It figured that the day she was looking for medicinal plants to practice her alchemy, she'd find herself getting caught in a strange trap dipped in poison. The trap, in likeness to a bear trap or some other form of trapping mechanism for animals made with sharp teeth, had clamped onto her leg and cut into her ankle, jabbing poison deep into her flesh. The poison, somewhat familiar to her, was definitely not simple. She was lucky she could fight the poison with her magic and personal alchemic abilities, but she did lack a certain skill. She wasn't quite strong enough to pry a tight, metal mouth off her leg. Especially while, no matter how much seh healed herself, it kept digging and stinging her nerves. "Damn! Who put something like this so close to a road?" It wasn't 'close' by normal standards, however- at least, not to most normal people, most likely. It was a few hundred feet away, at least a horse's length and change from the actual dirt road that went through this part of the forest. However, it was a common spot for alchemists to go hunting for herbs...And this thing was just screaming 'alchemy'. Or rather, her leg certainly was. She dug through her bag when her magic wasn't enough. If she could at least find medicine to stop the bleeding, perhaps it would help- but she hadn't figured out how to make any of that yet. "If I could just get this thing off...But an iron sword can only cut through so much...Agh!" She wanted to hit her head on something, but that wouldn't have changed anything. The pain wouldn't have been any less, and her mind wouldn't be in any better shape. "I'd like to talk to the jerk that set this thing up and give him a piece of my mind...After I get him to get this thing off my leg, and maybe get the recipe he used for this poison. Clearly, this wasn't meant for people, since it just stings, but...This really, really hurts. And I've been stung by a whole wasp hive before." @Stampede
Synthesizing wasn’t trivial work even for someone like him. Back in the old days, brewing toxins didn’t take longer than a minute per gallon and at the same time they proved to be quite the lethal weapon. In terrasphere, crafting for such things would require a specific workstation for alchemists that takes more than 5 or 10 minutes per vial depending on what poison it may be. According to the information given to him by kind alchemists, craft time is reduced if you invest more into the alchemy skill as well as the duration of poisons, damage per instance and how fast your brewed antidotes can neutralize them. Putting that aside the recipes for poison are fluid, meaning you can make your own natural toxin but the ingredients were quite demanding, expensive on the market and difficult to find. The common ingredient to brewing basic poisons can be found in Brisshal. Materials for basic poisons can only be found there and the final ingredient in Asoterea. Advanced poisons are located within caves and deep in the groves of the Asoterea and Yladia. As much as he’d love to go back to using neurotoxins, he’ll have to make do with the basic and the slightly more advanced ones as they aren’t available. There were some areas in Terrasphere that haven’t opened yet but surely enough after a patch is released, he’d get access to chemicals and reagents with the desired effect. But it was because he wanted to monopolize and horde ingredients, he set traps around the material nodes for those basics, hence @Solaria 's mishap. The best part about it is that no one will ever know who set that trap up, killfeeds won’t even display the murderer’s name either. He was just casually strolling around the road carrying a bag of loot in an area where he rigged the place with his own traps to see if there are any bandits nearby that could try to raid him in a territory controlled by him. Unfortunately there were none, either there was nobody there or that they all perished and were victims to his handicraft. There were 3 bags of loot so far, along with some fallen monsters and fauna. Excellent, he can sell these off to the market and keep some of the necessities to himself. It was a good day’s catch but resetting these traps is going to be hectic but worth it. It was then when he visited the material node that he found a live target. It was a player by the looks of it who seemed to be looking forward to getting some materials of her own. Should he try to kill them and make off with their loot? The avatar appeared to be a girl but who knows? These days there are men who preferred female avatars, and by all means Stampede is quite the sexist. He put away his sacks of loot into his inventory and removed his green hood, changing his attire to regular clothes. He then prepared a small vial of antidote and came running and waving to them. “Oi! Hello there! Need some help?” Basically he was the one that set that trap in the first place but he’d like to take advantage that nobody knows but he planted it. It was a shame that it didn’t kill her off and that somehow she managed to avoid the traps a few meters from this point, some of them would have taken away a huge quantity of her hitpoints. Either she’s lucky or that his traps were broken. “Be careful around these parts, someone keeps placing traps around the beginner’s forests. Probably other players looking to score and victimize newbies but at least you’re ok.” He came up to inspect his handiwork only to realize that there wasn’t enough force from the bear trap to completely cut it off. He pulled out a tool and started disarming it. “There we go! Here drink this” he offered an antidote vial to Solaria as he removed and inspected the conditions of the poison filled bear trap. There was certainly enough poison but the sad thing is, the force wasn’t enough to cause deep wounds at the very least. “Glad you’re alright.”
