Private Vintergard Vinter? I hardly know her (yet)!

[Aroda]

It was what was probably a typical day, a 'safe' distance away from the outskirts of the ruins of Vintergard, in the bustling yet faintly tense Camp Hope IV. And on this typical day, a woman with visibly robotic legs and lower arms/hands, had made her way to this camp, in her usual getup...a simple, clean, white dress.

Aroda's taking in of the sights the camp had to offer was slow - looking this way and that at the various kinds of people that had chosen to setup so close to active dangers. From traders to other adventurers, 'landers' and other players, it was certainly pretty diverse. It may even be more apt to say...it was likely that nobody here was average. Everyone here had the means to live in such a potentially harsh place...and a good reason to do so.

The many people, from the clearly strong, to the strangely exotic, had Aroda halted for a bit. As someone relatively new to the game, and who'd only experienced its combat exactly twice, she had to push away the feeling that she was a bit out of place here. After all, if she was confident, nobody would even know she'd only been playing on and off for...a month.

So, here she was - drifting about the camp, bouncing from person to person, mainly looking out for anyone she thought seemed to be the 'experienced adventurer' sort, and asking various questions. About Vintergard, its dangers, and...how often people go there. Now, she was going through the tents of the various suppliers here, asking with little delicacy about what she might need for going on a slightly risky venture into some ruins.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Leaving Cleo and the other Lions to maintain the patrol on Eastern Brisshal, Hanno found himself trailing off to Vintergard once again. He was very much lucky he wasn't at his home when he last logged in four years ago, which allowed him to have a peaceful return to the game...

The events of Dragonfall, however, were still a big mystery to him. He had a few chances to visit the, now wasteland, area with other people, mainly Corsair. And still, there wasn't much he could gather from their searches... and now that Corsair wasn't around, finding someone else to go with him would be rough.

With a sigh, Hanno adjusted his enormous shield on his back, marching toward the suppliers, eventually noticing a Magia woman that seemed mostly at lost on how to proceed to the place.

Hanno, with a friendly grin, soon responded as he got next to her, ordering his own supplies first. "The first thing you would need is someone else to go with you, buddy." He said, barging into the conversation she had with the suppliers. "An extra pair of eyes to watch each other's back is always welcomed." Hanno happened to have an extra eye to watch things around, but that could be mentioned later.

"What you want to do out there?" He added a question, picking up his coin pouch to pay for the supplies he ordered.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

The magia perks up notably as some guy jumps into the conversation. She looks over at him...and then adjusts her gaze significantly downward to properly look at him.

"Oh, uh, hello?"

She starts, still processing with the stranger said and asked. What did she want to do out there? Well, it was hard to know that without going there first, right?

"Well...put simply, I wanna learn more about this g- er...this realm,"

Aroda quickly corrects herself for the sake of any landers nearby, before continuing,

"'Cause it's just so mysterious, right? But I can't really learn anything about it out there. So if I gotta look around in here...this has gotta be the best place to start."

Her rambling accompanies a smile starting to take over her expression - it'd be pretty clear to anyone that was observing her that the prospect of adventuring to these dangerous ruins excited her. She paused raise a metallic fist to her mouth as she cleared her throat, and reined her energy back a bit.

"Anyways, that's how it is. And it's funny that you mentioned it, but my next step was gonna be checking if anyone would go with me. Someone to keep the baddies off me...I was picturing a big dude with a buncha armor and a huge shield."

She says this as she looks the stranger up and down briefly...before asking,

"And...well, I see two out of three, at least. Are you interested in going out there?"

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

The way the woman tried to word herself carefully and how she was clearly excited about the potential adventure made Hanno smile warmly. He did have a tingle of worry though, it was the first time he has seen her around, and the way she was behaving so far showed she was sorta new around, no matter how fancy she and her gear looked.

But Hanno didn't bother about it yet, instead, he focused on the words that caught his attention.

"Two outta three, huh?" Hanno huffed a chuckle. "I may not be big, but you know what they say: 'Size doesn't matter'." He winked with a grin. "Me and my buddy here would never let any danger get past us, after all." With a nudge, he poked the shield on his back, and the shield rumbled quietly before he glanced up at her.

"I have also been trying to find someone to go out there with me. I may be a die-hard, but there is safety in numbers... Besides, I can't let someone go out there alone." Hanno said, offering a hand to the woman. "So I guess we are aiming for the same deal. My name is Hanno, Hanno Futaba." He introduced himself, looking into her eyes. "You are..?"

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

Aroda's artificial eyes jump to the shield that...rumbled. Her brow only raises a little bit, and she only stares for a few moments, clearly confused for a split second, before she goes back to looking down at the one actually talking to her.

"Right...I'm Aroda. Just Aroda."

She clarifies the 'just', remembering all the people who kept adding stuff after her name. She never really got what was up with that.

"Good to meet you, Hanno. You're a...they're called fairies, right? I haven't met any until now...so that's neat. I actually kinda thought they'd be smaller..."

Probably not tinker bell small, but maybe like, hobbit small...maybe he was just a really tall hobbit? Oh well - it was a game, wouldn't help to ponder over this too much. Instead she gets back to a line of thought that does matter.

"Anyways, your buddy there. Is that...one of those, 'weapon arts' things? I met someone before who had a talking sword, does your shield have something like that going on?"

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Nice to meet'cha, Aroda." Hanno said, cheefully. "A fairy? Well, guess you could say that. But the right word would be faerin." He added, making mana dragonfly wings appear and flutter on his back before setting down and ponder.

"Weapon arts? Erhm, not really. It isn't that fancy, we aren't bond or anything." Hanno admitted with a sigh, reminding himself of others who happened to have that impressive mastery.

"This shield is just the work of a very impressive crafter that worked with some dissonant essence and material I brought to them four years ago. It isn't entirely under my control, but enough to give be a lot of help." He grinned, tilting his head at the woman and pursing his lips.

"The shield does talk. Especially when she decides to use some weird illusion she stole from a friend of mine. But otherwise, she is quiet most of the time." Then, he shifted the attention to the Magia, looking her up and down, almost mimicking her actions from before.

"And you are quite fancy yourself. I know your kind, filled with surprises..." He squinted playfully. "I bet it will be a fun ride. But I'd like to know a bit more about what you can do, so we won't step on each other's toes."

Teamwork and all.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Ah, right, Faerin. Close enough, really...it's all the same idea, right? ...Wait."

She stops her trains of thought completely as the most important one zooms into station.

"A crafter? Somebody just made a shield that can talk and think and use...magic and stuff...and gave it to someone else? That kinda thing is possible? What? How? Who?"

The robot lady asks continuously as she leans over the shorter guy - though mainly to look closer at the shield on his back than to intentionally flex her height. She regains her senses, though, and pulls back to clear her throat again.

"I, uh...sorry, I guess that's something we can go over later. You asked about what I can do, yeah?"

With that, Aroda takes a step back and reaches out to her inventory - a peculiar weapon flashing into her hand after a short delay. It resembled...a minigun. Though where one might expect to see a drum or some kind of feed system, there was instead a chamber with several glowing rods visible inside, most definitely magical in nature. It seems quite hefty, but she holds it aloft in one hand pretty easily.

"You could maybe tell...but I've found an interest in making things, here. So I've been doing a lot of tinkering with magitech. I actually have several more guns for different...situations."

She returns the gun to her inventory with a bit of a chuckle.

"So...yeah. I've got all sorts of magitech things. Guns, tasers, magic batteries, some healing stuff, a little thing that charges people up for more power...some other auxiliary things too. Oh, and a lot of it uses electricity, 'cause I have aeromancy. ...I picked up arcanamancy recently too, but haven't tried it out much yet."

Finally, she lets out a quick sigh.

"Whew. And that's it. So...what about you? Any tricks besides having a big shield?"

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno paused for a moment, with his ears twitching before he shrugged with a nod. "Yeah, kinda the same!" He answered, a bit unsure himself of what faerin were aside from the stories he had heard. Certainly, however, faerins weren't your everyday fae from a fairy tale.

The shower of questions and the sudden approach of the woman didn't startle or faze Hanno, after all he was already used to people getting overly curious about it, to a point it simply amused him nowadays rather than trigger any bad feeling. "Don't worry, buddy." Hanno handwaved it. "Someone crafted it, yeah... And then we used the dissonant essence to give it life. But the one who crafted it hasn't logged in four years, so I assume they will never come back... Which is a good thing, mind you." He rose an eyebrow, hinting at the real death the game could cause.

Then, he took a step back when Aroda began revealing his inventory and gear, making his eyebrows raise along with an impressed expression. Hanno rubbed his chin, nodding along and leaning closer to it. "That's some really cool stuff, you are like... Tons of things in one! Your flexibility is really good... And for Vintergard, it is great." He said firmly.

"As for me. Well, I have my big shield, yeah, and carrying that needs a lot of strength. I'd say enough to carry you, four more people, and an anvil at the same time." He smirked playfully. "But I also have some magic, divine, and spirit ones. Which I plan to use to try and question spirits that still wander around Vintergard. Hopefully, we will be able to get some clues, and find better paths to venture through that wasteland with it."

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Ohh...I haven't met anyone that uses spirit magic, I think. Can you really do that? That's some crazy detail...this ga- er, realm, is always surprising me..."

She crosses her arms as she seems to be giving this whole 'being able to talk to spirits' thing some real thought. The mysteries of this crazy huge game, who could've made it, how they did it, and why, run through her head again...before she shakes her head to clear them away for a moment, uncrossing those arms so she can pat a hand onto Hanno's shoulder.

"Well, let's hope it helps us find some answers! Me, well, the best I came up with is...trying to find some parts from that ship. I know a ton about magitech 'cause of this mastery, so maybe finding some important part will reveal...something."

...Her shoulders sag a bit.

"Honestly I have no idea if I'll be able to find anything useful, but I gotta at least check, right? Who knows, maybe there's a big black box buried out there that can answer aaall our questions."

She withdraws her hand to shrug with both palms upturned, giving a small chuckle.

"Wouldn't that be something. By the way...if we're doing this, is it uh, just going to be us two?"

The robolady asks with a slightly raised brow...likely wondering if just two people is enough.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Yeah, I can do it! It is a bit funny sometimes, with whispers and everything. And ghosts can be kinda unsettling, but many of them are just poor souls that need help, rather than vengeful or evil spirits of the sorts." Hanno said, looking at Aroda when she held his shoulder and breathing a chuckle at the way she tried to keep herself from calling Terrasphere a game in front of the landers. The gesture was nice, and something Hanno approved in front of the landers.

"Me and a friend once got the opportunity to bring some pieces of automatons back for studies. She kept most of them, so your plan isn't too far-fetched. Maybe going to the ship right away will be too rough, but we could plan something out for a second expedition if you want." Hanno suggested, trying to encourage Aroda before glancing around when she questioned if only the two of them would go.

"I mean... Unless you know anyone else?" He asked, peeking at her. "The truth is that... Vintergard is a place that is better to either go with very little numbers to catch the least attention as possible, or to go with a whole army to brute force your way through." Hanno shrugged, giving his honest thoughts about the potential approaches to that wasteland.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Ah...I see. So it's better to avoid conflict completely there, huh? I don't mind that...but is it that dangerous? Like, if we do get into trouble with just two of us, will we be in trouble?"

Aroda's tone has a bit of concern to it, as she lightly scratches at her cheek. Very lightly, keeping in mind her hard metal hands.

"I know I've got all these guns and gear and such, but I haven't actually done much fighting since I started playing...around, in this realm."

With another smooth save, she stops herself from making any gaming references while she's still in public and probably around NPCs. She didn't really want them getting upset at her in a place like this, 30 minutes away from the zone of murder robots. Considering, she was a robot.

"I've killed a bear, and...some weird giant tarp monster, but even that was already half dead so I just, blasted it away. Basically, I don't really know if I'll be all that...helpful, if we do get into a jam."

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Sneaking in and defeating individual enemies rather than taking whole groups? Yeah, it is the best way to go there for now." Hanno said with a nod. The woman may be inexperienced, but one couldn't say she wasn't quick to catch things up.

His eyes trailed to her metal hands, and the concerned expression that he didn't like to see on other people's faces, especially someone that was going to be his adventure companion. "Terrasphere may be easier to say without getting yourself into trouble." He said with a small smile, peeking for a moment and giving her a brief pat on the arm.

"You won't be in trouble if anything goes wrong. Maybe I will, but you won't. And even then, I'm die hard and I know how to get out of these situations." He winked with a confident grin. "I will protect you with everything I have, including my life. So you don't need to worry about it. It is my job to worry about these stuff." Hanno said, snapping a finger.

"Your job will be to gather the stuff you need to gather, and if you can, try to keep an eye out on my blind spots. If an enemy appears, just do like you did with the bear and the giant... Tarp monster? Blast it away as hard as you can. Take it as training, really." Hanno said, taking his big backpack and starting to stuff his supplies into it

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Well...if I blast things away as hard as I can, we wouldn't really be keeping a low profile. But then, I don't exactly have any quiet guns...so I guess we'll have to live with that."

Aroda shrugs, this time grinning in good humor, imagining how her very loud heavy weaponry and 'stealth' don't mix too well...nor did her partner's heavy armor and massive shield. Masters of stealth, for sure.

"Oh, and, protecting me with all you got is nice and all, thanks, but don't worry about this 'giving up your life' stuff. I dunno if you've heard...but even if this place is, well, you know,"

She nods to the side a little bit, referencing the fact they're in a game without having to dance her way around phrasing it.

"Dying is still not good for your health, or so I've been told. Like, 'no going back', kind of bad. So if things get too sketchy, I'm thinking we'll just get outta there."

And she hands out that idea with a more stern nod, hoping she gets across that they should really both try to avoid dying. Unaware, herself, that the person she's talking to definitely already knows what she's talking about.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"At the time we are dealing with those things, low profile will be gone. They set up alarms to warn enemies, so it is better to just destroy them as quickly as possible and hurry to another position to hide or just retreat altogether, just like you are suggesting." Hanno explained with a chuckle. He wasn't dumb and was very aware that both of them weren't going to be the quietest team to venture into Vintergard. So their escape and action routes should diverge from the usual.

When she retorted the part he meant about using his life to protect her, Hanno laughed heartily. "Hahaha! No no, I think I worded it wrong. I am not some martyr with a fetish for throwing my life away at any opportunity. I just mean that no matter how rough and life-threatening things get, you won't be alone." Perhaps that was a better way to express it out, even if Hanno was actually ready to give his life to save someone else.

Hanno's expressions became serious at Aroda's wording, nodding along. "Yeah, I know the true nature of this game. In fact, I saw it first hand... What it can happen to a family and to someone." He said, with his cherry and friendly expression turning vaguely grim for a moment... But as soon as his eyes met Aroda's again, he flashed a grin.

"And that's why we will be prepared. So any time you are ready to go, and if you are truly sure about it. We will be going."

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

"Oh...damn, that's pretty dark."

Aroda lets her expression grow somber to reflect her words. ...And also so the rest of her thoughts don't come across written on her face. Those of how, the talk of how people can die here...just ignites her curiosity about the game even more. It's like something out of a weird sci-fi horror story, a video game that can kill you...but it was actually, supposedly, real. Who wouldn't want to know who was behind it, and their motive?

"Well, as long as you're not on your last life, or whatever, then we probably don't have to worry. I haven't even really been hit by anything, let alone died yet, so I'm good. And I think I...already have every supply I might need. Mostly just my magitech gadgets and...various ordnance. A lot of ordnance."

She takes a deep breath before continuing,

"So yeah...I think I'm ready. You talk like you've been there before, do you know the best way there? Do we go now? I did hear there were, patrols, or sentries, or something."

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Died yet? Girl, you won't die, I won't let it happen, and neither will you. So chin up, muscle flexed, armed and ready." Hanno huffed with a grin, trying to encourage her and then nodding eagerly. "Yeah, I've visited there twice... There are sentries that patrol the area, but truly, they aren't very dangerous. They are only dangerous in high numbers or when they are accompanied by something else." He said, crossing his arms and pondering about the paths they had to approach.

"We can go whenever you wish. It is better to go in daylight though. Automatons don't need light to spot anything, but we do... Thankfully, I have magic sight, so I can spot those magi tech creatures from very far." He said with a nod, looking at Aroda.

"At night, it is for the best that we just find somewhere to stay, hidden from the night patrolling." He suggested.

@Aroda

 

[Aroda]

Aroda nods slowly as she lets out a slow note...of understanding.

"Ahhh...yeah, I actually got a little annoyed that I couldn't see in the dark with robot eyes - I mean, there's not even an option to get any, in the little trait menu - so I did make some night vision goggles!"

The robolady pulls another bit out from her inventory to briefly show off...what looks like ski goggles, more or less, with vibrant blue lenses.

"Or, tried to. They're not great...but they work, usually. So we probably don't gotta worry about the dark too much. Hopefully."

She explains all this with some good energy, which quickly dies down.

"I would still prefer to go in the day, though, yeah. No reason to go when it's dark. So, I guess we're burning daylight huh? You're more familiar with this whole place, and...you're the shield guy anyways, so if you're ready, you can lead the way, and I'll hide behind you like a pro."

The magia gives a metallic thumbs up with her usual friendly smile.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "You made a night vision goggles? That's hella cool." He beamed, leaning in to look at the goggles that were certainly different from what he expected, but... hey, if it did its work, what there was to complain?

Hanno smirked at her words, nodding firmly. "Gotcha, well, I have all my supplies ready, so to Vintergard we go." He began moving, adjusting the enormous shield and backpack before marching forward, waiting for Aroda to catch up if she needed to get any of her supplies ready.

"I will warn you when we get to the trickiest areas. And let me know if you hear anything coming from behind, unfortunately we will lack a rearguard this time." He said, pondering about it while continuing his path. It was going to be a long walk, but thankfully the woman was nice to talk with, so it wasn't going to be a bore like the usual gruff and quiet adventurers were.

@Aroda (In my next post, I will start us up into the Vintergard, unless you want to do anything else! <3)

 

[Aroda]

Aroda gives a satisfied grin at the praise of her bootleg night vision goggles. Sure they didn't see very far, and the bright blue visuals made it a little harder to interpret what you were seeing than traditional night vision, but hey, they worked. She poofs them back away into her inventory once she's finished showing them off, and answers Hanno.

"Right...well, I've got everything I think I'll actually need. Even if we're there a while, I have plenty of food and water...and everything else is hopefully covered by my little gadgets. And the guns. ...And bombs."

She follows him along shortly as she gives that brief, general summary of her inventory...which was mostly magitech, and magitech weapons.

"I'll uh, try and keep a look out around us. I may not have night vision normally, but my eyes and ears are still...well, they're a lot better than outside Terrasphere, that's for sure. I'm not sure I can beat having magic eyes, though."

The magia paused. Wait, magic eyes. Where has she heard this one before?

"Hang on, you're not blind, are you?"

She suddenly asks out of the blue.

@Hanno Futaba (if you wanna jump in the next post, or spend a post answering this, either's fine)

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno whistled when Aroda spoke about ber arsenal, that seemed something straight out of some heavy assault military squad. "It is almost like you are ready to wage war." He huffed a chuckle.

"I am sure you will do well. These machines aren't exactly stealthy either" Hanno shrugged, then blinked surprised at her suggestion.

"Blind? Hahaha, no no." His eyes widened open, finally being more visible, showing its vibrant emerald green color and a red hue ring in the center. "My eyes may be a bit funny because of my race, but I am far from being blind." Hanno explained, with his eyes slowly narrowing to stay in their usual relaxed expression.

As they continued their path, distancing themselves from the camp to go up to the top of a hill, the ruins could be seen from very, very afar.

Hanno looked at it from distance, nodding. "I think we will a few hours just to get to the outskirts... so make sure to tell me if you need a break, carrying all this stuff in your inventory..." He then paused, looking at the metal limbs and getting reminded of her nature. "Can you even get tired?"

@Aroda