Private Eastern Brisshal Here Be Foes: Beginning of the Training Montage

[Frey Elzeiros]

Music ( ♬ )

He should've thought about this.

It's the first thought to cross Frey's mind as he sits cross-legged on the floor by the outskirts of town, mindlessly pouring over a blank sheet of paper with some markings on one of its corners. Starcalled travelers and Landers alike pass him by and he does put on the effort to greet those who call for his attention, which aren't that many to begin with, as busy as everyone is running about and trying to get their first real taste of adventure.

Loose strands of silver hair momentarily cloud his vision, eyeing up the beastfolk whom he'd brought alongside him for the mission. A fresh recruit from the Adventurer's Guild who had seen him moping about his luck not too long after their first brief meeting, offering her aid in exchange for help in slaying some wolves. "Toko, psst. Toko, you are standing... A bit too close."

A mission that was anything but, as he would prefer not to recall. See, the problem with being a new player is that there are only a handful of options one might try out in order to get their pockets full: questing, monster grinding, or becoming the local errand person for the Landers. A problem only increased by Terrasphere's increased sense of realism depriving him of a completed map he could take a look at by just willing the palm menu to open with the appropriate gesture.

But here is the real kicker: There exists a faction known as the Explorer's League that is known for, amongst other certainly notorious things, the discovery and mapping of the areas within the world of Arcia.

Except that their maps were too expensive for him to afford in the first place, the best deal he got was in the form of a blank map outlining the limits of Falderen.

So he is left with no other choice but to seek his quarry on his own... Well, with the help of a butterfly hovering over his shoulder, and a martial artist for companions.

Man, he really should've thought about this.

"Okay, so we go North.... west? Sounds about right."

@Toko @Caelia Etterni @Alastair Brass

 

[Toko]

.
.

Although the unexpected revelation regarding how deaths in TerraSphere 2 worked, imparted onto Toko by members of the Lion Arms, had rattled Nao at first the woman couldn't find it in herself to simply put her VR headset away and forget about it all. After all who could resist such a vibrant world such as this? No other game Nao had decided to sample the past few days had even reached the ankles on the quality that TS2 delivered, and before long the Japanese player found herself spending more and more time in this new avatar form.

"Ah, gomen Frey-kun!"

She took a few steps sideways upon realizing her long strands of hair had been buffeting her companion, an apologetic smile given to the faerin in return. Toko had recognized him as she had been walking about, upset about missing her mark on a challenge to rank up, and had loosely recognized him from the kidnapping-turned-to-recruiting approach the Lion Arms had delivered not too long ago. He had seemed to be pondering some things of his own and, after a short while, an idea that was beneficial to both parties had struck them.

"Mmm, I think so... they said Western Brisshal had a high density wolf population, right?" Index finger tapped against her bottom lip as the lepus wracked her memory for the information, once more lamenting the fact that the UI didn't actually have an integrated map to itself as one of the options... although that alone hadn't been enough to put Nao from playing the game, of course. "How strong do you think a wolf can be in this game?"

Considering the guild had cleared her rank to fight these types of monsters surely it couldn't be too bad... right?

@Frey Elzeiros @Caelia Etterni @Alastair Brass

 

[Alastair Brass]

.

Extricating himself from the chaos of the Lions wasn't difficult once Zeus was there to gather their fawning attentions. He got what information he could from those they'd collected and the members of the faction itself... and promptly exited stage left, luckily unpursued by bear.

The mage didn't make it much farther than the edge of the temporary basecamp when he spied yet another unfortunate player who'd been dragged in by some of the squires and knights of the group. While he was certain they'd deposit the poor person at Zeus or the Commander's feet like the questionably-trained dogs they were, that wasn't quite necessary. The whole thing had spiraled a measure, and honestly? Any useful information he'd already wrung out of them for the moment. The distractions were in too great a plenty now. Alastair swayed into the path of the two Lions and @Caelia Etterni. "Ah, there you are, gents. Your esteemed Zeus was looking for your company, he's just that way!" He spun and directed them back to the door he'd only moments before slipped out of.

