Ether Works' Altera (IC)

[Inferi]

The introduction to this merchant was far better than the previous one, and the enthusiasm with which he seemed to be making the potions made Kayleesa smile a little. This looked like someone she would want to come to for further purchases, and while she knew that first appearances could be slightly misleading it didn’t stop her from seeing this merchant as a potential person to remember for future purchases.

It got even better when he spoke to them, and although Kay shared Shima’s opinion that it was very nice to run into a merchant with manners, her view was a bit less negative. Even though the time had been very short since the merchant had so rudely spoken to them, she had already dispelled most of the negative emotion from that. Seeing the good side of the world was an advantage in many ways, this being one of them. Maybe it made her a bit easier to trust people that she shouldn’t trust, but she stood firmly by the belief that there were more people that she would want to trust than there were people that she shouldn’t, and therefore her actions were more advantageous than detrimental.

Letting Shima speak first, she chimed in once the martial artist was done, saying, “I was wondering if you had any advice on what would be useful to take to the Rift.” Hopefully he would have some kind of answer that wouldn’t cost her everything she had, although she could imagine why he might not be able to answer that. As far as she knew, few people besides players and church members ever went to the Rift.

[Noosie]

After a moments hesitation, the Dark Knight's metal-shod feet carry her towards the remaining stall, mentally reciting her shopping list all the while. With no acknowledgement of the monk's presence but a curt nod, Riley fixes her no longer bleary gaze on the somewhat rotund merchant. Just about fully recovered from her escapades, the overly aggressive knight grunts to grab the salesman's attention after that winged chick stops talking, and checks his player/NPC nature with a glance. Taking an effort to suppress her accent she quickly places her own order.

"S'cuse me. When you're done with them, could I get a coupla' antidotes, three small healings, an' directions to someplace I can buy a map?"

[Oroboros1337]

Arcanos' Keep

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Once the experience bars tick over past their levels, they can see their next goal. 25 experience points to achieve level 3. Not long at all considering how quickly the points piled up from that last fight. Great risks seem to garner great rewards. Mel's experience meter sits at 13/25, Sev's at 15/25.

Severine's pushing at the doors is enough to open them, the large double doors swinging open at her insistence. Whether magically enchanted or simply constructed by brilliant engineers, her pressure is enough to open them smoothly. Sunlight pours into the imposing keep's entrance and illuminates the Grand Entry. The Grand Entry is a main hall that is easily the size of a court room. The floors inside the keep are the same shade as the dark grey as the keep's exterior. The Entry's walls are covered in mosaics made of many different colours of stone tiles, depicting scenes of great wizards doing powerful things. A pair of doors off to the left and the right grant admittance to rooms on the ground floor. A grand stairwell at the back of the room lays tantalizingly close, access to the second floor. However, a shimmering blue field of energy covers the stairs, presumably some form of magical barrier. Between the door and the stairs, one last important feature is the large desk. It's made of a dark wood, well treated and cared for, large like the reception desk at the entrance of an office building.

As the door swings open, a creature hops up onto the desk. It's maybe two feet in height and it's quite skinny. It's skin is yellowish and visibly rough, like the skin of some kind of lizard. It's eyes are solid yellow, lacking a pupil or iris. It's voice is quite raspy as it calls over to the two Chosen, "Greetings, travellers. Welcome to Arcanos' Keep. You tread in the halls of a mighty man, I hope you come with wisdom, for your sake."

The Gamboler's Ace

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Jo slides the new adventurer his complementry ale, he flashes a smile at her in answer. "Very kind, you know how to make a good impression." He slides his fingers through the handle of the mug, his hand wrapping around the main cup of the mug. When he goes to answer his name, he gets a bit confused by the question, surprised she doesn't already know it. However, then he seems to get the idea, and smiles again. "Gotcha. Okay, my name is Raven, Raven Nightwing, I'm one of the Champions of the Gods. Just came from the Misty Vale, quite the stomping grounds. I think it'll take decades to put all the monsters there to the sword."

