The Bottom of the Ink Well [Solo]

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Status: Healthy / Rested Mood: Burning With the Drive to Discover It had only been a couple days since 0XF0RD had unofficially claimed a ruined building, it's location not far from the main market area. Not too far from the street to go unnoticed once it get's renovated, but not too close to all the hustle and bustle, either. However, before his dreams of creating an independent bookstore/Grimoire repository could come to life, 0XF0RD actually needed to have some of the books, first. Since most of them would consist of nothing but those sought-after textbooks, it would take a while before he acquired the appropriate stock. Hm, maybe I could rally all the Scribes together, and they could sell their wares at the shop once all's said and done, thought 0XF0RD. After I take 10% of the sale, that should be fair. Standing in the room of the abandoned building, 0XF0RD found some remnants of furniture, a chair and a desk, and rearranged them to form a more work-friendly environment. He pulled out his notebook, lying it flat on the desk and the set out his quill and ink. Dipping the quill into the ink, 0XF0RD began to draw up some ideas for how the store arrangements would work, writing detailed descriptions to himself underneath it all to convey what he intends to use it for (this will come in handy when he recruits a Woodcrafter to help refurnish the building). After a couple hours of sketching and scribbling, 0XF0RD dipped his quill into the well, and noticed that it went dry. Tch, another one used up already, he thought as he uncapped another ink well and set it next to the empty one. He took the empty ink bottle, and put it in his pouch. A certain Brewer I know might want to keep something a great deal stronger in this. He was about to dip the quill into the newly drawn well when he noticed his quill pen. It was Level 10, the highest level you could get out of a Basic Material in this game. He twirled it in his fingers, looking at it from all angles, when an idea suddenly popped into his head. You know, I bet if upgraded this, it would probably use a great deal less ink than it does right now. He flipped back to the front of his notes, where information about the game and its mechanics were stored. A couple pages in, he found the crafting recipes for his subclass, the Scribe. The Scribblers of Magic, as 0XF0RD liked to refer to it. It wasn't the creation of spellbooks that lured 0XF0RD towards the Scribe class, but instead, the fact that he could fill up his maps faster contained a great deal of more import to him. Without his maps and with his bad sense of direction, he could easily find himself lost (even if the exit was staring him straight in the face). After a litte backstory had been established for no particular reason, 0XF0RD began to search through the Scribe crafting recipes, searching for one that would give him a higher quality quill pen. Ah, here it is. ...Huh, that's surprisingly easy to make. 0XF0RD placed his Old Quill back into his pouch, and double-checked to make sure he still had 2 Old Inks left. Once that was confirmed, he pulled down the crafting menu and selected the 'Quill Pen'. A flash of light emanated from his pouch as the magic of in-game crafting processed the request. Opening the pouch, he examined the new Quill Pen. It didn't look too different from his Old Quill, but after using the remaining ink with it, he found that the strokes were more controlled, the pressure much more under his control than with the Old Quill. The lines were deeper, and more rich, but they still bled onto the page. That's probably due to the quality of the paper, I'll have to get some more, 0XF0RD thought to himself. As he brought his new pen to the paper, he noticed that instead of dark rich lines, it was little scratchy lines, instead. "Aw, no! Don't tell me I'm all out again!" All of his ink was gone as payment for his new Quill Pen. Tearing out a piece of paper and using the last remaining ink, he made a little note, and then folded it so it would sit on the table. That way, if someone managed to make their way into this building, they would notice that someone else had already arrived. OUT FOR MORE INK. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SCRIBE WORK, TAKE A SEAT. Words: 765 Tags: @0x1dea Crafting Research

