A Needed Break [CG: Caerbannog]

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

A low wind blew through the meadow, gently caressing the two occupants of the wide open area as they stared at each other. One of them, a level thirty-two Weasel, growled softly as it lowered itself to the ground. The Weasel’s bushy tail, along with four grassy vines, swayed behind the animal’s body as it eyed the other combatant just across from it. The tattered Adventurer whom had wandered so boldly into the field was just as weary of his opponent and hid behind the edge of a knife in his left hand. They both were still, snarling softly at each other as the wind blew over them. It was as if they had non-verbally agreed to enjoy the airflow, as they had both grown tired from the confrontation. Well, they enjoyed it while it lasted. As once the breeze stopped, the player’s right ankle twitched. That caused the Weasel’s tail to move into action.

The four vines the Weasel controlled snapped forward, zooming towards the player with amazing speed and accuracy. The player was not so easily hit and sprinted forward into the vines before they could reach him. He shifted slightly to his left to avoid one, turned to his right to dodge a second, cut away a third, and snagged the fourth. Immediately, the vine wrapped around his wrist and began to pull him towards the ground. The Weasel was strong, and its power almost caused the man to fall, but he held firm, literally, until the vine was secured around his hand and wrist. With a firm hold on the vine, Saber yanked hard, causing the vine to snap taut and then the backside of the Weasel lifted. It squeaked loudly as it flipped into the air and all four of its vines began to retract. Yet, the player held the one in his hand tight. Putting the knife between his teeth for a moment, he grabbed the vine with both hands and physically began to drag the weasel closer.

With every pull, Saber dumped the excess vine behind him, exchanging it for another handful to yank on. The Weasel squealed and clawed at the ground, trying to stop its being dragged. Yet, it was useless. Saber wheeled in the creature slowly, steadily, patiently, until it was nearly in his grasp… then he released. Just before it was within the range of where he could stab, Saber let go of the vine and released the weasel. The animal took full advantage of the freedom and darted forward, retracting the vine into its tail as it created some space. When it was a safe distance, it spun around and hissed at Saber again who now was holding his knife again.

The player released a true, real smile as he enjoyed the fun he was having with the little creature. The Weasel probably wasn’t enjoying itself so much, but it was fun. For nearly twenty minutes now, Saber had been dueling with the Weasel. He hadn’t actually struck the creature but had simply maneuvered himself into various kill positions before letting the animal go. He didn’t want to harm the little thing, or at least he didn’t plan to; he just wanted to have some fun. Ever since he started to play the game, Saber had done nothing but fight, hide, and train. Day in and day out, that was all he did. He breathed war, fed on combat, and thirsted for blood. Right now, today, he just wanted to enjoy himself. Maybe the Weasel knew that, maybe it didn’t. However, Saber could see it was growing tired.

Before, the Weasel was fast, nimble, strong. Its vines had whipped him, laced him, and wounded him in a few places. Now Saber was creating opening after opening and the Weasel was unable to keep up. With that in mind, Saber put his knife away. Any further and he risked actually hurting the creature, which would go against what he really wanted. The Weasel, on the other hand, continued to show its vines and hissed at the player. The Adventurer kept on his toes and was ready to engage with his hands but he didn’t want to if he didn’t have to. Instead, he opened his menu and navigated to his inventory. There, he scrolled down to where he organized some of his fruits that he snacked on. He only have a few left, which meant that he probably should go gather some more. For now, he would have to deal with what he had.

Tapping on the apples he had, Saber summoned two of them; taking one into each hand. He closed the menu and smirked at the Weasel which was still snarling. It was on the attack still and Saber didn’t question why. It had practically been assaulted for the last few minutes and led to believe it was at war with Saber. Getting it to calm down was probably an impossibility now, at least without an offering it was. Wanting to make peace now, not war, Saber gently tossed one of the apples he had in between himself and the Weasel. The motion made the animal flinch, but then it returned to its defensive position. Eyeing the fruit in the middle of the field, the Weasel took its eyes off Saber for a moment. It was then that the player made his very, very slow escape.

“Lunch is on me.” Saber waved the second apple he still held onto and turned away from the Weasel. The creature hissed and barked at him, a strange noise to hear from such an animal, but it didn’t chase him. Instead, it watched as the player made his way to the other side of the meadow.

