Queen's Gambit Accepted

[Red Mage]

"Inferno..." Jasper Hayes' body pivoted on his forefoot, as the katana gripped in his right hand began to glow with the arcane enchantment. "Strike!" He followed through with his motion. An decisive slice to the level 2 Boar's muzzle. Continuing to step forward, as his blazing cut seared the beast. Finally taking the time to stand still, examining the UI information in front of him. The burn debuff was ticking down the "Young Pittered Boar's" health slowly, along with the initial strike, it wasn't going to be long before he reaped the battle's reward. Despite his comfort with the current position, he could feel the flaws in his stance, as well as the physical limitations of his level. The boar's enmity was focused solely on him, unfortunately, he wasn't a particularly talented swordsman, nor did his class dictate such abilities. The boar didn't have any abilities, but for someone without combat experience, even a small boar when charging at full force was quite intimidating.

He stood his ground, digging his backfoot into the terrain. Lifting the handle, blade side down, his hands connected using the katana's flat edge to impede the full force of the tackle to repel the pig. It was sent back into the terrain off-balance, squealing and squirming until it's the shear momentum of its panic attack swung the beast back to its feet. Jasper immediately understood the NPC was on it's auto attack cooldown at least for another full second, and there was still an animation timer. The sword was swung back, his own body blocking the boar's line of sight to the katana. He began to close the distance while maintaining his posture as best as he could. Once he was finally in range of the beast, he finished it off with a final upward strike.

He was amused, and a bit embarrassed by his excessively dramatic finisher, but he still wasn't fully aware of the limitations of his class and level. It was made worse as he saw other adventurer's around him slaying the boars as if they were nothing. The months he had spent in the security of the town were rather pathetic and still regretted. His expression explained it all. He was hoping to return to his life initially, but now it seemed as if there was no other alternative but to embrace the new lifestyle.

[394]

[fel]

So many sounds.

The wind rustling through tree branches, her dainty charms jingling from her boots, and even hearing her own breathing was fascinating but far more painful. Feloray halted in her footsteps, pushing the tips of her fingers against her temples. Tilting her head forward as her lips cringed in discomfort, she desperately tried to focus on one single phonic. Her brain was far from used to these noises of the past, not yet acquainted again with what she desired most. Her emerald hued eyes shut out this new world for a moment as she tried collecting herself. There was so much take in.

'Just focus, Bea.. Focus.' Excluding the fact that everything audible was causing her head to beat like a drum, her mind still found opportunity to boggle on her situation. She recognized where she was from the night before, but was too shocked to even move from where she awoke. This was the world of Elder Tale, and how she was transported into this reality was a mystery all in it's own. She spent the night prior stationary under the tree she found herself near as pandemonium hit her. It was all new to her, but yet very familiar; her body, this world, and all the sounds around her. When dusk hit, she finally gained the courage to find something, or someone, so she can make sense of what's happening.

She omitted everything else around for only a moment, giving the beating on her head a rest. A relaxed smile rested on her lips as she finally had a moment to appreciate having the ability to hear, something that she thought she'd never experience again. Not a second afterwards, she heard a voice from afar and then a disgruntled squealing. Her eyes instantly opened, looking towards the direction of the faint cry, excitement filling her soul. 'A voice..' ,she thought, 'Is this really happening? Is my mind playing tricks on me?' It was possible that this was all a dream to her, but once she heard that voice, it seemed all too real. This was no fantasy. Not anymore.

As she scanned the area where what sounded like a battle was coming from, she could see before her a small opening from the trees that created an endless maze for her. She desperately sprinted towards the bellows, taking in the plethora of sounds that embraced her ears. The anticipation kept her mind from overload though as she reached closer to her goal. She wanted nothing more than to hear someone speak, to say anything. She needed to know for sure this was real.

