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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2016 6:51:05 GMT
 Traveling between Londinium and Moon Dance Forest was becoming a bit tedious, Sayha thought to herself. Thankfully though, traveling wasn’t as horrible as it had once been thanks to the trains. Though as she thought that, Sayha thought about her boyfriend. Hiro had been the one who started up the train system and was working on keeping it running. It was no small task, Sayha knew, and she felt kind of bad that she wasn’t able to help him out more. However, she also had her own things that she needed to focus on. Leveling up to 90 was one of them as was leveling up her Pharmacist and Animal Trainer Subclass. It was going to be no easy feat to get to 90. Her experience bar seemed to fill up extremely slow since she hit 60, and she had been neglecting working on quests or taking care of other such matters.
That day, Sayha was determined to be productive… if she could ever arrive back in Sarum. She was sitting alone in one of the train cars on the train headed there. She didn’t mind the solitude, especially in such a small area. Too many people in the train car would make her feel like she was suffocating. But no suffocating for now.
Sayha sighed, turning and glancing out the window. At the moment, all she could see were trees. Windor Greatwood was named quite appropriately. It wouldn’t be long before they hit the grassy plains that Sayha knew very well by then as the Sarum Frontier. The train would stop in a decent location, but then Sayha would have to trek from the station to Moon Dance Forest. It wasn’t as bad now since Sayha now had a few mount whistles. However, riding was not one of Sayha’s strong points. It seemed that her body in that world knew how to ride horses, but she still got sore quickly and wasn’t very agile while getting on and off. Though Sayha had recently acquired a mount whistle that summed a wolf instead of a horse.
A little yip caught Sayha’s attention, and she couldn’t help but smile. Not long ago, Sayha had had what seemed to be a dream but felt more like reality… though it was her own fault for going out and seeking out to determine whether the rumors had been true. Sure enough, they were… though she hadn’t had a chance to talk to it about anyone. Maybe it was best that she kept it to herself… though when she had awoken, she had had items added to her inventory that she hadn’t recalled getting. The Fenrir Mount Whistle had been one of them. A white rifle called White Death the other. The final item was a small miniature or chibi version of Fenrir, a companion pet.
Sayha had ended up dubbing the little fluff ball Chifi, short for Chibi Fenrir. At first the wolf hadn’t liked the nickname, but it had gotten used to it by then. And it had gotten used to Sayha’s routine, especially the train rides. If she had to guess, they were his favorite part since he could look out the window like he was doing at that moment.
The little companion had actually made Sayha feel, well, good. She wasn’t constantly alone like she had been… though maybe that part was her own fault. She had intentionally had her home built out of the way in the Forest.
Though it was weird for Sayha in a way. She had gotten used to her isolation on the other side. After all, why would she want to spend time being nagged to death when killing things in her various MMOs was more therapeutic? However in that world, she had met people and had had friends for the first time in like… ever. And even having a boyfriend on top of it, it was hard for her to believe at times… but she felt like she had finally found a place to belong, despite some other people’s grievances. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything she could do about that.
Sayha’s thoughts were interrupted when the announcement on the PA system about the train arriving at the station soon. “Chifi, let’s go,” Sayha said, standing up. The pup barked before jumping down out of the window and onto the ground behind her. She smiled and made her way over to the doors. She watched as the ground in front began to slow down until it eventually stopped at the station. The doors opened, and Sayha stepped out, Chifi bounding behind her. She walked through the station and out in the open before turning around and scooping up the pup. Then she pulled a mount whistle out of her inventory and blew. After a moment, Sayha put the whistle away, seeing her black gypsy horse trot up, already saddled and tacked.
After a slightly clumsy movement, Sayha mounted the horse with the pup hiding in her duster jacket and began to head towards the Forest. She didn’t take the path she normally took to get home but instead took another path which would head near the Village and towards her intended destination. Of course though, Sayha would dismiss the mount once she reached the forest as she preferred to walk from there than deal with a horse.
 Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def    Words: 890
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2016 2:22:14 GMT
It didn’t take long for Sayha to get to the forest edge via horseback, and she dismissed the horse. It had disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. When she dismounted, she let Chifi out of her jacket and let him go in front of her as she made her way through the forest. It was one of the rare days that Sayha had opted to not wear her vanity gear and show her gear for what it was. It wasn’t exactly standard, but it wasn’t out of the world enough for her to earn any sideways glances.
Since living in the Forest, she had gotten used to the layout quite well… though not as well as some people. She was, however, one of the faster people thanks to all of her movement speed reforges on her gear. Even if she did get a little confused, she just kept going until she found something she recognized. The Forest around her home was what she knew the best, mostly thanks to her daily morning run.
The area of the Forest she was now in was not as familiar to her as that portion, but it was familiar enough. She had walked that part of the forest quite a few times though most of the time she had opted to branch jump instead of walk on the forest floor. Even though she was no longer a Tracker, she did her best to keep what skills she could. She couldn’t eliminate her sound like she had before, but she could learn how to be quieter at least. She had gained some new ranged moves which she believed would help her. Though her bow… and most of her gear was under leveled for her current level, some significantly lower. Unfortunately she didn’t have a way of getting any higher gear… except for her transforming weapon. If she asked Hiro, he would more than likely upgrade it for her… but it was something she could put off for a bit longer. He was busy at the moment, and she had some other things she needed to take care of first. Such as the reason she was where she was.
It wasn’t long before she reached a rather familiar clearing and Chifi began to chase the shadows in the clearing. Sayha rolled her eyes at the pup but said nothing as she sat down underneath one of the trees near the clearing. She leaned back against the trees and took a few deep breaths. Soon enough, there would be a group of forest kitsune that would walk through. It was something she recognized from games she used to play. All monster NPCs had a path that they walked, and you were able to time yourself based on the path. The kitsune seemed to follow that, but not as regular. Also, there were various packs of kitsune in the forest, most being led by Nogitsune, but some lead by Amaterasu. All of the groups, though, had Myobu. The ones lead by Amaterasu were the ones that Sayha was looking for.
When she first came to Moon Dance Forest, she had met a Myobu that she had connect with in a particular way. And that Myobu appeared to her again during the end of the Snowfell, just before the Moonrise Festival had begun. She had “assisted” with a small event in the Village, and the Myobu had watched her. The Myobu had told Sayha to find her when she was ready for a companion. Not long after that, Sayha had raised her Animal Trainer to the level required to have a companion. And now, Sayha was waiting for the Myobu. It wasn’t like she had arranged a meeting or anything; she just had to wait where she thought the Myobu would appear.
For the last week, Sayha had been in and out of the clearing, waiting for the kitsune to appear. Though, her waiting wasn’t exactly precise every time she went to the clearing due to her going back and forth between Londinium and Sarum. However she hoped that would change and she would be able to stay in one place for a little while. That, however, was something to think about later, Sayha though as she saw an Amaterasu walk by the clearing. Behind it were two Myobu.
Chifi noticed them and went to “greet” them. The Amaterasu stopped walking and looked curiously at the little wolf pup. It could tell that he was no threat at all. One of the Myobu decided to start playing “tag” with Chifi, and the two began to play. The other Myobu opted to stay near the Amaterasu. After a moment, the Amaterasu continued to walk with the second Myobu following behind. The first one didn’t seem to notice or if it did notice, it didn’t seem to mind.
After the game of tag, Chifi went bounding towards Sayha and jumped into her lap. The Myobu followed behind and sat in front of Sayha about an arm’s length away.
“<You came>,” the Myobu said, looking at Sayha.
Sayha gave a slight smile, “I was starting to wonder if I would find you again.”
The Myobu giggled, “<We are found when we are needed or when we want to be found>.”
“That sounds about right,” Sayha nodded, “So which was it in this case?”
“<Who said it had to be either one>?” the Myobu stood up and stretched, “<Before I agree to become your companion, you must pass a test.>”
“What kind of test?”
“<A test of the Forest.>” It was a rather non-specific response that Sayha had sadly gotten used to.
“Well, I guess I should get started,” Sayha responded, “What exactly is the test then?”
