Neldo wasted no time and shrugged off his robe, baring his willowy torso to the wind and sun. Beneath his robe he had on a pair of brown pants that matched the robe both in unimpressive brown cloth and loose and baggy comfort. He held his robe as wide as he could by the shoulders of the garment and began to fan and bat the air over the fire towards the pole. As the smoke took direction, he ensured successive control by mumling under his breath the same smoke controlling spell as before, covering his words with the beating of his robes through the air. The smoke obeyed the magical laws now governing it and drifted flawlessly towards the hive. It smothered the hive and the bees, causing them to buzz off angrily into the air. The swarmed and looped through the air as they greatly strove to get closer but would reel back from the smoke any time they came close. Fortunately, Neldo's partner wasted no time and so he was able to work his magic efficiently without overtaxing his own energy. As she landed to the ground, he slowed his beating and stopped by the time she had reached a safe distance. He too, took a few steps back as he looked up at the angry swarm of bees as they returned to their hive to inspect the renovations made in their home. It seemed they didn't care for revenge, or perhaps they were too simple a creature to understand the true threat within the smoke. Either way, Neldo didn't need to know or care. Results were results. The yladian pulled his robe up and over his head, stretching his arms through the sleeves and adjusting the robe upon himself. He smoothed out wrinkles and brushed off ashes with his long fingers. His robes weren't fancy, but they were his only clothes until he could find enough money to get better clothes. So taking care of them was still important. Quickly glancing at the ground he saw the sparkles of the marbles he had pocketed in his robes. He had absent mindedly forgotten about them and they were shaken loose from his robe during their little work. Fortunately the dancing flames of the small fire caused their shining to dance in the grass. In fact, now there was even a third marble in the grass near them. A lucky break. He quickly gathered them up before approaching Mizuki. "Yes, that would make the most sense I imagine. I did manage to find three, but I don't know how many more there are." He held out his hand and gave Mizuki the Marbles. "I'll grab another torch from this fire and put this one out quickly before it becomes troublesome. Then I'll go and find the next hive and set up our next attempt." @Ueno Mizuki
Once Neldo handed him the marbles that he had collected Mizuki pooled them together with the marbles she had found on the way here, combining into roughly a dozen marbles in total. She had been lucky with finding so many marbles on the way here, and together with the amount that her partner had managed to find... "I think we've found all the marbles, so I'll deliver those first." She didn't think there would actually be a reward for finding the marbles, but then again she'd mostly decided to try and help out with that particular task because she figured that if she and Neldo were going to be moving around anyway they might as well help in more than one fashion. She didn't know whether Neldo's motivation was the same, but she doubted he'd mind too much if there wasn't a reward for the marbles. "I'll be right back then." She turned around and headed back towards the centre of the small settlement, looking for where the girls were now. Fortunately they hadn't actually moved very far from their original position, so even with Mizuki not being able to track them by their crying (they had stopped doing so after the first batch of marbles was returned) finding them was still easy. Upon arrival the girls hurriedly went over and asked if she had found the rest, Mizuki nodding and handing them the remaining marbles. After the girls themselves had counted the entire set and confirmed that they now had every single one they thanked Mizuki a lot, Mizuki having to remind them that she hadn't worked alone and that if they encountered an Yladian with a cloak and green eyes they'd have to thank him as well. once the girls had confirmed that they'd thank Neldo as well once they met Mizuki bad them farewell and reminded them to be careful with their marbles, since it would be difficult to find them all once more after being lucky enough to find them all the first time around. With that task done Mizuki headed for the bakery, delivering the second comb. The baker woman took the comb, muttering a bit about the smoke but still thanking Mizuki for the hard work. MIzuki didn't waste too much time there, only explaining that she and her friend wouldn't need much more time to retrieve the rest of the combs. With that said she headed back out, headed towards where she thought she'd be able to find Neldo. If her guess had been correct before there weren't more than five hives, maybe six if they were spread out a bit irregularly... She figured that Neldo would keep going clockwise around the hamlet, which meant she just had to move in the same direction. And now that she didn't have to look around in case there were any marbles in the area she could move around faster, so it didn't take much longer before she ran into Neldo again, although once more taking enough time that by the time she had arrived Neldo would most likely already have the fire