Caution: Adventurers at Play [2/2]

[Kadence]

It was just a normal day in Londinium. The marketplace bustled with people exchanging various goods and services, and going about all the things adventurers and landers do. Among the exhaustively large crowd was Kadence, looking a little lost and a lot uncomfortable among all the people. When she'd woken up, she'd left to see if she could find some of the friends she'd made in the marketplace, where adventurers tended to gather, but rather than finding anyone, the timid music-maker got swept away by the crowd and was now hopelessly being pushed and shoved along by the torrent of people. She finally escaped at the edge of the shopping district, and managed to calm herself from the panic of being in a crowd.

Now free of the people, the bard was able to see a small group of lander children kicking a ball around. From the smiles on their faces, it looked like they were having fun, despite the clear lack of rules or a goal. There were about 7 of them in all, a mixed group of boys and girls of various hair colors and ages. Not having much else to do, and still reeling a bit from all the people, Kadence sat down nearby and watched.

The ball went flying everywhere, and it was an amusement just to watch the kids chase after it. Suddenly, one of the little ones gave it an extra-hard kick, and the little brown ball came hurtling at the hapless bard. With a silent squeal, the ball popped her in the head, destroying what precious little coordination she had and knocking her backwards off the rock.

Ow ow ow ow... Kadence rubbed her head.

"Are you hurt pretty lady?"

Kadence blinked, realizing that one of the little lander girls had been the source of the voice. No need to speak up and scare the kids... She nodded and gave a smile, hopefully let them know she was okay, then pushed herself up and back to her feet. A group of children now surrounded her "We're sorry lady," one of the boys said "we didn't mean to hit you." The looks on their faces were genuine, and reeeally cute. ...that totally wasn't her thought. Not at all. The bard reached down and mussed up the hair of one of them. When they looked up at her, she just smiled and nodded.

"You can't talk?"

Well, that's a surprise. She thought They picked up on it pretty fast. She nodded again, this time a bit less sure of herself.

The children stared at her in awe and confusion. Clearly, they'd never met someone who was mute before, and she was now labeled on the level of some rare majestic monster. It was... uncomfortable, to say the least, to have so many curious gazes on her. Subconsciously, she started to back away, but then felt a tug on her robe and looked down to see the girl who had first said hello. She looked up with big innocent eyes, and asked a simple question. "Will you play with us?"

Much to Kadence's surprise, a quest window appeared in front of her with the title "Play with the Children". You can get quests like this? she wondered. Absently pressing "yes", she reached down to the ball that had hit her and gave it a small toss. With a smile and a giggle, the children were back at play, this time with an mute adventurer girl trying to keep up.

As the game continued, one of the boys caught it with a particularly wild kick, sending the ball out of the play area they'd kept to. Oh no! That might hit someone!


Word Count: 615
Tags: Jane

[Jane]

Jane didn't have much to do around Londinium, or outside of Londinium for that matter, so when she wasn't wandering around the country side looking for monsters to battle and things to do, she was searching for her friend Jacoben the old fashioned way. Why Cedric was so weird about things like that was anyone's guess, but it was bound to give Jane some sort of a weird reputation sometime eventually.

After all, who would prefer to go around looking for someone when they could just call them up on the mental telephone of a friend whisper? Of course, if your mental voice was still your original voice and no amount of voice acting skill could deceive that, and you wanted to stay as in character as possible until this chance to play out a character for real finally came to an end, it would make a bit more sense.

This meant searching through all the regular places that an adventurer would hang out, from the places they agreed to meet up at the end of every day to the areas that people shopped and traded goods. This didn't really narrow anything down for the tiny Guardian but it was still going to give her a good day of exploration and distraction from the normal day to day of doing nothing and trying not to get so bored she wandered off into a high level area.

That was never a good idea.

Jane kept to the main streets, trying to move through the fast moving crowd without getting thrown about, not an easy feat considering her height. Every time she was pushed or shoved she gave as good back, thankfully that sort of action didn't draw the royal guard's attention, and despite her smaller size the chibi Guardian was able to use the strength of a predetermined system to push with all the strength of the adventurer she was. Being a warrior class had its bonuses after all.

