Private Eastern Brisshal Starcalled Once, and Twice.

[Zelrius]

A deep breath, his eyes closed. The only sound that permeated the small upsatirs bedroom was the whirring of computer fans on the desk at the opposing end of the room. Markus laid back, staring upward, something that he had spent the majority of the last four years doing. But it wasn't the ceiling he saw this time, in its stead, the dimmed dark glass of his VR console. Slowly coming to life, and taking from him, the perception of this world, melding and fading away to another. It was like the first time he had journeyed to this world. The way his heart raced with anticipation and excitement, how he had wished for a change in his life. Even if the rumors of permanent death were true - so what? You could die in real life too, and there, he wasn't some skilled and daring hero, but just some loser.

This was different from his first visit to the world of Terrasphere. Rather than the empty white room of character creation, the bland, white orange-peel walls of his childhood bedroom in his parents house instead melted away into lush flora. A sea of vibrant green grass, and flowers and plants ranging from ankle height, to taller than any person could hope to be. An array of chroma in every direction, petals of white, pink, blue, and sunset yellow. Zelrius took a moment to look around, to gain his bearings. This was.. exactly where he had logged off for the final time all those years ago. A quick check with his hands down his lapel and toward his sides revealed the fine, soft surface of his in-game clothing. The black and gold coat that had been described as 'regal' by more than one person previously. Both of his curved blades attached to the belt around his hips. Nothing had changed, in this world, he was the Zelrius that he had left behind. A breath fought its way out of his nostrils, relieving a stilted tightness that the man had been unaware was building in his chest.

There was something that was off, though he couldn't put his finger on what exactly. This body felt less refined than he had remembered; his brain struggling to pull back old instincts and understand its limits. Leaving his muscles with a feeling of relative weakness. A palm extended forward, closing, and then gingerly unfurling his fingers to open up the hand-menu. Certainly enough, the growing suspicion of lacking was confirmed. His masteries were empty, set back to their lowest rank. His progress had been lost. His hand closed to hide the menu again, and take another look around. Sure, he could mope about it, and stand here for a while longer, or go find a nearby town to complain to someone about it.

Or, he could pick up where he left off, and remedy that situation. This time, he'd need to regain those numbers without the help of the likes of Ilya, or Mizuki. Truly, starting from square one once again. There was an attempt to walk forward, to find some monster to kill and begin regaining strength. An attempt that was interrupted by the pinpoints of light above him in the twilight sky. Those pinpoints, growing more brilliant and plummeting down around him, a handful or so stuttered out. He had seen this before in this area; new players logging in for the first time, and it looked as though one was landing perhaps a few hundred feet in front of the adventurer now.

@Trissayne Lavelle

 

[Nyx]

The sterile white room falls away in a shower of stars and rushing blue skies. Clouds jettison past her and it takes all her willpower not to give when she feels her stomach drop, when the motion is too fast and chaotic for her eyes to track properly. When she feels as if she'll vomit (which she didn't even think was possible in a videogame), it comes to a screeching halt.

She is back on solid ground. Terra firma beneath her feet, a breeze at her back, sunlight in long locks of ashen white hair. She blinks and turns away, finding the glare of said sun oppressive. Was time different here than when she stepped into this place?

...Or had she really spent that long in character customization? There had been so much to read after all—

She turns sharply, her head whipping around, bright emerald eyes glancing over trees and valleys in the distance. She could've sworn she had heard a voice, someone whispering to her, sounding as if they were over her shoulder. But there is no one there.

Well, no; that's not true. She sees a man in the distance strolling toward her. Languid, easy, as if this world and this body he inhabited were known to him from the beginning, born and raised. Triss's brows tug together and she tips her head to the side, another breeze pushing against the soft off-blue dress that covers her from clavicle to ankle. Perhaps...this wasn't a real person, a player character, like herself?

God there was so much fucking terminology to figure out—

Excuse me! she calls out, lifting an arm, her fingers twitching to grab attention. Morning! I-I dink. Can you be tellin' me where I'm? Dis all be very new and I be...very lost.

