Merlin began to inspect, spin, and twirl his new weapon.

"Seems like a standard staff. Three-quarter's inch elder, dragon heartstring."

Merlin giggled to himself.

"Yeah, right. But anyway, It's definitely got some weight to it, so I guess I could use it to bonk something if I needed to. Also pretty good for walking. Good choice me! Welp, let's get going and see what this whole game is about! Which way though...? Oh well, I'm sure it will all work itself out."

Merlin picked a direction at random and began walking deeper into the woods.

After a few moments of traversing the woods, Merlin began to hear a gurgling noise a few yards ahead of him.

"What is that... oh wait, there are monsters in this game right? I should probably be careful. Let's sneak up on it first and see if it's something I can handle. If not, I'll just sneak off.

Merlin crouched slightly and began moving slowly and quietly through the woods attempting to put as much foliage between him and the noise as he could. Finally, Merlin reached the sound. He could hear the gurgling clearly from just a few feet behind the tree he was using for cover. Merlin peeked slightly around the tree and beheld his first slime.

"It's a slime!"

Merlin quickly hid behind the tree covering his mouth.

Don't be so loud, idiot!

Hoping he hadn't alerted the slime, Merlin once again peeked around. The slime hadn't moved from its spot but remained contently... with a bird and two chicks digesting inside of it...

Oh, gross... it's eating them. Poor birds...

Merlin looked at his staff then back at the small jiggling mass.

I'll avenge you, birds! Time for me to you some magic! Okay, so if I remember correctly, I can either use the menu

Merlin held his hand out in front of him and swiped left quickly.

Or, I can go real wizard style and cast it myself by drawing out. Well, let's just see how this works auto-style so I can get a feel for what I'm doing. After that, I'll go full throttle real wizard like a pro.

Merlin tapped the spell, "Arcanoblast." Immediately his hand second hand gripped his staff and began moving it through the air like a paintbrush leaving glowing lines.

"Cool! I better point the staff at the slime."

Merlin quickly spun around the tree trying to aim the weapon at the slime. Unfortunately, he hadn't been paying attention to his footing. While pivoting out, Merlin put too much weight on his pivot foot, slipped, and in one quick movement was on his back.

"Uh oh! Get up!"

Merlin used the bottom of his staff to hoist himself.

"Gotta aim!"

The slime was well aware it was being targeted now and began moving towards Merlin.

"Oh, crap! I'm in trouble!"

Merlin closed his eyes tight, hands still trying to wrangle the spell forward at the slime. Then he felt a pulse fire from his staff. It sounded almost like a metallic "fwoosh", or at least that's how Merlin would later describe it. Afterwards, Merlin heard some cracks, a large snap, then a boom. He then felt some flecks of something that felt like Jello hit his face. Everything had happened so quickly Merlin wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but after the three rather distinct noises Merlin opened his eyes.

The scene in front of him looked like a murder scene from a Holmes mystery. A tree had fallen over, underneath there was a green puddle. The tree was still partially attached to the stump but something had taken a chunk out of the base causing its weight to shift and fall over. Merlin surmised that his spell had missed, but had hit the side of the tree. This had caused the tree to fall over, rather luckily, onto the slime.

"Wow, talk about a lucky shot!"

Merlin picked himself and wiped his face on his sleeve. Moving towards the log, Merlin surveyed the green puddle under the felled tree.

"Well first fight, first victory! I really gotta work on my spellcraft though. Thankfully, I think I saw enough of spell to be able to cast it without the auto-cast now. I'm sure that controlling it will be easier if I just do it all myself..."

It was then that Merlin heard high-pitched chirping. Merlin stepped towards the sound and found a small nest made of twigs. The nest was jostled and the chick frightened, but otherwise unharmed.

"I guess this one is the survivor. The other two must have fallen out of the nest. I suppose the chirping would have attracted the slime, and the mama bird got eaten protecting it's young."

Merlin carefully cupped up the chick and gently placed it into his robe's breast pocket.

