WQ - Reconstruction efforts - Astorea

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Sunday 9:43 AM - Heading out to Finweald

It was the last day of the weekend before Akio had to go back to his silly 9-5 job, where it was actually around a 7-10 endeavor. The fella was never a morning person, so he always set his alarm early in order to do battle with the snooze button. After 45 minutes of restlessness and half wakefulness, he'd make a bowl of cereal and generally spend the next hour actually commuting to work on the trolley. After his shift he still had to do basic errands like wash clothes, get groceries, and stock up on basic household items. Akio who had spent the last 5 minutes thinking about his daily life as he sat hunched over a bowl of cereal frowned and shivered a bit. " Tch, I'm a make the most of today and get some questing in"!

Before diving in though, he always made it a habit to have a bottle of water and a few snacks just in case he wanted to log out for a bit. As he set the food stuff near the foot of his couch he raced to the computer to do last minute check ups on his email. Sure enough there was a message about some in game event and a vanquished world boss, but it was of no consequence to him.World bosses generally died all the time, so it should have in his mind meant nothing other than missing a weekly raid.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, " Ehh too early for this mumbo jumbo. I don't even understand the leveling in this stupid game". With that he used his rolling chair to glide over to his couch and dived right in. He was greeted by the same fairy from last time who had helped him create his first character a few days ago. He stared at her through his avatar, but the thing didn't talk at all really. It just kept waving to him with its same goofy anime smile." Yea yea see ya later", he said as his avatar approached the edge of a platform overlooking what looked to be an abyss of light. It shined, but was so bright you couldn't really tell what you were looking at. However this was the hole in which the fairy dropped in during the first full dive. He took a few steps back and then sprinted toward the abyss literally swan diving into the world.

He was greeted by the same blinding light which made him shut his eyes and cover them with his arms as he was engulfed by it. A loud humming sound filled his ears that graduated to a loud ringing as he found himself lying in the middle of honeyhome, face first in the dirt. He was winded and coughed anyways, shooting up dirt into his clothes and face. " Man there has to be a way to make that easier grrrrr", he said as a small shadow stood before him. It was a woman, an npc to be exact, who offered her hand to him. His avatar grinned as he accepted the help. " Haha thanks lady", he said without realizing what he looked like or that maybe it was a npc he was talking to. The woman smiled nervously and nodded her head, " Yes your welcome strange one. But we do have an inn, you can always rest there instead. tee hee". Akio's avatar scratched its headed as the two bowed their heads slightly and moved on.

" Now then...I wonder where that valentine character is...", he said under his breath. It was then he was greeted by excited cheers and worried murmuring from the townsfolk. Akio turned to see in the distance at the town's main road a small caravan of armed soldiers were pulling into town. They were clad in impressive armor which shined in the sun, glistening with the coat of arms of what Akio assumed to be a rich nobleman of some sorts. A man stepped out to greet everyone, middle aged with male pattern baldness. However to contrast his silly looking hair style was a great long beard that stretched down to his chest and a widely build body which made him look like a tank. "Citizens of Falderan, I an Envoy of the Falder family, Captain Suregard would like to extend an olive branch to anyone willing to embark on a journey to Astorea." He paused and looked about, to see the mixed reaction of the crowd.

" A great evil has fallen recently, its name was Titanius. It has wrought great pains onto the people of Astorea during its time to the west of the country. Now with its fall their king has sent out a message to all seeking aid. We cannot turn our backs on these people and their needs! To all those who would stand up and fight, WHAT SAY YOU"? The Captain drew his blade in a dramatic fashion and held it out, pointing at every able bodied man he could see. Akio's avatar grinned when no one stepped up, but that was to be expected he thought, because the town was small. Few were really even capable to making sure the town was safe from the wildlife, so they had no reason to send others forward so willingly.

His avatar stepped forward and drawing he drew out his weapon from his inventory. It appeared on his back, strapped by a small latch and pointed to the ground. The little woman raised its hand and said, " hello Suregaurd, I'd like to take ya up on yer offer". He gestured to himself with a thumbs up and grinned. The knight looked to him with a cocked eyebrow as the others in his party shook their heads. The townsfolk flinched expecting some a flippant little woman to get what was coming to her. For such a display, let alone the disrespectful tone and way she addressed an officer in the army. Citizens and veteran players generally knew to steer clear of them because it was a centralized power in the southern region. As such one always expected the worst when they arrived, but Akio was too ignorant to know this.

Suregard slapped his tiny avatar's shoulder and laughed heartily, " Jehaha hahaha, RIGHT! Here is a noble woman who has stepped up in Astorea's hour of need"! He looked down to her again and said, " Alright little one, welcome aboard". He let Akio go and continued forward, looking to see if anyone else wanted to join the caravan. Akio's avatar shivered and slapped its own cheeks a few times. "Little one? I"ll Little one your face. cuck", he said under his breath. Standing before him was a woman in armor with a clip board and an assistant knight who held his hand out. "Halt there, name"?

