Private Eastern Brisshal Not any Easier

[Ishtar]

A question lingered in the back of her mind as she made her way through the woods. Her latest excursion into the congested woodlands had been marginally successful, much better than the first, though it still left her wondering. Was she wasting her time? Certainly, it could be argued that slow and steady won the race, steadily building up her knowledge and understanding of the world and its systems was one thing. However she had to wonder if there was an element of momentum that she could grab on to. Was there a way to grow faster? Or was she already making the best use of her time.

Her real body was frail, small, and often mistaken for that of a child. She barely went outside and so the novelty of the trees and woodlands alone was magical to her. Even so, she had wealth and power back on Earth. She could simply use an intermediary to do her business if she had to. It wasn't that big of a deal, was it? She frowned as another wolf darted out of the trees and snarled at her. The songs she'd tried first had been insufficient to disorient the mindless creatures and she knew that while she was quick, these things were quicker. She clicked her tongue and hopped back a step, putting some distance as she twirled her weapon around herself. Harmonic magic, as she'd learned fairly quickly, wasn't all about sound. Movement was a portion of it too. Dance.

She could dance, as much as she resented it, as much as the movements reminded her of life on earth. She could do it.

She twisted her body to the left, using the spear as leverage as she stretched her arm, angling her leg and curling it around the spear shaft. In response the wolf froze, first out of confusion and then a faint glazed look began to wash over them. She twisted again, planting both feet on the ground and dropping into a crouch before springing forward. The wolf shook its head, already coming out of the momentary delirium, but the difference between life and death in this world was only a fraction of a second. She thrust the spear forward and drove it into the creature's side, shoving with all the speed and strength she could muster. A pained whimper precluded the wolf falling to the ground.

She let out a low hiss between her teeth as she drew out the spear, looking down at the corpse and glancing around. Nothing else came. Good. She whipped the spear down, trying to get a bit of the blood off of it. She wasn't sure exactly if it would cause rusting or problems but she wasn't about to risk it. She turned away and made her way from the corpse, her campsite wasn't far away and she needed to restore her stamina if she was to keep going. She wove between the trees, following the marks she left behind only to slow a bit as she got closer. A frown deepening on her face. Something didn't feel right.

She crept a bit closer, finally spotting the edge of her tent between the trees and pressed herself against a particularly large tree, peering around the side.

@Flowing Willowwhistle

 

[Flowing Willowwhistle]

Flowing was exploring the woods of Eastern Brisshal again. She overheard the possibility of a bandit camp while she was in town, thus prompted the idea to get some training in. If she could locate these bandits, then perhaps she can finally level up some of the masteries she wanted to. Juggling between playing the game and government work meant she wasn't as fast as many others she saw.

Regardless, aside from a few wolves and board, she found herself unable to discern out any potential bandits. Tracks she found end up just being other players using the woods to train or just abandoned campsites. Today's find might just be another one of those no-gos again, as she followed tracks until she reached another campsite. The fire is however, still burning. Flowing's heart rises. Finally something. Scouting the campground, she tried to find anything that would discern banditry. Thankfully her senses were incredibly fine tuned, her eyes locking onto any little thing it could.

But it was her ears that picked up the first sign of danger. She cocks her head, trying to hone in on what she was hearing. Deliberate, slow, cautious. Flowing guessed her presence had already been noticed. Turning away from the sound slowing, Flowing hides a glowing hand, using the sound of breathing to find her target. The smell of sweat and effort was strong and it burned her nose. Letting out a breath, she closes her palm.

Roots from the tree Attia was hiding behind sprung up, quickly forming a cage of roots that begun to interlock and weave together as Flowing quickly turns around to face her opponent, drawing her blade and preparing defensively for anything her opponent might throw at her if they had escaped the cage.

