Private Eastern Brisshal Heroes Do More Than Kill Goblins and Drink Ale

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The day started like any other. Brutus found his eyes opening in Terrasphere sleepily. As if he'd just woken up from a long sleep rather than donned his headset and logged on. He let out a grunt, stretched his limbs and felt his joints crack. Sliding into this body was beginning to feel like second nature at this point. Sitting up he let out a loud yawn and turned to Corsair's charging port.

Empty

Welp, that meant that most of his big tasks on his to do list would require him to find another player, which tended to be a bit of a crapshoot. He rose from his makeshift bed, and cracked his neck as he checked his various status bars. Health, Energy, and Tiredness were all in the green, but he would need to get some food and drink in his stomach before too terribly long. He lumbered over to the pantry his small little home had and rifled through it.

Empty

This was beginning to form a pattern. Annoyed, Brutus took a deep breath and sighed. He would simply need to go into town and get food there. Not too terribly long, he'd found that he could jog the journey in about five minutes, maybe less if he absolutely hauled ass. He didn't need to rush though, instead he found himself casually strolling down the woods, reaching up occasionally to pluck an apple from a low hanging branch and munch on it absentmindedly, wondering on what he was going to be doing with his day.

...

The question was answered quickly as he entered town. It would appear there had been a storm the night before, and quite a few branches from nearby trees had been blown into inconvenient places. Instinctually, the giant found himself lumbering into Old Lady Gertrude's yard and getting to work, without being prompted, working quickly to clear the debris for the woman before she could even realize it'd been bothering her.

 

[Toko]

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.

It was often late by the time Nao finished her responsibilities for the day, the female placing the VR headset on as she laid down in bed, but this often meant that she was able to play during the daylight hours considering TerraSphere’s time was synched to that of North America instead of Japan. "Mmm…!” A soft whine escaped Toko as she materialized into the world, the Lepus stretching out her arms as she rose from the bed she had reserved in one of the few inns within Honeyhome.

It was a simple room with an okay bed and a small dresser to store some of her things if the Lepus had wanted to, with an equally modest and humble price point per night, and while it lacked in comfort to what could be found in other parts of Falderen and Astorea the fighter wouldn’t trade it away unless she would be gone for a long period of time. The town, with its simple life and warm atmosphere that reminded Nao of her own village home, had quickly become a home of sorts for Toko during her time spent within the game.

Soon the Lepus was ready to take on the day again, walking down the stairs and greeting the proprietor at the front desk, a middle aged woman who liked to mother those that stayed in her inn. "Ittekimaaas.” A smile and a wave were given, the Lepus taking the offered warm bread roll that Mrs. Mabelle always had ready for her, before Toko headed outside to see what the day held this time around.

* * * * *​

"Uwaaah…”

It seemed last night had been marked by a peculiar heavy storm as the area entered its rainy season, red eyes scanning the debris of plant matter and misplaced objects the heavy winds and rain had caused. With the day having begun not too long ago there was still much to be done to get Honeyhome looking like it’s usual self, and after finishing the last bite of her buttered bread—and licking her fingers clean—the Lepus began to lend a helping hand to those that seemed to need it the most.

For other players this might’ve been boring, perhaps even annoying, but Toko had found that she very much enjoyed the company of the Landers—this town felt no different than the village she had been raised in, and when someone in the community needed help the others showed up without question to assist. Perhaps it was a bit brazen of the Lepus to think of herself as part of the community… but so far none of the Landers seemed bothered by her daily actions, and she did enjoy listening to the many stories they had to offer to anyone willing to spend some time with them.

"Oh right, Gertrude-obaasan has that big tree in her front yard… I hope it didn’t cause any damages during the storm.”

It was that thought that had directed the Lepus’ steps towards a particular homestead, but by the time Toko had arrived she was surprised to see a man already there and doing the heavy lifting with some of the bigger branches that had snapped off the tree.

"O-Ohayoo… need some help cleaning up over here?”

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus looked up as be snapped a large branch in half over his knee like a twig. A...bunny girl...woman? Was approaching him. Did she just...? He blinked for a moment, letting it sink in that he'd never heard a foreign language in game besides goblin, let alone an earth one.

"Yo!" He grunted, snapping another, parger branch in half. Gertrudes yard had been trashed, but he was doing his best to take care of it before the elderly woman took to her porch with her morning tea. "I'm always down for more help, you know what they say! Many hands makes light work."

