Triggerhappy Explorers [Scouting / Group]

[Hanelli]

She was secretly relieved; there were more and more people taking notice of the Sarum quests that were available. After seeing that measly five percent on each front, she decided to take it upon herself to at least push the levels to something much higher; who knew if there were going to be bonuses involved once the percentages reached a hundred percent? Hoping that her English handwriting was at its best, she then stopped by the same board again, and this time put up a crudely-written sign stating, ‘Explorers Needed for Mapping Quest, Inquire Here’ along with a crudely-drawn arrow that was pointing towards her person, currently leaning against the signboard. Would there be other people who would respond to the call to action?

For a more important matter, would we be able to actually get this done? She thought in her mind, running through her English lessons over in her mind, courtesy of Kumori. She really needed more lessons though; even if she could speak the basics now, there were still even more complicated things that she had yet to learn. And hopefully nobody starts speaking in complicated sentences; otherwise I’d lose some blood over it… or pixels…? She thought to herself as she looked around the surly crowd that was looking over all the notices that were plastered all over the Sarum Quest Board. It does remind me of a certain game I’ve tried before… kind of déjà vu; thankfully there was an option to Log Out of the game before something bad happened… wonder how they’re faring now in the homeland? She thought to herself as she stood there, waiting for people to actually join her.

She had already acquired some of the ‘mapping supplies’ that the head explorer had given her, here’s to hoping that she had enough to hand around once people came milling around the area.

[312]

Tagging for the ff. people in no particular order: @dindeen, Shiranui, Shepard Dagon, tsukina, Darko Lipowitz* (not necessarily posting order except for Merc)

Let the mayhem commence.

* Note: Darko Lipowitz says he'll go last.

[Deleted]

Equipped: Charcoal Yoroi with Pitch-black Yukata | Windsor Antiqua Nagamaki (2H) - :: - Skill: ---

Sarum, the next frontier. With its rugged adventurers, excited landers, makeshift tents and numerous signboards, the expedition camp was always busy. By and by, more adventurers heard of the various quests which could give them power, glory and gold. Or just death. Caerbannog once again found her way to that most curious of places; up front it seemed boring, but once an adventurer looked closely at the quests which were posted there, surely they would see it too. The mysterious frontier for Sarum was an opportunity to test each one’s worth and mettle.

The samurai didn’t give a shit about any of that. Truth be told, she got lost in Windsor Greatwood and eventually found herself in the expedition camp. She was there anyway so hey, why not take up a quest or two, right? For a change, she skipped the combat quests and looked up the crafting and scouting ones. A familiar face greeted her next to a quest notice with a crudely lined arrow: Hanelli. She was that Japanese adventurer who could barely speak English.

Caerbannog walked over to the elven assassin and waved to her. Since Hanelli was the one who put up the quest, the samurai waited for a party request from her and would accept it once it popped up. She skipped any other formalities and, much like what she did back in her first Sarum expedition, the samurai sat down at the bottom of the quest board while she waited for other adventurers. While she waited, the blue-eyed girl summoned Hrairoo from her pet companion slot and put the brown frenmic rabbit on her head. The creature looked up momentarily at Hanelli, twitched its nose at the assassin, and then it proceeded to nibble on its tamer’s hair. Caerbannog poked the rabbit’s cheek twice to make it stop, a signal which meant that the tamer did not like what Roo was doing. The rabbit complied... for a while. It soon went back to nibbling the samurai’s hair.

OOC Notes: ---
Word Count: 332	Tags: @dindeen tsukina

HP	100%
MP	100%
Exp	0

[tsukina]

It was a perfect day to be walking around outdoors. The sun was shining brilliantly in the heavens, undeterred by any clouds. Gentle breezes came down from the mountains to the north, ruffling against the billowing sleeves of his Shaman outfit. People milled about the base camp, probably looking for combat or scouting missions. The Sarum area itself was fairly new, a very alluring prospect to those seeking riches, experience, or the thrill of adventure. Tsukina belonged in the third group, which was the reason why he himself put together a scouting party a few days past in order to go and explore the wonders of this mysterious frontier. He has always delighted in seeing new sights, meeting new people, while teaching others a little bit more about the world they walk in and the homeland from which he came from.

Now, the thirst for adventure had gripped his heart again. He went out into the streets, hoping to find another starting point for a scouting quest. Should he not find any, he might as well put up a sign asking for adventurers himself. But it turned out to be unnecessary, because there in the distance he found a crudely-made wooden signpost seeking people for a scouting mission. His heart leaped as he made his way to the post, his sleeves billowing behind him. As he got closer, he found out that his prospective companions were female. One of them looked like an elven assassin, judging by the ears and her manner of dark clothing. The other one was a lady samurai with black hair and a pet nibbling cutely on it. Suddenly seized by a strange burning feeling in his soul, he kneeled in front of the samurai, his head bowed low on the ground.

