Gold Dust I [Q]

Gold Dust I

Negotiation - @Luna @Amane Hirota @Verity @Corvella​

Ever since the grand explosion of the golden wedding dowry, the forest had been crawling with desperate villagers combing through trees and brush to get even a speck of that golden dust. Luna had been in the area, investigating the rumoured spot of the explosion in hopes of finding a clue to the spell that had caused such devastation.

The Boy Scouts of the forest—my apologies, the Forest Rangers—had found her and easily gauged her 'strength', declaring her fit for their task.

"With all the gold dust floating around, we've been kept busy trying to keep the forest in balance. All of these greedy villagers running around, disturbing the peace for a bit of gold, must be stopped!" They certainly did a good job of expressing the dire situation. "Will you and your friends help us, kind adventurer?"

She looked around uncertainly, a finger pointed at her face. What friends? What kind adventurer? Surely they were mistaken. But... "Were any of you there the day of the caravan's explosion?" If they were going to demand her time and effort, the least they could do was offer something else of equal value.

The Rangers looked at one another before one sheepishly rose his hand. "I saw it."

"Tell me everything you saw and I'll help you." She stared at them, daring them to decide otherwise. They were looking for her help, not the other way around.

Thankfully, they seemed to realize that. "After you get the forest sorted," the one Ranger said.

She nodded, a slight twitch of a smile on her lips. "You'd best keep your side of the bargain," she said, "or this kind adventurer will have to tear you apart from limb to limb." Was it just her or did the fear in their eyes make her reflection that much better? She hummed, only breaking eye contact when the frightened little lamb—I mean, uh, Ranger—blinked. And like that, the breath-taking view of herself was shattered, releasing Luna from its hold.

The contract was settled. In the core of the game, their deal had been made, and Luna would make sure they followed through.

— ♦ —
​

While many other adventurers had probably been contacted by the Rangers themselves, Luna decided to send out a message in the game's world chat to find herself a group. Villagers weren't often a strong bunch, but one should never underestimate the strength of desperation and greed. The more manpower she had to subdue the rowdy gold seekers, the better.

Luna

Anybody else been stopped by some "Forest Rangers" asking for help balancing the peace of the forest? Looking for some help to sort this out - and maybe I can find out about whatever spell they used to destroy that caravan while we handle this. Any method is fine with me as long as we get it done.

She waited, but not for long, as a series of messages quickly popped up.

Amane Hirota

It's quite unbelievable how inconsiderate some people can be...I'll love to be of help, if I may! I'm open to any means that doesn't involve violence.

Corvella

I can't let them keep doing what they want. They must be stopped by any means necessary.

Verity

Alright, who in the world came up the idea on scavenging gold in a peaceful forest like this? In any case, I'm in.

She hummed and quickly sent out a series of invites to the three repliers. @Amane Hirota, @Corvella, and @Verity. If they knew what she was talking about, then they were probably already in the area. Once they were all in a party, they could dive into the forest and sort out whatever trouble was hanging around there. She flicked open the messge interface and sent out a final message to her new party members, and then leaned back against a nearby tree.

All she could do was wait.

Luna

Am at the possible caravan explosion spot. Meet at my coordinates and we'll branch out from here?

 

Amane hadn't cared much when news of the attack on the caravan reached her ears. Sure, it was saddening that criminals existed in this world too, and powerful ones at that, but Terra Sphere was a game of conflict. Atrocities like this weren't uncommon, and although the method used was brow-raising, there was nothing to be done. It was a job for Falderen authorities, if anything. Still, the malefic magic piqued her interest. Could this be the start of a greater event? A sign of a powerful cult of mages...though if so, why they would target a caravan was beyond her.

Regardless, her musings found her exploring the very same spot in Brisshal. As she wandered about looking for the exact location of the incident, a group of leather-clad individuals approached her, hailing her by, well, what she was. "Adventurer! Mayhaps you are free?" One of the rangers called out. "Surely you are aware of the caravan's fate. Some locals from the nearby villages, in their greed, have begun plundering the forest in search for gold dust. Not only do they lay hands on what is not theirs by right, they disturb the forest in the process, causing much grief to the residents and wildlife here. Will you be willing to lend us your aid?"

