[PP-F5] Fetch Quest <<The Traveler>> (Calrex)

[Vayrin 0]

Sitting atop a large sandstone building in the town of Armadillo, Vayrin had been scrolling through her menu. Today had been a rather boring day, for her standards anyways. The girl had really been doing nothing but grinding for the past few days, but she had grown tired of constantly hunting the same mobs. Even though she knew it was not something she should let hinder her progress, she had become bored. Giving a quick sigh, Vayrin stood up. She didn't want to be in the sun much longer, despite the view of the building top. Vayrin quickly jumped down, managing to land on a smaller building roof, only to step off of that one onto the street. The violet haired girl then began walking to the shade of the ally way, to continue whatever it was she had been. If she even knew.

[Calrex 0]

With a flash of light Calrex appeared on the fifth floor in the settlement of Armadillo as he gave a calming breath, "Whelp, looks like I'm back here again. Last time I was here I was helping Tak out with the Blood in the Sand quest. So...what am I doing here again?"

Looking left and right he gave a small sigh as he put his hands into his jacket pockets, "I...don't remember now actually...well, I guess I might as well look around for now. Maybe I can find that ice cream shop Shizuka and I came across after finishing her quest."

Glancing upwards he saw his familiar materialize in the sky above, circling over the settlement as he made his way through the streets, "Let's see...it was coming back into the safe zone, it was in this direction right?"

Rounding yet another corner he continued looking left and right, but after a few more turns it seemed that the sandstone-built establishments were beginning to blend together as he gave another sigh, "Dagnabit, I might have gotten too reliant on the Reveal skill. Now that it's gone it's like I lost my internal compass or something. That's not good."

[Vayrin 0]

As Vayrin continued to look through her menu, she leaned up against the wall of the building. Not really knowing what she was doing, she sighed and closed her menu. Guess she was gonna spend another day grinding on the 2nd floor. Yaaaay. She had thought sarcastically to herself. As she exited the ally way, she looked both ways down the street to get her sense of direction back. Knowing she needed to turn left and around the corner to get to the teleport podium, she continued to walk through the array of players and NPCs. Vayrin paid little attention to who was  in front of her, as her eyes hazed in the sun's glare. She came around the corner of a large building before she suddenly felt the impact of another player.

"Oh, uh sorry." Vayrin quickly said as she gazed upwards at a much taller, and older looking player then herself. She had stumbled back for a moment but had regained her footing. As she observed the man, she found him a least bit curious. Mostly because his dark blue hair stood out. He had been the first person she had seen with the exotic color. Even though she had pretty rare hair color as well.

[Calrex 0]

"Oof! Oh, sorry about that? Are you alright?"

As he had rounded yet another corner Calrex felt himself hit another player, looking over as his eyes widened in surprise for a second. The person he had bumped into was a young woman, most likely only a few years younger than his wife, Teayre, with a unique hair color. "Now that I think of it, I haven't seen any players with purple hair before. Certainly a good handful of bluenettes, but definitely not purple."

Putting a hand behind his head apologetically he gave a bow, "Sorry about that. I guess I got distracted trying to figure out where the place I was looking for was located and didn't check my corners."

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin stood there facing the man as he bowed and apologized to her. Vayrin said nothing, not knowing really how to respond after that. She finally found something to say in response. "Oh, no. Really it's nothing." She said as he stood up after his bow. Vayrin listened intently as the player explained his situation. He had seemed to be doing the same thing she had when rounding that corner. He seemed to be looking for somewhere, and he seemed to be lost. So her natural response came next "Where were you trying to get to?" Even though she spent little time on this floor, Vayrin was familiar with it.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a friendly smile as he listened to the young woman inquire about where he was getting to, "Oh, nothing really crazy. There's an ice cream shop somewhere in this settlement that I went to with a friend sometime back, so I was just trying to figure out where it was."

With that he put a hand to the back of his head as he ruffled the blue hair on his head, "Oh, right, sorry where are my manners. It's nice to meet you, albeit in such an awkward situation. I'm Calrex."

"Well chock up another awkward introduction. Here I thought I was fairly good at social interactions, but accidental run ins like this still catch me off guard."

