Private - Marking the Mercenaries

Bandits. Mizuki surveyed the vast plains of Brisshal as she waited for her partner to arrive for this job. Falderen hadn't suffered nearly as much from the war as Astorea, but that didn't mean there weren't consequences, and one of them was bandits. She was somewhat surprised at first that the bandits would target Falderen instead of Astorea, since the latter was a lot more vulnerable, until it was explained to her why the bandits were here and what their goals were:

It seemed that when King Theo had sent an army at Astorea it had included more than just Falderen soldiers, citizens and Caenis mercenaries. There had also been Human and Felic mercenaries, since in any race one could find those who were willing to do violence in exchange for coin, and even those who were willing to risk their life in exchange for coin (although no mercenary planned for their death, of course). No matter how prosperous a nation might be an army was essentially a drain on both money, material and food, since an army didn't actually produce anything but still required payment, equipment and sustenance. Which is why big nations might have their own armies but in any war they would also rely on mercenaries, paying them only for the duration of the war.

However in this case the situation had become complicated because the man who had paid the mercenaries, King Theo, had been killed by a group of adventurers which infiltrated the capital while the armies clashed in Astorea. And his successor, D'Vangelline, apparently wasn't quite so willing to pay the mercenaries who hadn't even ended up fighting a lot (since the invasion hadn't even lasted that long before it already ended and most mercenaries had intelligently stayed in the back of the army) and who already had enjoyed the benefits of raiding the Astorean countryside.

The mercenaries, however, weren't happy that they weren't receiving all the gold they were promised on top of not getting the opportunity to raid the Astorean capital as well. Which is why they had turned to banditry, a common act amongst mercenaries who didn't have an employer. And they were targeting Falderen because Falderen had more things of worth at the moment, and because they were feeling spiteful.

Which is why Mizuki ended up contacting Zelrius and asking him if he felt up to helping her take out a group of mercenaries turned bandits so the citizens of Falderen didn't end up victim to the decisions of the higher ups. Goblins were one thing, but bandits were a lot more dangerous and couldn't be dismissed as just a minor nuisance one had to put up with while living in this world.

Ueno Mizuki

Hello @Zelrius,

It seems that besides the goblins the people of Brisshal are also having trouble with bandits. From what I have gathered the mercenaries that King Theo hired to bolster his army are unhappy that his successor isn't being cooperative with paying what they feel they are owed, never mind the fact that they barely did anything and that they were taking gold from a potential madman to lay waste to an entire country.

We could argue whether they deserve to be paid or not, but for now the simple fact is that they are harming innocents. It might be better to capture them than to kill them but as it stands I believe we should do our best to stop them, and I hope that you'll agree with me and help me out. More so than goblins bandits who are strong enough to also act as mercenaries are a real threat, and I'd rather not risk facing them alone.

I'll send you the coordinates where I'm at.

Ueno Mizuki

So now Mizuki was waiting, wondering what the best way to deal with these enemies would be. They would be actual fighters and warriors, so she couldn't rely on superior might to just steamroll them unless they were simple mooks, in which case this would be an embarrassing fight.

 

Zelrius was actually to the far North at the start of the day, on the edge of the Adecus Forest and the horror that was the Esuilus fighting anything that came into his path, trying ever so hard to get his Masteries up. Recently, he had quite brought up his main combat masteries, but in this instance, he was more concerned with befriending the more vicious animals in that region, a sort of way of hard grinding his Beast Taming mastery. For the most part it was successful; the Scented greaves drawing quite a bit of attention, and then his attempts at coming off as peaceful, allowing him to get close to and even touch an Elk and a Shroomcrab in the same day, other creatures attacking if he got too close. Still, it was success, though Zelrius still felt like a failure despite those two minor successes.

It had become sort of a mission of his, to be more peaceful, and less warlike, something Vina had commented on when they were together on Druuk. Though Zelrius often found himself asking why he cared what it was she thought, especially since she digressed from that very comment. Perhaps it was the fact that she was pretty, and though he'd never admit it, The golden haired man still cared very much about the opinions of pretty women. Or maybe it was she had an actual point; that it was ridiculous how violent people were in the game, and Zelrius maybe thought he could take a more unorthodox route. Or maybe he felt like he owed Vina the least of which to be a better player like that, especially since their time with the White team and her revival of him, and not regretting it, despite his hatred festering for the Frog people.

That was probably it, the idea that he owed not only Vina the effort, but also those Frogmen, as even as he had been hateful, they had been nice following the siege, and even gave him a small brooch, which the man wore on his lapel under the heavy all black cloak to this day. Both to remember the events of that day, and with hopes of returning one day, in order to spend time with and better understand those amphibious bipedals. Maybe one day.

Though that day did not seem to be today, as a Message alerted on his screen, causing him to jump and scare the Giant Caterpillar he was sneaking up on. The thing scurried away, and even though it was moving slow, it was now the least of the wannabe-beast tamers worries, seeing who the message was from. It was a weird habit, he always tried to be polite and make time whenever he got messages, but messages from Mizuki the man saw as fairly important, not thinking her to be one to just randomly message someone, espeically not Zelrius, without good reason. And good reason it was; the Region he called home, Brisshal, was met with yet another Danger. Mercenaries turned Bandits.

That was not only scarier than random roaming goblins, but even more than just usual bandits. See, bandits were often times just street hooligans with no skills, so they turn to steal and robbing. Mercenaries, on the other hand, were often times battle hardened ex-Soldiers, and if each individual themselves hadn't seen a real fight, they were more than likely trained by those who were, making them almost as dangerous. He began rushing southeast, determined to get back to Dormont and catch a carriage to Honeyhome as soon as possible; Eager to get to Mizuki and be back in Brisshal, a place that was familiar to him, and the Monsters were significantly weaker.

Zelrius

Hi @Ueno Mizuki!

I mean, eh hey. Unpaid Mercenaries? That's no good. I have quite a few questions, but the short answer to your question is; Yes, I'd love to come help. I will keep this message short and we can talk about the rest once we're face to face, aye?

I will follow these coordinates, try not to run off too far from them, though it might be a while before I get there given my current Location. If you'd rather meet at the Town Square in Honeyhome, that might be easier for both of us. Your choice.

Zelrius.