started. If it wasn't for returning the marbles she'd probably have been able to catch up with her Yladian partner before he'd reached the next hive, although reasonably speaking it wasn't like this was a race. As long as they got the rest of the job done quickly she didn't mind letting Neldo take care of the fire, since he seemed to be very good at it anyway. The next hive was also attached to a pole, which meant that the tactic for getting the comb was probably just going to be the same as with the last one. Mizuki looked up at the hive, which was high enough that she'd have to reach but not so high that it would be difficult to get to it. She guessed that keeping it at that altitude made it less likely for someone to accidentally aggravate the bees by passing, but it couldn't be the most efficient placement if you wanted to gather the honey on a regular basis... Well, it wasn't her job to optimize this kind of thing, she was just here to get the combs so the baker would have honey. Together with Neldo of course, although she didn't really know the man outside of the job they were currently doing together. "What do you consider of your experiences in this world so far?" A simple question to attempt to get to know Neldo a bit better without being too intrusive. Mizuki certainly wasn't the most sociable of people, but she did feel that Terrasphere was a good opportunity for her to try to be more open with people. She didn't want to be too invasive with her questions, and she figured asking about someone's real life was generally discouraged (if only because there was little reason to do so under most circumstances), but there couldn't be any harm in asking another newcomer what his impression of this world was. "Personally I have to admit that I have some difficulties with the idea that this world isn't real, seeing just how complex and detailed it is." It wasn't beyond human capabilities, but for a world to feel as real as Earth... Mizuki wouldn't blame anyone for having trouble calling this world virtual. Even with everything else aside, the people living in this world didn't act like mere machines, and even if modern times had allowed for AIs for there to be so many in one virtual world... It wasn't supernatural, it wasn't beyond belief, but it certainly was above expectations. Even if you could believe it you couldn't imagine it until you'd seen it for yourself. Even this simple task of gathering honeycombs helped Mizuki realize just how complex this game was, as it felt as if she really was moving about, climbing trees and poles to retrieve the quest items. She wasn't familiar with games, but she would imagine that with most games you had a lot easier a time separating yourself from the character. From her own perspective, she was having difficulty seeing herself as anyone but Ueno Mizuki as long as she was in this world. @Neldo Dini
Emerath walked into the quaint little village, busy with NPCs, as he would have expected. Emerath felt silly though. As he walked through the streets, he had a chicken on his heels, pecking him lightly occasionally. The same chicken that had bugged him in the forest hadn't left. No matter how much Emerath tried to make it do so. And it was an oddly aggressive chicken too. Continuously Emerath felt like it was trying to chew his legs off, and had to lightly kick to get it off of him. But it did no real lasting damage aside from the pinching of its beak. All in all, it was a harmless enough chicken, but was more than annoying. Emerath looked through the town, it was fantasy, that much was for certain. A little farm town, and probably one of those out of the way places where everyone knew each other and treated strangers like they were long lost family. Emerath could feel at home here first, but he had to ask if someone knew about this chicken. Casually, Emerath made his way to a temple where he could see a priest sweeping the area clean. The chicken gave a light bawk, which prompted the older gentleman to turn to Emerath before he had even had a chance to speak. Emerath opened his mouth, but the priest smiled and said, "Lad, are you aware that there is a chicken following you?" Emerath closed his mouth and rolled his eyes, before giving a proper response of, "Yes, Father, I am aware. Thank you. I was hoping you might be able to assist me in finding a farmer who has lost a chicken... or something?" The priest continued to smile as he said, "Oh, I believe one of our local farmers... oh what was his name...?" The priest scratched his head with the hand free of his broom before it appeared that a light bulb went off in his mind. "Ah yes, Tom. Tom and his son were having a bit of a spat earlier in the day about how their hens got loose. Perhaps this is one of them?" Emerath nodded, and thanked the priest for his time, and the priest nodded in return before going back to his sweeping duties. Emerath was about to turn and go, before he realized that he hadn't asked where he was to be going. He had started to speak to ask, "Father whe-" but was cut off as the priest said, "Down to your right, you'll see a large farmland, Tom's plot is the first on your left. Uene be with you, child." The man hadn't even broken his sweeping, and despite seeming rather absentminded earlier knew exactly what Emerath had wanted. Emerath gave a bit of a grumpy, "Alright then," as he walked in the direction the priest had told him to, chicken still in tow.
