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

[Aroda]

Aroda, having decided after a bit more swapping about of different items, does indeed confirm her initial purchases - a sort of, fantasy rifle along with a small accessory to hang from it. Of course, at this time, nothing particularly magitechy is purchased, but Aroda had definitely made a note of finding some later.

Though, as Azykia goes out of her way to even pay for the things Aroda had decided on, she's a bit flustered...but doesn't reject the kind gesture.

"I'd rather not make you have to pay, but...I don't actually know if I have any money, so I suppose that's that. Thanks, Azykia."

She thanks the small girl, offering a smile to the uncaring void, and her hand out to the child so that they could move on. And so once again, they did move on, now towards some guy named Taylor, Aroda holding Azykia's hand in one of hers, while carrying her new acquisitions in the other.

"All these things aren't too expensive, are they? I don't really know...how much money is a lot, or how hard money is to come by."

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Azzy hummed a joyful 'mhm' after paying with gold from a pouch that was secured inside of her yukata, seeming more than happy to have been able to help. At the very least, if she wasn't, she probably wouldn't have made the time to walk around with the magia after giving her directions.

On the topic of money, her expression became a lot more thoughtful. By this point, she would occasionally forget that her expression could be seen momentarily as she was simply too focused on concentrating on other things, like stepping in an easily countable rhythm, or keeping an ear out for everything around her just in case she needed to go from generally relaxed to being on high alert.

"I've got to be honest, I'm not certain of that myself." She gave a soft chuckle for effect. "Outside of Terrasphere, I never had to worry about money in the least, while here inside of Terrasphere, I really only manage meager deliveries and local errands to earn money. That being said, I would say personally that a thousand gold is a lot, while ten gold is a week's worth of fresh cinnamon buns for dinner."

And so it came to pass that the duo would arrive to the tailor's shop, where once inside of the door it could be seen that the seamstress of this quaint yet well-furnished clothes store had several needles moving magically on their own. Azykia could just barely see them off a ways, so she knew this was the right place.

As the young girl in the pink yukata and golden hairbow went back to the same tailor, the patron moved to greet them, though an expression of mild concern permeated her smile as she realized who that girl was and that she was gonna do it again. She was all too relieved to see that the woman with her was not in fact the same one as before, but she didn't let her guard down just yet. "Welcome, welcome! How are you young ladies doing today?"

"Fine, thank you." She turned her head generally towards Aroda with a smile. "We're just here to get her a more tasteful outfit."

"My, doesn't this seem familiar?" The woman smiled, more leveled out now that she felt more like this was just another case of a new player getting assistance, and not an S-tier illusionist making her earn her paycheck beneath a mountain of flashy tune-ups and requests. "Was there anything you were looking for in particular?"

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

Well, of all the places Aroda had ever been, this was certainly one of them. It was also like, the second one she'd been to since arriving in the basic starting town, and she was slightly impressed - if only because of her expectations being set a bit lower by the first one, the weapons merchant, being a simple stand.

"Ah...yes, hello, miss. I'm doing well."

She answers the person(?) with a nod and a smile, pausing to look around at the place in a bit more detail, seeing just what sorts of things were in here, gauging her response from there. She wasn't looking for anything terribly flashy - just yet, anyways - and especially so while this small, though apparently spoiled, girl was paying for it. From her observations in letting her gaze wander about for a moment, she comes to a decision and turns to Taylor, who we've come to learn is not 'some guy' but 'some girl'.

"I think I'd like to keep to something...simple, but tasteful. Maybe a sundress or two?"

She answers quite easily, before pausing with a glance at the Azykia.

"...Or, just one, I guess. Have you got any in white?"

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

The seamstress would usher the two over to a section full of dresses both intricate and simple (though mostly of the simple variety) to put on display the deliberately crafted clothes of her profession's relevance as she grabbed a measuring thread and, with a silent question of permission answered out of good manners, would make a few measurements with it on Aroda's person before presenting her with options in white as requested. "If you see anything that strikes your fancy, I can always make alterations." She offered to the woman, and not the girl whose yukata she had to alter with requests like a list of side quests.