Putting his hands back into his jacket pockets he relaxed his stance into a more casual position, "In any case what brings you to this floor? "

Edited December 9, 2015 by Calrex

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin thought for a moment, trying to recall the location of an ice cream shop. But for some reason, she could not seem to remember anything about ice cream n this floor. She guessed she was not as familiar with this desert as she thought she was. Vayrin's thoughts quickly turned back to the man as he introduced himself. His name was Calrex. "Oh, Well. I'm Vayrin." She said giving a slight nod. "Don't know much about ice cream. Can't say I know the place your looking for..." Vayrin replied sounding a little dissapointed in her lack of knowledge of this floor. She looked back up at him when he asked her purpose. "Me? Oh well... I've just been studying this floor for a few days in between grinding times. I'm still not skilled enough to grind here, but hopefully I will be soon." She replied, telling the honest truth the Calrex.

[Calrex 0]

Giving an understanding nod Calrex flashed a friendly smile, "No worries, it's perfectly fine. It's a please to meet you Vayrin. I'm sure you're well on your way to training on this floor."

"I guess I might be able to get a better bearing if I enter back in from the gates."

Thinking for a second he gave a calming breath before looking back over at the purplette girl, "In any case, I think I'm gonna try from a different entrance to maybe get my bearings, so I'm going into the field zones for a bit. If you'd like you're welcome to come along and get an idea of what monsters spawn in this floor."

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin gave a surprised look after Calrex suggested she join him to learn more about the floor. He obviously looked like he had more experience then her, so if he was offering her a spot in his party then he must have known what he was doing. "Really? I'd probably just slow you down." She said honestly. One thing she tried to avoid was getting dependent on higher leveled players, bust she still did it from time to time to help increase her skills. Although she found it rude to put them in positions like that. When she needed protection. Vayrin thought for another moment then spoke up again. "Well, I guess it would be helpful to see the mobs and such on this floor. I rarely leave the safe zones outside of any floors other then 1, 2 and 3."

[Calrex 0]

With a friendly smile the Ultramarine Knight gave a nod as he swiped on his menu, sending the party request before looking towards the gates. Even though he was getting turned around in the settlement looking for the ice cream shop, it was at this point heading for the field zones became second nature, "Don't worry, you're not gonna slow me down unless you walk slow or something. Besides, a good walk through the desert wouldn't hurt right?"

Saying the last sentence in a more lighthearted tone he gave another smile before heading in the direction of the gates, gently resting his sword arm on the handle of the Grand Blade. "Let's see what can be found out there this time? Hopefully not some more sand sharks."

[Vayrin 0]

With that, Vayrin quickly went into her menu, tapped a few buttons, and her Anneal Blade materialized itself on her back in an array of blue aura. When Vayrin looked up from her menu, she saw how rare Calrex's weapon was. Her eyes widened a little, but then she tried to quickly shake her thoughts and went back to her own inventory. Underneath her long purple coat, a small chest plate materialized as well. Giving her arms a few stretches she hurried to catch up with Calrex as he walked towards the city gates. She was about to look up and say something when a strange looking figure caught her eye. It was an all cloaked women, standing near the entrance of the city. She wasn't a player, she had no marker. "Who's that?" Vayrin asked curiously, hoping Calrex knew.

[Calrex 0]

"Hm?"

As Vayrin pointed out an individual person that was standing near the entrance of the city Calrex's mind went through what he knew of SAO, including people, NPCs, and quests, trying to get a match, "That was from..."

"Oh, you must be referring to the old woman NPC for the Traveler quest here. I took it a while back, but I remember than upon completing it you gain the extra skill Survival, which helps you heal faster out of combat."

Looking over he gave a smile, "If you haven't completed it yet I'd be happy to lend a hand. It's not a really difficult quest, but it requires you to find an item hidden in the sands. I've got some gear that boosts my searching ability, so it might help speed things up."

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin looked up at Calrex with a curious look as he told her about the NPC. It seemed to be a quest giving NPC. Something Vayrin had missed as well. She seemed rather interested in the extra skill that could be acquired upon completion.

"Oh, really? I'm up for it, but don't go out of your way to help me." She said, trying to sound polite. She of course wanted help, but she didn't want to seem needy  every time she met a high leveled player. Although, the quest itself didn't sound too difficult. With Calrex at her side, she'd probably be safe from any mobs that try and harm them. With that thought in mind, she began walking up to the NPC.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as Vayrin responded to his suggestion, "Don't worry, I'm not going out of my way on this. Besides if we encounter any monsters out there it will be some good combat practice."

When his teammate walked towards the NPC to gain the quest the bluenette began swiping on his menu to confirm that all of his respective gear was equipped. As he scrolled down his equipment slots he confirmed his selections. Of course the two items he always had on him were there: The Amethyst Charm and Tide Pendant that was made by his wife from her artisan shop, the Amethyst Boutique. Looking down at the sword charm for a few seconds he admired the red katana and blue straight sword that circled within the item, "I can't remember how many times I've admired her crafts."