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Status: Healthy / Rested Mood: Sidetracked, But Satisfied 0XF0RD returned to his makeshift lair, which showed no signs of disturbance since he left it to purchase vast quantities of Old Ink and some Mana Fragments from the Landers. He even managed to find a purveyor of assorted cooked chicken products, so he picked up a spicy chicken sandwich, munching on it as he laid his items on the desk. Mmm, man, this would probably go great with some apple juice, he thought to himself, savoring the flavor and the heat that spread over his tongue with every bite. After finishing the sandwich, he took the wrapper and neatly folded it before stuffing it into his pocket. You never know when you might need a random piece of paper to jot something down. Dusting the crumbs off his hands, he uncapped one of his meager ink wells and dipped his newly crafted Quill Pen into it. He tapped the pen to the paper, his mind stuck on what to work on next. Order processing systems for deliveries? He could probably hire a Lander or an Adventurer to take the orders and deliver them. Placements of the books? Well, that would happen when the books were created after getting to a high enough level. Feeling mentally exhausted, 0XF0RD took his Quill Pen and put the feather end in his mouth, leaning back in his chair. He exhaled loudly through his nose and stared up at the ceiling, sunlight shining in due to some of holes in the ceiling. Better make sure to patch those up. I wonder if there's any good Woodcrafters in the area? 0XF0RD thought, making a mental note to make a note of that mental note. After a couple of hours of doing nothing, he awoke from his nap, his quill had fallen to the floor as he dozed off. He remembered dreaming about this bookshop idea that had been floating around in his head. It was kind of a spur of the moment idea, but it seemed too good to just dismiss it as an impossibility. Acquiring the resources to craft the books would take a good deal of time. First, since he was woefully under level, he would have to spend time making a bunch of the lower quality crafting items, the crafting equivalent of mob grinding. 0XF0RD gritted his teeth, not looking forward to the events to come. ~~~~~ Hours passed. 0XF0RD leaned back into his chair, a blank, deadpan expression on his face as he stared at the ceiling. His hands dangled by his sides, his fingers covered in ink stains and paper cuts. Whatever funds he had from his affairs in the Windsor Greatwoods were now dwindling, maybe not even 10 gold left in his pouch. The sun was setting, the light pouring in from the windows and the holes in the ceiling were the familiar evening tone of orange. The light spilled over his work, showcasing 0XF0RD's achievements for the whole world (or 0XF0RD, in this case) to see. Stacks of Level 1 Parchment were piled high, with enough to make dozens of notebooks (which was good, because he noticed he was running low). Full ink bottles were stacked in a pyramid shape, each bottle showing a different hue and thickness. Some of them even seemed to change color. With his stomach growling and his head empty, he stood up and promptly shoved the fruit of his efforts into his pouch. Leaving the same sign from before behind, he slowly stumbled his way out of the house, looking for a more suitable place to spend the night. Now, where can I find a place that'll only charge 10 gold... Words: 607 Tags:@0x1dea

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Status: Healthy / Kinda Rested Mood: Mentally Exhausted, Physically Fit The sun rose into the sky as a bedraggled Guardian made his way to one of the ruined buildings. 0XF0RD had managed to find a lodge that provided cheap rooms, but he was off by a small amount. He then had gone back outside to sell a couple of his materials to get the necessary gold to bed down for the night, but all the shops were closed. 0XF0RD instead agreed to help the owner of the lodge out with some of the work, mainly involving washing the dishes and scrubbing the floors. By the time all was said and done, it was already midnight. And by the time the rooster crowed outside of the lodge, the lodge keeper was already throwing 0XF0RD out, saying that he overstayed his visit by two hours. With his pockets devoid of any money of any kind, he decided to peddle some of his crafting items to the local shopkeeps, getting a little bit of cash back from the venture. This should be enough to purchase room and dinner at a fancier lodge somewhere else. No way am I letting this gold line the pockets of that other cheapskate... This is the point where 0XF0RD began his slow, trudging journey back to the building. All he wanted to do was escape the hustle and bustle of the city and take a nice quiet nap back at the building. The chair and desk weren't the most comfortable, but being able to have a long quiet moment to himself made it seem like he was escaping to a room with a king-sized bed. After making it back to the building, 0XF0RD sat down heavily in the chair, the seat creaking as it received 0XF0RD's weight. He promptly laid his head down on the desk, falling asleep almost instantly, the desk's surface cool against his cheek. ~~~~~~~ The bright light of the sun passing through the holes shone on 0XF0RD's eyes, waking him from a dream of combining ink wells and Mana Fragments, which caused the bottle of ink to turn into a never ending geyser, covering anything and everything black withs its blots of darkness. It wasn't the most pleasant dream, but the idea of having an unlimited ink supply got the gears in his head turning. If there was a way to produce such a thing, he could rake in enormous profits with his book business. The costs saved on having to buy ink would be enormous, and all the Scribes would want to own a vial. The recipe should be kept