Eastern Brisshal. This was a land renowned as a place of relative peace and calm. It would have to be after all for it to serve as the hub for all new players in Terrasphere. Anything less than painfully banal laxity would be bad game design. Perhaps it was for that reason that even someone as high-strung as Iselda tended to be could find herself slightly more at ease here. The fact that there was currently a festival taking place certainly helped.
She supposed it was her good luck that the game triggered a seemingly randomly spawned event celebrating newbies to the game. If Iselda had to guess, it was just common enough to cover the majority of players but so common as to be boring. The large crowds were proof of that. To her surprise, they weren't all NPCs either. There must have been more new players than she thought. Iselda slowly made her way through the crowd, refusing to budge and willing those in her way to part around her. With her imposing figure and severe expression, it wasn't hard to accomplish. She didn't see much point to participating in the festivities, but these types of events usually had some kind of giveaway items. It would be worth her while to stick around.
Passing a few stands with food, she brushed aside an errant streamer decorated in some pastel color. Whoever had coded the decorations for this event had set it up so that dustings of confetti blew past every minute or so, fading away into pixels along the ground as soon as it seems people had forgotten about them. Iselda, of course, paid attention to it, interested that the classic JRPG "random confetti at a festival" found its way into the game. She had to admit that it was a nice touch as her black-gloved hand caught some of the pastel colored decoration, observing it for a moment before letting it drift away.
A few stands with food caught her interest for a moment, but she moved on. All she wanted to do was collect any loot and get on with her quest. Lily was counting on her to become strong after all. As she passed a stage, an NPC suddenly called out. "You there! Lady with the scary expression! How would you like to participate?" Iselda froze as a man dressed to the nines in a gaudy ringmaster-like outfit beckoned to her. A random proximity-triggered event? No way... She was sorely tempted to speed up and ignore it entirely. At the best of times, random events gave very little exp or rewards, and Iselda had no desire to be dragged into more interaction.
That is, until he spoke again. "A contest of strength with prizes for the top finishes. Surely you want to prove your might among all of the rising stars gathered here?" It was like the NPCs somehow knew Iselda's motivations. She hesitated. This is why she'd come to Terrasphere: To change, to stop being the weak little girl that ran away from everything. A challenge thrown in her direction was something she simply couldn't ignore. Steeling her courage, she turned to face the man with a determined scowl. "Very well. You have my attention," she growled, stepping onto the raised platform. The man chuckled and stepped back as Iselda took her place. Other participants were also making their way onto the stage. Casting her gaze around, Iselda noted the sledgehammers and what was obviously a spot meant to be hit with said hammers connected to a weight and a height chart with a bell. Really? This was the best they could come up with? Iselda resisted the urge to sigh in despair. She needed to get this over with so she could claim victory and move on with her life...
@Valkryja @Imoogi
She supposed it was her good luck that the game triggered a seemingly randomly spawned event celebrating newbies to the game. If Iselda had to guess, it was just common enough to cover the majority of players but so common as to be boring. The large crowds were proof of that. To her surprise, they weren't all NPCs either. There must have been more new players than she thought. Iselda slowly made her way through the crowd, refusing to budge and willing those in her way to part around her. With her imposing figure and severe expression, it wasn't hard to accomplish. She didn't see much point to participating in the festivities, but these types of events usually had some kind of giveaway items. It would be worth her while to stick around.
Passing a few stands with food, she brushed aside an errant streamer decorated in some pastel color. Whoever had coded the decorations for this event had set it up so that dustings of confetti blew past every minute or so, fading away into pixels along the ground as soon as it seems people had forgotten about them. Iselda, of course, paid attention to it, interested that the classic JRPG "random confetti at a festival" found its way into the game. She had to admit that it was a nice touch as her black-gloved hand caught some of the pastel colored decoration, observing it for a moment before letting it drift away.
A few stands with food caught her interest for a moment, but she moved on. All she wanted to do was collect any loot and get on with her quest. Lily was counting on her to become strong after all. As she passed a stage, an NPC suddenly called out. "You there! Lady with the scary expression! How would you like to participate?" Iselda froze as a man dressed to the nines in a gaudy ringmaster-like outfit beckoned to her. A random proximity-triggered event? No way... She was sorely tempted to speed up and ignore it entirely. At the best of times, random events gave very little exp or rewards, and Iselda had no desire to be dragged into more interaction.
That is, until he spoke again. "A contest of strength with prizes for the top finishes. Surely you want to prove your might among all of the rising stars gathered here?" It was like the NPCs somehow knew Iselda's motivations. She hesitated. This is why she'd come to Terrasphere: To change, to stop being the weak little girl that ran away from everything. A challenge thrown in her direction was something she simply couldn't ignore. Steeling her courage, she turned to face the man with a determined scowl. "Very well. You have my attention," she growled, stepping onto the raised platform. The man chuckled and stepped back as Iselda took her place. Other participants were also making their way onto the stage. Casting her gaze around, Iselda noted the sledgehammers and what was obviously a spot meant to be hit with said hammers connected to a weight and a height chart with a bell. Really? This was the best they could come up with? Iselda resisted the urge to sigh in despair. She needed to get this over with so she could claim victory and move on with her life...
@Valkryja @Imoogi