Kaëda took a deep breath, the warm buttery aroma of fresh cooked bread filled her nostrils. She wasn’t used to this smell, not that she ate stale bread but this was the peak of freshness. Something you’d have to be up pretty early to experience. It was enough to make her mouth water as she absentmindedly followed the scent. The chipper sounds of the village teaming with life, not only in its epicenter but on its outskirting woodlands, it truly was a sight to behold. The warm rays of sun warmed Flints’ bronze skin as it passed through the leaves above, this was so..peaceful. It certainly wasn’t what she expected to stumble upon when she followed that worn path out of the woodlands. Lost in her thoughts Flints didn’t notice the crimson haired man and his chicken until it was far too late, she stepped on the poor defenseless chicken then on the man’s heel, causing her to hop about, confused by the sudden change in pace. “Wha?! Excuse you?!” Flints hissed as she danced around both the chicken and the man until she was face to-ur, chest, with the man. “Maybe you should walk a little faster? Before someone makes a snack out of your friend there.” She nodded in the direction of the fat hen. @Emerath Katou
Emerath had a laser focus on the farm that the priest had indicated, afraid that in his directionally challenged state he would lose it. But that was broken by a woman stepping on a suddenly squawking chicken and his own foot. He groaned, as the sting of pulled skin ran up his leg. He didn't want to deal with this, but here she was. And now he couldn't remember where he was going. He was immediately turned around, lost again, and now rather frustrated at this woman. Emerath spoke through his teeth as he said, "I was walking in a perfectly straight line with nothing in front of me. I don't need to excuse anything. Also, this chicken belongs to one of the farmers in this town. John, I think. Or was it Frank? Bill? It was something generic sounding. I don't think he'd appreciate you eating his chicken." The chicken bawked at the situation, and Emerath gave it a glare and it turned its head, as if it wasn't paying attention. Emerath folded his arms across his chest, "Now if you won't mind me, I have a chicken to return." He spun on his heel and walked in the direction he hoped that he had been going before, though he was really bad at this sort of thing. Worst case, he could just ask every farmer where the chicken goes, right? How hard could it be? The chicken itself gave a few more light bawks as Emerath walked and it followed close behind. Emerath responded with, "No, I won't let the mean lady eat you. Unless the farmer is selling chicken dinners. Then I can't really do much." The chicken following gave a concerned bawk, and Emerath just shrugged, "I mean, that's your problem. You aren't my chicken." @Kaëda Flints
Flints rolled her eyes as the man began to gripe at the woman, trying his best to stay positioned a certain way but in the end he ended up barking at her then looking around like a lost puppy. She wasn’t expecting to smack into another player like this, but this one If any wasn’t the one for this sort of situation, but Kaëda wasn’t the type to back down either. “This place isn’t even that big it shouldn’t be that hard to find. Plus, you weren’t even going that way to begin with!” Flints growled and looked down at the bird, it would have gone great with the fresh bread she was following. Without warning Flints scooped up the heavy bird and tucked it against her chest. “When I came here I passed some farms, I can help you? Unless you want to end up back where you came from, then by all means, have fun~” Kaeda purred as she petted the rather large hen and began to walk in the direction the man was first facing, away from the large church tower; she remembered passing it and hating the loud clang of bells. If this man was truely that bad at directions at least she could help out a little, despite his sour attitude. @Emerath Katou
Emerath turned around as the chicken suddenly gave a confused squawk from being picked up, and Emerath just kinda stammered with a, "H-hey! That's my frie-" and then he stopped himself and turned a light red and folded his arms across his chest, before clearing his throat and correcting himself. "That's my bounty," he explained, "and fine, if you're going to help you have to agree to put the chicken down." He gave a sour face and stared at her, hoping that she would comply, but didn't want to admit that she might be right about Emerath going the wrong way. Last thing he would need is to get lost in the woods again. There were wolves out there. And more chickens, maybe? Idly he wondered if the farmer had more chickens, and if he could get away with getting more and giving them back for even more money or something, but caught himself in these thoughts as he pushed his mind to return to the present. "Okay, you can lead me back to the farms. I guess you can have a cut of the profits from helping the farmer. But you can't eat the chicken." The chicken bawked in Flints' arms, and Emerath just shrugged it. Really, it was the chicken's fault for all of this in the first place. "I'm Emerath, by the way. And don't get it twisted, this is still my quest," he finished, waiting for her to lead the way. @Kaëda Flints
Flints tried her best to hold onto the chicken, who seemed oddly attached to the man it followed but the man insisted that the chicken wasn’t his, despite calling it his “friend”. Flints couldn’t help but giggle as he tried his best to recover from revealing his budding relationship. “Well now, I guess I can’t eat it if it’s your friend now can I?” She put the chicken down gently to which it quickly scrabbled to the man’s side, bawking happily before setting on his feet. Flints tilted her head in curiosity the big, radar like cat ears she hadn’t quite gotten used to yet adjusted to listen to the man. “Emerath, huh? My name is Kaë—Flints. You can call me Flints.” Her tail swished annoyed at her own words. It was a bit soon to be going on a first name basis. “As for your reward you so greedily hoard, I have no interest in it. I’ll show you the way and you can happily claim it all for yourself.” She scoffed, wondering what the chicken saw in the red haired man. With that Kaëda led the way back to where she first entered the village from, it wasn’t very far but as the thought on it she did remember a small farm, it was probably only for raising chicken, that had a quaint little brick home nestled against a large tree, the tree grew strong and shielded both the home and the copes from the sun. “Now that I think about it when I passed though there seemed to be a small search party going on, perhaps it was for your friend.”