Gold dust...? Oh, when the malefic magic disintegrated the caravan, the dissolved gold would have scattered in the winds. Frowning, a well of disgust rose from within her. Any gold, if found, likely still belonged to the Tertorian couple, and how much pain they must have felt, to have their wedding dowry so utterly destroyed. To profit off someone else's pain was low, but not only that, these people chose to disrupt the forest as well? It settled ill with her, that greed could render people so unmindful and disrespectful.

"Of course I'll help," Amane said, shooting them an amiable smile. "What would you like me to do?" It wasn't like she was busy, after all. It couldn't hurt.

"Thank you," another ranger said, a relieved grin on his face. "You should find yourself some companions before you confront the gold diggers. Do not underestimate the lengths some of these people will go for the sake of obtaining this gold. You best be prepared, and to outnumber them."

So they expected fighting? This was starting to sound more and more like quest prompt. Still, even if it was a quest, she supposed it didn't negate the pain that these rangers and the inhabitants of the forest felt. They might be NPCs, but she was starting to learn that their feelings were just as authentic as any other player's. Maybe even more so, since they actually, properly, lived in this world. "Alright then. Thanks for the advise, and good luck!" With that said, Amane set off, pondering to herself. Now, she needed help, right? She could try looking around for other players...as if to answer her questions, her eyes happen to catch on a new message posted in the world's lfg group, by someone known as 'Luna'. The player was similarly looking for a group as well.

She sent a quick message asking to join up, accepting the party invitation that followed. Luna's location promptly appeared in her UI — it was pretty close, actually, so with haste Amane made her way over. As she approached the location, the felis spotted a silver-haired girl wearing a long cloak idling against a tree. Two fingers to her forehead revealed that the girl was indeed her party member, and she called out a greeting as she crossed the remaining distance. "Sorry to make you wait. I'm Amane, a light magic support. Are we still waiting for the others?"

OOC: @Luna, @Corvella, @Verity

 

He can't tell how real these NPCs are in Terrasphere. But one thing's for certain, the only similarities they have to the players were their stupidity. He began to aware of the same conflicts that the modern real world he encountered outside the game every day. Extortion, ignorance to safety, greed... It never ends...

Well... That's what he thought after a "Forest Ranger" explained the situation to him after he approached him. He had a feeling he was about to enter another troublesome quest, but NPC or not, he knew he had to do something. "So from what I understand, the diggers began to plunder the forest for gold and this causes not an only disturbance to the forest, but also showing the lack of respect for it. Is that correct?"

The ranger nodded in approval while he frowned in worry. "Yes. If we don't act fast, we might lose the forest to the gold diggers." This was still a virtual world, but he felt the urge to smack the diggers' head out of frustration of his stupidity. "But you should find some companions before confronting them first. There might be a chance they may do everything to protect their territory."

Looks like another quest that needed more companions like the others. Well, he can't blame how the system worked. Besides, he already had a bad feeling regarding this story. "Alright. I'm in. I'll try to find some people before heading to the forest to draw them out." With that, he gave the ranger a handshake before he left. He still can't trust strangers and people he recently knew, but if he needed to complete something, he needed some allies to back him up.

Once he accepted the quest, he put up a quick message in an attempt to find a party for it. Eventually, he got a party invitation along with the destination on where they meet. If they notice from the right, they may see a 28-years-old man wearing a blue leather clothing with a sword and sheath on his right hip. "Right here. Since we're teaming up for a difficult quest, I guess I should share my role. I'm Verity, an attacker specialized in Alchemy and Aeromancy."

OOC: @Luna @Amane Hirota @Corvella

 

The forests of Brisshal mostly offers beauty, like the one Corvella's walking around right now. Sturdy trees, colorful leaves, and few golden glitters around the air. The view alone is worth dying for.

Wait, what golden glitters?

Corvella turned her back to spot some dots of golden-like glitter flying with the wind. Hard to see, but nothing can escape investigation mode either. Then not even five seconds have passed, a group of displeased-looking individuals are already in front of her. The forest rangers, as she recognizes them.

