Private Eastern Brisshal Hall righty then

[Corsair]

Corsair picked a few kernels off her cob of corn, placing them in the neat pile that was growing on the plate on the table in front of her. "We should join a guild," she said, as casually as possible. "I hear there are many benefits. Cheaper services, exclusive quests, capes and patches and contacts and the possibility for advancement through the ranks and-" she cut herself off, "-other small benefits."

She picked the last few kernels and set the bare cob aside, pushing the plate to the edge of the table. "I have been perusing the guild literature, and it would be in our favor to join." She pulled a stack of pamphlets thicker than Brutus's bicep out of her bag and dropped them on the table, making a THUMP so loud that patrons at the other tables looked over. She glared at them and they quickly turned back to their beers.

"Even if we already have our own base of operations, it never hurts to make connections," she said, spreading out the papers in a mostly brown and green rainbow. "Some of these are more vocations than skills, like the artist's guild and the calligraphy guild. Honestly I'm not sure why they even pay for separate halls." She picked through the pile, selecting some of her favorites. Inventors Guild, Exorcists Guild, and the Mages Guild. "You already have an in with Old man Stankins at the Hunters Guild. Anything else catch your eye?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

For a moment, Brutus looked baffled as he looked over the papers, his brow furrowing as he read. "I see," he muttered, taking a absent sip of his drink. "So you want to rub elbows with the local powers that be." he thought about this for a moment, reaching down to a rib on his plate, plucking it and taking a bite.

He used the excuse of not talking with his mouth full to ponder the entire thing. "You know, upon reading, some of these are over in the capital...uh, Stokbon I think. They might have local chapters here and there, but some of them would require a decent amount of travel." Setting the bone he'd just picked clean down he wiped a hand on his trousers and rubbed his chin. "Although there is the Adventurers Guild, that sounds like something we could make a name for ourselves with." He would set that pamphlet down on the table and slide it to her. "Other than that, There's the Hunting Guild with Stankins, the Alchemy Guild would be helpful for getting healing, and uh..." He thumbed through the pamphlets. "the Blacksmiths guild could be super helpful for getting better gear! I know you don't do much in the way of fighting with weapons, and if I'm doing my job right I am your armor, but I do need upgrades to the Canon and to my gear."

 

[Corsair]

"I'm not terribly interested in alchemy. Especially if it's just getting more vines for Gertrudes around town," she said, sorting the pamphlets into piles for 'yes', 'no' and 'maybe'. "Blacksmith though. That's an interesting idea. I can always use some tips on metalcraft, and for me blacksmithing is one step away from first aid!"

"The Adventurers Guild is the simplest decision. An good place to start, if not especially specialized," Corsair agreed. "And they have wonderful benefits. Exclusive quests, titles, and they're obviously the most well-know." She put their pamphlet on top of the pile. "But like you said, the capital is in Stokbon, and it will be the most competitive if we're trying to stand out, there's no doubt about that. If we're lumping ourselves in with the default guild then the competition for quests will also be tougher."

She mulled over the idea of Stokbon. "We could move," she said, reluctantly, "though the base is only just starting to come together. I say we pick something closer to Homeyhome for now. I'd certainly like to get a few more battles under our respective belts beforehand. We're not exactly breezing through fights yet."

Corsair set the Adventurers Guild pamphlet aside. "Let's check out the local chapter just in case, but I think at least in this village the Hunters Guild is going to be a lot more active. I must admit I haven't visited a blacksmith since arriving, have you?"

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I'm not suggesting a move, I am simply stating that a lot of these guilds might not have local chapters. We're in a small town all things considered." He watched her visualize her opinions on each guild with her shuffling about. "Alchemy could provide potions and medicine to supplement your healing," he paused. "Not saying your healing isn't enough of course, but you never know when having a supply of emergency healing or buffs on the backhand."