She did in fact have dresses, from sundresses to moon-dresses, there sure was a lot going on here. Who would have thought that a starting town's tailor had so many clothes?

It was very much a clothes shopping trip, but unlike her mentor before her, Azykia couldn't really enjoy it like most people could. She did her best to stay generally close to the magia, save for when something that caught her eye was given to her, as that would simply lead to the changing room. While she was willing to assist someone in getting on formal attire, with her lack of vision she would be forced to use her hands in place of her eyes, and being in a stranger's personal space that involvedly wasn't really in her plans in any way for any reason. This is why she made her offer audibly instead.

"I can't really see what you've picked out, but if you need any help changing, there's not a variety of formal wear I know of that I haven't had to learn to wear before, so I can give directions at the very least."

The store's patron couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow at what this obvious starcalled had said, but was around to help if that offer didn't quite sell it.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

At the beginning of the search for a clothes, Aroda looks to Azykia, following her curious offer. She briefly looks between Taylor and Azykia before answering,

"I'm not really looking for anything that impressive or, complicated, so no worries there."

With that taken care of, Aroda will indulge in trying to search through the simple dresses on offer to find the perfect, simple, but nice looking ensemble. Except it's not much of an ensemble since she's basically looking for one article of clothing, but still.

It didn't take a terribly long time for her to find one that she thought suited her well enough - as her previous request, a simple, but elegant, white sundress with black straps - and a bit of subdued embroidery over the lower portion of the front of the torso. Shockingly, it looks quite similar to what is depicted in the art I found! The length of the sundress helped in avoiding her showing off that most of her legs were robotic in a similar way to her hands and lower arms, though, not that Azykia could tell any of that yet lmao.

Following her decision on which to buy, and the ensuring that the piece fits in the dressing room, Aroda emerges wearing her new nice dress, affirming she'd like to buy it and that she'll be wearing it out to Taylor. Then, all said and done, back to Azykia once more.

"Well, thanks for the shopping trip I suppose, Azykia. And uh, for covering the cost. I'll try and pay you back sometime."

As she says this, she blinks with a realization.

"Oh, right...is there a way to exchange contacts, or something?"

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

The younger girl blinked a couple times as she quickly recalled that this game did have such a function. "I nearly forgot about that, actually, yes! There's a friends list menu that you can use to ask people to be your friend. That way you can communicate over long distances." She gave a bitter chuckle, though she tried to sweeten it just a bit so as to not press the mood of the subject matter too seriously. "That being said, I wouldn't be able to tell you how to use it, either. Celesis once showed me how the menus should look using Illusion Magic, but without that sort of assistance, I'm afraid I can't see any requests that I get, much less send any messages."

"As far as paying me back goes, please don't worry about it, really. Soon after logging into Terrasphere, I had a fair amount of players ask me to be their honorary little sister, or some such." This time she gave a much more amused giggle. "Which, while I don't quite comprehend the gesture to being with, much less its frequency, is a wealth of endless support. At least, whenever they're willing to come to Honeyhome to visit..."

And they bid Taylor the seamstress adieu as they leave at some point.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

Aroda regards Azykia thoughtfully, marveling that the game can not only render you blind in character creation, but also that the blindness extends to the game's own UI and menus. How is one expected to get anything done, like that? It sounded as though this would prevent her from accomplishing...pretty much any basic function, at all. That's just crazy...though, not as crazy as the rest of what she's saying.

"Well...as strange as all this little sister talk sounds, it doesn't change my stance. It's only fair to pay back kindness in turn."

She brings her hand to her chin in thought - a motion done out of regular habit, and one she quickly retracts as she feels her metallic hands against her more normal skin. Man, was this skin synthetic too? It was kind of hard to tell if there was any significant difference on her own...considering her hands, used to feel it, were...metal. ...Oh well.

Once over the distractions at that thought, she cocks her head instead at Azykia.