The Market Ward

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Dax finds himself at a sales booth where the merchant within is thin as a rail and remarkably tall. He's impecibly dressed, so well so that one might believe he was serving as a butler in a mansion rather than operating a store front. "Ah, good sir, but that would depend upon the needs of the shield mage in question. As I have not seen you before, I find I shall have to presume you are... new." He says the word new like he would say dirty, or ugly. However, he breezes past it. "With that in mind, I presume a retrofit of your shield is out of the question. Perhaps then some heraldry for it to help spread your name? Or had you some other objective in mind, other than aspiring."

When Shima explains her needs, the potion merchant nods his head in acknowledgement, "I see, I believe I can help you with that. I do have some antidotes on hand(GM Note : consume after you lose one round of combat to a poisonous monster/trap to not be defeated), generic ones presuming you cannot anticipate what poison you will be facing. I have them for three silvers a piece. A more standard healing potion is a very popular item, I have some available for five silvers each." The Merchant then turns his attention to Kayleesa and frowns in thought at her question, "The Rift... I'm afraid I have never been. I hear there are demons of all sorts there, truly a disasterous thing. Gods watch over us all. I am afraid I am but a simple merchant and cannot offer much advice." The approach of the dark knight, imposing in her armour, gets a blink from the merchant and he hesitates before he gives the knight a nod. He begins reaching down under his stand for some pre made vials, digging them out one after the other, placing them up on the counter. "I'd recommend the Vanguard for a map, to be honest. I hear they've been doing a lot of that of late, probably the best one in the area. As to the potions, a pair of antidotes and three healing potions will come to 21 silver.

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

"Unfortunately, I was asked to by a man who seemed to need help and I wish to"
She aloud a bolt of light to escape from her
"Because I am a harbinger and must do what is right to protect all life"

[joeyjoey61297]

....In a surprised look she was kind of shocked that she didn't know who this man was, she looked at her wondering why this man was in her tavern even though it was nice this man is a true Adventurer a True hero. A little bit nervous know she asked him"So what brings you here, I'm surprised I never thought someone like you would grace me with your presence"
Getting a little embarrassed she looked down a little instead of directly at him, in a few moments however she regained her confidence and looked up composing herself.

[Sortaix]

Salora quickly turned around to face whatever creature was attacking her from behind, arrow in hand. As she was unable to see the creature coming and could not get off a shot, she had to use the arrow to stab with. Fortunately, it would be the same motion the arrow was designed to make, just at a slower pace. She quickly turned around to stab at the creature, as she tried to draw her dagger, but luck was on her side today. As she turned, the fog imp, her HUD named it, charged at her fast enough to impale himself on her arrow. The combined force of her thrust as well as the creatures initial momentum ended up with the fog imp taking an arrow to its' throat. The creature sputtered around for a few seconds before hitting the ground and dying.
Salora was quite surprised when the creatures body vanished, but that gave her a chance to get her arrow back. Getting attacked from behind however spooked her enough, that she went back to the stone circle at the end of the initial pathway. She wanted to get back to a relatively safe area before, she took out her buff potion she got from the potion merchant earlier to drink it. Salora then drank the potion and waited to ensure it had taken affect before she decided to try to head back to the same pyramid pillar as before.

[Inferi]

Well, that was unfortunate, although hardly unexpected. It did leave Kay without any advantage in terms of prepared equipment, but because of that it seemed prudent to at least have one of both types. She already had two healing potions, and since she had wanted three that meant a single one from here would be just fine. One more antidote wasn’t too much, and having one would be a little extra insurance, just in case. She doubted too many of the demons would be poisonous, since it didn’t quite seem to be their style so hopefully one would be more than enough.

A new arrival beat her to speaking, and when Kayleesa turned to regard the individual it made her take a small step back. A dark knight? The only ones she had seen so far hadn’t been too happy to see an angelic knight, considering her character, and probably her attitude in general, was the complete opposite of what they were portraying. There hadn’t been any clashes, but that was mainly due to her staying away from the groups she saw. The voice of this one sounded female, but the armor looked like it was supposed to be for a male character, especially in this world. Maybe dark knight armor only came in a single form? Whatever the case, it was a little disconcerting to hear a female voice come from inside the helmet, although Kay tried to ignore that as she turned back to the merchant to place her own order.

“I’d like one healing potion and a single antidote, please.” she said, withdrawing the eight silver that she would need for such a transaction and handing it to him once he had procured the potions. As she considered the price, Kay had to admit that buying the two potions from the other merchant, even though it had led to an unpleasant situation, hadn’t been a bad deal.

