Private Eastern Brisshal Hellhounds? Hellhounds.

[Norbert Inigo]

Norbert hadn't had the best luck starting in TerraSphere. He had lit the forest on fire, gotten a very stern talking to by a very angry bunny lady, and all the while had lost the very same person he had been brought into the game to play with, and he had no idea how to find him. He cursed under his breath for letting Nick get away from him, but he had managed to find himself in the nearby town of Honeyhome and figured he would try his best to find Nick after all.

He wandered around the small town, attempting to speak to a few people, but they shied away from him rather quickly, and Norbert had no real idea why. Wasn't the whole point of a game for the player to be able to interact with the characters in it? This was quite the opposite, and Norbert was starting to get frustrated because of it.

Trying to think of better options, he went to the nearby inn and managed to find a piece of paper, basically a napkin, and some charcoal. He quickly sat down at the empty table and sketched out a very, very poor drawing of what he thought Nick looked like. When all was said and done, it looked no better than a child's kindergarten drawing of a person, but Norbert hoped it would help him anyway. Making his way around the inn and back out into the town, Norbert showed the drawing to various folks, and when they were done laughing at his crude artwork, they seemed a bit more receptive to speaking with him. It was an improvement at least.

However, despite that, nobody seemed to know anything about Nick. Norbert tried to describe him, as a teenager, with glasses and brown hair, probably wearing flannel, not registering the fact that Norbert had completely changed his own look, and Nick might have done the same. Surely Nick was just the same old teenager he always knew and watched grow up, in the addled hellhound's mind. He might have thought it through more if he wasn't so frustrated. But thanks to the bunny woman, he was trying his best not to take his frustration out on the random townsfolk. She talked about them as if they were real, and while he didn't quite understand, he figured lighting their houses on fire was a pretty bad idea if they were real.

So, the wolf-man sat dejected on the side of a well, staring at his crude drawing, and having zero idea of where to go next...

@Ash Vargold

 

[Ash Vargold]

That is definitely a player.

Ash wasn't sure why everything smelled like smoke today, but it was probably from before he logged in. If he had to guess, it was some new player messing with Pyromancy, and the dejected caenis (he didn't see many of those around, himself excluded) was likely involved.

He took a deep breath and approached, going through his usual spiel in his head. The usual script, except as he got closer he realized that this new player had apparently ditched his starter gear and was rather distressingly shirtless.

(Ash wouldn't be bothered. Aisling, on the other hand...)
​

Ash's attention was very carefully fixed on the man's face as he stopped in front of him with a polite smile.

"You look a little lost. Do you need some help?

If he were lucky, maybe this new player's experience would be enough to turn him off of Terrasphere entirely. Wouldn't that be nice...

@Norbert Inigo

 

[Norbert Inigo]

Norbert was shaken from his thoughts by the man approaching him. He hadn't heard him approach, and he very nearly fell backward into the well in surprise. He managed to catch himself, and right his balance as he looked up at the... other wolfman?

ANOTHER WOLFMAN.

Norbert jumped to his feet, surprisingly almost eye to eye with the fellow who had approached him. "Y-yes! Are you... another player? The bunny lady told me that there were uh... enpeecees, and other players. I think I've been talking to those enpeecees all day, but you're the first person that has actively approached me!"

Norbert, without really thinking, put his hands on the shoulders of the man in front of him. "You have to help me. I lost a teenager in the woods when I started, and I'm looking for him. He's my... uh... nephew." Norbert would visibly struggle with explaining the last bit, not wanting to give away that he was just the family butler to this stranger.

Norbert would take the hand holding the charcoal drawing off of the man's shoulder, and show it to the man, hoping it would help. The drawing was awful, but like an overeager puppy, Norbert would hold it out seeming to believe completely genuinely that it was helpful information. "Please tell me you've seen him. Surely you'd have more information than these enpeecees."

The Drawing:

Spoiler

@Ash Vargold

 

[Ash Vargold]

There was a lot to unpack here.

Ash couldn't help but recoil slightly as Norbert rose to eye level, a position very few people could match. And then his shoulders were being grabbed, and it was very fortunate that his brain chose to freeze, rather than to instinctively sock the man in the face.

"Wait, wait, give me a minute to catch up."

Ash brushed Norbert's remaining hand off his shoulder and pulled back. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a few deep breaths, willing his heartbeat to calm. In, out. In, out...

Okay. From the top.

"Right, so... you started playing with a family member, and then you lost him in the woods?" It only took the barest glance at the offered drawing to immediately realize that it was completely useless... but it was honestly better than dealing with this very enthusiastic, very shirtless man getting into his personal space. "I'm guessing you didn't add him as a friend, so you can't message him..."

This game needed a damn tutorial. At least, one that wasn't him.

"Lets start from the start, then. How did you lose track of him?"

@Norbert Inigo

 

[Norbert Inigo]

Norbert was so glad that this person seemed way more willing to help him. Though Norbert did find it a bit odd that despite this willingness, he seemed far more annoyed about it than the village people were. The village people were a bit skittish but were kind in the end. This man was kind but seemed like he was already done with the conversation. Sort of reminded him of his boss in the real world, the dad of the family. Always too busy to deal with anything (that was Norbert's job after all), but endlessly annoyed when he actually had to deal with anything that Norbert couldn't get to.

Norbert tried not to flash back to those times as he was snapped back to reality by the question being asked of him. "Oh, well, see," Norbert started, trying to remember how exactly everything happened, "he logged into the game before me. I ended up logging in after him, but I think he already had a character, and I had to make one. By the time I got in the game, he wasn't there. So I'm guessing he ran off without me."