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OOC: Basically where I imagine Finweald to be. Also I'm heading to Finweald in one post, this is just my set up post to get there. :P @Valentine Wylde @Kaede Hoshi​

 

Clair had spent the last night in the game of his dreams. Everything so far about it had impressed him, even the pain aspect of it. It was so real, and the perfect escape from his everyday boring life. At this point he would already consider himself an addict. His every thought had been about Terrasphere and that was it. He had even forgotten that it was Sunday and the end of the weekend. Well not so much forgot as he just decided he would ignore the fact it was Sunday. Without further hesitation he put on his gear and dove in to the grand world of Terrasphere.

Springing to from a bed he opened his eyes to find himself now in his avatar Valentine's body. Then he noticed his surroundings he was right where he left himself in the bed of the INN at Honeyhome. The familiar scent reminded him of this beautiful location. Though his head hurt for some odd reason he got and began to head out into the city. He wanted spend the first part of the morning just looking all around the city and investigating everything he could. Inspecting everything from insects, to local domesticated animals, travel paths, and even how each house was built and how it different from the many others. You'd having been here for a few hours in a game would make him bored of the town, but he stilled brimmed with as much excitement as the first moment he stepped foot into the town of Honeyhome.

An hour or so passed when he noticed that a group of soldiers it appeared marched toward the town in what looked to be a caravan. Val at this point had left the town and traveled a short distance to the plains, but was able to spot the long trail of horses walking into the town. Once again excitement bore down on his mind and brought running into the village as fast as he could muster. Arriving just in time for him to spot the young woman Alana he spotted before accepting an offer to join this group of soldiers. He knew Alana and if she was volunteering it must be for a good cause and without further thought he forward shouting a the men.

"I'LL JOIN. I'LL JOIN." His voice squeaked out as he ran screaming towards the men in armor. Bringing almost everyone to rolling laughter. This slender figure running at them with bright pink hair.

"Great, another woman." A man scoffed as Val was once again mistaken for a woman, but he paid it no mind and waited for them to tell him it was okay. Which did not come quickly. There was a long period of awkward silence as he stood there awaiting the answer. Then with a heavy sigh and very unimpressed tone he agreed to let Val join them.

"YES! Name is Valentine. Nice to meet yous." He stuck out his hand for a greeting shake but was met with a scoff and nothing further. It mattered not he was in on this caravan ride to wherever. He realized now he actually had no idea where he was going.

A woman stood in front of Alana and asked her for her name. He would be next and he readied himself standing up straight like any good soldier would. When he was approached the woman stood there for a second and didn't say a word.

"Val..........."He spoke but was quickly cut off by the woman in armor.

"I know your name, you've already proclaimed it to everyone."With that she turned and got back in line with the caravan telling each person where they should end up for the duration of the ride. Val was stuck riding with elderly man on a caravan full of supplies for the effort. He didn't get to see where Alana got to go as he was escorted to his spot before they gave hers to her.

"Names Ervin, kid. See your a colorful little lass so just sit back enjoy the ride and don't do anything stupid." He slap the spot next to him on the wagon as he grabbed the reigns to the horses. Val complied and sat next the elderly gent feeling slightly embarrassed, but still utterly enthralled that he was going on a quest with soldiers.

 

”The city of Finweald, Now that I think about it in almost a year of playing this game… I have never come here. But if what the book says is true, I can’t ignore those in need of some help.”

_____The woman behind the voice slowly clasp her right hand closed, the book once kept open by it sealing as she continued to walk across the paved road leading to Finweald. Her ears moving slightly as she caught sound of horses approach from behind and slowly turned to see the large group. She was blocking the road as she turned to face them holding her book to her chest covering the title, but the pure black book nonetheless unsettling.

”So it’s that route to follow then… Hopefully it’s not the worst case one… I would prefer not to show that side again.~”

_____Kaede would turn back and keep walking in the center of the road, fully aware she was slowing the group down but caring nonetheless. As far as she could care it was wise for a group of that size to move slowly when entering a town border as to avoid the unease of the masses. It was also partly intended to make sure the people did not assume the approaching noble banner was here to attack or sieze the town as a stronghold against the King’s recent declaration of removing nobility.

_____If any of the group tried to tell Kaede to move she would simply ignore them, should they try to force her to move, well it would only be a brief moment before the person who tried to touch her was sent flying to the side of the street with a light thud. Kaede’s finger slowly setting back down on her book. Such a small gesture was all it took the Cosmic ascendent to toss people aside. But hopefully nobody would have to suffer such a fate like her possible future sight foretold.
@Alana | @Valentine Wylde

 

Sunday 10 AM

" The name's Alana---uhh", Akio's avatar had said before being interrupted by a rather high pitched voice. The brunette avatar turned its head to find Valentine out in the distance making a racket about wanting to join. He turned to wave back, but a hand on his shoulder pressed firmly against his shoulder. Akio's avatar looked up to see the soldier shaking his head as the others in the group began to giggle amongst themselves. "Best not to make a scene any further little one. You may speak with your friend at Finweald". Akio didn't protest, as he couldn't even imagine how this would turn out if he back sassed to these people. He had no idea if they were human or ai, hell so far he hadn't really met anyone he could truly tell was human or not. But he shrugged as he was lead to the 3 wagon in the caravan. Akio's avatar turned back once more to glance at the pink haired loli,but he couldn't see Valentine anymore.