Emerath couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh as the woman put the chicken down and it made its way back to the man. He wanted the reward, that's all. He wasn't sure what she was going on about otherwise. Nonetheless, Emerath followed the woman to what she claimed was their destination, not really feeling like he would have made it on his own anyway. And sure enough, there he was at the farm he had remembered the priest talking about. He even turned to see the chapel and the priest happily sweeping away at the porch still. Emerath scoffed, but turned to the woman, giving her a bow and saying, "Thank you, Flints," before heading up to the door of the little brick home. His knuckles rapped along the wood, and a grizzled man opened the door. He looked to the red haired man, and then his eyes shifted downwards to look at the hen at his feet, and his eyes lit up. "Ah, looks like you found Shirley!" the man exclaimed, before quickly snatching up the hen, which immediately began to wiggle in his arms. Emerath hadn't wanted Flints to be right. He had grown a bit attached to the chicken. But this was his quest. He had to give her up, even if she didn't seem like she wanted to go. He sighed lightly and said, "Yes, sir. I found your chicken." The man grumbled about his rotten good for nothing son of his letting the chickens out, or something like that, and then placed a gold coin in Emerath's hand. "Here, son. You find me more chickens, bring them back and you get more gold. Simple as that. Alright? I lost quite a few in the coop break that happened when the wolves got into my fences. If I'm lucky more than Shirley here survived." Emerath nodded lightly as the man slammed the door in Emerath's face. A bit dejected, he turned back to Flints. "I'm gonna miss her," he admitted to the woman.
Flints didn’t quite get the man, he was rude but still held to some sort of manners. She would be unlucky enough to be stuck with someone like this. His feelings weren’t all too hard to gauge but he acted so nonchalantly towards everything, no matter how he felt. When Emerath bowed Flints simply crossed her arms and growled, her tail swishing angrily. “The nerve of him!” She thought to herself as she watching him bound off to hand over his once prized possession. Flints looked around and wondered if she should have walked away, leaving him to his own devices since she had fulfilled her duty to the man. There was no real point in sticking around. She looked around wondering where she would go or what she would do but before she could figure it out the red haired man returned, looking somber. “You’re actually going to miss your friend? I’m glad you could at least admit it in the end.” She spat before looking at Emerath and sighing. “They sent you to get the rest of them didn’t they?” She shook her head And looked up into Emerath’s eyes. “So, does that mean you’re going to go play with more chickens now?”
Emerath looked at Flints, who openly scolded him for the way he had been acting. Sheepishly, his hand went to the back of his neck and he rubbed there as he frowned. "Unfortunately, I do need to go get the rest of the chickens. But, I have a plan." Emerath got up close to Flints, and brought his voice low as he said, "I'll get the chickens all right, but only to convince the farmer to put them back in the coop. Once we've gotten them all, I'm getting Shirley back." Emerath seemed quite content with this plan, as he nodded and folded his arms across his chest. "Would you like to continue helping me find these chickens, or are you going to ditch me in my hour of most need? Chickens are a squirrely lot. Well, chickeny lot? I don't know. Look are you in?" Emerath pointed off to the woods as he waited for her answer, continuing with, "The chicken I found was in the woods. Maybe we'll find more there. He also mentioned that wolves are what broke the coop. So we might find some of those too. Hopefully not with chickens in their bellies."
Flints couldn’t help but shake her head, she probably should have left the man to retrieve the rest of the lot but then again, if she ran into him again he probably would never forgive her. What was the likelihood of them meeting again..? Would he even care? She eyed the man, stiffening a little when he leaned towards her to delve her into his master plan. “So you..want to keep the chicken? What would you even do with a chicken?!” She exclaimed before pinching the space between her brows and massaging gently, not sure how to take the man. “You sure are an interesting one, Emerath. I’ll help you get your friend back in the very least, I’m not sure how much help I’ll really be, but I’m up for a challenge.” Looking out to the woods then back at the emerald eyed man she sighed. “What If there are no more chickens left to collect, but a lot of full wolves? Then what would you do?” Convince the farmer to start a wolf farm..?” She gave a small chuckle before heading off towards the woods without so much as a warning, the man probably couldn’t even see himself out of the woods if he went back in, maybe she was meant to help him, rather than hinder after all.
Emerath gave way too much to the thought of a wolf farm, and how that would work. Would it be like a breeding farm, but specifically for people who wanted wolf pets? Would people want wolf pets? Emerath supposed that was a dumb question. People in the domesticated world of animals loved wolves. Despite their feral nature, people still enjoyed wolves as pets. Who wouldn't want that? Unless one hated dogs of course. They probably didn't want that. Emerath's thoughts started to drift, before he finally pulled himself back to reality only to see Flints walking off into the forest. "Hey, wait up!" he called to her, as he ran to catch up. If he was being honest, he was a little glad that he wouldn't be alone for this chicken hunt. Maybe if they were lucky, Flints would find a chicken of her own too. Then maybe she wouldn't be sassing him as much as she was. Only time would tell. [[Exit to Private Thread]]
