Private - Spells and Herbs

Travelling around the starting area of the game can become a habit for Jace. He already played Terrasphere for a few weeks now and yet, he can't seem to stop fighting monsters in Brisshal. Besides, he was so focused on gaining new spells that he can't seem to travel around the virtual fantasy world a lot now. Although, training here allowed him to prepare for any kind of event like the upcoming raid. Regardless, he has to get stronger if he wanted to survive and learn more about the game's lore.

But just as he continued on with the next monster, he heard something not very far from where he was. "H-Hello? Is someone there?" Gripping his grimoire very tightly, he looked around as he grew cautious at what will come out from the bushes or trees. If he learned something from the games he played was that he has to expect the unexpected from any kind of monster encounters. He was even focused on the source of the sound, that he unknowingly found himself in a garden of herbs.

@Aerana

 

For the past several days, Aerana had been exploring Brisshal, which seemed to have a surprising amount of adventurers. Most of them were odd, speaking about all sorts of nonsense. For the most part, she nodded and pretended to understand, that seemed to placate most of them although that left quite a few of them angrily mumbling about something or the other. It was odd to her as well, the most friendly of conversations, followed by stalking off as if frustrated with something. Oh well, best not to dwell on those in an... altered state. Those who saw the world, er, differently were often incomprehensible to others.

Despite all of the adventurers and weird people hanging around, one of the key notable points of the region was its sublime tea leaves. They were often found in the most unlikeliest of spots, and collected the strangest of slimes. Just the other day, she had found some a... litter of feline looking slimes gathered under a cave, just laying there in bliss. They had somehow mimicked the look of fur and ears on themselves, although she wasn't quite sure how that worked. She wasn't a monster archivist after all. Regardless, most of the tea leaves were a bit nibbled on but some were still good to use and that was enough for Aerana. That was definitely on of the better days in recent memory, the slimes looked so precious although the little one that woke up did seem to freeze at the sight of her. Maybe it was the fake roses in her hood.

Good as that day was, this was shaping up to be an even better one. There was an absolutely dazzling collection of herbs, spices and other such agreeable plants in this clearing. She had stumbled across it by pure blind luck, after being derailed from the main road by an errant wolf pack. In fact, they were probably still around the area searching for her now that she thought about it. It was definitely odd that they hadn't found her, perhaps it was the field's natural scent that disguised her. This place was even better than she thought, shame that her map was useless due to losing her sense of direction some couple of minutes ago.

After finishing up in picking all the plants that she was going to use, and not wiping everything out so she could potentially use this place in the future, she decided to move one. Just as she was about to exit the clearing proper, a somewhat distorted but recognizable howl sounded through the forest. Perhaps she could say in the clearing just a bit longer. There was also another sound however, it sounded like... a voice? An oddly familiar one as well. Turning to see the source, it was Jace Vale, from the village a while back! He seemed to be a bit distracted however, probably from the howling. Well, it was quite silly of him to stand outside of the field when he could be standing inside of it and be much safer. And an odd question as well, she took a quick glance around. Nope, just her here. She called out to him, not too loudly though, she trusted that the open air would carry her voice well enough,

"No, I do believe that there is only one person over there. A pleasant surprise to meet you here, Mister Vale."

 

As he saw someone in the garden, Jace's eyes widen as he saw a young woman in the middle of it. But it wasn't just another woman. In fact, the young girl was the same one he met back in Astoria. Realizing this, he blushed as he quickly got out from his cautious battle pose and straightened himself to greet the girl. "O-Oh... Sorry, didn't you there."

How embarrassing. He was so focused on any kind of ambush that he didn't notice a young woman like her was here. That and he had to do something regarding his social interactions in Terrasphere or in real life. "Though, I didn't expect you to be here in Brisshal, Ms... @Aerana, correct?" He hoped he was correct because he didn't want to rely on Investigation Mode to know who was he talking to.