Of course, Saber wasn’t as stupid as to fully expose his back to a combatant, so he looked over his shoulder a few times to ensure that the Weasel didn’t chase him. Thankfully it didn’t. It seemed much more interested in the apple he had left. That made the man chuckle. Animals in Elder Tale were still animals. Sure, they could be angered, but they could be just as easily satisfied with the right touch. The Weasel was hungry, and that was what attracted Saber to it in the first place. With getting food on its mind, survival came first so the Weasel had remained on the defensive for the most part. Now, with the threat leaving, the Weasel returned to its search for food. Though, when Saber sat down, he could see the Weasel was still looking at him.

“Greedy thing.” With a hard toss, Saber threw the apple off to the right side of the meadow. The Weasel watched the red orb fly for a few seconds before darting after it. The animal snagged the fruit, munched it between its teeth, and carried it back to the first apple to eat. Saber sighed and relaxed underneath the tree he lay against, shutting his eyes and listening to his stomach grumble. Welp, there goes his lunch…

: Post Title :
-A Bloodless Duel-

: Word Count :
1172

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :

Saber, @dindeen

: Notes :
There goes my lunch...

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

Londenium was full of loud landers who had so many requests but gave little compensation. After the third thankless quest of that day, the samurai decided that she’s had enough. Sarum was a better place than the city, she thought. Even though the Sarum expedition camp was surrounded either by a dangerous forest, empty meadows or barren lands, at least the quests were not completely pointless. Every time she returned to the place, the camp expanded in all directions and scouts came back with more information. An increasing number of adventurers gathered there, so the samurai decided that it would be her destination once more.

Unsure of how to hunt Elder Tale’s creatures for their produce, Caerbannog instead dropped by St. Pancras Station and purchased some white meat from a lander’s shop. Again, it did look like chicken meat but she was unsure of its exact origin. The other adventurers and landers purchased it though so it seemed safe enough for consumption. Anything else she needed could be found in the forest around the Greatwood or from the landers at the Sarum camp who brought their farm animals to the place. If there was anything that the adventurers and People of the Land needed at the camp, it would be a decent meal.

Only a few crafters stuck around at the expedition camp. Amongst those few crafters, only one or two were chefs. Sometimes the numbers increased, but usually the chefs were so swamped with work that the quality of their food items dropped. It was something that Caerbannog noticed some time ago when she had to eat one of the meals at the Sarum expedition camp. The soup tasted like flavored water; less on flavor, more on water. The grilled something was way too grilled and looked nothing like the something which it was made of. Someone tried to made rice balls but even that was a horrible failure for the food items fell apart as soon as the samurai picked them up.

Determined to help the expedition and to get away from her repetitive life at Londenium, the samurai who was also a chef stocked up on some basic cooking ingredients such as seasonings, milk and eggs. She then hitched a ride on a cart which was headed for Sarum and fell asleep on the way there. The journey took most of the night and the following morning for they had been delayed by some repairs to the road. It was about midday when Caerbannog was jolted awake once again by the sudden halt of her ride. The merchant with whom she was traveling said that the road up ahead was completely blocked but would be finished within an hour.

That was a long time, she thought. And it was a bad time to be stuck too for she wanted to cook for the upcoming meal time. The merchant noticed the worry on the samurai’s face so he suggested that she take a detour. Close by, he said, there were some smaller paths, the most scenic of which was close to a meadow. Since they were barely used by the landers, those paths might be overgrown but the merchant said that perhaps an adventurer like Caerbannog could still find her way through it. The samurai looked at the road which was being cleared and repaired; at the pace that the workers were going, it did not seem doable within the hour. She therefore thanked the merchant who was kind enough to give her a lift to the camp, and then she took the advice to go off-road.

Before she went into the woods, the samurai called out her frenmic rabbit Hrairoo and put the creature on her head. She also took out her critter satchel which looked like a deformed rabbit of sorts. The brown rabbit looked down at the thing which resembled it, more out of curiosity than alarm. It still was not used to that tailored container. With the satchel bag out, the samurai could pick up any fresh ingredients along the way and just stuff it there. The bag also contained her cooking utensils while the ingredients that she bought at St. Pancras Station were still in her inventory.