He set his empty plate to the side atop four other plates he'd already polished, debating a sixth. "As for blacksmithing, I have poked by the local smithy to have some reinforcements on my gear made once or twice, though they gave me a weird look when I dropped the canon off. I even recently switched my armor type, I had planned on using Medium Armor, but given that I've been placing myself in front of you all the time I opted for a little more defense." He flagged down a waitress, asking for another round of ribs, and then turned back to Corsair.

"If we were to move, I would say we try to make one hell of a name for ourselves here. Come up with like...a team name or something so people can have something to associate with us and out antics. Would make it easier to develop a reputation that way rather than rumor of a robot and a giant."

 

[Corsair]

"Hmmm. I'll consider alchemy more, then. I might even be able to store potions inside the bodies of my constructs. So many options," she said, opening her mastery list and paging through. "I've almost unlocked my next mastery slot, and if I join the alchemy guild then I might as well become an actual alchemist."

She looked through the mastery details, looking less interested with each passing second. "It's just more of the same, honestly. I already have two support masteries, and there's nothing particularly exciting to me about needing to carry around a load of glassware. I'd prefer to just buy the potions as we need them."

"I noticed your armor was thicker. It looks good on you!" Corsair said. She watched Brutus order more ribs and simply asked the waitress for salt. "Large grains, if possible. The grittier the better. Brutus can you pop this corn?" She gestured at the bowl of loose kernels she'd been adding to before the pamphlets had come out.

"A name. Well it should be strong, yet memorable. Something that sticks in the brain even after we're long gone. I've always been partial to wordplay, so how about," she thought for a moment, "Macrohard. Because we are neither micro, nor soft."

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I mean, you don't have to get into alchemy, but the idea of being self sufficient in that regard would be pretty cool, and if you gave Sam potions he could like, feed me on the go that'd be pretty cool not gonna lie." He chuckled, reaching across the table to hover his hands over the bowl. He took a deep breath and did his best to cause his hand to glow, fire forming around his fingers and dancing around his hand. It was difficult, he needed to keep his concentration in order to keep a good gentle heat from scorching the corn.

Pop, pop, pop.

He kept careful control of his breathing, Popopopopopopopop.

The pops began to slow, and he relaxed his hand, killing the flame. "I can see where you're coming from, but Macrohard has a..." he furrowed his brow waving his steaming hand in the air to both cool it and summon a word to his mouth. "Bad mouthfeel. It needs to be something cool, that rhymes, and feels cool like...RealSteele." He grinned, "We both wield Steele, you're like a real girl..." he pauses. "Yeah."

 

[Corsair]

"Self sufficiency is a long way off, and it's a heavy dip just for some potions. I'm not convinced," she said, reaching for the plate as soon as Brutus was finished cooking. The kernels looked amazing. Little crackled balls of cream, brown, and black. The rough flame had given them wonderful texture, and she put a piece into her mouth, not feeling the heat, only the wonderful mouthfeel.

"Like a real girl?" Corsair asked, sounding a little unimpressed, eating another piece. The server returned with the coarse salt and she poured far too much on the little plate. "That makes me sound like Pinocchio's girlfriend. Not the cool mental image we're trying to convey. ReelSteele isn't bad, but it sounds a little generic."

She chewed, thinking. "And not to harp on it, but 'girl' is also a bit...infantile. Never refer to a grown woman as a girl. That being said, 'woman' is terrible for a brand. Lady? And what's your most defining feature. Your size, sure, but also that cannon is wonderfully memorable. Iconic. What about," she shuffled through her mental thesaurus, clashing words together until something sounded good. "What about GunDame?"

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

He raised an eyebrow as she went on her tangent chuckling slightly. "GunDame sounds amazing, it reminds me of the mech anime I used to watch when I was little and it just sounds rad." He reached over and stole a few kernals of popcorn and popped them into his mouth while he was waiting for his food, eyes widening as he coughed and spat them out.

