Seasonal Help: Autumn {P}

Quest Link: Seasonal Help - Autumn

Altruism was always a wonderful thing. It filled the hearts of both those who gave and those who received, and it was a uniquely human thing, this no-strings-attached generosity. To extend a hand out to a stranger, to receive a boon that was not deserved, to be graced with kindness from one you had no connections with, all this, perhaps, came from the innate goodness in the hearts of men and women. And thus, even when Farmer Bill, the tanned and gaunt owner of the barn Cain stayed the night at refused the money offered in exchange for lodging, Cain still didn’t see this debt as written off. It’d only leave a bad taste in his mouth, after all, and the muse had pressed on, offering his help at the barn, even if it was doubtlessly just going to be boring, ‘real’ work.

He had to grab all the experiences he could, after all. Had to round his worldly experience off with as many tasks as possible. And Cain was the same idiot who had gone off into a mine that actively killed him just to try out mining. Surely shovelling manure or tilling the farm or picking crops wouldn’t be nearly as devastating. It took some effort to convince Farmer Bill to accept his help, and soon, the man’s troubles were revealed: after the death of his biggest gobbler, the hens in his coop seemed to have fallen into a depressive state, unwilling to care for their eggs now that the father was gone. The agricultural man didn’t have anything he could offer to Cain for payment, nor did he have any real idea of how to fix the problem outside of searching for some strange magical crystal that accelerated the growth of beings.

It certainly was a strange problem, what with November and the Thanksgiving Feast coming up, and on one hand, Cain really just wanted to do some simple farmwork rather than try anything annoyingly complicated like that, but…

Even if it was annoying and had a high possibility of failure, it was definitely interesting! An adventure into the wild, in search of a crystallized growth hormone! To save not only a whole host of eggs, but also the feast that will occur in the future! It wasn’t a task as noble as vanquishing demonspawn or saving princesses, but his lodging for the night was free, and the stars had sparkled beautifully through the holes in the barn, so the muse was definitely down for completing this quest.

The question, though, was whether or not his companions were as on-board for romping in the woods as he was. Turning to address them, Cain said, with a bow, “I don’t believe either of us have met before, but it’s a pleasure to have allies in this momentous task regardless. I’m Cain Darlite, Flagbearer of Miracles, Seeker of Crystallized Growth Hormones, Hatcher of Turkey Eggs. Though my adventurous instinct drives me towards looking for that magical turkey-growing artifact within the greenery and foliage, my gentlemanly instinct demands this of me. Would you rather seek this crystal as well? Or would you prefer to apply your domestic skills and strive to hatch these turkey chicks naturally?”

It ultimately didn’t matter either way.

“The choice lies with you.”

Thrown die:

8

 

This seemed like an easy enough quest, at the very least, it did not involve giant castle sized spiders or ancient robots with glowing red eyes that were powered by hate and the blood of enemies. She happily accepted this quest, it would be a welcome breather from the high octane string of things she'd had to do in her latest endeavors. Their companion for this chore - she was hard pressed to call it a mission - seemed like a good tempered fellow. The sort of guy you might want to be with you in a party, at least assuming he could pull his weight. Nevertheless, he was asking them a question and Amalia wasn't going to give him the cold shoulder by brushing him off. She did contemplate, wondering about the options available. "To be honest I don't really think I'd need to go to the forest for a growth hormone... I have magic that can help the eggs hatch." she replied softly, cautiously so she wouldn't offend the man.

"However, who's to say using both isn't an option. It could make the job much faster than if I relied on my music alone." and besides, as much as she enjoyed playing a song or two, an endurance marathon of playing a variable playlist would grate even her stamina. "Amalia, no affiliation. I'm just a muse with a focus on music instead of the actual skill." most that did take the skill had no idea how to play instruments in the waking world. The game provided a instinctive knowledge of operation, but it was sloppy to her, a crutch. Then again, she wondered if bringing Music to the higher levels was going to help her at all in the real world... maybe the others who did were merely operating their instruments on some previously programmed series of commands.

She tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear, adjusted the strap of her violin case hanging upon her shoulders and offered a hand for the man to shake. Being polite was the first step to establishing solid group dynamic and if she cultivated a bad reputation for being sociable, there were probably going to be repercussions for that in the long run when the time came for her to look for parties or even guilds to join.

Maybe she should drop those people she was in that big raid a message one of these days.

"Well, might as well hear any other opinions on the matter. I could do either or, it doesn't matter which to be honest. Though I'd rather we not spend too much time in deliberation, the clock's ticking." she reminded them. She could get tired in real life, the game was fun enough, a great distraction, but she did has a medication schedule to adhere to and some of them did make her a little too groggy.

Altered state of consciousness and all that.

Thrown die:

2

 

There had been a dearth of jobs for beginners in the area, she found.

It wasn’t the case of being unwanted either. It just seemed that Elmyra had been unlucky when it comes to her timing. Most of the menial tasks and labor jobs seemed to have been drying up in the face of the dry leaves season and the crafters and merchants had been managing to keep up with their own task in running their respective businesses that extra part-time workers seemed to be wholly unnecessary for the time being.

As a result, the quest board seemed to be filled with requests to kill monsters, whether that’s inside a sewer, a clearing deep inside the nearby forest, or just good old fashioned plains hunting. While Elmyra’s not exactly averse to good old fashioned monster hunting – you could practically hear Sophie say “It’s a classical element of any MMO, it’ll be a shame to not experience it right?” – her preparation for any combat-related task is…rather woeful, to put it bluntly.

To put it into perspective, she cannot even afford a basic weapon currently, and no way to afford one either due to…well, let’s just say lack of gold in the treasury. It was the whole reason why she wanted to at least accept a couple of menial jobs in order to both build up her treasury and perhaps pick up a couple of expertise or three. Due to how the game’s designed, it seems that many of the little things she can pick up along the way can contribute in building her own personal take in masteries.

Which is, as far as she can tell, a very intuitive mechanic.

Easy to understand too. Even as a complete newbie, Elmyra – or rather, Sophie – had taken up to the system rather quickly. The manual helped admittedly, but she had a feeling that even if she skipped reading the manual she’d understand the mechanics of the game just by the sheer force of trial and error in a remarkable amount of time. It’s probably just not as quick as consulting the manual.

Which is why Elmyra’s not picky when choosing her non-combat quests. Even then, she had to raise an eyebrow on the rather unusual request of turkey-raising in the quest board, the only one of its kind in the board no less. Still, beggars can’t be choosers, so she ripped one of the pieces of papers on the posters in order to indicate her acceptance. Still clad in her wandering gear, she walked into the promised place with a brisk pace.

-0-​

Once she arrived, there had been two takers already arrived in the paper-pointed place. They seemed to be having a discussion, no doubt about the preferred way to do this quest as pointed by the hint in the request itself. While Elmyra had been aware on what kind of preference she had in this choice – she’s no farm stable hand after all, nor she had any experience in animal husbandry – it’ll at least be polite to hear what everyone else has got to say.

…Well, momentous occasion or not, she can’t fault the man’s excitement on taking this quest. In fact, it was actually pretty refreshing, if somewhat ridiculous all the same, to see someone this excited on breeding a bunch of turkey.

On cue with the blonde girl’s inquiry about needing another opinion, Elmyra stepped forward with hers on the table.

“My name’s…Elmyra. I’m nothing special really. Just an Alchemist-in-training trying to build up my skills in the craft.” Her tone’s universally flat, as if she was just reading brochures out loud instead of introducing herself into a couple of strangers. “I’m not exactly vehemently opposed to raising the live stocks by ourselves, I feel obligated to inform you two that I’m…not the best in domestic skills.” She’s not even joking around.