"At ease, adventurer. We mean no harm. May we know why are you here and have you seen some gold hunters around here?" one of the rangers spoke to her. Corvella shakes her head and asked back "What do you mean by gold hunters? I am here to investigate the caravan incident." Obviously the intel from the inns were incomplete; after some talks with the rangers, she found out that the gold dust were actually caused by whatever magic that was responsible for the disintegrating the caravan and everything in it, including the gold which become dusts. Who in the heavens could produce spell of that magnitude?

"They have been destroying our forest in their greedy search of the gold dust. Will you lend a hand to keep the peace in the forest for all of us?" Investigating the caravan was her only job, but she can't ignore people in help. Besides she might find some clue on her way to keep the greedy villagers from plundering the forest.

After accepting their request, adding yet another contract from the NPC to her quest list, Corvella received a message from fellow player. From the looks of it, the other player named Luna was investigating the caravan and was also asked help by the forest ranger. Investigating as a group is always better than doing it alone, so she replied the message and accepted the party invite, which gives out the coordinate of her current party. Looks like one party member is already at the caravan explosion spot, luckily it's not quite far from here. She sent a message to let know of her coming.

Corvella

Sounds good. I'm on my way to the designated meeting point.

Looks like she was the last of the group to come to the meeting point. There are two other girls and @Verity, which she have already acquainted with. "Sorry for the wait. My name is Corvella, specialized in defensive and offensive combat," she introduced herself to @Amane Hirota and @Luna "Have any of you found clues yet?"

 

Luna hummed as the group started to gather. A mage support. A sword-mage. A frontline combatant. Then her: "… and I am Luna. I use my magic to fight." For a world where magic was a rarity, it seemed she had managed to gather most of the magic-wielding fighters in the area. She pushed off the tree, the hood of her cloak falling back to reveal her face. While she only recognized one of her party members, @Verity, from the last time they worked together, she would have to trust the others could pull their own weight.

She shook her head at @Corvella's question, a slight frown on her lips. "One of the rangers was witness to the explosion. He promised details of the event in exchange for taking care of the gold hunters." Luna stretched a bit, and then started her way into the forest. "At a minimum, it was a magic user that blew the caravan. We are not tasked with dealing with the culprit, though."

She looked at two figures in the distance, facing off with each other like wild animals fighting for territory. Must be some of the aforementioned 'gold hunters'. She gestured at the fools, "... just the side effects."

Luna lead the group as close as she dared (within range for their mages to throw a spell if needed), then put a hand out to stop them all. She pressed her fingers to her temple, a frown tugging at her lips. Her UI automatically filtered them as gray-named 'Gold Hunters'. So they were of insignificant power, hardly something to worry about.

"They are just civilians. No threat at all." She sighed and looked to the others.

While she did not particularly care how they handled the situation, violence took a lot of effort. Maybe it would be enough to reveal themselves – scare the civilians away from their goal. She pressed a hand to the branch in front of her, knowing that one easy movement and a shout would be enough to draw the greedy scavengers' attention. If she were working alone, she would have done it already. But…

She looked over her shoulder to the other three and said, "Killing should be a last-resort. They may have valuable information about the carriage incident." She shrugged. "Perhaps sound logic will be enough to deescalate the situation. Should we just reveal ourselves?"

@Amane Hirota piped up: "Fine by me. Ah, I'm not the most intimidating of sights though, but it can't hurt to try."

Luna gave the Felis a second glance. Now that it was pointed out, she could see what Amane meant. The other hardly looked like the kind to give people a beat down for being idiots. Maybe that would be to their advantage though. Negotiations tended to be easier when the negotiator had a calming presence – if anybody could talk down territorial men, it would be a pretty woman.

The other two quickly added:

"As long we can't draw our swords to intimidate them, I'm okay with that idea."

And then, "As long as they are left unhurt, I'm okay with that."

She nodded. It couldn't be too hard to prevent violence from breaking out, right? It was annoying to have her options limited, but Luna had no problem trying to be civil. With another small sigh, Luna pushed aside the branch obscuring them, deliberately making the action as noisy as possible.

It caught the attention of the two gold hunters, breaking their game of 'circle each other like idiots' and bringing their stare to the group of four. "Hello," she said with a thin smile, head cocked to the side as she stared them down.

"W-Who are you?" one cried out, waving a dagger their way.

The other hissed, appearing a little more aggressive. Certainly the one with the bigger bark of the two. "This is my gold! Leave!"