Before entering his wagon, the soldier held its hand out and said, "Weapon mam". He was stern and didn't blink as he held his hand out. Alana nodded and took the spear off her back and placed it in his hands. The guard's eyes were wide when he felt the weight of her brandistock and said, "What a weapon for such a small girl. You've been eating your turnips ehh"? She turned back to him and said, " Probably. I see it as a cruel twist of fate". He chuckled and lead her to the wagon where he said, " Be that as it may, it will be nice knowing you'll be useful. You don't have anything else on ya"? Alana shook her head, but stopped when the soldier's relaxed face became hardened. " I hope so lass, because the mages don't like being lied to".

" yea yea its fine, I got nothing else sadly. I'm a pleb", alana said while sighing. The solider squinted, but scratched the back of his head in response. "Whats a pleb"? Akio didn't even bother to answer that as he had assumed it was an npc. So npcs don't geddit memes? His inner thoughts were interrupted by the inability to actually move. A woman dressed in rather iconic mage looking atire, complete with the pointy hat with a bent point held her hand out. Alana tried to move,but doing so just increased the constriction on her limbs. She fell to one knee, propping herself up with one arm with its balled up fist planted firmly on the wagon floor. " Can't breathe", Akio's avatar had said.

The woman twirled her finger to send Alana up against her will and planted her on the seat across from the mage. "You've no resistance. Life will be hard for you in the coming months. Work on that", she said coldly. Alana nodded before finally being able to breathe again. The sound of wind dispersing filled her ears and all she could see was the group of mages peering at her." I hope Valentine is having an easier time than I".

Sunday 11:45 AM

The whole ride was rather uncomfortable for the Akio. The mages made him uncomfortable. For most of the trip he chose to sleep. When his in game interface couldn't sleep, he was stuck looking at the mages who always had one watching Akio's avatar. They didn't talk much, so the ride was rather frustrating. Then suddenly the caravan gently slowed down and Captain Suregard ran up to the wagon and said, "Ladies", he tipped his helmet before continuing, "Our initial scans of a troubling individual along the rode came up with mixed results...mind com--". It was all he could say before one of the mages placed their index finger to his mouth and said, "Then it's beyond us. We're on foreign soil, just bear with the delay". He nodded and saluted, before running off to give the command to just proceed with caution.

The woman eyed Alana who was visible curious and said, "Astorea is full of dangerous adventurers, unlike honeytown. Don't trust anyone once we disembark if you value your life". With that the caravan slowly proceeded until they reached the front entrance of the town, before heading off to curved road which would lead toward the administrative end of the city. "Go, there's no use in you staying here cooped up little one".The woman shoo'd off Akio's avatar much like a dog being dismissed,but it didn't bother him. Alana grinned and grabbed her weapon from a nearby gaurd. Promptly she walked off to the forest city's entrance where a few others had disembarked as well. As Akio's avatar ran off he turned her head to see the strange pointy earred woman at the head of the column. Alana paused a few moments to take a good look at the waifu out in the distance, while waiting for Valentine to hopefully show up.

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@Kaede Hoshi @Valentine Wylde

OOC: This is just before my people of astorea post. Time to do plot stuff next post, unless kaede wants to bully us again ;-;

 

Val sat next Ervin rocking in his seat the whole time. Every location they passed just added to the overflowing excitement that had been building up within him. From plains, woods, mountains, and even a lake all this area to explore and it was only the tip of the iceberg. On top of that Ervin was wise old veteran who had plenty of stories to regale Val with. Not only did he get to view the world, but he got to learn of it and some of its history. So far everything about this game only lead to him wanting to never leave it more and more.

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It seemed as though just minutes ago they were leaving Honeyhome, and now he could see the outskirts of a new city. This must be the location in which they were headed as the caravan began to move at a snails pace instead of the much faster pace it was moving at before. A sigh escaped Ervin's mouth as he expected the worst to happen. Something must have been slowing them down, and the commander wasn't a fan of things or people slowing him down. In that moment Val noticed his friend Alana running into the woods before she stopped and it appeared she was waiting. Not wanting to disappoint he nodded his head towards Ervin and thanked him for the ride before jumping off the wagon and running over to meet up with Alana.

"HEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY! WAIT.............." Before he could finish his sentence he looked back at the caravan to see woman in front walking rather slowly. That must have been the reason for the caravan to be moving so slowly, but she caught his attention due to the clothes she was wearing and the book at her side. She looked absolutely awesome. A bit scary but awesome nonetheless. Stopping full force half way into the woods he yelled out to the woman:

"HEY LADY, WITH THE BLACK BOOK! YOU LOOK TOTALLY AWESOME!" Jumping up and down and waving his arms around to try and grab her attention. He looked the fool in the woods with bright pink hair and a white robe jumping up and down screaming, but he paid it no mind. The woman he was yelling to seemed friendlier than the men in the caravan whom had scoffed, mocked, and laughed at him. With a final jump and wave he made one last statement across the field and to the woman in front of the caravan. "NAMES VALENTINE, YOU SHOULD COME MEET MY FRIEND!"

With that he continued on his way to meeting up with Alana whom had been in the woods waiting for him to arrive. "Did you see that lady in front of the caravan? She looks totally awesome. Holy moly, so COOL!" Val stood in front of Alana talking to her as he squirmed to a fro brimming with excitement.