“To be honest, I’m rather curious about the crystal myself. Even if we decide to not pursue said crystal I might do so myself in my own time. Though, again, in the end whatever we decide, I’d like to at least see the hatchlings be delivered safely.”

Despite her own continuous deadpan, flat tone, it’s rather obvious that she wanted to ensure that there’s no margin of error in delivering the turkey safely. For whatever reason. Really, it’s probably nothing more than whim on her part, but for Elmyra it’s a worthy cause to fight in.

Thrown die:

6

 

Oh, one of the two could actually do either? Cain’s own farming knowledge was more or less non-existent, so the fact that Amalia, a Muse that actually appeared to be focusing on being a musician, may have a better idea about taking care of unborn eggs outside of just…sitting on them like hens did, did give rise to Cain’s curiosity. The draw of the Crystal of Accelerated Growth was simply too great, however, and the blonde’s opinion was ultimately, essentially, basically, ambiguous. Either or. The greatest non-answer at humanity’s disposal.

Well, that was fine. Elmyra, the pink-haired alchemist, leaned towards the crystal hunt, and with that, the path was decided. An adventure into the heart of the forests of Brisshal, evading forest trolls and fighting off monster-bandits with the power of music and chemistry, all for the Holy Grail of Agriculture. Exaggerating that, perhaps? Regardless of how wild his own dreams were, the reality of it was probably just going to be a semi-frustrating dive into the wilderness, looking for a crystal that they could hopefully find before all the eggs were spoiled.

“Well,” Cain said, straightening his back, “It appears that we have come to a consensus, as ambiguous as it appears to be. With my vote, Lady Amalia’s ‘either or’ and Lady Elmyra’s interest in the crystal, let’s set off then, on a hunt for the Holy Grail! For the growth of turkeys, now and forever!”

With that boisterous statement, the Muse spun on his toes, prepared to march off in an arbitrary direction towards the treeline that bordered the farmhouse, before stopping just as suddenly.

“Right, do any of you know where to find the crystal? All our efforts would be for naught if we wasted all this time just searching aimlessly, after all.”

Thrown die:

5

 

It did not take long at all, for the three to come to a consensus. Their last member wasn't the most domestic person by her own admission, so it left them with a clear choice. Still it left them with a conundrum, it didn't look like anyone in the group had a clear idea of where they might find their quarry. If the woman was curious, no doubt she'd never seen one in person and that the man was asking was telling. Well, common sense did come in handy at times like these, didn't it? "No, not really. But that's something that can be easily remedied. Spare me a few minutes will you, uh... acquaint yourselves with each other or something while I'm gone."

She looked for someone in the vicinity that might be able to supply her with information. Fortunately the non player characters were a helpful sort – or were they designed that way deliberately? - either way she asked for a general description and she presented a map for them to point out where they'd seen the stones. Of course, when someone was asked about a place in the wilderness, the best they could come up with was an approximation. Memories were fickle mistresses, unreliable unless one were committing significant effort to remember and the colored rocks were little more than a passing curiosity to locals who's lives revolved around tending to crops, herding sheep and collecting wood to fuel the flames of their hearths.

“I'm back.” she smugly declared, holding a map and stretching her hand out to present it to the two. “They're marked the location for me, they're not entirely sure, but its better than wandering aimlessly I suppose.”

The looked up at the sky, noting the dark clouds in the distance. “Not a fan of having mud between my toes, so shall we get a move on?” she adjusted the straps of her footwear and took the lead, forging ahead into the woods, her eyes flicking between her surroundings and the map every so often. “If anyone spots the crystals just holler, it seems their color is variable too. The brighter, the higher the purity and therefore, their efficacy.”

Half an hour later and the girl stopped, bending down to her knees to bring her fingers against the grass where she picked up a small piece of colored rock. She brushed away the soil and brought it against the sunlight. A marble sized piece, it shone like ruby, but when tilted another way, it looked like amber. “Too small for our purposes though.” she offered it to the girl. “You wanted to study it didn't you?”

