Complete Private Western Brisshal Information Gathering

[Lucia Mierz]

It had been a while since players had graced Astorea, the once vibrant city overgrown with vines and weeds, monsters roaming the streets and houses. It was outside of the city however, in the forests of Western Brisshal that had more reclaimation duty at the moment then the city itself. Along the outskirts of the player city, just out of reach behind lines of trees, brush and the horizon roads were being trimmed and repaved, though not coming close enough to the settlement to be seen, they were being made close enough that they could be connected with just a bit of work from others when the time came. The reason for that was naturally the fact that the ones doing the work were all skeletons. Each one clothed in leathers or rags of different kinds. Using tools like scythes, sickles or hoes to rip or uproot the overgrown woods to carve a path each skeleton worked diligently like members of a chain gang, mechanically swinging and working.

The only one among them who seemed to have any genuine intelligence and planning ability had been a shadowed figure. A wraith cloaked in a fancy nobleman's coat, with a simple hat. Though the creature had no face or legs, instead it wore a porcelain mask with black fog billowing out from beneath it, and in place of legs there was merely empty space as the coat flowed down over nothing and faint transparent fog kept him afloat. The Wraith was a high tier undead, a Wraith King, what many would consider an apex predator among the spectral monsters of the wild, but this one was different. Rather then roaming the wilderness in look of murder or life to consume, it stood with a gentlemanly demeanor, notebook in hand as it thumbed through pages as if trying to digest or perceive any hiccups in the plans he'd been given.

The Steward was a diligent but relaxed task master, the speed at which the units worked was what it was meant to be, provided there were no problems he'd see no reason to lead personally by giving instructions. Instead, tilting his head as he thumbed through his Miss's plans he felt perplexed at their role, wondering why they weren't beginning with their home territory and were instead clearing the way for Players instead.

@Sol

 

[Sol]

Sol was doing her thing again, wandering. There wasn't really much else to do these first couple days then so, besides the couple different quest like tasks she had picked up along the way. Her thought was that the more she explored, the more she could discover before anyone else did, and the more she could bring back to share with other people. At the moment she was walking around the edges of Astorea, along an odd back that seemed to be carved out for people to walk on. It was much different than the surrounding area, but she definitely wasn't complaining about getting to walk freely instead of struggling through the forest path.

It was then that she noticed something up ahead of her. It was faint, seeing as she was pretty far away still, but they seemed to be bodies carving out the path in front of her. So that's who was making the terrain much easier for new players to walk on. Curious to see who was working and maybe ask a few questions about how far and to where they planned to extend the road, Sol speed picked up a little bit, pushing some of her hair over her shoulder as she went. It was only when she got closer that she noticed something quiet strange about the humans up ahead, in fact that they didn't seem to be human at all.

It was once again brought to her that this indeed was not reality when she realized that undead were working the road clearing. A bunch of skeletons, each with varying tools and clothes, were bent over the hard work in front of them. She could almost imagine the sweat dripping across their forehead, the aches in their bodies as they knelt over in the same position for an extended amount of time. However, she couldn't quite imagine it fully, as they were... Well, not human, and those things really didn't seem fitting for them.

It was then that she noticed a quite odd looking one out of the group, a more fancy looking skeleton, wearing an outfit that reminded her to be that of a butler. She wasn't sure if these were friendly or hostile creatures, but they were helping the world... Weren't they? This encounter was either going to go neutrally well, or extremely sour. And so, Sol approached with caution, her hand tucked behind her back with her finger placed into her palm as she readied for action if need be.

"Hello, uh..." she paused for a moment, hesitating as she searched for a way to address the skeleton man, before letting out a small sigh, "... Mr. Skeleton man, I guess. How far are you guys intending to clear out the path? It's pretty helpful for new players." And indeed it was.