In the end it was someone shoving her out of the way that ended the adventure, why the adventurers of this world had to be as bad as people walking in a real world city was beyond Cedric, and soon she was stumbling backwards a few steps, only to be struck again from behind. Balance already lost, Jane didn't have much chance to right herself before she found herself stumbling forwards, toppling over with a thud while stars flew in her vision. She was fine really, Jane wore her shield on her back for safe keeping, so it would just take the little guardian a few moments to remember what was going on and pick herself up. That didn't help the offending ball however, as it had hit her shield at an angle and bounced against the ground, rolling to a stop not far from the smaller adventurer.

The sound of leather striking metal was the only clue Kadence would have on the fate of the ball, though a quick investigation would find a brightly haired girl face down on the ground not too far from the sporty object. It didn't look like she was moving though, and if Kadence wasn't as vested in the knowledge of the revival system it might look worse than it was. It would just take Cedric a few moments to catch up with what had just happened to Jane before she rolled over and sat up, trying to get a good look at what had hit her. Her eyes weren't focusing very well though, so she glanced past the ball blindly and Kadence too if she was there.

"Still not so used to this balance..." Jane grumbled under her breath, one hand going to her forehead as she closed her eyes until the world stopped spinning or someone tried to check if she was okay.

W: 639

[Kadence]

The ball vanished in the chaos of the nearby crowd, and only a loud *thwack* of the leather ball striking something metal let Kadence know something had happened. Not wanting to expose the children to the danger of the crowd, Kadence held up a palm, then pointed to herself and then the crowd as if to say "I'll get it", then hurried into the crowd to retrieve the ball. What she saw scared her horribly- collapsed face-first on the ground was a female guardian in heavy armor, the leather ball sitting on the ground a few feet away. She hadn't seen anyone die before, and she was really hoping now is the time. Newly panicked, the bard rushed over to check on the armored woman.

With no healing abilities or way to restore health, Kadence looked over the woman as best she could. There wasn't any blood (and thank goodness, the bard probably would have fainted then and there), but there wasn't any sign of injury either. With no other choice, the bard reached down to flip the woman over- only for her to turn on her own. Kadence pulled her hand back in shock as the guardian sat up and glanced past the bard, probably still hurting. "Still not so used to this balance..." Kadence heard her grumble as she put a hand to her forehead. With no medical knowledge or ability to speak, all she could do was put a hand on the girl's shoulder to stablize her as she looked worried, checking for injuries. The children and their ball game could wait- she had to be sure this girl was okay.


Word Count: 274
Tags: Jane

[Jane]

The hand on her shoulder would be much appreciated and Jane's eyes opened for a moment, only to stare blankly and close a few seconds later. She'd only half seen Kadence through the glare of a world out of focus, but she placed the hand that wasn't already busy rubbing at her head on the other adventurer's hand reassuringly. "I'm okay." she slurred slightly, "Didn't even hit my head, just not good at sudden balance changes in this body is all."

Jane would spend a few moments just breathing with her eyes closed before she dropped her hand and took a steadying breath and got to her feet. She didn't let go of the hand on her shoulder, she didn't trust her balance to have come back yet, and the physical contact was reassuring too. Once stable the chibi guardian would open her eyes to see who the helpful person was. Eyes cast up she smiled for a moment and squeezed the bard's hand thankfully while she did a quick check to see what details would show up on the UI.

"Thanks for that... Kadence. Not many people would bother to help someone out after a bump like that considering how little damage it would do, I really appreciate it!" The shorter girl got to dusting herself off, making sure she hadn't picked up anything weird from the ground while cleaning the dust off. It was surprising just how detailed some of the game's areas had been, from the dust of the street to the mild pain of a ball to the back, it had really adapted and grown more and more things that weren't supposed to be there. Then again, considering how little knowledge of the game before this Cedric had, maybe he was just assuming things.

"Any idea where that ball came from?"

W: 305

[Kadence]

A hand met Kadence's on the guardian's shoulder and gave a slightly slurred reply. "I'm okay. Didn't even hit my head, just not good at sudden balance changes in this body is all." Stubbornly, Kadence didn't stop, wanting to be sure she was okay before letting go, and the guardian reciprocated. As she slowly got to her feet, Kadence kept her steady while she regained her balance. She was shorter, even compared to her own height, standing over half a foot below her, but she squeezed the bard's hand as her ability to stand returned.