Thrown die:

9

 

There was a certain infectious fanfare in the atmosphere now. Perhaps it’s the way that this mysterious life-giving crystal had been seemingly tickling the fancy of everyone here, or perhaps it was the simple fact that there are two muses here. They have a habit of seemingly turning even the most mundane of quests into an epic quest worthy of a legendary story…or at least that’s what it seems. In fact, the atmosphere is such that Elmyra can’t help but be swept by the current, so to speak.

“O-owh.” There was an expression of agreement on Elmyra’s part, coupled with a half-enthusiastic fist pump…not that you can’t tell cause her expression barely changed. However, their first would-be epic march into the strange wood with even stranger inhabitants would end up fizzling down as soon as it started. Must’ve been quite a record.

“N-no one had thought of acquiring a map beforehand?” She would’ve expressed more incredulousness at the situation, except technically that chastisement would also apply to herself. Arguably even more so in fact. While the other two had been ambivalent in their choices beforehand, she was the one who had thought of going for the crystal in the first place. At the very least she should’ve been more prepared for the possibility.

Before she could offer to rectify this oversight, the blonde muse had volunteered to do otherwise simply at a greater velocity than she did, blurting her own words before Elmyra could even let out a sound. There was a blurb in the manual about trained, vocal muses and the remarkably fast velocity that they could when spitting up witty verses. She’s not sure if it was an evidence of said capacity to bust up the rhymes, but she sure was fast.

Then there was awkward few seconds of silence as the footsteps of the blonde girl simply disappeared into the distance, leaving her with the flamboyant muse named Cain. She also said to…well…acquaint herself with the other one, but usually it was the other party of the conversation that likes to goad her into conversation. Then, in an unprecedented move not seen ever since she logged into the game for the first time, Elmyra goaded another one into a conversation.

“So…do you come here often?”

Of course not! This is an NPC area, isn’t it? Moreover, it’s near one of those newbie zones. The only way an experienced adventurer would venture into this place is if there’s a quest here, which is exactly what we’re doing here! Also, isn’t that a pick up line? Are you purposely trying to set yourself as the butt end of a joke!?

“O-oh, look! Miss Amalia’s back.”

Thankfully, even with that horribly disjointed segue, the blonde muse somewhat smugly brandished a newly-found map to her companions. Elmyra didn’t even mind the way she brute forced her way back into the ‘conversation’, she’s just glad that she can change the subject.

-0-​

The dark clouds in the distance, as well as the increasingly cool and wet surrounding atmosphere, might signify the coming of a rain in the not-so-distant future. Amalia, who had been in possession of the map and thus the most knowledgeable person in the makeshift party about the direction of the sought-after crystal, pointed out at a rough, spacious clearing inside the woods for the general location of the crystal.

…It makes sense at least. If one possesses a concrete memory of the location, why not go and look for it themselves and save yourself your hard-earned gold hiring adventurers who may or may not run away with one of your turkeys at a slightest moment’s notice?

It had been perhaps a half-an-hour search throughout the clearing before Amalia brought to their attention a small sample of the mysterious crystal. Unfortunately, it seems that the crystal was too small for their purpose, and Amalia simply tossed it Emyra’s way to be used as a study sample.

“Ah. Thank you.” There had been a veritable personality switch inside Elmyra’s brain, and she suddenly grew silent with concentration at the small stone. It’s…prismatic somehow, which might indicate that it possesses power beyond your typical uncut, unprocessed jewellery. It also seems to be somehow naturally-formed, perhaps absorbing natural energy over the years before it crystallized into its current form. Which perhaps means…

“The exact same spot where the rock is. If it’s a naturally-formed substance, there might be more of its deposit beneath the earth.”

She crouched just like Amalia earlier, her hands carefully scoops out more soil from the same spot before shaking the dirt off in the hopes of obtaining a bigger sample from the spot.

