Quest - Black Sheep

{ Logged In } The Odd One Out

Elely stood in the midst of a snowy plain, her eyes scanning the vast blanket of white before her. What was once a grassy plain in the seasons of spring, autumn, and summer was now hidden underneath the endless winter that bit at the residents of the nearby towns. Green hues glistened as the system put the Yladian in active 'Investigation' mode, searching for any signs or trace of the missing sheep that fled from its home with the shepherd and other sheep. Locks of soft green hair flowed slowly in the winter breeze, a puff of white emerging with each breath Elely took. A gloved hand emerged from the black cloak surrounding her body, fingers rubbing against her chin in thought as she began to recap the entire situation in her head.

A sheep with a coat of black ran off into the forest, journeying into the hills northward because of its sensitivity of it being different - according to Darlan. If such a case was true, the quest was screaming that such a creature was lost in the unknown; that it was constantly wondering if it was okay to be different. And judging by the behavioral patterns of it running off, it wanted to blend in with a society that was shaped just like it. But Elely knew that an answer would surface to such a unique creature. The green haired maiden had the feeling that it would find the answer it was looking for once she helped return it to the man known as Darlan.

It was clear that this sheep was very loved and cared for, yet it still became lost in how different it was compared to everything. And the more Elely thought about it, the more the user behind her was being reminded of someone she knew. It was a rather sad path to take since it was surrounded in uncertainty, sadness, and dwelled in the unknown. It was with a gentle sigh that the woman closed her eyes with her gloved fingertips running over her now closed eyelids. 'Investigation' mode flickered out, giving the elf a bit of a breather after finding nothing of use in the snowy plains.

There were no footprints, no traces, and barely any sign of life in this wintery land. It was unsurprising because this was one of the hardest seasons to track anything down, especially when any footprint or clue left behind would never be left out for long thanks to the constant falling of the snow. Or just being buried underneath other tracks. The Yladian looked over to the partner beside her that was briefed on the quest with her, eyeing the man with a twinge of sadness in her orbs. This was a rather sad quest but one they would give a hopeful and happy ending, and despite her quiet nature, she spoke up softly to share her current information thus far.

"I'm sorry... Even in 'Investigation' mode, I can't seem to find any traces of the sheep's whereabouts... I worry about such a small creature heading all that way on its own. To think that it could possibly be hurt or worse... It nearly breaks my heart to think about it."

The woman offered a sad smile to Ezekiel, wondering how he felt about all of this. Even though she never spoke much to him as they were briefed on this quest, she wanted to speak to him now. It would help ease her heart as they ventured forward, and hopefully put her nerves to ease with more positive thoughts. Like how the sheep is just fine right now, or that it isn't suffering out in the cold...

Lost and alone...

 

Quest 1: Black Sheep of the Family

Winter in Astorea’s farmland seemed so peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of real life, and while he enjoyed the real life world… this was just as nice. Especially when he got to wrap up warm in coveralls and coats along with his new friend Elely who he had met while travelling in a forest. She just happened to drop by in the middle of a group from the actual sky and he had not realised that could happen until then.

The quest however was just a simple fetch quest as the mmo junkies would call it. They had to find this black sheep and simply return it. With the information they were given it seemed that it would have just ran to join the rams northward. If this were the case then it would be a simple trip up there, grab the or coax the sheep back with them and return him back to Darlan. Pretty simple right?

Ezekiel would begin by watching Elely take her attempt at using investigation mode. She had a scan around and noticed there was nothing of noticeable whereabouts when it came to her investigating the area. She seemed very sad and distraught about the sheep being missing from its owner. Ezekiel wasn’t too sure himself on how he felt since if the sheep wanted to escape there.

”Hey it’s okay. I took hunting as a mastery so my detection might be a little better in the snow.” He would use his own investigation mode by tapping the side of his head. He could clearly see where he and Elely had been. ”I can’t really see a huge amount else. Maybe faint foot prints? But they are a little bit more difficult to read.”

He would walk north like it was suggested, constantly looking left and right too find any kinds of clues that would suggest the sheep was going this way. He was beginning to get a little desperate as they were in before he saw something flick on his investigation mode.

”Hey! Sheep poop!” he cried out in excitement, darting from Elely in the snow while trying not to trip over. He got down to the floor and began to look at the sheep mess, thinking about it for a little while. ”Awww man this is just what we needed!”

