She got a fair amount of ingredients from the merchant that sold herbs and spices more for cooks than for alchemists. While she was there, she managed to get some more bottles as well- some slightly better than her most common jars. A pamphlet or two was added to her inventory as well, though it was just to tell her more about gathering nodes in the area that were recently found. It was really amazing what markets could yield! A sigh left her as she found her way to the inn. They hadn't really discussed going inside or outside in detail, so she opted to wait with her new surplus of items by the door, using the time to realign things in her inventory as she waited for the man to return just as she had. "Oh! All done?" A small smile graced her cheeks as she glanced towards his footsteps, her hands rustling to finish the last bit of organizing she'd been doing at the time. "Find everything you needed? I got talked into buying a basket on my way out of the market in the end... They gave me some information on harvesting nodes in the area I haven't seen before, so I figured the basket could be handy, in the end."
A smile broke out on Ashnor’s face as he spotted Solaria leaning against the inn. “Mhm, I sure did, got myself an anvil, along with a new hammer,” Ashnor points with his to the approximately yard long hammer holstered across his back, “along with a bit of armor, like these new boots.” He concludes by gesturing toward the new hide boots he now had on. Although he tries, Ashnor can’t contain himself, chuckling to himself as Solaria tries to explain her reasoning for buy a basket. “Ah, but that there’s how they get you, they cast it the information to lure you in, then *WHAM*, you’re caught and they reel you in. Hook, Line and Sinker.” The teasing obvious as Ashnor acted out the explanation, complete with a casting of an imaginary fishing rod, a smacking of a fist and an open palm, and the reeling in of of said fishing rod. In that order, no less. “Luckily enough for me though, I was not fooled into the monopoly that is obviously baskets.” “At any rate,” Ashnor says moving the conversation in forward direction, “how’s about we enter the inn? Continue our conversation in there, it seems a bit weird to just stand out front of the inn all day.” Gesturing towards the door, Ashnor waits for solaria to enter, before following.
A comical bead of sweat lined her eyebrow, but never fell. She wasn't sure if it was the idea of an anvil making her warm or her embarrassment over falling for a sales pitch that she should know better than to fall for. "Hook line and sinker's right. I sank right in and was caught in their cage like a crab. But... I did get let go after I took the bait. And I did learn some things, so I can't complain as much as I want to." On the one hand it was pathetic, on the other it was almost a blessing. And as she looked at her mental image of the basket she'd bought and put away, she realized it might actually have some use at the shop. "I could always use it as a display," She mused with a grin. "A little more homely touches never hurt a small town shop, did it?" Then again, her shop wasn't really a 'small town shop'. It was small, but on the outskirts of a big city. A big, destroyed city. "Yep. I already see it being handy after all. I know just where to put and just what to put in it!" The gleam in her eye was powerful, hands balled into fists as she pumped them into a martial art's stance, despite clearly not planning to attack anyone. Her slender, pointed ears of her race perked lightly as the man noted how awkward they must look standing around chatting before the inn as they were. Nodding, she followed his leading gesture and wandered inside, holding the door open with a gentle grip. "Any idea what you want to drink? I'm thinking of something mixed, like an lemonade iced tea. Never too cold for something tasty, right?"
Ashnor's face lit up when Solaria mentioned having a shop, "Oh, so you have a shop of your own? That's really cool. I eventually want to get a shop, but from what I've read, they're pretty darn expensive to get." Ashnor smiles widely as he thinks about what owning a property would be like. There no denying that he wanted to have shop, it being one of Fiona's main goals for Ashnor in this game. Ashnor, still with a grin on his face, follows her in, holding the door for himself when Solaria can not reach it anymore. "Oh, I didn't realize they had those sorts of drinks in this game. I'm not really a fan of tea though, so if they have it, I think I'd rather go for some coffee." Looking around the inn, Ashnor couldn't help but notice that this place looked fairly similar to the Inn he and Angel had visited. Sure, things were arranged a bit differently, but the general shape was the same. Shrugging, Ashnor pointed to an empty table in the elevated section at the back of the room, "How about we sit over there, in the back. Looks like there's lots of light coming in from those windows. It should be nice, right?"