Luna frowned at them and then not-so-subtly shifted a glance over her shoulder to her companions, silently asking with her eyes who wanted to try and calm down the two idiots. She'd probably hurt their feelings, or something silly like that, if she tried.

 

So from what he can tell from his party, there was a Felis player as well the other two that he met before from his previous quests. Because of this, he was already aware at how well @Corvella and @Luna deal with any situations they faced alongside with him. He just hoped they will show the same as with this quest.

It wasn't surprising for Verity to just accept Luna's idea to just reveal themselves without any brute force. He never resorted to violence as his first choice and because he used it as his last resort, he relied on his logic and some negotiations to resolve a situation. Another point was his calm composure as he was unfazed at one of the gold hunters' threats. Though just seeing him another hunter waving a dagger at them was enough to put his foot down.

Cautiously approaching the pair, he attempted to grab the man's wrist to swat the dagger away. Whether if he was successful or not, he will try to start an interrogation on these two. "Calm down. We just want to answer a few questions. So I prefer you should try to sheath your weapons or someone will get hurt because of your panic."

@Amane Hirota

 

They walked closer into the forest as grunts were heard. As they approached, two civilians were shouting at each other and making motions as if they were in a chicken battle. Corvella exhales at the petty sight, thinking if there were a whole village filled with people like them. The 'Gold Hunters', after quick a observation by @Luna, poses no threat at all; at least to us. She believe they would kill each other for sprinkles of gold, so they better stop them. They might have some information about the incident and also the whereabouts of the rest of the troublesome groups of 'Gold Hunters'.

Luna offered a pretty logical approach to stop them from peeling each others' skin and maybe get some information. The group then revealed themselves to the two circling men, whom were shocked by the appearance of well-equipped individuals. Being the short-minded people they are, the men threatened the party in panic. She never seen a face so punch-able before, that she hope she will not have to use her fist. Then @Verity stepped forward and with quick motion, he grabbed one of the man's right wrist to put away the dagger before addressing them in a polite manner.

But apparently those people were so dense that the other man, or should she say the man with the less temper threw another empty threat "No! The area is mine! You won't have a single piece of the gold here!" while brandishing yet another dagger. Now this is getting really tiring. Letting Verity to handle the other coward, Corvella stepped even forward, putting her best tough act before speaking.

"We are not interested in playing your territorial game. Answers for our questions will suffice." she continued "I don't want to put the wrong people in the jail." The man's eyes blinked rapidly. Oh no, did she mess up? She then avoided eye contact and looked at @Amane Hirota, with her emerald eyes saying something like 'Cover for me, please?'

 

Amane was gladdened that Luna suggested approaching them instead of attacking them straight on from the shadows. The latter would undoubtedly have solved the issue in a speedier manner, but it was one thing to attack someone who could fight back, and another entirely to destroy poor villagers with no experience in combat. She had no qualms with wielding her magic against others in a fair fight, but as she tried to picture hurling arcane bolts that tore into hapless people, a sense of revulsion welled up within her, halting any further images along that line of thought. Logic, or even intimidation, would be much preferred.

She let the others speak to the two men — Luna didn't seem like she wanted to try a shot at reasoning with them, and both Corvella and Verity looked like they had a good head on their shoulders. The felis barely suppressed a wince though, at the less cowardly of the two men's actions. That was just uncouth, threatening them with yet another knife, when they had approached them reasonably? It was uncomfortable to be at the receiving end of desperate bluster, and she couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed, awkwardly tapping her fingers against her leg as Corvella shot her a look, asking to back her up in dealing with the other gold hunter.

"Look." She decided to give it a shot, straightening up further to look down at them. Logic alone didn't look like it worked on the other guy, so perhaps she could fall back on intimidation instead? She wasn't the most imposing figure, but Corvella, with her sword and armour, could make up for that. "We don't want to fight, but we will if you force us to. Not only do we outnumber you two to one, we're all trained fighters to boot. Your chances of winning are zero, so why not just leave, unhurt?" With her piece said, her gaze flickered to the men holding the knife, checking how Verity and Luna were handling the situation.