With that closed he now took hurried steps, a few hours later reaching Dormont, frantically headed to stables as a Merchant pulled out. The man rushed and stopped them, pushing quite a bit of gold into their hands to catch a ride with them, sweetening the deal with offering protection, but also doubted that he'd do any better than the guards they already had with them. After a brief conversation, the Merchant agreed, letting him clamber in amongst the goods for a long and bumpy ride, a long stop to drop the goods off in Stokbon, and then the Merchant telling one of the guards to take the Carriage with just Zelrius in it to Honeyhome, as he had paid for. That guard reluctantly agreed, and after an unreasonably long time and amount of Tedious travel, He was there, opening his message box to notify Mizuki that he had arrived at the destination, praying that she was still logged on for the day.

 

It didn't take long before Mizuki got a reply from Zelrius, which was good. She wasn't one to be fond of waiting for long, since her life on Earth was usually more on the busy side so there simply wasn't much reason for her to get used to waiting. That said she was also good at using what time she had, always finding something for herself to do in those occasions that she didn't have anything important to do, so in a way it also just depended on your definition of waiting, and if it counted if you managed to do something in the time that you would be waiting on something else. In Mizuki's case she contemplated Zelrius's decision of meeting up in Honeyhome instead of the somewhat more random location that Mizuki was at. From what she had gathered the bandits where somewhere in this area which was why she was here, to scout for them. However Zelrius did have a point that meeting up in Honeyhome would be easier... After thinking about it for a bit longer Mizuki finally sent her message back.

Ueno Mizuki

@Zelrius,

That's good to hear. Normal bandits wouldn't be an issue, but since these are trained and experienced mercenaries it is good to know that I will be able to rely on you to help me out and watch my back.

If you will be travelling towards me through Honeyhome I might as well return to there so we can meet up in the village. I have already explored the area and I believe that I have an idea of where at least one of the groups of bandits is located, so I wouldn't be able to go any further without your backup in case they are more vigilant than I Expected.

Ueno Mizuki

With that message sent Mizuki began to head towards Honeyhome, running on all fours as she had done since the time she had begun her second live in Terrasphere, and which had only become more comfortable and appealing to her as time went on. She wasn't even sure why she began doing it, other than maybe some fancy about her fighting style being more like that of some agile creature than of a trained and experienced human warrior. The fact that she had made her appearance that of a wolf woman definitely had contributed. She wasn't sure if there had been a deeper reasoning behind it back then, but by now she just found it a lot more comfortable. The arms of her avatar were long enough that there were no issues using both arms and legs to run, and it seemed to be a lot better for quickly picking up speed and changing directions. The fact that she had a tail to help balance her out definitely helped though: without that thing behind her to help get rid of any imbalances she probably would have too much trouble staying stable at the speeds that she ran.

However she did notice that it seemed running on all fours was more exhausting than running on her legs, which some research had revealed to her was because when your method of locomotion was your hind legs you essentially constantly let yourself fall forward which gave you a good portion of your forward momentum, which meant that most of your energy was more put in just having your feet constantly catch you as you kept falling forward. A benefit quadripedal locomotion lacked as the different stance and increased number of supportive pillars did a good job eliminating the falling factor. Which meant that moving on all fours was faster and more agile, but moving on two legs was better for covering long distances.

Fortunately this meant that running on all fours was good training for MIzuki so she kept doing it regardless. She'd start running on two legs once she actually really needed to preserve her stamina as much as possible and the game didn't give her an immense amount of stamina anyway... and the Mobility mastery didn't make getting around a lot easier.

Arriving at Honeyhome Mizuki ran towards the town square before standing up, looking around to see if Zelrius was already there before finding herself a relatively quiet spot where she could wait for the man. As she waited she went over the information she had so far while also practising some Body Combat moves, albeit slowly and only ones which didn't require moving. It wasn't exactly like the martial arts training methods since she didn't have a static set of movements to run through, but it did help confirm that her entire body was still limber and that she would be ready to fight if need be.

 

Along the walk back to Dormont to catch that cart, the reply came back from Mizuki, going into further detail and her own motivations for the actions she wished to take. Though, something still didn't sit right with Zelrius and now he began to mull some things over in his head. She had agreed to meet up in Honeyhome, which was a relief, given he didn't want her just standing around wherever it was she was at for however long it'd take him to get there, preferring a more central location so that the pair didn't have to play a huge game of cat and mouse just to meet up with eachother in some field somewhere. Not to mention the dangers that lurked about, though the Golden haired man wasn't concerned about monsters; confident that his lupine friend could easily erase them, it was more those specific bandits that she had mentioned.

With a close of the menu, and one long aforementioned Travel later, he found himself milling about Honeyhome, the place that Zelrius was most familiar with out of any place in all of Terra. His feet ached from travel, and while they had rest along the cart ride, his back hurt from being hunched against piles of boxes full of goods top to bottom. Still, it was rushed, and he was lucky to have gotten a ride at all, the journey would have been far extended had he have to taken the left Right Express all the way from the edge of Astorea to the middle of Brisshal.

The town smelt of burnt grain and coal, The houses in the area using those two exact things to keep their places warm through the winter. Much to Zelrius' luck, it was sunny here in Brisshal today, though the colder winds still lashed and lapped against anything higher than a foot tall. Once in the town Square, the golden haired man began to crane his head from side to side, scanning for a well-dressed wolf girl. It was about easy as one might have guessed, the woman sticking out amongst the occasional peasant in a tunic walking around. He approached, a grin on his face as her appearance was ever so slightly altered; a barely noticeable change, but still noticed.

That grin widened as he lifted up his cloak to reveal a black gloved hand; the all dark fine clothing he was wearing along with the steel scented greaves being shown by the separation of his cloak. The gloved hand reached forward as he played out his joke. "Good day, Miss. I am Zelrius, nice to meet you. And who might you be?" He tried hard not to lightly laugh to himself at not only how dumb and ridiculous the joke was, but also the fact that she might not get it right away.

 

One of the apparent advantages of being a Caenis was that Mizuki seemed to have an easier time dealing with the cold. Wolves were animals who preferred cold or temperate climates, with the warmer climates being occupied by other types of doglike species. As such being a wolfkin meant that for Mizuki the cold was easily bearable, the thick fur on her head and tail in combination with her clothes doing a good job of keeping the cold at bay, with her body itself also being good at regulating its warmth and minimizing loss. She'd have to be careful in warmer climates since she might have trouble with overheating, but now that it was winter in most of Terrasphere she was practically in her element.