Immediately forgetting their task, Traveler safe enough after all, they were off. Tripping over each other and excitedly blabbering about how they'd been noticed at last. Ah, youth. He snorted at the exit and raised an eyebrow at the charge he'd been left with. "My apologies, friend. It would seem our illustrious guard are a tad busy. We should take our leave before another finds us." He winked and staged a whisper. "I highly doubt either of us pursuers of the arcane logged in just to be ferreted off by lovable oafs."

With the other in tow, Alastair followed the fading spectral trail of one of his wayward souls. There was a faint and foggy feeling of concern from the small entity. A potential threat, a danger of the unaware. Well, there was a reason he'd taken up supporting schools of magical theory.

"Forgive my intervention. The name is Alastair, Alastair Brass." He nodded to the Faerin. "Some acquaintances of mine are nearby. Perhaps numbers will treat us well, if they'd welcome the company? If the Lions are to be believed, it's awful dangerous roaming too far by one's lonesome!"

He turned a corner out of Honeyhome's surrounding streets and to the fringes of it instead. Aha. A blue butterfly flew in dizzy little circles around @Toko's silver hair before it returned to hovering beside @Frey Elzeiros. Perfect. And luckily for Alastair, rather than subtly trying to rope his way into their conversation and whatever plot had his summon concerned, he had the swanning presence to simply force his way in with a smile and a laugh. "Well, what good fortune to meet again. I do hope the excitement is a bit more manageable now? But what's this talk of wolves? Forging ahead already, my, my."

 

[Caelia Etterni]

Trotting alongside the two Lions was a small individual. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders and down her back, a cascade of white like fresh fallen snow. Her eyes, too, reflected a wintery aesthetic, gleaming a crisp blue color in the light of day. Those eyes continued to move to and from her companions, curiously listening as they bickered amongst themselves about…

Huh. She wasn’t sure what. She hadn’t listened that hard. She’d just kind of let them rope her along this far.

Movement caught her eye, and she looked away from the Lions as a new player approached. She’d not seen him before, not that she could recall, anyways. She smiled a bit at him as he distracted her escorts, taking half a step backwards to let them scramble over one another in their haste to get to this “Zeus” person.

No clue who that was, either.

“You were quite adept at distracting them,” she complimented, turning around and starting to walk back the way she’d been coming with her new companion at her side. “They seemed nice enough…”

She left it at that.

“Oh, your intervention is well appreciated,” the young player said with a light, airy sort of laugh. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alastair. I’m Caelia Etterni. You can really call me anything so long as it’s not rude, though,” she went on. “I’ve heard that the wilds are rather dangerous. I haven’t gone far from where I spawned,” she admitted with a slight laugh. “I didn’t have anyone to go with until those two showed up.”

She turned her gaze slightly as a flash of blue caught her attention, watching a butterfly flit over to a pair of strangers. She certainly hoped these were the acquaintances of Alastair’s, judging by how he merely sauntered up to them and let himself into the conversation.

“Wolves?” she repeated, looking curiously towards the other Faerin, particularly at the map he was studying. She couldn’t quite see it; it didn’t look very detailed. “Where would we even start looking for wolves?” she asked after a moment of pause, looking up at the two strangers with a smile.

@Frey Elzeiros @Toko @Alastair Brass

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

.

​

The mention of Western Brisshal draws a groan from his throat, tilting his head backward as he curses his luck under his breath because of course he would confuse Eastern and Western Brisshal. He does not dwell on it, ignoring the wound suffered by his pride as he is drawn into the lepus' next question.

"Can't be that difficult to fight if apparently other Travelers have taken to blowing them up for sport, right?" Yet he says no more for the moment, taken aback as a third and fourth players make their appearances.

Frey glances up at the familiar visage of the dapper mage who had spared no effort in trying to quell the animosity brewing between members of the Lion Arms and their potential recruits, eyes coming alight with recognition even if he doesn't have a name to match with his face. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure he had offered his own to begin with.

He rises to his feet, greeting him and his unfamiliar companion with a distinctive air of joy about his person. "Wish it was something as exciting as you make it sound! But no. Toko here needs to sharpen her skills to prove herself to the Adventurer's Guild, and I would like not to unknowingly wander into some bandit camp the next time a Lander asks me to gather berries for them."