"We should wait a second I invited her over to meet you."Plopping down on his back as he made the statement. The ground here was nowhere near as soft as the ground on the prairie, but it still felt nice to stretch out after having been sitting for a few hours on a hard wooden bench.

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@Alana @Kaede Hoshi

 

_____Kaede would move to hold her book up once more, overlooking the blank pages as she turned to follow the oddly cheerful male to go meet his friend as her book told to do such. It was simply one of the common things, the other often seemed to lead to Kaede blowing up the caravan so she decided to go with the less energy wasting choice. When she arrived to see them both she closed her book and gently smiled before she spoke.

”Hello Valentine and Alana. I am Kaede Hoshi. Sorry if me already knowing your names might have startled you, but from my perspective we have meet over a million times. Well Sixteen million, seven hundred eighty two thousand, nine hundred and thirteen times as of now. So many bridge possibilities the future holds.”

_____Kaede sadly was not spit balling the number, she already seen this day that many times repeat itself in her mind while she slept and could vividly recount every detail because of her cursed Eidetic and photographic memory. It was a great help when it came to knowing her spells but when she saw just about every future possibility it got tiresome. Moving a step to the left as a bird nearly managed to poop on her shoulder but instead hit the ground. A tremble as she recalled the line of events she was looking up at the time and almost spoke before… well you could imagine the bad luck.

_____Tapping her book lightly Kaede sealed the pages once more and reset it along her belt line as she looked between the two. So many routes this was a chance first encounter for them all, but as her eyes picked up on the minore things and memory recalled these two have already met like a few of the routes proclaimed. So without wanting to tamper around with the foresight predictions anymore she looked to them to decide what this was about. Afterall, one of them did invite her to meet the other.
@Alana | @Valentine Wylde

 

Sunday 11:48

Alana saw Valentine and grinned, waving back to him with a sigh of relief, " Ey pal glad you got through that experience in on---e piece". Alana stuttered when the trap invited the woman in the distance. A flashback to what the mage said in the wagon startled Akio, which visibly made Alana shake her hands and head. " Shhh what the heck Valentine, don't invite weirdos over", the girl would say crouching over, whispering in the pink haired boy's ear. Alas the reaction was merely a involuntary reaction as the deed was already done and the woman was coming toward them.

Akio scratched his chin, which made his avatar do the same as their eyes drank up kaede's appearance. " Cute face....pointy ears...perfect waifu. So why does this one give me the heeby geebies?". she said to herself before looking up at her eyes and extending a hand out toward the lady. That's when Kaede said something about meeting them 16 million times, making a bead of sweat run down her cheek. "haha uhh that's perfectly fine, usually people think about chance encounters a few times in advance huh"?

Whether or not the woman obliged her gesture, Alana would say, " We're here to see what all the hub bub is with Astorea. Maybe lend a helping hand or something. What brings you here...Kaede"?
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@Kaede Hoshi @Valentine Wylde

 

Jumping to attention from the ground upon hearing the woman with the book mention something about meeting them sixteen million, seven-hundred eighty-two thousand, nine-hundred and thirteen times. She had gained one hundred percent of his attention with her statement. Previous fascination with the woman that he now knew as Kaede Hoshi was overflowing. Not only did she look awesome but she was some kind of time wizard or something.

He stood there shifting back and forth as he waited for a second to cut Alana off from her question. His moment arose when she finished her first question to the woman before them. Quickly he injected his own question. "Can you tell the future?" Still bouncing with anticipation of the answer he would get. Then he heard Alana ask Kaede what her plans were. That's when it dawned on him he had joined the caravan without even knowing the purpose of the caravan.

"Uh, actually Alana why did that caravan need people? Why are we here? I just came cause I saw you was joining and thought that meant we were gunna have another adventure like last time and maybe be hero's again." He shyly chuckled to himself as he rubbed his head with an innocently ignorant look on his face. Here he goes again making rash decision without fully thinking them through, but at least the town they had taken them to looked beautiful on the outside.

"Well no matter an adventures an adventure." He added just before letting anyone answer. Smiling towards Alana as he awaited the next step of the big adventure he assumed Alana had planned for them. Plus they had this super awesome person drop in who seems to be a time wizard. At this point even the most mundane task, chore, or quest wouldn't squash his excitement.

@Alana @Kaede Hoshi

 

”I do not simply think about chance encounters, a side effect from one who picked Astral magic as a school for their magic. I do end up seeing the future, sometimes living each possible outcome in my sleep for the day to come or a week ahead. I came here today because my grimoire foretold me to arrive here, from that it has yet to say anything else.”

_____Kaede did not so much care how she sounded before the two people. Sure one of them was a fine young woman who she would have loved to get the pleasure of knowing more about later, but she also did not feel the mood to wear a facade to seem like everything was ok in her head. Keade’s ear would twitch as a wolf howled from deeper in the forest, not long after a black and red wolf rushed to Kaede’s side and started licking her. A light laugh as she pet the wolf and whistled to get him to sit down.