That said she still couldn't take it too easy: even if wolves were used to the cold that didn't mean they didn't suffer from the cold themselves. Only elementals and frost spirits actually were bolstered by the cold. Animals as a rule could only minimize the threat the cold posed, never turn it into an outright positive. That was why even wolves still searched for warmth. While waiting for Zelrius Mizuki kept a position next to one of the buildings at the town square of Honeyhome, feeling the warmth from the building radiate outwards. It was sufficient that together with Mizuki practising the movements of her hand to hand combat style she felt warm enough that she didn't have to fear hypothermia while waiting.

It didn't take much longer for Zelrius to arrive either. From the looks of it he had really rushed to get here, which surprised Mizuki a bit since she didn't think she had made it sound that urgent. She knew that the man was fond of Brisshal since he kept coming back to it, but even so she'd have expected him to be fast but not necessarily in a real hurry. Still, it didn't hurt, and at least it showed his eagerness to help deal with the mercenary turned bandits. Maybe he had arrived so quickly because he shared Mizuki's sentiment that mercenaries were a much bigger threat than just some thugs who were trying to make their living by stealing it from others?

She studied the man briefly as he approached. He had adopted a more stylish and elaborate outfit, looking like an experienced adventurer who had benefited greatly from his work. Depending on how you looked at it you could even mistake him for a young nobleman who was seeing more of the world before returning to take over control of his father's estate (did the nobility in this world grant their offspring the position of head of house once they thought they were ready for it, or did they prefer keeping control until they died? Area dependant maybe?). Mizuki had to admit it looked good on him, although she wouldn't show any of it besides a slight smile which was more a sign of warmth towards a friend. He made a stark contrast to herself, a somewhat rough-looking wolf woman who mostly wore leather and metal as she kept her clothing practical and to the point.

His introduction had her blink and stare, clearly puzzled and surprised before she realized that he was making a joke regarding her appearance having become more wolflike since she turned Caenis. Her smile widened a bit as she grabbed his hand and shook it. "Very amusing Zelrius. I'm sure even now you could still recognize me from a mile away. My appearance may have changed slightly but I believe all the important bits are still the same." Her ears may have become a bit more prominent, her tail more bushy, and her hair wilder, but overall Mizuki was pretty sure she was still the same person as always. "As for you, you've certainly upgraded your wardrobe... Wait." She held up the hand she had used to shake Zelrius's hand as her nose twitched. "What's that smell?" She sniffed again, then crouched and sniffed at one of Zelrius's legs, making a face afterwards. "Why do your greaves smell like that, and where did you find a metal which can smell like this?"

 

"Maybe. Though I'd say its easier to spot you now than it was even a few weeks ago," And though that comment of slight poking fun at her fur and tails was meant in Jest, it was actually slightly true. There was a weird style to it; a more untamed way that the hair and tail stuck out, and now it made him wonder if it was tangled, or if there was just more of it in shorter patches. In all honestly, it looked like she needed a comb and some decent conditioner, which of course had Zelrius actually thought of, he'd have put into words regarding the way she now looked. Mizuki was right in that it wasn't much different; and unless someone knew her really well before, an outside observer might have never noticed the difference of the change. However, it was odd to the golden haired man, as he always wondered what it was Mizuki was like in real life, and if her personality here in game wasn't a facade, the man guessed that she was a very 'pressed and clean' person, more on the professional side, and the wild hair and fur threw that mental image off completely, with the way she spoke contradicting even that.

When she crouched and sniffed, the man immediately gripped the insides of his cloak, pulling it back over and now tightly around him, clearly made uncomfortable by the sudden action. He took a step back before answering the question. "I uh- Its not my metal? I mean, it is mine, now, but I ehm, had no part in making it? Am I supposed to make my own gear...?" Now he wondered if that's what everyone else was doing, and he was just behind the curve. As the insecurity in his abilities and game sense rose, Zelrius tried to push it away by actually giving an answer. "Some smith in Stokbon was selling it. Said that some of the more wealthy farmers use this like vat of alchemical stuff to dip hunting bait in. So he decided he'd put some armor in it. Thus, the weird smell they emit. I gotta admit, I am glad something that I can actually talk to notices it, so I can ask questions. Does it work?" Of course he knew that answer already, as she had been the one to smell it and bring it up, but he always wanted to be sure.

Another clanking sound as he took another step back, the Steel boots he was wearing rubbing both along the packed dirt of the town square, and the greaves that ended in the heel of the boot, making each bend of that area make a horrible rubbing sound, one that Zelrius himself had tuned out until that moment, realizing how annoying it might be for those around him. "A-anyway," He tried to move away from the subject that he knew so little about, despite him being the owner of the armor. Instead, trying to gleam information from the woman about their objective today. "So, Bandits? Mercenaries, right? Trained Soldiers or Just Bandits turned Merc turned Bandit?" Now he had to wonder the origins, if they were just extra fighting hands that were found as a battle was being prepared for, or if they were actually soldiers of fortune, who had seen battle and lived for it.

"And do you know whereabouts they're coming from? Any specifics they look for in targets?" His brow furrowed while saying that, more and more questions continuing to come up in his head; the gears of thought turning. Basically, he was looking for any way to track them, and if they couldn't do that, a possible way to bait them. Then another thought popped into his head as he opened his menu and stared at the gold in his inventory. "Or do you think that maybe they'll go away if we pay them? Then no one has to die." It was a weird sentiment that Zelrius had began to develop after the fight at Eastwatch; The sentiment that NPC lives were just as important as his was in the real world, and the golden haired man would take that value to heart, and try to limit their deaths as much as possible. Afterall, the respawning Adventurers wasn't fair to them at all, so why should those who are basically immortal be able to drop theirs at a whim?

 

"Quite likely. The differences may not be much but it still seems like it's relatively easy to see the difference between a Caenis and a Felis, and since Caenis are rarer around these parts, well... People are going to notice." Mizuki shrugged. She liked the new appearance, even if it wasn't quite as tidy as before. On Earth she was a tidy and precise person, but in Terrasphere she didn't dislike the idea of being a rougher and wilder person. She didn't choose the Berserk mastery on a mere whim, after all. When she created this character she already had an idea what she was going to be aiming for, and while it hadn't completely developed as she had been expecting so far the changes were still within what she considered acceptable.