@Attia Patal

 

[Ishtar]

She had barely positioned herself at the side of the tree when she saw the pretty thing going through her campsite. Just as she had managed to spot her, the figure froze. She frowned, she couldn't possibly have been detected that easily, right? No that wasn't true, there was a whole mastery about honing the senses and making surprise difficult. She tsked internally, the sudden stillness giving way to a faint movement. A skill maybe? She couldn't tell from where she was standing but it was probably not a good idea to remain still herself in this situation.

A sudden crack beneath her feet drew her attention, her eyes widened, and she let out an involuntary gasp. "What the?! Hey!" The roots themselves were racing up in her direction. She spun and tried to move to get away only for more roots to rise and form a wall on all sides. She tried to raise her polearm but found it caught between the bars of her impromptu cage. Damn long-arm weapons. They needed space to be used properly. She glanced up as the bars as they interlaced above her head, forming a structure that would be difficult to escape for someone like herself.

Trapped, she was forced to watch as the woman got to her feet and turned around, drawing her weapon and preparing a defensive stance. She sighed and let go of her spear since it wouldn't do her any good to hold on to it from where she was. Instead she leveled the woman with an indignant glare through the root-bars. Even then, though, she didn't speak but instead she closed her eyes and started to sing in a low, soft voice. The sound radiating out around her. She wasn't going to break out of this cage by force but perhaps if she could weaken or even disorient her opponent then they would be forced to release her.

Was it a player, though? They were pretty, but they'd immediately reacted to her presence with hostility. It was possible that was just good senses and reactions from experience being out here. But it was also rather rude given that they were digging through her things! Were they some kind of bandit? Maybe it was an npc after all, an area boss that had shown up since she'd been hunting the bandits for a while. Not that it mattered as long as her [Hymn No.4 Disorientation] was enough to give her some wiggle room. It was all she could do at this point.

@Flowing Willowwhistle

 

[Flowing Willowwhistle]

It sounds... like a symphony? Flowing had to think back to her encyclopedia of sounds when it came to things she hears. Music... music... Harmonic Magic fits the bill. As she stepped closer, the music got louder so instead, she stepped back and circled around instead. She can see her caged surprise moving her mouth, but whatever she was singing was drowned out by the sound of her magic at work.

"Oh a player," Flowing pulls out her UI to check. A name pops above her captive. Flowing puts away her sword and snaps her fingers and green sparkles emit like striking stones to create fire. The roots retreat back into the ground, though the upturned earth was not restored in anyway. "I don't know if you were trying to soothe my nerves with your Harmonics Magic or something, but I might as well say it right now, I can't hear it." A trait of the Faerin race. It made hearing harder in exchange for being able to hear magic in a sense. She had considered picking the other parts, but she can't imagine what it would be like to dull her sense of taste in order to... taste magic?

"Anyway, you are free now, and um... I presume that's your camp? If so, I'm sorry, I was looking for bandits and that was the closest thing I got to a full lead," Flowing sighs. Another player. Maybe they were the ones who had been clearing bandits in the area.

@Attia Patal

 

[Ishtar]

Something wasn't right, the song normally worked on people but for some reason there was absolutely no effect. She stopped her song as the woman approached and she frowned, not wasting her energy on a fruitless endeavor. When the woman spoke up, she raised her eyebrows. Now that she was a bit closer she pulled up her own UI and confirmed the person in front of her was indeed another player. The name hovering over her head offering a bit of clarity. Her name was Flowing? She had barely enough time to register the name before the woman snapped her fingers and the roots sank back into the ground, liberating her from her temporary prison.

The woman continued speaking and she narrowed her eyes, some sort of sensory ability that weakened audible powers? Rather niche, but she supposed there was some sort of upside to doing that, otherwise what was the point besides a very situational defense. She glanced over at her spear that was leaning up against the tree and snatched it up, tiliting it backwards and resting it on her shoulder as to not demonstrate any immediate hostility towards the newcomer. She didn't want to cross any foolish lines. She had no idea how powerful this person was and given that a significant part of her Harmonic Magic mastery didn't even work, she wasn't going to tempt fate.