secret, as someone else could stake a claim somewhere and incur a great amount of wealth. The thought of someone profiting off of someone else's work was enough to make 0XF0RD's stomach twist. The research should be shared, not kept in secret, profiting off of its knowledge that everyone else lacked. He scrapped any idea of selling the endless ink idea and promised to himself that every Scribe could have a copy of the recipe. The value of ink would fall, which would be bad for merchants who specialized in selling Scribe materials. Another train of thought crashed into 0XF0RD's current one as a sudden realization hit him: What if it isn't a matter of how much ink you have, but how much ink you use? What if you developed a quill pen that was so efficient, you could write an entire Grimoire with just a single dip? Pulling out his notebook, 0XF0RD began to jot down notes on how such a quill could be developed. The material of the quill would have to be high level so it could perform its ink retaining abilities at the highest grade. Magic would probably be involved, so he would have to buy some more materials, especially the Mana Fragments. Given that Fragments were the most expensive materials to buy, he began to make preparations to gather even more money. Let's see, an expedition out to the Windsor woods would do me some good. I needed to level up, anyway. He flipped back to his pages about the monsters in Windsor. Oh, it's just boars, slimes and maybe a rabbit or two. Should be relatively simple. If only it were. If only. Words: 706 Tags: @0x1dea

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Status: Battered and Bruised / Nearly Depleted Mood: A Flower in the Rough A couple days had taken place when Oxford finally returned to the gates of London. Dirty and bruised from dealing with boars and other creatures, the first thing he wanted to do was take a nice, hot bath, and then sleep until he wasn't tired anymore. The way he was feeling, Oxford could sleep for a week and still not miss a beat. He arrived at the bath house, removing a dry cloth towel from his inventory as he went inside. After paying the owner of the bath house, Oxford stood outside the building and did some stretches, trying to get the stiff kinks out of his joints before the long walk home. The usual crowd was out today, some purchasing weapons and equipment for another day of questing, others just milling around, munching on food or chatting with friends (some doing both, those crazy multitaskers). Passing through the town square was Oxford's least favorite part. It was where groups of people would stand, recruiting any passerby to join their guild or party. The building Oxford was headed to was on the other side of the town square. Unfortunately, there weren't any good back roads that would let Oxford bypass this section entirely. 'Hey there, Adventurer! Looking to join [some guild name of no real significance here]?' 'Those are some nice glasses! You must be smart, so why don't you join the [name of shoddily improvised party here]?' 'Hey there! You! With the glasses! Come on over to the [yet another guild name goes in this spot]!' 'W-Would you like to buy a flower, mister?' The last question caught Oxford off guard, turning in the direction the voice came from. He was not prepared to see a little Lander girl mixed in with these racuous Adventurers. She was a short girl, as most young girls are, wearing a simple plaid dress and carrying a basket full of flowers. She looked to be about the age of a middle schooler, having long brown hair tied into a simple braid and dark brown eyes. A white kerchief was tied around her neck, completing the look of a Lander farmer's daughter. The girl ducked her head shyly, her eyes flitting between the floor and Oxford. Not wanting to be intimidating with his height, he knelt down to one knee as he walked up to her. "How much would one of these flowers cost?" he asked, smiling to convey his kindness. The girl looked down at her feet as she replied. "T-they're five gold apiece...I-I picked them myself at the Sanville Fl-Flower Grove," she stammered, a bright red flushing across her freckled face. (She must not be comfortable with talking to strangers, yet.) Reaching for his satchel, he pulled out fifteen gold and placed it in the girl's tiny hand. "I'd like three of your finest flowers, please." The girl reached into her basket and gave Oxford three white flowers. Lilies, by the looks of it (at least, that was only one of the flower names he knew. The other one was tulips). Oxford carefully tucked them into his satchel, the flowers turning into data as it crossed the opening. The inventory menu flashed, indicating the reception of the flowers. "What are you doing in an area like this?" Oxford asked, nodding to all the loud Adventurers behind him, still trying to recruit members. "Well, m-my father has been feeling unwell, s-so he can't take care of the fields. I'm saving up for some m-medicine so he'll be able to get better," she replied, still having a hard time looking Oxford in the eye. (Hmm, well, I guess I could lend some gold for