Geetttofff mahhh lannnddd [Mentor Thread/Pretty/Reynard]

[Tobin]

(OOC: Mentor Thread for myself, Marquise and @reynard I don't intend anyone else to join, though if your up for some yammering I might consider it.)

Word Count: 611

"So let me be gettin' this streight, ya have a boar problem and ya want me to just watch ovar it foar the night?"

"Yeee dem damn hogs be eating maahhh corn. The traps, fences, nothing be workin' on dem pigs. Hiring ya adventurers might make dem pot bellied squeallers think twice before violatin' mah property."

The Dwarf raised an eyebrow, the dialect this farmer spoke actually sounded much more convincing then his own. It made him wonder exactly whether the producers that made this game assumed a good portion of farmers were illiterate.

"Ya sure, I be dealin' with dem hogs moar then ye be havin' hot dinners dis month, rest assured dem pigs be squealing if they dare riffle raffle ya... well, crops."

"I hope ye word isn't a representation of ye work son. I only pay if ya do a good job this night, ya hear?"

"Don't ya be worryin', I know my boars from my pigs."

Tobin sighed as he let his fingers comb through his thick braided facial hair, it was a simple task, boars had been recently eating the corn, so basically the adventures had to watch over the crop for the short night of summer, about 8 hours, and drive off any of the buggers that got through the fence. Recently the dwarf's sleeping patterns were off, this was partly due to a difficult shift at The Kiss that left him drained. It didn't help that there was a constant threat from the Cear-bear snagging him to do some tasks, because Dwarf. Between that and some preparations towards getting his own store going, sleep was hard to come by and the entire day earlier was spent asleep. So simple night watch seemed to give him the perfect time to use the night productively.

Of course he wouldn't walking all night, there was a centralised guard tower in the middle of the field. It stood that was about six meters high that gave a good dominating view of the crop field, a relic left behind from the previous guard that had departed when the Collaboration extended into the Sacum regions. as while there was rows which the adventuers could walk through, the tower meant that generally the sentries wouldn't have to disturb the crops until given reason.

The dwarf clambered up the ladder of the simple 4 post tower with all the grave of a sloth and opened the hatch, stepping onto the wooden floors before he leant over the railing, glancing across the corn, his night eyes soon adjusted soon to the bright moonlight and he paused, pulling out a kettle and a simple propane cooker from his inventory and set it down. The sound of the focused, hot flame on the metal base and the shifting of water provided a background ambience that was preferable to the cool, silent night. While it might have been considered a fire hazard magic heated water just didn't taste the same to him.

Against this backdrop and without anyone to talk to, the dwarf sighed as sharp blue eyes carved up the landscape with his lazy, half closed gaze. It wasn’t too often that he was alone, but he didn’t especially like it. It was almost like being one half of a comic act, a joke without the punchline. Needless to say Tobin felt his mind wander for he had much to contemplate, what to do now that he was becoming an old hand at being an adventurer, his dreams for the future, how to manage his friendships and perhaps most importantly, what precisely was Elkeids breast size?

-Yeah, real mature dwarf.-

-I can bloody dream, author.-

[Reynard]

All in all, Reynard was starting to get used to this All in all, Reynard was probably accepting the situation in the world a little too easily. It probably had to do with the multiple fiction stories that he had read over the years allowing him to accept the probability of alternate realities or trapped-in-a-game universes. Even if not all of them were good reads. But it still came with some adjustments he had to get used to... like having fox ears and tails now. The ears weren't really the bothersome but it meant making sure his headgear could accommodate them properly. The more problematic one was the tail. It was a new weight on his body, moved unconsciously and made taking care of business a whole new experience. At least he had gotten the hang of it after the first few days and could now move around properly. Fighting with it might take longer though.

For now, Reynard had accepted a night time quest, mainly because he had overslept and was heading to the area. He arrived in time to see another person finish talking to the quest giver before proceeding to the tower. Accepting it was a simple as just speaking to the farmer but it meant more conversation than just clicking the accept button. Now, it was time for Reynard to decide how he planed to protect this field. The tower was a nice idea and the most energy efficient but Reynard might get bored just standing and looking out and might have to deal with an unfriendly person. He could walk around and patrol and work on his own but leave himself tired if and when an attack came.

He decided on the tower. If the person was friendly and willing to temporarily team up it might make the quest easier for his newbie stats. Upon opening the hatch, he was greeted to the sight of a flickering light source and the other person, a dwarf, inside the tower. After confirming that the person was an adventurer, he made his presence known... in case opening the only entrance was too discreet.

“Yo! Here for the same quest dwarf-san?”

[Tobin]

(OOC: Since I haven't seen Marquise around in a while. I will proceed with it. I will be away this weekend so I likely won't be responsive. Feel free to take this thread in any direction ya want, pick the dwarf's brains. )

Word Count: 481

The Dwarf had noticed the figure approach from below, though due to his night eyes still being fresh the dwarf wasn't able see the person's features clearly. An eyebrow rose inquisitively, at least he wouldn't be spending the night alone though the real question was whom with?

