Acanthus

The hubbub of Tomioka dimmed as Acanthus closed the door behind her. She looked around, initially dismayed. “Soup kitchen? Wrong address again,” she mumbled. “This is getting to be a habit.” A belch of smoke replied to her. As the sounds of the forge reached her ears, she relaxed. The Knight Shift seemed like an eternally busy shop. Steam hissed and the bellows groaned as materials made their arduous journey to become weapons. An uncountable number of materials, judging by the worn and repaired appearance of every tool and forge. But their worn nature reflected an attitude of careful atte

8/5/2024 Name: Nostalgia in D major Profession: Performer Rank: 1 Roll ID: 224248 Roll Result: 11 Item Type: Support Song Tier: 1 Quality: Rare Enhancements: HP Recovery 2 Post Link: Here Description: A song that sings sweetly of days gone by. Has an upl

Crafting for 8/5/2024 Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience 1 224247 CD: 3 LD: 16 Fail - +1 2 224248 CD: 11 LD: 16 T1 Rare (HP Recovery 2) - +5 EXP: 6/39

Just off the main square of Scalabis, there is A Familiar Tune. It is a bright, cheery studio with an expansive interior. Featuring sound-proof practice rooms and recording crystals, A Familiar Tune offers an atmosphere that caters to both frontline veterans and tourists alike. The large showroom floor offers a variety of vanity recording crystals—all currently public domain classical works. In addition to the recordings, there are enough instruments to equip a small symphony. Violins, trumpets, clarinets are strategically scattered about the shop to encourage visitors to pick them up and try

Crafter's Quest Song

THREAD SUMMARY Acanthus EXP: 300 (quest) + (5,750/10) * 1 * 1) = 875 * 2 (recruitment event) = 1,750 EXP Col: (400 * 1) = 400 col <<Performer>> Profession unlocked. Standard <<Performer>> shop unlocked. Crafted item: Support Song (T1 Rare): HP Recovery 2 | Roll ID: 224180 (2) materials spent crafting (5) materials

Rejuvenated, Acanthus wandered the streets of the beautiful, Roman-style city. She quickly learned the name (Scalabis), the main attraction (The Colosseum), and of course, a few nearby restaurants to sample. She wandered the streets with a pizza in hand. I’m pretty sure the Roman Empire predates pizza as we know it. Then again, the floor boss was a giant, mythical sea demon. Maybe historical accuracy isn’t the goal here. Her pizza nearly fell out of her hands. What lay before her was nothing less than the perfect shop. On a side street just out of earshot from the teleportation

As Acanthus sat on the stone pier, kicking her feet in the crystal clear water, she came to a realization. This is real. Like any other part of life, it’s happening. Whether I want it to or not. And she was happier for that realization. She hadn’t realized how much she had been fighting herself for the last two years. The voice in the grove had been right—she had been in denial for so long. She had lost two years, not because she was trapped outside of the real world, but because she had refused to accept that for now, this was her reality. Part of her understood that she was no

After a brief review of the available floors, she was left with a short list. She decided that she would start no lower than Floor 11. If she were going to stay below that, she might as well be on Floor 1. Many of the floors seemed impossible to live on, let alone open a shop. Floor 12 was nothing more than marshland with a few shacks dotting the landscape. Floor 13 was a post-apocalyptic nightmare of green plant-smudge. Floor 14 would have been perfect for her—assuming she were a brooding night-clad vampire. Floor 15 seemed nice, except that Acanthus did not particularly care for heights

With her profession locked in, Acanthus decided to look for shop locations. She first returned to Tolbana, where she asked Dorian about opening a music store on the square. (Secretly, she had hoped to open it next door to the Sweet Tooth.) Dorian shook his head firmly. “Acanthus, I'm honored you would want to stay here. But I think for your sake, you should take your shop to the higher floors.” “Dorian, I thought that you wanted to share Tolbana with adventurers? Didn't you say you wanted us to come back from time to time?” “Yes my dear. But opening a shop? That's not ‘returning

This time, it was Landon’s turn to applaud. There was a single tear in his eye. I don’t think that’s for show, either. I really think he liked it. Still applauding, Landon bellowed, “what a natural! You still think you were meant for a stuffy old pharmacy?” “I think… I think this is a good choice. One of many, but a good choice nonetheless.” Landon rolled his eyes. “From someone as reserved as you, that’s a resounding yes.” “Yes. I think it is.” Acanthus tried to hide a smile, but Landon caught it. “Look at you, rockergirl! You’re busting down those little obstacles in your life, one

When the viol’s string popped off the pegs for the third time, Acanthus wondered whether it was too late to become an alchemist instead. Landon remained optimistic. “Aw, rockergirl! That was so close! Keep your wrists firm and flexible as you wind the strings into the scroll!” Wristwork, flexibility. This was nothing like the video games she saw her brother play. Crafting in those games was always a matter of selecting ingredients and punching a button. Here, Acanthus felt like she was learning a whole new trade. And all for the lowest-level crafts. Grandmaster recipes probably inclu

Acanthus considered what kind of instrument she wanted to craft. Performing was already a big step for her, so she wanted to keep the instruments her comfort zone. “I think I remember a little bit of violin from my childhood. Could we do one of those?” Landon cocked his head. “No violins here, rockergirl. But I’ve got something similar.” He produced an uncannily similar instument. Acanthus thought it looked like a violin that had been stung by bees too many times. “This is a viol. It’s still got four strings and you still bow it. Some of the fingerings are the same, but it’s a b

