I Wanted Loot But Got the Boot [Open]

[Deleted]

Status: Healthy / Rested Let's face it. Daniel hasn't had the best of luck when he played Elder Tales.  The first sign was when he entered his username, 0XF0RD. Dreams of a pristine, clean, capitalized username danced in his vision were shattered when the formatting of the name didn't go exactly as planned. This was a minor concern, since he'd been waiting a while to play the game. The second sign occurred when his account information was deleted from the server due to a guild betrayal occurrence. This happens whenever a player invites another player into their guild, takes them to their base, and once the player (or 'prey', in this case) was inside, the guild would kick them out. This would set it up so that the player couldn't use any of the exits to escape. Logging out meant that they would end up back in the guild hall, and the zone permissions were set to prevent non-guild members from using items, so teleportation was out of the question. 0XF0RD's save file ended up being corrupted due to tampering by the guild members, as some of them were using illegal modifications to give themselves unfair advantages. 0XF0RD's were modified to insanely high levels to trigger the anti-cheating measures. To add insult to injury, 0XF0RD received a temporary ban from the game. The ban wasn't necessary. Just the inability to due anything as malicious players took advantage of his kindness was enough to deter him for awhile. After a couple of years, Daniel decided to load up his character again and began jumping through the smaller quests to get himself up to specifications needed to do some of the seasonal event quests with his friends. The events of those days felt like they transpired ages ago, as he wandered alone, none of his offline/online friends being there when the Catastrophe struck. He was an introvert by nature, so he was used to being alone. But something about seeing friends hooking up with other friends made him feel lonely. Much more lonely than usual. Usually, a good notebook to jot down notes and doodle in would be the way to past time until someone capable came up with a course of action. But this was not the real world, so no notebooks, unfortunately. As far as he knew, there wasn't even a crafting recipe for a notebook. Daniel/0XF0RD knew what had to be done. Advancements needed to be made. Other players like himself couldn't sit around and do nothing. The only way to get anywhere was to go forward, after all! With that in mind, 0XF0RD sat himself on a bench, waiting for someone capable to take the lead. "No way anyone would listen to a low-level like me..." he thought to himself. Words: 460

[Deleted]

Status:  Healthy / Rested Mood: Bored Some days had passed since 0XF0RD decided to do a 'Combat Resource Expedition', where a group of players would work together to exterminate hordes of the weaker low-level enemies to earn money to purchase some of the in-game resources for research purposes. Being of the Scribe subclass, 0XF0RD desperately wished to have pen and paper to jot down memos and ideas, as well as document any important systems and areas that will be of use not only to him, but to other Adventurers as well. Another important use of the notebook would allow himself to write down memos of when he embarassed himself, and who it was he did that in front of as to avoid those players he performed so that he can hide his face whenever they happen to be in the vicinity. Drat, got sidetracked again. Now was not the time for 0XF0RD to be thinking about himself. Only narcissists would do that. No, now was the time to turn to other measures of recruitment. Normally, he would post a message at a bulletin board or some other form of communication, but after being away from the game for so long, he couldn't remember if using these in-game posting centers would consume some of his valuable resources. Calling up friends would be out of the question, as all of his few real-life friends weren't logged in at the time. He tried to get in contact with a couple of in-game friends as well, but the ones he got the chance to talk to were either still freaking out about being stuck in the game, or they were too busy with their guild's activities. Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do, then. 0XF0RD inhaled deeply, and, with as much of a questioning tone that's possible with a shout, screamed into the air: "IS THERE ANYONE INTERESTED IN GOING ON A RESOURCE EXPEDITION WITH MEEEEEEEEEE?!" Words: 319

[Avalon]

word count;937

There were many Landers and adventurers bustling around in the city of London. Avalon was forced to weave around the many people and apologize to some of them she had bumped into to get to her destination in the middle of the city. She was beginning to become irritated by those few of them who snapped and cursed at her for bumping into them accidentally. It didn't help the situation that the weather was hot and humid as she had been perspiring from her forehead for a while. As she was passing the market stalls, she had considered on stopping to purchase some cold drinks but she was low on money at the moment and the unfortunate fact that none of the foods and drinks she had tasted earlier were even close to anything tasting delicious. "Fine..." she mumbled to herself with a sigh as she came to halt at a food stall and dropped her sling bag on the ground that contained two frenmic rabbits inside. She ordered a bottle of a cold drink from a lander, a middle aged lady who surprisingly had a very friendly disposition toward her compared to the other Landers she had interacted with earlier. Her smile was infectious so Avalon couldn't help but smile back at her and thanks her for the drink before continuing onward.