-Well, it's no one I know, that much can be certain. Perhaps it's a hawt chick, since only they could play foxtails, right?!.-

Well it was a curious thought that made him chuckle and he returned his gaze to the crop's, once again noting that the 20th observation of them was dull and uninteresting as the first. Oh and there didn't seem to be anything out there disturbing them yet, that was also quite significant for his job funnily enough. He would remain on watch until the click of the latch and the shuffling of the open hatch behind him, only then did he chance back a glance at the latest tenant with a slight turn of his head. The dwarf smiled as he received the greetings from the cleric, bowing his head slightly as he acknowledged the fox tails presence. Of course the most obvious thing about the dwarfs speech is that it carried a heavy northern accent, by now he had months of practice with it so he sounded like a fairly convincing dwarf fellow. Another thing noticable was that he was quite causal and relaxed, his eyes seemed to be half closed over into crescent blue moons.

"Howdy fellow, nay I just be 'ere enjoyin' da view. Surprise boss battle?" He chuckled, letting his broad chest heave with the small expression. "I jest, I 'm also 'ere to watch ovar dem crops. 't's been a quiet nite thus far."

-Damn not a woman... Wait, another that speaks eastern sorcery?-

Naturally being British he found the curious honorific somewhat foreign to him, though that he kept to himself since it wasn't a big deal. His gaze returning to the outside world as he scanned the treeline, giving the other man time to settle down into whatever place he found convenient. Be that next to the dwarf or facing another direction, after all it was a small box that could probably only have held 6 people at max so pretty much anywhere was fine. After that he broke the silence, idle conversation helped satisfy the mistress of time.

"So, ya 'nother latecomer then? Not ofte' ya see a lv 1 these days."

The simple question was left to hang, punctuated by the gentle whispering of the kettle as the hot steam was pushed through the hole, letting it rattle loudly and breaking the silence. The dwarf left it momentarily, to act as an ominous warning that tonight the tower would be inhabited, before he twisted around.

"Tea oar coffee lad?"

Two men, one tower, sounded like the start of a really bad fanfiction.

[Reynard]

After the successful greeting, Reynard hoisted himself up from the entrance and finally stepped into the “room” of the tower. A room that basically consisted of a wooden floor and some railings so that you wouldn't fall of the tower. He closed the hatch, as he did not want to accidentally fall down, climbing up again would be a pain. There was a kettle on the floor, which Reynard guessed was the other person's, which he had to step around so that he didn't knock it down. He decided to pick a spot facing opposite the dwarf. It was the most sensible thing during a look out plus even if the dwarf didn't bother to inform him, he would be able to tell if the dwarf went down to confront the monsters.

For now he toggled his Battle Perception on allowing him a slight advantage in spotting any monster ambushes early. True to the dwarf's word, it was still a bit quiet and nothing happened in the first few minutes of scanning but Reynard had his pride when accepting a job and he would try his best to get it done was well as possible. It was starting to get boring and his mussings turned to other person occupying the tower. He was wondering how to bring up the idea of partying for the quest when the dwarf spoke-up first.

"So, ya 'nother latecomer then? Not ofte' ya see a lv 1 these days."

True he it took some time before Reynard decided to venture out of Londonium and do some actual adventuring work. He was trying out some things before he felt confidence enough he could go outside with no major problems. Before he could answer, the kettle pierced through the silence and dwarf offered him something to drink. Not wanting to be rude in refusing an offer, Reynard accepted the gesture of good will from the other adventurer.

“Coffee please.”

He didn't care much for tea as he had the opinion all the tasted like watered grass to him. Not a true fan of coffee either but it might be helpful in staying awake at night. He took the cup offered to him and blew on it to cool it down. It was still probably too hot for him, as he couldn't really handle any beverage beyond warm, so his drink remained in his cup for now.

“Thank you for the coffee, dwarf-san. About your first question, I was indeed late in departing from the safety of the city. I was not... accustomed to my new body.” Reynard bent his tail to show it hiding behind his back. That particular feat took a good while to master. “For now, I am confident I can handle any encounter as would have with my original body. I do enjoy the ears.”

Reynard took a quick pick behind him to look out from his side of the tower. Seeing no health bar or enemy names just yet, he turned his attention back to the dwarf.

[Tobin]

(OOC: One cool thing is that if you click the piggy bank on the bottom left, you can move your money to the bank. The 4% interest rate occurs over a long length of time. It's a nice little thing you can do with your money. Sorry if this is really quite basic, I figured your character might apperate a bit of mild exercise over talking. Tobin would probably talk ya ear off over a question)


Word Count: 558


The Dwarf gave a brisk nod to the cleric for his order and he proceeded to pull small containers and a couple of small stout mugs. To one he added coffee, to the other a teabag. The boiling water was poured into both mugs and the dwarf paused as he stirred the coffee and added milk and slid that along to the cleric, before Tobin wiped the hot spoon against the fabric of his tunic before doing the same to the tea, though this time he let the teabag brew before the milk was added. During this second act the dwarf let his idle gaze rest on the foxtail; A grin flickered on his face at the display of the implements.

“Well, on that note I don’t blame cha, must be uncomfortable lookin’ lika furry.”