After the towering trees began to fade in numbers, Feloray could see the wide valley before her and numerous other people too either battling what looked like boars, traveling along the road nearby, or conversing with others. 'This is Elder Tale.. It has to be. I know this place.' Not too far from where she stood, she saw a brown haired man standing before a dead boar, holding a katana as if he just finished slaying the beast. Being the closest and the first real person she has seen since.. everything.. she scampers towards him, her face showing excitement and bewilderment all at once. "Say something! Please! Anything!", she exclaimed in a muffled, fragmentary voice. This was the first time she spoke since five years ago, so forming words was almost a forgotten notion. She instinctively grasps the stranger's hands before her, hoping with all her heart that what she heard in the forest was not an auditory illusion.


WC [596]

[Red Mage]

Jasper replied with silence for a few moments as his back turned to the dead boar. He was shocked as it had seemed a lunatic woman had decided to approach him, roughing him up asking him to speak. The boar's corpse had finally bursted into an explosion of goodies and bubbles. Before his mind let him focus on that, he had to analyze the situation. He pressed his palm against her chest, pushing her away to create a bubble of personal space. She seemed to have a sort of accent, but it wasn't something he recognized. "Anything," he spoke curtly as possible, wondering what had had her so flustered. He already realized the sort of impression he was giving, and he hadn't formed any sort of connections and this would've been a perfectly fine time to try. "Hey, look, I'm sorry." Jasper took a moment to gather his composure taking a deep breath, as he used his free hand to slick his hair back somewhat. "My name is Jasper, if there is anything wrong, I'm here to help you." Her tone and rushed manner were quite obvious indicators of her mood, and he could easily use her distress to form familiarity very easily.

"Aha~" He brought his hand to the player's face, gesturing to be given a pause in their conversation by holding out his finger. The sorcerer turned and bent down, gathering the loot from his previous victory. It was quite the stroke of luck. The loot was an even hundred gold, no meat or anything. Jasper messed with the interface before him as he turned back to the woman, now able to view her PC name. "Felo~ray." Her bow probably meant she was probably a bard, she wasn't sneaky enough to be an assassin.  He opened up the trade window with her, input a fifty gold offer and accepted the trade. "You're a bard, right?" He smiled as he adjusted a few strands of stray hair that had obscured his vision due to the gentle winds. 

[338]

[fel]

She took a few jagged steps back when the trade window appeared before her. This was the first time she actually focused on the in-game menu system. She brought her hands to her chest, somewhat confused, but quickly put two and two together as she remembered the reality that she was in. After a brief moment, she accepted his trade and gleefully smiled from his gesture.

Hearing Jasper's voice was like angels singing. The tone and depth of his voice was something she thought she could only imagine. She was too dazzled by what she heard to pay no mind to the way he pushed her away or how he first spoke to her. All she wanted was to keep hearing this man speak, to enjoy his words. No longer did she have to read lips or interpret motions. All she had to do was listen, something she'll never take for granted again.

Her overjoyed countenance never faded as, out of habit, she brought up her hands and began to use sign language to introduce herself. Halfway through her motions though, she immediately stopped, her cheeks turning a rosy red. She thought to herself how this stranger must think how nutty she looks. She brought her hands back down, clasping them together as a way to contain her habit of signing when communicating. Fel took a deep breath, forming the words slower than average, but not as horribly as she thought she'd sound. "I'm Bea.. er.. My name is Feloray. Thank you so much! For the gold, that is..." She initially thanked him for just speaking to her, but quickly realized how even more awkward that would make things. She finally took note of his in-game name, remembering that he introduced himself as Jasper though. 'Red Mage..', she thought. She was unsure what to call him, but placed this thought in the back of her mind as more pressing things seemed to matter. There was so much she wanted to ask Jasper, and she could already tell from his mannerism and demeanor that he knew the answers.

"And yes! I'm a bard", she responded after a moment of brief thought. A hand nervously scratched the back of her neck, a little embarrassed at the way she approached him and how her communication is sounding. Her thoughts reverted back at the boar's corpse turning into bubbles, items, and money. She glanced around their environment, seeing other players battling monsters. "So.. this really is Elder Tale." She stated aloud, not as a question, but she still felt unsure exactly what is happening. Fel looked over to 'Red Mage', her brows furrowing with confusion.

WC [441]