The sky was clear and the wind blew gently; it was a fine day for a walk. Even with the sun so high up ahead, the day was neither too hot nor too humid. The forest seemed quiet too with barely any wayward creatures in sight. Some of them scurried behind the trees, but mostly they hid away from the adventurer. Hrairoo’s ears twitched every now and then, but apart from being alert, the rabbit was seemingly fine. Farther ahead, the shade from the trees vanished and made way for a meadow to come into view. It was a sight to behold what with the lush greenery on a wide open space; very different from the Flower Grove, the Greatwood or the Marshlands. But the samurai had no time to remain in awe of such things. She had to get to the expedition camp. Therefore, Caerbannog turned towards the direction which would lead her to the camp, or at least to where she thought it would be.

A lone figure caught her eye though. It seemed more like a shadow beneath the tree for the rustling leaves hid him beneath their shade. As if camouflaged in an unimpressive place, the foot of a tree much like every other one that the samurai passed by that day, there sat an adventurer in tattered clothing. Knowing his class, she was wary not out of distrust but out of respect. His ways were much like his role: solitary and efficient. Not unlike him, the samurai’s role merged with her personality too. To take a hit for another and to get between an attacker and its target- it was the role of the tank. While the rabbit upon her head looked on at the other adventurer, Caerbannog stood to the right of the assassin, out of his reach and definitely unable to cast a shadow over him.

“ Hey, “ Caerbannog said out loud expecting Saber to not be startled although his eyes were shut, “ Heading to the expedition? “

OOC Notes: ---
Word Count: 1041
Tags: @dindeen Saber

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

Before he knew it, the grumbling Saber was listening to slowly faded away and was replaced by the sound of a gentle breeze. His tired body became light and the aches and pains he felt became relaxed. It felt nice, soothing, to actually be able to rest for once even if it was for a few seconds. Then again, it was also something he learned that had become a risk. It wasn’t a risk to his life but to his mind because of what lurked underneath his eyelids. In the deep reaches of his mind, something was manifesting which Saber could not see, but he could feel it. There was a pressure on his thoughts every day and he could feel his decision making become skewed by it. He was becoming more prone to violence, more vicious in combat, and more forceful in conversation. It was as if the game was whittling away at his humanity in a way. He hated to admit it and he didn’t believe such a thing was possible, yet he could see it happening every day he lived in the world of Elder Tale.

When he first started, Saber was curious and wandered everywhere. Yet, he was gentle. He took only what he needed to survive and level but nothing more as to leave monsters and materials for others. It was a charitable thing and Saber believed that sharing the wealth would be better for everybody. After almost a week, just a week, Saber’s mentality had changed completely. He zipped so quickly through the levels that he had become more selfish. He needed more experience to satisfy the level requirements and he needed more materials for better equipment. He also needed money to pay for various upgrades. This led him to become more prone to killing first before asking questions. It also led him away from other people. Soloing became almost forced on his shoulders because of his level and living in a solitary place was the only thing that really kept him from being bothered. That’s right, people had become bothersome after only a week; and he hardly talked to anyone in the first place.

That was when things began to change for him. He hated it but he lived it, and every day became worse and worse for him as time went on. He avoided London more unless he needed to craft things, and crafting was all he did there. He never partied with anyone even if their goals were the same, and subsequently left without as much as a goodbye. He never spoke, even to say hello. He never gave out his name and never asked for others’. And, he never took off the scarf from around his face, as if shielding his identity or attempting to. It was almost like an imaginary wall had built itself up around him, blockading him from interacting with other people. He dreaded that fact and it hurt. It hurt so much to go from someone who just wanted to help to an outcast; and it was his own fault. That made things even worse…

By the time he had realized it; Saber had become level fifty and was out of reach of majority of the other players around him. He feared such a thing terribly, but it became reality. It was frightening, and that became a breeding ground for terrible nightmares and thoughts. That was when Saber came in contact with that… thing… which lived within his mind. That massive, black demon which lurked in his dreams. It was there, watching, listening, learning, growing, and Saber could do nothing about it except for live with it. The pressure only grew and grew until he finally came practically face to face with the beast a few days ago in his sleep. That day, he came to terms with his mistakes. He couldn’t fix them and certainly could not change what he was doing, but he knew where it was leading. That made him even more wary of what he was doing on a daily basis. Saber, the level fifty Assassin, had a goal which very few probably even cared about. Although, he knew it was probably the only thing which would save him from himself. Saber needed to reach level ninety, no matter the cost, and then execute his plan immediately. That… that was his only salvation.