It took the elf a moment to accept the drink given to her. An alchemist herself, she had to test it in her mind, looking at a mixture of tool-tips and the scent before downing it in one gulp. A deep breath escaped her, her eyes tearing lightly. Glancing to the man who saved her, she moved her hands to her hips, hiding the still notable pain in her ankle. "I can't believe someone would put a trap like that near the road! It'd be bad if someone young got caught, don't you think? I see kids running amok here sometimes, elderly people too. All sorts of the local folk come out here for medicinal herbs. It's meant to be for everyone, so why trap us?" Her tangent had her fuming slightly, a light smoke in her ears before it decayed, her eyes drooping. The antidote took effect, but she was also finding the pain to be pushy about reminding her it existed. With a sigh, she put her hand on her wound, letting light penetrate it to heal the damaged nerves. She gave her savior a soft gaze once more, smiling. "A fellow alchemist, I see. It's good you didn't get caught in this when you came out here. It hurts like a beast, and that poison wasn't fun. Sure, it wasn't the strongest out there, but it was pretty damn strong!" Laughing a bit, she returned to her hands on her hips position, her weakened leg leaning on the stronger one for balance. "Do you come out here to get rid of traps a lot, mister? I can't say I've seen you once during my foraging trips...Did you see the bastard that put traps out without signs to warn the lot of us that can read to be aware? I wanna give him a good punch for putting people in danger...Even if he's probably keeping people safe if he catches what he means to!"
“Well I’m actually returning to this area to gather some materials myself, only to discover nearly half the section of this forest where the nodes are rigged with traps” true, he was returning to Brisshal to acquire materials as well as the latter. Thing is this was just for today that he put all his practice to use but none of the traps and layouts he set up were enough to kill a player. “Oh this? Yeah I’m not really that adept of an alchemist tho but somehow it did the trick on that nasty poison there. Plus I’m not actually confident in my ability to disarm traps myself as I may end up in one of them or dead. I’m pretty much a newbie.” All were lies in this next statement, he had been practicing how to concoct fine poisons and was able to be creative in his trapping methods. The actual that he’s often seen was because he was putting it to practice or that he was so busy trying to find good spots out on the field to make his hideouts in Astorea. “But seeing as this area has become too dangerous, I would advise coming back to the city. This place is no longer noob town now, I mean this kind of thing happened today, a few NPCs and players like you were already making complaints. I think they’re already trying to discuss the fact that hunters shouldn’t be setting traps in public nodes” to much of his words, he had already considered it since she said that these are meant for everyone. Deep down, he thought that maybe he gotten too greedy but the thing is he needed those to practice making toxins in hopes to find an easier method on how to make them faster. Unfortunately there was no way around it but the crafting table. Plus he wanted her to leave so that he can reset the traps again. “The name’s Stampede, what’s yours?” He asked. At the back of his head he was thinking that now is probably a good time to take action and kill her before anyone sees as there’s no one else but the two of them here. Perhaps maybe he can lure her to one of his traps and make it look like some sort of accident? It seems that she had gotten some stuff in her pockets but let’s not come to that yet. Maybe making allies once in a while wouldn't be such a bad idea so as long as he doesn't get found out. For all he knows, this score might not even be worth it.
