Typhoonflame

"I don't know," Morningstar said, in answer to her question. What a brilliant answer that made Ty want to groan. She supposed it was a fair answer, though. Did any of them really know the point of this and why they'd been forced to play this cruel game? None of it had ever made sense and it never would, no matter how hard some players tried to make it logical. Ty nodded, looking at the quest log herself. Fulfill these task requirements: [Whiff out torches], [Topple cairns], [Plant rusted equipment], [Plant Fool’s Gold], [Go into hiding], it said. She could do that, it wouldn't be th

Ty nodded quickly when Freyd suggested sending another agent in with her. More people often meant better results, after all, and she'd been thinking about how she needed to meet more guild members anyway. "Sure, always down to help another trainee like myself." "Eh, I know enough about cars to get the comparison, don't worry." she chuckled as they approached the fortress. It looked so worn down by the heat that Ty could relate to it. She too, felt the heat draining her willpower to do anything. She blinked at Freyd when he suggested the messy way. "So much for O&I, eh? I mean...a

"Hope the trucking along's going well, would hate to see the guy who showed me the ropes have his truck stopped." She laughed. "And yep, I'm not quite the same scared girl you met down at the starting floor. Though, to be fair, I still get scared a lot, hah." When he mentioned the village, Ty nodded. "Mhm, seems so. Spoke to the NPC over there, she seems to be someone of import, claims she's responsible for the community here. I didn't want to properly start the quest without yo, so I told her to wait until a friend came along." she explained quickly pointing at the woman with her thumb.

Ty studied Freyd for a moment, noting that he looked somewhat...wiser, older...changed, at the very least. She wondered what had happened. She almost felt sorry for hitting him with the barrage of questions when he said he'd take them one at a time. She really knew how to come off like a curious teenager. Ty followed Freyd into the desert, wincing as the hot climate made the first beads of sweat form on her forehead. "I see...That's complicated, which was intended, I suppose, to confuse the kids. I still can't believe he'd go to such lengths! I could definitely use that survival sk

"Huh, well I suppose we could try and find materials together, if that's the best bet. I'd just like to make some cash and help out others at the same time. Comfort and utility at once and all that, yknow?" She chuckled. It would be far better for her to buy new armor anyway, even if she was loathe to keep looking for fights. It seemed as though fights always found her, whether she liked it or not, so it was better for her to be prepared. Ty listened to the story with an amused smile, wondering just how many shenanigans she'd missed from her two best friends. Even though Freyd was her

Ty glanced between who was apparently an NPC (for which she wanted to facepalm, she'd managed to mix up an NPC and a real person again) and Freyd. How did the two know each other? She supposed Freyd knew most of the NPCs, though. Then she fixed her glare on the man called Ali again. So she'd been right! The man was a pure fraud! She'd been more than right to call him out and set an example for the kids. She turned to Freyd. "Wait, this is about that? He wants kids to not only explore it, but actually find Cassim? And who's Abdullah?" The questions poured out of her, one after another.

Ty was glad to see Star was willing to help. She decided not to fully start the quest until they were in a party and instead opted to just sit down nearby and wait. It wasn't like half an hour was a long wait anyway. She looked up when Star finally showed up. "Hey, Star! It's been a while! I'm doing okay, joined Firm Anima recently." she said proudly. "I randomly saw a flyer posted by someone on the Town of Beginnings' notice board, so I figured I'd check it out. I wasn't expecting a political problem, though, or a fight. I thought it'd be a fetch quest, where I could learn about a new a

Ty was glaring daggers at the guy in front of her, not knowing or really caring, whether he was an NPC. Anyone who treated others like tools for selfish self-entertainment was an enemy of hers. Once again, she felt that rage she'd felt before with the bats and found herself wincing. She was so absorbed in the conversation and trying to tell this asshole off, that she didn't even notice her guild leader's approach until he spoke. She started. "Oh, Freyd! What brings you here? I haven't seen you in a few days. Can you believe this guy?! He wants to send kids to explore a myth at their

The Cave of Wonders was once but a legend, said the people at the Town of Beginnings. More experienced players loved going to early floors and filling the ears of young, hopeful adventurers with stories of magical places they would see if they ventured out. personally, Ty was of the opinion that anyone who was younger than 18 IRLhad no place on any battlefield and urged the kids to stay in the early towns to stay safe. Some listened, some didn't...And such was the case here. Looking away from the market stall where she was conversing with an NPC, Ty saw a group of kids surrounding a slightly o

Charko was a village that didn't open up much to anyone. It was a recluse; the kind of place where people keep to themselves, in fear of drawing attention from adventurers and passersby. Yet the strangest thing about it was the fact that someone had posted a request for help, unsigned at that. All Ty saw was that she was to venture into the wilds and find the village, then look for one of the council members. How she would recognize one, she had no idea...Yet that problem was soon solved. When she arrived, she saw that one of the villagers had a quest marker above her head. She was dress

Still in shock over that last thought, Ty jolted when Freyd suddenly commanded her to take Koko to safety. She'd never really heard him command anyone before, having always seen him as the relatively calm and kind, moderate leader. But now, his other, more serious, side, showed through. The light was gone in an instant, making Ty grab Koko's hand so as to not lose the girl in the sudden darkness. "Come on, Koko!" she shouted, pulling the girl along. Koko stumbled, but held on to Ty's hand like a lifeline, just as she had done with Freyd. Ty closed her eyes when Freyd told her not to

Ty nodded once again at Freyd's encouragement. She knew he'd have Koko's back if anything happened, so all she had to do was find the way and get them out of here. It sounded easy enough, but it wasn't when every stony wall looked exactly the same. It didn't help that she was constantly startled by the dripping sounds that came from above, or the constant scraping and scratching all around them from things Ty decided she didn't want to meet. As the light finally came into view and Ty could see them running outside, free at last...that dream was abruptly shattered as another bat slammed i

Gazing upon Koko, all caked in mud with torn clothes, brought a tear to Ty's eye, but she wiped it away, trying to shake off the surge of thoughts that came to her. Thoughts about how terrified that girl must've been, in this cave, all on her own... No, she was fine now. They'd found her. Ty couldn't crouch down to meet Koko's gaze, but she smiled down at her, making sure the side where her rapier was, was facing away from the girl "Hey, you're a real champ, you know? You made it, I'm proud of you and your mom will be too. She's waiting for you back home." she said, pointing in the direc

Ty stared at the sphere in wonder. "What is that thing? Never seen anything like it before..." She sheathed her rapier as well, so it now rested against her left hip, allowing her to easily draw it again with her right hand should they come upon enemies again. As the sphere lit up, Ty grinned. "Ah I see, a portable lantern, so to speak. Very handy!" She was glad Freyd had decided not to howl again, since that had been what had drawn the bats to them in the first place. She knew it was a valuable tank skill, but she really didn't feel like fighting anything else unless she had to. When Fr

Ty listened to Freyd's explanation on how to use Arts and sighed nervously. She'd never used an Art before, she really had no clue how to use them, but if it was so intuitive, she had to try. Freyd had cut down one of the bats, but then seemingly made it turn towards Ty so she had to face it. Very sneaky of him. She gripped her rapier with both hands now, closing her eyes for a moment and imagining a surge of power in her weapon. "You're going down, bat!" she shouted, slashing forward, her rapier emitting a bright orange glow, like a flame. Freyd would recognize it as the single target Sw

Ty smiled thoughtfully, imagining just why Kil told her to stay away from fire. It seemed there was much she had to learn about the dynamics within this guild. That was fine, she was here to stay for the long haul, or at least she hoped so. At least her new friends kept her thoughts away from the doom and gloom, and she was growing stronger as she went along. Soon enough, she hoped to open her shop and get ready to fight on the Frontlines to help the cause. She would not stand idly by anymore. And if it hadn't been for Kil, Freyd, and initially, Morningstar, she never would've even had the cou

Ty blinked in shock as Freyd suddenly shouted loudly enough for the whole cavern to shake. She'd never seen a skill like that! Making a mental note to ask him about it later, as she was currently distracted by this huge monstrosity before her. Ty planned her attack in her head, but honestly, she had no idea what that thing even was and she was rendered speechless, her mind running at 500 miles per hour, trying to come up with any solution besides: stab until it dies. She thrust her rapier forward quickly, trying to catch the bat in the wing and stun it. However, as she went to do

Ty did not like the thought of her face being plastered anywhere. At all. so she shuddered at the mere thought, now understanding that Freyd had been taking aggro for her that whole fight. She couldn't even imagine what would've happened if he hadn't been there. Well, okay, she could, but she didn't want to. Moving past these terrible thoughts, Ty sighed. "Yeah, guess you're right. I can't really see myself being a great fighter, but I should definitely learn to defend myself. Otherwise, I won't survive long." She chuckled awkwardly. She greeted Foyle equally as formally as he greet

"Well, you sure weren't acting like a tank when you beat up Bob!" Ty quipped, laughing. "But I'm a support in every game I play, I don't know how far we can get with me as our damage dealer." she added, frowning. She could play some mages in games, but there was no magic in SAO, so she was stumped on how to approach combat. Ty turned to the woman as she approached them, meeting Freyd's eyes for a moment, his thoughts coming across clearly. She'd do her best to calm her down. "It'll be okay. This man is a professional, we'll get your daughter back, I promise." she told the woman, wh

Ty supposed Freyd was right about the fact it was a good thing that she cared about NPCs. She was still torn about seeing them as real people. They were people, on one hand, but on the other...they respawned and their emotions were programmed. They looked real, but they didn't suffer from any of the problems that real players suffered from: hunger, real pain and the threat of actually disappearing from both the fictional and real worlds upon death. She raised an eyebrow. "Sure, Freyd it is. You can call me Ty, Typhoon or Tara. But anyway, what do you mean by revealing who we are? It's no

As she was running, Ty felt herself collide with something...which turned out to be a someone. Before she could draw her rapier, she blinked up at the face of her guild leader. "Freyd?! What are you doing here?" she asked, then shook the thought away. "No matter! I-it's urgent, sir! There's a child that needs rescuing! Her mother was so worried!" she exclaimed quickly. As Freyd handed her some armor and explained this was a quest, she blinked. "Wait...that was an NPC?" she asked, feeling embarrassed. Had she really freaked out over a game character? Well, she supposed they were people

Ty was very glad to hear Freyd praise her. It was a definite boost to her usually low confidence. With a sigh, she returned to her would-be shop after her encounter with the King, thinking about how she really should get her butt moving about starting this place up and practicing her alchemy. It was no small ask, however, and she knew that. She needed to try and get experience elsewhere. Picking a teleportation area at random, a few days later, she found herself in Urbus, browsing at the local market to see how much alchemy ingredients and products sold for. An erratic woman frant

Ty hummed in agreement as KIl commented about the maid cafes. The concept itself had always made Ty cringe, and she would never go there, but she didn't fault the staff there. Every job was a way to earn a living in one's chosen way, after all. SHe had no right to judge. She only chuckled when he said he'd travel the world if they got out of here. "I hope you're rich enough to handle all the costs of that! I know your dad's a diplomat, but I don't think even he could fund a whole trip around the world." she mused. Ty nodded with a grin. "True, you really do. So many different people

Ty listened to Freyd's explanation, then gave a nod. So the bosses in this game really did work like those in any other MMO, for the most part. However, that was small comfort, as she'd never been a great raider, and beyond that, knowing exactly which boss did what required someone, or herself, to experience its attacks first-hand. Sighing to herself, she followed Freyd out of the dungeon, picking up the pace as much as she could, wanting to be out of there as soon as possible. She didn't do well in dark places and still slept with the light on at home. Thus, facing skeletons in dreary p

The King suddenly topped over after a strike to his shin and Ty found the skull of their enemy rolling across the floor to rest by her feet. She cringed as she stared down at its empty sockets, still looking on with malice, as if they could come alive again at any moment. Thankfully, that didn't happen, as the skull vanished soon after and Ty loosed a breath of relief. At Frey'd question, Ty pondered it for a second. What exactly had she observed? She paused, recounting the battle in her mind before responding, keeping in mind this could be some kind of test, even in Freyd claimed he was