Jane, as her status screen identified her, finally opened her eyes to see Kadence, pleased that she was okay. "Thanks for that... Kadence. Not many people would bother to help someone out after a bump like that considering how little damage it would do, I really appreciate it!" The bard blinked. She hadn't even thought about how little damage a toy ball would do to one as tanky as a guardian. Her new fun-sized friend brushed off the dust before turning to Kadence. "Any idea where that ball came from?"

Kadence only had the time to look embarrassed as the Lander kids slipped through the crowd. While annoyed that they had risked getting trampled or carried off in the crowd, she was glad to see they'd come to check on what had been taking her so long. The kids looked up- though only slightly- to Jane, probably answering her question with their presence.

"Sorry, short lady!" one of the boys blurted out. "I didn't mean ta kick it so hard!"

It took her a moment, but Kadence managed to recover and quickly began to herd the children out of the crowd to safety. We need to play a safer game, she thought, before a more aggressive adventurer gets hit... Perhaps the guardian would like to help? Activating [Transcription], Kadence wrote out a message to her in letters of blue mana. I'm doing a "quest" right now she wrote, but I'm worried about them hitting someone else with the ball. Could you help me get them to do something less dangerous? Her other hand sent the guardian a party invite, thinking the least she could do is let her in on the quest reward.


Word Count: 378
Tags: Jane
Notes: Feel free to do whatever with the tykes. They're NPCs in more ways than one here, though Kadence has an idea for a safer game they can play.

[Jane]

Jane had to look directly at the bard before she could figure out what was going on. The guardian had expected some sort of verbal answer and was already looking around to try and figure out who the culprit was, but when Kadence didn't have any sort of suggestion she was forced to look at the female adventurer in confusion as the Lander kids turned up. It probably took Jane a few moments longer than it should have before she realised that the very expressive face of the bard before her was all the talking she was going to get.

"M'not short!" Jane mumbled, her face going bright red from a combination of anger and her own embarrassment. When the NPCs of your game started calling you out about the ratios of the character you created you really had to wonder how much of a good idea your theme was. "And you should be more careful than that!." she snapped, frowning at the kids for a few moments before shaking her head as though to clear her thoughts. "S'not your fault I suppose. You do what you were made to do, you can't help that."

Jane followed after Kadence curiously after that, she didn't really like dealing with the NPCs, they'd become too lifelike after the world had become more real, but she was curious to see why the tiny (but not as tiny as her) bard was hanging around the strange living code of the new world. The tiny guardian was becoming even more concerned as time went on however, as Kadence started writing something in the air instead of speaking out loud, something almost everyone she had met was able to do now.

"You know, even if you were mute back home you should have a voice now." Cedric decided Jane should point out even as she read through the floating words, only to raise a quizzical eyebrow and look around at the children for a moment. "This game has quests like that huh? I have to admit I haven't seen a quest turn up in a fair few days now, I thought grinding outside was the only way to do things now, though people seem to gain levels just for sitting around too." she mused before shrugging and nodding to the quiet girl.

"Alright sure, I'm not much of a kid person but I can see the value of getting them somewhere they won't annoy anyone else. What do you need me to do?" Jane asked, accepting the invite and taking a good look at the area they were in. "I'm not too sure where you want to take them but herding kids shouldn't be too hard, right?"

W: 451

[Kadence]

"You know, even if you were mute back home you should have a voice now." Kadence frowned, partially from annoyance and partially from how unpleasant not talking was. This had come up before, and she explained herself once again. It's not due to something physical, it's psychological. And even if it was, it doesn't mean I could speak- those who were mute from birth never had the chance to learn, for example. Honestly, the question was getting tiring... she wondered how others like Elfriede handled it...

Jane seemed unsure at first, but agreed to help. "Alright sure, I'm not much of a kid person but I can see the value of getting them somewhere they won't annoy anyone else. What do you need me to do?" her status screen appeared as soon as she accepted the invite "I'm not too sure where you want to take them but herding kids shouldn't be too hard, right?"