"We heard talk of wolves in the area and after a small conversation, found that our interests aligned and so, here we are." Just then, the one he had yet to become official acquaintances with speaks up, and he circles around Alastair's form with somewhat of a skip in his step.

"That, my fellow short-statured friend, is an excellent question which I would feel compelled to answer…" He takes a deep breath while he rolls the undefined map in his hand, only looking up when its contents, or lack thereof, had been thoroughly obscured. Shifting his attention to his fellow Faerin, Frey gives a light smile before he lightly taps @Caelia Etterni's head with the map, holding it mid-air for them to borrow.

"If I had any idea how to do it. Our maps aren't exactly completed from the moment we step into the world, as I and many others have come to discover. You have to buy them directly from the League or make one of your own, and since I lack the funding to do the former, well..."

Whatever he is about to say dies somewhere between his mind and his tongue, curiosity taking the reigns.

"You look pretty new. The Lions take a bite out of you yet?"

@Toko @Alastair Brass @Caelia Etterni

 

[Toko]

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.

A soft chuckle escaped the lepus at her companions words, finding her conjured mental image of yelping wolves being blown sky high somewhat amusing. "Was someone really blowing wolves up out there...? Seems a bit overkill, ne?" Luckily for Frey it seemed whatever directional blunder he'd committed went totally unnoticed, the lepus herself not being the best navigator around.

Her attention was momentarily captured by a small and blue butterfly that hovered about her head, the lepus tilting her head to follow it—and unleashing a subdue squeal of excitement as it almost landed on the tip of her nose— before Toko's attention was brought back to the real (well, virtual real) world as a pair approached them. One of them, the human, seemed vaguely familiar if the lepus' memory wasn't playing games on her, though she didn't recognize the faerin companion that tagged along with the man.

"Yah... kind of botched my ranking challenge last week at the guild, so figured maybe smacking a few wolves around would help me for my next attempt in a couple of days."

A hand was raised in polite greeting along with a nod of her head, before the lepus snorted at Frey's reference of the Lion Arms towards the newest faerin. "Don't say that within earshot of them, Frey... they might take it literally otherwise." If anything their faction was certainly interesting, especially if that Zeus man was actually part of them, though Toko would be thankful to not have more run ins with their members any time soon.

At least she now had a copper tag from the Guild to wave at their faces if they began their recruiting spheel on her again.

@Frey Elzeiros @Alastair Brass @Caelia Etterni

 

[Alastair Brass]

.

Alastair smirkly lightly at the leeway @Caelia Etterni gave the Lions despite their behavior. No, no, they weren't that bad at all. They simply had the atmosphere of being where a frat house met Eagle Scouts met jocks. A lot of them seemed dim, but proficient at their respective roles. And a small handful held the vast majority of the faction's brain cells. "Well, they are heroes, after all. No one said heroes were all too clever, though. Wouldn't make for exciting tales without the conflicts along the way, and some genius would solve them in a wink." He winked with the word in playful exaggeration.

Upon approach, the Faerin he'd set beside earlier immediately lit up and met them halfway. Excellent, this would come along swimmingly with these socialites. The butterfly that had taken to following Frey remained on said Faerin's shoulder with his other darlings drifted around them to alight upon grass, path, tree, and stone. The playing about over the map and @Toko's faction woes made him chuckle. He was lucky to find such spirited youths. Shame it was in a miserable death game, but he was being paid to overcome such hesitations and resentments. And so:

"No Lions are going to be biting any of us. No wolves either, but turnaround is fair play, no?" He gestured in time to each owner of each title. "Frey, Toko, Caelia," he paused to sweep a grand bow at the powder-blue bugs around them all, "Dearhearts." Spotlight set and attention gained. "Let's make of ourselves wolf-hunters extraordinaire and forge a little legend for our intrepid Adventurer! My lone price is the kindly request that you keep all things wolf, warg, and weapon away from me. My only other clothes are miserable beginner mage robes, and they really haven't the flair a gent like myself enjoys, nor should ever employ~"

 

[Caelia Etterni]

"Oh, they tried," Caelia answered with a quiet laugh. She reached up to take the map from Frey as it was offered, studying what little terrain was visible on it. Buying a map would have certainly been nice, but with all of them likely being new players - at least as far as she could tell - they were definitely going to be lacking any sort of funding to make that happen. Oh, well. Beggars couldn't be choosers, and all that. As Alastair started to talk about becoming "wolf-hunters extraordinaire," as he put it, she felt a slight sense of trepidation creeping along her spine.