“Samurai-san, it is an honor to meet someone like you in a place like this,” he said, before rising up and dusting the dirt off his gi. He bowed twice, once to each of them, while his fox tail swished back and forth in excitement. “Ohayou gozaimasu, my name is Tsukina. I am a Shaman skilled with the bow and arrow. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, and I hope to be of great service to the party.”


Word Count: 375

[Shepard Dagon]

Path-finding Pathfinder.

Given the lack of attention to his Pathfinder profession, Shepard decided to go to unexplored Sarum after the notices quickly spread about new quests being available, just to help him get an excuse to level up his stuck skill, while learning about new environments and creatures, so as a preparation the first thing he did while he were in the City Gates was turning the pathfinder's skill on.

-Shepard-
Activate... Battle Perception.

Once told, the command made Shepard's eyes change color to blue and the monsters in the area were revealed. Giving Shepard the chance to learn more about them, the location they were in and the levels per area, useful information as he regards. All the way from the City Gates, through the Windsor Greatwoods and towards the Sarum was full of monsters with the exception of some unmarked paths in the maps that were provided by the merchants, routes that were now annotated by the shaman for himself and those who travel with him.

The variety was incredible, and of the deeper areas of those places was rather scary as high level aggressive monsters roamed in the night, those who wasn't careful enough might end in some ambushes for sure, luckily Shepard had his way out of that situation.  

In his journey, the shaman was told by many landers about the presence of ghosts in the Sarum protecting the barrier itself, ghosts that cannot be hit by conventional methods. Those landers helped Shepard to choose his next ability without knowing it, making him get the power called "Demon's Eye". Once he turned it on to give it a try, many more monsters tags were displayed on his sight, giving him the frightening sensation of being surrounded, even if such manifestations were passive and ignored him.

The animas just floated around everything and everyone; some showed the shaman hidden paths and shortcuts, something very appreciated, the name of the tag in those spirits were "Wisp" they were ghosts of the lower level, told to be the spirits of the nature and those who died in peace but couldn't leave the mortal world.

With the active time of the Demon's Eyes ending Shepard could only notice a few more types of ghosts, a series of specters and energy formations, and a few animal spirits that maybe took care of the place itself. The vision of this unknown world and the data he collected was something wonderful for him, and the nature of everything that was around him just intrigued him more, wanting to learn Shepard took the longer path, where more creatures could be seen and more terrain explored, he discovered many things that were new for him, and wondered if the real world had placed like those. Without noticing he reached the camp where the quest were supposed to take place, avoiding the crowded board, the shaman sent his shikigami to take one of the papers attached in there, and a smile was drawn in his face while he read the note... "Explorers needed for mapping quest" more places to explore, more to learn, his nose managed to get a familiar scent which made him get closer, as a result he saw Caer and ended up greeting her.

-Shepard-
Hello, are you here to scout the place too?

[Shiranui]

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[attr="class","notes words"] 424

[attr="class","tags"]Hanelli @dindeen tsukina Shepard Dagon Darko Lipowitz

[attr="class","postcontent"]"Ugh... I feel dizzy... How long have I been out of commission?"Shira rubbed the muck out of his eyes. For the past-- who knew how long-- Shiranui had basically vanished from everyone's lives. He may have kept in touch for a little bit, yet he felt still felt so distant. He, one of the founding members of Avarice, left to go on his own adventure away from everybody else. He hadn't been exactly reliable for a long while, either. When he had visited the guild hall, there was nobody there. Maybe he had come at a bad time or maybe they had all left? Shira refused to believe the latter. He'll just have to pay a visit some other time. For now, he was to joinan expedition to be signed up for. Mira had told him earlier about it, and he was eager to help, but looking at every single bulletin board they came across wasn't helping.

"I swear I found that bulletin board just around here!" said the auburn-haired young woman. Shira sighed. For a woman who's supposed to be my senior, I cannot believe how bad her sense of direction is. Mira had been saying that for since they left from Westminster Abbey. It wasn't until the seventh board that Shira knew for sure she was lost. "Um... Mira-nee, what exactly did the board look like?" said Shira.

"It had a green roof and a bunch of paper sticking to it's surface. Oh! There was a lot of people around, as well."

"All boards have papers on it and people around it, Mira-nee. Why don't we just pick whatever Sarum quest we find? Chances are we migh fi--"

"Found it!"