When the newly arrived dark knight spoke about what she wanted, though, Kayleesa perked up. To be honest, the knight intimidated her a bit, but that didn’t mean that she would just walk away when something relevant to her was being asked for. The merchant’s reply actually made her smile a bit, considering how much of the map that the Vanguard had made was her work. Maybe she wasn’t the most powerful person in the Vanguard, but she could draw a map better than anyone else there.

“Hey, I can help you with a map.” she said brightly, turning to face the dark knight as she tucked the potions into her pouch. She spoke that way partially because she was proud to be able to say what she was saying and partially because she wasn't really sure how exactly she should speak to this individual. They seemed pretty gruff, if the way they acted so far was any indication, and Kay found it difficult to carry on a conversation of any kind with someone like that. “If you can get me something to draw on, I can copy the map that I made. It’s the same one you’ll find with the Vanguard, since I drew nearly that entire one as well.”

She didn’t take out her own map yet, preferring to leave it in the metal cylinder at her waist, but if needed she could show the dark knight that the one she had was as detailed as it was going to get. Maybe a bit more, considering she had a fair amount of personal notes scrawled on it, but she wouldn’t copy those if she copied the map for the knight. As for charge, she wasn’t planning on charging anything. Making a map for another player seemed like the right thing to do, and she didn’t think there was enough of the world on it yet to merit much of a cost. As long as the knight didn’t mind paying for the materials, of course. Kayleesa was a nice person, but she didn’t have enough to feel comfortable buying the materials while not charging anything, and it would still be cheaper than what her guild would charge.

[daxtinator396]

Dax stood for a moment watching the man talk,"Hmm... just looking for some spells for a new mage. Earth magic please. Also sir what did you mean bye retrofitting my shield? And spreading heraldry? Could you do those things?" Dax asked curiously. This man was strange and alittle snooty in his opinion as he seemed to look down on him for being a new player hut he didn't really mind. Though his dress was quite strange for a shop keeper. Reminding him eerily of the urban legend in the real world... that slender man fellow. Only he had a face.

[Icaelus]

"R-Really?"
Mel's heart couldn't help but give an extra hard beat at Emma's reply, a happy smile crossing her face. Was making friends always this..fulfilling, for want of a better word? Trying her best to wipe that silly grin she knew was plastered onto her face right now, Adel left the stony remnants that were the corpses of the gargoyles behind as Severine pushed herself to her feet and joined her, the mage giving the rubble but a simple glance before walking on towards the Keep.

"That was pretty close..and they were just the guard dogs..I wonder if the wizards inside will be mad that we reduced the gargoyles into ornamental rockery?"
Mel wonder out aloud as she stole another glance at her new friend, who was rubbing her hands together in a very evil overlordess-like fashion. Coupled with the hood shading her face and wooden staff, Emma could've passed for some evil sorcerer that Mel saw so frequently in the cartoons of old. Keeping the thought to herself, Mel stifled a giggle as they walked on past the rest of the gargoyles without further incident.
Standing aside and raising the lit lantern before her as Sev pushed on the doors opening to the tower, Mel was ready for this little misadventure. Definitely. Alone, she would've just tried to sneak in and evade the enemies, exploring the area until her inevitable death..or on the rare occasion, escaping. Now partnered with a friend, Mel had that odd feeling of fearlessness. Well, into the unknown, then..

..Or so she thought until Sev paused suddenly, instead pulling up her interface to assign her near-forgotten skill point. What a way to kill the mood.. Mel sighed as she mirrored Emma, opening her skills menu too. She had forgotten to add her point in the heat of the moment too..newbie mistake. Looking over the vast majority of starting skills available, she thought it over for a moment before dropping it in the race-exclusive skill, Fae Magic. It was quite self-explanatory what the spell did, but Adellia looked over the description nonetheless.
It would boost the strength of her Fae spells along with her general spellcasting, a skill indeed useful to the aspiring Fae caster. Essential if she wanted to progress any further into the Keep..
Okay. Now they were ready. Mel raised the Faefire lantern to the ready as Sev pushed the double doors open, the heavy wood of the doors gliding open at her very touch. Sunlight flooded the entrance from the doorway, eliminating the need for the light from her lantern. The detection however, was an entire different story. Mel kept the lantern raised, wary.
As they stepped forth into the entrance...or rather, bloody gigantic hall of a room, Mel surveyed their surroundings with amazement. It was..enchanting, quite possibly literally. From just the size of the room itself to the colorful mosaic depictions of wizards casting powerful magic, everything seemed amazing to her..
Movement from the center of the room caught her attention and Melancholia clicked her fingers, Faefire blazing to life in her free hand as she spun towards the wooden desk that..some lizard-like creature stood on. It spoke in a raspy voice, welcoming them to the Keep..