She was exhausted. A few hours ago, she had been sent on an errand to hunt for some beast monsters for an adventurer with the crafting class of chef to help him increase his levels. They had come to an agreement that she would help him collect ingredients so he could become a better cook and make better delicious foods. He would then share his crafting creations and have her be his she guessed, the unofficial taste tester. She just hoped she did not get any food poisoning from the results. She had been right away tempted to help him with the bribery of cupcakes though she had no idea how he knew of her obsession of that dessert food since she had only made known of that knowledge to a select few. Avalon almost thought that he was one of her cousins but she unfortunately found out that was not the case. Learning from a kind adventurer, she found out how to pull up the friends list and disappointingly saw that none of her cousins were logged in at that time. Now she knew she didn't know anybody though there were just some other adventurers she vaguely knew from forming a party with in battles the few times she had played in Elder Tales. Avalon was go against her nature and accept help from anyone even though she didn't completely trust said person in order to become stronger.

"Awww," she smiled softly when she saw a mother holding a baby boy in her arms. It was a warmth worth seeing and missed. Avalon worriedly wondered how her father was faring and if he missed her as much as she did. She had originally thought that unexpectedly being transported into the world of Elder Tales would give her the freedom she needed but now--she really did miss him. Besides that, it was interesting to see a Lander holding a baby especially that once again, the People of the Land were just NPCs and used for just purchases and quests. After spending a few days stuck in Elder Tales, she observed that many Landers had their own families and she had to accept that they were like normal human beings, not computerized things. She was too engrossed in her thoughts to noticed the people she had observing earlier had come up to her. Avalon widened her eyes for a moment when the mother kindly offered her an apple and to Avalon's amusement--said that she looked too skinny for her age and needed to eat more. The mother seemed like caring but could be an overbearing mother hen. Honestly, she wouldn't have minded having a mother like that. After she thanked the mother for the offer, she politely took the apple and asked about the mother's baby. She told her that the baby's name was Ethan and offered to let Avalon hold him in her arms.

As much as she had wanted to stay and spend time with the mother and baby, she had other priorities to adhere to so sadly declined to hold the baby and said that she enjoyed spending time with them but couldn't say longer. She did promise to visit their fruits and vegetables in the city stall every now and then. Suddenly, she heard this loud and annoying yell coming from the center, a few feet away from her. That yelling automatically caused the baby boy, Ethan to begin crying loudly, probably caused by the loud noise from whoever that was. The mother looked panicked and frantically attempted to cooed her baby boy in order to hopefully calm him down and stop him from crying anymore. Avalon's eyes flashed a moonlight yellow for a moment as she narrowed her eyes toward the direction of the noise. It was a tall brown haired guardian adventurer who yelled about going on a resource expedition. He could have just asked around instead of yelling about it to the world, she would have been interested since she had not be able to go on an expedition just yet. But no, he had to cause a scene and now many market goers were staring at him. "Shut up, you crazy person. You're too noisy," she said with annoyance in her face as walked over to him.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

[Deleted]

Status:  Healthy / Rested Mood: Mortified by Self-Awareness Oh Lord, what have I done... The sudden realization of his idiotic impulsive actions hit him like a brick thrown from a 4-story building by a kid with a penchant for angering local blundering crooks. The children of the Landers cried, the babies as well. It was as if their screeching voices were creating a dirge, foreshadowing dire events for 0XF0RD if he didn't straighten up and act like a normal human being. Glares from both the Landers and the other Adventurers were piercing him, as if a team of archers had suddenly fired a round of arrows and penetrated the armor designed to protect him. Evidently, it did nothing in providing attention from the judging looks and harsh remarks others were making about him. "Why is he yelling like that?" "Hasn't he ever heard of a bulletin board?" "Was the point of his screaming to burst our eardrums? Because it's working." Just calm down and think rationally. And after that, think before you open up your great, gaping gob. Everyone's probably thinking you're either the Adventuring Idiot, or some sort of new low level monster. It was at this point that 0XF0RD saw someone walking towards him. It was a girl, a Wolf Tribe girl with green hair, a superb color choice, with an annoyed look on her face, muttering something to herself as she made her way towards him. This posed three problems for 0XF0RD: 1. She had a crossbow on her back, so she was an Assassin, known for their offensive abilities and, uh, eliminating any threats or unwelcome guests. 2. She certainly didn't looked pleased, so she might be coming over to check out to see if that "rare low level monster" thing is a viable option. and 3. She was a girl. Despite being EXTREMELY awkward around girls, this one had a high probability to slay him where he stood. Running away would be pointless, since she would have a higher Agility stat, and he would be seen as a coward. That would dissuade any future members from attempting to join, since no one would be willing to join a Guardian who can't even stand his ground, much less hold a conversation like a civilized player. Sacrificing his comfort and safety, 0XF0RD stares at his feet as the girl continues her approach. Words: 387