Shira hadn't noticed it, but Mira had already skipped towards another board and plucked a want ad from it. So much trouble on such a lovely morning... Shira took the piece of paper and read the details of the quest. "Explorers needed for mapping," it said. Satisfied, Mira gave the Fox Tail the usual punch to the rib with side of "go get'em" and left to cause trouble somewhere else. This "mapping quest" seemed familar, actually... Too familiar... Images of his previous experience with this caught up to him. It was a different place— a lush forest with energetic wildlife. The rest of the images were blurry. He could barely make out some of the details: woodpeckers, hornets, a woman named Zelamir. His hand reflexively checked the lower part of his spine as if he caught a sharp projectile there.

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[Darko Lipowitz]

The Sarum frontier area. It was rumored that there was a patch of grassland that contains a view of a road leading towards somewhere, might be another city or outpost. But a barrier of intense magic currently blocked the Landers and players from going to the other side, and there were some strange mysteries lurking even within the frontier. The immense amount of information in this area led a young boy to study what was happening there. Though he was only there to survey the area, he was not averse to fighting some monsters here, and since he could respawn in the cathedral, he was determined to explore every nook and cranny of this area. This might lead him to the way on how he could return to the world he was from.

The boy entered the base camp, and saw a lot of people taking on requests or making requests of their own. The number of adventurers here seemed to be greater than those in the city of Londenium, and they seemed very eager on exploring the region for clues on how to remove the barrier from the vista to a road to another region, or to go around the barrier altogether. With this number of adventurers, the area should be finished in a matter of time, but it seemed that there were a number of clues still missing, and that's why the explorations seemed unable to progress. As much as possible, he wanted to search for these clues while studying about the magic that resides within the area. This might lead to the creation of a barrier as strong as the one in this area, a stronger offensive magic, or even clues on how to return back to his world. There were many hidden knowledge in this area, and he was determined to get all of them for himself so that he could help the others to return to their world.

As he scrimmaged through numerous requests posted in the bulletin boards, he stumbled upon one that took his interest. Apparently the one who wrote this request was not asking to meet them at a particular place, but was in the area of the bulletin boards, as shown by the arrow that was pointed at  the elfin woman near the notice itself. And there were also some people who also took notice of the request: a woman samurai with a frenmic rabbit nibbling on her hair, and someone who was wielding a bow, but looks like a shaman in any other aspect. Another one, a fox-tail, also seemed to tke notice of the request, and so was the wolf-hair beside him. The wolf-hair was very familiar to the boy; he saw him fainting at the middle of a street in Londenium. For the boy, the whole exploration seems that it would be interesting.

He then moved towards the elfin woman, and said, "I am here to assist you in the exploration. There seems to be many hidden mysteries here that needs to be discovered, and I am interested in those mysteries."

[Hanelli]

She was looking at a fixed point on the ground; she failed to notice that there was now quite a group assembled in front of her; and she was secretly relieved to see that there was a familiar face in the crowd, it was Caerbannog; and most of the others looked or had some semblance of Asian ancestry. But who knows? Seeing that there were several party requests flicking in front of her, she then flipped through her own menu and then accepted Caer’s, before merging everyone else’s requests into one, massive list that was now flickering at the upper right-hand side of her interface (which was only visible to her). At the same time, she rose up and then dusted her behind off, before reaching once again into her inventory and procuring several blank sheets of paper along with the aforementioned special ‘marking pens’ and then handing them all out to everyone present, leaving one set for herself.

“Everyone, take one of these, and let’s get going,” she said, going straight to the point; the faster they could get this done, the better. “Please call me Han, if you need me for anything. We’re here to map; if you see anything else on the way, mark it down, especially if it’s of interesting note; they’re going to need it,” she said with a gruff look towards the main encampment where most of the head explorers were now resting. Why make us do all the dirty work when you can do it? She thought to herself as she then set up, and then made her way down and out of the camp. She hoped that the mixed ragtag team would follow her right along, and then they’d get to the down and dirty. Since there are five others who came along on this quest… I wonder if sending everyone off in groups of two would help? She thought to herself once more, looking around and seeing that she was already out of the camp’s premises; she then looked around and then behind her to see that everyone else was caught up.

She knew that her command on English was still sketchy at best, so once that was all done, she then addressed everyone else, “So, in order to get this done faster, let’s all split up into two-person groups and there should be at least one physical attacker in each group… let’s do this so we can finish quickly,” she added, knowing that the extent of her English was just as far up to that point. “How do you guys think of that arrangement? Is it okay with you?” she asked a few moments later, hoping that nobody would argue amongst themselves.

[452]

[Okay so the idea: go into two-man groups and start mapping a different area of Sarum, so that everyone gets to post at least once per round, regardless of order.]

