Helping Richard the Merchant

Hanno arrived a few minutes earlier, helping out Richard to pack heavier things. It wasn't anything that a Faerin that carried an gargantuan-size Shield with tentacles and eyes could even sweat to lift. Still helping out, he and his Shield looked at the soon-to-be partners that were coming.

A girl that almost felt like she had an angelical aura around her (@Aurora Labyrinth), a tall Yladian man that looked incredibly athletic even though he was a mage (@Joen Panelis), and a Faerin that had eyes that expressed intelligence (@Daedalus). Hanno couldn't help but smile at the fellow Faerin, after all it reminded him of a tinker companion he had.

Then Hanno looked at Richard, that gave them the good idea of introducing themselves. 'Well, of course!' With a chill smile, the Faerin looked at his three comrades. "Hello! My name is Futaba, Hanno Futaba!" He looked up at the Dissonant Shield, that stared at the other adventurers. "And this is my Shield. Both of us are going to do our bests to protect everyone if something goes wrong. So if bandits attack us, let's do a good teamwork to drive them away!" Hanno nodded, trying to raise his party's spirit.

After introducing himself, he looked at Richard again. "Do you know how the way from here to Stokbon is? Or if there is any safe shortcuts? It would be good to take less risk as possible, because these bandits really like to ambush travellers."

 

'Wow, This place is so beautiful and even so realistic. So this is how Virtual reality is huh? Who would have thought' The blonde girl walked through the town, stopping in front of a glass to look at her reflection. She looked completely different from her real world. A small smiled made its way on her lips. 'This is a new world where I can remake myself. Dear God, please let me screw my second life' she thought. She was surprised when the merchant had come over to her and offered a job. With hesitation, the girl had accepted.

'I hope I can be useful to the merchant. He seemed like a nice man' She thought. Aurora was a complete newbie to the world of Terrasphere so it made sense that it took her a while to find the arrival location but somehow, by asking around, she managed to reach on time. She saw the merchants with a few more people, who she recognised as her teammates and made her way towards them. 'Ah, introductions have begun'

"Nice to meet you Mr Futaba, Mr shield. My name is Haz-I mean, Aurora Labyrinth. I am still new at handling my magic and travelling, but I will try my best to help everyone to the best of my ability. I look forward to working with everyone" She introduced herself with a smile. She took out a napkin and wiped the sweat off.

The girl raised her hand before asking her question "I also have a question. How far is Stokbon?"

 

The smell of seawater hung heavy upon the air as Joen made his way through the busy Dunnstad city. Joen had been wandering around looking for more Yladians to join him in his restoration of Yladia when he had come across Richard. When the merchant asked him for his assistance Joen thought about it for a moment, he really didn't care about the troubles of anyone that wasn't a Yladian but since this was a cross country expedition it would give him plenty of chances to come across other Yladians.

As he made his way down the dock that served as the rendezvous point, his silver eyes scanned the other three individuals that would be his companions on this endeavor. Two Faerin and a Human, two of them seemed like there were new players to this world as their equipment looked like the most basic stuff that the game just gives you. A soft sigh escaped his slightly parted lips as he thought about having to protect these complete and total strangers.

As he came to a stop Joen looked around at his companions and nodded his head ever so slightly "I am Joen Panelis, the King of Yladia, I will protect you with all of my power" Joen looked down at the boxes that still needed to be packed and nodded his head, he wanted to get underway as quickly as he possibly could "moipar qaziem!" the words of the power seemed to echo around the docks and as soon as they were said several vines rose up from the water and wrapped themselves around the boxes before lifting them up and placing them upon the wagon before they retreated back into the water.

 

“Hey, hey, watch it, Faerin coming through...Man on a mission, move please...”

Not so much threading as barging his way through the Dunnstads markets, Daedalus’ four-foot figure drew much attention from the peak-hour crowd as he pushed through the press of merchants and consumers with a backpack at least one foot taller than he was, jingling and clanking gently with each step.