Boom, straight to the point, he chuckled though as he fished the teabag out and with a causal grace flicked it over his shoulder, the faint brown mass seemed to wink out of existence into the nights sky. Only the softest of thuds nearby reassured the dwarf that it hadn’t been lost in the nights sky as a falling star.

“Well, than agaiun, could be worse, ya could be a stunted, broad midget, so ye probableh made the betture choice. Gahahahah! Bu-cha right, ya kind of gotta get used ta the hand dealt, I guess I were not be so charmin’, if I were not dwarf. Believe me buddeh, I may not be da beast, but I’ve a few tales to tell of the great outdoors..”

The dwarf chuckled as he turned his eyes outwards, a momentary pause as his low light vision adjusted to the night. He frowned, now he could see movement near the fence, the short stubby frames. Tobin shrugged, he could see why they were a nuisance to the inexperienced adventuer or farmer. Out there in the darkness, his experienced eye could see the movement, but little else of the creatures that lay out there. So he took a calm sip of his tea as he pondered.

-What would my superiors do?-

An image flickered back to that time when Caer had hurled him at a level 36 feral weasel and winced. Ok, not that. Still, it was unlikely to be anything too threatening.

-It will probably be good to test his resolve a little-

“Well, then ya need to make ya first venture somewhere. Somethin’ or things are down there, if those citters get a good look at me, thy will bugger oaf and come back some ofar night. Have a quick look buddeh. I will be right behind ya.”

The dwarf took another sip of his tea as he shifted to stand, placing his foot on the wall lip as he stared off into the night, exhaling a deep breath as he continued to scan for the nuisance. Compared to the cleric he seemed rather lightly armoured for a tank and with no obvious sign of a weapon, his tanned skin seemed stark white in the moonlight. Despite his words he would not follow down the ladder, he spent enough time close to the ground to immediately follow.

-A bit of exercise hurt no one. If he hasn’t left the city till now, he needs to have a look at what the wilderness has to offer first hand.-

[Reynard]

Reynard took an experimental sip of the coffee and winced a bit that it was still too hot for him to drink. He idly wondered if he gained any more fox characteristics aside from the ears and tail. Although he had no idea what having a fox-tongue would entail. The dwarf pointed out that he could have been stuck with worse like being short so Reynard conceded that having new ears and a tail. Plus he was always cur- Nope, he was not going to admit that anytime soon. Another blow on the coffee finally brought it to more tolerable temp and allowed Reynard to finally taste the coffee properly. It was less sweet than he was used to so he didn’t take another sip after that.

It was brought to Reynard’s attention that something was starting to move down at the fields. Getting up from his leaning posture, He took a glance at the direction pointed at. Indeed there was something moving and normally, one would not be able to tell what was approaching them. But normal did not apply to adventurers. Thanks the fox-tail’s Pathfinder skill, once the shadows were in range, their name and health bars popped clearly showing their position despite their cover in the fields. He could even tell their names and levels: Young Pittered Boar, lvl 1

He did get a bit nervous when the dwarf suggested he be the one to go down and practice dealing with animals but it did make some sense. Reynard would have to get used to combat eventually and the only way was through practice. Going alone was a bit daunting but the dwarf was right in that he might just scare the away the boars and not actually solve the problem completely. Plus the boars were weak enough that he could handle it as long as he wasn’t careless

“I will try as per your advice and fight them. But I would ask for your assistance if more come or if a higher level monster appears.”

With his request laid out, Reynard placed the still full cup of coffee beside the pot and climbed down the tower. At the base of the tower, everything looked darker than before and would normally be hard to see where the attacks would come. Thankfully, he could still see the lifebars of the monsters in the dark. He chose one of the wider pathways through the fields as his possible battleground. It would defeat the purpose of killing the boars if the very fight destroyed the fields he had to protect. Once the spot was picked, Reynard drew his sword and wand. A weird combination of weapons but he thought it was an interesting thing to try out. He was lucky that he was familiar with at least one of the weapons he picked.

Before the boars came any closer, there was one skill he needed to cast. With his wand arm, Reynard preformed the motions for Reactive Heal causing him to glow in an orange light once the skill activated. It also had the effect of drawing the boars’ attention because even a faint glow was practically a flare in the middle of the dark field. With his sword drawn in a middle position and his body tilted sideways, Reynard was as ready as he would ever be for the attacks.

It was just his luck that there was more than one monster coming at him. Three boars were charging at him but at least they were coming from the same direction. They were grouped together like a pack; good for predicting movements but bad for isolating one for easier combat. Gripping his sword tighter, Reynard held his ground prepared for the charges as the boars came closer. When the first one came close enough to hit him, Reynard decided to dodge to side. It was a bit slow to what he was used to as the plate armor was heavier than what he was used to. This minor setback meant he wasn’t in the proper stance to be able to dodge the next boar. So he had no choice but to attack with a diagonal slash which allowed him to use the momentum to avoid the attack while dealing damage. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to evade the last boar which Reynard tried to block with the sword.

The sword met boar flesh but since it was a defensive maneuver and not an attack, the sword didn’t manage to inflict and damage to the boar but Reynard still received a hit to his HP. Since he was attack though, his Reactive Heal activated and was able to heal the damage he received. Reynard quickly turned around once more to face the pack as they circled back for the next attack.