 

Amalia, thankfully, was quicker on the uptake that the rest of them, heading off in an energetic blur to ask the locals where such a crystal might be found. It was curious though, of course, why those crystals wouldn’t have been harvested and sold by entrepreneuring individuals if they really were that valuable, but at the same time…eh, maybe there were unforeseen long-term side effects to using it, such as sterility and all that. Magic had a price, after all…or maybe it didn’t, and the crystals just didn’t work out well once removed from the forest. Generic ‘magical forest’ situation and all.

Before Cain could think too hard about it, however, his thoughts were interrupted by a question from Elmyra. Well, they were going to work together from now on. Why not have a chat? Slipping easily into a persona more suited for casual conversation, the muse replied, “Come here more than I’d like, really. Between star-watching, wolf-hunting, managing clean-up operations, slaying Kobold cults, talking to mysterious beast-speakers, hunting for player killers, and delving into caves in search of small bones, I’m here fairly often. And hey, Bill’s barnhouse is a pretty comfortable place once I get too far away from Stokbon.”

The muse stopped for a moment. Was it too much? Naw, might as well add a final shot for the laughs.

“What?” Cain grinned teasingly. “Want to know where to find me afte-”

“O-oh, look! Miss Amalia’s back.”

Before he could dive further into depravity, his fellow muse appeared after all, a map with a location actually marked out. Though none of them had a compass, and there was no convenient Map function that would guide them to the location, the instructions were simple enough, and without anymore detours, the trio headed off into the wilderness, ready to strike rich and make big chicks.

~~~​

Turning up from his own investigations of dirt and mud, Cain walked over as the two ladies gathered, the first crystal uncovered. He brushed off the dirt from his knees as he peered over Elmyra’s shoulder, letting out a low whistle at how pretty it was. In daylight, it shimmered from passionate reds to fiery ambers, and if Amalia’s information was correct, perhaps the bigger ones would have an even greater variety of colors!

Oh, he could feel it now, the exhilarating sensation of mining fever, racing down his arms and into his fingers. It tingled pleasantly, like when he had been in the depths of Crystallized Zalra, fighting off monstrous centipedes while a strange curse slowly eroded his body, all for the sake of the miracle gems that laid within. Rolling up his sleeves, Cain pulled out his old, cheap pickaxe, hefted it in both hands, before saying, “Lady Elmyra, Lady Amalia, please step aside. I’ll manage the manual labor. Just keep an eye out for the crystal, yeah?”

After giving them ample time to move, the lanky muse swayed from side to side, recapturing the rhythm he developed within those cancerous caves. One strike pierced the dirt. Another got further, digging in and tearing out. And soon, Cain was singing a wordless song, a la-lee-loo-lei-lou that punctuated every pickaxe swing.

A shovel would be better, but hey, he didn’t have that.

 

Their companion's advice seemed sound enough. If there was bits and fragments here on the surface, surely there was going to be more in the vicinity, if not just beneath them some feet down. However there was the problem that for all her eagerness to contribute, she understood that she wasn't exactly the best suited to manual labor among them. Even Miss Cressen looked far stronger than she did.

Well if he wanted to demonstrate his masculinity, who was she to discourage him? Amalia stepped back, giving him space, deliberately circling around where she would be away from the direct line of wherever he was tossing aside the discarded dirt from where he was excavating the ground.

Though should he be using a shovel first before he resorted to the pick? There was a healthy layer of dark humus, but what did she know? It wasn't like she had real practical experience working on things of this nature in the waking world. Besides, maybe that just wasn't one of the tools any of them had on hand. Another oversight, but eh, if he was willing to make do...

When he finally hit the jackpot, Amalia would give him a hand, lending him rope and securing it against a nearby tree to create a makeshift pulley to get it to the surface. Easier said than done, but with physics on her side and some ingenuity, the mineral was exposed to the air.