@Lucia Mierz

 

[Lucia Mierz]

The Wraith King continued checking his notes for a good while until his thoughts were interrupted by the stranger's approach. Noticing her from a good distance, he observed even up until she got close enough to speak as if perplexed by the girl's willingness to approach an undead so freely. "Mm... My dear, I'm afraid I must correct you as I'm not quite of the Skeleton family but instead am a Wraith by body and design." He explained for a moment folding his notes closed only to return them to his lapel as he continued speaking, not offended but merely making a correction. "As for how far we'll be clearing the overgrowth of this region, I'm afraid it will only be as far as the City's sight limits. Unfortunately from that point the responsibility will rest on the living such as yourself." He explained.

Though seeing as the girl had approached him, Mortimer brought a hand to his chin in thought. It was odd for one to suddenly wander up and approach let alone make such a request. "I'm known as Mortimer, the Heroslayer was the title given to me by my Miss. Who might you be, and if I may, what brings you into this otherwise hostile region? In my experience it is rare for you all to stray into these areas so casually, it seems to be happening more and more often as well." He pointed out the unusualness of her casual demeanor as well as the strange nature of the ones who he seemed to be running into regularly.

 

[Sol]

Ah, a wraith. He did look quite different from the rest, so Sol should have known. She'd played enough games to have dealt with some wraith's in her lifetime, so she herself was a little disappointed with her lack of acknowledgement. She quickly moved on from this point though as he didn't seem to upset by it. She nodded, looking back at the rest of the skeleton working away. Maybe it would be some kind of big quest for those who were more of the buildy sort to get into? Either way, it would suck when they stopped working on clearing the path for the rest of them.

She looked back at him as he continued speaking to her, nodding at his introduction, "I'm Sol, and-" She paused for a moment, about to say she was new to the game, but she worried that maybe it might break some AI features in him and potential cause him to grow insane. She backtracked and quickly continued on from what she was saying as if she hadn't paused in the first place, "I'm just looking for new places to discover, mostly interested in new sights and places. Most of us probably are," Looking over at the skeletons one more, she added on to what she was saying, "And this is definitely one of those."

Looking back at him, she tilted her head for a second, crossing her arms as she studied the wraith, "What gave you the title 'Heroslayer'? Seems pretty high-up." she was very blunt in the way she asked, obviously curious but more in a give me the facts way and less in a 'i'm in awe' way. Just having a casual conversation with a wraith who resembled a butler out in the middle of nowhere. To be fair, if this was real life and she did suffer any negative consequences for her actions, it would probably be a lot different. But she didn't, and thus it went like so.

@Lucia Mierz

 

[Lucia Mierz]

The fashionable wraith king only tilted his hat when the girl introduced herself, but the pause was somewhat off putting, causing him to seem a bit perplexed at her awkward introductions. "Well met then Sol, I suppose it's no coincidence then if that was your goal. Are you newly traveled to this region?" He asked, since the girl seemed largely unfamiliar with undead as a whole. Those with some experience or time in the player city or the areas around it had at least known of Lucia or heard of her people through the grape vine. Finding someone who had no idea what to expect from undead workers wasn't exactly unusual but it was a bit odd for one to be neither violent nor knowledgeable.

"New sights and places though... Why, I'm afraid this is something of an inopportune time as it were. With the absence of both our Saint as well as the usual populous of the city things have become rather overgrown. The wilderness has unfortunately reclaimed what was once it's..." The Wraith commented, using a hand to gesture to the tangled wilds about. Though they'd cleared quite a nice path along the way, it was nothing compared to the work ahead. While they'd like to do more to help in the missions given, the fact that there would be living people in the city made it hard for them to continue their work inward forcing them to do more external tasks such as clearing water ways and baths for travelers.