Mizuki at first didn't realize that she was making Zelrius uncomfortable with how she simply crouched and began to sniff at his legs. She was too distracted by the strange smell on his greaves, which had a strange attractive property to it even if it wasn't necessarily... a good smell? It was strange, at least. She couldn't say that she found the smell irresistible, but at the same time it was still hard to ignore. A strong scent which lingered in the nose... But that didn't completely explain the urge to find the source of the scent. Mizuki couldn't really place it, despite her attempts to figure out the exact nature of the smell.

"What? No, I didn't mean to say that you made it yourself. I just didn't know that there was metal which could smell like this." She shook her head, listening to Zelrius's explanation of how he got his hands on this peculiar piece of armour. "So it's normal metal but they used some alchemical compound on it? That must be an interesting substance if it can bond to the metal so the metal retains the scent even after being washed... It must somehow bond with the metal because otherwise the scent would only last for as long as the greaves aren't cleaned or washed. As for how effective it is... Well, it certainly is hard to ignore once you've noticed it, and it's... attractive? Magnetic? I wouldn't say it's so good that it's impossible to resist, but it has a certain quality to it that makes you seek out the source nonetheless. I guess it's like... smelling tasty food, but different? I'm not sure how to explain it more accurately." She didn't pay attention to him essentially calling her an object, as she was more thinking about the alchemical substance.

It was only after Zelrius took a second step backwards that she realized what she was doing and quickly stood up, her cheeks blushing slightly as she dusted off her legs in a meaningless gesture before regaining her composure. She hadn't meant anything by it, but she could understand that it was a bit of a strange thing to do, suddenly dropping to your knees to sniff at the pants of your friend. "Interesting armour anyway. I'd like to find these farmers and ask them about the substance they use for it." Her ears twitched and she looked around to make sure nobody had actually seen that before returning to the task at hand, quickly nodding when Zelrius asked her about the bandits. "I haven't seen them personally yet, but from what I've gathered so far they're real mercenaries, not just some thugs who thought they could get some easy money from the war. Which means they'll be trained and experienced, and be a lot harder to deal with than normal bandits. The two of us can probably still handle it, but we had better not let our guard down."

She indicated for Zelrius to follow her as she began to walk to the edge of this little hamlet, talking as she walked. "I already did some scouting and while I can't say I've found all of them I know of one hideout at least. They found a large thicket in the thicket further to the south-west of here and have turned it into a temporary headquarters. It seems they've already attempted to raid one village, and from what the people here said the only reason it didn't succeed was because there happened to be a patrol passing through. While they have no objections against raiding villages and taking from peasants there's also been rumours that they've been attacking rich merchant caravans and attempted to raid some noble's countryside manor." She frowned. The information really made the group sound like a credible threat, even if all that put together was realistically still only a small part of Brisshal that was being threatened. "So far they've been unlucky but they're still dangerous... Pay them?" She looked at Zelrius when he suddenly suggested solving the issue with money. "They might, but... Do you think it's wise to encourage their behaviour by giving them gold? Also, it's an entire group, not just a single person, so would you have enough money to pay all of them?" Mizuki could see what Zelrius was aiming at, but she was doubtful it'd be that easy.

 

"Right, though the changes are subtle, especially in your case, but as you said, It's not like they prance around here and live among the Humans the same way the Felis do. Though I don't see why; Dogs are generally more friendly than cats. And back on Earth, the wolves were domesticated long before the House Cat. Those didn't come into huge prominence until much later." He realized that he just conflated two entire races as being the same as common pets, his face getting a bit red as he tried to correct that. "Not that they're just animals and therefore should act the same, I- I just meant uh, yknow..." He looked to the ground now, feeling a bit dumb for doing that, and realizing how bad that must've sounded to her. But why did he care? The races were fake, and its not like Mizuki was actually a Caenis, so she probably wouldn't be offended. The answer to that question even he didn't know, just always being reminded that the game was so realistic, that it often felt like this was real life, and that he should care about things like that.

He kicked his foot under his cloak, the grip he had on the insides relaxing, and the piece of cloth returning to its normal state of fully encompassing his body, rather than wrapping close to his lean figure. He didn't feel so self-conscious about not having made it himself now, realizing that she meant entirely where did he get the greaves, not the metal itself. "Yea, I didn't know either. And to be quite honest; In Retrospect, it was a dumb purchase." His face contorted in disdain for himself. "This guy comes out offering some 'new and improved' product of what basically looks like a pair of Steel Greaves. Here's the kicker; It's double the price of Normal Steel Greaves. The only difference is, atleast for us humans, if you get real real close and smell it, it doesn't just smell like recently smelted metal. That was some dumbass shit for me to do now." He shook his head running a gloved hand through his hair. "Well, I am glad that it wasn't a scam, as easily as it could have been one. It seems to work quite well, first on the animals I was fucking around with in the Esuilus, and now on you. Now to test on Ilya..." His mind drifted to the Felis, a grin spreading across his face as he wondered what effect it'd have on her.

As she stood, he nodded, going into more detail about the exchange. "I believe it's not one specific farmer, and it might be more of a hunter thing? That would be my guess anyway; It supposed to attract animals, so perhaps Foresters are more likely to use than anyone, with Farmers using it to lure in nearby animals that might be causing trouble. You know how those boars can get. The exact answer is; I don't know, sounds like everyone uses it, but I am not sure why no one has thought to put it on clothes and Armor yet. Perhaps you are right; maybe it doesn't bond on its own, and an extra component had to be added. Which would make sense; An Alchemist sitting in his shop wondering how to make a profit dealing in Arms and Armor. Mixes a few compounds together, or knows his shit, and viola, Scented armor. Which would explain the huge mark up price; the Smith was probably a middle man, since it'd be odd for an Alchemist to sell Armor. And it'd feel extra scammy."