As he arrives at the Dunnstads docks, Daedalus immediately spots his ward and his fellow escort. He could easily identify the adventurers from the NPC citizens around them; a party on the docks consisting of a massive tentacle-shield-wielding Faerin, a dashing Yladian mage and a daintily dressed Human was very hard to miss. That, and the magical vines extending out of the water and assisting his client (identified mainly by being the only plainly dressed individual there) in hauling boxes.

As the last of the cargo was set down, Daedalus approached the party, waving cheerfully in greeting, panting heavily as he slowed from a brisk jog to a walk.

“Hello, hello, everyone...am I late? I got carried away making preparations!"

As the others finished introducing themselves, Daedalus grinned at his fellow Faerin (@Hanno Futaba), nodded appreciatively at the Human girl (@Aurora Labyrinth) and raised a good-natured eyebrow at the Yladian (@Joen Panelis) man's claim of kingship.

"Nice to meet you all! Just call me Daedalus, Faerin Tinkerer extraordinaire! Let’s all do our best to get Richard to Stokbon, shall we?”

Rubbing his palms eagerly, he committed all his companions’ faces to memory for later reference, and hopped onto the back of the wagon's cart, backpack clunking noisily.

“What’re we waiting for? To Stokbon!”

 

“Hmmm...a dangerous but efficient shortcut, or a safe but tedious road? Quite the choice, mister...”

Daedalus hoisted his left leg over his right knee and propped his elbow upon his kneecap, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he considered their options. Well, obviously, the forest shortcut would offer more loot in lesser time, but he didn’t want to die just yet...on the other hand, he didn’t want to have to spend several days just rolling along the road either…

A glint of resolve flashed in his eyes, and he jumped upright dramatically onto a crate in cart, fishing out something shiny from his pocket.

“It’s in times like these that we call upon the most cosmologically accurate decision making process...”

It was a coin.

“...COIN FLIPPING!”

The tiny spinning metal disc shimmered in the sunlight as it revolved in the air. Daedalus caught it and slapped it down onto his opposite wrist. When he took his hand off, it was revealed to be a heads.

“Alright, heads! Guess I’m voting for the forest. How’s about you lot? What to do...what to do...”

 

As he stood there Joen could see the disbelief and suspicion in their employers eyes when he addressed him as King, while it was an a common occurrence with many people it didn't make it any less annoying. Shaking his head Joen forced the thoughts from his mind, now was not the time to be worrying about whether or not someone believed that he truly was a King or not. He had been hired to do a job and that job was exactly what he was going to do.

Joen listened to the two options that had been presented to them by their employer considering both thoughtfully. If they took the main road the journey itself would take longer which would wear down on their supplies causing them to expend their gold replenishing them along the way. The forest path may offer a shorter journey but who knows what monsters and animals they may run into or the amount of them either, but was the risk worth the shorter journey?

Joen had absolutely zero interest in the world outside of Yladia and had only agreed to take on this quest to serve in his search for more Yladians so if he was being entirely honest he didn't care if his companions survived or if they perished. And with that in mind he made his decision "I also vote to take the forest path. It is a short cut and a shorter journey means less time on the road and less chances of running into danger."

 

The Faerin smiled at his three teammates's introductions. The girl seemed to be willing to do her best even though she looked to be completely new to the game. The Yladian made Hanno frown a bit with an internal chuckle, but Hanno still appreciated his determination. And the fellow Faerin was a tinkerer that looked very confident, making Hanno chuckle with a happy tone, as it reminded him of someone that was probably even more confident and eccentric... 'I guess this is a tinker-people thing?'

After the introductions, Richard explained and gave them two options, that made the Faerin go in deep thoughts. If he was alone, he wouldn't think twice before going to the fastest route, after all he would only need to care about himself and if anything went wrong he wouldn't need to sweat it. But considering that he had other people to protect, he thought that going to the main road would be safer.

Looking at the other two, they seemed to be fine to go in the forest path. 'Well, so they want to go through the forest.' Hanno smiled, his comrades had courage. But if they went to the forest, they needed a better plan than just get there and walk through it without a care in the world. Knowing that and reminding himself of a past experience, Hanno gave his opnion.