"Now is probably the time to mention that, ah, I haven't done a lot of fighting yet..." she admitted sheepishly. "And by not a lot, I mean...none, really. I'm very new." She wasn't sure if her avatar could blush in this game, but if it could, it was certainly doing so.

"But I'll do my best to help the group!" she added after a brief pause, quick to try and assure her newfound companions that she was up to this task. "I think I can help with your weapons, maybe? I'm still learning all the different tricks of the trade, so to speak." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, smiling and trying to ignore the rising sense of anxiety she felt growing in her stomach.

Surely they wouldn't tell her to buzz off. She needed the experience, anyways, and what better way to do that than to fight with allies?

@Frey Elzeiros @Toko @Alastair Brass

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

.

With his name spoken aloud for him, he performs his small introductory number. Tucking a hand behind his back as he bows his head, he lets the player-made crown fall from his head only so he can catch it with a flourish and press it to his chest as he rights himself back up, beaming at his companions.

Somewhere between the lepus' snort and both Alastair's and Caelia's show of willingness to aid them on their improvised quest, he had pulled up his palm menu, sneaking glances at the two late arrivals as his fingers drifted through the buttons. More specifically, the names hovering over their heads.

"Mmh. How do you do it again... Ah, there it is," his fingers pressed down on something that to him appears as a button on the interface, but others wouldn't see as such, sliding his fingers up in the newcomers' direction, a bright screen flashing to life before them.

Party

Frey Elzeiros has invited you to join their party.

"Will be easier to monitor each others' status as we go. Should any of us get lost, I think there is a party chat function somewhere, but don't quote me on that one."

Frey couldn't promise to keep fang or claw away from anyone in the group, and so he doesn't, his hand instead reaching for a pocket where he keeps currency for ease of access. Better than having to reach into his menu every single time.

"No, no, we shall let luck decide how it all goes. How about that?" There's the flip of a coin as it is tossed in the air right after he starts walking away, trusting the others would do so as well. It hovers in place for a moment rather than fall to the ground, subtle movement of fingers keeping it afloat. It is beckoned back to his palm with a flick of his wrist, where he receives the result of it with a grimace.

"Bah, inconclusive. Someday I'll get the hang of this, but for now, let's go track some wolves."

@Toko @Alastair Brass @Caelia Etterni

Exploration Phase

• Pick a Mastery of your choosing, we won't be using skills for this.
• At the end of your posts, simply roll a d100 + 5 per Mastery Rank. This symbolizes your character using their chosen mastery in any way they see fit to find the wolves.
• Add the result towards the total Progress pool.

Mastery Check
1d100 (52) + 5 = 57
Astramancy | Frey Elzeiros | 459C1

Exploration Progress:

57 / 350​

​

 

[Toko]

.
.

The human certainly had a flair about himself, though the lepus didn't particularly mind it. Alastair's words and actions felt as natural for him as the action of breathing that anyone performed to simply exist... and the lepus was already kind of used to it all now after spending a considerable time with Frey anyways. "It's okay, Caelia-chan... this is my first time fighting anything in the wild too. Don't worry though, I'll do my best to keep any claws and fangs away from you guys though." At least her weapon of choice had been her fists and kicks... and while it had been quite a while since Nao had practiced karate back in real world Japan she hoped some of the old lessons, and muscle memories, still remained.

As the party invitation materialized in her UI the lepus took a moment to press the correct button and accept it, unable to stop herself from grinning as the excitement slowly began to bubble up.There was still a bit of worry mixed in from the knowledge the Lion Arms had imparted on to them... but hey, all they had to do was just not die and they'd be fine!