"In fact, the thought gives me a few other ideas. You can see magic, and I'm guessing these...illusions was someone making magic pictures to show you? That's how it sounds, anyways. So, I wonder what you'd be able to see from the magitech things. If they're powered by magic and make magic effects, maybe they can be...like, accessibility aids for people who only see magic?"

She shares her thoughts casually, clearly still thinking about the whole situation, before shrugging and shelving the ideas - for now.

"That might be a bit much in return for a dress, but maybe something interesting for the future. For now, maybe I'll pay for food sometime, or...something. Nothing extravagant."

Aroda nods, satisfied, but as always, can't stop her wondering about this new place.

"Wait, do you pay for food here? You do, right? I think I saw a hunger meter, so it's probably important..."

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

As Aroda mentioned potentially using magitech as a handicap aid, she couldn't help but to giggle once again. "How very thoughtful of you. I suppose I would be able to see the magical parts of the device, certainly, though I doubt the technological aspects would pay me the same courtesy." She slowly moved her hands out in front of her and held them one over the other with palms facing downwards. Once they were in position, bright blue making began to scrawl itself down through the air in a spiral. In the center of the spiral, a stick-like object began to form going from her hands all the way down to the ground, refining itself as it became more and more complete.

By the end of it, Azykia stood with a beaming grin while her hands rested atop a cane made entirely out of magic that was nearly as tall as her shoulders. "That being said, I chose my masteries in consideration of a life like mine. Using Ar-can-a-mancy," she struggled with that mastery's name more than any other even still despite using it more than any other, "I can make objects that I can see, such as a walking stick, or a string to sew my belongings onto my person with for safekeeping. Granted, my creations are temporary, so the thought of being able to make them more permanent... Well, I don't think I could complain about such a thing as that."

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

Aroda gives a light 'ooh' at the appearance of some glowy magic stick. This magic stuff was sure to be pretty neat, she thought.

"So you can make any old objects, huh? That's pretty neat. I'm not sure I've got too many practical uses for the magic I picked..."

The magia opens her menu up once more, beginning a cursory investigation through whatever she can find in the different submenus about magic. In the meantime, she continues chatting with blindgirl.

"So, your friends or whoever, the ones that did this 'sister' stuff...they sound more experienced than either of us. Do they not hang around here very much? You said they only visit sometimes, yeah?"

By now, Aroda has found more information about her magic within the menus, and with auto-pilot mode for new player still on, it's not much effort for her to mutter a magic word and have electrical sparks jump between her fingers with a sudden crackle.

"Ooh...heh."

She murmurs, clearly amused.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"I'm sure you'll figure out some interesting things to do with it after a little while. I certainly didn't have any ideas when I started not too long ago, but living a life newly blind has been eye-opening, irony aside." She giggled, trying to map out where to get food. It seemed like every time she went to get food with someone, it was always cinnamon buns. In fact, half the time, people would show up to talk to her while she was already eating one. Perhaps they were an unfathomable sort of magic themselves.

As the magical static sparked between Aroda's fingers, her eyes immediately stared at that spot, even after the electricity had disappeared. "W-What was that?" She seemed to understand nearly just after asking that it was probably the magia standing right next to her and took a deep breath to straighten out her nerves.

"My... er, older siblings are all a lot less new to this game than I am, and Honeyhome is in the safest place in the game. Since they're all the sort of people to try and help others, they go wherever is most pressing, I assume. At the very least, they might have spent enough time around here to want to go see the rest of the world instead." The girl let out another bittersweet chuckle. "Despite the peace I've found, it'd be nice to be able to see the rest of the world. I temporarily got to see the wilds just outside of town before, twice, and both times it was the sort of beautiful thing one could never see in real life."

"Ah- Not that you need me to tell you what the surrounding area looks like." She held her hand up in offer to Aroda just as she had earlier to be led around and raised her ar-cane with her right hand. It pointed away to the forward-left from having just stepped out of the clothing store.