Solaria nodded when her shop was apparently a surprise. "Yep, I have what I call a pharmacy. It does cost a fair amount, but I happened to get a discount on the land for it, so..." It was a bit embarrassing, but there had been a notable upside to trying to help the Astorean capital besides just trying to be kind to her fellow players in a player-run kingdom. She'd gotten a title of mild nobility (that honest, she still didn't understand) and a coupon to lessen the price of land in Astorea for her to build her little apothecary. "I only recently started making much from it myself... I was able to hire help recently, actually. There's a nice NPC that takes care of the shop for me when I'm not there now. I heard I can buy a gathering node and someone to help me with it if I keep working hard, so I'm going to do it. My goal is for my shop to help a lot of people!" Her smile was bright as she explained herself- not that she had really a need to. As they entered and he pointed out a spot in the back that would be just right to chat in, she grinned in agreement without a word. She went to take a seat before giving him another glance. "So you're more of a coffee person than a tea person? I was basically raised on tea... And if it's made the right way, it's rather tasty. The only tea I hate is what I make at the shop. Medicine just doesn't taste good, though. That's how you know it's working, right?"
Ashnor nodded his head as Solaria talked about her shop, it was actually quite interesting, and apparently it did actually make profit eventually. "Oh, that's cool that you got it at a discount. Where is located anyways, maybe I could stop by at some point when I'm nearby, say hello or something." Ashnor wondered where property could be located, if it had to be in a certain area, or if you could just have it anywhere in the game world. Quickly following Solaria over to the table, Ashnor sits himself down across from her and doesn't answer her question until he had gotten himself settled in. "Yeah coffee's great. How else would you study for end of year exams late at night?" When she mentioned the taste of medicine, Fiona couldn't help but think to that iconic grape medicine flavor. Even though it didn't taste that bad, that's what she thought of when medicine taste came to mind.
"I don't know if you know the countries of this world yet... Do you know that player region Astorea? My shop is down the road in the outskirts from the capital. It's got a nice big sign to show itself, and I have a work station so it helps out a lot. I prefer working on medicine at a desk than on the dirt, it turns out." Another laugh, a sip of her drink- she was fairly at ease as she enjoyed the cool liquid that flowed down her throat with a chill and sharpness that was akin to alcohol, but healthy and safe. It was sharp and bitter, but moist and soothing in its own unusual way. "So you drink coffee for all nighters? I try not to do those myself, but when I do cram... I usually have some sweets and tea. I guess you could say I'm old fashioned? But I do try to get good sleep before an exam. Your health is important, you know- and you remember things better if you sleep after learning, or so the studies show. I've learned a lot about that in my classes... Nursing school is pretty handy in teaching you how to use your health to your advantage!"
"Player region? Do you mean to say that there's an entire region of the game run by players?" Ashnor's grin widens "That sounds really cool!" An entire country run by players sounded like a great place to put a business, like Solaria had. So that would probably be Ashnor's first choice when thinking of a spot, unless something else came up. Ashnor had to admit as he took a sip from his mug, This game really had it's drinks down, his coffee was nice and hot. It also was invigorating and he wouldn't be surprised if it restored energy too. Ashnor nod at what Solaria said, "Yeah, it's not the best thing to do. But sometimes you gotta do it for subjects you just aren't as competent in." Ashnor shrugs and takes another sip from his mug. He leans back in his chair as he looks out one of the windows."So you study nursing? That's pretty interesting, makes sense why you chose to be an potion maker in the game, also."