(OOC: Technically not yet done but decided to post if you want to comment or something. Next post will hopefully finish the enounter.)

[Tobin]

(OOC: I lost post once. Note to self, never write when drinking. Feel free to pester dwarf or to take it back up to the tower. Sorry for poor post)

Word count: 712

The dwarf allowed an eyebrow of curiosity to rise as he followed the Foxtail cleric through the darkness, intrigued by the clerics choice of weapons.

-Strange, I know he's a caster, but wielding one in each hand means he lacks the strength to defend with the blade, one arm as opposed to two.-

The dwarf chuckled as he clambered over the wooden frame, a soft creak of it's frame reminded the dwarf of his weight as his gaze fell upon the shadows that began to rustle at the edge of the crops. The irony was that the dwarf had never felt the reassuring weight of steel or wand in his hands, so he brushed it aside with a sense of curiosity. After all, the cleric seemed quite sensible in his location selection for this fight so it seemed unlikely too much would go wrong, not that Tobin intended to leave him to his own devices.

-Rock beats scissors anyway.-

The Halflings grip relaxed on the wooden platform and for a brief moment he experienced a moment of flight as gravity took it's natural course. An abrupt -summersault attack- broke the fall, the air spilled in all direction from the dwarf's spinning kick, the resulting vacuum sucked back in the surrounding air, pushing up against the dwarf to break his fall, a soft crunch accompanied his landing as he shadowed the clerics path with a graceful, slow stride. A little waste of mp, but hardly disastrous in the long run.

-I'm pretty sure that’s not how physics works.-

-Fine it's kung-fu movie magic. How else is a kick going to defy the laws of gravity? Tobin?-

-Fair point-

The dwarf paused just at the end of crop row and glanced down the larger of the crop banks, by this point the hunched Halfling observed the spectacle, of how the cleric foxtail evaded and flirted with the pray, evading one, striking a second before the third scored a good impact despite his best efforts. The dwarf grinned, despite the odds stacked against him the level 1 cleric seemed to be holding up decently well. With enough time the little boarlings would likely be defeated with enough healing and enough good hits, just even with a wide alley fighting the boars here seemed to only raise the danger of damaging the crops. What would his superiors do in this situation? The dwarf flinched as he recalled the memory of his first flight. Ok, no he wasn’t going to be THAT cruel.

“Sorreh buddeh, I’m gonna have to cut this one short."

With a sigh of regret the Tobin triggered -Eye of the Tiger-, a deep fire ignited in his eyes as with a blur he rounded the corner, to the cleric it had must have seemed that the dwarf had flew toward them as he hopped swiftly off the ground. Within a couple seconds the distance had been closed and a pair of firm hands gripped the pig and without so much a word, it was flung into the night like a well tossed salad, a shrill squeal carried well up to the point a soft thud cut it short. The Halfling, despite the excitement that raced through his heart, laughed loudly as the remaining boars stared on, the gruff voice descended into squeals as he slipped into the -natures tongue-, alien to all but his intended targets.

"This my hunting ground for this week, tell ye buddies to avoid this place."

A loud squeal accompanied that and with his gentle utterings they turned tail and sprinted off as fast as their trotters could take them, the halfling shuddered as he toggled the ability off. The intentsity seemed to fade as quickly as it arrived.

“I gus even pigs can fly given tha’ correct motivation! Bahahahah! Ya did well buddeh, if ya had swapped ta hold ya blade with both hands, ya might hav’ parried tat last attack.”

The gaze met the stranger as he chuckled, his gaze flicked up to meet the stranger. A curious fellow, but a likeable one, so he thought.

“I just wanted ta send the rite message, with a lite persuasion ‘n’ hopefulleh they tell thur buddehs ta think twice before comin’ back here. wha-cha name ‘n’ occupation be, adventur’r?”

[Reynard]

It was going to take another good timing between dodging the first boar and attacking the second boar so that Reynard could start thinning the heard so to speak. One more strike should kill the boar he had already hit. Unfortunately, the kill was not to be his as another form flew towards the boars and sent one flying beyond the boundary of the field. A good 8.8 score. As the form stopped moving, the fox-tail was able to recognize it as the dwarf who he spoke to inside the tower. It seemed the dwarf kept his word in following after the fox-tail. Maybe he just needed time to finish his tea.

Instead of attacking the rest, the dwarf started speaking similar to the boars which the fox-tail assumed it was a special skill. Most likely one from the sub-classes. Nevertheless, the rest of the boars started running away which was either because of what the dwarf said or just the shear difference between levels scaring them. Seeing as the fight was finished for now, Reynard put away his wand and sheathed his sword to exit his battle phase. The dwarf didn’t need to as his limbs were his weapons which hinted at a Monk class.

Proud of his work in repelling the boars, the dwarf even thought to impart some advice to the fox-tail.

“Reynard, Cleric. Which is why I use a wand and sword.”

He patted his weapons both placed at his left waist when not in use.

“Instead of just wielding the blade with both hands. Gratitude is given for assisting with the horde sir...”

It had just occurred to Reynard that then hadn’t done any introductions yet.