_____The oddity however, outside the odd pelt color was the very crudely and dangerous looking spear it kept satchel to it’s back. Kaede moving to free the wolf of the crimson spear that began glowing blue internally as her hands rested on the shaft. Waving it a few times before she watched as once again her companion rushed off into the woods to go play like he tended to do. Setting the weapon on her back with a faint smile to Alana as she awaited the girl to speak up, this was her group to lead after all.

@Alana | @Valentine Wylde

 

Sunday 11:55 AM

Alana slowly retracted the hand she had offered and tilted her head, looking at the other two in her party. One clearly an elf or perhaps a different name that didn't quite roll off the tongue as well. Akio looking through the avatar's eyes truly could not tell if this was an elaborate npc or strange person piloting the waifu exterior. The other being someone a little less odd, but still quite the anomaly since he tended to lose his wits very easily. The memory of Valentine punching a slime with his bare hands would not be something Akio would soon forget.

Both of them gave Alana a blank stare, as if they were waiting on her to make a move. She nodded and laughed ever so slightly, to dispel the tension. Holding her hands out she motion to Kaede to simmer down and said, " I geddit you're a hardcore rp'er. Ya got me interested in taking up that magic on another character s'meday. Though right now I'm just going to explore the city and see what's up, as stated before. Y'all are welcome to join me". Alana flexed reflexively and slapped her arm, in the same way Akio would in that situation. Before realizing he wasn't a 6'5'' man, but rather a small little girl in Terrasphere.

With rosy red cheeks she whistled as she set out toward the city. Soon the flub up gave way to intrigue. Upon entering the city limits there was a flurry of young men running across the road like a bunch of ducklings, following a big fellow carrying wooden beams to a construction site. The roads made of cobblestone,but torn asunder by the sheer force of Titanius. A quick glance from side to side revealed stronger buildings in disrepair, cracked foundations and boarded up windows. Other streets were merely rubble, most likely lesser shacks and stands which formed traders used to serve the wide array of adventurers and traveling merchants alike.

Though the city of Finweald was in such disrepair, its people couldn't have been more energetic. Shouts full of enthusiasm inundated the senses and soon became a blur to Akio who was walking aimlessly through the streets.This continued for around 30 more minutes as Alana simply peeped and poked her head into different sites around the city, but much like in real life, he was unsure of where to start. Yes this was a game,but for some reason he felt as if he'd be intruding on others. Without a quest giver, he felt like a poopy diaper baby. Players often ripped on games for having linear paths,but the moment they're gone..a lot of people wouldn't know where to go.

That is until a knight came up to her, clanky armor and all. He had a stern scowl written upon his face as he looked down upon Alana. She looked up and gawked at him, making his brows furrow. "Something wrong little one"? Alana didn't answer, but rather she shook her head while admiring the gyphon art etched into his breastplate. "The name's Captain Dunkirk. I'm head of the expeditionary here in finweild". Alana slapped her cheeks and held her hand out saying, " Uhh nice to meet'cha, my name's Alana and these two are my companions Kaede and Valentine". The knight scanned the three before asking, "What brings you here to Finweald? I'm afraid we have not much to offer tourists at the moment".

Alana nodded and said, " A falderan captain invited us to come to Astorea to help out", she said before whistling. " But sheesh someone or something did a number on this place. What happened here"? The knight's eyes squinted at Alana, watching her for any changes in her appearance. "Something wrong sir"? He shook his head and his demeanor lessened just a tad before saying, "You speak in an odd tongue miss, I had half a mind to chop you in half if you were casting a spell with that odd speech pattern of yours". Alana backed away and shook her head, being ready to split at any moment if need be. " Well now Alana, if you came here to help out, we could use some extra hands at the mana ore mines over yonder. Titanius' attacks created shockwaves that make the line collapse in some places". He gestured for her to follow and gave her a curious glance. " Woah what the heck? Dang that sucks, so what will we be doing there"? "Clearing the rubble and the bodies of the dead miners who took refuge in there during the battle". He said, without an ounce of empathy. He spoke as if it were a task he would have rather avoided if need be.

Alana sighed and began to follow him, thinking this is what she came here for. "As to your question before...", he would say with a slight pause. " Oh you remembered? Do tell?", Alana said with a sarcastic tone. "As I was saying, Titanius a world class monster tore this country apart not too long ago. If I may ask, how did you not fell its thunderous roars? They were said to travel as far as far as pormont". Alana scratched her cheek and said, " Uhh ummm blahhh I was super far away sir. like really far and just arrived in falderan a few days ago". He looked upon her before nodding his head.

"Head toward the group, they will be making a trip up to the plateau where the entrance to the mana ore mine resides. The officer on duty will give you further instruction".

@Valentine Wylde @Kaede Hoshi

 

Valetine understood from what Alana had said that whatever they came here for must have been in the city or had to deal with the city. Not wanting to get separated as he wasn't sure what the actual goal was in coming here, he decided it would be best to stick with Alana until the goal was revealed. Entering the city brought up all kinds of questions. Whatever it was they came to do most certainly didn't involve fighting as the vast majority of the city was heavily damaged.