@Zelrius

 

[Zelrius]

Sapphire pupils watched the suddenly appearing woman twist and turn to take in the local scenery. A phenomenon that he had learned long ago that the denizens of this world referred to as being 'Starcalled'. Having witnessed it himself, Zelrius certainly saw why it was described as such. Truly, it would appear to the people of these fantasy worlds that the players had been called from the heavens, and delivered directly onto their world.

The man lifted his arm back, waving slightly to match her finger movement of greeting. "Evening, maybe." He answered back with a point toward the sun. Truth was, there was no knowing for sure until it either rose or fell from its current point. "This place is called Eastern Brisshal by the locals. It's where us players all land in." He approached closer to reduce the volume the two of them would have to speak at in order to be clearly understood to just a few paces. "It's a forest that extends a few miles in every direction. Ends at the Ocean to the East, and then the mountains to the North." He went on to explain, eyes looking up as though he was trying to see into his own mind to remember if he was getting the geography correct.

He was taller than her by nearly a foot - perhaps a few inches shy. Enough that even with their double arm's length away, his chin had to tilt down some to make eye contact. It was amazing what some of the more creative types could do with character creation; certainly this Elven woman looked like she belonged in a world like this. Though her accent and use of English told that it was maybe not her first language. His hand extended forward in the breezy air, left palm open and tilted toward her to offer it forward. "My name is Zelrius, it's nice to meet you. Have you played RPGs like this before?" It was a good jumping off point to see perhaps what she was familiar with, or give her a chance to ask questions, or simply walk away the newcomer had some kind of specific plans once coming into this game and getting some bearings.


@Trissayne Lavelle

 

[Nyx]

"...Evening," she parrots with an inquisitive tilt to her head and a shy glance over her shoulder. Perhaps he was right. She wasn't at all sure if the sun was coming or going, but the sky didn't have that pre-setting violet streak to it that she loved so much. Still, the corner of her mouth quirks up in a smile.

He explains where they are and the name of this place—Eastern Brisshal. Her lips, full from hours of messing with sliders, form the words as she takes another glance around. She expects to see other individuals like herself, stepping out from their own rooms of bleached white, ready to take on the next adventure or...do...whatever it is that one did in games like these. She is a little saddened that the surroundings are so void of life outside of plants and animals.

"Be sounding like a nice place ta be wit da ocean and da mountains all around," she tells him with a nod, her arms crossing over her chest. She knew of the ocean and the hurricanes it sent tearing through her small town and the sirens that came with them, but the mountains? She had only seen pictures, more like google image searches and Facebook memories from friends. Experiencing them would be a treat.

He—Zelrius—extends his hand and Trissayne takes a moment, a breath, before unfolding an arm and settling her smaller hand into his. Rough calloused palms meet her own and she is momentarily shocked by how...real...he feels. It is reflected in the widening of her eyes, in the way her gaze jumps from their clasped palms to his face and back again.

He was so...unimpressed.

"You can be callin me Trissayne. Triss for short."

Her hand falls away from his and tucks back beneath her arm. She looks around them again as she answers his inquiry.

"Not a big game like dis wun. All open space and da ability ta do what ya will when ya want. Mmm, no. Storylines, quests; dose be da wuns I've played before." Squinting up at him, she regards him with a slightly arched eyebrow. "Dis...all be seeming like another day at da office for ya. What somewun as experienced as ya doing in a little place like dis?"

@Zelrius

 

[Zelrius]

He wasn't going to debate what time of day it was. She was probably right anyhow. And, it didn't matter much either way. Soon it would either be dark, or it would remain daylight like this for some time. He was stuck here for the next few hours, pissing away his life anyhow.

He smiled back at her comment about how nice it was. "Yea, Falderen is a beautiful land. Though, if you like shiny, pretty lands, the Zalra is absolutely enchanting." He gestured out to its general direction, far to the north east of here. Catching a glimpse in his mind of the crystal trees and floor, all reflecting pale blue, green and violet light. The night he had spent with the convoy before splitting up the next morning to take on the fort somewhere in the rocky mountains. The longer he was here, the more the old memories came back to him.

The truth was, he was absolutely thrilled to be here, despite her observation of his flat body language and even disposition. Both of which were a notable step up from his usual demeanour. He was relaxed, as though he felt at home. This was far more comfortable than the difficulty of real life. The smile went away, his eyes sheepishly moving to the side as she asked what he was doing in the literal starting zone. "Truth is, this is where I logged out last. I spent a lot of time in these fields, helping the gatherers and farmers in nearby Pormont." Zelrius explained, opening his palm menu again, not realizing that it wasn't visible to another player.