He tossed the wreckage of his branch destruction into a small pile onto the street. He imagined the town guard or the huntsmen would be around shortly with a wagon to help clear debris. "If you want, Ill snap some of tbe big stuff down to size and you can drag it out to the pile?" He raised an eyebrow and motioned to the small emerald mound forming on the street.

@Toko [phone post, sorry for poor quality or typos]

 

[Toko]

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.

For a moment the Lepus was unsure if she had done something wrong, the taller man just staring at her with an occasional blink. Maybe they didn't want help after all...? Her worries were for naught however as the man greeted her while snapping another large branch in half, accepting her request as he pointed at the nearby mound slowly forming.

"Haaai, I got them~"

With a nod the fighter stepped into the yard, heading over to pick the branches closest to the porch area of Old Lady Gertrude's house first. It was probably best to clear all of these out before the elderly woman came out, the last thing Toko wanted was for her to accidentally trip and fall wen she came out to enjoy her morning tea. The branches here were thinner too, something that helped the Lepus be able to carry more of them in one go before tossing them into the quickly growing pile by the side of the road.

"Must have been a pretty strong storm, huh?"

Honestly if Toko wasn't reminding herself now and against that this was a game, and not an alternate reality, she would easily feel like she was back home—just helping some of her neighbors clean up their property after a particularly strong tropical cyclone had blown in. The porch was cleaned up in no time, giving Brutus time to tackle more of the bigger branches, before the Lepus began hauling the bigger snapped pieces out to the wreckage pile that had formed.

@Brutus Dahlgren
(Awwwyiiis, phone post gang! uwu)

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"If it was I musta slept through it."

Brutus was fairly certain this was either a bit, or a really quirky NPC. They way they spoke and went about their work was...peculiar. Incredibly chipper even, but he kept pace, smashing branches until Gertrude's yard was finished, with the energizer bunny scampering around behind him like a roomba gathering up all of the tree clippings. Occasionally, the giants stomach would let out a loud rumble and he would pause to withdraw one of the many apples in his inventory and munch one down, pausing to offer another to the rabbit woman.

"You hungry? I was comin into town for breakfast but got caught up in the clean up before I could eat."

After dotting his metaphorical Is and crossing the intangible Ts, Brutus turned to the rabbit woman and gave her a thumbs up and a grin. Sure, only one yard of many was done, but it was a great first step.

"Good work uh..." He paused, his brow furrowing for a moment before it donned on him. "Ah blast, I never got your name! How rude of me!" A grin spread across his lips as he offered her a slightly dirty hand to shake. "Names Brutus Dahlgren, pleasure to meet you miss...?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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.

The Lepus was unaware of the stares being shared in her direction, no longer as wary or intimidated from being in the presence of such a mountain of a beastfolk—after all her new teacher was also massive in his own right, and this Felis here today didn’t strike Toko as the type to try and stab her from the back… not when he has been earnestly cleaning Old Lady Gertrude’s yard without any noticeable incentive.

"Aaand there! That’s the last one~ Oh, arigato gozaimass!” The last branch was tossed into the somewhat neat pile by the side of the road before the Lepus dusted of her palms of any lingering bark and leaves. It was then she noticed the offered apple, giving a small thankful bow before accepting it from the larger Felis. "Mabelle-obasan had some buttered bread buns ready this morning so I took one, but I had been planing to have a proper breakfast at the bakery… before I realized so much of the town had been messed up by the storm.”

Toko bit into the apple eagerly, a happy squeal escaping the Lepus at the absolute perfection that the sensation provided to be. "Mmm~ Ringo wa oishii…!” In her opinion nothing was better than bitting into a crisp and juicy apple, especially after some physical labor, and once again TerraSphere did not disappoint… they’d gotten everything from the flavors to the texture of the moment absolutely perfect.

"Oh right, gomen!” A hand was quickly wiped against her trousers befor the Lepus stuck it forth to shake with the man. "I’m Toko, it’s nice to meet you, Brutus-san.”

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Toko eh?" He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and shake, a grin on his lips. He pulled his hand back, realized it was dirty, and gave it a quick wipe down. Mention of the bakery sent his stomach rumbling again, and given the amount of work they were doing, it was liable to continue to rumble unless satiated with a true actual meal.

"Why don't we swing by the bakery and get some actual breakfast eh?" He would give her an idle clap on the shoulder before trudging down the road in the direction. As they walked, he would casually reach up and pluck branches off thatched rooves, righting downed signposts with seemingly practiced ease, and he even would pluck little Tommy's cat from atop one of the houses, passing it down to the young man with a smile.

