Discontinued Eastern Brisshal After Tutorial

[Hanno Futaba]

Spoiler: Tavern Music

Pushing the door open for Ariweyn, Hanno stepped into the building, an inn called Sweet Deer.

Unlike the usual tavern, the Sweet Deer was a bit to the calmer side, for those that wanted a less rowdy experience and wanted a rest spot rather than throwing a loud party with friends. As expected from a Honeyhome's place, the air had a soft honey smell, along with the cozy feeling brought by the wooden and warm interior.

By the counter, a deer beastfolk watched the duo entering with a gentle expression before focusing back at her mug cleaning.

Hanno offered the beastfolk a small smile, just before turning to Ariweyn and gesturing to one of the tables. "Do you prefer something more by the corner, or any table work to you, buddy?" He asked with a grin, waiting for Ariweyn to go for her table before following along.

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

She follows him in and nods to the deerfolk before turning to him with a shrug.

"As long as i can have my back to a wall, I'm good with any table."

She smiles and looks around while walking to a table and sitting, admiring the tavern with a small look of wanting

"You know, I wanted a Tavern like this in the other world... But I got the family business instead. My sister took that dream for me, though. So at least someone is doing it."

she opens a menu and waits for hanno to sit with her.

"Can we even taste things here? or is this a... oops its gone situation? like Spear Art Online or UnderSerf?"

she flips to the drinks menu

"Can we get drunk here? How does that work? Does the gear trigger a sort of Auto Brewery Syndrome in the wearer or is this a situation where it Autologs me if I get too drunk?

---

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno followed Ariweyn, taking a seat with her and casting a glance at the deer that eventually gestured for a waiter to go to them.

Meanwhile, he listened to the woman's questions with a chuckle, nodding.

"It is just like in the real world, Ari." Hanno said with a small smile. "You can taste food as normal, you get drunk, feel pain... Everything, really. Well, unless you use pain limiter, but that's something else." He shrugged.

"Unlike the other games, this one doesn't have the restrictions imposed by the VRSA, which is why they can activate all the sensorial activities in it." He said, mimicking what he had read in forums, and what he had heard from other players that had more technical knowledge than he did.

The waiter finally reached their table, and Hanno was quick to order... A considerable big amount of food. One enough to feed three people, but apparently it was all to himself. "Feel free to ask anything, buddy. It is on me." He said, looking at her and bending on the table for a moment.

"So you wanted to have a business like this out there, huh? That's cool. But gastronomy ain't easy to work with. I know that myself, I am a chef after all."

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

she nods before ordering a small meal from the waiter

"I see... those restrictions have a place, but they have been tightening. Its gotten bad enough that some games are just unplayable with older gear."

She sighs, before smiling

"Oh that's really cool. I'm actually fairly good at baking, but professionally, I'm a fortune teller for some really really rich area."

She sips water before reiterating something she said earlier.

"Its the family business. the rich come to our house, we do things like Seance and Tarot readings, and I run our local Astrology blog. The tavern would just serve hearty home food like pies and soups. My sister is not doing that though. she's got a vendor that offers the food."

She pulls up her UI and shows him a picture of the tavern she's talking about.

"People come in from out of town to look at the vibe of the place though."

---

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Oh yeah, you are? You gotta bake me something someday then." Hanno grinned, rubbing his chin and nodding.

"I see, that explains why you pulled that card to give me some fun power. So you aren't too different from me at all, I also use what I know out of this world to get my way through it." Having some martial arts knowledge outside of the game sure helped him to know how to punch things, instead of relaying on his herculean strength to brute force his way through.

Then, he tilted his head for a moment, looking at the hand the woman tried to show and chuckling awkwardly.

"I... I can't see your UI, actually. But I imagine what you are trying to say." Hanno rubbed his chin.

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea, a place to rest and get some fortune telling. If I ever pass by there, I will make sure to pay a visit."