The female elf smiled lightly, though her grin held a bit of uncertainty. She was suspicious, but stubborn. Her ideals were far too strong to fight off even for her. There was no reason to suspect the man was involved yet. "It takes a good alchemist to set up an antidote to an unknown poison, though. You say you're a beginner, but you seem quite skilled." Her words weren't dipped in poison like the trap she'd fallen into. Instead, they were coated in honey, with a hint of vinegar bubbling to the surface. Her eyes wandered the forest, seeking more traps she could find with her eyes- but they were too well hidden. "Rather than going back to the city, I'd like to look around some and make sure there are no more traps this close to the road. It's my job as a nurse to protect people, after all." Not that it was her job in the game, of course. Even Solaria knew fact from fiction, reality from a game. She just wanted to help people naturally. Of course, manners were important too. "I'm Solaria. I'm adept in illumancy, but I also study swordplay and alchemy. I'm keen on protecting the people, you might guess. If I were to do anything right now, it'd be find more traps to trigger in the area players often visit, then let the townsfolk know it should be safe unless they go in too deep. A good plan, isn't it? I haven't been planning my actions much lately, but this time, I might."
That’s a thought, protect people. When was the last time he did that? Of course, when he was in a team playing Gun Gale Online. Back in the days he’d always find a way to minimize casualties and keep his team alive as much as possible, he’d take a bullet if it means either protecting them or a certain chance of victory. The girl who introduced herself as Solaria seems intent on staying here just to disarm the traps he set up all over brisshal. “You’re quite the Samaritan aren’t you?” He might be looking at one of the saints of this game.This player has a good heart but oh so reckless, you’d probably think that she’s a masochist. That aside he was distracted by Solaria’s appearance as the sight of her ears was foreign to him. She was probably the first elf that he met in this game and couldn’t help but wonder if she would feel him touch her pointy ears. “You’re an.. elf” he spoke softly as he reached out to touch her ears, gently caressing and feeling the tips. He wasn't used to fantasy mmorpgs as the world he knew was all about guns, warfare and survival. A world that was set in a modern day era, living to fight and killing others for score. Everyday he’d hone and train to fight for the top ranks and play competitive matches to become an official participant of the international leagues in Gun Gale Online but he couldn't get any higher than that as he was bested by many others. When the Green Ash wanted to return, the world he knew was dying or it had already died before he even realized it. The Fantasy setting was a whole new world altogether and sure he has heard of some mythological creatures from his school and from some books and televised movies but to feel like part of it was bizarre. He’s just not used to it but he’ll probably warm up eventually, its not like every day he gets a chance to touch elven ears, whether they are real or not. “Aha.. I’m really sorry about that, you’re the first elf I met here but I just wanted to know how it feels like to touch an elven ear” he drew back his hand and realized he was going off topic. “I’m sorry, I know that it’s a herculean effort to trigger all the traps here but why not disarm them with a tool or something instead? You’re going to try and trigger them off at the expense of your hitpoints?”
The woman jolted as his hand reached her pointed ear, a tinge of red reaching her cheeks in a swift second. "I-It's fine," her words were sputtered awkwardly, a stutter of some sort frustrating even her as she managed to get the breath out. "I did the same I think, when I first started. It just is a bit of a surprise, I guess." With timid laughter, she adjusted her form slightly, relaxing her body with only her nervous tic of holding her wrists tightly behind her back keeping her from worrying over moments of dismay or concern. She was usually fairly cheerful, and she was managing a smile despite herself. Worrying never got her anywhere, after all! "Um, I guess that idea would be better, but I tend to have a hard time detecting them. Do you have a good method of finding them without just trying to trigger them? I can trigger them with my sword if it's the same kind as this one...Wait, are there other kinds of traps?" She was beginning to realize how little she knew. She wasn't a hunter, and had never planned to be one, at least not to this extent. "Looks like I need to start thinking like a hunter...A trap hunter!" It was a bad joke in it's own way as she gave another curious glance to the man. "You seem to know a lot, though. Are you a trapper? How do you learn something like that, anyway?"