With that he made sure his unenhanced armor, the Grand Dragoon, equipped, as well as the Grand Blade attached to the back of his hip in its sheath, "The Traveler quest huh? It's certainly been a while. In any case I hope things go smoothly like it did the first time I did this."

[Vayrin 0]

With a nod, Vayrin turned her attention back to the cloaked NPC, and began walking towards her. After getting within a few feet, the NPC turned to both of them, explained the quest. Soon, the notification icon appeared in front of them. With a quick moment of thought, Vayrin pressed the circle icon on the menu to accept the quest. Assuming Calrex was doing the same. She turned back in his direction. "Well, this quest could take some time. I doubt the cargo we're looking for will spawn in the same place it was in when you did it." She said, using her basic knowledge of these kind of fetch quests. This was more due to luck then their skills. Of course with Calrex's skills, they would find it a little easier.

[Calrex 0]

"Probably not very likely. However, at least this time around I've got some search enhancing equipment and skills to make the effort a little bit easier."

Approving his assistance to Vayrin in the quest he gave a nod to his teammate as he directed her out towards the field zones, "From what I remember it will be about a day's travel for us to get to the area where the cargo was lost, but from what I remember there's a good amount of small caves that we can likely rest out in during the night. If anything I can also stand watch for any monsters that wander around at night."

"At least if the landscape is consistent with the way it usually is. I don't know if the fifth floor has a special effect that changes the area with the shifting of the sands, but there's always the chance."

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin nodded in agreement with Calrex's statement. She could tell by his speech that he had a lot more experience then her in this, and probably many more aspects as well. With that thought in mind she replied. "Alright, doesn't sound too difficult. At least, not the quest itself." She said with a slight nervous grin. There was the monsters on the 5th floor that she was still too weak to fight on her own, but then again, Calrex was probably able to handle them. Based on his equipment, and speech she could easily tell he was another high leveled player. She had a habit of running into these people...

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, it really shouldn't be. The only part that might require some luck and effort on our part is trying to find the cargo. I got lucky the past couple times I participated in this quest, so let's hope that streak somehow continues. It's buried in the sands, and with luck will spawn nearby wherever we end up camping out."

Calrex took note of the small grin that Vayrin put on, as if to mask some kind of hesitation about going out into the field zones. "I guess that's not really any surprise. The fifth floor monsters are normally capable of dishing out a decent amount of damage for a player at her current level. However, I think she should be alright. She definitely won't be one-shot at least. Anything else I can probably make sure target me first, although to my memory battles are rare in this case."

"Well, in any case if you're all set, let's get moving."

Turning in the direction of the gates the bluenette began to make his way out into the field zones.

[Vayrin 0]

"Right." Vayrin whispered under her breath as she began to follow Calrex out of the sandstone town.

Although she had been here many times, she had  never really ventured outside the town. She would sometimes wander outside, but never too far. So this was a totally new experience for her. She had been relying on Calrex for this, mostly because he had apparently done this quest many times. She didn't doubt him on that. The one thing Vayrin didn't account for on this quest was the heat. Sure it was hot on this floor, but for some reason, the farther they walked from the towns, the more the air became dryer. Her throat was the same. She supposed it was mostly her cloak that had made it hotter then usual, and said nothing of it. She was just trying to focus on not slipping of the dunes from the shaking sand.
 

[Calrex 0]

(Environmental Damage Disregarded Due to Survival Skill)

"Alright, looks like the desert is going to be a bit harsh once we get to where the cargo should be buried. Let's take it slow and cautiously for now."

While the sand dunes seemed to be rather calm right outside of Armadillo, but as he looked further out Calrex made note of what appeared to be rushing winds and sand, much like how it was when he first undertook the quest with Teayre, Oikawa, and Ariel. Back then it possibly wasn't as bad as the current upcoming conditions, "Hm...I wonder if I still have a potion in my inventory. Those things probably won't cause me any trouble with the Survival skill already in my slots, but Vayrin hasn't completed the quest yet. That might post a serious problem."

It seemed that the day was progressing fairly quickly, as the bluenette already saw the sun beginning to make its trip back towards the horizon, "Alright, probably in a little while we should start looking for shelter. After that we'll be a short distance away from the cargo's supposed location. Let me know if things get too rough though. The weather where it was lost seems more dangerous than when I last took on this quest. If need be I'll give you my teleport crystal to use."