"There are non players living there too- like my employee. But... The head of the 'country' is a player of the game, and so are most nobles I think. I still don't really get what role I play in that. A lot of us got titles when we gave funds to help rebuild the castle there..." A soft, timid giggle left her as she realized she wasn't really sure her role from that. "What is a viscountess even supposed to do? I'm happy just helping people as I can." She was happy to have her mixed tea with lemonade- it was a common drink in her personal life, one that was much easier to buy at the store than to make herself. Sure, she'd tried, but she wasn't one to make 'iced tea' much. Eventually she'd learn. Cool drinks had some good bonuses as much as warm ones did, after all. "I used to cram more with history finals when I was in high school than with math. Sciences I was average in... English I did okay. But history and I weren't really friends, even if I enjoy it overall. A formula is easier to remember than a date, I guess." Sadly, she still had to take some history classes now that she was in college- but somehow or another, she was getting by when tests came around. "You think so? I mean, pharmacology isn't really part of what I plan to do... A nurse is a nurse, and while it's important for one to know what medicine does and how it works, it doesn't mean we normally would be making it, right?" Another sip of tea led her to add in somewhat personal data once more. "I honestly just took on alchemy because I grew up with herbal medicine myself. My grandma's what's known as a Machi." Her grandmother wasn't her own, but that didn't matter. What mattered is she still thought of that woman as a grandmother- even if they'd never physically met. "She's taught me all sorts of things about herbs over the phone since I was a kid. Someday, I'll go to visit her and learn directly. It'd be a nice addition to my skill set, so that I can take my Nightingale pledge farther!" Blushing as she spoke of her goals, she shifted her attention to look around for a moment. Even if it had only been a second, Solaria realized she'd raised her voice when talking about 'the pledge'- the closest thing to a Hippocratic oath any nurse got to take. Somehow, the thought had always excited her, but she knew she had years before she could take it and truly take care of people like she wanted. "S-So what about you? What are you studying recently? Since you mentioned cramming, I figure you must have some exams you're working on preparing for already right now. Tell me about them. Sometimes teaching helps us learn, right?"
"I've never even heard of that term before now." Ashnor laughs and shrugs his shoulders, "But yeah that sounds like a really cool place to go to. You mentioned they were rebuilding the castle? Did someone attack it?" Ashnor raises his eyebrow, intrigued if there were actual wars in this game that could be influenced by players actions. Supposedly the game had no real set plot, so it could be entirely possible. Ashnor nodded along as Solaria told him of her real life studies, taking a sip of his coffee every now and again. "Well, I'm sure being a nurse in this game isn't as exciting as being an alchemist, I just meant the field of medicine in general." As solaria continued into the more personal topic about her grandmother, Ashnor's became a uncomfortable in her telling him this. A bit of an unsettled expression appeared on Ashnor's face, but it returned to a relatively normal look once she had moved on from that topic. "Oh, what have I been studying?" Ashnor looks down at his drink before continuing. "Sorry if I'm not as forthcoming as you were. I don't want to give away a lot of personal information about myself." Looking back up at Solaria, his grin returns somewhat. "English isn't really my forte, though and I usually cram for that, if you can really say you cram for it. I'm much better at math, which is one of the reasons I went into accounting."
"Being totally honest, I have no idea what happened. I just know there was some sort of war once before with the players and some of the 'inhabitants' of this world, and during that big clash and whatnot or something, the castle was destroyed. I came after all that, but at that time, the 'player kingdom' was just starting to rebuild while we were trying to help the game's Yladians. If you go to Astorea, you'll see a huge number of them... 'cause they had to escape their home, and a lot of them came to Astorea in the end." Another drink would do the trick to stop her babbling about history she could never begin to understand. She remembered things from that timeframe, but she'd been too new to really do that much. Idly, she explained as she swirled the liquid in her glass, "The first big battle I was part of... Was getting the Yladian refugees out of Yladia, only to be attacked by a giant mushroom creature." The topic change was a relief in its own right. It was funny to her when the man said alchemy was likely more entertaining than nursing- she laughed a bit, but not enough to be rude by any means. To her, both the magic of healing and the ability to make medicine were great things. "Even alchemy and light can be used to hurt others as much as they can be used to help, though." Unintentionally, she'd mentioned it- the way she could create beams of light to attack and/or blind a foe, the fact she could create more than just medicine from the herbs in the area. She'd made poison before, mostly to help younger fighters and the world's inhabitants in beating overbearing wildlife that were causing havoc within the world. She didn't usually mean to create it, however. It just happened, much like Ashnor's swift dismissal of telling her his life goals. She couldn't blame him with that reasoning, of course- she had to learn not to blabber so much about herself, too. Admittedly, that'd take a while though. And a while was not now. Suddenly, as Ashnor explained his skills in school, he unintentionally stated his studies despite having noted he wasn't planning to be as forthcoming. She giggled again, stifling it with her hand over her lips. "You sounded like you weren't going to tell me. I don't see anything dangerous about knowing an accountant, though, you know?" Then again, he was the one he was worried about, not her, surely. But still... Was it dangerous to know someone could do math? "Algebra and geometry have great usage in medical science too. In fact, my algebra use is pretty heavy in my alchemy. It's amazing isn't it? That we can use our real lives to help us in this one, in our own ways. My medicinal recipes are all from my real life, too- or almost completely. Some plants are harder to get here than by mail order... But if you know how to substitute things, it usually works out just the same!"