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

She nods and takes out her deck

"it was a pain trying to find this in the starting gear menu, though. gotta make use of it properly. and i didnt get my Astrology certificate for nothing!"

She will chuckle with a smile fore she frowns with a small "oh..." then uses the chat function to send him the website to the tavern.

"try that. Its the Boogle link. Its got the menu too. I really don't recommend this place though. she has a contract with a vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, salt free, starch-free... all the frees, food company. they would be better off serving water and air."

She nods, passing him the irl Address to her shop. Its out of the way of a definitely not tourist friendly town, almost in the scope of another town.

"If you do, bring me strawberries. I'm never able to find fresh ones."

---

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno chuckled faintly as well, looking up at Ari and tilting his head. "So you have an Astrology Certificate? I didn't even know these things existed. Now that's interesting." He said, peeking to see the waiter soon bringing the orders, filling the table with an unnecessarily large banquet, sponsored by the most glutton faerin of all Terrasphere.

"Now... That's really a lot of free stuff... It would be cool if the food was free too, huh?" He huffed a laugh, shrugging and forking some food to take a bite, looking at the link and address sent to him, raising his eyebrow.

"Phew buddy, it will take a bit for me to ever go there. But you can count I will bring very nice strawberries when I do." Hanno grinned. "The ones we got in the restaurant are pretty neat, at least. I guess that's the power of having the right contacts to buy ingredients."

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

she licks her lips before digging into the food, excited to try it all.

"Oh yeah, you need to take a 82 hour course to even write a blog about horoscopes, much less do the intensive readings. I did it at home though, so eh."

she looks at the food then the waiter

"thank you so much sir"

she eats some of the food she took and shrugs

"thats okay, it takes hours to get into town anyway, so I don't blame you"

She smiles

"thank you hanno... anyway... any questions you want me to answer? I've asked all of mine. Any warnings or cautionary tales I should know about?"

---

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno nodded slightly at Ariweyn's words, smiling warmly at the waiter and then focusing back at the woman.

As soon as she slipped the question lead to him, Hanno knew it was the perfect opportunity to proceed with the more serious part of the conversation. He leaned his arms on the table, focusing his eyes on hers before speaking:

"Say, Ariweyn." He started. "Do you know the true nature of this game?" Hanno asked, forking some food and starting to eat a bit, letting the question sink in before he continued.

"I think you do know this game is illegal. Which is why we can't really connect anything from inside of here to out there... And the reason why VRSA keeps staying aware about it, trying to apprehend and get this game offline for good." He said, looking at Ariweyn firmly.

"Do you know the true danger this game has and represents?" He asked, looking at her. Wondering if she knew what she was meddling with at the time she decided to press 'play'.

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

She sets her fork down with a sigh

"Honestly, I think so. there are pretty clear warnings about possible psychological damage when you first load in the game. I thought it was that. but I met Brutus and he explained it."

she sighs and sips her tea more

"I can't say I don't blame some of these people for wanting to be here. Its a world of magic and adventure and real life... is not too great. I come here to get away from six to ten children that aren't mine who always need me around. its quieter than home is and has less complaints that bread is too bready or that the potato is too starchy or that the floor isnt slippery enough."

the mage pinches her nose.

"Everyone has a story, Hanno. Everyone has a reason for being here in this game. and mine is that this is the only game with a full neuralink. I can't feel if I'm in my bed or on the floor over there. meaning I can't hear them or be taken out of the game by some grubby little brat touching me."

---

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Brutus, huh?" Hanno nodded, remembering the name and the face. "He is a cool guy, so he probably told you everything... Including the three deaths, yeah?" He said, now with less reservation, knowing the woman had at least part of knowledge of what the game could represent as risk.

Hanno then paused, listening to Ariweyn's reasoning for continuing to play the game regardless. And honestly, it wasn't too different for most. Those not exactly satisfied with their real lives wanted to dive in this game, as addictive and dangerous as it was. Perhaps this was no different from a drug.

