Verity wasn't the type to go into a seedy port town outside of the quest. However, for today, he knew it was necessary in order to solve the mystery behind a potion called the Scarlet Dragon's Eye, the very same one that changed him completely. Ever since he was affected by it, he had to go out and search through some information in the Zero Channel about items that can change his personality in the game. Although it was not to find the cure, but rather to find the origins of this very strange potion. When he found nothing, he decided to log in once more and try to go back to where it all happened. He knew that he got the potion from that blindfolded man that seemed to drink it as well. Yet as he looked around the port and some of the bars, he noticed that there have no signs of that man anywhere. Not only that, he guessed that the ingredients and the recipe of the Scarlet Dragon's Eye might be very difficult to find. Right now, he was leaning back at the wall, wondering about the potions and the possibility that it can drastically change him mentally. @Elmyra Cressen
Now, Elmyra might not be the type to show up in a seedy port town either, but like any enterprising Alchemist who might’ve sniffed out some interesting stuff in the Zero Channel about a rare formula in-game, she’s not going to let a little bit of dodgy neighborhood bring her down. She’s not some Rare Treasure Hunter either, and her real reason to pursue said formula – or at least the finished potion – is its peculiar effect. Namely, the potion is said to be a psychological stimulant. You know, sudden emotional inducer, hallucinogenic effects and whatnot. This one seems to be a particularly potent one, and that’s on top of whatever in-game effects it’ll induce as a side effect. Granted, she’s probably one of the only ones who’s searching for the potion for its psychological stimulant and not for its in-game effect, but that’s neither here nor there… Now supposedly the potion’s part of a ‘quest’ given by an old, blind NPC in the Druuk port town with a lot of seedy characters. Of course, she only called it ‘quest’ as a formality because of its reward. It doesn’t even have a sort of log that updates automatically in your GUI or something like that. No, whatever log you’ll have of the quest need to come from yourself if you want to bother writing them manually. Gives it a sort of freeform feeling. That or a good old journal for a descend to madness. Rather fitting, isn’t it? Unfortunately for Elmyra, like the other one seeking the very same potion, she never managed to find the old, blind man at the rumored place that the thread in Zero Channel said that he would be. For a casual seeker, the absence of said NPC might be a sign to dismiss the rumor as...well, just a rumor typically. Not with Elmyra though. With just that much evidence it’s still unsubstantial to call this whole endeavor a bust. …Especially since there was no indication that said the NPC will be standing still the whole day at that specific place. In her time spent in Terrasphere, she learned that NPCs aren’t just scripted conversation waiting for players to trigger them. No, in a simulated experience as sophisticated as Terrasphere – to make it more grandiose, of course – NPCs are intelligences on their own, capable of sometimes-unpredictable – but still sometimes simple – behaviors. Which is why Elmyra had spent quite a bit of time wandering the seedy surface of the port town, seeking information here and there about this Scarlet Dragon’s Eye. All she managed to find are drunken slurs and blank stares, as well as her probably attracting some unwanted attention. Mostly from NPCs. So for the subsequent batch of questions, Elmyra had decided to take a long, hard look at her target of questioning – as well as their surroundings – first before firing away with the words. After making sure that there’s no nearby crowd of people or anything – there’s only one man nearby, leaning against the wall seemingly lost in his thoughts – Elmyra set her sights against her next target. He looks a bit more respectable than your average drunk in this port town…which means he’s probably a fisherman. Or a cartographer. She’s betting on the latter. “Excuse me, sir.” She said, a bit more reserved than her usual voice but still loud enough for @Verity to hear her voice. “Would you happen to know about the Scarlet Dragon’s Eye?”
Being lost in his thoughts about himself, Verity gasped in shock once he heard the woman's voice. He was able to calm down once he saw her with silver-gray long hair and red eyes, which he can tell that she seemed to have serious and calm nature. However, he was not the type to judge them just on their appearances as he was suspicious of her true nature. Another thing that made him cautious was her mention of the Scarlet Dragon's Eye, the very same potion that changed him. He wanted to get it over with and say yes, but he still needed to confirm why she wanted to know more about it. Not to mention how in the world did she know that term. From what he knew so far, triggering it was not as easy for everyone as he unknowingly triggered during his imprisonment right here in this island. Otherwise, he would walk a fine line between a trap and betrayal. "That depends. What do you know about it?" He asked as he gripped his sword and sheath very tightly, preparing himself in case of any kind of surprise attack on that woman. "I'm not the type to just give out any kind of information in this game unless I know you're not lying." @Elmyra Cressen
The man whom Elmyra had asked seemed to not understand the question, which is apparent in his confused face. Unlike the other NPCs that she had asked beforehand no flash of recognition seemed to follow, which means she had been barking up the wrong tree. Immediate recognition was immediately apparent on her face instead as the educated-looking man politely nodded while mouthing a quiet “Sorry,” at her direction. Elmyra, seemingly stumbled upon another roadblock in her quest to seek for whatever plot threads remaining in this search for potion, managed a polite nod of her own to answer the man as he went about his business, leaving the woman standing in the middle of a nearly-empty streets. Her expression turned towards the serious – if vacant – and her gaze remain fixed towards the distant background, seemingly deep in thought. However, her thought was then interrupted by a voice from behind her. It was a masculine voice, stating that he might know about it…depending on what she knew about the potion itself. It was enough to get Elmyra to turn around, right to a face-to-face with the man who she recognized was lost in his thoughts nearby just a couple of minutes ago… Three things were immediately apparent from the man’s visage. One, he looked like someone who was one cut above the immediate residence of this port town, the sort of well-to-do man you’d find in Falderen proper. Two, he’s no NPC, as Elmyra immediately noticed the tell-tale of flesh-and-blood behind the virtual avatar, as well as the unmistakable graphical interface when meeting another player. Three…it seems that he’s on edge. As if expecting violence to break out right about now… Slowly, Elmyra put both of her hands where the man can see them, indicating that she doesn’t have her hands in her weapons and she’s indeed unarmed. Even so, she still committed the location of her potions and trigger to her crossbow to her muscle memory…just in case this particular meeting goes south fast. “The potion? Just what I gathered from the Zero Channel.” Elmyra replied calmly, her hands remain motionless in their neutral position as she tries to quell the tension between the two of them to the best of her ability. “You don’t look like an NPC, which probably means that the rumor about the Scarlet Dragon’s Eye being player obtainable is actually true, yes? Do you know something more about it?” Part of her had already regarded those questions as superfluous and the answers predictable…but at least it’s good to see a bit of confirmation here and there. Plus, she’d look less like an obsessive maniac and more a curious person if she dialed her enthusiasm just a tad. @Verity
He can't tell if the potion's existence was revealed through the Zero Channel, but he can tell that she somehow knew about it somehow. Not to mention that she was a player like him after feeling the short interference after she approached him. Yet, he was still suspicious of her motives behind this. If she knew the effects, what she will use it for? From his experiences, the Scarlet Dragon's Eye can enhance their strength and speed for a short time. But it's much more than a buffing potion. The moment he drank it, he started to feel a surge of adrenaline, losing his lack of motivation and his urge to quit the game. Yet, after he did so, he can't remember what happened afterward, which made him very wary at the strange potion that he obtained. "Y-Yes... To be honest, I didn't expect to obtain it on purpose," he muttered as he tightened his grip on his sword's handle very tightly. "This NPC insisted me to have it and right now, I am currently under the effects of it." He frowned as he looked down at the puddle, seeing his yellow eyes from his dark reflection of the water. @Elmyra Cressen