Being asked about his title wasn't necessarily new however. It had functioned as a last name for the Wraith King for so long he'd simply gotten used to it. It brought fond nostalgic memories though as he craned his neck in recollection. "In life you could say I was something of a hired hand. Me as well as my associates of the time would often be brought on for certain unsavory tasks whenever someone was soaking up too much spotlight. A common rule of thumb my dear, is that one must take heed should their name ever one day outshine those who they represent; It was often those people who hired us afraid they would be outshone by others. So refined was my artform, however, that my name too was soon placed upon our list. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for me, both my associates and those who wanted to be rid of me did me the service of not heeding the warnings my moniker carried, and whilst I ended up doomed I did not see my end alone." He explained. It was a tale as old as time, someone who did their job a little too well and got killed for it by people who thought he was a threat. Though he was unsure what effect his tale would have on the woman asking, he tried his best to stick to facts and keep it concise without telling his life story.

"However those were events of another time, centuries ago so far back I'm afraid you'll only find evidence of my work in dusty tomes in forgotten basements somewhere. I highly doubt it would be considered top shelf material at a place of scholarly learning; despite the historical value my works might hold it's more often the deeds of the men slain that get remembered then the one doing the slaying. No, no instead with this second chance I find a more modest and mild means to be more rewarding. Teaching the newer generations my artform, watching over the Miss, it's a comfort unlike what I experienced during those hectic times I must say." The Wraith King elaborated in the off chance the girl was at all concerned he might be up to something. These days the Wraith King was merely a steward looking after his charge, occasionally offering words of wisdom to others, perhaps teaching them a flashy move or two. While he hadn't necessarily lost his edge, the man embraced a new lifestyle with his second chance.

 

[Sol]

☀˚̣⋅ .

"Yes, I am," Sol shifts her weight onto her other foot as she looks at the undead. It must be obvious that she was new to the area, why else would she be out and about exploring? Not like veterans couldn't as well, but she bet that they had many other, more high leveled areas to go to. Right now Sol was just trying to look for whatever she could find. And so she sat an listened, seeing as he looked like the kind of npc who might just give a quest line or two. Or fight her. That could also be fun.

She looked over the overgrown wilderness, mentally shaking her head in disagreement with him but biting her tongue for the sake of the 4th wall. A reclaimed area just met new opportunities to her, things that no player had ever found before. She glanced back at him as he begins to explain his name, nodding her head slowly in agreement as he goes on. His story was interesting, and Sol did find herself being pulled in slightly as she listened, Dang, even random NPC's like this have an elaborate backstory? TerraSphere was turning out to be way more layered than she thought it would be.

At what he said next, Sol raised an eyebrow in interest, "Your artform?" She asked him. pushing some hair over her shoulder as she studied him for a moment. Was this one of those special event instances where she would unlock a cool new skill for talking to the right person? It looked like her push to be more social was definitely paying off, if that was the case. She didn't know much of who 'the Miss' was, but she must be his master seeing as this was the second time he mentioned her. Moving forward from that thought, she turned her body towards him more, tilting her head to the side.

"You looking to teach anyone new? I wouldn't mind listening and learning," She asked him, not going to miss the opportunity to unlock something new incase that was an option.

 

[Lucia Mierz]

Mortimer hesitated a little when the girl suddenly spoke of his willingness to teach. For a moment caught off guard just from the bluntness as a hand came to the Wraith's chin as he watched her as if trying to understand why or what might have stimulated such a response. "Mm... Curious. People aren't typically so direct when discussing art with me." The Wraith couldn't help commenting. The woman was certainly an outlier as far as the types of people he'd met thus far, he couldn't quite tell what she was thinking.

Not wanting to be too harsh to a stranger though Mortimer would slowly let go of that suspicion and confusion before folding his arms behind his back in thought. "I suppose I wouldn't mind teaching someone my artform, however I must say this is rather unorthodox. My artform, however, is one of knives and martial arts, it follows a philosophy of extreme speeds... Is this something you would be able to utilize?" Mortimer asked with some measure of uncertainty. At least he wasn't sure if the woman would be able to use his arts or style with her abilities.

Of course it didn't mean he wasn't willing to show or teach her anything, after all it had been a passion of the Wraith to teach and discuss the art of killing and violence. It was important though for him to at least have an understanding of her abilities before deciding what might be best for her to learn from him.

@Sol