 

He seemed a bit flustered, though that might just be from getting startled. She wasn't very sure why so many people just couldn't seem to see her when she stood still. Perhaps it was her choice of clothing, or people's lack of attentiveness. Though, if it was such a consistent problem, it should be her that's the issue right? Unless entire villages were hit with a plague that made it harder to see her, that was the most likely explanation. Now that she thought about it, most people did seem to see her but ignored her anyways. How rude. Well, ignore wasn't quite the right word, rather look at anything but her. Still rude, but less so.

It occurred to her that Jace had sort of asked a question, although she wasn't exactly sure what it was. It did have an inquisitive tone towards the end of it however, and that was usually the biggest sign that something was indeed a question. Oh, was she asking if she was Aerana? Well, she hadn't met anyone else with that name, and she was quite certain she was in her own skin but perhaps she had misheard the question. It was definitely one of the odder things she had been asked. She tilted her head slightly before saying,

"Most likely, yes."

A brief pause as the faint howling echoed once again. Brisshal always had a reverb problem when it came to sounds. Sometimes she would hear a great crash, come to investigate and see that the tree had already been harvested by whatever cut it down. The howling died down and she could once again speak without being drowned out. Continuing to stare directly at him, she started talking once again,

"Also yes, most of the time. You really should take a few more steps into the clearing however. Have you a fire starter of sorts?"

If he did have a way of starting fire, that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, her flint and steel kit was misplaced during her escape from the wolves, persistent little things. Her mother always told her that tea was best savored with company and she had just gathered some fresh leaves. It would be a perfect time to brew a pot while they waited for the pack to lose interest and make their way back to civilization. She surely couldn't have gotten that far from the trail, the chase had only been for a couple or so odd minutes.

 

He felt a little embarrassed that he had to ask what he thought to be an obvious question. Sure, he just met her yesterday at Astoria, but he needed to remember to have manners to a young lady like @Aerana. "O-Oh yeah... I bought some back at Stokbon in case I have to camp out for the night." He has a few questions of his own, but he might as well take care of her current situation right now. Even if his parents aren't here with him, he still remembered their advice that he should deal with a woman's problems before he can deal with his own.

With that said, he took out the flint and fire striker and gave them to the young woman. "Here, hope it helps. Also, I would like to know what were you doing here in Brisshal. Out here to search for something you need?"

 

Accepting the flint and steel, Aerana cleared some of the grass away and started to set up a small fire. She got out her kettle, added the tea leaves and poured out some water to boil. She had a few canteens of water, back from when she refilled it at Windshire a while back. While the howling every few minutes seemed to have faded, Aerana considered it profane to interrupt or cancel teatime. It was one of the few things that separated men from beasts as far as she was concerned. In her opinion, people who would behave like a beast during teatime, deserved to be put down as such. If one could not even muster up the dignity to take a drink or two of tea in peace, well, they would rest in pieces. Unless of course, one was physically incapable of doing so, then that was just unfortunate and demanded immediate fixing. As she set things up, she said to Jace,

"Hm, something like that. Also thank you for the flint and steel, I had misplaced mine earlier."

Such thoughts had a time and place later. Well, the same place as now but time would be changed until she finished her observations. Her mother always used to say that a watched kettle never boils but changed her mind after seeing Aerana's first attempts at alchemy so she just stared at tea leaves and bubbling water. Right... now. She swiftly poured the tea into two cups and held one out for Jace to get if he wished to. Now, the moment of truth. She didn't really get a grasp of his character in the village as groups rarely could put the spotlight on any one person well enough to show their true colors.

"Do you want to have a cup of tea?"

 

Well, that didn't answer his question, but he was interested with a cup of tea that she offered. Besides, there were no monsters in the vicinity so far, so he might as well take a break from grinding for now. "That would be nice. I'm actually tired from my training lately. With the news of war looming in our heads, it's very hard for me to relax right now."

Setting down his grimoire, Jace sat down on the ground as he watched @Aerana brew some tea. Yet while the sight was mundane, he was amazed at how she watched the kettle before she poured some into their cups. Once she did, he carefully picked up his own as he blew it gently to cool before he took a sip. From its taste, he can tell it was an okay blend of herbs inside the tea. "Huh. This tea is not bad, but still... I never knew you made something like this before."