The Faefire remained blazing in her hand as Mel stepped forth. The lizard didn't seem hostile at the moment, but its' words hadn't been too friendly either. She wouldn't be letting her guard down just because it said hello. Still, it was a nice change from the monsters that just attacked on sight like those gargoyles..
She eyed the blue field of energy that blocked off the stairs, probably some sort of barrier that would hinder their progress. Somehow, Mel had the feeling that simple combat wasn't going to get them through this trial..
"Hello. What do you mean by "come with wisdom"?"
Mel ventured, raising the Faefire lantern just enough for the blue glow to hit the lizard. She wanted to know if this lizard was going to be hostile..and that was a way sure as any to find out.

[napsii]

Severine shrugged as the doors glided open.

"They're gonna attack us anyway, so it doesn't matter." she replied offhandedly to Mel, trying to ignore the Fae's surprise that she had managed to make a friend. The aqua-haired mage bit the inside of her cheek, uncertain if they were really friends yet. It's not like she needed her, anyway; those two gargoyles would have been worm food even if she had stood alone. But again, with this being Adellia Reinings, it was difficult to shut her down. She sighed mentally as light streamed into Arcanos' Keep, illuminating the interior. If thinking they were friends would keep Mel in line, then Sev was willing to put up with the illusion. Her first steps into the Keep were taken carefully; in her experience, one never knew when door frames were wired with traps. As her eyes adjusted to the lighting, the aqua-haired mage peered around and was surprised. Like any well-meaning gamer, she had expected a dilapidated, foreboding ruins that showed signs of having been owned by pigs. Yet, walking further inside with her trigger finger itchy, she realized how... well, grand the hallway was. The floors and walls had been crafted to a level of perfection possible only in an artificial world, and the mosaics on the walls depicted scenes from Altera's lore that might have belonged in a real museum, had they not been make believe. Severine knew it: she was indeed impressed.

Not that she'd ever admit it...

The shimmering barrier which blockaded the stairs at the far end of the finely-built room drew her attention foremost. Already, she had it figured that the barrier's function was tied to whatever lay behind the two doors that flanked the stately reception desk in the center of the room. Of all the things to find in what was drawn to be a wizard's tower, the desk seemed the most out of place to Severine. Indeed, this entire room had been contrary to her expectations of Arcanos Keep. It was eerily well kept, even by the standards of a digital world, but she supposed that in the end, her uncultured nature was the source of her surprise: as a teenage girl, her interest in museums, history and architecture was minimal, and the grand castles and palaces of other games she had played were distinctly unimpressive when they were trapped behind a piece of glass on her computer desk. Unconsciously, she tugged at the shredded hem of her robe, displeased that her own looks didn't match the wealth of the scenery. On a normal day in a normal game, she would have made for the two doors before even considering the desk, but the hint of movement from behind the reception drew her attention back to the center of the room before she could even take a step. Unlike Mel, she didn't tense in readiness for an ambush. Her experience with game logic dictated that this wasn't an enemy in the usual sense.

As far as fantasy creatures went, a wiry, yellow-scaled goblin-like thing such as this was about as ordinary as a household cat, but perhaps being able to witness it from a better viewpoint than a flat computer screen was what made Severine's eyebrow cock with both curiosity and uncertainty. She began to walk to the side, absentmindedly admiring the mosaics on the wall.

"What's behind these doors?" she asked first of all as she brushed her fingers against the wall, disregarding an introduction. As far as the Destruction Mage was concerned, there were more practical things to pursue than semantics. In wisdom, the... thing had obviously meant power or cleverness. No doubt there were traps here, maybe even a puzzle or two, but power first and foremost: without it, they would never conquer the enemies in here. The yellow-scaled creature's word of caution did have her thinking of the mighty man, though. No doubt the final boss, Arcanos. As it stood, Sev doubted that they could beat him if he were to appear right here and now, but given how rapidly their XP bars were ticking up, she was starting to count on them having leveled a touch by the time confronting the boss was possible -- if it was ever going to be possible.