Streets of cobblestone sat shattered, cracked, or just outright up rooted and in nearby buildings. Which brings up the point of how many of the buildings weren't even livable in any sense of the word. From being a pile of rubble, to missing over half the structure, or simply just sunk into the ground as the ground below had given way. Nothing in this city was ready for whatever hit it, and the people showed that even more so. From those that were trying their hardest to repair what had been lost as fast as possible. To those that sat and wept for the memories or loved ones lost. Finally, to those that left or were leaving as fast as possible. In fact there were more caravans leaving the city than entering it. Whatever happened affected these people and this city to the core.

Though all this destruction hindered the beauty of this city Val could still the potential within. Even in all the sadness, grief, destruction, and pain he could see the beauty that lay beyond. Once stood a proud and beautiful city, it hustled and bustled. Brimming with life, trade, and adventure at every waking moment. Whether it was their intent for coming here or not he decided he wanted to help rebuild this city. To even bring it back to a fraction of its former self he wanted to see what that would be. What this city once was.

Lost within his own thoughts envisioning what this city must of looked like in previous times. He followed Alana mindlessly and without paying attention to her actions until a gruff voice he didn't recognize jolted him out of it. Some man in armor stood in front of Alana they were conversing about why she and her companions were here, and if they were truly here to help they could start by helping out at some nearby mines. Lastly he mentioned something about a monster that did this. A world class monster that destroyed this city, and honestly from the title Val assumed much more than just this city was destroyed.

"Do you know of this Titanius, Kaede?" Turning towards the astral mage that still excited and impressed him. Her very image was just awe inspiring in his mind. Not to mention her magic seemed so unique and impressive. "If not can you use astral magic to like do an inquiry on him?" Thinking his idea was so wise he smiled as he watched and waited for Kaede to respond. He had been talking while aimlessly following the group the man in the armor told them to follow.

The group walked through the northeastern distract of the city revealing even further the destructive power of the world class monster Titanius. It wasn't long before they exited the city and about another fifteen minutes northeast uphill through the woods when they would come upon a small camp. The camp was setup along the base of a mountain. The mountain range spanned a decent distance of the eastern forest, and it was here that the mine was located. To his surprise people were not running a muck and acting crazy. Everyone just somberly moved about their business. Each to his own task that furthered the objective of the group, but there was hardly any talking.

The damage to the mines and the people in it was already done. There wasn't any chance they were going to save anyone, and no one was trapped. Simply put everything was just destroyed or dead, and the area required clean up and rebuilding. Structural integrity of the mine wasn't called into question as Titanius was responsible for the destruction and collapse of the mine not poor workmanship. The leader of the group that had lead them here walked up to a man dressed in finer clothes than the rest.

He sat at a table filled with blueprints of the mine, and a list of names. Some names were crossed off, others weren't. It was the same with the blueprints certain areas of the mine had been circled or an x marked over them. He was clearly keeping track of locations they had reached, couldn't reach, and whose bodies they had recovered and those they were still looking for. No matter how you looked at it. This was something that was done in real life in events like this. Val paused as for the first time the realism of the NPC's in this game hit a chord in his soul. Almost scaring him in how life like they acted, but this also brought about how much more value there was in completing a simple quest such as clearing some rubble or finding some bodies.

@Alana @Kaede Hoshi

 

_____Kaede spoke not one work during the walk, not one word to the knight who led them further along in the route she already seen. Her lips did however move to mirror each person who spoke for better or a few words missing. But when they arrived at the mines Kaede’s silence was broken with clicking sound from her tongue. Eyes sparking with energy as she got closer to the person with blueprints mapping the area in her own head before pointing to a single spot on the map.

”Survivors… one percent chance… Limited air… estimated time until death… forty five minutes… mine collapses… avoid the right wing… don’t trust the sound from behind the wall…”

_____Despite no motion her book was drifting open at Kaede’s side, the blank pages fluttering slowly before they sealed shut and the book fell down to Kaede’s out reached hand as she walked towards the mine. She had not time to explain how she knew, no time to waste trying to get people to help her, she would have to mostly use her own strength. Right hand flickering with golden light before her arm turned purple, the layout of stars showing as it quickly covered her entire body and her feet drifted ever so slight off the ground.

Celestial Form

_____Kaede’s hand slowly rose, the ground shaking for a moment before part of the entryway was forced to rise back up, the broken beam that barely kept it up thrown aside as Kaede waved her other hand. Two fingers twisting as a spare beam was moved to support the area and Kaede moved forward. She could not speak well in the form, most times it just became gibberish so hopefully as the saw a figure floating around and moving things to replace the heavier parts they would try to stay out of her way.

@Alana | @Valentine Wylde

 

Sunday 12:15 PM

Alana arrived at the camp along with her two companions, without much delay. The soldiers here lacked the exuberance and chaotic energy of the folk working on the main town down the ways. She looked onto them almost as if she were studying them, before realizing she was staring. It would be a lie if Alana didn’t expect someone to snap at her for being a nosey girl. However even that was in some way denied to her as she watched the camp. “Pst val and uhhh Elf girl what’s up with these guys”?

Although it seemed Kaede had different plans and was lost in thought. She muttered in a disorganized manner similar to a psychotic individual. Alana withdrew after taking a look at her expression, noticing the very apparent glazed but active look in her eyes. The rapid lip movements and occasional click, similar to a meme Akio was familiar with in real life. However when it wasn’t a retard trolling others in a game, it really made Alana divert her gaze and try to avoid even acknowledging the rambling. “God I hope she’s a npc and not a real person”.