OOC: @Luna, @Verity, @Corvella

 

She watched impassively as @Verity swiftly moved to disarm the apprehensive man. Not that it did much to help their group, as the snappy, chihuhua's-attitude-of-a-man whipped out his own dagger. As they all drew to their full heights, highlighting @Amane Hirota's words with their imposing presences, Luna could see the two men starting to rethink their plan of action. Their eyes were flickering between each of the adventurers as if weighing the risk. If Amane and Luna seemed less than imposing, @Corvella certainly gave them a reason to pause. Nobody would waste energy lugging around heavy armor unless they could take and deliver a good deal of pain.

Luna smirked a bit as she caught the gaze of one and flared her magic, her tattoos glowing eerily from the shadows of her cloak. It had been enough. The man still trapped in Verity's grip practically ripped his arm away, choking out an apology and scrambling away to escape. "I'm sorryyyyy!" the man had screamed as he ran deeper into the forest. Perhaps towards the hole he'd crawled out of. Who knows?

Luna directed her glare to the other one, not interested in saying anything. The others had spoken plenty enough - if the final gold digger was stupid enough to stick around or, worse, get aggressive? Well, she had no problems breaking a neck.

They had been warned after all.

And it seemed like her... interesting thoughts... were a little too visible in her expression, as the man practically bristled under the weight of her gaze. "W-What are you looking at, huh?!" he snarled, waving his dagger. "You think I'm joking? This is mine!"

Luna hadn't expected him to be stupid enough to leap at one of her party members, her voice dying on the tip of her tongue. Did he have a death wish?!

The threatened man launched himself forward, dagger poised to draw some blood. "MINE!"

 

Out of the party who witnessed the lack of the digger's sanity, Verity was the first one to act from his. Disgusted, he gritted his teeth just as the man began to launch his dagger to him and his partymates. His obvious reaction to this was to dodge to the right and pulled his sword in order to attempt on blocking his dagger. While his move cost his loss of some HP and a small cut to his face, he was unfazed at the pain as he glared at the man in anger. Watching the other digger fled the scene from their threats was disgusting for him to see, just seeing the other one attack them out of panic caused him to lose his calm composure.

"Do I need to repeat myself?! Your greed is not only affecting this whole forest, but it is affecting your sanity as well! So will just drop your dagger and just calm the heck down?!" Regardless of the outcome of his attempts to protect the others, he had a bad feeling about this as he felt that calming this man down won't be very easy. Regardless, he might as well try to get some help from his partymates. "A little help would be nice!"

OOC: @Amane Hirota @Luna @Corvella

 

The man's attempted attack at the group surprises Corvella. How could a man be blinded by greed to this extent? As the attack draws near, @Verity quickly unsheathe his sword to block the dagger without harming the man. The dagger slid, scratching through the edge of his sword and causes a small cut in his face. The block did cause the man to lose his balance as he swings the dagger erratically while running to the rest of the group, namely Corvella and @Amane Hirota. They could have disabled the man for the rest of his life without lifting a finger, but they have agreed not to harm anyone.

No, a shield bash would be an overkill.

Thanks to Verity, the man is full of opening for a quick nonlethal strike. Corvella stepped to the side and kicked the man in the right feet, causing him to slip,fall and slide in a ungraceful fashion, stopping just right in front of Amane's feet. His right arm was then grabbed and bent into his back, putting just enough pressure without causing excessive pain, preventing him to swing his dagger any further. All they have to do now is just calm him down to the point he can talk. Small talk or magic could help.
"I see that you have regained your composure. Now, I believe we have the leisure to talk."

 

Amane had to make a conscious effort not to purse her lips when Verity snapped at her and Corvella, her amiability fraying a little at his tone. Sure, perhaps they didn't react fast enough, but there was no need to be so harsh, especially when the man was hardly a threat. The gold digger's own actions certainly didn't help matters; his foolish desperation only further lowered her opinion of him, making what should have been a harmless, if tedious, act of diplomacy break down into barbaric, pointless violence. Amane wasn't upset, per say, but the embarrassment from being witness to such unsightly acts put her on edge to begin with, mixing with Verity's comment, which seemingly came out of nowhere, into a mild knot of discomfort.