"I guess I can take care of it until it's strong enough to fly. Do birds poop in this game? I really hope it doesn't poop in my pocket... I guess I can ask someone at the next town I get to. About that, I should really try and find that town."

Merlin brushed himself off making sure not to disturb the chick in his pocket more than he needed to, then walked forth into the forest having no idea where he was going. Eventually, he found a path and after walking down it for a few minutes, found a post-sign.

"This is it... the beginning of my story. My grand adventure starts here!"

Merlin thought he caught a whiff of something awful coming from his breast pocket. Deciding to ignore it, Merlin headed towards town with bright eyes and a large grin.

 

Feeling that she had tread on some sort of sensitive issue, Surrechis decided to not press the subject. @Tyra Vigarn's words of wanting a 'proper' map only further cemented her theory of the woman being some sort of seer or sage from a far away land. Most magic users she had met were rather private about their powers for fear of being attacked or driven out. She felt the same way often, in a few of the more traditional villages. Nonetheless, she had a question to answer.

"Current events in this region? I am afraid that I am not up to date with the political landscape in Falderan. A few of the bigger noble families and factions are a bit riled up at the moment but as far as I know, nothing too grand. You would be better off asking one of the villagers in or perhaps the innkeeper in the next town."

As the pair journeyed, Surrechis decided to strike up another conversation. It would be terribly awkward to be silent after they had already begun talking. She asked a few brief questions and told Tyra of the various places she had visited. The conversation was light and before she knew it, Surrechis was standing at the entrance to a village. She could just barely make out the words on a large sign, 'HONEYHOME VILLAGE'. Turning to her traveling companion, Surrechis felt it was time to say her goodbyes,

"I suppose this is where we part ways. Farewell Tyra, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Giving a her a final bow, Surrechis walked off into the village in search of the inn. By the morning, she would be on her way. Honeyhome looked nice but she felt it wasn't quite what she needed.

[[[Thread Exit]]]

 

While they walked the last bit of way to the town Tyra had gotten quite fond of this type of conversation. It was interesting, to have a chat about things which didn't have anything to do with her actual life. Part of her was a bit disappointed they would part ways again, but in the end, she'd surely meet many more interesting people soon.

“It was nice to meet you too. Maybe we'll run into each other sometime.”

Giving @Surrechis a little wave, she decided to walk around the city a bit before she logged off.


[Exit Thread]

 

Hmph. Looked like the other Felis was starting to see sense. If only every loudmouthed idiot in the world could spontaneously develop some common sense... Or even better, retroactively do so. It would make the world a much quieter and simpler place.

"Good," she called out to @Sharara Gatsu. "You have a good head on your shoulders, maybe you ought to use it more often. I'll try not to hit you in all the commotion."

And, well, that was really the most she could guarantee. Aiming was difficult, especially with a few people getting scrappy nearby her target. Not that she'd ever attempted such a shot, but she imagined it would be tougher than normal.

But she could do it.

Probably.

Glancing at @Verity, she said, "Guess we should get started on that. That wolf isn't going to sit still forever."

And what do you know, the beast snarled loudly and stood like it was going to pounce. Well, time to get to work. Bringing her old battered crossbow up, she fired a bolt at the wolf. It staggered as the bolt sank into its hind leg--a bit off from where she was aiming, but better than a miss.

Looking up towards @Raudra, she frowned. What was he doing?

 

For a reckless cat newbie, this cat girl (@Sharara Gatsu) did make a surprisingly good plan. While he felt that she might need help after he witnessed her injured herself, he can't just leave that wolf alone now that it was enraged. Problem was that he has no clue how much energy did he have left. If he ran out while he was in the middle of casting an Aeromancy spell, it might spell trouble for everyone in this area.

"I agree," he said to @Amrita before he cast his Aeromancy magic on the wolf in an attempt to blow it away for a few meters with his hopes of the old Felis shot it down with her crossbows. Though the only problem was with the loudmouth boy (@Raudra), who seemed to be idling. What was the problem? Still, he was not the type to stay quiet about it. "Hey! Why can't you be useful and follow that woman's plan already?!"