"Jesus christ that's fucking salty." He exclaimed, wincing and reaching for his cup to wash out his pallet with ale, something he was getting used to. "And as for infantilizing you." He squinted. "I don't actually know too terribly much about the woman behind the mask their Corsair. For all I know you could be some old Japanese guy living out his wildest fantasies in VR. No judgment if you are, by the way"

Finally his food had arrived, he was fucking starving and another plate would only put a dent into his hunger bar. He would reach and grab a rib, taking a bite into it. "Which is fine, If you don't feel like sharing you don't gotta, but if you wanna know more about me feel free to fire away."

 

[Corsair]

"Not infantilizing me, but this character," Corsair corrected, gesturing at her body. "No hints on the woman behind the mask though." She smiled, enjoying the anonymity provided by her digital form. She ate more of the incredibly salty popcorn, grinding each piece casually between her teeth.

The progression of sensations was heavenly. First the crackling outside, then the crunch of grit, as if she were chewing on sand, and then the slow melt into a paste that stuck between her teeth. She was certain that in the real world she would hate it as much as Brutus, but in here it was the best thing she'd had all week.

"I have little interest in who you are outside this world," Corsair said, being as forthright as always. "I don't want to know where you're from, or what you do for work that lets you play as much as I do." She dissolved another piece in her mouth, thinking. "What I do want to know, if why you're here at all. Why Terrasphere? What do you want from this world, Brutus?"

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Her words stung ever so slightly, but he let it slide. Corsair spoke like he fought, bluntly like her mouth was a nailgun and every word was a rivet being shot into a sheet of metal. He didn't take it personally, he'd gotten used to it. "I mean, you did make yourself tiny and picked that voice type. You could be anywhere from 13 to thirty for all I know."

"To make a long story short, my family descends from Olivier De Clisson, a nobleman from the region of Brittany. He lived his life filled with actual adventure, and fought and struggled to advance his house and clear his fathers name. I've..." he drummed his fingers on the table. "I grew up living a tame life, and I want more. I want adventure, I want action, I want to explore. I tried getting my fix IRL with fencing, acting, LARP, you name it, I probably tried it. A buddy of mine introduced me to VR and that...well that rocked my fucking world. Here, I can live out and try to be my ideal man. Big, beefy, charismatic, heroic! I get to be the hero of my own story, and forge something I don't think I could ever truly experience in the real world..." He paused and munched on another rib. "I bet it probably sounds kinda dumb, but its something that sets my heart ablaze and gets me logging in everyday to hand out with you partner."

 

[Corsair]

"Thirteen to thirty, mmm, yeah that's about right. I think I set the slider to mid twenties, so you're very close. Young but not too young. As for yourself? Late twenties? It's hard to tell what with you being built like a mountain range."

She listened to him talk, nodding and finding herself interested in what he had to say. "You're right. You're here for the right reasons, Brutus. There are opportunities available to us in this world that are out of our reach in the real world." Corsair sighed. "I have my own reasons for being here, and while they relate to my goals in the real world they are far more selfish than what drives you."

"I'm not here to be a hero, but I have respect for those that are. I think that the heroism is crucial for our advancement as a society. Making big moves when others are scared to even stand? Making sacrifices when others just cover their eyes? We need heroes." She finished the popcorn and wiped her hands on a napkin. "So let's go and do some heroics. Shall we?"

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus spent a moment letting her words sink in. It was probably the most emotional thing he'd ever heard her say, and her words plucked at his heartstrings a little. It was weird, having her be so...affirming of his views he'd long considered childish. As for her? She'd let a little something about her slip after all, so perhaps they were beginning to bond. After all, they had just given themselves a team name. He stuck a rib in his mouth, stripping the meat from the bone with one pull to buy him some time to react, and hopefully to keep a blush off his face. As he swallowed he took a big swig of his Ale, draining it before setting it down.

"Yeah, lets do go do some Heroics. We can go swing by the local smithing guild to see if they need any work done and see if you can get any upgrades? We can start grinding some quests, build our rep, and see where things go from there eh?" He stood up, placing some money on the table and then shot her a grin.

"Thanks Corsair, you're the best partner I could have asked for."