a good cause.) "How much do you need to purchase the medicine?" he asked, reaching for his satchel. "F-Four thousand gold..." replied the girl. Oxford nearly fell over at hearing that large sum. He had enough to fund her, but that would take away a large chunk of his hard-earned income. Looking at the girl's basket, she still had a large bundle of flowers left. (Business must not be going well for her...) He looked back at stalls behind him, each one looking to have a bounty of customers to serve. He turned back to the girl. "Why don't you sell your flowers over in the Market? You're sure to get a lot more customers over there," Oxford said as he pointed. The girl just shook her head, faint tears shimmering in her eyes. "Th-The shop keepers all say that I-I get in the way of their b-business..." Tears were beginning to roll down her cheeks, showing obvious signs of dealing with some abrasive remarks from the stall managers. A wave of heat coursed through Oxford, a feeling of anger sweeping over him as he stared at the shop keeps. (Why would anyone say something mean to this sweet young girl, working for the hopes of healing her father?) Oxford stood up and waved his hand, motioning for the girl to follow him to the Market. "Come with me. We're going to set up a stall for you to sell your flowers." The girl ran behind Oxford, trying to keep up with the taller Guardian's long strides. Words: 868 Tags: @0x1dea

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HP: 100% MP: 100% Status: Our Business is Blooming The stall consisted of nothing but a stool and a sign, the small girl standing on the stool so she could be seen more easily. The increased height helped her out, the young Lander girl selling more flowers since more Adventurers could see her. Oxford was standing next to her, holding the sign up so people could see the reason why she was selling them. Flowers: 5 Gold to Fund a Good Cause The girl had managed to sell her whole basket of flowers, the two of them going back to the Saville Garden to pick more. They arrived back, only to be met with an angry shop keeper who managed the stall next to their hasty base of operations. "Hey! You need to find somewhere else to peddle your wilted flowers, you're driving away all of my customers!" Oxford gave the older man a pointed look as he saw that a steady stream of Landers and Adventurers were viewing his wares. "I don't see how we're a problem. In fact, it looks like you're getting more business because of this." "That's not the point! Don't you know customers are less likely to buy something at a neighboring stall when they've already made a purchase in the vicinity?!" A couple more people wandered over, beginning to sense a commotion to break out. (Great, the last thing I wanted was to get chewed out by an angry old guy in the middle of the streets.) He turned around when he heard a sniffling noise behind him. The girl was on the verge of tears, holding her flower basket close to her as if she were shielding herself from the vendor's stern words. "B-but sir, I only need 1,000 more gold to buy the medicines needed for my father..." "I don't care! Now, find some other spot to beg at, you're driving away all of my profits!" Something inside Oxford snapped at that point. A rage boiled inside of him, his fists clenched as he controlled himself from hurling the Lander merchant outside the gates of London. He decided not to argue directly with the stupid person, because they have a tendency of dragging you down to their level, and then beat you with their experience. "Oh? What's the matter, boy? Getting upset that your failure of a stall isn't working?" Oxford calmed himself enough to respond to the man without having to lift his stall and smash it over his stupid head. "If it upsets you that much, then we'll be more than happy to move our base of operations." With that, Oxford picked up the sign he had made, and slapped it over the entrance to the man's stall, causing the shop keep to fume even more. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Oxford grabbed the Lander's arm as he reached to tear the sign down, glaring at him with such disdain and hate that the Lander began to visibly sweat. "...Don't you know customers are less likely to make a purchase at a neighboring stall when they've already bought something within the vicinity?" The small gathering around him laughed, some of the Adventurers even remarking how they'd never shop at that Lander's stall again. Oxford leaned in closer, imparting in the merchant his final statement. "Right now, the words of greed and stupidity you've been spewing are driving away this girl's chance of healing her ailing father, and I will not stand for that." With that, he released the greedy tenant's arm, the vendor pulling it back to his chest while rubbing it. "J-Just who do think you are?" Oxford had already picked up a second basket of flowers, aiding the girl in selling them to the crowd that had heard of the small Lander girl's plight. He turned his head to answer the shop keep's question. "I'm a Guardian." Words: 641 OOC Notes: -- Tags: @0x1dea