"I think we can wash it downstream." she suggested helpfully, she remembered watching this sort of thing on the internet. Though that hadn't involved a crystal, but metal ore instead and there was no river, just high pressure water from a hose. Still the water would definitely help ridding the soil and granules of sand and stone that clung unto the mineral. For all intents and purposes though, this mission was more or less a wrap. "Let me just make something for us to carry it on." she made a hastily assembled splint-like object to load the rock on and use to drag it over the soil. It wasn't perfect, but it was easier than carrying the thing.

'I guess easy really is easy, huh?' she thought to herself as she watched the gleaming rock gathering sunlight amidst the water. She washed her hands in the running water, whistling a jovial, upbeat song. If they hurried they might just make it back before the rain fell.

 

Well, in hindsight Elmyra was rather hasty in trying to dig up the prismatic crystal’s deposit with just her hands. There’s no guarantee that the deposit is near the surface after all, the possibility that it’s deep buried within the earth is a very real one. She realized after only a few scoops of dirt and getting no jackpot that this particular example of stony deposit might be buried deep within the earth. If she continues to use her hands in this endeavor, she might very well be here for many hours on end…heck, she might still be here tomorrow.

Thankfully, one of them had the good sense to pack some tools to dig soil just in case. As Cain called out from the back of the group with the tool on hand, Elmyra was only too glad to concede the soil to the one with the appropriate tool…well, the most appropriate tool they have in any case.

“Ah, thank you…”

Elmyra decided not to say anything else. While a pickaxe can still dig a substantial hole in the soil, its speed in doing so might still left a lot to be desired. In any case, it’s still a heck of a lot faster than digging soil by hand.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long until the pickaxe hit something real solid under the soils. Carefully uncovering the dirt revealed the crystal inside covered in soil, seemingly formed naturally beneath the earth like so many real-life natural deposits. This cut of the crystal looked a lot bigger than the last one, which means that it’ll probably satisfy the requirements to accelerate the growth of the chicks.

She’ll also have to take a moment back and appreciate the realism that these simulated environments present. Why, she’d love to know how they managed to cram this kind of detail into the game, it’s almost they just copied real-life things into the game…

Her thought was interrupted when Amalia suggested they wash the crystal downstream to clean it off its dirt. Without saying much, Elmyra helped to haul the large sample of crystal into the makeshift splint-like container that the muse had assembled to help host the crystal without inconveniencing anyone’s hands. The creek downstream had only been a few minutes’ walk, and washing the crystal took even fewer.

“It is a glorified fetch quest you can do in a hurry.” Elmyra answered Amalia’s quip, her hands busy washing the crystal in the stream.

“I don’t think they also promised grand rewards or anything like that. I didn’t expect much either, they’re farmers after all.” She said once more as she lifted the crystal from the stream, now glowing its distinctive prismatic colors seemingly glistening brightly, with the light of the setting sun reflected in both the waters and the crystal.

It’s a rather relaxing sight, doubly so because of the humming and washing in the stream. The atmosphere right now resembles something like a picnic instead of anything else, which if you think about it makes a certain amount of sense.

“Alright, shall we go back?”

-0-​

As it turns out, they’ve managed to return to civilization before the impending rain, the crystal in tow. The hatchery where the turkey eggs are had been mostly untouched ever since they left, and none of the eggs has hatched yet. Elmyra unraveled the splint she’s carrying, revealing the crystal inside. It seemed to resonate with power every time it senses life forms nearby, and sensing a crowd of them seemed to make it glow even brighter.

Having little experience of perusing magic crystal of any makeup, Elmyra decided to just improvise. She put the crystal on a straw platform, before arranging the turkey eggs in a circle around it. It…felt rather silly, but if it gets result she won’t mind it.

Lo and behold, before long there was a crack in the egg shells and out came the chicks themselves, powering out of their egg shells. They all look pretty healthy, with no visible defects and the ability to chirp everyone to oblivion.

Relieved, Elmyra then took the nearby bird feed, fills a container with it and pushed it near the newly-hatched chicks. They’ve done all they can for now. The rest is up to the farmers themselves.