“ I realize I do not know your name or occupation as well dwarf-san.”

[Tobin]

Word Count: 349

Tobin felt a faint shiver pass through him. The comedown from the adrenaline rush was always the hardest thing to manage, more so since triggering eye of the tiger did just that to him. He rolled his head around and sighed, loud click of the neck accompanied that motion; it was just be something he would have to adjust to.

The clerics reply brought his absent mind back to reality, he frowned and scratched his head, before he gave a sigh, like all creatures born of man he wasn’t infallible.

“Ahhhh I see I see. Tha’, makes a degree oaf sense, now I think ‘bout it, take with the body, heal while stabbin’! Bahahah! Ya be the first cleric I see fightin’ tha way ya see. Most interestin’”

He felt a tad sheepish, technically it was better practice to go all in on your strikes in terms of sword play, but the cleric had heavy armour and healing magic, chances are that was a more effective defence then fancy flourishes.

“Oh, right, apologies, I am Tobin Strider, lord of the party, master of the brewery, and lovar of-“ The dwarf paused momentarily, no, he wasn’t going to finish that sentence. “animal tamer. I just told dem that I be huntin’ ‘ere, so that should keep most of dem away, ‘side from the level 40 weasels.”

The dwarf chuckled; perhaps life on the frontier had desensitized him to danger. The dwarf walked to the edge of the fence, flicked his gaze around and shrugged, apparently content that there was nothing there though he lacked the enhanced set of eyes that the cleric had.

“’n’ wha- ‘bout cha self young man? What ya intendin’ ta do for a livin’ ‘n’?” He paused and gave the man time to talk, a nod accompanied “Perhaps more importantly, do ya like ya drink? Since I can setup somethin’ if ya do.”

The latter sentence was added with a humoured laugh. Of course he was going to accompany the young man on the rounds, but once satisfied, he had an idea to pass some time.

[Reynard]

In truth, Reynard could have gotten Tobin’s name easily by just looking above the dwarf’s health bar, but it was in good manners to wait for the person to introduce themselves given the chance. Thus Tobin gave more information than one would get from just looking at the UI: Name, Self-given title, sub-class and “lover” of…. animals? Maybe Reynard heard the last one incorrectly. But he did catch that the dwarf could speak with animals using some method. Apparently it would make the patrol a lot easier but in Reynard’s opinion, it meant putting too much faith that the monsters would freely communicate with different species. Who knew though? The world was different so it may just happen.

Reynard followed Tobin to the fence, making sure he checked if any new monsters appeared within the range of his skill. Now that they were at ground level, the warning would be later than in the tower so any forewarning would be useful. The air was still as cool as it would have been in the tower so the background felt calm since the boars entered the territory. It was something he could enjoy while it lasted.

“I have not considered yet what to do. My plan has only stretched to getting my level up but perhaps I might focus on my crafting class soon.”

Tobin acknowledged his reply with a nod before going on another question.

“If you are referring to the coffee you gave me before, I cannot say as I did not drink much of it. If you are talking about spirits, I do not frequent pubs solely to drink. I am curious as to what you can create though.”

[Tobin]

Word count: 1,248

(A good chunk of this is just background info for the drink anyways. I'm sorry @reynard. >_<; XD)

Perhaps Tobin seemed a tad overconfident in his own abilities to repel the creatures all night in a single threat and a pig toss was a tad optimistic, but then again that didn't seem to bother the stubby fellow. For him it was leisurely mission, the worst that could happen? A few damaged crops? If he afforded the same level of intensity that he did on the hunt, full of screaming, charging and punting it would likely annoy the hell out of this pleasant mannered fellow. That wouldn't do at all!

"Ahahaah! A proper gentleman! How unusual, nice ta meet ya dear fellow." The Dwarf seemed to take amusement as he reached up and patted the fellows shoulder, people who spent an extended length of time would quickly notice that the dwarf seemed quick to take amusement from anything, though rarely was any permanent ill harm meant of it. It would either an endearing or irritating trait, dependant on preference. "Well, ya know as they say, a gentleman needs a strong spirit, 'n' ther' be few spirits as strong as mine! Bahahah! Come dear fellow, I will so ya mah magic."

He turned and started walking to the barn when there was a pause, a click of his tongue announced a slight flicker of frustration. Alright, he couldn't just up and leave the place unguarded, but it would provide an opportunity to give his pet a walk. A click of his fingers caused the air to shimmer as a gigantic boar phased into vision, the scarred mountain boar seemed to greater resemble a small car then the boarlings that had just been driven off.

"Tobin, thy fiend, why have you summoned me?"

The snort sounded less then friendly, the dwarf simply shrugged.

"Walkies?" There was a momentary pause, before the dwarf chuckled at the scrowl the creature had "Nay, I jest, just wanted ya to look out and keep others off this patch."

"A stack of corn, and two ruttable wenches"

It wasn't an answer, it was a price. The dwarf sighed, there went a big paycheck.

"Fine, but ya get hidding if anything is out of place."

The dwarf continued to walk as the grumbling boar to petrol around. Not that they would be too long most likely. It probably wasn't the wisest idea to leave him unattended for too long.