Alana slapped her cheeks though and cracked her knuckles. “ well this rubbl—-ain’t—-gunna—-clear—-it....self”. Alana paused and nervous dove for cover, thinking there was another attack of some sort as a loud rumbling and the sound of the earth trembling filled the air. However upon turning back to the elf she saw something amazing and frightening at the same time.

True these types of forms weren’t new to video games, but the heat radiating off the amorphous form that Kaede took felt off putting. Her words were even more jarbled. The girl had lost her Waifu features in exchange for an form that was akin to plasma and or pure energy.

Alana watched at the earth seemed to revert itself. Old support beams were taken out and new one replaced those. It was a fantastical experience she would not soon forget. “Telekinesis? Any gravity magic? Earth magic? What could this be”? Her jaw was nearly dropped and she watched in awe as the form began to move in.The soldiers around her looked at each other with ambivalent expressions. “Everyone be on your guard. We don't know if she's friend or foe,but one thing's for sure, this is an opportunity we can not pass up on”. Immediately the moral in the camp shifted from a helpless state to that of a hypermanic one.

They charged forth with water mages freezing the walls starting from the outside. They all chanted a singular word in a tongue foreign to her,before slapping their hands on the ground to cause ice to form along the walls. These mages had blue phoenix insignias etched into their shoulders. Earthen mages went in deeper, causing the newly formed ceiling to rumble and compact. The entire mine was filled with activity as different battalions ran through the entrance knowing what they wanted to achieve.

Captain Dunkirk looked down on Alana and Val and said, "Now's your chance, go forth and find something useful to do. If that's what you came here for", he said as he began to march off into the depths of the mines that were beginning to light up from within. Alana turned to Val and said, " Uhh shall--we"? Her excited demeanor was replaced by an overwhelming stench. A fog of death shot forth as air ways were established to the outside world. A muggy and dank cavern revealed itself, blasting her with an air of rotting flesh. " Ugh either that's the smell of death or good cheese hahaha", she said with tears streaming down her cheek. Death was not something new to Akio both in game and in life. He found his dog with flies swarming around it, looking like a toothpick and covered in urine as a kid. His parents didn't care for his pet while he was at summer camp, so he got a full whiff of death from an early age.

However this was different and on a different scale than he experienced in life and in game. "It's so real...gimme a break", she said under her breath. "Well lassy, welcome to the real world. Grab yourself some gloves and any protective gear you might need. You two girls can help with moving the bodies since I doubt ye could move the boulders". The name was short, but stout and broadly built. He was even shorter than Alana but he had a great big beard and aged skin speckled with spots. "Alright...let's get going old man", she said while grabbing some gloves. The girl rushed in trying to ignore the stench only to find that it was a even more grisly scene than she had imagined.

Body parts littered the area, bits and pieces of severed limbs and people torn in half lie thrown to the wayside. Their mangled entrails stretching from their bodies as they were lifted by the earthen magic and tossed around. Akio paused right before his first corpse. His lips trembled as he struggled to bend down and grab it. His heart raced and thoughts of his poor puppy filled his mind until a stout slap on his avatar's back brought him back to reality. "You grab the arms and I'll pick up the end where the open wound is." The stout man gathered up the organs and stuffed them back into the man and gestured to Alana to be at the ready.

She nod her head and grabbed the cold lifeless hand with skin that seemed to have no form, other than the bone within. "It's not gonna grab me right"? The man shook his head, but said, "Probably wont. Becareful of the head just in case of dark magic. hehehe". Alana gulped with wide eyes and lifted it up at the wrists, keeping around 1.5 feet between herself and the corpse's dangling head.

@Valentine Wylde @Kaede Hoshi

 

Alana asked but a simple question referring to the attitude of the people at the mine. Kaede seemed lost in her own thoughts and didn't respond to Alana, but Val did. For the first time his generally always positive attitude faded and with a solemn voice he answered her question. "They are mourning and working. Sadly, they cannot truly mourn until they know who is dead." Turning away from the group he walked off into the distance and began helping to move rocks. Another sound did not escape his mouth. It was as though he was a different person.

That's when he felt it. The earth rumbled and the air shook. It felt like a storm was coming, something powerful. Then turning around he saw their companion slowly change from a fleshy form to something cosmic, otherworldly. Her body appeared to be from outer space. A being of stars and nothing as it just slowly approached the mine mumbling to itself. Slowly beams flew through the air old ones being removed and new ones being put in to replace them. Impressed by the beautifully cosmic form his new ally had taken he turned around to look back at Alana. He wanted to see what her plans were, or see if maybe she could understand the mumbling coming out of Kaede's mouth.

Behind Alana the guards readied themselves and their weapons. Mages came around and prepared for the worst, but as they realized she was only clearing out the mine they relaxed and began to chant spells. Unleashing torrents of Ice and Earth magic into the cave to aid it keeping it open and standing. The guards and mages rushed inward following the young cosmic being as she cleared out the cave and they aided in keeping it supported. At this point Alana had walked up to him and asked him if wanted to join them and being the person he was he jumped at the chance. He still didn't verbally respond to Alana, but he moved forward with her and followed the mages and guards into the mines.