She kept her mouth shut as the woman drew even closer, offering an apology and explanation for her actions. She looked the woman up and down before glancing towards the campsite before finally letting out a long suffering sigh and inclining her head; "It's fine. I would have done the same in your situation I imagine," She said easily, "Forgive me for interrupting your hunt, I've been here in the forest for some time now on my own and the bandits have been something of a nuisance," She said and smiled, "You have me at quite the disadvantage," She said sweetly, not bothering to hide that she was clearly outmatched here. "I'm afraid my campsite and I have very little to offer you in terms of gains."

That wasn't entirely true, of course. She'd actually managed to snag a decent amount of loot off the bandits, though she hadn't had the time to go over all of it and figure out which was worth keeping and which could be sold for profit. But this person didn't need to know that.

@Flowing Willowwhistle

 

[Flowing Willowwhistle]

Flowing nods upon hearing what Attia had said. An important note for herself in her inner pinboard. Perhaps the reason she was so down on her luck with the bandits was because the player before her had been clearing them out while she was on the search. Unlike Attia, who stayed in a camp, Flowing had been moving back and forth between the city and the forest. So perhaps any squads she might have encountered were primarily cleared out by Attia through sheer coincidence.

Flowing however knew Attia was not being exactly truthful with her. If Attia had been clearing bandits successfully, their loot drops would already have been given to her and if the duration was long enough, the amount collected would certainly be enough warrant a decent amount of gold to sell off. The faerin would chalk it up to mistrust, considering the circumstances in which she found herself in.

"That's alright, I'm not looking for extrinsic rewards anyway, I simply wanted to up my skills," Flowing assures before closing her eyes, rubbing her chin as she thought through her next action. Fresh out of leads once again, there wasn't much she could do to remedy what wasn't available. However, an idea does pop up.

"Would it be okay if I accompany you for your next expedition away from your camp? Perhaps you've managed to explore parts I myself have not found," Flowing hopes that she could tag along, even better be allowed refuge at the camp Attia had set up. "Don't feel forced accomodate me. If you wish to continue your grind alone, then I won't press any further."

@Attia Patal

 

[Ishtar]

Flowing kept her expression impassive and serene despite the momentary confusion. Who would want to skip out on material rewards like that? She had expected the woman to press her since to be honest her statement hadn't made any sense, of course she would have found rewards if she had been clearing out the bandits. Frankly she had even found improved gear for herself though she hadn't been willing to pull it out just yet. She was getting on fine with the starting spear and robes and they didn't have the problem of losing durability as much as the nicer gear she had stashed in her inventory.

She thumbed her spear thoughtfully as the woman rubbed her chin, thinking. Suspicion blossomed but immediately scattered when the woman proposed her suggestion. What was with people around here? Her lip twitched and then spread into an easy smile. Maybe this wasn't a bad thing? There wasn't exactly an experience penalty from groups as far as she was aware and perhaps it might make it easier to deal with some of the tougher bandits. That and from the sound of it she was looking for something, perhaps in one of the bandit camps that Attia visited before. She could trust someone more if they had something to gain out of their interaction. Free help was beyond suspicious.

Also, accompanying her would imply Attia opening her camp up to Flowing. Another benefit for Flowing. She didn't make any movements with her hands as she thought it over, trying to play up the serene outward appearance that she'd been cultivating since she'd joined this game. She'd already gained a lot of loot from farming the bandit camps and sharing her gains from future expeditions could be beneficial in it's own way. Pressing a debt was a bad idea, she needed friends and strength before she could press those lesser than her into service. She was still a weakling in this world where strength was everything.

Deciding it was better for her to be magnanimous than anything else, she inclined her head. "Very well, I could use the help. There are a few bandit camps I regularly frequent, though there's one that I've been having trouble with. I've had to flee twice," She said and started walking towards her camp. "You should set up camp here with me if we're working together. Flowing, right?"

