Quest - Drinking in the Morn'

Izzy · Mar 17, 2018

A group of rambunctious, rowdy travelers have decided to take in the delights of Vintergaard by getting absolutely smashed in the tavern. They're given a wide berth by the townsfolk as they walk down the street, laughing and jeering.

Unfortunately (for you or for them?), your paths cross, and one of them bumps into you.

The drunken man snarls and rounds on you, immediately demanding that you apologize for bumping into him. "Who ya think y'are, huh? Huh? Yeah, you get on yer knees and beg for my forgiveness, ya fuckin'... fuckin'..." he huffs and stomps in place, barely keeping his balance in his drunken stupor. "I'm not hearin' sorries, mate!"

Behind him, the entourage of drunken fools cross their arms menacingly and nod. You are easily outnumbered 1 to 6. They do not look to be in the mood for any rebellious attitude.

What do you do?

This event is limited to characters with a maximum of 1000mp invested.

Charlotte Breuil · Mar 17, 2018

Charlotte had seen it in movies. She had read it in books. She played through it in games like 'The Elder Scrolls 8'. The medieval'ish tavern things! They weren't exactly her first pick for a holiday location BUT definitely worth checking out nonetheless. Maybe she'd discover this games most favorite card-game? Though nothing would ever come close to her childhood-memory of Triple Triad.

Nonetheless, the 19-year-old definitely-not-looking-like-a-young-brat woman was excited! Playing this Virtual Reality thing would give her an entirely new experience for such a wonderful place, right?

Unless... "Urgh..." It stank. It totally, disgustingly stank. And it was very, very loud. Reminded her of her job. On one of her day's off. Very, very bad. Heck, she wasn't even inside the goddamn Tavern yet! Guess they drank through the entire night.

Just some people being way too noisy, having their fun, alright, okay. She had a good day nonetheless. She really, really, wanted to find the card-game NPC after all! Just walk past and...

"Oof!" She bumped into one this garbage bag's in human skin. Just let it slip. Be an adult. Children's cardgames were more important! She was the girl with the giant-fucking-axe, a lovely beginner weapon, in her virtual inventory anyway.

"Huh?" The garbage can thought apparently different. Demanding something like... "Are you stupid, or something? The alcohol removed all of your brain cells? Why should I apologize to a stinking waste like you? You couldn't just be a responsible adult, ignore this, and move on, huh? No. Of course not, gotta play though guy now and impress your friends? Especially when it is about a woman!? Feeling challenged in playing the alpha-trash? Let me guess, you probably hit your wife at home or something, too?" Medieval resident-people were ALWAYS married... right? Gosh, Charlotte haded these kinds of people. But.It.Felt.So.Good. Doing this without a care in the world.

@Izzy

Izzy · Mar 17, 2018

The man stumbles back in shock at the ferocity in your voice. For such a tiny girl, you sure have a loud bark. And just when he was starting to get angry, to coil up and prepare for a strike, you mentioned his wife.

His lips wobble. His eyes water. Behind him, the entourage of drunks gasp.

He looks away and sniffles, trying to hold back his tears, but you can hear the sadness in his voice. "My missus... I'd never —I never dared— I--!" He chokes off a sob. "I would've never hurt her," he insists. "Never!"

There seems to be a story behind these tears, behind the sudden crumbling of a massive beast into a whimpering mess, but you don't have to stay and listen to these fools. You can see the tavern nearby.

@Charlotte Breuil, the choice is yours to make. What will you do?

Charlotte Breuil · Mar 17, 2018

...? ...!?... What? "Eh..." Charlotte was baffled. She was expecting something, anything, ready to pull out her for-now-named 'Pink Lady', but not THAT.

Did the big guy just start crying? Sobbing? Tearing up?! "GOD you're such a wuss!" And the worst too. Some pathetic excuse for violence. Well, not like Charlotte was any better. Looks like this was a done deal? But... "Urgh..." No. Nonono. Charlotte wasn't a nice person. She hated most people. Especially those. She was, more-or-less, savage. Yeah!

BUT! Clearly, there was potential. This was a game. This could be a quest. And the top-hatted cardgame NPC wouldn't even leave his place in the tavern to take a piss. Usually, they were always there. For all eternity, like some other god-like being.

"AAAAHHHH!" The 'girl' cried out in annoyance. "Alright, listen!"... Damn, she wasn't even so sure herself now anymore if he really hit his woman. Maybe, rather, mentioning her name reminded him of something else? And here she was, about to suggest him making a DIY-Punching bag. She wasn't his fucking psychologist, but a punching bag helped her, too.