"And where's the boss?" she added idly.

[Oroboros1337]

The Briar Wood

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Torgo hears Lucy say she is wishing to help people, he smiles. "Ah, nobility is one of your traits. Though I did find it so interesting at one time, I have found it makes people relatively predictible. Now it serves merely as a test of your dedication. So a useful trait none the less, but not for it's own merit. Though I expect you not yet to listen, I tell you again, worry not about this evil presence, for you are now my guest. Long have I retired from the mortal world and here I remain safe and comfortable, even more so now that a harbringer is here. Only those who I chose to bring can arrive, and only those I chose to let leave may. I would have you tell me your life story, but I first offer you the chance to get comfortable. There is no rush. We will have hundreds of years."

The Gamboler's Ace

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Jo acts to humbily towards him, Raven's eyes drop reflexively, taken aback by her praise. He finds it strangely exciting though, being thought of so highly by one so pretty. He forces his eyes back up to her and he tells her, "Well, it's been a rather intense day of adventuring, and a whole week of nothing but working on..." he nearly says leveling up, but then reconsiders, considering how intensely Jo seems to be immersing herself in her roleplay. "On... training my skills. But I'd heard that you might be just the person to come to in order to help me... ah... relax. So if there is any... any comfort you are providing... I'd very much like to partake.

The Misty Vale

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Salora is able to withdraw to the stone circle without further ambush. It's a nervous thing now that it is obvious the mist itself can form into assailants, but thus far she seems to be just fine. She uncorks the potion and drinks it down, waiting for the effect. It's a good thing she waited.

After the initial moments, she can feel a sensation coming over her body. Then, it becomes a tightness in her chest. Her breathing becomes restricted, like a creature is sitting upon her chest while she is attempting to draw breath. As the sensation grows and starts to become frightening, that is when she can feel a sudden tearing. The surprising thing being is what breaks, for it is not her body but her top. Her leather bustier splits open, the threads binding it shut torn by the pressure of her breasts mashing against them, crammed in all to tightly. It makes no sense at first, until she's able to take another look. Her breasts aren't nearly as trim as they were when she'd set her avatar. No, instead now they had grown in size, and were still growing. They don't stop until her cup size grows from her formerly dainty size to a rather hefty EE, which looks all the larger on her thanks to her rather trim figure. Her top is utterly ruined, there is no chance of getting that to close up properly again.

The good news is that the buff does work as advertised. If she cares to go topless, there is one hour in which she has a +2 to her next combat check. The area is also so far just her, so nobody has seen her burst her top yet, and there is time for her to escape before any of the other adventurers wandering the Misty Vale see her, should she chose to forgo that buff in the favour of modesty.

The Market Ward

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The potion merchant bows his head to Kayleesa as she places her order, then draws up the potion vials she requested. "And if my lady does find there are potions or alchemical solutions that might be advantageous at the Rift, I would listen to any suggestions she cares to offer for if another adventurer arrives to make a similar inquiry."

Dax's inquiry to the shopkeeper causes him a moment of pause, "Ah, quite right. I had assumed you were looking for more material goods. Esoterics such as spells are quite difficult to come across. I happen to have one such spell in my stores, I believe it is called Mud Snare. It transforms a small patch of ground, perhaps a foot and a half in diameter, into a thin, runny mud. The spell is written to allow for rapid casting, literally meant to be cast to time with someone bringing their foot down, so as to render them unbalanced by the sudden lack of firm ground to stand upon. Two gold pieces for the spell page. Beyond that, I recommend seeking out Relena, the Witch of Briar Wood, for any more Earth magic spells." The tall man then leans down to fetch a scroll case, his long arms and spindily fingers dropping down out of view for a moment before he draws up the long, thin, tall scroll case sealed with a simple bronze buckle. He places it upon the counter for Dax's inspection. "As to the shield, better shields could be purchased, but they are expensive. I suspect beyond your price range, barring you having a wealthy patron or relative. However, your shield could be painted, or a cloth covering afixed to it that bears your heraldry. It would help with having people remember who you are, rather than that guy with the shield. A painted shield endures slightly better in rough conditions, but the cloth covering could be removed and replaced easily, allowing for easier resale."