[Deleted]

Equipped: Charcoal Yoroi with Pitch-black Yukata | Windsor Antiqua Nagamaki (2H) - :: - Skill: ---

Hrairoo nibbled away at the samurai’s hair; it stopped occasionally when reprimanded, then it would resume that same activity. Clearly, the creature was bored. It probably wanted to play or go sight-seeing, but the samurai was still stuck there at the camp since she needed to do the quest with a party. Soon enough, another adventurer who was interested in Hanelli’s quest arrived. He was a tall foxtail- why was everyone so tall in the game?! - who wore clothes which seemed to be of Japanese origin or inspired by such. To Caerbannog’s surprise, the foxtail bowed low and proceeded to greet her and Hanelli partially in Japanese. She wondered if he really was from that eastern country or if he was someone who learned that language for some reason.

“ O~ “ the samurai nodded at the foxtail, “ Yorodesu~! “

Caerbannog was never one for formalities. When she spoke in German or English, she would worry about sounding rude. But in her mother’s language, nope; the samurai would greet anyone and everyone as equals. The shaman Tsukina was soon added to the party, and he was followed by another shaman, one who was familiar to the samurai. It was Shepard, the emotionally-scarred adventurer whom Ryuu almost scared off some time ago. The samurai waved to him but she still sat on that same spot beneath the quest board.

“ Yes, quest time, “ Caerbannog simply replied to him.

Another fox tail approached the quest board and took interest in the mapping activity. Caerbannog looked at the purple-eyed one momentarily as she wondered what that person's class could be. So far there were two shamans in the party, one DPS and one tank. Once Shiranui was added to the list, the samurai noted the adventurer's class which was summoner, something which she rarely saw in Elder Tale but had played enthusiastically in every other game. Why did she decide to take a tank class instead of the summoner class? Perhaps it was fate, the hand of the gods- or just sheer madness that day when Caerbannog created her Elder Tale player. Whatever the reason, she was stuck with it and so the girl would continue to play that role.

The last member of the party was a boy who seemed to be human though he could be a wolf-hair instead, or a fox tail in disguise. Caerbannog stood up straight as soon as he approached Hanelli and she noted that the sorcerer was as tall as she was. Finally, someone that she could literally see eye to eye. She nodded at Darko to acknowledge his joining the party and Hrairoo took that as the cue for the quest to start. The frenmic rabbit actually behaved itself and sat all prim and proper upon its tamer’s head.

The black-haired samurai accepted the mapping materials from Hanelli. She was not sure if that was such a good idea since only scribes were adept at making anything that was vaguely readable, but as the assassin explained, Caerbannog figured that the task was simple enough for everyone to do. She noted that Hanelli presented a sound strategy to cover more area and at a faster pace, and that her command of the English language was much better than before.

“ I’m okay... can go with anyone, “ the samurai spoke up as soon as Hanelli finished her instructions and questions.

That arrangement would benefit Caerbannog too for she would not have to force herself to speak with so many people. It wasn't socialization that was the problem but rather her inability to form complete, intelligible sentences. Though a tank, she would let her partner take the lead until they were out of the camp, after which she would walk ahead so that she could intercept incoming danger, if any.

OOC Notes: ---
Word Count: 631	Tags: @dindeen tsukina

HP	100%
MP	100%
Exp	0

[tsukina]

Soon enough, people began trickling into this little gathering near the wooden signpost. It was quite a ragtag bunch of adventurers, and nothing was more exciting than heading out into the fields with such a group. It wasn’t the smartest of gaming decisions, balance-wise, but it always promised a multitude of events both interesting if not outright hilariously perilous.

Aside from the elven assassin and the lady wolf hair, there was another wolf hair, who was also another Shaman. He seemed to be of a different build than him. A different energy was about him, more befitting that of a warrior wielding a sword straight into the midst of battle. Tsukina felt his respect for this man rising. The Shaman wasn’t a class built for combat, but this wolf hair seemed to have the spirit of a Samurai burning deep within him. The other person that came was a fox tail like Tsukina, but judging from the look of his garb, he was a Summoner. Tsukina had rarely seen any Summoners in Elder Tale pre-Catastrophe, and even though their number hadn’t raised much since, there was a marked increase in their ranks. Tsukina was curious to see what sort of wonderful creatures this one could conjure, much like the shrine maidens in the anime he watched in the past. The last one was the only human in the party, but magical energies swirled around him in faint colors. Tsukina could see this because he was a fellow spellcaster, and it felt reassuring to have a Sorcerer in their party. If it came to it, he could use his Evaluate in conjunction with his magic.

And then the elven assassin, who named herself Han, spoke up and told the rest of the party about her plans for mapping Sarum. Because they were a large group, they were to split into pairs to cover more ground. That was a sound idea, although Tsukina remembered it would be better for him to pair up with a tank or a DPS to complement his bow and supportive skills. Just as he was thinking this, the Samurai spoke up in broken sentences. He quickly approached her with the full intention of pairing up. “If you don’t mind,” he spoke in fluent Japanese. “I’d like to party with you. I know you know the language of the homeland. I think my bow and spells can complement your sword skills. Also, I really think it is quite an honor to be together with a Samurai of your calibre. Again, I can hope to be of service to you.”