"So then, Toko, assuming you're starcalled like me, where are you uh..." he paused, trying to come up with a lore friendly way to ask this. "What realm were you from before? I have a hunch but I'd like to see if my...detective skills are true"

He would pause in front of the bakery, lingering in front of a door that was small enough that he would have to hunch in order to get through.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"I think that’s a good idea… it’s never good to overwork yourself in an empty stomach after all.”

The sound of Brutus’ stomach had caused her own to whine in response, an awkward laugh leaving the Lepus before managed to match her steps to those of the taller beastfolk as they made their way towards the aforementioned bakery. On occasion a glance was given to the Felis as he performed feats with extreme ease thanks to his very unusually high stature, even managing to scoop up a particular tuxedo colored feline from a roof before handing it over to the awaiting child below.

"Gosh, I guess being tall can be quite useful… that cat gave me a run for my gold coins last week while I was trying to bring him down from a tree.”

Every time she had climbed closer to reach the tom the cat had hissed and climbed higher up—it wasn’t until he was trapped at the very top of the massive pine tree that Toko had finally been able to grab him by the scruff before beginning an equally annoying descent down to the awaiting child below.

"What realm…? Oh, you mean my country, ne?” It took a second before the Lepus caught on, not even thinking twice about it as she offered the asked information forth. "I’m from Japan, raised in a small village from the Okinawa prefecture.”

There was a pause as the Lepus moved in time to help brace a man and keep him from toppling over—the large stack of sticks and branches of varying sizes that he was carrying on his back having upset his balance for a moment. He gave Toko an appreciative grunt before waving her away, intent on finishing the rest of his journey to wherever he was headed with all that damp lumber.

”What about you, Brutus?”

She had her own suspicions… but it was never proper to simply assume things of others just by their appearances

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Aha, I've become a bit of an ace detective ever since I've crossed over to this land." He chuckled and opened the door. "And being tall is quite nice, you can probably tell I'm not actually this tall in the other world, but I am a big fan of it." He didn't elaborate further, but opened the bakery door, unleashing a wave of warmth and the scent of sweet buttered bread that washed over them and sent his stomach spasming. He motioned for the Lepus to enter first before stooping under and following sort.

"As for me, Ethnically, I'm French. Right now I'm currently in uh..." he paused to think. 'Wyoming I think?" he furrowed his brow. "Somewhere there, I'll be in Michigan next weekend and then..." he thumped his forehead. "Texas for the rest of summer. Otherwise America if you're not familiar with the states."

The bakery was a homey little space, filled with sense of warmth and comforting that warded off the chaotic energy of outside. The woman at the front, whom Toko had referred to as Mabelle shot them both a warm smile as the giant knelt down and began to examine her wares.

"Good morning ma'am." he managed to grunt over his salivating mouth as he eyes a mountain of bread.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Well, yeah, he wasn't wrong there... I mean, aside from basketball players Toko doubted very few people in the real world reached the massive height that Brutus sported in game. Then again the difference couldn't be that much, right? After all he moved pretty comfortably with his stature, while Toko had quickly desisted on the idea of making an avatar taller—or shorter—than herself simply out of fear of not being able to control it properly afterwards.

Alright, she would've never guessed the French part, but Brutus was from America as the Lepus had suspected. She quickly stepped inside the bakery to avoid keeping Brutus from holding the door longer than necessary, a smile and a wave given tot he woman behind the counter. "Ohayoo Esther-obasan!" After spending a good amount of time in town—especially in this bakery—it was perhaps not surprising than the Lepus had formed a good relationship with the woman. Esther had even been kind enough to refer Toko towards Mabelle and her Cozy Nook Inn when the Lepus had mentioned needing a place to stay, and from what the beastfolk gathered it seemed both women had known one another for a very long time... perhaps even distant family?

"So, Brutus, any favorite items from this place?"

Personally there was no better way to start the day than with Esther's adventurer's breakfast sandwich, but Toko was always curious to see what food items others liked... always a bulletproof way of finding new and delicious things to try.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus pondered the question for an unnecessarily long time. He knew the answer, it was easily a croissant, but every single time he'd answered this question with that people made fun of him. Of course the frenchie liked his croissant, did he want it with a side of frog legs and snail? After a while of thinking, he simply nodded.

"I'm partial to bread, personally. You know, things like rolls, biscuits, croissants. The the more buttery the better." He was eying a tray of cooling croissants when his stomach rumbled once again, causing him to wince a bit.