"It isn't like I can force you to log off, buddy. But I like to make sure people know where they are going into. And if they do insist on staying, I have to make sure they are going to be safe." Hanno said, smiling to Ariweyn and already thrusting more food into his mouth, taking greedy bites of everything he had ordered.

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

"He got me up to speed, which was nice of him. and he especially explained the deaths thing. all cost some form of thing on our physical bodies. he would not explain how it affected it though... do we lose some sense like sight or touch? That seems most likely, but then there is sound and smell and taste."

She thinks this over before shrugging and going back to her food, Listening to him as he explains this.

"thank you for that too, but... sigh... Either way, it doesn't matter if you could make me log off, I'd just be back here in a matter of hours. I hate caring for my brothers and sisters. they are all so... needy. this is my only means of escape right now. I live in the middle of nowhere, my car is busted, and I can't hitch a ride anywhere because there is no one around for miles. so... I game"

She smiles apologetically

---

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"A lot of stuff happens, really. You acquire phobias you never thought you would have, or you start being... Affected in very weird ways..." Hanno frowned, taking a deep breath. "You see, I have a death on me. And this death causes me to see the eye of an eldritch entity giving me company whenever I feel like I am alone." He explained, crossing his arms and leaning on his chair a bit more.

Hanno then shrugged with a half nod. "Exactly. If one wants to get in this game, nothing will stop them from doing so, it wouldn't be the first time. So the best I can do is to protect those who want to stay in here." He said, pretty much confirming he knew all that from experience.

His eyebrow then raised. "You want to hitch a ride somewhere else? That's a way to run away." He chuckled.

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

"Oh that is weird... and I mean... PTSD from soldiers that almost died is bad. I can imagine that the phobias are a development of that kind of trauma..."

She leans back and looks at the ceiling, doodling with her magic before looking at him

"Thank you, Hanno. Seriously. Not many people would be that kind, especially not with stakes like that in the way."

She looks down, thinking for a while before answering him quietly.

"I would be a burden for a while... Other than my necessary certifications for Astrology, and fortune telling... I don't have much else in the way of... formal knowledge or degrees. I have my high school diploma, but that is kind of it. and... well, I barely make enough to keep the lights on as it is... So unless I can live with you until I get a shop set up somewhere, then I can't actually leave."

she will shrug and spin her spoon in her coffee before looking back up


"Wait... Eldritch entity? what's it look like?"

She will take out a notebook and write down a few things and wait for an answer.

---

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"You can't even imagine." Hanno said, grimacing for a moment. The kind of death afflictions that could manifest after you respawned were of the most varied and terrifying. He then glanced at Ari, showing her a smirk. "It ain't nothin', buddy. As long as you are safe... Of course, it would be even better if you could do the same and protect anyone you ever find in trouble. I think if we all get together to hold each other hands, no one will be left behind."

But maybe Hanno was being too utopic on this idea. Still, it was the only thing he could hope for.

His arms then crossed, tilting his head. "Well, there are also your siblings, right? You can't just leave them behind, can you?" Hanno laughed. "If you ever need I will try to lend you a hand though."

When questioned about the eldritch entity's appearance, Hanno paused for a moment, picked up his shield and knocked a few times on it. "Ghast, wake up." He called.

The armadillo-armored-looking shield rumbled for a moment, and after sounds of ripping flesh started echoing, tentacles grew on its sides, and a huge, central eye opened widely, looking around before glancing at Hanno and then focusing at Ariweyn.

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

"That is the plan, you know. I want to help as many people as I can with this game. Hells, even Haru." she nods, continuing to scribble in the notebook. when he talks about her siblings, she stops writing.

"Hanno... Its more complicated than that. Far... Far more complicated" She sets the pen down with a sigh. "I don't think I can convince them to join me, even if i tried to with money. Its... complicated."

She trails off before he brings his shield up and starts hitting it. she will jump at the noise. "Hanno! what are you- Oh... oh my... what is..."