Arcanos' Keep

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Pupils or no pupils, Melancholia can swear she feels the eyes of the creature at the desk moving to focus on her. She can see it's yellowed, needle like teeth as it talks to her. "You come with wisdom or you come with a fool's errand, one of the two. If you come with wisdom, you have potential for great rewards, for Arcanos is powerful and can do great many things for you. Proper obesance and a good request will earn you great things. Foolish things such as challenging his power or wasting his time will result in... Well, perhaps not death, but you would be unlikely to enjoy the outcome. At first."

His attention then slides over to Severeine. The creature is too small to be actually intimidating at all, but perhaps disconcerting. Then again, as she had pointed out, hardly an atypical feature for a game like this. It tells her, "To your left are the halls for new apprentices, people who have come to pledge themselves to the learnings of Arcanos and have yet to prove themselves worthy of advancement. And to your right, the kitchens. To feed all that dwell here requires quite the elaborate foodworks, some of our diets are quite... exotic. Arcanos resides on the tenth floor, and will not be called by the likes of you unless you have sufficiently interesting business."

[MiscChaos]

Hearing the prices and checking how much she has on her, Shima rubs her chin in thought. She needs to have protection against the man and his gang, but she shouldn't put herself in a hole while doing it. Well, too deep in a hole anyway; her target's only worth 20 silver and that's being split 4 ways. She'll only come out of this with 5 silver, just enough to cover one Healing Potion. In total, she has 23 and a half silver at the moment and will only recover 5...

"I'll take 2 Healing Potions and 2 Antidotes, please." That'll come out to 16 silver, leaving her with 7 silver and 5 bronze. Should be enough for any emergency situations.

[napsii]

This Arcanos guy has one nightmare of a superiority complex. thought Severine.

With her arms folded over her chest, the aqua-haired mage paced a circle around the yellow-scaled creature, determined not to bow down to the final boss' ego. Inanimate object or no, computer program or no, Emma Hayes wouldn't be belittled by it. She would never let any of the idiots who had trapped her in this game think they had the upper hand on her just because she had to play by their rules. Tense with pride and bristling with irritation at how the bulbous-eyed secretary seemed to think they weren't worthy to face Arcanos, she almost considered turning it to ash with a fire spell. But instead, she snorted, and flames and smoke darted out of her nose like a dragon. So they were expected to become a student of this guy if they wanted to take a step forward. That might have been the correct path for the patient and the studious, but looking around, Severine figured that this tower had been programmed to destroy. They had come here to play a game and to win, not to go to school. Emma hated school, and everything about it. No way she was going to be lectured by a game; her personality wouldn't permit it. Yet even though she was on fire with defiance and youthful pride, she was concerned.

One thing that had become evident to Severine when she had been sealed in this game by... whoever it was that was in charge of Ether Works was that certain functions of the game had been altered inexplicably. Tastes for violence and for the adult content had all been mangled, assuring an uncomfortable experience for anyone who drew the short straw. Being aware of this had only heightened her thirst for victory, of course, but there was something morbid about knowing that if what the yellow-scaled creature said was true -- which she didn't doubt it was -- then if she faced Arcanos and lost, she would have more to face than having to click a button to resurrect. She frowned, actually starting to hate the particular sequence of computer programs that governed Arcanos' existence and everything about them. Of course, he wasn't the tower's solitary occupant. As hard as it was to believe, he apparently had a legion of "apprentices" in this tower. Why anyone would want to join in on his cult of personality, Severine wasn't sure, but then it was likely they were all just idiot computer programs anyway. It seemed like every conversation she had in this world made her hate computer science even more. She uncrossed her arms.

I probably can't get past that barrier by myself. So if this guy doesn't open it up, then it's either into the apprentices' place or the kitchen. Kitchen sounds weird. she thought, considering her options. Although she didn't want to know what kind of lunacy there was to be had inside the kitchen, her curiosity was getting the better of her. But then again, it might attract Arcanos' interest if she beat the faces of his apprentices in.