"I'll give you 10... no, 20, seconds of my precious time to tell me whatever stupid story you have behind this! And if it sounds like fun, maybe I'll help, too! Hmpf." Hmpf!

@Izzy

Izzy · Mar 18, 2018

He sobs harder. One of his friends steps forward and approaches you with a rather dull look on his face. He seems to have sobered up the most of the group. He puts up both hands and starts counting down from ten on his fingers.

10... "His wife is dead." 9... "Some asshole killed her last week." 8... "Rodger over there, the 'wuss'," 7... "has been locked inside since." 6... "We'd just gotten him out for drinks," 5... "to help him get over it, y'know," 4... "because he had this absurd plan." 3... "To hunt down the guy who did it," 2... "the one who killed his wife." 1... "But now we're here. WIth you." 0.

A little longer than ten seconds, but he's followed your instructions precisely and told you their 'stupid story'. Behind him, the sobbing man is crumbling into one of his friends' arms, wailing, catching the attention of the local populace.

The man who explained the situation stares at you with the most deadpan look possible. "Sound fun enough for you?"

Whoops.

What will you do, @Charlotte Breuil?

Charlotte Breuil · Mar 18, 2018

"..." Wow, she was really supposed to feel bad about this, huh? In fact, she should, no? Because in this situation it was Charlotte who was the disgusting human trash that had made fun of a guy who... wait a minute. Even if they weren't just virtual data, Charles had no reason to feel bad!

"Aaahhh!" Charlotte acted surprised, or rather mocking, in a shrug. No sign of remorse in any of her expressions. "Ah! The usual drink-your-worries-away-because-that-will-surely-help-your-future move, eh? Well, and now look at little ol' Charlotte here! Such a party-crasher!"

Well, she was curious nonetheless how much restain she'd show to legit kill a human being. This sounded like it could be fun anyway. And, yeah, the top-hat card gamer would be there for all eternity!

"Well, Rodger&co! Looks like it's your luckiest day!... Since your unluckiest day anyway! Because I, Charlotte Breuil, might just be the person you were looking for!" With that, the girl navigated her UI as the impressively sized axe appeared in her hand, easily handling it thanks to her heroic might.

"I haven't introduced you to Pink Lady yet, right?" Would she really go through with calling her Pink Lady? For now, why not. "Yeah, so one of her favorite afternoon hobbies is to slice up assholes! And she just so happens to be quite thirsty, actually." That was hint enough, right?

Yet, the woman was aware she hadn't been really nice in trying to get herself employed - she would get paid, right? Right. - and there was a high chance these band of losers would just go on their merry way! "Ah, and before you start thinking 'Boohoo! This pipsqueak is sooooo mean to me! Even after I shared my heart-breaking story. Let's just ignore her and move on despite her offer to help! That big axe of hers might just be a fake anyway!' Keep in mind: c'est la vie. If life gives you a lemon, make lemonade. Even if you don't like that particular lemon. It might be the only lemon you get." That... made sense? It had to make sense! Hmpf.

@Izzy

Izzy · Mar 20, 2018

Rodger & co., as you've so fondly dubbed them, stare at you in shock. Their jaws hang agape as you, quite literally, conjure a massive battle axe out of nowhere. One mumbles (unintentionally just loud enough for you to hear): "Where da heck was she storin' that? She ain't got the cleavages for lady magicum tricks, does she?" Although he says it jokingly, the group looks fairly shaken by your presence now.

The man that had approached you to tell their tale is now back in line with his group, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I, well…" It looks like he's quite ready to reject your kind offer, but thinks better of it at the last moment.

You seem insane and willing to cut whatever, and he'd rather you cut enemies than him.

"Then, miss Charlotte Breuil and, uh, Pink Lady," he straightens up, "have you heard of the... tribe… living nearby? The asshole we told ya 'bout lives with them." You have not, in fact, heard of any tribe living nearby. You know that there are orcs that hide in the forests of Astorea, but surely, it wouldn't be one of them… right?

He looks hesitant to tell you more. He's never really had to buy this kind of service before, after all.

What else do you want to know before you go? If you decide to go?

Tell us more, @Charlotte Breuil.

Charlotte Breuil · Mar 21, 2018

Storing that? Magic tricks? Cleavage? Well, certainly, these bunch of losers had no clue about her being a player! Good for her. "Oy." She said, slightly annoyed nonetheless. "If you think you gotta whisper for me not to hear something, you should really try harder! Jeez, I didn't even try listening."