The elf really seemed into it and there seems like there’s anyway to talk her out of it without raising suspicion to himself. As much as he’s proud of his work, he prefers that he doesn’t get recognized for it. It took nearly half the day to set all of them up too and most of that time was spent angulating and carefully emplacing these traps around the nodes so that no one would harvest them but him. Then again he got a little too greedy, perhaps he can allow her to liberate 4 nodes near the road. The elf suggested that she’d use her sword to trigger these traps if such were the same as this one, the thing about it is that most of Stampede’s traps are basic ones… only most of them are coated with poison anyways. Then he was further pressed by another question in regards to his profession. “I’m far from being a trapper, I’m most likely the traditional hunter who gathers herbs an kills some animals for their pelts and sell them off to the market. Trapping isn’t exactly my specialty” at least not yet. That much is true as his hunting skill was below the average, there could be no way he’d set that up. However if he were to think about trapping, his real answer would have been that it would naturally come from experience, traps are placed to attack the predictable, if it doesn’t work as intended, add a variable and force them to trigger the entity. Back in Gun Gale online, he loved defending his camping spot with a lot of claymores and plastic explosives. He was the most difficult sniper in his time to root out of his spot with the exception of a death camera mechanic. Not only would he try to defend his camping spot with traps he would also place traps in areas where his scope could not cover, most likely behind cover where he can’t get a kill only for the mine he placed to kill the target that was taking cover from his sniper fire. His emplacements were that of a scholar in his trade but unfortunately in this game, it doesn’t allow him to make the convenient traps he wants to force his targets out in the open for him to snipe down. Inadequacy disappointed him but the system wouldn’t be fair if experienced and veteran players would still hold the advantage against the numerous newbies that just came to the virtual world. It’s still nail-biting. “Not really but my mastery allows me to detect traps and targets regardless of where they are or how well they’re hidden. If you really want to do this then I’ll help but just note that whatever happens, you made the decision.” Stampede did warn the elf but her mind seemed to be set. At this point Stampede can’t decide on how to deal with her.
"So you're a hunter. Explains why you understand traps though, at least better than I do. I'm a combative healer. I can make poisons and antidotes, I can heal poison with magic if I need to...And I can cut things. But that's about it." Her lips soon felt her finger once more as she thought a bit more about what he'd said about his profession, or at least how he played the game. "Now that you mention it though, I never thought to sell pelts and stuff. I mean, I barely pay attention to that kind of loot in general when I beat up the monsters around here. I usually just do it so that I can protect the people wandering the roads out here. Same as wanting to stop the traps before they harm people, y'know?" Shifting her weight, she took a look around. Unfortunately, while this man could hunt and see the traps hunters placed, the elf was far from able to do that. She lacked the necessary abilities and hadn't planned to take one on at all- she was a hunter in name only, in the spirit of protecting the local innocents. She had no real motive to slay the creatures of these forests otherwise. She could make her meals some other way. Despite her own mild suspicions, she opted to believe that he couldn't do much damage himself with trapping, and his implications he'd be willing to help didn't go unnoticed. With her schooling, she'd always been taught the benefit of giving 'benefit of the doubt'. A person was always innocent until proven guilty, and always worth saving- even if they were horrible, horrible people. Luckily, horrible people didn't usually agree to help protect others...Right? "If you're willing to help me, that'd be great! I don't know how to get rid of the traps once we've found them, but your idea is a way better one in general. I just want to get rid of the ones that are on nodes closer to the road, like the one I caught. I can understand traps further in the forest, just...Not this close to where regular people would walk while going back and forth, you know?"