There was a moment that she stood, watching the flipping coin in the air, before she realized the rest of the group was moving and quickly began to follow. Frey grumbled about something not working, although Toko wasn't sure what he had attempted, but she understood it was time to find said wolves they planned on beating up for experience and stuff. "Mmm, maybe I can find them if I try this..." There was a pause as the lepus collected her thoughts, trying to remember how exactly her natural magic worked even as the Investigation Mode was toggled on in her palm UI. A pink glow emanatted from her eyes then, before a faint breeze seemed to collect around the beastfolk as it carried different pieces of leaves, twigs and the overall scent of the area around them.

"Mmm, what would I smell like if I was a wolf... oh!"

Perhaps it was the thought of the wolf that made her nose tickle, but among the various scents one stood out more than the rest for the lepus, her feet quickly movin her in a south west direction for a couple of yards before pausing by a tree. "Minaaa... kite kite!" A hand was raised high as the lepus did a waving motion to beckon the rest of the party closer, before her other hand pointed at the visible claw marks that had ripped some of the bark around this particular trunk.

"I think this might be a territorial mark... so maybe if we keep going this way we'll find some wolves?"

@Frey Elzeiros @Alastair Brass @Caelia Etterni

Exploration Results

Mastery Check
1d100 (86) + 10 = 96
Nature | Toko | 459C1

Exploration Progress:

153 / 350​

​

 

[Alastair Brass]

.

Alastair clicked the cheerful blue symbol on the screen that popped up accordingly. It was still bizarre to have the displays visible all the time, but he always wasn't exactly regularly logging into VR games. Some people worked for a living. His new party seemed mostly on the green side of things to varying degrees, but Toko appeared fairly competent in physicality if nothing else. She could probably handle wolves. Surely those were the calves for it if there ever were calves for cooperative dog-kicking at all.

But to the task at hand! He nodded and followed along until they were further from Honeyhome's sweetly glazed bread-scented breezes. "Is your coin toss a superstition or an ability," he laughed, "and perhaps you ought to find a better offer for Lady Luck than a penny for her thoughts. If you're unlucky, you'll meet Sir Prize at best... Miss Fortune at worst~"

Despite the playfully ominous warning, Toko proved to have a knack for their task. Alastair considered the tracks, head twisting with a hum that caught the attention of a few of the nearer souls. "Well done. We may be able to narrow that heading of yours." One fine, black glove was lifted and the magus snapped. The runes threaded into the fabric flared a burning blue with a white core. His scattered butterflies gathered around, each beat of one's wings seeming to create two more, until hundreds of the weak figments filled the area. The swarm whirled around them, tugging on the breeze and spreading the cold absence of whatever plane the dead walked over them all. If anything, it felt invigorating. Brisk. A leap into cold water on a hot day. And then they were pouring up into the sky and over the treetops, guiding the party toward the quarry they'd been sent to find.

His summons were more useful with time, as they weren't the fastest and any communication was only possible at closer range currently, but even if they couldn't report the exact location? Following the blue banner would be good enough for someone else to spy the real trail - or better yet, the real beast!

Exploration Results

Mastery Check
1d100 (91) + 5 = 96
Spirit Magic | Alastair Brass | 459C1

Exploration Progress:
249 / 350​

 

[Caelia Etterni]

.

Caelia accepted the party invite with a smile, giving Frey a brief nod as the popup slowly faded from her vision. Okay, time to try out some of these things she hadn't yet! Caelia let the others go first, watching as they each tried their various different skills. At least, she was pretty sure they were using their skills... It was hard to tell since she couldn't see their UI when they interacted with it. Still, she could see Toko's eyes glowing, and Alastair's beautiful array of butterflies that drifted into the trees in front of them.

"Oh, uh, let me try something..." she murmured, pausing in step to open her UI after a brief moment of panic in forgetting how to open her UI. Once she recalled, she closed her right hand into a fist, opening it again and making a quietly delighted noise to see it had actually worked. So far, she hadn't played much of the game with her UI, so this was a little new. She filtered through the various options slowly, sticking her tongue out ever so slightly as she looked for Investigation Mode.

Once she found it and had it turned on, Caelia's eyes also gained a faint blue glow to the edges of them. She blinked a few times, looking around curiously at the newly displayed information, before focusing on the task at hand once more.