Charlotte Breuil didn't even feel insulted, actually. She picked her Avatar to look like that, after all! Cute and adorable, because that's what would help her out in though situations, right? She was totally confident in her chest-size, too! Hmpf.

"Anyway... Tribe?" Charlotte continued on. She was new, why should she have heard of that? "Natives?" This sounded...bizarre. They were in the middle of this supposed-to-be-capital of some self-proclaimed goof! The place looked run-down enough anyway. So maybe some fancy word for bandits?

"Urgh..." Charlotte never really did this whole quest thing before, was it so hard to just tell her more?! Pointing her Pink Lady at them she said annoyingly. "Just tell me everything and more, you know? I'm not from around here! I... earn my money with contracts like that! Speaking of money, you WILL pay... right? Gotta talk about that, too."

As if Charlotte Breuil would let a detail like that slip! Hah! "The bestest things in life aren't for free! And I happen to be good at what I do! You want your revenge to succeed, right? The more I know, the better!" A flat lie, but in her line of work having a lying, nice, face all day was necessary!

Or did they simply just want to send Charlotte to an untimely end?

@Izzy

Izzy · Mar 24, 2018

Whoops! They hadn't meant for you to hear that. The drunk flushes and turns away to hide the fear in his eyes. He's relieved you didn't stab him for that.

Their worry does not lessen as you point your massive battleaxe at them. If you watch carefully, you can follow the motion of their gulping Adams apples. "Of course. Payment. That'll come after you complete the task, though." He looks like he's about to shit his pants in fear as he says this, though. If you press him a bit, he'd probably pay you just to get that weapon out of his face.

"Right. More info. They're, these tribe-folk, orcs. I think. They hide in the woods and they kill and plunder. Not the kindest ones." He lowers his voice. "You really shouldn't do this. It's a suicide mission. Why do you think I'm stopping my pal from goin'? I—"

Speaking of his pal, the poor lad speaks up. "If you're gonna go... the bastard had a mohawk. Bring his head and then I'll pay you. I want to hang his head on my wall." He looks downright furious. "I'll give you everything I have if you end his stupid life."

A sigh, a shake of the head. "If you go north from here, I'm sure you'll find their camp. Dunno how many of them there are, though."

It's your choice whether you take on this mission or not, @Charlotte Breuil. What will you do?

Charlotte Breuil · Mar 25, 2018

"AFTER my task?" Well, it wasn't like Charlotte would do this just for the money. Sure, it was a nice bonus, but ultimately she started this game to vent. But... it wasn't like the axe-wielding girl was rich in real life so, maybe, getting blatantly rich in this virtual world was a ni- depressing, because being rich here would only remind her how much poorer she was in real... .

"Alright then, you better make sure to have an adequate sum to pay, OTHERWISE..." Playfully swinging her Pink Lady around, the crazy woman tried to make a point.

These people were truly easy to scare after all, so why not make use of it? With the money, she was sure to buy an even greater axe anyway! Win-win.

"North it is then, right? A Mohawk... with orcs? Is he an orc too? Well, not like it matters." Charlotte wasn't deluded enough to just go in there and expect to beat an entire camp of them though. Unlike slimes, orcs were more of a mid-tier-level enemy anyway, no?

"So, before I go on my merry way to have some fun. Care to tell me how exactly it came to your wife dying? Did Mohaorc just stumble into your woman's house? Was she out collecting flowers? Have you actually seen the murder?! I might be super strong, beautiful and awesome but that doesn't mean I can take on 20 of them at once!" The more Charlotte talked about it, the fishier it all seemed?

As the woman kept thinking, another idea came to her mind. Orcs were typically rather prideful, so challenging them to a 1-on-1 would be maybe possible too? Well, she kept that in the back of her mind, for now.

@Izzy

Izzy · Apr 4, 2018

The men are practically climbing over each other to get away from you and your swinging axe at this point. Only the drunken widow is brave enough to keep talking with you - he does so with sorrowful eyes and a snarl.

"We's merchant-folks. She was out with the caravan, gettin' supplies, and they raided them on the roads. Only one survivor came backs t'tell the tale - they cut off his leg an' let the poor bastard crawl back to tell us 'bout it." He spits on the ground. "Take 'em on or not, 's your choice, kiddo. But if you do..."

He looks almost insane as he smiles at you. "If you do, bring back their heads."

...

The group points you in the vague direction of where the last raid was and the location of the rumoured orc camp, but can't offer much more insight than that.

What will you do, @Charlotte Breuil?

Sorry for the wait! I was on holiday this past week and had no access to computers for typing. Thank you for your patience. :)