[Lefrain]

LEFRAIN HELHEIM

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"Okay, I think I got it down this time. It goes something like this-"

Lefrain strummed on his ukelele, producing a short tune reminiscent of the Legend of Zelda theme, but not quite it. There, of course, was a note or two off, and Lefrain grumbled because of it.

"Ugh, that's not it. What the hell am I doing wrong?"

The redheaded Lefrain had set up a spot for him to play music using a small handwoven basket that was quietly taken off a merchant. After spending a week or two playing the game he had finally gotten used to the order of things. He had learned how to adequately shoot arrows using his bow, he had learned to play a couple songs on his ukelele, but so far, he had yet to go far outside London. Despite being a social beast in reality, Lefrain had yet to adjust to the social standards of a digital realm... or was it even digital? Everything was far too perfect, far too life-like for it to conceivably still be a video game... yet video game logic and video game norms still applied. Being in this world reminded Lefrain of being a kid, getting used to a new country, a new city, or a new group of people. Then and now, that feeling was alienating and lonely. It was even worse here, because without a party, it would be far from safe for a lone low-level bard to go out into the dangerous world.

"All right, let's give it another go."

Lefrain's strumming on his ukelele was almost immediately interrupted by the yelling of another player. Lefrain's head immediately darted over to the owner of the voice- a gray-haired Guardian-type. Lefrain's first instinct was to scowl at the man and then go about business as usual- trying to get a little coin through the magic of song. That was, however, until a dark-haired woman with a crossbow yelled at him and a few other adventurers chimed in on the Guardian's stupidity. Lefrain felt sympathetic for the guy; he knew the look on the Guardian's face far too well. The guy needed a friend- and Lefrain felt the need to fill the role.

"Hey," said Lefrain, moving over to the Guardian, putting his hand on his shoulder but facing the dark-haired woman. "Sorry about my friend here, he's a little new to the game and I've yet to teach him the basics like I promised him."

Lefrain looked at his so-called "friend", making sure to use vague but affectionate pronouns while he talked so this woman would believe they knew each other.

"You should have messaged me, guy. I would have at least told you where the board is."

WORDS: 441

created by peaches of gs

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[Deleted]

Status:  Healthy / Rested Mood: Feeling Up But Might Fall Down The hand that suddenly found itself on 0XF0RD's shoulder caused him to flinch, breaking him out of his self-pity long enough to take in the events that were now unfolding before him. At his side, with his arm around his shoulder as if they've been best buds since the first days of their lives, was a young man with burning red hair and an eyepatch. Heh, with his current setup, I wouldn't be surprised if he was a Swashbuckle-- At this point, 0XF0RD noticed the ukelele in the 'pirate's' other hand. Oh, he's a bard. He can liven up the group with some sea shanties or something... The pirate bard was saying something to the woman which caused 0XF0RD's ears to perk up, the kind of perkiness you get when you know someone else is talking about you in a close vicinity (in this case, about 6 inches). "Sorry about my friend here, he's a little new to the game and I've yet to teach him the basics like I promised him." Now this was a true blue friend here, willing to stick his neck out to defend a Guardian. Normally, it's the other way around, with the Guardian defending a Bard from oncoming enemies, but for now, 0XF0RD could leave that little bit of irony behind him. Right now, the dark-haired woman was staring at 0XF0RD, almost as if demanding a confirmation from him to validate this story. And he had a feeling that if he didn't answer her right away, she might just try to get some combat experience by shooting him full of arrows. Toothpicks would probably do the same amount of damage if they were flung from that crossbow. "Eh, ah, yes. That's right. This is my best bud, uh...Leaf Rain? No, Lefrain! My buddy Lefrain!" At this point, 0XF0RD put his hand on the young man's shoulder to help further drive the "Totally Best Buds" image home. The woman still had the disapproving glare, but now an eyebrow was raised. Whatever 0XF0RD was trying to sell, she wasn't buying it. "Anyways, I'm terribly sorry for disturbing the peace with my rambunctious caterwhauling. When you find yourself in a strange land with no one to share the sense of disbelief with, it can be a bit maddening. Especially when you have to figure out how to interact and survive all in one day." With the tension from before gone, 0XF0RD removed his hand from the young bard's shoulder, took a step backwards, and clapped his hands together, his glasses shimmering in the light. "Now, with all of these things behind us, how'd would you two like to make a temporary hunting party?" This plan was working better than he thought. Words: 452

