Private ✪ Finweald A Dreamy Affair

[Rael]

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An invitation awaited his return to the headquarters of the local MIT division, an envelope placed at the center of the receptionist's desk by the pink-haired elf who was nowhere in sight by the time Askera would arrive at, or leave, the premises.

Researcher now in sight, a bespectacled, stout individual working the front desk stood up, plucking the envelope from its resting place as they moved closer to the individual it was meant for. Within a respectable distance, they cleared their throat. "Something arrived for you, sir."

Their hand reached out for Askera, handing the envelope to him. "Left by an elven miss who passed by earlier. It's not marked as urgent, but the lady expressed she would like it if you were to read it."

Its contents read:

Mister Askera,

I realize now that I had failed to ask for your contact information during our previous meeting, and I realize as I now write these words that it might've been presumptuous of me to think you would so readily share it with me.

However, disregarding the first impressions such an approach might form, there is something I'd like to ask of you.

A bit of your time.

During the battle, one thing that was quite clear to me was that you were far more experienced than I was-... Than I am. Certain rumors have been going around and it's become impossible for me to ignore them, and so, I would like to ask someone of your prowess to inform me as to the truth behind these events I've heard much about.

And perhaps help me with an idea of my own... But! All in due time.

If you would indulge me, I will be waiting at the address detailed at the bottom of this letter. Suffice it to say, your time wouldn't go unrewarded, of course. Why, with the gold I've earned from adventuring, I am confident to say I could treat you to a meal!

I will be waiting.

Kind regards,
Rael.

---

The streets of Finweald rang with the sounds of laughter, conversation, and merchants advertising their low prices to all who would hear, a boisterous afternoon as was befitting of Astorea's capital. Tucked away in her little corner as she was, however, the noise gradually drowned out until it became no more than the echo of something happening in the background, away from where the elf was.

At the appointed time, Rael would be seated at a table for two. The cafe she had picked out for her meeting with the researcher had the privilege of being one of the few locations with a quiet, cozy atmosphere of its own. A welcome respite from the ruckus one would usually

encounter at a tavern. The scent of pastries enveloped the area, like that of cake batter being mixed.

Rael sat with her hands folded upon her lap, her table in an outdoor area adjacent to this cafe, the shade from the trees providing cover from the sun bearing down on the customers. Before her was an assortment of pastries in different platters that she had requested from a server in preparation for her guest's arrival, but hadn't indulged in. It would be rude to eat when the other had yet to arrive, after all.

All she had to do... Was wait.

@Askera Question

 

[Askera Question]

Askera looked over the letter in his palm once again. He wanted to make sure he was understanding everything from it. Given the lady's mannerisms that he had seen, she might be foreign from his country. Because of this, he could only assume she meant the message literally.

He hoped so, anyway. Despite Askera himself being three years younger in the game or not, this lady possibly being the same, he still hoped that this wasn't a front to ask him out on a date. She was just so much too young for someone his age-the thought made his skin crawl.

He'd taken a break from his laboratory as soon as he'd gotten the message. He was even thankful for the opportunity to go have a lunch break a good thirty minutes early, as he had eaten little in his time before logging out last and returning back to the world of Terrasphere proper. It was something that his hunger bar constantly reminded him of in a manner quite unhelpful, for his stomach's tightening was warning enough to his need to eat.

Askera had been wandering the city for a time after that. He was not lost, only seeking. There hadn't been clear directions in the letter itself, which he supposed made sense-if this really was that Rael girl, she would be unfamiliar with the city at best. Thankfully, though more and more Starcalled were joining the world at large, the age old question of 'have you seen a Yladian with pink hair?' still rang true enough to allow the researcher a very clear direction.

It further helped that she was probably in a restaurant-a guess that had been well-founded, for there she was. She was even waiting for him.

"You have my apologies for the wait, Rael-san. This city can be troublesome to navigate at the best of times, but I had left early to find you. May I seat myself?"

Presuming so, he allows himself to rest in the chair opposite to the girl. Askera held off on eating for the time being-it would be rude to partake before the host.

@Rael

 

[Rael]

.

There were several details she had forgotten to include in her letter.

An address to send his refusal or acceptance of her invitation, her contact information, what exactly it was she intended to gather on the Red Fever, to name but a few. Even with the severe lack of details to make a proper judgment on their meeting, she wasn't kept waiting long.

"Eek!" Came the little squeak of surprise from the storyteller, who immediately sat straighter in her chair, clearing her throat as to disguise the noise that was already embarrassing on its own. She turned to see the researcher whose presence she had requested, and moved to stand to greet him properly.

"Of course, you needn't ask. I called you here after all, right?" With regained confidence after her initial slip-up, she chuckled at the thought, partly obscuring the sight of her mouth with a hand. The elf then gestured with a hand to the chair opposite her own, nodding at his request for permission to sit. "Help yourself to whatever you might want."

Occupying the space between the two were assortments of different sweet and salty dishes ordered in advance, left to Askera the choice of ordering a drink that most suited his taste, as she clearly lacked the knowledge to do it for him. The platters occupied most of his half of the table, more room afforded to Rael to place her supplies onto, namely her trusty grimoire and her quill.