Word Count: 429

[Shepard Dagon]

Mismatched Pairs.

Shepard carefully heard what the adventurer in charge said and what the action plan would be, splitting in groups was a good thing for him, partially at least... he won't have to handle large groups of people that way, and he'll have to talk less. 

Given that Caerbannog was in there Shepard saw a chance to work with someone he already trusted, but the tiny smile in his face disappeared once the man in yukata got closer to her, asking to pair up, or at least that was what Shepard understood as he knewJapanese for his Shintoism roots... he just went back a few steps thinking in who will be the indicated for him, someone who didn't seem to talk a lot and who wanted results... the sorcerer was his first choice, he saw him a few times already and went in a few fights with him as ally, so he knew about him, even if it was so little.

Taking the decision, the Shaman did not more than get closer to the Sorcerer and stand there, without saying a word, he was sure the message was clear. But the strength of the combination did not ended there, in the remote case that some golem managed to hide from my sight, the battle will be easy with his help, so any problem was something minor.

-Thought-
At least he seems to be a quiet person. That will do.

Only a few words came out from Shepard when he toggled his pathfinder ability, the eyes of the wolf started to glow a bit with a blue tint, he then took his map, that already had some marked areas from his trip with handy information, gave a copy of it to his partner and did a sign to follow him once they all are deployed. The scouting will be exciting, things that no one saw before, that no one expect... the nature surrounded by magic... there had to be something somewhere to maintain such a barrier like that, and the incredible amount of mana-sucking golems in the area... who know, maybe we will find that out. 

Shepard got a bit away of the group, designating the area they will take care of, as the possible paths to follow; just by stepping a bit away of the camp a few monsters layers appeared... the mission will be hard for those who walk unwary. May the spirits guide us in a safe path, and may the nature itself take care of us.

With everything said, he sent a message for the elf assassin, asking to turn the party in a raid, and separate the groups in squads, any improvement we could make out of this entire thing would be significant for the outcome of the quest. 

-Shepard-
Good luck Caer, take care.

He said to his guild associate, then walked towards the sorcerer and leaned his staff on the floor while he waited for the response and the dismissal, the anxious shaman wanted to wander in the large fields of Sarum.

[Shiranui]

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[attr="class","notes words"] 391

[attr="class","tags"]Hanelli @dindeen tsukina Shepard Dagon Darko Lipowitz

[attr="class","postcontent"]Apparently, most of them were already acquainted with each other. Maybe. Well, there were floating detail menus on each player once you examine them closely. Samurai, Shaman, Sorcerer, Assassin, and Shaman again! I... might not be of any use in that department anymore, he thought sullenly. His main role was support, after all. He could contribute to DPS as well, as is the omnipotency of the Summoner class. His familiar, Uzume, would simply love showing off-- especially in front of these many people. But, unlike Animal Trainers, familiars cost mana to maintain their presence in this world. I'll summon her now, just to introduce them to her so she won't hesitate to help when the need arises. He hovered his cursor over the skill's icon; it seemed slightly embarrassing having to chant it out loud.

"Ohayou~ Boku wa Shira desu," he introduced himself with gentleman's bow, holding his small top hat in place. "I will be accompanying you all in this quest, as well. It is simply a wonderful opportunity to tour undiscovered lands untouched by players!" On the slight chance that he might come of as obnoxious and loud, he put on a genuine, sincere and accommodatingly kind smile. He would have loved to continue speaking in his native tongue (not that it did anything to make him sound any less feminine), but not all of them were Japanese. Out of courtesy, he continued his sentence in English. Then again, there is a possibility of a language barrier preventing clear communication amongst the party; that would be very inconvenient. Oh well.

When the elven assassin mentioned that they would go in parties of two, Shira was slightly disheartened. That partly defeats his purpose here, and (in his humblest opinion) his party mates might be taking this a little bit seriously. Not that that was unfavorable, he'd only wished that they be more enthusiastic about it. The fox would choose anyone, for that matter. And, judging by the way people were already grouping up together, he was left with none other than...

"Han-chan~ I will be your mapping partner for today. I'll be sure to keep your health up, and your defense impenetrable! For that matter, I'd like you to meet, Uzume." Shira clicked the skill and, with a flash of blue and the smell of burning, the rabbit-fox-like creature appeared.

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[Darko Lipowitz]

As Hanelli suggested about splitting the whole group into teams of two, the boy thought that it would not be possible for him to just go into the rear and avoid conversation. If they pressed on going all of them together, Darko would just shrink into the rear so that he would not need to talk to others. But in this case, he would need to work with another person, and so conversations with him might be always the case. He hoped someone who does not talk too much would be his partner in scouting the place, but if it was not the case, then he would try his best to keep quiet. If he would try to speak, he would utter hateful words. But he waited for others to pick their partners, and so leave him with another member who might be as timid as him.