"There's going to be a bend all the way around to the right over there. Cinnamon buns are sold on the other side of town, as well as other sorts of lovely foods befitting of this sort of small town. I'm sure we could find you something you can enjoy there... Even if, assuming I'm not mistaken, magia don't seem to have a sense of taste."

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Ah, didn't mean to surprise you. Just trying out this 'aeromancy'."

She says quickly as she accidentally spooks the girl with her display of zapps, dismissing the sparkiness with a quick wave of her hands. As they continue on the prowl for food stuff, and Azykia starts going on about cinnamon buns, and then magia physiology, she cocks her head a bit in wonder.

"Oh, right...I think it did say something like that. Not being able to taste is probably, pretty strange...but I suppose it's a new experience, nonetheless. We can try some...cinnamon buns."

She'll decree as they do indeed continue toward food, with Aroda taking Azykia's hand for easier leading - of course, she uses the hand that she didn't spark up with electricity, just to be safe. As they walk, Aroda continues to wonder about this world, the other places one could go, and also Azykia being stuck here in this admittedly quaint, but unexciting, place, without any help.

"Hm...I think once I've got my bearings, gathered some more info, learned more about this game and where to find things...I will see about the magitech aids idea. We can go and see some more of this odd world together, then. ...Maybe. Might be giving myself too much credit, considering I don't even know where to start yet, hah..."

Her little impromptu monologue ends on a slightly self-defeating laugh. Clearly, she's looking forward to seeing what she can do within this game, but she's not sure if she'll actually be able to do anything that impressive.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"I don't think you should worry too much. Even if you're apprehensive, or you struggle a lot at first, if there's one thing I've learned here it's that Terrasphere is rife with a kindness the real world has forgotten. If you truly need help, someone will help you. That includes me, by the way." She counted her steps, walking in that deliberate rhythm again. Her steps were careful and perfectly measured, granting her a grace that even half a lifetime of practicing poise and elegance out in the real world hadn't been able to produce until now.

"After we get something to eat, maybe we could wander around outside of town and find a bear so you can figure out how the 'combat system' works." The way she said that phrase, it was as though she didn't understand that a combat system was something found in nearly every game. "Depending what time it is, of course, but I'm fairly certain it's daytime. It sounds like daytime to me, anyways."

"It sounds terrifying, but I promise that even I can defend myself against a bear on accident, and if anything goes wrong I made sure to take masteries that would let me heal away pain and injury. I was pretty scared of accidentally falling off of a cliff or something when I first arrived in Eastern Brisshal, so that sort of thing is a lot less terrifying to think about now."

Even if she wouldn't be able to taste them, the smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns permeated the air on this side of town several times a day. Most of all during the evening, where dessert went hand in hand with dinner, even replacing it in some cases as people really seemed to enjoy this particular staple treat of Honeyhome.

The line was long, but cleared quickly. After all, it didn't take long for people to have their money at the ready to trade coin for consumables. It was actually more of a worry whether or not they would have enough to sustain the flow of customers, yet time and time again they just did. It was a true marvel of the world.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"A...bear? Well...if that's a typical starter enemy, or whatever, then...sure? I'll have to get used to it eventually."

Aroda responds with a shrug, Azykia possibly able to actually notice it this time through the motion of her arms when shruggin'. As they finally approach the stand, and she can actually smell the cinnamon buns, her expectations are raised a bit.

The cinnamons are reached in record time, as the line progresses quickly. Money changes hands, and they receive the coveted cinnamon buns before moving away to clear space in front of the cinnamon bun seller.

The magia inspects the bun with some trepidation...but does take a deep breath before trying a bite. And the hopes raised before were dashed quite expertly as she pulls the bun away from her mouth, staring at it without even chewing the bit she's taken, for a moment. After a bit of a mental reboot, she starts to slowly chew...before hastily swallowing with a ghost of a dissatisfied frown.

"That is...much more disappointing than I was expecting. Like eating wet cardboard. Geh."

She sighs as she begrudgingly starts to finish the bun, not wanting to waste it or anything. In between bites, she'll address the Azykia once more.