“You’re awfully quiet this time around. Did everything go well?” Could I check the player registry? But there’s a few ways to spell Lily. Maybe there’s an i on the end? Or two l’s? Deleon may be a better starting point. “Hey, rockergirl! You ok?” Acanthus snapped out of her thoughts and back into Landon’s studio. “Sorry, Landon. Everything went well. I just had a weird encounter out there. Speaking of, do NPCs… I mean, do villagers ever go out to the fields, or is it just adventurers?” Landon furrowed his brow. “Not everyone, no. Some shopkeepers will go out and gather on t

The conversation died out as the two girls worked some more. Acanthus heard the sound of the other girl standing up and dusting off her hands. Acanthus, set on a particularly gnarled branch, remained engrossed in her work. She had just successfully clipped the crimson stalkweed, and busied herself putting it away. “Thanks for keeping me company, Acanthus.” “Don’t mention it, um…?” “Lily.” “Lily. Anytime you need something, just message me.” “Ok. I’ll be sure to send you a letter.” Amused, Acanthus replied, “I appreciate your commitment to roleplaying, but wouldn’t

“I need a little more col to support my brother. We’ve had a rough last few weeks, and some of these weeds can fetch a good price at Evangeline’s or Zackariah’s.” “I was actually thinking about taking these to Evangeline myself. Either him or Landon.” “Landon is quite the character, isn’t he?” “You can say that again,” Acanthus chuckled. “I stumbled into his shop by accident, and here I am, thinking about changing professions. All because I didn’t read my quest log properly.” “He’s a good man. He likes to perform at all the local taverns, free of charge. A lot of the owners

THREAD SUMMARY Acanthus EXP: 300 (Quest) + ((5,800/10) * 1 * 1) = 880 * 2 (recruitment event) = 1,760 EXP Col: 400 (1 page * 400) = 400 col Items Gained Demonic Shard (2) materials <<Profession: Forager>> Unlocked.

“Actually, I do have a question. If you have a moment.” Edict returned to his chair. “Of course.” Acanthis shared her experience in the woods with him. She kept many of the sordid details to herself, but shared her encounter with the strange voice, and the awful things it said. At the end of her story, she asked a simple question. “Did that happen to you?” Edict paled. “I… Not exactly. I took that same quest, but I never heard a voice telling me I was worthless.” Acanthus sighed. Then Edict continued. “But… that was not a comfortable quest for me either. I found my shard pr

“That’s really interesting! There seems to be a lot about the game no one has really figured out yet. I haven’t met a lot of people on the frontlines with similar reservations about the food, but I haven’t pried either. I’d be curious if any of them experienced the same problem. But you said it’s gone now, right?” Acanthus nodded, her mouth full of cantaloupe (or whatever they called it here). “Maybe it only affects people at lower levels. Ah—again, I don’t mean to—” Acanthis cut him off. “No offense. You didn’t say anything wrong back there. I took it a little personally because I’ve spe

Relieved, he pulled up a chair. It groaned under the weight of his armor. Peeking at her desserts, he said “I don’t blame you for the fruit skewers. I had a revelation the first time I had one too. But I had the benefit of nobody bothering me mid-bite.” Acanthus was already busy with the skewer again. The sauce was amazing. It had a delicate sweetness, but the sparkling was not just a visual element. She felt the sauce popping and fizzing gently, adding a light and intriguing texture to the fruit. Edict regarded her voraciousness with a hint of awe. “I have to say, I don’t think I’ve

Acanthus took a bite of the parfait and was pleasantly surprised. The strawberries—rougeberries, rather—had a pleasant flavor. Not as good as real strawberries, they tasted like the artificial flavoring in overly sweet candies. Distinct from strawberries, but close enough to enjoy the flavor all the same. Finished with her parfait, she leaned in to bite the skewer, before stopping mid-bite. Hold on, she thought. That tasted good. Her realization was different from her previous observation about the flavor of the rougeberries. Rather, this was the first time she’d eaten something—anyt

She thought about those two towns. From what she’d heard, the former was nothing more than ten buildings and a quest. And Town of Beginnings was over a kilometer in diameter. Charting it out would be a massive undertaking. “I’m not giving up on my quest. I just don’t think I have to do it all in one day, you know?” She sat at a table outside The Sweet Tooth, soaking up a warm sunbeam. In front of her sat a rougeberry parfait and a fruit skewer. Tomathon nodded sagely. “It’s certainly best to pace yourself. Everything in moderation.” He looked down at the two desserts. “Including

Maid in Heaven was, as it implied, a place that prided itself on excellent service. But Acanthus could see from the outside that she was not the usual clientele. Not that there was anything bad about the cafe. Everybody was all smiles, maids and men alike. And the large bouncer in the front told her that problem customers did not stay for long. But it was not the kind of cafe she particularly enjoyed. For Acanthus, it was all about the desserts themselves. She didn’t place much emphasis on service and presentation. As long as no one spit in her food, she would overlook it for a decent des

The other two cafes in Tolbana were promising, but they didn’t appeal to her the way The Sweet Tooth did. Down a shady alley, Acanthus found the second cafe. Cobblestone Curiosity was the name, and it delivered handily on the name. Acanthus walked inside to see some of the strangest desserts and drinks she had ever laid eyes on. A parfait that included strips of boar meat, three oranges in the shape of a snowman, the top one hollowed out and filled with whipped cream. A pudding that shifted colors as the light caught it from different angles. “We have new stuff to try every week,” th

Acanthus peeled her face from the glass and turned to the man. He struck an imposing figure; broad shoulders and massive hands, and even taller than Acanthus. But his round face showed nothing but joy. Acanthus pictured him as Aincrad’s most imposing teddy bear. “We have plenty of seating inside. I see you’re eyeing the fruit skewers; they are a popular choice.” The man was right; her gaze had lingered on the strange fruit skewers. “They appear delicious. What is the red sauce?” The man beamed. “Well, I can’t give away all our secrets, but it’s a special mixture featuring r