It wasn't long before the stench of death hit them, not wanting to smell it he brought his hands into his chest and concentrated as a small amount of wind began to circle around him clearing the smell. Leaving him with only the smell of fresh air. In the long deep tunnels he saw Alana stop with some shorter man and start to carry a body out of the cavern. Val however was more interested in what was in further. After all Kaede must have been going somewhere, and so something must have been down here in the deep.

After a five minute walk he noticed an area of the mine where it diverted to the right away from the direction that Kaede had been going. He could hear a faint sound coming from within the dark pathway that stood before him and away from everyone else. Turning he opted to take the road that no one else had traveled. After all he had missed Kaede's warning about avoiding the right wing. Slowly he made his way through the barely lit tunnel. Following the sound of a low moan, almost sounded as though someone was crying or had been at one point.

Further he progressed as the tunnel went from barely lit to no light at all. In complete darkness now he used his magic to create a small bit of fire that floated just above his head. It required a large amount of concentration to keep up and so he had to drop the wind spell which gave him a heavy dose of the stench of death. The further he traveled the worse the smell got until it got to the point that he covered his nose with the cloth on his free arm. Even this barely aided in removing the stench of this place. Then he came upon a dead end, or at least he thought it was a dead end.

He had made it to what he thought was the end of the tunnel. Surround by rocks in three directions there was no way for him to progress, but the sound was most certainly coming behind the wall in front of him. He searched the walls high and low to see if maybe this was some hidden area or had some kind of secret lever, but he had no luck. The path must have been sealed by the collapse and whatever is behind those rocks is still alive. He wanted to help. He wanted to save whoever was behind the wall. Then in sudden jolt the ground shook once more and rock shifted and fell revealing a hole in the once blocked path.

Light gleamed into the dark hallway that he stood in revealing something within. The hole was just barely large enough for him to squeeze through if he wanted to, but when the rock moved the moaning sound changed. Changed to the point that he had become afraid he didn't want to enter that area any longer. The moaning was more of a low growl and felt more aggressive than it did muffled by the rocks. Locked in place by fear he stared at the hole that had been created. A deep gulp and a sigh before he forced himself to slowly approach the hole. Looking into the hole revealed a rather large room that had gone mostly unaffected by the collapse and in its center a giant monster stood. It was the cause of the sound he had been hearing. Worse than that was what surrounded the large monster.

Bodies, bodies, so many bodies surround the large monster. Some were human but most of them were similar looking to the large monster. Most of the monsters in the room were crushed by random falling rocks and debris but others looked as though they had been killed by human weapons which would explain the dead humans.The smell emanating from this room was twice as bad as that which he had been smelling and caused him to vomit. That plus the site of basically a massive graveyard that stood before him. The sound of his vomiting caught the attention of the monster within. It turned and looked in Val's direction, and seemingly instantly found his gaze. Startled by the sudden glare of the monster he stumbled backwards before falling on his behind.



The look in the monsters eye's was not one of malice, but one of intense sadness and despair. It was so strong it not only scared the living hell out of Val, but it resonated with his mental state. As it broke the demeanor that he had been exuding when he was playing as Val and brought about his more natural self. Sitting there in the dark cave he found it hard to move, and even harder to call out. Fear gripped him for but a brief moment longer than he heard and felt the stomping of the large monster approaching the hole that had been created. That was enough to break him free of the fear that the monsters gaze had locked him into. Turning he ran as fast as he could through the dark hallway and into the main area of the mine that was being held up now by Kaede's and the other mages magic.


"MONSTER!!!!!!!" He screamed as he entered the main room. Tripping after he yelled he just sat there on the ground breathing hard and panicked.

@Alana @Kaede Hoshi

 

_____Keade had no time to spare trying to pull the boy back to the group, no time to wave her finger to drag him as she kept her focus on the cave, even in her best judgement her actions and that of the others would only hold so long. Sure there was a chance she was wrong, but she herself could not see such a possibility as she crunched the numbers in her head and kept moving. Frame slowing to a halt as her form flickered back to normal and she coughed up blood. Slowly wiping the small trace of such off her chin she reentered her cosmic form and kept moving.

”tesmuprspnrdofsc imntrm uuem otuqindfsuir etlrnni oa iaeaaa.”

_____One could not say for lack of effort as Kaede tried to forewarn the group. What she had tried to say was a simple thing. ‘Little time left, must hurry before the mine's heart gives out.’ But giving up on trying again she focused on the mine’s main structural issues. Right Hand balling together as she pulled a chunk of the wall out and slammed it against another to open the area to keep moving. If anyone was near her front they could see to stars where her eyes would have been darting around as she ran the numbers and checked the few minutes ahead with her magic.

_____Left hand rising up as she lifted a fallen sections and waited for one of the mages with her to seal it back before she kept moving deeper. Eyes locking on a large pit as she gazed down. This location was her voided section, from here on she was flying blind for future tips. Jumping into the area while waving her hand to pull parts the sides of the hole to give the others some stairs to take. Hopefully the male could hold on long enough for Kaede to deal with the more pressing issue.
@Alana | @Valentine Wylde