"I'll..." he paused. "Take that whole tray of croissants, the baguette, and....ooh, are those sesame seed bagels? I'll take six." The woman stared at him wide eyed until he set a tall stack of coins on the counter. She nodded, then went to work bagging everything up for him.

"How about you Toko, what's your favorite thing from here?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Oooh, croissants are really buttery and flaky~"

She'd had the chance to try them a couple of times in the real world, mostly when she visited the middle of Okinawa Island where such variety could actually be found. Being able to get them in the game, and pippin' hot too, had been a very welcomed surprise on the first day Toko had been playing. Honestly she might've done more eating than actual playing those first few days...

"My fave is the adventurer's breakfast that Esther-obasan makes here! Her floral tea is also very good~"

No comment was made at the large quantity of carbs that Brutus was ordering for himself, after all that massive physique wasn't going to keep itself on salads and nuts! Esther's surprised face did cause the Lepus to chuckle softly, however, before she nodded at the woman to let her know she'd be having her usual.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Food in hand, Brutus and the rabbit woman wandered back out into the town. He would find a nice spot on the side of the road and dragged two rocks over for them to sit on while they ate. He would hold the baguette in one hand, making it looks almost reasonable for him to be eating it as he was and not some ridiculous feat of gluttony. Between bites, Brutus would occasionally ask a couple questions.

"So Toko, how long have you been playing Terra for? What got you into it?"

It was always interesting to hear how certain people found the incredibly illegal game, and what sort of things they were looking out of it. Someone like her was surely looking for something right? He wanted adventure, maybe she wanted to enjoy rural life? That wouldn't make any sense, it sounded like she lived pretty rural already.

"And what do you think we should do next? More branchwork? Should we look into damaged rooves? See if anyone got hurt?" The storm's aftermath would likely take several days to clear properly, it all depended on how they prioritized.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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It was funny how perception could change the way we viewed things... a baguette, normally quite a substancial piece of baked bread, looked almost like a breadstick one would get as a side in an Italian restaurant when help in Brutus' hands... and by comparison the croissants almost looked like bite sized treats. He'd probably cleaned Esther of a good chunk of her baked goods for the morning, not that the Lepus was going to complain considering the absolutely delightful scent of fresh bread that now accompanied the duo as they enjoyed their meal on a quiet spot.

"Mmm... eeetooo, about two weeks now I think?" Yeah, that sounded about right, give or take a day or two. "Ah, I got a weird email late at night after wrapping up some orders—terrible, I know, obaachan would've scolded me too for opening suspicious mail without a second thought."

Granted, it wasn't like her grandmother was around anymore to worry about her well being... but at least Nao didn't have to worry about causing any undue burden on the woman if everything went south one day or three while playing TerraSphere 2. "I was really blown away by just how real everything here feels and... well, here I am still." She lightly pulled at the copper tags dangling on a chain from her neck, the symbol that the Lepus had decided to join one of the available factions in the game after all.

Sure, there were other factors at play too—mainly the friends she had already made in the few days since starting, and also a lingering curiosity to perhaps one day understand why the game devs of such a fantastic world had snuck in such a dark secret into it... but she also didn't want to bore her companion too much.

"What about you, Brutus? Have you played this game before, or is this your first time?"

There was a pause to contemplate the options before them as the Lepus took another bite of her meal, and while clean up or damage repair were important the fighter couldn't help but linger on the last option the most. "I'd like to see if there's anyone injured we could help if possible... especially from the Landers." It was silly, or at least that's what a large portion of players would claim—why worry about a bunch of zeros and ones in a game of adventure, the game would just spawn more NPCs to replace them eventually... but Toko just couldn't force herself to think that way.

"I'm not the best healer around, but... well, it'd be nice to help anyone we can—even if it's only until someone with better skills shows up to finish the job."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"This is my first time. I found it about a month ago now, been hooked on it for quite some time. My buddy Tanner told me about it one night after we got done with a performance. While everyone was out drinking and celebrating the last night of a fair, I was tucked away in my trailer checking out this virtual world. You see, I pretend to be a noble knight for a living IRL, but here? It feels like I actually am a noble hero helping out the people of here."

It also helped that he was shorter than her avatar IRL, and here he could be a tall king and not a manlet, but he would never be caught dead admitting that.

"As for healing, there's a reason they call it First Aide and not Final Aide. We're just gonna look for anyone who's super hurt and try to take care of them while we're waiting for an actual healer to show up, or Gertrude to bring one of her healing potions."