“Salvation… eh?” Saber shifted a little, tucking his chin against his chest. When he relaxed his neck, his head tilted a little to the side. He sighed hard and released a heavy, long breath as if it was his last. Man, who knew being a solo player for so long would cause such damage? Saber didn’t, and he seriously questioned if it was worth it now. Was it worth tormenting himself with isolation? Was the experience he needed to gather seriously that important? Maybe, but was it worth the price? And if so, did Saber even have enough to pay that price? He certainly didn’t know the answer to that but what he did know was that it was becoming a heavy burden. Saber also knew that there were plenty others like him, soloists, who probably had the same thoughts. Maybe he was just more selfish… too selfish.

“Yea… I’m selfish…” A light scoff escaped his nose as he gripped at the ground. Damn, he really was a fool sometimes. He probably should just sleep, let his mind calm itself and let his body rela—or not…

Just as Saber was about to let himself go off into his dream world, and when he had accepted the risk of coming across that Demon again, he heard footsteps a little to the side of where he was sitting. Well, he was probably slumped over by now but that was beside the point. The footsteps weren’t heavy, but gentle and very quiet, delicately being placed onto the ground. It was almost like the owner of the feet was trying to be careful on their approach, or the animal, or person, wasn’t very large. However, they were still approaching and that alone put Saber on alert. He remained still though, continuing to listen as to make sure that he was correct in that they were coming closer and not just passing by. That was when he heard them stop. The person, animal, moving object halted just to his right and a short distance from him. Strange…

“Hey…”  Oh why hello... What brings you to disturb me today, random thing?
“Heading to the expedition?” Yes, I’m heading to the freaking expedition. That’s why I’m sitting underneath a tree with my eyes freaking clo---Oh.

Opening his eyes, Saber first saw nothing but his own body but as his eyes shifted to his right towards where the voice had come from, he saw a familiar set of legs. He blinked a few times and sat more upright, slowly pulling himself out of the limbo between being awake and asleep. He grumbled a little, feeling so sluggish now that it was embarrassing. Though, he forced himself to wake up as he looked at the new occupant of Saber’s surroundings. To his surprise, it was the female player he had bumped into multiple times recently; Caerbannog. What was she doing out in the middle of nowhere? And… did she talk?

“Expedition?” Saber mumbled, blinking a few more times before looking above Caerbannog to the rabbit on her head. He shook his head and then looked just beyond the edge of the tree’s leaves and branches above him towards the sky.

“Not today… It’s a beautiful day out and I’m not going to waste it grinding away like a blood thirsty rat like I have usually done.” He released a tired sigh and pushed himself against the tree, sitting up a little more before stretching his arms up.

“Sometimes it’s better to take a break.” If that was the case, than Saber seriously needed to practice what he preached…

: Post Title :
-Unable To Pay-

: Word Count :
1332

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :

Saber, @dindeen

: Notes :
Dat thoughtful aggression.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

Rude, you were rude. The samurai scolded herself once she realized that she bothered her fellow adventurer. Why did she even stop to greet him when he was obviously resting? Out of curiosity, probably. She would have walked away if he ignored her, yet the assassin actually answered her questions so Caerbannog stayed. Saber was surprisingly laidback that day, nothing like the commanding party member that he usually was. The samurai did not think that she’d ever see him like that since he seemed to always be on his toes. Then again, she’d never seen him outside of parties for quests or battles.

While the assassin stretched his arms, Caerbannog took off her satchel and put it on the ground. She then sat down with her knees bent slightly and then she put Hrairoo down on her lap. The rabbit twitched its nose at Saber; it was curious, not afraid. Roo put its ears up and listened to what the other adventurer was saying. It did not understand a word, but Roo did try to remember the sound of that voice and the assassin’s appearance too. Its tamer met a lot of people in their adventures so the frenmic rabbit actually tried to remember some of them.