"Eh...well, anyhow, you sure about this bear thing? I've got the time, I'm sure, so when you're ready we can go."

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"Yeah, I'm afraid I've heard several times now how terrible it is to not have a sense of taste. Despite my own lack of sight and smell, I apologize." She bit into the warm bun and had to put some serious effort into not humming in delight as she often did. Her sense of taste was stronger than ever with two of her physical senses missing, and the smell of certain magics sometimes even made it taste even better. Even as she was already chewing, she thought of having another bite was making her salivate.

That was why she tried to focus on another topic as soon as possible, once she could speak again, that was. "We could do it now or later. My own greatest personal struggle was adjusting to living here. It wasn't easy figuring out where to get a bath, although that might just be because I'm blind. Ahaha~!" She giggled chipperly and took another bite of her lunch.

"I'm sorry if I'm not the best helper in the world. Speaking of world, actually..." She brought a hand up to her chest in a loose fist as she looked to the side. "Um... When you said, we can see more of this world together, did you... I mean, if you still feel like it later on, I'd really enjoy that."

"I don't know if I'd like to be some sort of hero or anything, but I'd love to see what little of the rest of the world there is for someone like me to see. Who knows? Maybe there's an entire city out there made of magic?"

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Maybe there is. Or maybe there's some way you can at least see well enough to go exploring. Even if you don't end up able to take in any landscapes, surely there's more interesting magic to see out there than...well, here."

Aroda finishes off the absolutely flavorless cinnamon bun, man who made this thing, it's really the sorta product that make you wanna just pick up a plastic fork, y'know? 2/10 can't recommend. Once she's finished with the bun, she takes to examining that weapon she got earlier, contemplating the very real possibility of it being used to blick a fool in the near future.

"But, for now, baby steps. ...Which, apparently, is killing a bear. And then finding a...place for a bath?"

Her tone is less unconfident and more just perplexed at the circumstances, especially with the one telling her they'll go kill a bear trust her it's easy she's done it, is a small blind girl. It was for this reason, primarily, that she wasn't really nervous about killing a virtual bear. Apparently they were pushovers.

"So, which direction can we find Yogi? Just back out in those woods?

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"Yeah. Maybe there's a lot of magic in the world to see, haha... I really can't wait, kind of!"

Azykia giggled with a mouth full of the bread gamers spend their bread on, not expecting something as cheesy as calling the bear Yogi. "Mhm!" She swallowed and endeavored to finish her food just a little bit faster for the sake of progress. She only had one bite left anyways.

"Celesis and I actually got attacked by one on my way to town. Thankfully, she was there to help me."

Once done, she made a cloth out of bright blue magic and draped it over her hand. "Here, so we don't get each other's hands sticky." It was a strange thing to say, considering they were both already somewhat so. Perhaps the girl was just being polite about being germophobic, or maybe her own hands had icing all over them because she couldn't see her food before picking it up the first time.

Whatever the case, she was ready to go watch Yogi Bear with this Aroda woman. Except not actually, because she didn't like cartoons, or bears, or picnics. Just the thought of them reminded her that she had never had one, filling her very quickly with a jealous rage that this body simply couldn't quell as instantly as she was used to outside the game.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

Aroda raises a brow, but does accept the safe and properly protected handholding. Who knows what sort of things could happen from unprotected handholding - one shudders to even imagine what terrors and unholy things could come to pass. Also, the cloth, and the reference to sticky hands, does make Aroda wonder - these metallic hands are probably more difficult to keep clean of food and other, sticky things, than normal hands. What with the gaps and joints. Well...that'd be a bridge to cross later. For now, she wanted to get to gaming, already.

"Alright, then. Shall we be off?"

She says simply, readying to move on toward the edge of town, Azykia's well protected hand in hers. She'll also start up a new topic of conversation whil she's at it!

"So, this uh, Celesis. Is that one of those people that's made you their....little sister? Are they very experienced with this game, or were they new like us?"