Sitting down, she drew her grimoire onto her lap but didn't open it yet, instead pulling something closely resembling a cheesecake closer and taking a bite off of it, allowing for the slightest hint of a smile to appear. Her index finger, all the while, patiently tapped against the hard surface of the book's cover, as if waiting.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation, as... Unexpected as it might've been. I trust you've been well since we last saw each other?"

@Askera Question​

 

[Askera Question]

"It's quite alright to reach out to anyone at the MIT, Rael-san. At worst, the message would need time to be processed to reach the right hands. I keep my doors open in case someone wishes to take on one of the assistant jobs I have on the board, and so it was natural for the message to reach me so soon.

I am used to sudden needs to travel, myself. My day-job involves traveling to various places for the sake of my company's standing with foreign partners, you see... Ah, one moment." The researcher paused to greet a waitress who had come by. He requested a cup of Solvale Black tea from her, a flavor that was popular enough to reach from the region's namesake out to the capital. It reminded him of the flavor of Oolong, which he felt would go good with the few salty foods placed to compliment the sweets.

After this, his attention returned to meet Rael's unsteady eyes. "I would assume you to be terribly curious about the rumors. I am unsure as to what you seek help with, but you've come to the right person for help. It's been my long-standing goal to compile data of the game into a Wikipedia, albeit one that would take the form of something inside of the game. A library, perhaps." Rael could understand why he needed to do so. After all, who didn't know that information about the game was regularly scrubbed from the internet?

"What is it that I can help you with, Rael-san? If you wish to make small-talk first, you have my sincerest apologies for being presumptuous. You don't seem to share my culture, and forgive my observation, but it appears that the question is nagging at you as we speak."

@Rael

 

[Rael]

.

"I would be glad to help you as an assistant... If you would have me." Already had Rael worked as someone else's assistant shortly after first logging into the game, dutifully doing as asked or offering hypotheses of her own to complement those of the main researcher. Observation, the opportunity to learn from those more experienced than she, what was there not to like?

Then, there was the simple matter of being called out on the unrestrained excitement waiting just underneath the surface, a soft pink spreading over the bridge of her nose and the tips of her ears. "Ah, forgive me! I didn't wish you to think I had invited you just to waste your time..."

Rael looked down at herself, or more specifically, at her hands as if to search for the cue that had given her intent away, entirely all too oblivious to the fact her general demeanor had been enough of a tell in its own right.

"My interests are not dissimilar to yours if we were to compare them by their shared attribute of looking for information on what transpires inside this game, but what we do regarding that information would be what sets us apart. You are someone of the sciences, while I... I want to learn, yes, but because someone has to keep these stories."

A childish idealization, perhaps, to be handed tools capable of untold greatness and instead turn them to rhyme and paint, aspects more permanent through which she might immortalize what has been witnessed through her very own eyes, and through those of others.

Were it another person than the one sitting across the table from her, perhaps she'd be ashamed to speak of the idea, but what little time she had spent in his company nudged her forward. "The Landers have fuzzy memories, or don't keep many records of things that have transpired over the years. Starcalled, like us, never think to do it because they assume someone else will."

"Could you imagine just how many stories have gone untold because someone forgot to write them?"

---

@Askera Question​

​

 

[Askera Question]

A faint nod was given in response. Askera had put down the food to listen properly to what Rael had to say, and did so intently, not wavering from locked gaze. His tone when he responded was serious without a hint of dismissal, "Yes, I could. Even in thought of where my own goal lies, your mission is equally as important. I can only go so far in a Wikipedia by detailing the numbers of statistics and gear alone. Story, too, is something to be archived."

He most fondly remembered writing away the story into the last Wikipedia he had made. It was dedication that made articles like those keep turning, and Askera most appreciated the feeling of being dedicated and on-task. Even in Terrasphere, that itch of his to put work into making things brought him stunning results, more than a simple hobby would have ever otherwise made for him.

He was getting off track. "Do forgive me for pressing-What was it that you wished to know of me? I would be happy to answer the question if I can." He didn't want either of them to forget the purpose of this visit.

@Rael

 

[Rael]

.

Rael sighed, the slow huff of the exhale drawing her eyes to a close, content that the man seated across from her hadn't outright dismissed her self-assigned mission. Not that she would've thought him capable, but she could feel her worries subside as the confirmation fell from his lips, stiff posture relaxing.

"I fear I may have more than just the one question I summoned you here to answer, and more may develop throughout the course of our conversation so I'll have to ask for a sliver of your patience," Her eyes were aglow as they opened once again, brimming over with the endless ideas she had thought of in advance for their meeting, now ready to test a man of his nature in what could and could not be achieved.

"For one, I was searching for others who would tell me of the events which transpired during the Red Fever. Everyone is talking about it, yet details are fuzzy and get corrupted the more one speaks of them," she explained, raising her index finger and allowing for a brief pause to sink in before she made her next point. It would be his choice which of the two to tackle, and as she spoke, her middle finger joined the first.

"Stories passed down between Travelers can lose their meaning. But what if we could acquire these stories from their memories? What if we, somehow, were able to witness these memories of theirs through... Say, a dream? Would such a thing be possible?"

---

@Askera Question​