It's less trying to take them somewhere else and more just keeping them entertained in a way that's not going to hurt anyone she explained. These kids have parents who would probably worry if we took them somewhere else. She thought about it for a moment as they herded the kids back out of the crowd, then got an idea. She held up a finger as if to say "hold on a moment", then walked over to an area that seemed pretty empty, but had a lot of room for what she was about to do. The kids had a clear view as Kadence activated [Transcription] and began to move her finger through the air. A blue line traced the place her finger moved across, and soon, the lines began to form a shape. A picture floating in the air of a knight battling a dragon, and as an afterthought, she started work on a tower for a princess to be held captive in.

It was a fairly rudimentary drawing, and Kadence was surprised she'd even been able to use [Mythic Script] like that, but the children were in awe of the way she made a picture for them in the sky. Her mana had run completely dry by the time she finished, but it had distracted the kids. Even a few adult Landers and Adventurers had started to take notice. The bard, while unable to comment due to her present lack of mana, looked proud.

Word Count 401
Tags: Jane

[Jane]

Jane did her best to shrug off Kadence's 'words'. People had issues for sure, but every one of those issues she'd heard about had been resolved within this weird game world, including a few mute people who had started learning to talk for the first time. Then again, they could have just 'claimed' to be mute, there was no real way to know. People did like to set up a big old pity party sometimes, so it wouldn't surprise Cedric if it turned out they were lying. Lots of people were probably lying in one way or another, it wasn't like he was any different.

"Entertaining people is easy." Jane replied to the bard's explanation on what she wanted to do, "Entertaining kids, not so much."

The chibi guardian was probably a little rougher with the herding than Kadence would have preferred, but between Jane's disbelief that the new world was anything other than a game, and her rather solid gauntlets and armour, it wasn't surprising at all when one of the kids cried out when she gripped an arm to prevent them running off in the wrong direction. "Annoyingly realistic things, aren't they?" she asked no one in particular, eyeing the slight burse on the child's arm with distaste.

"Seriously though, I suck with kids. You better have a good idea." Jane called out to her party member while counting heads and making sure they hadn't lost anyone. The fact that she didn't even know how many kids there were in the group was irrelevant, it helped Cedric keep his mind active and distracted him from the 'what to do' part of the situation he found himself in.

The sunshiny little guardian soon found herself glancing around at the quieting kids and back to Kadence as the slightly larger bard started to draw a rather interesting image in the thin air. With that distraction in place, Jane did her best to gather in all the kids so that they all had a good view while being just as entranced as most of them. It was only as effective as her minimalistic attention span would allow, but the drawing was sending Cedric's mind back in time, back to the real world and an adventure he'd taken the minds of several young men on in a session of Dungeons and Dragons and the final confrontation with the boss monster to save the princess and win at everything.

Noticing how low the bard's mana was getting, Jane scooted over to the girl's side and offered a supportive arm. Hopefully running out of mana like that wasn't anything like running out of health, but it was worth making sure all was well before finding out otherwise.

"Now, everyone knows that dragons like to kidnap princesses, right?" Jane asked the kids while getting Kadence to sit down somewhere before stepping back up to the air drawing while the children gave murmured agreement, "But what most people seem to forget is the group of adventurers that often back up that noble knight that leads the way." This statement brought more murmurs of curiosity from the children and for a moment Jane really smiled. It had been a while since she'd had an audience and, while it wasn't a proper session, it would be good to try and weave an interesting tale again.

"I once knew of a group of adventurers, a noble um, Guardian." Jane started strong but stubled for a moment, translating the skills of the group that had gone on this adventure into terms the children would probably understand a bit better, "He was accompanied by a dark and mysterious Sorcerer of great power, a sneaky Assassin who could fool the great dragon's senses, and a Cleric who spoke with the voice of gods. The three of them had been tasked with retrieving a princess from the dragon's stronghold, a dangerous dungeon with many traps and dangers!"

Jane gave a moment's pause, letting the sense of dramatic tension build up and dropped Kadence a wink to let her know she would be able to take it from here. The tiny girl wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, but she figured depending on how the kids reacted to the start, it would let her know how they were enjoying the idea of this story.

W: 724