"Since then, it seems like my masteries have all been reset to the bare minimum. Which is.. brutal. To say the least." There was a twinge of embarrassment hidden there. He was someone who had played for nearly a year, and had essentially nothing to show for it. There was an easy escape from that side of the conversation, though, in his own previous question.

"Well, you get the basic idea then. This one is similar to those with the storylines and quests, but with a lot more freedom. This world is as alive as the one you and I are from. The NPCs feel and act like real people, and the creatures are not disimilar to the animals we have at home. Just, with more magicy looks and potential to them." Which was all fairly standard for a High Fantasy world, making it all a good jumping off point to introduce her to game from.

"I was actually about to go and grind out some, get back some of that old strength. I'd ask you along, but if memory serves, you don't start with any weapons on first log-in. What masteries did you end up picking?" It was an overall good way to continue a decent conversation, as well as get an understanding of what her own next move should be as a new player.

@Trissayne Lavelle

 

[Nyx]

"Dat ain't be normal?" she asks at the mention of his masteries resetting. "If ya be gone for a long while, tings go back ta how dey used ta be?"

And maybe if there were a finite amount of points to be gathered, her question would have made sense. It would've been apt to ask. But considering that wasn't how MMOs worked, all it did was display how...new...she was to the genre.

Zel speaks about grinding and Triss is thankful for the added context, what had been confusion preparing to march across her features immediately easing into understanding. Was that how you got stronger in this game? Grinding? Could she not just do the quests and attain power that way? From what she thought she knew, it should work that way...

"Non," she tells him with a shake of her head. "Ain't got no weapon, just dis blue dress. It's soft and all da important bits ain't hanging out for da world to see." She chuckles, flashing a smile in his direction. "Always be hearing about da skimpy armor da women characters hafta put up wit. Dis ain't bad, but it probably gets worse from here, eh?"

Clearing her throat, she tilts her head back and looks up at the blue sky in thought. "Ahh, masteries. Right, right. I tink I—dere was a little transparent fox dat da game said I could use. Spirit someting? And dere was blood magic; dat seemed pretty cool so I grabbed it. And da game said dat Corrupt would be good too, so I took dat as well. Dunno how in the world ta be doing anyting dough." She lifts her shoulder in a shrug before looking at him again.

"Am surprised dere ain't no tutorial. Unless I gotta go be finding it?"

@Zelrius

 

[Zelrius]

He couldn't help but chuckle back at the way she described her dress at being 'sufficient' to cover up the more intimate bits of her body, blinking for a moment at her rather comfortable way of describing it. And then again at her initial question, shaking his head perhaps too subtly. "No, usually people keep their progress in this game. Plenty of my friends did anyway." That was... actually a good point. Maybe he was just gone too long, even before the shutdown? Did it work that way, the same way a weight lifter would lose strength without constantly getting to it. It wasn't too far-fetched of an idea, though certainly non-traditional for MMOs.

"That's what I figured." He nodded, realizing that he could just hand her one of his two blades if she really wanted. Something turned immediately obsolete the moment she mentioned her masteries, unable to contain the smile of amusement. "A Fan of the darker arts, huh?" Seemed kind of esoteric, her choices.

"Yeaa..." He scratched the back of his neck. "I remember what that was like. They drop you in, and expect you to figure it all out yourself. Sort of like real life. You have it easier than most; having access to magic and spells early like this." He explained, thinking for a moment. His eyes widened a bit, eye brows lifting as did his cheeks. As though his whole face lit up with an idea.

The man's rough hands reached down to grab her right wrist and lift it up, "Let me show you," he said softly, using his fingers to grasp each of hers and lift them up, opening Triss's palm to the air directly infront of her. Shifting his stance to beside her, an easier place to show and instruct her. Then, the swordsman mimicked the stance, lifting his left arm parallels and directly next to hers. "You should have Auto-assist on by default, making basic spell-casting easier. All you have to do is perform a movement or ritual like this and imagine your magic. Will it into the world for its use." He explained, the words ending in a direct demonstration. A Small 'woof' of flame rang out, a twisting ball of fire manifesting at the center of his palm.