The samurai tilted her head a little to the side just to check if Saber had anything else on him aside from his usual gear. She thought that he might have been hunting or camping there since the expedition camp was too crowded at times. He sounded too uninterested with the expedition though and since the assassin himself said that it was better to take a break, Caerbannog accepted that sentiment and probed into his business no more. For a while, she just sat there and stared at Saber while waiting for him to say something else. The samurai was pretty bad at continuing conversations after all.

“ Hum... “ Caerbannog finally looked down at Hrairoo when it began to paw at her arm and nibble on her fingers, “ Was going to make food at camp. “

She looked over the area and saw only an endless expanse of grass and trees, few of which she recognized; there were no signs of edible vegetation there apart from grass, and that was edible only for her rabbit. The samurai did have some pre-cooked items in her inventory though which she could share via the Chef skill ‘Picnic’. However, she decided against it for the skill limited the item’s usage to only a minute. It could be useful right before a combat situation but not in a casual setting. For a proper meal, she would have to cook then and there. The cooking utensils were already in possession right inside the critter satchel beside her. The materials for making decent food were limited though, for the samurai thought that she would arrive at the camp early.

“ Know where to get ingredients? “ she asked Saber and pointed out that she- “ ... has white meat, seasoning, milk and eggs only. “

OOC Notes: ---
Word Count: 507
Tags: @dindeen Saber

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

This was probably the first time Saber had been put at ease by someone’s presence in the virtual world around him; it was strange. He had seen Caerbannog before and she wasn’t exactly the most outspoken person, however she didn’t give him any cold stares simply because of his level or his actions. Saber had seen many players in the realm he was stuck in during his travels and very, very few of them actually enjoyed being within a ten foot radius of him. In Caerbannog’s case, she seemed comfortable enough to actually start to disarm herself. That was when Saber became a little uneasy, although it wasn’t for his own sake. As Caerbannog sat down and placed the rabbit in her lap, both of them listening to him ramble, Saber only thought about the potential of them being attacked and being defenseless. Saber always kept himself armed, even when he bathed, so letting ones guard down so easily was an innocence he could never feel. Saber was jealous but it only made him smirk a little underneath the cloth on his face.

“Well, at least there’s still something called innocence here…” Saber closed his eyes and released a slow breath, reveling in the knowledge of how violent this world was compared to the real world. Murder, theft, and just outright violence was prominent in reality but not so much as here. The moment people were placed into a land without law, without rules, Saber had seen some of the worst things. He would never speak of any of it though. It was far too much for him to handle, and he didn’t want to push his luggage onto someone else, especially not a woman. Yet, it was a little rough keeping it all in. Saber felt as if he might burst at the seams sometimes during combat or in its aftermath. That risk of bursting was one of the reasons he avoided parties, and it was probably his biggest one.

Looking down at the woman in front of him, Saber watched as she and the rabbit sat there, both fairly quiet. Saber didn’t want to disturb their inaudible conversation, but said rabbit was eyeballing him pretty hard. Its nose twitched and its mouth wiggled a little as it looked at him. Saber had checked out people before, more women than men because of his internal lust, but never had he been the one being looked at so intently. At least, he never knew of such actions. Yet that rabbit, Caerbannog’s pet, was scanning him as if it was burning his image into its brain. He felt a little naked and that was the weird part. Was that rabbit looking into his soul or something? Was it testing him? Did it know? Oh no, it knew. That little bastard, Saber would cut its throat!

Saber’s right hand twitched and his breathing slowed. In the corners of his eyes as he looked at the rabbit, he started to lose some sight there. It was like he was getting tunnel vision and the rabbit was the center of it. He felt his heart begin to race, his body heated up, and his blood boiled. That damn rabbit was looking into him. It was learning him, everything he knew, and Caerbannog… That wench! She was going to attack him wasn’t she?! She was going to get him to drop his guard and then she was going to attack him! Well, not this one you rat. Saber wasn’t that stupid! He wasn’t going to fall for her little tricks… Caerbannog the Trickster! That’s who she was! You foolish little BIT--!