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"Celesis is my Cele-sis, yes." She tilted her head ever so slightly to the right. "She apparently has been playing this game for years. She's smart, really good at Illusion Magic, and she does the talking similar to a this." The girl mocked her apparent adopted sister. "I didn't even know this game had been out for that long." She blinked a couple times, then turned her head slightly towards the magia.

"I hope this doesn't seem too intrusive, and indeed you don't have to answer, but... What kind of reason do you have for playing this game? I ask for two reasons. One is curiosity, as I've found that most people play it to escape the Starcalled Realm." She dropped some lore for the newbie without a second thought. "The second, however... is pretty... dire, and I'd like to be able to tell you why, but I think it would be a better idea to actually mention that much after we find that bear.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

She gives the not seeing looking girl a curious look, wondering if it was a normal thing to ask in here - and also wondering if everyone here had a crazy story for how they got into the game.

"Well...for me personally, I guess there's not any...big, special reason."

Aroda answers as such, initially responding to the girl pretty readily, but then needing a moment to think on it. She gives it a bit before another shrug, possibly transmitted through arm motion, and starting once more.

"I 'stumbled' across it not too long ago, and it seemed...very interesting. This whole game is an enigma I'd like to know more about, honestly. Maybe it's just another kick that I'll tire of, but having played it...it really does just get more fascinating. The experience is...surreal. I really wish I knew who made this, and why. It's just too intricate to have a simple answer - and that answer being a total mystery definitely helps drive the curiosity."

Pausing a bit after providing a longer, levelheaded monologue about some thirst for knowledge, she then huffs but a bit of laughter before continuing.

"Of course, there's more than the game's existence that makes this interesting. Playing the game too, is...well, it's like discovering a whole new world, right? Plus the other new experiences this tech offers, all the impossible sensations, I admit it's got me looking forward to the simple joys of exploring something totally new. Long as I have the time and money, I figure, why not? Hardly different from what I do normally, anyways."

Her vague smile, though obviously unknown to Azykia, was probably audible through her voice as she shares all of that, and in quite the wordy manner as well. She's not even worried about how long she monologed for, she's lookin' forward to this stuff that much.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

190 / 190

-10 from Retal
+41 from Heal

It was oddly refreshing to listen to someone suggest that there was a reason to play this game outside of trying to escape the outside world, and if anything it made her a little bit more excited to go see the world one day, whether with this new apparent friend or... probably Celestine dragging her around. It had to be one of those two, she decided. Maybe she could actually get lucky enough for it to be both of them at the same time.

"Well... I know what it's like to tire of the same old thing." Despite that, she couldn't help but feel from what she heard from Aroda so far that her other bit of news to come following the bear fight might change her tune if only a little bit.

Speaking of bear, the two eventually reached the grasslands outside the village, and with a little guidance back in the direction that Aroda had already come from, it only took a few minutes longer than the walk back to hear the roar of a Bear as it waddled menacingly towards them.

"Okay, this should be really easy for you! I can't see it, but from what I've heard here and there, as long as I can heal us, we can never be felled by the likes of a bear in Eastern Brisshal. So don't worry, okay?"

It was a shame that weaker enemies tended to not be magical in games like this, as with little warning, the very quiet hungry bear charged up to the duo faster than Azykia was even remotely aware that they could move and chomped onto her arm. That's when it dawned on her.

This was her first time taking damage in this game. And it hurt. Badly.

She winced with wide eyes before contorting just a bit in paralyzing reflex to the pain, but all in all had to agree with Celestine that players in this world were very the powerful compared to the real world. She was certain such a chomp would have taken her arm off in the real world.

She recuperated quickly and moved her hand in a few curved patterns. With one soft word of power at the end, she produced a simple heal upon herself, doing as her mentor had done during their encounter.

Bear
LP 2 | DC 20 | Retal 10

Quick Auto Combat Reference

Rolls

Heal (Single)
1d20 (14) + 15 + 15 = 44
+44 HP to 1 target

Divine Magic | Azykia | 767C1

Play Sheet Link

@Aroda