"Look, if we are going to the forest we need to have a good plan and a good positioning. And I think I have one!" The Faerin grinned. "Our major problem in going through the forest is the fact we are going tor attract too much attention from the wild animals. So Daedalus, can you make some sort of stinky repel for beasts? A tinker friend of mine did one once, so If you can, I can carry it with me slightly away from the wagon so you guys won't suffer from it." Hanno explained to @Daedalus.

He looked at @Joen Panelis. "And you Joe-... Ahem, Your High Majesty." Hanno gave a silly smile. "You could do the honor and scout for any sign of wild monsters, after all you are an Yladian! No one is more in touch with the forest than an Yladian!"

Finally turning to @Aurora Labyrinth. "And you, Ms Labyrinth. Along with Daedalus you two can give a dedicated protection to the wagon and Richard. If anything happends, you guys yell to warn us, thus we can go and fight back the problem together! We are going to be close!" The Faerin smiled brightly at his comrades.

"What you think? I'm voting for the forest, considering we have a plan." He nodded.

 

'Is that man really a king?'she wondered as she looked at @Joen Panelis The girl wasn't sure about the working of the world so she almost believed him, until the merchant called him a king with hesitation.

The girl was a bit hesitant with @Hanno Futaba plan. She wasn't denying that it wasn't good, She was still inexperienced with the Virtual Reality world, but she felt the plan could change a little bit. 'It would have been better if it was one experienced and one new comer. That way, if the carriage was ambushed by some monster which was not on the forward party's radar, it wouldn't be completely defenceless..and @Daedalus And I are healers so if either of us went ahead, we could heal them if they got hurt' she thought,staring at the ground. She didn't want to oppose him and end up being wrong with her decision, which is why she remained silent.

She watched as everyone picked the to go to forest " I'll also be choosing for the forest"
She answered before turning to Futaba. "I'll do my best to protect the carriage and Mr. Richard. We will be in your care, Mr futaba, your majesty"
She said, her voice not hesitating to address Joen as a king. She thought it would be rude of her to address him with doubt.

 

The Faerin walked in front line, if the Tinker Faerin had made the stinky repel, he would be holding it up while having plugs in his nose. Luckily he was used to this kind of thing, so he just kept walking while hearing the man's story about his granddaughter, letting out a chuckle. "Well, I hope your granddaughter is fine!" Hanno said, when suddenly Richard stopped his wagon, making the Faerin face forward again.

Hanno looked at it with a concerned frown. 'I think something happened here...' The Faerin thought, leaving the stinky repel on the ground and walking to the group. "Sorry everyone, I will check it out just to make sure nothing is wrong there, sorry for slowing you down Mr Richard... But I can't ignore it considering someone could be in danger. You guys can go on without me if you want, don't worry because I can catch you guys up!" He said before turning to @Aurora Labyrinth and @Daedalus, giving them a warm smile. "You two, be careful please. I don't want you guys to get hurt."

Then he turned to @Galadion, giving a confident grin. "I will be counting on you to protect them if you are going to stay here, Your High Majesty!" The Shield looked at the Faerin and poked his back with one tentacle, as it was trying to hurry him up. "It's okay buddy, let's go!" Hanno patted the Shield, turning away from the wagon and walking to the little camping spot while having his guard up.

If someone went with him, he would make sure to stay close and protective to his companion. If someone went to explore the surroundings, he would warn them to yell if something happened.

 

Galadion kept perfect stride with the wagon easily, his silver eyes never stopped scanning the area around them looking for wild beasts or a monster of some sort. However it wasn't just trouble that the Elven King was looking for, he was also looking to see if he could detect any NPC Yladians out in the forest so that he could direct them to the new settlement that he was constructing within Yladia. Turning his head away from the scenery around him he looked at their employers for a few seconds before allowing a small sigh to slip through his lips, if the man continued to never stop talking the way he had been it was going to be a very long trip indeed.