She pushed it to the back of her mind for now, chanting under her breath for a shield to form between the man's attack and the party, only for Corvella to take action before her, efficiently pining the man down on the floor. She cancelled her spell, a small amount vanishing from her energy bar as she crouched down beside the knight, shooting her a smile as appreciation for her quick work, when her own hadn't been fast enough to suffice. Turning back to the gold digger, she tried to seem as harmless as she could, her lips pulling into a nervous smile. "We would really rather not cause you harm. Once again, would you please leave peacefully?" she asked him at eye level, her eyes making contact with his own in a bid to convey her sincerity.

OOC: @Luna, @Verity, @Corvella

 

Luna looked on at the scene with a frown, nodding down at @Corvella as she kept the struggling digger pinned to the ground. As @Amane Hirota made attempts to pacify the seething man, Luna stepped closer to @Verity, so she could inspect the cut on his cheek. Her palm covered the torn flesh and her tattoos glowed, magic flowing through her veins. For a moment, her eyes flashed, lips moving but words not coming out. Even trying to read her lips would cause confusion, as it was clear she was not speaking in a common tongue.

And then the cut started to close. She smirked and stepped back, hiding the exhaustion that simple move had caused her. Even with her new founded spiritual bonds, it took a lot out of her to channel their magics.

"Now," she mused, eyes flicking over to the subdued man. It seemed he finally understood his position in all of this mess, as he'd gone limp, eyes wet with tears and gaze averted. "What to do with him?" Honestly? She would've killed him and been done with it. The rangers had asked them to stop the digging, and they had given them freedom to deal with it however they wanted.

A corpse would do no digging. But the group had made an agreement at the start.

Luna sighed as the silence was quickly filled with sniffling and watery excuses. "My children are starving," he said. "You don't understand," he said. "Everybody is struggling just to survive," he said. So many things he had said and Luna couldn't find it in herself to care.

She cut him off with a long sigh. "Must we escort you back to whatever hole you crawled out of, or will you leave as we requested? Much easier if you work with us so we don't have to… make sure you can't disobey." The cries resumed, louder and fearful. Wrong words, then. She turned her tired gaze to the other group members. Technically, their job was done. She wanted to find something valuable rather than waste any more time. "I say we leave him – he mentioned children. They'll find him eventually. If he wants to continue this nonsense," she looked to the side with a hum, "I know there are people far more eager to draw blood that have accepted the job."

A whimper. "I'll be good, I pr-promise! Just let me go, I swears, I'll be good."

"See?" she said with a slight gesture. "No need to waste any more time here."

If the others were so eager to escort him home, they could, but Luna would have no more of this. She would leave, regardless of their choices. She crossed her arms and backed off to the treeline, watching to see how their adventure would end. These capable people... they could be valuable comrades, perhaps.

[ OOC: Exiting thread! Feel free to continue between you guys, if you'd like. And sorry for the wait - been distracted with my other characters and lost muse on Luna. ]

 

Luna's words brought the man down into puppy whimpers. After they had came into agreement, Corvella released the digger from her restrain and helped him to get on his feet slowly. He just stood there, eyes as blank as his mind right now. Better leave him alone for some time to think about his mistakes, she thought.

Looks like everything is sorted out. Verity's cut on his cheek were healed quickly by Luna and the troublemaker is sorted out. The rumors about a group of adventurers walking around and threatening to cut down gold diggers would spread and sooner or later they will scram. It's up to the forest rangers now to continue what they did today.

Corvella thought back about the words the digger said. Excuses about how hard is living doesn't justify his deeds, just like in real life. He could've gotten a better job instead of risking his life fighting each other for dusts of gold. But what's done is done. When the man mentioned about his children, she relieved that they didn't have to resort to violence.

"I'm going to report this to the rangers first" Corvella said, opening her map and checking her rendezvous point on the other side of the forest. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Take care!" she waved to Luna, Amane and Verity as she took off to the north side to meet the forest rangers.

On her way in the wilderness, the blond-haired knight took time to appreciate her teammates. Very few people are willing to talk things down instead going all violent, especially in this game where no risk is involved. NPCs are just 0s and 1s, they said. But aren't we all?

What she doesn't know, soon Corvella herself will realize that even she is not able to always resolve everything by talking. That she will eventually take a life by her own hands.

[Exiting Thread]