Ashnor holds out his hands, indicating for her to pause "W-w-w-wait. Did you say 'Giant Mushroom Creature'?" He takes a swig of his coffee, before continuing. "Now that sounds like a story, not that you need to tell it right now." Putting his hand down, Ashnor resumes listening to what Solaria says "Huh?" He said said, bit confused over her comment on him not telling her. "Oh, no. What I meant by that was that I wouldn't be giving information about like, family or stuff like that." Ashnor chuckled at the misunderstanding. "I don't think there's anything dangerous about saying that either, bit if you ever want help with your taxes, don't come to me. I don't want to deal with it." "Huh that is interesting. I might be able to use math in my blacksmithing when making parts for weapons. I'd also expect there to be plants in this game that aren't available in real life, but maybe not." Ashnor shrugs, before looking into his mug. A frown forms on his face; it appears he's run out off coffee. Setting his mug down, Ashnor turns his face back to solaria.
She paused when he signaled her to, though it had taken her a moment to clear the surprise from- well, his surprise. It felt as if the issue with Mycolussus hadn't been that long ago, but considering the most recent world boss and war, perhaps she had just lost track of time. "Yeah, that was a pretty, um... Unusual one, to say the least. Luckily, we got out of that battle pretty much okay. It's amazing really, that I was fine in my first world boss, but I died in a smaller quest underground not too far in the future." With a giggle, she sipped her drink and paid heed to what he was explaining to her. It made sense, all in all, that he wouldn't want to share too much detail about his familial state- normal people (which, albeit, Solaria wasn't one) tended to try to keep some information private, whether online or offline, upon first encounters. "I don't have much in the way of taxes to deal with just yet anyway, but I'll if nothing else ask you for a recommendation on who you'd go to yourself when I need it, if I need the help. I wouldn't know how to find you anyway, right? And that's a while down the road. We're still in school. We can't practice quite yet." It was the truth, after all. No matter how much she wanted to take care of people, and the fact was that she would easily recommend herbal remedies to people who didn't seem well even in their own world- but legally? She wasn't a nurse yet. Whether she tried to live by the pledge or not, she hadn't taken it. She couldn't. "Like you noted, there are some things we can get at home that we can't here- but similarly, there are things we can do here that we can't at home. The nature of the beast, as it's said, you know?" Seeing the empty coffee before her, she sipped the remainder of her drink and took a quick stretch before giving him a more curious eye. "Want another cup of something? I've never been a coffee person, but watching you drink it kind of made me wanna try. If nothing else, I should learn to make it. Like tea, it has some health qualities. Though even chocolate does, in the right amount and method. It's pretty amazing how everything ties together."
Ashnor sat up a little bit "Oh, so you've died in this game before? What's that like? is it like other games where you just lose some currency and respawn?" he asked these questions in sequence, not giving enough time for her to answer until he had finished asking them all. Ashnor laughs, "Ah Ah, but I just said to not do that, or something of that sort." He playfully wags his finger at her, a smile on his face "And that's a great thing about online video games, you cant tell what sort of person's on the other side. by gosh, I could be a friend of yours, and you wouldn't know it." Ashnor relaxed back into his seat as Solaria stood up to get something. He shook his head at Solaria's question "No, no, I think I'm fine for now. But feel free to get some of your own, yes" Ashnor listens to what she says, she does seem to know quite bit about this stuff. Of course though, that would sort of come with the field of study, wouldn't it?