Wolves... Well, those had blood, right? And she'd picked that weird blood magic when she'd been in character creation...

Caelia suddenly became more aware of the people around her, or rather, the blood of the people around her. It pulled faintly in their directions, a small draw towards the living entity that it fueled. The sudden realization of how it felt was surprising, and Caelia found herself a bit confused on which direction to go. She could feel pulls in other directions besides her allies around her, but they were of varying degrees of strength and hard to parse out.

"I...think we're going the right way?" she suggested finally, looking around and jogging a bit to catch up. (She'd lagged behind in her distraction.)

Exploration Results

Mastery Check
1d100 (50) + 0 = 50
Hemomancy | Caelia Etterni | 459C1

Exploration Progress:
299 / 350​

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

.

"Were that it could be both, but then again, it was my mistake not to realize this game wouldn't be as kind as to grant me a curated list of skills from the get-go." Alastair's warning falls on deaf ears, with the Faerin mistaking his words for that of a curious ally. He throws his hands up in the air, the coin flying up into the air, with Frey catching it just as he had done last time, though now he would pocket the results instead of looking at them again.

Hurried steps coming from somewhere behind him give him reason to look over his shoulder, watching the figure of the other faerin player approach the rest of the group at a rapid pace, but more than that, he has to commend their use of the abilities at their disposal. "Huh. You said you were new? Learned how to work your way around things much faster than I ever did. That's quite good. Looks like the Lions won't have to bother you. Or kidnap you."

In taking a page out of the newbie's book, he too lags behind to bring himself beside the trunk of a tree, pressing his palm to it at the same moment he closes his eyes. From the tips of his fingers, and into the bark of the tree itself, a contaminating smattering of purples and dark blues is called forth, running up its branches until eyes emerge overhead. Some smaller than others, all colored the same way as Frey's own eyes, but eyes that with each blink disappear and manifest onto another surface, steadily moving ahead until he retracts his hand, cutting the connection all at once.

"...Four of them, feasting. Think we could get the jump on them?"

"Would you care to do the honors? Easier for the rest of us to sing your praises back at the guildhall after bearing witness to your martial prowess," he offers, touching his knuckles to Toko's shoulders as if to spur her on.

Fingers drift through the space in front of him, a series of brief gestures that culminates in the materialization of the map earlier shown in a hand, a pencil in the other. He taps the object against the side of his face thrice before he begins writing on the piece of paper, noting down each individual's discoveries throughout the exploration.

"Not that we would even think of leaving you to fend for yourself. Of course not! We can't quite name ourselves adventurers without going through the Starcalled's rite of passage. Now then, if you'll give me a minute or two to finish marking this, I'll catch up with you..."

@Toko @Alastair Brass @Caelia Etterni

EXPLORATION RESULTS

Mastery Check
1d100 (62) + 5 = 67
Astramancy | Frey Elzeiros | 459C2

Exploration Progress:
366 / 350

x4 Wolves have been found!

Each of them has the following stats:
1 LP | DC 25 | Retal 15

​

 

[Toko]

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.

105 / 120

Adventurers Guild - Copper Rank

The particular scent of iron was the first thing that alerted the Lepus of their presence, Toko having stopped in her tracks before motioning to the others just as Frey also became aware of the small pack. "Of course! They won't know what hit them..." Excitement lighted up Toko's features as they finally found their quarry, the Lepus cracking her knuckles together in preparation with a grin on her face. A quick wink was given to Frey before Toko was off running full speed ahead fo the nearest of the four wolves.

"Meal time's over, buddy!"

With a leap the beastfolk added more power to her current momentum, her fist slamming down on the head of a wolf with a skull shattering crack. In moments the beast had slumped down, defeated, before Toko dove to the right in a failed attempt to avoid an incoming swipe from the wolf that had been standing besides her target.

"One down, three to go!"

Rolls

Standard Attack
1d100 (92) + 10 + 5 = 107
Martial Arts | Toko | 459C2

-15 HP from retal
3 wolves remaining

@Frey Elzeiros @Alastair Brass @Caelia Etterni