Unfortunately he would not be doing that, as the wolf-hair moved towards his direction. Fortunately he knew the man; his dislike for crowds of people was too much that he fainted at the middle of the road in London. He also was not doing much of the talking; he was also a quiet person. But he could be quite dependable in battle, as he fought in his side for many times now. Fortunately he sought him first, for the boy would not know what will happen if he was partnered with someone he did not know from the start.

As the wolf-hair took his position near the boy, the boy gave a short nod, signifying he agreed on being his partner. At least a man he partly knew from the start would be his partner in the mapping quest. As he knew from some time before, the wolf-hair was a pathfinder, and so they could cover much more area than others, the boy being a scribe. And they had a fairly decent fighting prowess so they could defeat any monster they could encounter. Those aspects, combined with the wolf-hair's timidity and quietude, made him an ideal partner for the boy. And so he agreed on being the wolf-hir's partner.

[Hanelli]

Her suggestion was well-met; and now that everyone was now splitting up into the two-man teams that she’d suggested (it would definitely get things done faster) she was now with Shira, who looked vaguely familiar... it was like something was tossing déjà vu their way; and she actually blinked her eyes for a moment before focusing on her companion again. At least there’s no language barrier, she thought, secretly glad that Kumori (and Bunji) was nowhere to be seen, and she could speak in Japanese a bit more freely now that she was with someone else who knew the language. She then handed out the mapping implements; making sure to keep two (one for herself and her companion) and then said in English, “Let’s all meet up here and copy off of each other’s maps once we’re done, splitting up would make covering a wider area easier,” she said, before quickly turning towards Shira and giving him his mapping implements.

Why do I have the feeling I’ve been with him before somewhere else… she thought, looking down at his companion, it looked to be a hybrid creature, a cross between a fox and something else she couldn’t discern properly. “Let’s go?” she asked, gesturing towards one of the unchartered areas, holding the ‘marking pen’ above the surface of the map and beginning to ink in the blank piece of paper. She was not surprised to see that this time, it had quickly inked in their present location—and she began walking down the path, noting that there were dead trees, dead trees everywhere. It’s like someone dropped us in a Halloween area… but where are the spooks? She thought, her eyes flicking everywhere ever-so-carefully now that she was just with Shira; and she had his back covered.

Turning back to him, she said presently in Japanese, “Watashi wa, kore wa sudeni watashi ni okotta koto o kanjitaga, hoka no gēmu de o kakaete iru mono o, shitte iru...¹” while looking around her—what was it with Sarum and the word ‘creepy’; the two seemed to fit together in the same sentence? I know I’m just imagining things, but… ah shit I forgot to tell the others not to engage unnecessarily! She thought, quickly balancing marking pen and paper in her mouth, and then opening up some sort of ‘Party Chat’ option and relaying to the other four members of the crew this simple message: ‘If you encounter anything unwanted like Golem Sentries, fight them off, but fill out the map as much as you can.’ and then tapped on the ‘Send’ button and the other four companions would have this message on their screen at some point.

Turning to Shira again, she then took the mapping implements out of her mouth, and then continued, this time in accented English, “You know…this place is like something bad waiting to happen,” she gestured, pointing ahead with the brush and showing that they’d arrived at some sort of graveyard site. She then quickly marked it in, and then drew skull and crossbones; the universal sign for ‘dead’ either way; and then squinted in the distance to get as much of the landscape ahead recorded on her part of the map as much as she could. “Come, look at this…” she trailed off, showing him her map so that he could copy from it as well.

[562]

1 - You know what, I'm having a feeling that this has already happened to me, but in another game...

[Deleted]

Equipped: Charcoal Yoroi with Pitch-black Yukata | Windsor Antiqua Nagamaki (2H) - :: - Skill: ---

The party was soon split up with certain members taking the lead when it came to choosing their companion. Not surprisingly, the fox tail who greeted the samurai earlier offered to team up with her. Since the quest objective was to map unknown parts of Sarum, Caerbannog understood that combat was not their focus and so Hrairoo would be helpful in that situation. The rabbit could hear incoming danger and alert its tamer, so she did not keep the creature away.