He turned back to Elely, before realising what he had said before getting back up to her and giving an embarrassed grin.


”I-I mean… this means we’re going in the right direction, right? The owner seems to be accurate that Tauta was heading north. Looks like we are going in right direction huh?” He looked ahead, before turning back to Elely.



”Lets continue forward to the Craggy Hills then!” He then thought about it for a moment. ”Are they just straight north? Or in a North-ish distance? I’ve never actually been…”

 

Really? Honestly...?

Elely tilted her head in curiosity, observing the man before her as he activated his own module for investigating the scene. With green orbs tracing his movements, the woman would trail behind him quietly while taking note of his hunting mastery. Such a trait on this quest was truly handy alongside her own vocation. It was almost as if the two of them were suited for quests such as these that involved animals in some way, shape, or form. As she watched him look left and right, her own head would move with his rather late. However, it wasn't because she was looking along with him.

She was just simply mimicking him.

Elely assumed that he knew what he was doing since he had the hunting mastery, but it was fun to gauge whether her new friend would be aware of her silly antics. Yet, it was also an attempt to distract herself from the bad thoughts daring to claw at the depths of her mind. The sheep's safety and whereabouts were still very fresh in her mind and the concern she held was high. It wasn't until Ezekiel cried out in excitement that the elf flinched, squeaking softly as he darted from their current position in the land to a certain spot a few feet ahead. It wasn't until the green haired maiden barely took a step forward that she registered what he said.

Wait... Did he just say...

"Sheep poop?", she repeated with eyes widening with each passing moment in the falling snow. Her brown cloak flowed with a soft breeze as she listened to the man's voice, sensing an air of relief emanating from him with the way he spoke. Elely could only make a blank face as she edged closer to her partner's position before her, standing beside him with that same humorous look gracing her pale features. The clearly evident embarrassment on his face was obvious when she noticed his smile, attempting to maintain the same calm and quiet composure that Elely's user adopted in this world. The Yladian let him continue speaking, confirming that the shepherd's statements were accurate in regards to the black sheep heading northward.

However, the woman lost all concentration on keeping her composure when Ezekiel asked the specifics of 'northward'. With a giggle escaping her pink lips, the lanky maiden wrapped her arms around her stomach as she finally let her laughter resound through the once quiet land. She wasn't laughing at her friend and partner, no. She was just finding how excited he got over the sheep poop cute and adorable. The way he even seemed embarrassed about his proclamation afterward was something that had added to her giggle fit, causing the woman to rest a hand on his shoulder for support as she nearly doubled over.

In that moment, one couldn't deny he was just too precious in his excitement.

"O-Oh, Ezekiel! Ahahahahahahaha! Hahahahahaha!", she giggled and laughed out. Elely could barely edge in a word or two to her now newly formed laughing fit, her voice constantly quivering from her trying to talk and laugh at the same time. "You're so cute a-and precious!", she admitted before finally beginning to calm down with heavy sighs and having her figure hunched over. They couldn't waste too much time in regards to finding the sheep but she was feeling much better after letting out a few laughs. "N-Northward is, aha, just meaning we're going north. I-It's basically, heehee, a fancy way of saying to go north!", she giggled before patting his cheek and walking ahead of him with a few giggles slipping past her lips.

This wasn't going to be so bad, was it?

They'd find the sheep and show it that it's okay to be different. And Elely already figured out how.

 

The woman stood there silent, a smirk or snicker was beginning to rise in her face as he tried to explain his findings, growing more embarrassed as he felt his cheeks flush with read before…

That laugh she began to let out while she tried to string some kind of vocabulary into her laughter somewhere. While she tried to hold in her laugh and talked it seemed to just to fail to work because she fell over in a hunch while trying to inform him of what the shepherd meant.

All he could do while she passed him was cup his face in a little bit of embarrassment. No way did the shepherd just mean northward! Why would they not just say north? Seemed a little silly, but so were semantics of a video game character… unless he wasn’t a video game character. He couldn’t quite tell as this point.


”I-I was just making sure we’re on the right trail,” he blurted through his face, before seeing that she was already much further ahead. ” The shepherd wasn’t really clear on where this place was. He must have been there before if he knew where the sheep would be heading!” She was still going with a giggle still passing through her lips.

