[PP-F11] Herbal Hunt <<RGQ>> (Hakai)

[Grave 0]

I sat on a bench beside the fountain, peering up at the stained glass of the cathedral. It always bugged me... the way the light passed through the glass, it seemed to change almost every time I saw it. No, not the glass. That always seemed normal. But when my eyes inevitably drifted to the paved square down below, the pattern of colours seemed to be different each time. And it was not the time of day either; I visited the square at twelve o'clock exactly on three consecutive days, and the pattern seemed somehow different...

I shook my head as I heard an odd mumbling nearby. Why was I fussing over a trick of the light on such a beautiful day? I looked across my shoulder at the source of the mumbling; an old lady with an odd, empty basket in her hands. Confused, I stood and approached her. "Excuse me, madam, can I help you?" I asked, and she peered up at me with a friendly, toothless grin and sparkling gray eyes. "Yes, if you would be so kind... I was out collecting herbs and was suddenly attacked by a group of antmen. In a rush to get away, I spilled the herbs from my basket. I think they may have taken my herbs... they are special and very rare. I can supply you with a hefty reward for retrieving them." She explained, and a quest prompt popped up; "Herbal Hunt". "Wait... a random quest?" I asked, cocking my head and scratching my chin. I gasped when my eyes flicked over the reward; six Skill Points. Gulping, I pressed the circle Confirm button. The old lady nodded and smiled. "Thank you... if you find any more young heroes that would like to help out, give them this." She said, handing me a small envelope. I tapped it and it brought up the same quest prompt, except without the buttons, due to my having already accepted it.

The old lady waved and wandered off, and I sighed, peering around the square. "Now... I may need some help with this."

Edited August 19, 2016 by Grave

[Hakai 0]

Hakai smiled as she entered the eleventh floors main settlement. She could only recall having been here once before, just to hang out with a friend. This time she was here to find a partner, just for the day. She needed to get more skill points and the best way to do that was to team up with other players and do some quests.  She was getting to the point where she was a mid level player, but she wouldnt be content until she was at level fifty. She had a long road ahead of her if she truly wanted to get to that level in a decent amount of time. She couldn't wait to show Xion how superior she was to him. She needed to prove how much dedication she had to being strong, both stats and mentally. She wandered over to the fountain next to the cathedral and frowned, wondering where she would find someone to team up with. Maybe she would just bump into someone else.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Hakai

[Grave 0]

I idly scratched my head, bony fingers mindlessly ruffling argent argent locks. Everyone seemed busy; chatting with friends, dining on some exotic cuisine or taking a nap, well-deserved or not. "Damn it, where can a guy find some company around here?" I growled, looking like a lost puppy searching for his owner - a very agitated lost puppy. Swaths of players and NPCs alike swarmed around me as if I was some lamp post, obviously in a rush to get to their destinations... until I noticed a someone familiar face over the mass of digital bodies. Grunting, I forced myself past the players and came to a halt in front of the girl, looking just as aimless as myself. "You seem lost." I spoke to her, hand on my hip; maybe she could help with the quest? "You... seem familiar. Have we gone hunting before?" I asked, swearing I had met her some time on a lower floor.

[Hakai 0]

She glanced at the man, immediately thinking that his pick up line was absolutely terrible. Probably for the best that he'd recognized her before he continued his attempt. She wasn't sure that she wanted to know what he would have said next. Probably that her eyes were the beautiful hazel of a mangy dogs fur or something. "No. I dont believe so. I think we ran into each other on the first floor or something a while back." She tried to think of his name, but the only thing she could think of was Sierra for some reason. Then it hit her. "Good to see you again Grave." She had been thinking Sierra because she was in the grave. Her mind had a pretty strange way of remembering things. "So what are you doing here? Trying out pickup lines? Because asking a girl if shes lost in an attempt to get with her is actually pretty creepy." She stated, raising an eyebrow. She had come a long, long way since they had met.

[Grave 0]

Woah. She remembered my name? "Wow, I am amazed you remember my name. I do not think we spent much time together... I apologize for asking, but what was your name again?" I asked with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of my head nervously; I probably sounded rude at that point. She asked me if I was 'trying out pickup lines' and I coughed loudly, my face turning slightly stern. "No, I am not trying to get with you. I have a girlfriend, so not to worry. I asked because..." I pulled out the letter I had received from the old lady and handed it to her. "I just received a random quest from an NPC and she gave me this to give to another party member, so I was wondering if you would be interested in helping out?" I explained, motioning to tap the letter.

[Hakai 0]

She smirked at him. "Thats what all the boys say, but they usually backtrack on that story later on." She stated dryly to his comment about already being together with someone. "I'm Hakai, nice to meet you for the second time. I'd be happy to help you with the quest, although if it gets too boring I might have to leave you on your own." She said with a smile and a wink to him. She glanced over the quest. "This shouldn't be too difficult. I imagine that the hardest part will be acquiring these items that we cant get from gathering." She turned to Grave, handing him the sheet back. "Do materials gained from fighting enemies count?" She asked, wondering if he would even know. He could be just as new to this sort of quest as she was. These gathering quests had only started popping up in the recent weeks. Still, nothing could beat the amount of skill points they gave when completed.

[Grave 0]

"I promise, I have no intent on getting with you." I spat through gritted teeth with closed eyes. Especially not someone as bratty as this... I added mentally, before coughing and clearing my throat. "Pleasure, Hakai." I half-lied. "As long as you can help for long enough, that will be all I need." I explained to the girl. She asked if it included mob drops and I pondered, checking back over the sheet; we needed three Green Herbs (great imagination Kayaba) and four other items. "Three we just need to pick, but we need four non-material drops too." I sighed and scratched the back of my head. "Well, this might end up being a long expedition." I explained, shoving my hands in my coat pockets. "Guess we will take turns picking and fighting, make sure we get equal rights to the materials and items." I decided with a soft smile.

[Hakai 0]

Hakai raised an eyebrow, her face shifting to a more emotionless mask. He was lying. He obviously didn't like her for some reason so she dropped the pretense of being flirty or even sociable at all. She didn't really see the point in being like that around someone who had already judged her negatively. "You can have the materials and items. I just want the skill points, and as you know there isnt a way to prevent someone from getting those." She gave him a wan smile, her katana sheathed at her side. "Gathering the materials will be the easy part, so I would suggest that we both just focus on getting those. After that we can team up and fight together. It will be safer that way at least." She stated, offering her advice. Her hand fell to rest on the black and green katana at her waist. "Im a damage dealer, whats your build?" She asked, mostly out of a desire to strategize, but also out of want for information.

[Grave 0]

I nodded to the girl as she began to sort out the material gathering and skill point strategies. I had to give it to her, she would definitely find it hard to fail a quest; she seemed to be prepared for anything, able to set her priorities way before a quest even began. She might be pushy and jump to conclusions, but at least she'd be easy to work with. Hakai mentioned she was a damage dealer and I smiled; even better. "I am a sort of monk, I guess. I tank, I heal, I do damage. Pick your poison, hun." I explained with a soft smile, not wanting any aggression between us; I got a bit too hotheated beforehand, when she challenged my 'romantic trustworthiness'.