He gave another nod at the information she had provided. The question of skill and danger of the Bandits being fully understood now; They weren't thugs, as she said. That wasn't good, and made the man feel uneasy. "I uh, am not sure. I am not that good with a blade in my hand. They might be far better than us at fighting.." He doubted his own abilities, despite the high numbers in each of them, Zelrius couldn't shake the feeling that he was really inadequate. Afterall, he had been playing for a far shorter amount of time than most other players, and the Bandits had technically been 'playing' their whole lives. So why wouldn't they be better?

Now following the Caenis between the buildings and open fields to the edge of the small village, he listened more, the conversation turning more into a status report than a real conversation. Not that there was any problem with that, it was a clean and accurate way to convey objective information. "Okay, so I will let you lead the way then. If you'd like to go get some Supplies at one of the vendors in town or something, we can head back. But if you're ready, I am ready, though I am still interested in trying to resolve this peacefully, as I don't know if we can win a fight." It was true enough; in his mind Zelrius saw it impossible for him to survive a fight with more than two opponents, and while he didn't doubt Mizuki's skill, he also didn't know how many she could tear through before they could surround and kill or capture her. However, on the note of resolving this peacefully, she brought up an excellent point. He shook his head, agreeing with her. "You're right. Let's say we do pay them, there's no guarantee that they'll go away after that. Who's to say that you pay them, and then they don't just go right back to it as soon as you're out of earshot. The money isn't the problem, though I don't know how much they need, I am sure that one way or another, I could get it. I guess it's just making sure that the money makes it into all the hands so none of them feel the need." Another face contortion in frustration. "You're right... Killing it is..." A decision having been made in his mind, though it was one he was very clearly wholly against.

 

Now that she was no longer distracted by the greaves Mizuki was paying more attention to what Zelrius was exactly saying, which meant she picked up on it when he was comparing the Caenis and the Felis to common dogs and house cats. Of course it wasn't that strange a comparison to make: the Felis race had traits of felines and the Caenis race had traits of canines, so assuming that their behaviour would also be similar was a very easy mistake to make. The only thing it really required was for one to not think deeper about the subject than face value, and for many people there wasn't any real reason to look deeper than that. And Mizuki wasn't born a Caenis, so it wasn't like her entire species was honestly being insulted... Although it still sounded a bit strange to be compared to the common dog.

Seeing Zelrius realize that he may have said something insensitive the wolfwoman watched his face go red while he immediately explained that he didn't mean it like that. She was aware that Zelrius had some racist habits considering the conversation she already had with him regarding the Yladians, or at the very least was inclined to favour humans over other races when push came to shove. However she was also aware that all in all he wasn't a horrible person, and that he most likely really hadn't intended to either demean or insult. Which is why the Caenis female shrugged. "Don't worry, I know what you were trying to say. It's easy to think of Caenii as being similar to dogs, so it's no surprise that you'd draw that conclusion. However from what I've seen so far the Felii are a lot friendlier and social than most feline animals, so it's safe to assume that while they might share traits and possibly personality traits they aren't guaranteed to act according to your expectations. The Felii are a lot more playful even if they still give the impression of being quite fond of their independence... I'd guess that the Caenis tribes found it easier to interact with one another than spread out across the continent, so they're rarer."

She then remembered something that she had wanted to talk with Zelrius about, and this was as good a time for that as any... although they'd be moving at the same time. "Although that reminds me... We talked about the Yladians before, correct? I did some research on the race since that conversation since I was curious, and I hoped to shed some light on the subject. I'm not actually sure whether I'd prefer learning whether the Yladians deserved the treatment they received or not, but what I did find does give me an idea of what might have happened." She looked over at Zelrius. "How much do you know about the Yladians? I'd like to fill in the gaps rather than try to explain everything at once."

She made a dismissive motion with her hand when the subject of the greaves came back up, although she did wait until Zelrius finished talking to not appear rude. "The alchemist theory does make sense, although overall it still sounds like a strange thing to do... Wouldn't it be easier to just carry around small amounts of the actual substance carefully sealed away so you don't constantly have to deal with animals approaching you? I doubt the smell makes them all docile, and with your greaves being the source you'd have to choose between losing your armour and making yourself more vulnerable or constantly having animals search for you." Hearing him mention Ilya Mizuki frowned, looking upwards in thought as she recalled what Zelrius had said in their conversation before. "I have the suspicion that she will either be all over you, or she'll fail to appreciate the joke and become violent, given your observation that you wouldn't be surprised if she reacted with violence upon hearing you got yourself involved with another woman." She then looked at Zelrius again, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Although honestly I've yet to see you show interest in anyone... Is she the exception to that, or is she just clingy and very forward?"

Once at the edge of the village Mizuki shook her head. "I've already stocked up on supplies, so we can depart immediately. From what I remember you haven't put a lot of effort into raising your Mobility, so let's go at a light jog... That way you won't get tired before the fighting even starts and it'll help you stay warm." True to her words she began to jog, waiting for Zelrius to join her before she began to lead the way back to where she had been before returning to Honeyhome to meet up with Zelrius. "If you'd rather avoid killing them we can try capturing them. While it'll cause complications it's not like the only solution to the issue is their death, and I don't have any reason to demand their lives either. Taking them out without killing them is going to make this even more difficult, however, so we'll have to move carefully." She gave Zelrius a small smile. "Although I'm intrigued by your desire to avoid bloodshed. First the goblins and now the bandits... Limiting bloodshed is not a bad thing, but I'm curious what brought it about. Before you had little issue with taking care of anything that threatened the innocent."

 

He knew the comment would probably catch him some flak, and honestly, Zelrius felt like he deserved it whole heartedly. It was a dumb conflation to make, and he knew full well that they weren't similar in much but certain mannerisms, and then the transition of the ears and tail to a person's body. People were much more nuanced than that, and the golden haired man knew it, making a mental note to not make that mistake again, especially about not generalizing groups of people. Of course, it was weird to compare them to the modern day versions of the Cats and dogs, yet people still had House cats even here in Terra, and of course farmers and shepherds had farm canines. They'd be a far easier comparison to make than the people that had the traits of of those animals.

"Right, but I think that affinity for social interaction from Felis might not have been the original reasoning. It is of my belief that the Felis grew that affinity because they had to through the societal norms and demands of the Human Civilization. Where as the Caenii, as you said, just found it easier to hide in the mountains in their small tribes, getting to know one another but overall, staying mostly non-social, atleast, outside of their groups. They act more like a large family unit than like a City, if that makes any sense. So they're much like the Elves, in that, they keep to themselves more than anything. So, my original point; They didn't have to develop socially, so they didn't. Not the other way around, in my opinion."