Saber was on the verge of grabbing his knife when he snapped free from his own thoughts. He let out a small gasp and jerked up slightly. Glancing to his right, and then to his left, he checked to make sure he hadn’t moved. Then he looked forward towards Caerbannog. She was looking down at the rabbit. Good. He hadn’t done anything foolish. However, Saber had become very concerned… what was that? Saber gnawed on his lip as he mulled over what it could have been and moved his hand away from the knife on his thigh. Devilish thing… That was when Caerbannog perked up and asked him about… ingredients?

“Hungry eh?” Saber smirked and raised his right hand, further increasing the distance of it from his knife, and opened up his menu. He navigated slowly to the item menu and pulled it open before scrolling down to the submenu labeled ‘Ingredients’. With a tap, his face was filled with a huge list of stuff. Various meats, spices, vegetables, and liquids appeared in the list. The only category that was missing were fruits aside for a few apples and bananas. Those were the only things he ate. He was actually surprised at how much was there. He had only focused on the fruits so all the other stuff was just dead weight. Now that he looked at it; he probably could open a small store.
“I have pretty much everything from the lower fields and this area.” With a tap, Saber made his menu visible to fellow players and then looked through it towards Caerbannog.
“If you need something, I’m willing to share. I never eat any of it anyways. I’m not exactly a chef.” That was true both in the game and in reality. Saber could barely boil water without messing something up.

: Post Title :
-Internal Rifts-

: Word Count :
919

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :

Saber, @dindeen

: Notes :
And so it begins...

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

Her fellow adventurer’s next words and actions surprised Caerbannog. She, for one, could not even pull up her interface that quickly much less know how to share her player list and whatnot to others. Also, the amount of stuff that he had on there could feed a small group of people, perhaps a party of four or more. Was he a packrat? Probably. It might have something to do with his solitary ways. It was not her place to ask anything about it though, so at the very least, the samurai tried not to look too surprised.

Hrairoo, on the other hand, was a different matter altogether. The frenmic rabbit sensed something off with the assassin, mostly due to the fact that he hid behind a mask, but as long as the samurai was around, the creature would not make a fuss. Thus, when Caerbannog tried to put her pet down on the ground, it instead grabbed and clawed its way up her left arm, settled on her shoulder for a while and then Roo hopped onto the wolf-hair’s head. It then rested its paws right above the samurai’s brow and twitched its nose at whatever its tamer was doing.

As the samurai looked over the list, she realized that she had not thought up a dish yet. Usually, Caerbannog would cook things depending on the available ingredients, but with a list like that, almost anything was possible. So… something that was a little bit of everything should do? She blinked at the list of items again; if he had not said anything to the contrary, she’d have thought him a chef. With all of those ingredients available to them, one word came to mind: nabemono.

Caerbannog put her satchel down, pulled out some small items such as bowls and spoons for soup, a chopping board and one knife; she stacked them on the bag. The wolf-hair then took out a large iron pot from her inventory. It was enough to cook soup for maybe three people. She put some water and soy sauce in it, since she had that at least, up to about half the depth of the pot. The chef then put the chopping board and knife beside it.

“ Pick which vegetables to use, please, “ she said to Saber while Hrairoo’s ears perked up at the sound of that specific word which it associated with food, “ Need wood for fire. “

At that, the wolf-hair stood up; one hand was on the frenmic rabbit to keep it in place. She then walked into the woods to gather what she needed to get the fire going. Starting up the flames was a non-issue since she had some flint on her person. Hrairoo was a helpful little thing which nibbled gently on Caerbannog’s hair whenever it spotted a fallen branch or tree bark that seemed suitable for cooking. As for the ingredients, she let the assassin choose from his list because she could not make heads or tails of it, and she did not know what he’d want to put in the nabe anyway. Whether he cut them up by the time that she got back or not would not be a problem. The chef could attend to that quickly.

Once the pair returned to where they last left Saber, Caerbannog started up the flames using wood and flint on a bare spot on the ground which she’d close off with some rocks to avoid an accidental forest fire. The second order of business was to set the iron pot upon the blaze then wait for steam to rise from it before the other ingredients were added. It was simple enough to do and quick to prepare as well. Most importantly, she hoped it could involve her fellow adventurer enough for him to look forward to the outcome.

OOC Notes: ---
Word Count: 640
Tags: @dindeen Saber