"Long storeh laddie, I was swimmin' in a swamp, I summoned him underwater. Tis was a noble cause, ta save a lassie, he nevar quite saw it that way."

Perhaps he failed to mention that he had chucked the woman into the dangerous situation himself, but that wasn't important, nor was the tentacle monster! In any case it wasn't a long walk to the barn, the dwarf smiled as he strolled up to the barn and pushed it open, the cavernous void empty as it were not the season of harvest. Yet there was a brass instrument in the corner, a large barrelled relic with a firepit undernerf. He spoke no words however, igniting the flame of the archaic device the barn was basked in an orange glow.

SPOILER: Click to show

Yes, it is indeed time for a flashback. The ingredients for moonshine are simple. Corn, yeast, sugar, spice and everything nice, and a dash of forumla X!

The dwarf shrugged, it was a week prior and the same farmer had called upon him, one of the countys few brewers to turn the remainder of last season’s yield into something sellable. The dwarf scratched his head as he examined apparatus for the procedure, perhaps the old man was a little mislead in that he believed that this could be turned into an exilar of life, but the dwarf was not one to question the disillusions of the lander.

The setup was quite simple. A large drum was modified to become a distiller by as two holes had been drilled in and a second towards the top of the barrel to the side. A continuous copper coil was then rigged in the barrel to connect the two holes, the barrel was mounted on a stand and the copper coil was continued to a second, smaller container, what used to be a boiler, was mounted over what would be a fire. The side pipe meanwhile trailed off towards a stool, a bunch of glasses lay at the bottom. The dwarf nodded, it had seemed another mechanic had built the stand for the farm previously, but without the brewer subclass nothing could be made from it. It was a work of art made of brass junk.

In any case the dwarf got to work on the “mash” itself that consisted of mixed milled grain, corn and water. First a spare barrel barrel was half filled with corn and the mashed up grain, then water was poured in from the local river until full. The dwarf then grabbed a pitchfork and jammed it into the dense mixture, stirring it with a great exertion of strength in an attempt to break down the crop more readily. The container that would house the mash was completely sealed and the mixture was poured in, raising the temperature and allowing enzymes within the malt to digest the starch into sugar.

That was the basic principle anyway, though with a still had no temperature gauge on the sealed metal boiler to give an indication it wasn’t possible to do much else other than heat and hope the brewer ranks would do the rest. After about 3 hours of maintaining the fire at roughly 60 oC, he stopped, took a small bag of yeast he had brought earlier and poured it into the boiler. It was then that the flame was renewed and ignited fainter, keeping the vessel roughly at 28oC, the estimated temperature the best fermentation. As the dwarf had better things to do then watch it ferment for several days, he left that to the farmer to maintain over that period of time.

With that encumbersome detail dealt with, the dwarf opened the hatch and winched from the smell and sealed it. Well, now there was only one way to find out whether it had worked. With a grunt he peeled the hatch of another barrel to reveal cool water and poured that in the distiller. Then, connecting the copper to the “mash” barrel he began to fan the flames furiously, putting under it anything that would burn, wood, discarded bits of corn, the interior of the barn taking a freice red glow. The loud creaking of the boiler 5 minutes in was the sign that all was going well.

“Just a min buddeh, just got to separate the good stuff now ‘n’ it be done.”

He quickly ran over to the distiller and held a large glass jar under the pipe. Then, after a couple of more minutes had passed a steady flow of clear liquid trickled out of the tube and into the glass, the dwarf chuckled manically and, after allowing time for enough of it to gather, passed the jar over to the cleric and pushed another under it.

“Cures backpain, stomach ache, old age and dysfunctions, least, if ya believe wut the farmer tells ya, ya be mah guest, have a good sip.”

The dwarfs blue eyes stared eagerly, if it had gone right it should burn the throat and give a powerful kick, though it would be the cleric that would determine how potent the drink actually could be.

(OOC: Am I making this too railroady? Forgive me >_<;)
[/div]

[Reynard]

The dwarf seemed overly happy about Reynard’s behavior despite him being in business-mode. He wasn’t even in his friendly-mode yet but that didn’t stop the dwarf from giving a good pat on the shoulder. At least the dwarf didn’t take offense to the fox-tail’s in ability to down the previous beverage and had taken it to be actions of a proper gentleman. Which was a bit of a relief as Reynard did have the upbringing of a proper gentleman in the original world. Mostly due to the kind of school he attended but also from his own family. At least a part of him was still intact despite practically changing into another species.

Apparently, Tobin the dwarf wasn’t going to take no for an answer involving Reynard not trying out one of his drinks. Despite the fact it was probably not wise to begin a drinking habit in the middle of a quest. That wasn’t even considering the fact Reynard didn’t drink at all but he didn’t voice that fact as it might just ruin Tobin’s mood. Going with the flow, the cleric just followed the monk to the barn even if it wasn’t the smart thing to do on a guarding quest.