She then changed the subject, another hue of red filling his face as he remembered what were slightly bigoted thoughts regarding the Yladians. "What do I know? Uhhh, I know that they're connected or drawn to some stupid ass tree or something. Falderen Humans enslaved them, it is still uncertain whether or not the Tertorians and the other Human Kingdoms have done the same, though I wouldn't doubt it. Uhh, other than some of their women are cute, not much else?" He honestly didn't know much above that other than what they had talked about previously, but of course he didn't need to repeat that; it was a given, and as she said herself, was the source of the conversation.

He noticed the dismissive motion and tried to keep his reply short. "Yea, I suppose that's right. I haven't had any problem with it since I've been wearing them, but I also suppose that might be because I am only wearing the one piece of the scented set, and it is covered by the cloak if I am not immediately doing something with my hands. But I could see how always wearing a full set could become troublesome almost immediately. Thatd be no fun, equipping and unequipping armor constantly as you need different effects. Though i've heard of other RPGs where some people have entire sets of arms and armor to change between Travelling and Fighting. I've always thought that if you needed to put that much effort and time into being efficient just to be semi good at a game, it wasn't worth playing. That's just me personally."

He nodded at her comment, responding to the line of questioning, a smile forming on his face as he thought of Ilya and her antics. "Well, she is a violent and playful one to begin with. Just as you mentioned Felis are. And while I show no interest in her, I am clearly picking up very 'crush' vibes from her. Which is weird, because I don't feel like I've done anything to earn affection, from her or anyone. Just being regular ol me. So, no, she is not an exception. My heart still beats only for my ex-wife." Though that last part was a lie; And even he knew it. As much as Zelrius loved her, the increasing loneliness and desire made it ever more difficult to not try to hit on a girl here and there. He often times countered this by belittling himself for not being strong enough to hold out, just as she probably would. Often times that being countered by the question of 'Would she?'.

He nodded and began to follow her light jog, though even that was difficult for him and he made a small grunt as he watched even the slightest increase of speed start to drain away at his energy. He couldn't respond to her, the game forcing an already sense of labored breath and tiredness on him, so he just kept quiet, keeping his breaths hushed and hoping she wouldn't notice.

 

It seemed Zelrius was properly aware that his original comment about Caenii and Felii had been a bit too far, but on the other hand it didn't look like he was planning to just accept Mizuki's admonishment without giving some more of his own input. Which was fine, since Mizuki hadn't intended to completely shut him up, just remind him that there was more to think about than just the surface appearance. Although she did think his reasoning of the Felii was a bit too... quick. "The need to interact with Humans probably had a lot to do with it, but even then I find that the Felii are more social than the Humans themselves, which makes me think there's more to it than just need. Maybe they just needed to be very friendly to compensate for not being Human in a Human society, but that sounds like a bit of a stretch to me, and furthermore from what little I've seen they are also more expressive and open amongst themselves than the Humans are, so I think there's definitely some innate nature involved as well."

"I definitely agree about the Caenii though. The Felii don't appear to have a place which belongs to them alone, while the Caenii have those mountainous regions which the Humans leave alone for the most part. Which would explain why the Caenii found it easier to seclude themselves, since they actually had a place for themselves, and they could form a tribal society without Human interference. Which would also be why they are so hesitant to reveal the exact location of their homes: for them it would feel like an intrusion even if we have good intentions. They might also have been more reclusive by nature than the Felii, but in their case I'd guess that for a large part their behaviour is explained by them having an actual home for themselves where they are rarely bothered by other races."

She nodded as Zelrius recalled what he knew of the Yladians, what he said pretty much following her predictions since most of it he had already said before when they had been messaging each other. Which meant she also had a good idea of what she had to say, even if she wasn't entirely sure if she was the best person to explain this. "So far as I know all of that is correct, but the important piece of information lies a bit deeper than that, and it has to do with the 'stupid ass tree'. I'll do my best to explain, but since I'm not an Yladian myself my explanation might be a bit clumsy." She organized the thoughts in her head before she began. "You argued that they must have done something to deserve being enslaved, while I argued that the African folk hadn't really deserved what happened to them either. After doing some research I believe that what caused the treatment was a combination of envy, unfamiliarity and inability to understand one another."

"All NPCs Yladians are connected to the Great Father Tree, which gives them the unique trait that all NPC Yladians can feel the emotions of other Yladians around them. They literally know at any point in time what their fellow Yladians around them are feeling, without there being any apparent way for one of them to hide their emotions from the others or fake their emotions. The stronger Yladians can even locate and identify their fellow Yladians in the area."

"As you can imagine this kind of empathy goes far beyond what any Humans, Felii or Caenii can experience without there being magic involved, and the fact that for Yladians this is as natural as breathing means that all Yladians are used to being able to communicate honestly and with more intimacy than most non-Yladians would be comfortable with if it came from anyone but close family or friends. To look at it from another perspective, for Yladians every Yladian is like family thanks to this connection they have."

Mizuki's expression hardened a bit. "Now imagine that most Yladians have lived their entire life being able to feel the emotions of the people around them, being able to communicate honestly, and then the first time they encounter a Human or any other race instead of that empathic bond they feel nothing. I have a hard time imagining it, but I can imagine that for a lot of Yladians that would be a deeply disturbing sensation. I don't doubt that they would try to get along with the Humans and the Felii nonetheless, but it'd probably be extremely difficult and possibly even uncomfortable for them, and they'd find it much easier to interact with other Yladians."

 

"And now imagine what this must look like from the perspective of the Humans, the most populous and powerful group. There's this race of physically attractive people, who behave very stiffly and uncomfortable towards anyone who isn't their own kind, who seem to prefer sticking together and remaining secluded, even when they interact with Humans giving the impression of just... not fitting in. The physical appearance would just make it worse in that case, since when you develop negative feelings towards someone that attraction will turn into envy and make matters even worse."