"What if I said I was going to come up there and beat the shit out of him? Would that be interesting enough?" she questioned, her faux-pondering an obvious threat. As if to emphasize her point, the runes of her necklace shimmered with threads of light -- an impulse of magic power in her body. That in mind, she oriented herself toward the door on the right. The kitchens. It just sounded like something she couldn't pass up.

"I'm going in here." she decided aloud, stepping over and pulling open the door. She gestured to Mel as if to ask if she was coming. If not, then fine. Maybe she could get some more answers out of the yellow-scaled creature. Either way, the aqua-haired mage was already striding through the door. To the kitchens it was.

[Sortaix]

Salora was cautious now as she took her buff potion and got ready to go back into the fight. She was completely unprepared however, for her chest to explode is size. At first she thought her breathing being restricted was some monster or something trying to attack her. Then she thought it might have been something going on in the real world. She started to get scared until she heard the fabric tearing and her top burst open, as her breasts increased to an insane size. She had no idea what was going on, but Salora was not going to go around fighting, topless. She tucked her bow away and covered herself as best she could.
Salora then hurried out of the Misty Vale, trying to not be seen, as she was thoroughly embarrassed. She tried to walk back to town and skirt around the outskirts. She wanted to find a clothing store as soon as she could and get a new top.

[Zender_Solarheart]

When the adventurous-looking guy walks in through the doorway, Greg pauses on his exit, standing inconspicuously next to the doorway. In his eyes, it was hard to tell if the new guy was a hero, or a villain...and he wanted to at least make sure the guy wouldn't cause any trouble. Seeing how the man is no threat to the bar, however, he decides to continue onward to the Market Ward.

[joeyjoey61297]

Blushing now realizing what the man wanted Jo looked at him and said"I'll more than happily provide you with one of my rooms for the night and a "massage" But obviously my services don't come free."
Taking out a piece of paper with her prices on it she slowly handed it to Raven face down and on the sheet it read

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

One full night of pleasure: 1Gold
Group Entertainment:5 Sliver
Anal:1 Silver(In addition to the price of vagianl sex)
Sex: 2 silver
Tit and Blow: 8 Copper
BlowJob: 5 Copper

"Well Pick any of them and Ill give you the room free of charge okay sweetie."
Jo was starting to get comfortable around him thinking that he must be down to earth, since he hasn't yet bragged about his accomplishments and she knew he had many.

[Grape Me]

Timth continued to run through the forest. He must have been traveling for a week or so. Ever since the incident on the first day, Timth realized he needed to move, and fast.

He was a beta player, one of the first to be able to have access to the game, and with so he had experience. Although many wasted their first few days panicking, Timth knew he had to act. There is only a limited number of exp and loot an area can hold, so he traveled far, far away, to a village on the outskirts of the map. There, he could start questing and such before other players made it there. Of coarse, other beta players probably had the same thing in mind, so he wouldn't be the only one.

Timth was the solo player. Although he put others lives before his, he felt that being with others would slow him down. He also didn't like watching others... die.

He spotted some smoke above the trees in the direction he was running. "Almost there,"he said picking up his pace a little.

[Noosie]

It takes several moments for the perpetually disoriented knight's mind to fully register the presence of what some might call her opposite number, and another moment to recall just why that might be significant. Having found that her normal strategy of blind rage is unsuited to less hostile conversations, Riley instead takes a moment to consider the situation, and her somewhat limited budget. While she wouldn't be pulling a profit from this particular mission, it might be useful to have access to some cheap and easy healing down the road. And if the angelic tart was willing to help lighten the load on her purse with some free cartography, she saw no reason to let her profession's bigotry get in the way.

Besides, why let stupid IC crap get in the way of getting back to the real world? With another grunt, the knight's gauntleted hand reaches to her coin purse, withdrawing two gold pieces and one silver. She makes a show of counting them out, slamming one after the other onto the wooden surface of the merchant's stall. She follows them with a copper piece, and a muttered thanks for his advice. Turning to regard the less heavy-set and far more timid knight, Raji pulls her face into a remarkably artificial grin, her visor once more ruining the effect of her expression.

"Much appreciated. Don't suppose this'd do ye fer materials?" After a moment of searching through her limited inventory, the Dark Knight pulls out her smallish logbook and the accompanying pencil, which proves difficult for her bulky armored fingers to grasp properly, proffering them to Kayleesa. Even as she moves to receive a favor from the angelic Vanguard-founder her thoughts turn towards finding some way to exploit her new-found knowledge. Might be some sort of reward for delivering such a person to the right group, after all.