She looks at the armadillo squid thing and gasps. She will go to pick it up with a smile "Its.. cute! weirdly cute! It reminds me of a cuttlefish! Hungry lil guy? All i got is some fish." she will offer it a piece of fish. "So... he's your shield?"

---

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Haru?" Hanno rose his eyebrow, looking at Ariweyn and then tilting his head as she mentioned things being far more complicated, making him sigh. "If you say so. That does sound like a much rougher situation than I can think of. But yeah, I will help you if you need and want." He said, wondering if he could even help his new buddy out in any way.

At the positive reaction toward his shield's true nature, Hanno grinned. Of course, a newcomer like her wouldn't react too badly to something like Ghast- The woman probably didn't know much about dissonance either, which was fine, since Ghast was mostly docile.

"Actually, well, the shield is more of a she... I mean, at least she makes it sound and feel like it." He admitted, frowning at Ghast.

The shield looked at Ariweyn's affection and praise, wiggling her tentacles joyfully and rumbling quietly. When offered a fish, her eyes widened, with the eye going up and down as if she was nodding before the eye closed and opened again, being replaced by a wide mouth that soon snatched the fish piece and started munching before it closed and opened, returning to be an eye.

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

"Its alright, I just need a ride out of town. but i also don't know if you're a fed, so..." She shrugs and slurps her soup

"fascinating... so some weapons have a gender..." She mumbles, adding to the book as she eats some more soup. Her handwriting is more like a doctor's, a near illegible scrawl with a few dots here and there. once in a while there is a little shitty doodle of Ghast and Hanno. they are not good.

she will offer the eldritch entity another fishie, fascinated. "She is certainly a fascinating thing for this game. i have never seen anything like this, not even when i was looking into Celtic sailing myths. and those things have the kraken and kelpies... are there kelpies in this place? that would be... scary actually. i would like to avoid them." She shudders, flipping to another page in her book and taking another sip of soup.

---

@Hanno Futaba I am so sorry for the delay on this. I thought i had sent it a while ago.

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm not a fed." He said, shrugging. "I can give you the ride you need if you want. I promise I'm not going around arresting people... I do investigate the game, but it is more of a personal deal." Hanno admitted, listening to Ariweyn going a bit deeper regarding her interests in the shield and in the mythical creatures this world had to offer, while the shield ambitiously took the other fish into its mouth, savoring as much as it could.

"Yeah, there are-" Before Hanno could finish his response, his shield shifted abruptly, turning into a faerin girl that she usually copied its appearance ever since it got into contact with illusion magic.

"Yes! Yes! There are kelpies, and they are very tasty-!" The 'faerin girl' said, licking her lips with a tongue that resembled a tentacle.

Hanno froze in place, slowly glancing at the girl, pursing his lips, and then looking back at Ariweyn. "... Don't ask. I have no idea how my shield does it." He sighed slightly.

"My name is Hanna, not shield!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Your name is Ghast." Hanno retorted.

"Hanna!" She protested with a pout.

Hanno sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his temple.

@Ariweyn Laundale

 

[Ariweyn Laundale]

"Thats good. You can't be too careful though. I have no idea if you're lying or not." she opens her HUD and checks something before closing it again. she will jolt a bit when Ghast transforms, surprised at the transformation before shrugging it off as a weird quirk or the game. At the mention of Kelpies, though, she will shiver.

"So I am deeply afraid of Kelpies. Guess I'm not going near any lakes in the future"

she chuckles a bit, watching the fight before she sighs, offering a hand to the girl

"At least you won't get lost too easily. You can just walk back to hanno if you need to. I'm Ariweyn L'Aundale. It is a pleasure to meet you Hanna Ghast."

she smiles

"Some people have two names. A family name that you can use with an honorific, and a first name that friends can use. since you are insisting on Hanna being your name, then that is your first name, and Ghast is your second. Okay?"

---

@Hanno Futaba