“<Tell me, do you remember the story that the Sakura Spirit told you>?”
“I do.”
The Myobu looked at Sayha and blinked a few times, her tail going back and forth. Sayha guessed that was all the help she was going to get… at least for now.
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def Words: 1003
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2016 6:51:43 GMT
Sayha thought back to when she had gotten her fortune. It had seemed like a long time ago even though it really wasn’t. It was during the Moonrise Festival in the Village in the Forest she was standing in. For an offering, the great Sakura Tree Spirit gave fortunes… and odd stories as well it seemed. Sayha had given the Tome she had made back when she was a Scribe. She really had no use for it, and it was said that the offerings would be given to those who needed it so Sayha hoped that someone who needed it would get it.
Sayha’s fortune had been a mix of good and bad, but she wasn’t sure exactly how much merit to put into it… though it had stuck with her more than any other fortune she had been given in passing. The Spirit had told Sayha that there would be mixed days, which Sayha assumed meant good and bad, and there would be obstacles. The Spirit had also said that Sayha would be able to take care of them as long as she was true to herself. She had finished her fortune telling her she needed to take care of herself before she could protect others.
The story, though, was what confused Sayha, and she still hadn’t been able to quite figure out the meaning or why the Spirit would have told it to her. It was a story of the Ox, which was rather fitting since it was the year of the Ox. However that was when things stopped making sense. The story was that the ox spent his time eating grass, which was nothing out of the ordinary. However then the ox ate a living grass demon and saved the farmers’ harvest. If she had to do something related to the story, it could be any number of things. However, the thing that stood out the most to Sayha was the demon part.
In the Forest, demons were called Oni, or Spirits of Malice. Sayha very vividly remembered her first encounter with them, and it wasn’t something that she wanted to revisit. She had been only level 13 at the time, but Hiro had been there, and he was the one who was primarily fighting them. Though it was also during that time she had met the Myobu who she wanted to tame.
“Myobu,” Sayha finally said, “You once told me everything is connected, and I believe you. Can you tell me if there are any oni in the area?”
The Myobu’s ears twitched, “<No, not that I can tell… but there is a darkness somewhere in the forest. I can feel it, but I couldn’t tell you where it is.>”
A darkness… it had to be an oni… but Sayha had no way of telling where it was. Just then, a thought came to her. “Can you tell me where the nearest Tanuki could be?”
Tanuki were pretty common in the Forest, and Sayha had seen and heard them on a regular occasion. They were little raccoons that avoided fighting humans, but they stayed close enough to the village to know what was going on. They also had the ability to fly short distances. They probably covered more ground faster than Sayha could.
The Myobu didn’t respond right away, “<Well, there’s one nearby if you can find it.>”
Good enough for Sayha. She closed her eyes and focused all her attention to her <Hearing Aptitude> ability. She mentally spit up the sounds in her mind and focused, trying to locate the sound that would most likely be a Tanuki.
At first, all she could focus on were rustling leaves; however, there was something just beyond the leaves that she couldn’t quite understand.
“<You’re trying too hard,>” the Myobu’s voice made Sayha open her eyes. She was now sitting right in front of Sayha, and she walked over and crawled into Sayha’s lap, “<Go walk around and try to find it.>”
“The Tanuki or the Oni?” Sayha asked, picking up the Myobu in her arms as she stood. Once she was standing up, the Myobu crawled out of her arms and perched herself on Sayha’s shoulders, laying across them so that her head was to Sayha’s right.
The Myobu chose not to respond so Sayha simply began to walk, heading in a northerly direction. She figured it would be easier to search starting in the north while slowly working her way south… just as she had done so long ago when she was once searching for a lost fragment.
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used:
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def Words: 762
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2016 0:29:29 GMT
As Sayha made her way north, she kind of forgot about her pet Chifi, but it seemed that it hadn’t forgotten her. After a few moments, he ended up following behind her and sometimes in front of her. The Myobu seemed rather content to stay on her shoulders as Sayha was walking, and Sayha felt like she was the only one who was actually on edge or at least concerned. Oni walking around was not a good thing… not that Chifi would know that of course. As soon as combat started, he would desummon as he was a non-combat pet. That was probably for the best, honestly. The Myobu was only level 20, but Sayha had a pretty good feeling she would stay out of any fight that would arise. Then again, Sayha herself was level 71. The monsters in the area had no hope against her.