When a boar the size of a car suddenly materialized beside the dwarf, Reynard quickly placed his hand to draw his sword. He wanted to wait for the monk to get the agro before attacking himself since he was pretty sure his HP would have disappeared in one hit due to that monster. When nothing happened right away, the fox-tail noticed that HP bar shown on the boar wasn’t that of an enemy monster. Confirming his theory was Tobin who was speaking in another language. It seemed Tobin was an Animal Trainer of some sort and proven when the dwarf explained about previously summoning the beast. Reynard had to sidestep out of the pathway to let the boar through as he sincerely doubted the beast would bother with stepping around him.

“I do not think it would be wise to let an actual boar patrol an area being attacked by boars.”

His warnings were seemingly ignored as the dwarf went on his business with the devices inside the barn. It looked to be an assembly for making drinks if Reynard’s memory served him well. He could appreciate the construction done to make the device and what it’s necessary function was. What it did exactly, he had no clue; only that it made some kind of drink which the dwarf was now trying to get him to drink. As it would be impolite to refuse a gift from an eager giver, Reynard had to at least try some of the beverage instead of refusing outright.

Reynard took a sip of the drink… and violently spat it out in a spray immediately with some coughing in the end. Once his fit had died down, he carefully placed the drink on some ledge and wiped his mouth off any stray traces of the drink.

“I apologize. It was… strong.” Pause. “I am not used to such flavor.”

[Tobin]

(OOC: Really this is there to give you great control over the narriative. We have done enough to claim the reward if you wanna do a time lapse to the end. I am cool with anything. ^^)

Word Count: 358

The only suggestion that the dwarf had heard him question the Boars honour was with a slight raised eyebrow, but he shrugged as he saw clear reason. It wasn't perfect, but it was either that or staying outside, and there would be plenty of time for that, given time.

"Fair 'nough laddie, we wun't be spendin' much time indoors."

In the present however the dwarf's mouth dropped as a eyebrow rose, the stammered surprise did little to damp his confusion over the reaction. With that kind of a reaction, the dwarf had to have a taste of that.

" 'ere let me hav' a go of tha'."

A huge hand seized the glass container and he put it back with a sip, his face reddened as he too sputtered and a harsh sigh left his lips, with some great effort he swallowed. Though he was dwarf, the player behind the dwarf had never experienced an beverage quite as crude and forceful as this, a by-product of the somewhat crude manufacturing procedure..

"tha'." A horse voice rang out, another deep breath had to be taken to give him strength. "Were perhap a tad strong, gewd, I need ta water et down a bit."

He chuckled as replaced the glass and sealed the lid and put another under it, the stream of distilled spirits showed no time of relenting. The dwarf let another blast of air as he sent a party invite to the fellow.

"If mah boar bein' out thur' bothers ya, feel free ta have a shifty, I just wanna get this batch done. If ya need me, just give meh a call 'n' I'll come. Or I can answer soam questions, stories, whatever cha want."

In the setting it was reasonable. After all having seen the cleric fight he felt he would probably at least hold his own against the lesser things out there. In any case the dwarf would continue rambling ta himself as this product line hadn't gone fantastically well so really he was lookin' to see what he could salvage.

"Maybe I call tha thur' the punchline, one sip 'n' ya be sent reeling, ahahaha"

[Reynard]

At least it wasn’t just him having a bad reaction to the spirits he was given. Even the dwarf agreed that it was a bit too strong but looked like he was at least used to handling his drinks. The only problem Reynard could say was that Tobin was much too focused on trying to get his drink right. But then again, if you’re over leveled for a quest and just sent a boar flying without much effort, you would be taking it easy as well. Which made Reynard wonder why exactly someone as high a level as Tobin would be taking this kind of mission?

A screen popped up in front of him showing that the dwarf was inviting him to a party. In hindsight, they should have done that a while ago. Thinking practically, Reynard accepted the invite and was now able to see more data about the dwarf.

Monk, obvious. Brewer, explains the beer. Animal Trainer, explains the boar. Guild, won’t be needing that...

Much of the detail wasn’t needed for now and Reynard didn’t bothered remembering them at the moment. As the dwarf seemed focused on his brew, the foxtail felt he had to at least show an effort to watch over the fields. At least if the farmer came to check up on them it wouldn’t look like they were just skiving off. Reynard informed the dwarf about his choice and went back out to the fields. True to Tobin’s words, nothing had happened so far while the boar was out which meant it was pretty quiet outside aside from the background music of the farm.

He picked a spot outside the barn to sit on and watch out. It didn’t give a good overview of the place but Reynard didn’t feel like going all the way back to the tower. His Field Perception should be enough for now and he was close enough in case he needed the dwarf’s assistance if higher level monsters decided to attack.

Nothing happened much in the field as time passed. Either the boar summon was scaring of the monsters effectively or this was a quiet night for the farm. Reynard considered refraining from taking guard missions from now on. They were a bit boring when nothing bad happened and if something came it was a bit stressful worrying about a monster higher level attacking. Now he could see why a high level person would take this kind of mission. As the time approached near the end of their shift, Reynard would telepathically call Tobin, wherever he might have ended up.

“Our shift is about to end. We should report back soon.”