Her lips laid lightly agape from just how quickly the mn could ask so many questions all at once. There were so many so fast, it felt unusually familiar- but it wasn't the kind of familiar one would want to know, most likely. It wasn't that she felt she did that (though she actually had a habit of it herself), but the curiosity lined up a bit with a child trying to figure out the ways of the world. Then again, no matter their age, weren't all adventurers just children figuring the world out when they first joined Terrasphere? She was probably much similar, if not even more fast paced in her words, when she started as well. And it wasn't like death was a subject one could normally talk about with experience! "It's not quite that simple. Death in this game feels very... Well, I'd say realistic, but I wouldn't know naturally. But... Well, you feel the pain crushing you depending on how you die, and your loss actually is a bit more complicated than most games..." It took her a moment to gather her thoughts, trying to remember what happened when she met the goddess of death herself, having a distinct memory of being given options of what she could do at that point. "When you die, you end up in a morgue of sorts with a lady who calls herself the 'Spirit Healer'. She can either revive you with your current appearance, with a new appearance, or you can allow the death to be permanent or, rather, retire your character and start anew." Another breath, another moment. There was a lot to explain, and she wasn't the type to stop partway when teaching someone why to be careful. "If you choose to revive, no matter which method, you get a penalty. It's not the same for everyone, though- it has a lot to do with how you die. If you look at my health info right now using your investigation mode, you should be able to see an example... Since I haven't paid mine off yet." She pointed to roughly where she thought it would be in her character details, not far from her health and energy bars. It was dull at the moment, but there was a clear set of script sitting nearby the rest of her stats. Death Affliction: Martyr Complex. "In my case... It wasn't that big of a deal. I already kind of had this kind of issue, so it just kind of made it worse. I died trying to save someone in a tunnel. Of our party, only one person- not me, obviously- survived. I was able to save them at the cost of my life, but I couldn't save the two that died before me... Perhaps it's that guilt that keeps me bound with it. I've met others who've died too. Some get unusual ailments, surprising new fears they never had..." Leaning back, she began to feel like a professor, eyes staring upward as the memories continued to flow through her mind like flashbacks from PTSD. "For some people, I've heard, it doesn't just affect you here either. I mean, I don't think I've noticed my own complex getting that much worse, but... I've seen on the BBS. People getting severe phobias in game that grow worse the longer they have it after dying, and suddenly finding it acting up in their real lives where it shouldn't even be able to manifest. It's kind of creepy... Which is why luckily, there is a way to buy your way out of it. It's basically like giving a prayer, but with a lot of money included. Maybe it's more like a bribe? Either way... It costs quite a bit, so I haven't bothered to spend the 1k on it. I'm saving my funds for my shop right now. I can handle being a little extra reckless." Sure, there was more she could tell him- warnings she'd gotten from the healer about if she decided to change her appearance, for example. However, she'd given so many details at that moment, she felt like she was becoming the 'Spirit Healer's' avatar. If he died- though she naturally prayed he wouldn't- he'd find out the rest. Death was just too complicated to explain without hurting your head in the process. "If you're sure," She mused, standing up suddenly. He may not have needed more to drink, but after that blabbering, she had a fairly dry throat all over again. It wasn't a long trip to the counter to get another cup of liquid- this time, a sweetened coffee drink they recommended to her, if only because they'd overheard her mentioning she might try some earlier on. Half of her thought of scolding them for listening in, but in the end, she was quick to thank them. She returned to her seat, across from the man she'd just given the lecture of a lifetime. "Death and life are both complicated in their own ways... I'll stick to just dealing with one as much as possible if I can help it, but I won't hesitate to die again if it's to keep someone safe. I'd feel that way without the affliction. It's just my greatest desire: to take care of people and protect."