[Inferi]

Completely unaware of what the person in front of her was thinking, Kayleesa had just waited patiently for the knight to come to a decision. Even without knowledge of the thoughts, though, she couldn’t deny that she was still feeling nervous in the presence of this particular individual. Probably something to do with the fact that she seemed to have a personality that fit her intimidating look, and as Kay had already figured out, such people were really difficult for someone like her to deal with.

Nonetheless, when the materials were offered, she smiled and accepted them, saying, “Yep, that should be perfect. Of course, the map might be a little difficult to read since I have to draw it smaller than mine, but I’ll do what I can.” Hey, if making this helped her get on someone else’s good side, who was she to argue with that?

“Now, just need a place to write.” she muttered to herself, looking around. When no place was forthcoming, the angel shrugged, not seeming too bothered, and continued muttering to herself with the words, “Eh, oh well. Suppose I’ll just have to do my best without something solid to write on.”

Opening a metal canister that hung from her belt, Kayleesa withdrew a fairly beautiful and extremely detailed map. It had all of the surrounding countryside marked as well as it could be, and while there were some pieces missing and room for expansion around the edges, it was the best one could get right now. The room for expansion was there because Kayleesa had suspected that there were other places that she would end up going to eventually outside of the starting area, and she wanted room on her map to add those in without having to transcribe it onto another piece of parchment.

After staring at the map for a moment, just checking to make sure the picture in her head was correct, the angel nodded to herself and rolled it back up, placing it back in the canister and sitting down on the side of the road next to the potion merchant’s stall. She withdrew her right hand from her gauntlet, and, taking the logbook and writing implement, began to draw on a blank page near the back. While she would prefer to do the work with a map on a table in front of her, Kay’s memory of the map was very close to perfect and she could replicate it without a great deal of mental strain. Checking it had just served to make sure she was doing some parts correct, and she suspected that she may have to look at it again before she was done.

Her hand moved rapidly across the paper, markings appearing on the page at an incredible rate. Even outside of the game, Ashley Nolan had always had a passion for maps, as well as being quite gifted in creating pictures, whether it be with paint, ink, or anything else. The two combined quite nicely here, and her enthusiasm was clear in the way that she smiled while drawing. At a few intervals, she stopped for a moment and took her own map out and examining it before nodding to herself, replacing it, and continuing with her drawing. Unlike her own map, Kay didn’t add any of her personal notes, although she did add ones that were relevant to actually finding one’s way. She also didn’t add any room for expansion, the small size of the pages not allowing for such a thing. That was fine, though, since she doubted the knight really cared all that much about an expansion at this point in time. This held everything she would need for the moment, and Kayleesa only regretted that it wasn’t possible for her to add more.

After a few minutes of her sketching, the angel lifted up the pencil, smiled, and stood up, handing the book and writing utensil back to the dark knight. On the page that she had been drawing was a near-copy of her own map, everything that she knew sketched in fairly beautiful detail. Even if Riley didn’t care much for the aesthetics, she couldn’t deny that it was a very good map, especially since she got it for free. Unlike what Kay had said before she started drawing, everything on it was easy to read and understand, although the small page did admittedly make it so the marks on it were slightly cramped.

“There. It only has the surrounding area, since that’s all we know about so far, but it’s got everything that’s known at this point in time.” she said, tentatively smiling up at the knight. While she was satisfied with the result, sometimes people didn’t quite understand how difficult it was making an accurate map and got annoyed because their map didn’t have every minute detail of every square inch of the world. Hopefully this knight wasn’t like that.

[MiscChaos]

Shima regards Kayleesa with a surprised look on her face. She knew of the Vanguard's dealing in maps, but she didn't know of them holding the details in their minds with the clarity Kayleesa did!

"That's remarkably impressive." she says, stunned. "That is a trait that seems like it should be something highly desired in a teammate." Especially to someone like Shima. She'll never admit this unless circumstances demand it, but she NEEDS a map or someone who knows their way in order to navigate anywhere! Her sense of direction was horrendous at best until she learned her way around, and even then she had to round the area in question 3 or 4 different times to get to that point...