She wasn't sure if Zelrius would be completely convinced, but she felt like she had to try anyway. "So while I don't have actual records which prove that I'm right, I'm quite confident that what happened is that the Yladians both consciously and subconsciously stick together and give a very standoffish impression towards non-Yladians, not because they actually look down at Humans or Felii but because for them non-Yladians are just extremely difficult to interact and be open with because they lack that empathic bond they are used to, and on top of that they can never be sure that a Human or a Felis isn't deceiving them, so they're always on guard because they're afraid of being lied to or deceived. And them not being used to having to be on guard just makes them even clumsier at it. And the Humans noticed that and developed a negative perspective of the Yladians, judging them as secretive, haughty and seclusive when that was never the intention of the Yladians, and because of that divide between the Yladians and the Humans the Yladians, being the smaller group, more and more got treated poorly by the Humans until eventually when we players arrived in this world it was alright to enslave Yladians and treated them as second class."

She took a deep breath. "I'm not saying that the Humans are the monsters since they didn't know and if you don't know it's easy to draw the wrong conclusions, but I also think that the Yladians never did anything to deserve the treatment they were given other than being different in a way which made them stand out and made communication with the Humans and Felii extremely strained and difficult."

On the subject of games where you'd have to constantly switch your equipment according to the situation Mizuki made a face. "I'm not a very dedicated gamer but I don't think I'd enjoy playing a game like that. It sounds horribly complicated to be carrying around several different sets of equipment so you've got something for every situation. As for your greaves, I think that as long as you don't wear the rest of the set you'll be fine, but I'd definitely discourage getting the rest of the set."

"I'm not an expert on romantic matters but I can say with certainty that you don't need to earn affection, and there's no universal trait which earns you the affection of everyone which you either have or don't have. If you think she likes you then it's not a question of whether you earned it or not. If she really is crushing on you then being boring old you was enough for her." She frowned. "I do hope you've made it clear to her that you are not looking for a relationship. If you began playing pranks on her using something like an attractive scent without having made that clear beforehand I think she'd deserve the opportunity to punch you."

She kept an eye on Zelrius as they moved, and it didn't take long before she noticed that even this light jog was already a serious workout for the man. Not too surprising: unlike Mizuki who wore medium armour Zelrius favoured heavy armoured, which together with him not having a lot of points in Mobility must make it a very heavy load for him to carry. The Caenis slowed down a bit so Zelrius would have an easier time. Normally she'd tell him that this was a good opportunity to train but she'd rather keep him in a fit and energized condition so he'd be able to fight the bandits in good condition instead of being too tried to swing his sword.

 

"Maybe it is innate to a degree, but I still stick with my own guns; I believe that it started out as a small innate trait, that was nurtured through circumstance of their situation. Perhaps they were always more comfortable with eachother and themselves and by growing more comfortable with the humans and developing socially alongside them, along with interbreeding, only elevated their own closeness. I don't think it was a compensation, more that it's just how things turned out. And all the better for them, the Felii and Humans seem happy enough with the mutual relationship between the two species, and there's hardly any difference between them socially. Even in Astorea, Half of the Nobility I've met that hale from there are Felii, and the Astorean citizens seem to accept them as they are. It's a nice contrast to the elves." He sighed, raising a hand. "It isn't a topic worth debating I guess, just a nice little thought experiment. For all i know, I could be completely wrong. I probably am, but I have yet to have evidence otherwise, and there are no institutions here that are willing to pay the money and spend the time applying the Scientific Method for a few decades to find out those hard to ask questions. I suppose one of us players could start one, but it'd be easier just to find out who the maker of the game is and ask them, in my honest opinion." While he meant that as a joke, it might have honestly been easier just to do that, though easier doesn't mean easy.

"As for the Caenii, it makes sense. They're a bit on the wilder side, but again, that might by a symptom, not a cause. They have their tribal societies, and don't take wilder as meaning less civilized, just certainly not up to the standards that us 'City Dwellers' are used to as far as hygiene and personal image. Most of the Caenii I've seen have actually been fairly clean, just as far as keeping their personal parts... controlled, they're a bit on the looser side when it comes to that. Which makes sense, since brushed hair and the general 'professional' look is a completely made up concept, one that they don't really have a huge need for with the way their civilization works, so it's obvious why they wouldn't place an emphasis on it. Now, I bring that up just as an example of the divide between Caenis and Human-Felis Culture. But at the same time, it is more nuanced than that, it just makes sense how it was difficult before to have meaningful connection on a civilization scale between the two, and how it'd be even more difficult now. Still, I can't help but feel like the Caenis wouldn't mind a few adventurers hanging around, since they don't come off as particularly hermited, just a bit a distant."

He nodded and 'uh-huh'd along as she began to get into the details of what she meant regarding the Yladians. This was a lecture that the man knew was coming, and honestly dreaded. More than anything, he was tired of this conversation, having already spoken to so many people about it recently, it got tedious, the only saving grace being that Mizuki seemed to know quite a bit on the subject and actually gave new information, while actually being engaging unlike some of the others that the man had talked to regarding it. He knew about the connection as stated, but she gave the details regarding it. It made sense to him, how that'd cause them to be uncomfortable. The man got a visible chill down his spine as he imagined what it would be like to be an NPC Yladian seeing a Human for the first time, and just feeling that cold and dark lack of connection. It'd honestly freak anyone out. Maybe they see Humans as malicious and secretive, unwilling and unable to share their true thoughts and emotions. Though that assumption just lead him further into his own rabbit hole, now convincing himself that them assuming all Humans were bad because of the lack of connection, causing them to think they're better because of the knowledge they hold over their own and their own sense of 'morality'.

He raised a hand to interject his own opinion as soon as she brought up the African Slaves in America. "Now, don't misinterpret my words. I said there has to be a reason, I never said it had be a good reason. What happened to the Africans was tragic, and the reason was Economic and Financial gain. I certainly don't agree with Slavery, and I never said the Yladians NEEDED to be enslaved. I simply said that there is a reason, and until I know all the facts, I refuse to give them the benefit of the doubt. Normally it is innocent until proven guilty with me, and that rule still applies, but on the Humans. Since it is my belief that they were the ones originally wronged. Maybe they weren't wronged and it was a misunderstanding, but somehow, I strongly doubt that. Doesn't it seem more likely that the Yladians would just not stick around at all with or even near Humans if they think we're all lying sacks of shit?" He took a breath to keep from getting heated. It was meant to be a constructive conversation, and so far it was, he was just getting a bit frustrated at how much credit Mizuki was willing to give the Elves, while condemning the Humans as instantly being misunderstanding and over-reactive.