She made her way back to the fire and sat down, letting out a low breath and pulling her legs beneath her. She set her spear at her knees and her hands in her lap before waving a hand to activate the campfire item that was set in the middle of the camp, it lit and warmth washed over her, steadily restoring her stamina and magic. She turned towards Flowing and offered a delicate smile before gesturing towards the spot across from her. "Join me?"

@Flowing Willowwhistle

 

[Flowing Willowwhistle]

Flowing smiles as her suggestion was accepted and welcomed into the camp by this individual.

"Mhm, Flowing, don't mind the odd name," Flowing did not exactly have an idea on why she even named herself Flowing. It felt nice at the time. Considering where she is now though, the player name felt nostalgic and definitely a product of her past. The faerin would occupy the spot allowed to her and she uses her magic to create a backrest for herself, and Attia as well. "There, a little more comfort to the wilderness at least." Flowing sighs as she gives herself a stretch. She had been walking for a while after all, it was great to relax while restoring her stats. Once she got herself a little bit more comfortable, Flowing pulls out a digital map of the forest.

"Can you tell me where this camp is? Like a relative guess based of where we are now, if you are having trouble that means we might need a more careful approach to the situation presented to us..." Flowing stares at the map and also pulls out from her UI a notepad. Something to scribble on. Once she had been given the details on its location from Attia, she activates her hyper sense again, drawing out what she can sense before stopping herself before she strains her power.

"Mm... I might need to get close to the camp..." Flowing clicks her tongue as she considers her options for battle tactics. Her available information is not as substantial as she wants it to be. "Oh and I definitely need to know your preferred method to engage the enemy, so we can formulate our attack plan to suit our strengths and cover our weaknesses. The less of an opening we give the enemy, the better."

@Attia Patal

 

[Ishtar]

Attia kept her face impassive as the woman spoke, doing her best not to ogle her. She'd only been in this world a little while but she'd already run into a few players and there was one thing she'd noticed. Most of them were physically perfect. Not that she had room to complain, her own appearance was an exaggerated version of her real life looks so it went without saying that it was probably the same for others. She cleared her throat as the image of a map appeared above the fire. Her eyes trained on it for a moment. It was a map of the forest.

Attia picked up her spear and used it as a pointer, she really had no interest in getting up right now. There was no point in hiding this information and it wasn't useful to her to keep it to herself. If someone spent even a little bit of time studying the bandit camps, the information could be found relatively quickly. Besides, sharing the information might come with its own rewards. "For starters, the bandits of the area are communicating with one another. I'm positive that they have a leader somewhere and I'm narrowing down the location," Attia explained, "The camps I'm familiar with are here, here, here, here, here, and here," She continued, gesturing now and then.

"Instead of spending a lot of time exploring I have been... monitoring the camps and following their messengers. The camp I've been struggling with seems to be the secondary to the primary," She continued, "However their messengers never seem to go anywhere but the other camps so I can only assume they have a different way of communicating with their hidden primary camp. Issue is, there's an elite operating as the head of the camp," She finished, gesturing to the spot where the second camp is.

She paused and listened again before her expression went dark on the inside while her pokerface remained. She wanted what? Her strategies too? She paused... no she wanted her preferred method of handling the bandits, not a breakdown of her masteries. Hoho, a cautious phrasing. Attia smiled sweetly, "My hymns possess a disorienting effect on those outside of my party. The lower the willpower of an enemy the more debilitating. It consumes a lot of mana but these bandits are crippled by it. After that I simply clean up," She said flatly. In other words, she didn't like taking risks. She fought to win and win alone.

@Flowing Willowwhistle

 

[Flowing Willowwhistle]

Flowing taps her chin, cocking her head to the side as she formulates some kind of plan in her head. So the camps were here, there, and a few other locations, and it is likely there is some kind of leader and communication system involved as well. The likely suspect is the camp her partner in crime specifically mentioned.

Her partner in crime, Attia, used Harmonics of some kind. Hopefully being partnered would prevent Flowing from getting friendly fired by the hymns that Attia would use against the bandits. Just in case however, she'll have to turn her Hyper Sense abilities off while the hymns are active. The strategy Flowing inferred was likely that Attia would lower the morale before going in for the slaughter. A heavy toll on the mana cost but at least it handled large groups.

"I would often use inhibition skills too, such as what I did to you," Flowing chuckled. "Um... sorry about that, again." Flowing then returns to looking at the map, tapping her chin again. Eventually, she had a lightbulb moment.

"If they have some kind of hidden communication system, that means they need some kind of standard order of procedures they need to adhere to," Flowing looks up at Attia. "Think like ordering food. You need to see the menu, tell the waiter what you want, and the waiter will communicate the order to the chefs. If you try to communicate with the chefs directly, you'd immediately be flagged for being the odd one out and compromise the system's order." Flowing explained, remembering how her own supervisor told her when she first started working as administration in government offices.

"So, we first need to find out, what steps do they take to start communication with the primary camp?" Flowing proposes.

@Attia Patal

 

[Ishtar]

Attia focused on the map while Flowing spoke. She was definitely someone worth working with. More importantly, she had a complementary ability set. Two sets of inhibition skills should deal with the majority of the trash. It was just the elites that would pose a threat. Would layering such attacks do anything significant? It was too risky to test such a tactic since they only got one chance, but if they had a moment of surprise they could at least throw it down and see what happened before adapting.

She rubbed her chin and nodded at Flowing's thought, "I agree. There has to be a procedure otherwise anyone could throw on some rags and walk in claiming they were from the group. There is probably someone that they speak to who relays the information to the leadership, yes."

She gestured to the spot where the secondary camp was, "That's the secondary camp where the messages are delivered, I've spied on it a couple of times and I've never seen anyone that seems to be in a position of leadership besides the elite operating it. The other bandits don't react to him like he's the 'big boss' either. It's possible the boss stays inside at all times and it's actually the primary camp, but they seem too cautious for that."

She let out a breath, "Ultimately we're just going to have to sneak into the secondary camp and observe what they do when a messanger arrives."

@Flowing Willowwhistle

 

[Flowing Willowwhistle]

Flowing wonders to herself what could be the potential possibilities. Ideas formulate and disintegrate in her head as she crossed through possibility after possibility, like a computer running simulations, an AI creating a walking set of legs. Flowing lets out a sigh before rubbing her head with both hands and undoing her ponytail.

"Okay so... I have a plan," Flowing points to a secondary camp. "Instead of sneaking in, why put ourselves in the direct risk when I can simply gather the information myself... Your job is to tail the messenger. However the issue is I can't have my Hyper Sense be active through the whole stakeout or I might run out of juice." Flowing drops into a slump.

"But the inherent risk of being discovered could immediately dismantle the plans to even find the messenger..." Flowing then raises her head. "Thinking of plans suck." The faerin character pulls out a kebab from her inventory, munching on the stick as she tries to clear her head of her stresses.

@Ishtar

 

[Ishtar]

Attia rubbed her chin, that was a thought, but she was right about the risks and problems. What they needed was a more intricate solution. The problem was that plans tended to fall apart as soon as they were implemented, you couldn't anticipate every variable. She tugged at her hair thoughtfully and gestured at the fire, mumbling to herself as she worked through a few more thoughts.

"There's a lot that can happen in the forest," She said slowly, "But their routes are reliable, so they probably know round-about how long it takes for their messenger to travel the distance to and from the target base. Taking minor hiccups into consideration..." She mused a few more minutes, "...about an hour of extra time. Taking avoiding obstacles, arrival, writing up an answer, and leaving, into consideration. The envelopes are also probably sealed if they have half a brain."

She scratched her chin, "They'll want the shortest routes with the least obstacles but they won't have the entrance to those routes immediately opening up on the bases for safety. So a disconnected cleared path in the forest would be our target," She pressed her fingers together and brought them to her lips, concentrating, "...we need more people to do it fast."

@Flowing Willowwhistle