Norbert rubbed his chin with a couple of fingers, what little he had between his ears seemingly straining itself against the memories the grey matter clearly didn't wish to retain. "I figured I'd wait for him, but ended up..." Norbert paused, not wanting to actually be honest about this next bit. "...ended up accidentally starting a forest fire by learning the game's controls."

He wasn't sure if he should mention the bunny woman. With Norbert's luck, that would either get him or the bunny woman in trouble, so he left her out of the story. "After that bit of chaos, I found myself here, trying to find my nephew. I have no idea where to even begin looking. I thought all new players wound up here, so I figured this would be my best bet, but nobody seems to have seen him."

Norbert had begun to pace a bit in front of the well and in front of his new friend as he recanted his story. He was nervous. What if he never found Nick? What if Nick wasn't even in the game anymore? What if Norbert forgot to log out and make dinner for the family in time? That last one probably wasn't as important, nobody but the mom ever showed up for dinner anyway, and she was always just happy to eat whatever Norbert made whenever he decided to make it.

Once again, Norbert was far away in his thoughts, pacing nervously in front of this other man who was probably already tired of dealing with him, if his demeanor was anything to go by.

@Ash Vargold

 

[Ash Vargold]

It wasn't as if Ash was trying to be curt. It was just a little hard to put on his usual "charm" when he was dutifully trying to avoid looking down. Though it was getting better after the initial shock.

He nodded silently for a while as the other caenis(?) detailed his problems, though he paled a bit at the mention of a forest fire. "That explains the smell," he muttered, then shook his head.

"You were right to wait here, at least. New players usually find their way here, like you did..." Ash crossed her arms, ears pinned. "But... well, players spawn randomly in the forest around here, so there's no telling where your nephew ended up. Especially if you didn't have a plan for finding each other."

Ash unfolded his arms as the other man paced. "If he's the sort to focus on getting strong as quickly as possible, he might have gone off hunting wolves in the woods. Your best bet would probably be to catch up with him once you've both logged out..."

But things are different in Brisshal now, he thought. Who knew what kind of character this man's nephew was playing - and the uncle almost definitely didn't know. "...but, if you're worried, I could help you look for him. There's a few places where beasts are easier to find. If he's still logged in, chances are he's at one of those places."

Ash did his best to smile, and held a hand out to Norbert. It'd taken a bit, but he'd finally found his stride. "Ash Vargold, by the way. And you?"

@Norbert Inigo

 

[Norbert Inigo]

Norbert paused his pacing as the man in front of him seemed to finally come around to helping again. He seemed far less annoyed with Norbert as a whole, and this was a welcome change for the stressed out hellhound. He folded his arms across his chest, and listened intently to the explanation of the area and how new players might take to the game.

Norbert wasn't super familiar with video game structures and the idea of an RPG system and getting stronger would be completely lost on the man. But the concept of gaining power was not lost on him entirely. And honestly, if Norbert knew anything about Nick, it would make sense. The kid was a veritable powerhouse of knowledge as far as anything tech was concerned. He gobbled the stuff up like crazy, and spit it back out like it was nothing. Nick probably had forgotten more about various technology than Norbert had ever even known to begin with.

So when faced with a new challenge, Nick would do everything to become the best at it. And if this man in front of him thought hunting wolves was the best way to start doing that, then Norbert was not going to argue.

"I'm Norbert Wh-" Norbert started, but paused momentarily catching himself. He had remembered changing his name in the game, but had almost given his real name by habit. He had to actually remember what his new name even was. He quickly opened his UI for a moment to refresh himself, before looking back to the man, hoping he hadn't made the gesture too incredibly obvious. "Norbert Inigo," he finally stated, trying to internalize the new name in his memory.

With introductions out of the way, he figured it was time to get on the hunt. "I think your idea of looking for places for players to grow stronger is a good one. I've heard people call my nephew a 'power gamer' before. That probably means more to you than it does to me. But if it helps us find him, then I'm all for it."

@Ash Vargold

 

[Ash Vargold]

"A power gamer... I see."

Ash flattened his ears. He knew exactly what a power gamer was, and all the trouble that could bring. Either this man - Norbert's nephew was the kind that did their research before going into the game, or, more likely, they were about to let their overconfidence carry them straight to a temple respawn.

"I know what it means. And it's a good reason to get moving."

He beckoned Norbert towards the outskirts of town, walking swiftly. Ash didn't have much of a reason to go hunting in the forest anymore, but chasing falling stars meant he had a broad idea of which areas were more dangerous, and how to get there.

"The further we get from the main roads, the more likely you are to stumble into some predator's territory - and if your nephew's on the hunt, then walking away from the main roads are exactly what he'll do."

"How good do you think you are with pyromancy? We might end up getting into a fight ourselves."

@Norbert Inigo​

 

[Norbert Inigo]

Norbert nodded grimly to the man, suddenly a bit worried that Nick had gotten himself into some trouble. He always knew Nick was impulsive and brash, but it didn't sound like this was the type of game to let that happen in, if this man and the bunny lady had been anything to go off of.

Norbert followed along with Ash, considering the question about his pyromancy. Once again, his mind flashed to the accidental forest fire, but in terms of getting basic control over fireballs, Norbert had actually been a little capable.

"I can do... a little bit," Norbert admitted, but frowned, "But I'm still grasping the system. I think there's a setting that is helping me? I had it explained a bit, and I guess it's recommended I learn how to do it without that setting. But I don't even know how to turn that off yet, so hopefully it'll be good enough for now."

Norbert didn't want to get much more into it than that, and wanted to keep his focus on the woods around them, especially the deeper they got. His breath would catch as he thought he heard sounds in the forest. He would startle, and jump as they moved, not sure if the sounds were wolves, Nick, or even his own companion.

@Ash Vargold