He slowed down and backpedaled, happy for the subject change. "I am a dedicated gamer, and I honestly hate people who take games that seriously. Like, I get heated when losing a game when I take it just a tab seriously, but to honestly spend more than half your time playing a game cycling equipment just so that you get the most optimal results every single time just isn't worth it to me, yknow?" He chuckled at her comment regarding the greaves, not wanting to tell her that he already had gold set aside to buy every piece of this kind of equipment that he could get his hands on. Now he wondered if she could sense just the greaves, what the full armor would do, not only to her senses, but to actual beasts.

"You earn it some way, whether you 'work' for it or not. Everyone 'earns' everything one way or another. Just depends on your definition of earning. You're right in that there is no singular trait that means people adore you or not. Everyone has their own preferences, and I know that mine aren't Ilya. And I can only hope I misinterpreted her, and her preferences aren't me either. I have not been very forward with how I feel about that sort of thing and my lack of searching, mostly because it's difficult to explain and I am not a fan of letting people down." To match her frown he gave a coy smile, "But maybe I will mess with her just a tad before letting her know. No harm in a little fun, wouldn't you agree? In trade, I will let her punch me." He hoped that ending theoretical deal would suffice to not set Mizuki off on another lecture.

Either she slowed down or Zelrius finally caught the pace and maybe this wasn't so bad. It was that latter he chose to believe, trying to put more credit toward himself than usual, but in his mind, not that it mattered either way. She was probably far stronger than him and wouldn't actually need his help in handling the bandits. Still, He slowed down in turn a bit, wanting to atleast get a swing or two in before she maybe decimated them.

 

Mizuki had hoped that by explaining what she saw as the most likely situation regarding the elves she might be able to get Zelrius to approach them with a bit more benevolence. Unfortunately it looked like the man took her speech as speculation at best (which, admittedly, it was) and wasn't planning to change his opinion any time soon. Although when he mentioned the maker of the game she interrupted him for a moment. "Considering the amount of effort that must already have been put into finding the maker, I'm not sure I'd agree with that being the easier option. That said it is true that finding out the truth would be a task requiring both time and effort, so for now we are limited to speculation and what limited information we can obtain on our own by observing the world around us and sharing what we know." Honestly Mizuki had doubts that the one who made Terrasphere was ever going to be found unless they willingly revealed themselves. By all reason they should have been found already, so the fact that there was not a single trace of them made her belief that they had some way to stay hidden and keep Terrasphere hidden for as long as they felt like it.

"As for the Caenii, they might not mind having some adventurers around. They seem to be happy living off on their own, so I can't say for sure. I guess we'll be finding out now that we've found where they live, since I doubt that people are going to be leaving them alone." She didn't say it out loud, but Mizuki also was planning to visit the Caenis tribes... although her motivation might be a bit different from most. She was the first Caenis player, and so far as she was aware she was also the only one. Everyone was excited about a new place to explore and she was pretty certain that a lot of them would at least want to visit the tribes once just to see what they were like, while Mizuki wanted to see what traditions the Caenii had so she could actually act the part as well.

The conversation about the elves didn't seem to be progressing anywhere, Mizuki frowning and sighing as Zelrius made it clear that unless he was presented some irrefutable evidence he wasn't willing to believe that the Yladians hadn't done anything. Of course it would be strange if the humans had just begun to enslave them out of nowhere, but from the way that Zelrius talked about it he didn't even need it to be a good reason: she was honestly somewhat worried about the reasoning that he was giving her. When he asked her a question about why the Yladians would even stick around in her scenario Mizuki shrugged, staring straight ahead as she answered. "Because there's work to be had with humans, because they don't have the resources to move somewhere else after arriving here, because they chose to believe in the humans, because they were forced to be here. There's a lot of reasons, and most of them don't require anything unusual." She then turned her head to glare at Zelrius. "But I think talking about this any longer is pointless. You choose to believe that the humans had a reason to enslave the Yladians, and unless I can provide concrete proof that the Yladians were just victims you won't change your mind. It is your right to believe what you want to believe, and I don't want to spend hours arguing when I have no reason to believe it'll work." She narrowed her eyes. "Just keep that prejudice in check please. If I see someone mistreat someone else because of their race I'll stop it, even if it's you."

Her golden eye flashed red for a moment before she took a deep sigh and relaxed her expression. "It's not like violence or threats are the answer, I'm aware. But I'd rather not watch an innocent get abused for their race because I'm too worried about doing the wrong thing, and for me they will remain innocent until proven guilty."

She shook her head. She doubted Zelrius would appreciate her declaration. However her choice was as clear as his: he chose to believe that the humans wouldn't have enslaved the Yladians if the Yladians hadn't done something, and she chose to believe that she'd rather not judge people by race.

"It does sound like you're focusing on the wrong thing if you spend so much of your time changing your equipment. Or that the game is focusing on the wrong thing by forcing you to do that to be effective. As for earning love..." She pursed her lips and thought about it before answering. "Regardless of how you define it, if she developed a crush then she developed a crush. We could argue on whether she developed feelings for the right reason or not but it wouldn't matter. Although I'm not sure if I agree with messing with someone's feelings like that even if you let them punch you in return..." She stared off into the distance. "You aren't obliged to return her feelings. Just don't do anything you know to be wrong."

At the pace they currently had it would take a while to get to their target destination, but Mizuki still tried to keep them at a decent speed. It had taken her a bit to get from where she was before to Honeyhome, and now they were a bit slower, so... As they travelled the landscape didn't change too much, as it remained open plains covered in snow with forests to be seen in the distance. The weather was clear enough that in the far distance one could see mountains, but they would also be able to see that to reach those one would have to leave Brisshal. For now they were heading towards one of the forested areas, which now was only barely visible, the barest hint of there being anything other than a white hill. "This group found themselves a pretty good spot. They're far enough from civilization that most people wouldn't encounter them unless they were specifically looking for them, but the forest provides plenty of cover from the worst weather, and no doubt they've also used the wood for fortifications. We'll have to be careful once we get there, especially since we're trying to take them down without killing them."