As for Tsukina’s introduction and offer, the samurai was a bit puzzled by his formality at first. Then again, she thought, he might have been raised in such an environment unlike her. The wolf-hair was not one to pry into other people’s stories though so she stopped her conclusions at that. Caerbannog simply nodded at the shaman and after he was done speaking, she agreed with him verbally by saying “ Desu, desu- “

Before they headed out, her guild mate Shepard voiced his well-wishes to which the samurai replied with a wave. Still she remembered him call her ‘fatty samurai’ before, something that she’d have to punish him for someday. As for the other party members, she noted that Shira used ‘boku’ instead of ‘watashi’ despite looking feminine, but again Caerbannog did not think too much into it. Darko teamed up with Shepard; both seemed to be very quiet people- that was good. They would probably get along well. Hanelli, the party leader, teamed up with the prim and proper fox tail, and soon the scouting quest was underway.

Caerbannog walked ahead of her shaman companion into a path of rock and rubble. Notably, she did not synch down using the Teacher System. As far as the samurai knew, each and every mob in Sarum was aggressive therefore synching would just put them at a disadvantage. Whether she was high-leveled or not, the golems would be attracted to the pair if they came within the creatures’ aggro range. Killing them off with a few strikes would be beneficial to her partner since the objective was to scout; gaining experience points via combat was only secondary, probably. However-

“ If wants Teacher System, say so please, “ the samurai glanced at her companion and then she looked ahead again.

The samurai had her paper and marking pen out but she did not really know what to do with it. Her handwriting was beyond crappy due to not being a scribe or scholar. Upon her head, Hrairoo looked left and right but so far, the land was barren. Danger was never too far though; they were in Sarum after all. Caerbannog still was wary. A message soon arrived from their party leader and it instructed them to prioritize mapping, as expected. The samurai did not reply to the message but she kept it in mind.

OOC Notes: ---
Word Count: 474	Tags: @dindeen tsukina

HP	100%
MP	100%
Exp	0

[tsukina]

And the scouting expedition was off. Every pair went their separate ways in order to cover more ground, as their leader Han told them to do. In the back of his mind Tsukina wanted them all to stay together, because it would be more fun and interesting if camaraderie was mixed with adventure. He could regale them with tales of his homeland, or talk to the others members about it. Most of the party seemed to be Japanese natives anyway, his own partner included. And after a few tiring hours of scouting – probably with one or two monster encounters along the way – he could cook them all a robust meal of roasted meat fresh off the hunted animals. He didn’t know if there were any monsters besides golems in the frontier of Sarum, but he was willing to bet there was some juicy red meat somewhere out there just waiting to be hunted.

He let out a sigh. His only consolation was that he could do whatever he could to assist the lady samurai in this trip. And she’d be having the sole privilege of partaking in his rustic cooking. He only needed to find the right ingredients, and he’d be set. Suddenly he remembered something very important, something he shouldn’t have overlooked; he knew nothing of the lady’s name. Judging by her manner of speech and facial features, she seemed to be a fellow Japanese player. Not knowing her name beforehand was very discourteous on his part, so he set out to remedy that.

“I don’t think I’ve heard your name earlier,” Tsukina said in simple Japanese, testing the waters. “May I have the pleasure of knowing it? At least I should know whose name to shout when we encounter any sort of trouble.”

He heard about the samurai’s proposition to use the Teacher System. While the prospect of gaining more EXP was always appealing, they weren’t focusing on grinding monsters. Filling out the maps would be more fun with a bit of caution on the side. The losses in dying wasn’t worth getting swamped all of a sudden by monsters from out of nowhere. “No thanks,” Tsukina replied. “If we were doing a combat mission, then I would have agreed. But since we’re not doing that, I think it’s better to err on the side of caution.



Word Count: 389

[Shepard Dagon]

Seeing the Unseen to Recover the Artifact.

-Shepard-
Off we go then… we should make it detailed.

After those words Shepard started to walk towards the direction they were supposed to go, activating his pathfinder toggle skill allowed him to see farther than the common adventurers and also reveal the hidden monsters… the area they went to was a common looking forest with some deforested surfaces and others mixed with trees which were corrupted by some sort of energy; the deeper we got in the forest, the more monsters seemed to fill the place… Shepard preferred to go with low profile and no hurry, any misstep would have severe consequences given the unusual amount of golems in the area, after every few meters Shepard asked Darko to print over the path they were following, along with the monsters in the area, their names and levels, a little description of the environment and some references for guidance.

The team was working greatly, Scribes sure did a much better job than Shepard could with a piece of paper, and more quickly too; the map was very well done and excellently drawn, the reference points were exactly and the indications written in the reverse, a great method.

The scouting continued and so the discoveries, the deeper they got in the forest, the sinister it became, every step made the earth under they feet feel more limp, giving it a greenish aspect, and the smell of the air became putrid.