"In your case, Spirit magic will be some kind of ethereal energy. It can also be used to summon spirits to perform the task you're trying to do." Urging on the newcomer to try it for herself.

 

[Nyx]

"Mmm what can I say," she replies with a cheeky grin and a slight shrug. "Anne Rice had a lasting effect on me in my youth and I be living in New Awlins. Everybody chere got a little darkness in em and don't be letting dem tell ya any different."

She caught off guard when he reaches for her wrist, manipulating her smaller hand with his easily. A frown touches her brow and she glances from her open palm to his features and back again. The fact that he felt so real, that the warmth of the sun on her skin made her sweat and the breeze pushing over the plains was cool when it danced past her bare ankles, sent her mind tumbling. It was sensation overload, to know that you were in a game even when it didn't feel that way. She wouldn't question why she wasn't having a breakdown right now.

"Summon a spirit, eh?" she repeats with a small nod, her gaze focusing on her hand. It feels silly, standing there beside him, waiting for some type of magic to happen, but the fact that he had conjured that little fireball in his hand does ease some of the trepidation she feels at looking, well, stupid. So, she exhales and does as he suggested, pushing her desire into the want of a small to appear next to her.

"Ti rena."

The words come without prompting and almost without thought. The magic pulls from her, using a bit of her own ether to swirl into a globe that sits perfectly balanced in her palm. It then jumps of its own accord from her hand to the floor wherein it morphs and lands as a small translucent fox, no bigger than a chihuahua. Trissayne immediately gasps.

"Holy shit, dat worked!"

The fox even wags its tail in reaction to her enthusiasm. Grinning from ear to ear, she looks up at Zelrius and is about to thank him when a young man catches her attention. He is striding toward them quickly, his weather-worn features pinched in distress, his tunic patched here and there, his work boots muddied.

"Pardon! I don't mean to intrude, but I'm looking for some help," he says, standing an arm's length from the duo. Triss glances at Zel and then back to the man, the fox spirit sitting daintily by its summoner's feet ignored for the time being.

"Uh, I'm—My family owns the farm back yonder and we have a really bad, uh, gopher infestation happening right now. Pa told me to go get help so I was wondering—I mean, we can pay you for your services. But we gotta—it's urgent."

@Zelrius

 

[Zelrius]

He couldn't help but grin as the involuntary chanting of words came from the recently-landed traveler. That grin spreading into a wide smile as her palm began to manifest the energy she was sending forward into her palm, down to the floor to make a ghastly fox spirit. It was adorable to say the least. His first instinct was to drop to a squat beside Trissyane, and move his hand forward to touch it. Only for his finger to poke through it's immaterial head, as though there was nothing there at all. A small frown of disappointment overtaking the smile, realizing that this was the price for having Pyromancy as opposed to Spirit Magic like she had chosen. Unless he used magical means himself, he couldn't interact with such spirits of his own accord.

He's pulled up from his squat at the sound of a third voice, turning around to see someone more commonly dressed making his approach. Zelrius's general spiel kicked in, holding his hand out and waving it to the sides dismissively. "If it's not an Adventurer's Guild contract, no need to pay." He said casually, glancing over at Triss. He gave a shrug, leaving it in her hands to come along or not and giving a glance to the man. "Come on, let's go see this." The adventurer urged the Lander, who huffed out a thank you, and then turned on his heel. Swinging his hand in a wide circle to urge them to follow along while sucking in a deep breath.

A short jog, the young man in a bit of a hurry to make it back, had lead the three back to his... 'farm'. More like an outpost in an orchard, enclosed by a wooden fence with two bars that surrounded the posts. Why there wasn't much more aside from the primary residence build, and a dilapidated small game coup became apparent quickly. Dotted throughout the property, mounds that dipped inward into craters were scattered haphazardly everywhere. A network of tunnels and openings that threatened the integrity of the area, and held within it, the culprits who were stealing all of the food they could get. One such's brown, rat-like head was poking out. The pest's pink nose twitching in the air as it sniffed around, propped up in the hole by its long, digging claws. Only for it to notice the trio of people, and sink back down, and have another poke its head up in a separate, distant hole.

Infestation was not descriptive enough, Zelrius thought to himself.

 

[Nyx]

Crossing her arms over her chest, she blinks at the sorry state of the farm (?) in front of her. And then she turns to the young man who stands there with his straw hat in his hands, looking embarrassed and forlorn and more desperate than a who—

"I tink me and Zelruis can handle dis," she tells him with a smile and a nod before glancing at Zelruis. Granted, she had literally, not ten minutes go, learned that she could cast spells and summon this little fox spirit to her whenever she wanted. So how exactly they were going to solve this problem with these multiple gophers, well, she wasn't entirely sure. But she had to tell this man something! He looks so...sad.

Honestly, it was really good coding on the part of the devs. The fact that she felt anything for what was essentially a bunch of ones and zeros repeating pre-written dialogue was amazing.

Speaking of mister ones and zeros: he immediately perked up at her agreement. "Really? Oh, you'd be saving me and my pa something fierce by helping us out. Thank you so much!"

And without further ado, he turns and wanders away, back to what Trissayne assumed was the main house on the property.

Watching him go, she leans toward Zel and clears her throat. "So, I be tinking dat perhaps I just promised someting dat maybe I can't be doing? Ya be having any ideas on how ta get rid of a gopha problem? I ain't never seen wun of dese tings before in my life."

@Zelrius

 

[Zelrius]

It was a sorry site, the mess of gopher holes and weakening ground. Bits of chewed fruit and leaves strewn all around. As well as masses of rodent fur that they either scratched of or were... leftovers. The blonde man shivered at the thought and kept inspecting the ground ahead of them. Unable to fight the small grin of amusement when Trissyane spoke, craning his head with a lean toward her of his own. "I think we can do it, might take a while." He tried to remain optimistic, but his tone betrayed him. Sounding more like a kid who was tired on a summer day than a man who was ready to tackle a problem. Honestly, how would they even do this correctly.

Zelrius approached softly, hunching over one hole and seeing the fat, brown furry body wiggle through the tunnel below to get out of his sight and pop his head in another hole. Before it disappeared from there too, and another stuck its head out of another hole. Alternating where each poked out, and never two at a time. This made it... complicated.

"Let's try this." Zelrius thought as he held his hand forward, just as he had in the magic demonstration with Triss moments ago. Sparks popped and flew a few inches infront of his curled fingers before a blast of fire shot out, angling down and toward one of the tunnels, filling the 5th hole with the orange flames. Maybe some fire would burn them out.

"What the hell are you doing!" A motherly voice shouted, reprimanding the blonde man from the doorframe of the sad building, having watched the Traveler blast fire into the floor of her property. Though the blonde didn't hear over the roar and whoosh of his flame. After a moment, he stopped, and looked around. None of them had jumped out to get away from the flame, and there was no smoldering corpse left behind. His top lip curled, and reaching to scratch the back of his head with a glance to his new found friend of the day. "Guess not." Sheepishly escaped his mouth.

Rolls

6 Gophers Plague the 9 holes. Use your masteries or expertise to flush them out or catch them. Rules are simple. Start by Guessing one of 6 holes for yourself, and then use the roll bot for a 6d9. If any are in the hole you predict, you roll a d100 using any action. Beating a DC of 30 will successfully flush out the Gopher.

5th Hole Chosen.
Roll Result - Gopher Locations
6d9 (6 + 8 + 9 + 9 + 4 + 1)

No Gophers found.

 

[Nyx]

It was rude to laugh.

Honestly. She had been brought up better than to laugh at the misfortune of others. But seeing Zelrius fail so spectacularly had Triss tickled pink. To think, gophers were the animal that was able to outsmart this obviously experienced player that could chain fire and swords together. She shakes her head and gently extends a hand, patting him on the arm.

"I tink ya gotta be a bit more patient, neh?"

Patience led to what should have been a quest done in perhaps fifteen minutes to a quest being completed in an hour. As well as two sweaty, overworked players.

When Triss finally stands up and drags her forearm across her forehead, smearing dirt across her already darkened skin, she can't help but groan. "Ah, my lower back be killing me," she whines while twisting first to the right and then to the left. The ache there does no lessen. "Do it gonna be feeling like dis when I go back ta da real world?"