[Avalon]

word count;856

Landers and adventurers harsh, insulting calls cut through the air like knives. As she walked toward the source of the noise, she twitched in irritation at the sudden turn of events. She had only planned to scold the loud mouthed male guardian, not causing others including Landers to join in and potentially taking the jeering too far. It was like a pack of predatory wolves preying upon a helpless sheep. She narrowed her eyes at some of the people insulting the guardian causing some of them to cower and stop their insults though some aggressive others only gave her an equally challenging glare and continued their insults. Assholes. But she was no better than those guys. She had called him a crazy person in public when she could have just walked up next to him and told him right then and there to keep his voice down and what he could have done instead by writing up a request for a expedition party on the bulletin board. His yelling voice that caused the baby boy she had been interacting with was the trigger that set her off. She guessed it was her nurturing nature.

This wasn't the outcome she wanted at all, only adding to her frustration and stress.The past few hours had been stressful enough and grating especially the waiting game in hunting for beasts since it was not easy to hold her silence and strategize her planned out attacks. The two frenmic rabbits were a bitch to capture. It would have been better to capture young boars instead but it would have been actually a bad decision since they would usually be accompanied by their parents who were a higher level than she was. She was purely a social butterfly and trusting person nature except for some exceptions back home but she felt like she changed ever since she became unfortunately trapped in the newly updated Elder Tales. There was some resentment she held toward her cousins who had introduced her to the game but she grudgingly inside admitted, she honestly missed them. They were the first one to comfort and spend time with her when she was on an all time low and a bit forcefully made her realize that her party hard lifestyle wasn't the best lifestyle for her to live in.

Avalon was completely blindsided and widened her eyes by the sudden appearance of a red haired adventurer who seemed to be lending a hand and defending him in a way. Her heart hammered at her chest and skipped a beat. She was caught off guard and she had to admit, he was attractive. His unruly red hair stood out amongst the crowds of people. It was almost like a beacon. She curiously wondered how could she not noticed his presence. The thing that stood out from the newcomer was the eye patch on his left eye. Wouldn't having his left eye covered leave a blind spot for attackers? She was sorely tempted to let that guy known to that glaring weakness but she held her tongue. Ever since she did some solo fighting, she constantly checked for weaknesses in environment and other such things. In situations like these, she resisted the temptation. Narrowing her eyes, she was skeptical about the red haired actually being the guardian's friend. It was too perfect. He appeared just at the right moment, right time. The guy didn't seemed like a threat, more like easy going so she played along with their story. She didn't want to keep on guessing.

"It's fine really. I was irritated that the loud noise made the baby I was playing with cry and today's not one of my best days," she emphasized and apologized, "Sorry for blowing up on you" and scratched her head in embarrassment. Apologizing wasn't something she did easily and comfortably but she felt bad about what she unintentionally caused. She sighed, "I really didn't expect others to join in" and frowned at the thought of how people easily and readily wanted to make a person feel even worse. She felt the same way the guardian did about being suddenly trapped in Elder Tale and could relate to him. She too had no one she knew and felt lost but had a different way of expressing bewilderment and adapting to their new reality. Now things were calm and he wasn't being loud, a party didn't sound too bad. Soloing was getting quite lonesome. Being in a party provided added protection and company that she dearly missed. Her class as an assassin required stealth and quiet that she was gradually improving on but she liked talking with others. Maybe they could teach her more about the game since she wasn't much of a gamer. "I'm down," she grinned at the guardian and winked playfully, "I don't mind having two strong looking guys protecting me," putting a strand of hair behind her ear. She was interested in what their reactions would be. She offered, "Maybe we should start over?" she paused and smiled widely, "I'm Avalon, nice to meet you guys" cocking her head to the side.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS