Complete Eastern Brisshal Oh man what a fall from space that was! So anyways,

[Aroda]

Emerging from the peaceful greenery while still doing a combination of, brushing her hands across her clothes to ensure she's not got any dirt on her from that fall, and examining those same brand new hands with a sense of keen amusement, this unassuming new arrival then manages to spy a small hamlet - the classic starter town that she'd yet to know is named 'Honeyhome'. At least, as far as she knew. She'd played a few games and read a few comics before, at least, so the quaint, peaceful looking little collection of buildings seemed pretty much put there on purpose for her to wander on in.

And, wander in, she did. Making her way straight for the town, she slows down appreciably as she actually gets close enough to inspect the buildings, take in the sights, idle sounds, and even smells of this imaginary place. Almost like a vivid dream, and one she was comfortable in knowing she'd definitely be able to remember when she woke up. Probably? She paces down the road at a leisurely pace as she considers what exactly to do, now that she'd finished the first possible step.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

It was easy to spot the new players from the NPCs for the most part, since most players wanted to glow up their looks with fantastical flair and most villagers living in the lowest level zone in the entire world were pretty much ordinary people. Despite assumptions they all seemed pretty well-off for the most part, no doubt thanks to the hordes of players coming through all the time. After all, there were plenty of newbies, and even higher level players could technically come frolic about with hardly a care in the world.

Speaking of the first possible step, most of the people walking past one another along the roads of the small town were friendly. Both in that they were prone to quick greetings and that they had little problem letting someone else go by first out of politeness should their paths cross.

This was not the case for everyone it seemed, as from the magia's right, somebody had walked directly into her. The blonde girl's head collided with the side of her torso, and she let out a yelp as she steadied herself quickly and tried not to fall over.

"My apologies!" She called out as she stared almost directly forward with her pupil-less bright blue eyes rather than up at the woman's face. She wore only the slightest of frowns as though mildly inconvenienced at best despite having entirely crashed into someone with her smaller frame, almost as though this were a frequent enough occurrence for her to be used to it.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Ah, sorry, I didn't..." The nicely dressed new arrival starts, as she turns to face the strange new foreign object that has bumped into her at full force. She pauses, though, as she gets a better look at the creature - smaller, seemed a bit more carefully made than most of the other ones around here, yet it wasn't even making eye contact. And she altogether seemed just...a little bit off. Of course, she concludes in short order. This must be the out of place tutorial NPC.

It was about time she got any kind of guidance around here, considering this was a game and all. She takes a more casual stance as she searches for a different dialog option, wondering what exactly she should say to get more information. It doesn't take her terribly long to settle on the new plan, as she picks the 'conversation' back up with a, "So hey, where am I supposed to go first?"

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

The smaller, more carefully made creature blinked a couple times. After a few long seconds of no one responding to the woman's question, she did the usual move of assuming someone was talking to her and tilted her head only slightly more upwards with no actual reference as to how tall this person really was as she wasn't exactly an expert in discerning body ratios just from tripping into someone. "My apologies once again, but I'm not sure what exactly you mean."

She carefully half-bowed and held it while she continued to explain. "I didn't mean to walk into you like that, it's just that I'm bli-" She gulped, showing obvious discomfort at what she was admitting. "-Blind."

She rose from her bow. "But if there's anything you're looking for in Honeyhome, I can probably help you find it without much hassle. Is... that what you meant before?"

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

The much taller, bigger person, looking down at this strange, silent creature, does initially wonder if something's wrong with the NPC when it doesn't immediately respond. Of course, then her expression only grows more befuddled that the definite robot's initial response is that it didn't understand. Thinking she maybe didn't use the right keywords, she almost tunes out to think of what to say next, but the shorty's continued explanation gives her pause.

She takes a look over her shoulder, checking if anyone else was sharing in witnessing this odd sight, or maybe for affirmation that she wasn't the one being weird, but this encounter hadn't exactly been one long enough to draw any attention. Nonetheless she leans down just slightly toward the munchkin before speaking again, head cocked a bit, "So...blind, huh? Sorry, I didn't realize. Then, uh...so like...are you a person? I mean, uh, you know, not an NPC, or whatever?" she asks with just a mite of trepidation.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

For all the strange things the younger girl had been told and asked in this world so far, she had to admit that this wasn't one of them. It was such a standout inquiry that she knew pretty much exactly how to respond as she barely remembered what an NPC was up until the contrast within the question. "That's right. For the sake of politeness, the 'NPC's are referred to as 'landers' here in Terrasphere."

"Which means you're another player, I'm assuming." The girl spoke clearly, using a soft and polite tone. "I've never really had to help anyone get started here before now. Hm..." The way she tilted her head down a few degrees in thought showed she was putting a lot of thought into this for the stranger. "I... suppose you should start by purchasing a weapon and a better outfit. That's what Celesis had me do when I first arrived."

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Lander...uh-huh. Okay." She nods, then pauses as she realizes the pointlessness of that gesture. Fortunately, this small child also can't see her getting a bit flustered over the action. She listens to the creature's words keenly, putting off her wondering about why such a young looking kid was playing a game like this, or why she was blind...in a video game. Instead, she pipes up with another response to the child's carefully worded dialog.

"Alright...well, yes, I am a player. I'm..." she paused, frankly too many questions appearing at once. Was there a way people could see each others' names, so introductions were pointless? Could this girl not see that either, so it isn't pointless? Well, either way...it was more polite, she supposed. And she at least knew it was the norm to go by your username online.

"...Aroda," she finishes the thought, having speedran that internal crisis, leaving hardly a pause in her speech. Of course, in her infinite speed, she rushed past another critical thought juncture, and still offered a hand for the blind girl to shake. Realizing her mistake as soon as she's made it, she retracts her arm stiffly and clenches her hand. "So," She hastily starts again, wanting to forget about that, "Do you know where that stuff is? Weapons and...such."

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"It's wonderful to meet you, Aroda. I'm Azykia, and I should probably be a little bit more clear. I am blind, but I can still see magic. That way, if you picked some sort of magic mastery, I can see when you're using it." She smiled just a bit more, reaching from politeness to a bit of actual joy over being capable enough at this point to actually help people find things in this town on a regular basis.

"I've counted my steps and memorized numerous landmarks here in Honeyhome, so I can indeed take you to get a weapon and a new outfit. Granted, I probably won't be much help at picking them out once we get there." She blinked twice as if to punctuate her last sentence in the manner of some sort of humoresque.

"Although, if I knew which masteries you had, I could help make a few suggestions about the more... hm, would I say it like... game-like aspects of some of it?" She held up her left wrist and showed off the admittedly very fancy bracelet on it.

"For example, this is the kind of weapon I've been using. It's just a piece of jewelry that makes my magic a little stronger, or at least that's how I understand it." She chuckled for social effect like an adult at a wine tasting might. "Truthfully, this is the first game that I've ever played, so I only really understand a few things about it myself."

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

This time around, Aroda listens with a bit of surprise at how much more talkative the dubious little creature 'Azykia' had become all of a sudden. She starts to scratch at her head a bit in the middle, before stopping that as she finds she doesn't much enjoy the sensation with these new virtual metal fingers. Instead, once she's finished patiently awaiting this girl to finish her bit, she'll start with a slow, and still pointless, nod.

"Al...right. Well, that raises a lot of new questions, to be honest." Like 'why are you blind', or 'where are your parents'. "But, I guess to start out, shall we talk while we walk? Since you're willing to show me where to find these, weapons and an...outfit. Will you need any, help with getting there? I can offer my hand if you like." She asks, unsure to what degree this blind child could navigate without any help.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Before she could feel too prideful about her ability to get around with little but a walking stick made of magic and some number of rhythmic, counted steps, Aroda had offered the safe option, and when it came to not being imposing or lowering the chance of walking into someone who didn't see her walking towards them she found that even now she had a hard time giving it a hard decline. Even if it did shatter her pride into a thousand bite-sized pieces.

"I would appreciate that very much, Aroda. Thank you for your kindness."

The younger girl held out her left hand, as the two would be walking to her right, and she pointed that direction thusly.

"If I'm not mistaken, thirty-three steps that direction will have us walking past the request board. Another eighty steps by my own pitiful stride, and there should be a stand that sells weapons."

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

Wee woo wee woo

Evacuate or find shelter immediately
Real big poster comin' through​

​

"Don't worry about it. You're offering your help too."

Aroda says coolly as she takes the child's hand in her own - a metallic hand, likely a bit less warm than what was expected, and clearly too rigid to be even a normal hand in a metal gauntlet. She doesn't think much of it, still getting used to these new hands, and all, though for Azykia this is likely the only real indication she could ever have that Aroda was a Magia.

As she begins to move, following the directions that Azykia has pointed out, she looks curiously down at the girl as she fulfills her intent to talk while they walked.

"So...if you're a player, how come you're blind here? Is there some kinda, magic or something you got hit with that does that?"

Okay the real big poster is done, return to your homes.​

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

As she clutched Aroda's hand with a gentle grip almost unworthy of the verb 'clutched', Azykia began to consider what this rare feeling was. It was familiar, but only in the sense of hearing the name of a band once in passing and not being sure if you've ever listened to any of their songs the next time the name comes up.

Ah, she was a magia. Didn't that mean she didn't have a sense of taste? Maybe she shouldn't suggest the cinnamon bun stand after their shopping was done after all...

"So, that... Well, I've come to learn that it's apparently a trait that human characters can select. Although, I didn't necessarily mean to."

She decided that instead of properly explaining her motives to a complete stranger since that would be fairly rude to do, she would honey her words this time around. After all, this wasn't another person trying to adopt her as their 'imouto' or what have you, but a new arrival merely asking for assistance getting started.

"I just felt that it would be more fun to play a character if I clicked randomize for everything. If you always get exactly what you want, life can get pretty dull pretty quickly. At least I think so."

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Hm...well, I don't disagree."

Aroda responds with some amusement in her voice. She had mainly just aimed for an avatar that was mostly close to her body in real life so she wouldn't have to worry about readjusting as much...but she had also picked a Magia because she thought it would be interesting to experience something so unfamiliar. Maybe there was some merit to this 'choosing at random' strategy.

"Still, to think there were choices for customization like that...every time I learn something about this game, it just sounds stranger and stranger. Or, maybe it's better to say, more interesting...yet, more dangerous?"

Her hand squeezes a bit tighter on the Azykia's hand, though not enough to be that uncomfortable. Still probably a good deal less comfortable than a real, fleshy hand, of course. She considered the small thing at her side once more, further considering her blindness, what with that being a massive handicap, and the idea that they were going looking for weapons, in an illegal death game...seriously, where were her parents? She wanted to ask, but for some reason or another she was always worried, asking a question like that. Primarily worried about the 'they're dead' response.

...Eventually she shakes the thoughts away and tries to find a more, casual topic to breach.

"Soo...these masteries. You said that you do magic with your, bracelet thingy, right? I picked some magic thing too - how do I use it?"

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"Well, you don't actually need anything to be able to use magic. You can open your... if I recall correctly it was called a 'UI' and go to a menu that will let you figure out how to do your masteries. Specifically, I would advise you find the Auto-Assist option and use it for everything at first."

She made a gesture as she mentioned the UI where she opened her palm very distinctly.

"It'll make it so that, for example, if you have to say words or move your hands a certain way to use your magic, you only need to say the first syllable aloud and it will make you do the rest of the spell automatically."

She made a few gestures with her free hand noncommittally.

"I would walk you through it, but I can't actually see any of the menus. I had to memorize the few that I can use, and they're still tricky for me to get through correctly."

 

[Aroda]

"Ah. Well, should've figured, but still..."

She murmurs as she checks her peripherals for any form of menu, but finds none. She looks at her free hand and flexes it about, doing a couple of gestures - swiping it up and down, and to either side, first and foremost. It was the motion she immediately associated with trying to pull up a holographic screen, but not the correct one. Fortunately, Azylia is blind, so she can't see Aroda failing to pull this off.

After a few more tries, she does land on the correct solution, and finds herself looking at a menu in her palm. She gives it a few looks over, reading through the list of functions and such that were available...before dismissing it to focus on walking once more. She'd have time to do this more thoroughly later, she was sure.

"I got it, thanks. I'll look into it more once we're done with this stuff. Then I can figure out how to do all the, 'unlimited power' moves. 'Till then, though...we should be close now, right?"

She digresses to check her surroundings more pointedly, looking for this 'weapons stand'.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

And wouldn't you know it, look at that it's look who it is the weapon stand owner. Just to their right was a weapon stand as Azykia stopped just as the two were about to cross it. She turned her head towards Aroda just a bit, more to distinguish that she was speaking specifically to her than to look over at her. Obviously.

"It should be right about here to the right."

And it sure was, and Azykia dragged her along to the stall (mostly with the magia's guidance) to be supportive in the endeavor of buying a weapon. That is to say, Azykia offered to pay for it, as well as the outfit once they got around to that.
They had all kinds of weapons, but nothing all too fanciful within the stock. From sticks and swords to obtuse magical foci and accessories much akin to what Azykia was wearing could all be seen in stock.

"I'm a bit disappointed I can't help you actually pick something out. Celesis is the one who picked out my bracelet, so it would've been nice if I could carry out the tradition. Alas." She chuckled for social effect.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

Aroda looks back to Azykia from the weapon stand at her confirmation that she knew the stand was right there, giving her an impressed, if questioning, stare - was this girl actually blind? It's a hard act to pull off as convincingly as she has, so it's likely to be true...but in that case, just how much time has this girl spent wandering around this place, blind? ...Where are her parents?? ...No point fixating on it so much right now, Aroda supposed, as she tried to refocus on the task at hand.

"...Well, you're pretty good at this, huh? Alright, so, a weapon... hrm..."

She trails off as she examines the weapon stand, not terribly impressed by its 'unfanciful' collection of...'sticks and swords'. And, evidently, jewelry. Though the selection isn't fancy, she does take a keen look to determine what exactly she could pick up. While plenty of fantasy weaponry sounded fancy, and adventurous, she had only actually taken a magic mastery, ranged weaponry, and...magitech. Ranged weaponry sounded simple enough, and supposedly you just needed jewelry for magic, but...

"So Azykia, I mentioned I took magic - aeromancy. Then I've got ranged weaponry. Those seem straightforward, just gotta find one for each I'd guess. But er...do you know what I should be trying to find for magitech?

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

At the magia's compliment, the girl let out a proud albeit soft giggle as she finally let go of Aroda's hand to offer her some peace from guiding around a blind teenager for a minute. Truthfully, she had never actually seen the weapon stand--or many things for that matter--and what it had to offer, but now that she could smell magic the stand had a much more distinct smell as she neared, like sugary sweet rust. It was different from the way her bracelet smelled, so she had to wonder factors could be at play here.

Speaking of factors, as Aroda asked about different kinds of weapons, she had to give an apologetic smile as she looked vaguely up towards where she thought the woman's head was. She missed her mark by a few degrees, underestimating just how tall she really was. "I'm actually not much for violence, so I never even figured that one might require several different weapons for it. Now that you mention it, though... That makes sense."

"Even so, I'm afraid I have no idea what magitech is. Is it like, a mixture of magic and technology, somehow?" Her mind entertained the thought of what a device like that could possibly even be like or be used for. Well, weaponry, apparently.

"That really just makes me think of some sort of magical party popper, like a little handheld cannon that pops out a bunch of magic." She continued on this tangent of creative thinking as she placed a finger and thumb to her chin. "Or... a metal hairbow that has a bunch of glowing magic designs on it. Wouldn't that be pretty?"

"... Oh, but, you meant for a weapon, huh?" She took her right hand and gently rubbed the bracelet on her left wrist thoughtfully.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"...Well, I wouldn't say I frequently get into fights either, but we made it to the weapon stand, which I'm checking out at your suggestion, so true, I did originally mean weapons..."

She answers, regarding the short one with an air of bemusement...and amusement as she turns away from the stand a moment.

"...But yeah, magitech's apparently tech that's powered by magic. Picked it because it sounded like something that'd be pretty cool to have...even if it's not real. Magic cannons aside, having a bunch of magitech accessories and gadgets might be just as interesting...but I'm not sure how to go about getting any of that."

Aroda sighs quietly as she turns back to the stand, already described as not being very fancy, an most certainly not the kind of place you could find advanced magitech constructions just lying around. She shrugs as she goes back to searching for a weapon, as Azykia had recommended, finding and picking up to examine, a simple classic fantasy firearm.

"I guess this isn't the spot to be trying to find it, though. I'll look into it more in a bit, once I've got the recommended weapons and...clothes, you said? ...Man, can't believe it's my first day here and a blind girl is calling out my fashion sense..."

Her words finish, her smirk-ful good humor audible in her speech. She continues examining the gun that she's started to take to because, I mean, if you need a weapon, who wouldn't just use a gun? There's a reason nobody uses swords anymore, right? She was less sure about what kind of 'magic jewelry' she'd need, but surely something she could just hang from the gun would work, right...?

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

When Aroda explained the possibility of having gadgets powered by magic, she could only think of something like a superhero would use. Of course, since her consumed scope of fantasy material was limited to begin with, her expression brightened at the potential to swing around from a magical grappling hook or something. "Well now I want to know. That sounds really cool."

She waited around for Aroda to audibly mess with what Azykia presumed to be potential candidates for her starter weapons, only to eventually get called a blind girl. She probably would have politely retorted against it if not for the fact that what the magia said was actually kind of hilarious, prompting her to laugh instead.

"Well, when I was shown what I looked like in the 'starting' attire, I can't say I was too happy. It certainly would have made me with I was blind if I weren't already." Having tossed some light humor back, she held her left hand out in case Aroda was willing to guide her along again. "For clothing, since we're facing the weapon store, we want to keep going the way we were before," she pointed to her left with her right hand as she faced the stand as head-on as possible, "about forty-eight steps, then turn counter-clockwise almost forty-five degrees, then continue for another thirty-two steps. Then it should be a store on our left."

She waited for Aroda to wrap up as she remembered last second to pay for anything the newer player had bought. She had to use both hands for it, so it was a bit awkward as she had to take her hand back to pay only to put it out to be taken again.

And then they (presumably?) headed onwards to the tailor.

@Aroda