[Tobin]

Word Count: 752

As barn door was closed a flicker of an eyebrow rose from the vertically challenged stump, before his lips turned up as he got back to work. The only ambience in this room was the lapping of the flame and the creak of expanding metal; it was the kind of silence that Tobin found comfortable to work in. By this point the only task that remained was to try and keep the distiller at a constant temperature to ensure that the alcohol vapour was getting up through the water cooled copper pipe. A boring task, probably why he preferred to work behind the bar then he did brewing a fresh brand in this kind of environment, the company made the task more manageable.

"Well, he's a serious one. Thought he would ask more about whats out there, would have enjoyed boring him with tales." The dwarf sighed as his teeth shone through his beard into the glowing flame. In the previous life he had been a northerner so he had always had a crude informality to his speech patterns, though it was amplified when in company to appear more charming. "Then again I guess someone 'round here to keep on the task, so he's quite a helpful chap, could do with him to cover for me."

That seemed especially entertaining to the dwarf as he chuckled and sealed the glass jam jar with a metal seal and a new container was put under. This task would be repeated for the next three hours, with the mash being topped up periodically when the container ran low. Finally the majority of the mash was finished the dwarf piled some of the remaining corn into a improvised bed and lay down on it, his gaze watched the dying flame with a increasingly distant glance. A yawn confirmed the overwhelming urge to drift off.

"A few minutes can't hurt."

He murmured as he fumbled for a length of corn to prop in his mouth, chewing the strand as a dark haze crossed his mind like a wave. A rumble from the stomach echoed into the barn space much like a lion's roar.

---

“Our shift is about to end. We should report back soon.”

The dwarf heaved up with a start, the shaft of corn bound to both his skin, hair and the cotton cloth, a sigh erupted as his head rolled, a loud crunch of bone confirmed his bones had shifted back into alignment.

-Right, just comin; bac' from patrol now. Giv us a min.-

The dwarf slid up to the liquor and stuffed a few of the glass jars into his inventory before he frantically brushed off some of the shafts of corn has the square rushed to the door. A heavy hand gently eased the barn door open gently slid it open and stepped outside, a quick glance around confirmed that indeed everything was still ship shape. Somehow. The sun rose like a crimson aura on the horizon, and the door shuddered open as the middle aged farmer strode out into the clearing. An anxious look on his face dispelled into a somewhat warm demeanour when he saw that the farm hadn't indeed been torn to threads throughout the night, though his eyebrow rose when his gaze fell upon the straw covered dwarf.

"Howdeeh laddies, I see tha' I still hav'a farm remainin', no troubles?"

"Nay, we just be throwin' a couple bac' ovar ta fence, there be no damage here."

The farmer blinked, indeed there were no damage done to the farm crops, Landers had a habit of knowing the land at a glance.

"Aye, ye be doin' a good job, 300 coin be ya payment laddies, ye be doin' good."

"No corn?"

"Nah, we won't be harvestin' for a gewd month ye... WHAT IN GEWDS NAME IS THAT!"

The farmers gaze widened as it fell upon the gigantic beast of the boar that erupted through the corn fields with a bellow.

"What are you-"

The dwarf paused as the farmer bellowed and grabbed for a pitchfork, the entire household seemed to stir. The dwarf sighed as he massaged his eyes; he had no desire to deal with angry farmers

"Done job, two stacks of corn."

"God damn it- GO MAH NOBLE STEED, WE GOTTA BE GETTIN' THA HELL OUTTA HURE. REYMAN WE BE GOIN"

With that he vaulted onto the steed with a bound and, after a moment to savour the gain in height, threw out a hand to the cleric.

(OOC: Dwarf is done here. Feel free to write out our gallant escape.)
[/div]

[Reynard]

It was a textbook completion of a quest: monsters came, were scared off and nothing bothered them anymore. Now the only thing need to end any quest was to collect the reward. It may have been a simple and very easy quest but Reynard felt it was good he managed to accomplish something. It was the first time since his world had drastically changed and the moral boost given by this completion helped ease his present problems. He felt he could actually start going on to more intermediate level quests soon. After some more levels of course as being level one wasn’t going to cut it. Maybe find some partymates as well to take on dungeons. Reynard briefly contemplated joining a guild but placed that idea on hold for now. He had a lot of time to choose a proper guild, one which matched his interest and had decent members.

The dwarf, who had somehow managed to coat himself with hay, took the lead in speaking with the farmer. The payment was decent enough so Reynard had to wonder why the dwarf was asking for corn. Wouldn’t it defeat the purpose of protecting the crops if they payment was to be done using the crops? Reynard just internally shrugged at his own question and just accepted the payment. It was go all so well up until Tobin’s boar came back. Reynard had wondered where it went.

In hindsight, they should have mentioned the giant boar protecting the place from smaller boars. On second thought, it was probably better they didn’t mention the giant boar protecting the place from smaller boars. The foxtail did try to explain the situation but between the farmer going off to get a pitchfork and Tobin exclaiming his need to vacate the premises on boarback, he doubt anyone would listen to him.

“Umm… I respectfully decline. So long dwarf-san.”

Riding tandem on a giant boar did seem like a safe idea and Reynard wanted to be sure he would get back to the city in one piece. Before the dwarf completely left, Reynard opened his UI for a friend request. Once the request was accepted, Reynard would just stay waving goodbye to dwarf running towards the sunrise...