”H-hey wait up!” he called up, chasing after her to walk with her towards the northward, still feeling the annoyance rise from being corrected on what northward was. Either way they were getting close to where this destination was.

Sure enough after a while of walking while using investigative mode to keep finding some clues the pair of them would end up at the Craggy Hills. He figured they were there because there were many hills around them… and it was northward.

”Huh… fancy that,” Ezekiel remarked, pointing towards the hills that were layered in snow. ”He really did just mean go north didn’t he?” He was adamant to note that northward and north were different. But that wasn’t really the true problem they were going to face.

It looked like they would need to find this sheep in between all these black rams, and then someone goad or incapacitate this sheep to bring back with them. This was going to be a challenge because they didn’t really seem to have a lot on them to really get a sheep. And pushing it back wasn’t really a feasible option.

The man would scratch his head, and turn to Elely to admit that he was a little puzzled.

”As wonderful as this place might be… I’m a little stuck on how we could try and bring this sheep back. I’m up to suggestions, because my original thought of just trying to push the sheep back would probably not go down too well.” His masteries were not going to help him this time. Maybe he could make a trap? But he wasn’t too sure on that.

 

Awwwww...

Ahhh, Ezekiel. What a bout of enjoyable laughter he provided her. It was quite a truly adorable sight to see him figure out the truth behind the meaning of the word 'northward'. However, it is in this that she also gauged how he would react to situations similar to this one. The player that operated Elely with such care and caution loved to see how individuals within this world reacted to certain situations, but the brunette partner accompanying her on this quest was a special case.

Ever since the first day, Elely had been interested in him due to his calm facade and just... familiar nature. Ezekiel reminded the player strongly of someone she knew very well in reality; a man whom she considered her closest and most cherished friend. A man she's known for years and Ezekiel seemed to spark that twang of... security she would only feel with him. As the man called for her to wait up, the Yladian clicked back into reality from her AFK-like symptoms and turned her gaze back to make sure the man could catch up.

It was after a few moments of silence upon traversing through the forest, brushes of land, and reaching ground that waved and stretched up and down, that that the green haired elfling could only assume they reached the Craggy Hills. Ezekiel did bring up a good point that the shepherd had to have traveled to this land in the past in order to know the direction the black sheep traveled. And in turn, it would make sense if the creature escaped to this area because it knew of nowhere else to go. Although, it was a bit funny how he brought up the shepherd really meaning north...

All the pieces were beginning to line up as green orbs scanned across the vast, wintery hills. As Ezekiel pointed to the hills before them, a sea of black rams could be seen all huddled together to keep each other warm from the snow. It was in this that no one would be alone but much more difficult for them in finding their sheep. The woman looked up at Ezekiel as he admitted he was unsure of what to do, and in truth, so was Elely. Yes, it was very probable how his suggestion of pushing the sheep back to its home wouldn't go down too well, so she carefully tugged at Ezekiel's sleeve with a gentle smile lining her pink lips.

"We'll just have to start searching... Either way, we can't get anywhere if we can't find it. But with my Beast Taming skill, I'll come up with a plan to help us get it back.", she shared before taking off her coat. She noticed that Ezekiel didn't seem to have a coat and there was no way she was going to let him go out into the open without some sort of protection. Even if her character would suffer status ailments from the cold temperature, at least Ezekiel would be safe. "Here..." She offered him her coat, wrapping it around his shoulders before beginning to walk ahead. "If you get too cold, don't be afraid to use that to warm up, Ezekiel. I want to make sure you'll be alright while we search.", she offered with the same smile on her lips before walking forward towards the rams carefully and slowly. With her gloved hands stretched out, Elely quickly felt the chill of the winter bite at her exposed skin, but they needed to get through these rams to find the sheep.

And Elely wanted to confront them truthfully.

"Hi... Hey there, rams...", she began quietly with a soft tone to her voice. "I just want to find a black sheep... You see, he's lost, scared, confused, and his owner is very worried about him... Do you mind if I pass on by?", she inquired with care. She didn't know how these rams were going to react or how Ezekiel was handling her gesture of her coat, or watching her begin her plan, but she wanted to do her best for him. And for the sheep.

She hoped it was really here, just as the shepherd predicted...