Suddenly the man who up until this point had been a non-stop fountain of dialogue fell completely silent as if he had been struck mute by one of the more merciful Gods or Goddesses. However this did nothing to put Galadion at ease, striding forward he stood in-front of the horses and from there he could see the apparently abandoned campgrounds in the distance. Something about the scene made Galadion uneasy, he knew from history books that a tactic that the bandits of old in the real world would hide and make their camp look unguarded and attack anyone foolish enough to come up to in in force.

Shaking his head slightly Galadion knew that he wasn't going to fall for that but if his companions wished they could risk their lives over something so unimportant. Turning he walked over and stood next to Richard and nodded his head "This camp bears no significance towards the task which we were hired to preform, I suggest we ignore it and travel onward." Now that his vote on what the party should do had been cast Galadion looked up at Richard once more "Fear no, I shall stay by your side incase anything attacks us" turning away from his employer he scanned the area and readied himself for trouble.

 

The young girl watched with enthusiasm as the merchant kept telling about the different plants and animals. She seemed pretty interested in his stories, often times encouraging the old man to tell more of his stories. 'This place is so amazing. The man also seems so real. I wouldn't have known I was talking to a npc if it wasn't the fact he was a merchant with a quest' she thought as she moved her legs back and forth while sitting on the wagon, listening to another story which was about his granddaughter.

A look of concern and confusion rested on her feature as she saw the recently left campsite. 'This is strange..was someone recently here before? If so, why did they leave in a hurry?' She wondered as she turned to listen to Futaba who said he would go a search to make sure they were safe.

She felt a wave of guilt flood her as she realised he was being extra careful since the team had two new players. His words said that as well. She knew he was just looking out for them but she still felt like she was being a burden to him. She watched as the king @Galadion said he wanted to continue the journey. The girl hopped down the carriage and turned towards the merchant. "I shall assist Mr Futaba. We will be back momentarily " She gave one last smiled before hurrying towards Hanno's side .

"Isn't it weird that someone left in such a hurry? Maybe they got scared" she said to the male she followed, trying to shake off the weird eerie feeling she got as she bent down near the fire place. She took a stick and began poking the firewood just to see how long it was when the fire got extinguished.

 

As they set off, Daedalus immediately got to work with no more than an affirmative grunt, cobbling together a foul-smelling alchemical concoction that would most likely ward off hostile beasts of lower levels, though there was no guarantee that stronger, hungrier or more desperate predators wouldn’t approach, even with the swinging makeshift thurible of pungent, effervescent liquid sloshing ahead of them as @Hanno Futaba took the vanguard position.

Sitting cross-legged on one of the wagon’s crates, Daedalus hummed to himself and made notes in a little leatherbound journal about the uses of the plants that Richard pointed out, and laid back to watch the clouds idly as the merchant regaled them with tales of his colourful past. The sudden stop puts a curious frown onto Daedalus’ face, and he hops back to his feet, surveying the situation from atop the wagon.

A scattered campsite, huh? The old merchant was scared of a few dying embers in a campfire? Daedalus shrugged and listened as everyone put in their two cents on the situation, nodding and rubbing his chin thoughtfully whenever he was referred to. @Aurora Labyrinth had left to assist his Faerin comrade in scouting the area...seems like he’d be left to take care of the merchant with the (slightly loopy, in his opinion) Yladian king, @Galadion.

After the healer-tank duo had left, Daedalus hopped off of the wagon, kicking a few rocks and stretching a fair bit with a long, satisfied groan. Walking over to the beast-repelling thurible, Daedalus would pick it up and carry it back to the wagon, setting it where he was sitting before. Thank god Richard’s seat was upwind.

“Well, I’m going to be stretching my legs a little, Your Majesty! You know, running around, stopping to smell the flowers, and the like. I’ll leave you to protect us, o great Yladian king!”

With a mischievous smirk, Daedalus skipped off to explore the area around the wagon, taking care to remain just about within sight of the merchant and the king. He was already looking about for plants he could use for brewing new and exciting concoctions with, referring frequently to his new notes, courtesy of Richard.