 

Aerana couldn't tell if there was a question. People really needed to be clearer about these sort of things. Jace took his tea... decently. There were definitely things to be improved on but Aerana knew she had strict standards. She couldn't help it though, like most things, tea was something that only those who had knowledge could truly appreciate. She couldn't fault him... that much. He seemed to at least enjoy the blend though, which was nice. The sheer variety of plants meant that Aerana was still experimenting heavily. Some combinations were definitely out as she knew from experience. She shuddered ever so slightly as she recalled the worst of her mixtures, she would definitely need more experience.

She took a sip of her own drink. Enjoyable, but not quite what she was going for. It would need further refinement, as per usual, she did have some sort of direction. Perhaps a bit sweeter next time, that might help. Despite there being no question, Aerana felt the need to say something. Thinking on the situation a little, conversation was definitely implied to be welcome. What was an appropriate conversation starter? Perhaps she could start by reacting to his last statement. Quite an oddity actually, considering that she made tea for the village a while back. Perhaps his memory was a bit foggy from all the training he said he was doing.

"I always have."

Her fascination of tea was something her parents abused to get her into Alchemy. It worked. Very well in fact. She had thrown herself into the lessons and committed the effects of hundreds of ingredients by heart in her quest. At the end of the lessons, she would sit by the fire as a kettle brewed, listening to the various stories of the various situations her mother and father had gotten into before settling down. The world was a much different place back then, from what little she knew. She would get so lost in the words, only to be startled out of the climax of the story by the tea being ready to be served. Aerana suspected that her parents chose the type of tea and story carefully in order to make sure it happened consistently, so she would be left waiting in anxiety as cups were poured. Old memories, but good ones. She let out a small sigh. It was equal parts contentment of the moment and memories, and bitter longing for days gone long past. A trip back to her old village would do her good.

 

Jace smiled again as he sipped his tea again before he put it down on the ground while he focused on the young woman. "Still, the clean water, you in the garden, and this good tea, you seemed to be very good with Alchemy or something." He was still unsure about his words, but it made sense considering the connections to her actions. Not to mention that Alchemy was one of the potential masteries new players can choose during character creation.

But speaking of which, he was still wondering about what @Aerana really was. From his eyes, she seemed to look like any kind of NPC he saw, yet she was able to speak with him without any pre-programmed dialogues that gave her. Then again, the advanced AI in this game was enough to make him believe these NPCs as real people living in another world.

 

She wasn't exactly sure what Alchemy had to do with exacting good reagents but supposed it did come with the job. Brewing tea was also not an Alchemy exclusive thing, plenty of people could brew a good cup and weren't able to make any sort of potion. How much time had passed since she first entered the meadow? Judging by the sun, a fair bit. Unfortunate. She really had to be going soon, but it would be awful of her to ruin the moment. And to take away someone's cup of tea. She decided that Jace could keep the cup, and maybe one of the kettles. She had plenty of them, and could improvise if she needed to. The next town she arrived in was bound to have a blacksmith anyways, a couple of spare coins to get a new kettle wasn't a big issue. Gently rising up, she said,

"I've been studying Alchemy all my life. Unfortunately, it is getting late and I must go. You are free to keep the cup and kettle."

With that, she got up and left the clearing, leaving behind the items as she said she was. Given enough time, the fire she made would die on its own, leaving behind no traces of her presence in a few weeks. Except maybe, the less organic materials if Jace did not bring them with him. Regardless, her business there was concluded for now. Maybe in the future, she would return there. Considering how heavy her pouches were, she doubted really doubted the need to return to the place any time within the next year or so.

[[Exit Thread]]

 

He might have stopped her from leaving to chat with her more. But with their current location and the howling still echoed through the forest, he understood her sudden departure while thinking it might ruin her chance to go home just by talking more about her profession and other things. Though he was happy to keep the kettle and cup from her as it somehow served as a memento for their meeting.

"A-Alright. I'll see you then."

He might ask her contacts to be friends with her, but with her demeanor, he knew even with a second meeting might not let him learn anything about her. However, he still hoped that he can able to meet her in the near future once more. With that, he also left the garden with the items in his inventory with his intentions on continuing grinding until he can log out for a night.

-EXIT THREAD-​