It took a while, but Sayha had finally made it to the northern edge of the Forest. Looking out, it was mostly plains to her eyes, but she wouldn’t be surprised if the villagers had some farm land in the area. “Nothing seems to be in the area, at least for now,” Sayha said, turning around to look around in the forest. It was at that point when she wished she had a better idea of how to search the forest. Summoners had summons they could use and see through to scout around the forest. Shamans had Shikigami they could summon as well as abilities to see through water. If Sayha had been a Tracker, she would have used her <Silent Move> ability in combination with her <Hiding Entry> to move through the forest invisibly. However, that option was not available for her now, and there was no reason to complain about it. It had been Sayha’s choice after all to switch to Animal Trainer. She would just have to adapt.
Sayha made her way back into the cover of the trees in the Forest and headed in a westerly direction… when a feeling entered into her mind. Sayha stopped in her tracks. The feeling told her to head east, and quickly. She wasn’t quite sure where the feeling came from, but she was going to act. She quickly dismissed Chifi and turned around to head east.
As she ran, Sayha summoned her dual-headed scythe into her right hand. She held it parallel to her with the body of the weapon being behind her and her right arm straight. In the background, Sayha could hear something moaning, and it was getting louder as time passed. She was heading right for it. In the distance, Sayha could see a black mass… and two human figures cowering. It was then when the Myobu jumped off of Sayha’s shoulders and began to run alongside her.
Sayha targeted the black mass, and that confirmed her suspicion. The target’s name appeared as Lesser Oni, and on its face was a mask of Despair. It was level 35, but that didn’t matter to her much. Sayha readied her scythe and sliced forward as soon as she was in range, activating her <Assassinate> and <Perfect Autopsy> skills. The Oni exploded in a mass of bubbles, showing that it was now dead. Sayha stood up and turned towards the two human figures.
“Are you okay?” Sayha asked as the Myobu walked over them to sniff them.
“Yes, we’re okay, thank you so much,” one of the figures said, “We’re so lucky you showed up when you did.”
“<Careful>,” the Myobu said to Sayha, “<One of them reeks of darkness>.”
“I’m glad to be of service,” Sayha nodded towards the figure while listening to the Myobu’s warning, “Though what are you doing all the way out here. You’re quite off the path in this area of the forest.”
“We got lost,” the second person said briskly and quietly, “We will be on our way now.”
Just as the two were about to walk off, Sayha stopped them, “I would be glad to lead you to wherever you might be heading. I know the forest pretty well.”
“Thank you,” the first person said, “but that won’t be necessary. I think we can find our way now.”
The two walked away, and Sayha felt uneasy. There was something just… wrong.
“Darkness, huh,” Sayha finally said, the Myobu sitting at her feet, “or Miasma.”
“<Miasma?>” the Myobu blinked.
“It’s a long story,” Sayha responded, “Are there any other Oni in the area?”
The Myobu shook her head, “<Not that I can tell… though we should keep an eye on that person if they’re in the Forest much longer. Things could get bad if they stay for an extended time.>”
“I agree,” Sayha nodded, “Though does that mean I’ve passed your little test?”
“<You did a while ago, actually>,” the Myobu giggled, “<Now there is one last task for you. What will you now call me?>”
Sayha smiled slightly, “Yuki.”
“<I like it>,” the Myobu twitched her ears, “<And now I will be your Companion for as long as you see fit>.”
“Welcome aboard, Yuki.”
Quick Draw Sets: Shikama Doji Scythe (Active) | Gekkoin Bow
Active Abilities: <Hearing Aptitude> <Tongue of Nature>
Abilities Used: <Assassinate> <Perfect Autopsy> <Domesticize>
Gear Buffs: +23.75 Movement, +13.75 Melee Dam, +13.75 Phys Dam, +3.25 Phys Def Words: 849
Coding by Sayha of LH |
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