He eyed her dog tags for a moment but didn't say anything, just worked on wolfing down his breakfast with a voracious hunger. When he was down to his last croissant, he paused and offered it to the rabbit.

"These are really good, you should try one."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Last night of a fair...?" There was a tilt to the Lepus head at Brutus' words, having not entirely followed the conversation... renaissance fairs were not a thing where she lived after all. "Huh... Amerika really has a lot of things."

His words actually reassured the Lepus, it seemed he truly wasn't against the idea of helping the Landers. It was a welcomed change of pace, not having to debate why she wanted to help an NPC for an hour to another player, but instead being able to seamlessly agree about it as they had breakfast.

"A-Arigatoo!"

Shoot, did he caught her stealing occasional glances at the croissant pile? Oh well, Toko wasn't about to look a gifted horse in the mouth, happily finishing off the flaky treat before the Lepus licked her fingers clean as she stood up. Really, her manners were rapidly declining with each day that Nao logged into this game... but it's not like anyone was at home to reprimand her about some new habits.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

He watched the woman scarf the croissant down with the same level of speed he'd managed before with a grin. Her demeanor was beginning to grow on him, it was an infectious sunshiney sort of energy. Satiated, he waited for her to finish her food before rising to his feet and brushing off enough crumbs to feed a flock of pigeons from his shirt.

"I recommend we start by checking in on high risk villagers. The elderly or infirm should be our top priority. Then the critically injured, followed by those who we could get on their feet and working on repairs. Minor injuries can be attended to last, as callous as that sounds to say." He stroked his beard as he spoke, scratching loose another shower of crumbs.

"Once we're certain most people are uninjured we can work on clearing major obstructions on roads and yards. Sound like a plan?"

He turned back to the woman to make sure she was on board. It was nice to meet someone who cared about the people as much as he did.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"No, that's fair... if the wound isn't major, or worse deadly, it makes sense to have them sit tight and use the herbal knowledge of this world instead."

One needed to have priorities when disasters stroke, otherwise you could miss helping out those that truly needed the aide—and who could even die otherwise—while attending a lot of small problems in between. This was especially true when it came to those gravely injured... or just those of truly advanced age. After a certain point even something as simple as a small tumble could spell life or death once the body was past a certain age.

"Uun! Sounds like a good plan to me~"

That said just because she was gamed to help didn't meant the Lepus knew exactly where to go next... she'd never seen the town face any form of disaster before, and aside from a few blocks she often frequented Toko still hadn't fully familiarized herself with all of Honeyhome.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus would start by listing off the geriatric population of the town. "Alright, so there's Gertrude, Estle, Winny and her sister Minny, Ginny who's unrelated, alongside Heather and Leeane to round out the grandma squad. On the crochety old dude tab we have Old Man Liam, Lenny, Lester, and Sylvester. If you want to give him some gas you could call the head huntsman Stankins an old man but he will shoot you for that one so I would suggest that to be ill advised."

He motioned for her to follow him. "We'll work from the edge of town inwards, Old Man Liam has a small farmstead just outside the walls." He would start to powerwalk down the road with intent, before pausing as he turned to realize he was leaving the rabbit in the dust. He had a feeling that this was going to be a bit of a problem when they traveled together.

About three or so minutes later they were standing outside the old farmhouse, which looked like half its shingles had been ripped off, the Giant had a sneaking suspicion they had hit paydirt.

"Knock at the door, I'll start hunting down the man's missing roof tiles."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Sugoi... do you know everyone in the village, Brutus-niisan?"

A few of the listen names he mentioned sounded familiar to Toko, no doubt having at one point or another helped them out with small quests the guild often posted for their newer recruits... but Toko was sure she couldn't even reach Brutus' ankles when it came to his familiarity with the village.

Speaking of ankles... it was fairly easy to see that keeping up with the larger man's stride was gonna be a contest all of its own. After getting left in the fictional dust for the third time the Lepus took a good glance up at the mountain of a man she would be working with today... he did have pretty broad shoulders.

Before the Lepus could get any funny ideas in ehr mind the pair had finally arrived to the first planned stop for the day, the old farm house now looking worse for wear especially with all the missing shingles. "Woah... this place got hit pretty hard." A nod was given at Brutus suggestion before Toko rushed over to the front door, giving it two decent knocks before watching as the force was enough to just have it open on it's own.

"A-Anooo, sumimaseeen... Liam-ojiisan, are you here...?"

@Brutus Dahlgren