-Shepard-
Something is not well… Nature suffers…

A better look revealed a hidden circle behind great dead trees, Shepard got closer for a look, the spot was weirdly free of monsters, and it was very strange… he had a bad feeling about what he was planning to do, yet he did it anyway… Trying to bypass the trees Shepard managed to introduce an arm inside the circle; soon the pain he felt made him try to take out his arm, but something was holding it tightly, the Mana Pool of Shepard began to drop drastically just like his HP Pool, a quick summon of his Shikigami for some pulling help got him out there. As he recovered the breath he could just say a few words while he looked at his partner.

-Shepard-
Thankfully it wasn’t you…

The Shaman just stared at the circle… it was really looking normal, something anyone would just ignore… there was something bad about it… a closer and more detailed look allowed him to see a somewhat mysterious carved rock lying in the ground, it had about 5 cm of diameter and it was perfectly ball shaped, even with the curiosity Shepard had, it was something sure he won’t put his hand in there again just to have his life sucked off him.

-Thought-
There has to be something else… Something we are missing.

The suddenly sound of a bell in his head and the flashback of being guided by the wisp gave him a quick idea of what could be happening in the area, he just looked at the Shikigami for a second and then the plan for its extraction was made. Shepard turned to see Darko and wanted to explain something.

-Shepard-
If I’m right, we just found something interesting… Spirits are manifestations which has pure energy as fuel… I hope I’m wrong… But I have to check it.

-Demon’s Eyes-

Shepard eyes glowed intensely with a blue aura on them; the look was awfully overwhelming, a countless amount of animas and evil energy flowing from everywhere and being gathered in the circle, the stone somehow worked as a catalyst for that malefic energy, using the souls as a fuel to upkeep some of the magical beings and the barrier…

-Shepard-
Please… Make emphasis to this spot… Exorcists would like to give it a look.

Shepard sent his Shikigami inside the circle, he was a mortal, therefore he couldn’t trespass the soul barrier without having his own soul ripped from his body, but the Shikigami was an spiritual being and it went through easily, as soon the Shikigami came back from the inside of the soul storm with the catalyst in its hands, the tremendous energy began to drop in intensity, but it didn’t stopped, just slowed down… The pain the shaman felt for being unable to help those souls could be seen in his face, there was nothing he could do more than what he did, at least for the moment.

-Shepard-
I’ll study this… It will be interesting, but dangerous for sure.

The wolf got a piece of thick cloth over the sphere, who knows if it was still active and what kind of reaction it would have in contact with any life form, but it was something alchemists could use to make researches about; when he had the item in his hand immediately sent it to the inventory.

The effect of the Demon’s Eyes faded, and so did his Shikigami, he just waited for Darko to say something. The path ahead was blocked by a dense dead forest, so they had to decide whether go to deeper in the forest that seemed healthy enough for exploration or to scout over the vast plains that covered the sight over the edge of the forest line.

It didn’t meant a big difference for Shepard, but he wanted to give Darko the possibility to choose something, because he just leaded the way all the time and told his partner what to write down; Shepard didn’t meant to be bossy, and he tried to show that intention with the asked request.

Tags: Hanelli @dindeen tsukina Shiranui Darko Lipowitz
Word Count : 930

[Shiranui]

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[attr="class","tags"]Hanelli @dindeen tsukina Shepard Dagon Darko Lipowitz

[attr="class","postcontent"]In all honesty, Shira wasn't someone who could be bothered to write an essay, no less a map. He wasn't the worst at it; he does have to somewhat sketch designs for clothing, but usually it's Mira who does that for him since she was a "2D Artisan". As soon as he got the paper and brush, he squinted at them. He could imagine it already: it all starts with "The" and then hours of procrastination, suddenly ending up cramming anything he could come up with into a fifteen-minute burst of letters. He scribbled an arrow that pointed upward to an "N" at the corner of his sheet. That's how maps are, right? A compass-like reference to help readers know where they're facing or something. He then marked where he began with a tiny little dot. "Ikimashou!" he said. It was fine since he was all worried for nothing about communication. Plus, (though it was only a gut feeling) he sensed that Han wasn't particularly used to speaking English, yet. The fox had henceforth decided to converse in Japanese.

As the trio, walked (pranced, in the case of Uzume) the Summoner and his familiar gazed in awe at the mystical oddities around them. It was almost funny, and at the same time weird, how these two were like twins separated by genetic code. There were paranormal goings-on happening everywhere around them. There were a couple of ghosts floating around with discontented expressions on their faces. Except one. A child-sized phantom was hovering particularly enthusiastically-- as if looking for someone or something to play with. Shira could not imagine a way to help the poor lost souls. Without him noticing, Uzume went ahead and leapt towards the young spirit. She faced him and lowered her head and raised her tail in an act of trying to persuade the ghost to playing with her. The little ragamuffin was actually doing something nice for a stranger. A first.

"Um... you can go ahead, Han-chan, if you want. My girl's trying to have a little fun. Someone's gotta keep her on a leash," he said with a sly wink.

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