[PP-F1] Fetching for Zackariah <<The First Few Lessons are Free>> (Beginner Quest)

[Kyoko 0]

Kyoko walked down the stone path and exited the Town of Beginnings. Her heart sunk into her gut as she gazed out upon the horizon. Scattered treelines and rolling hills told of a time when the game was safer; more peaceful...but now, the pastures were teeming with danger. Luckily, the man she had met in the Town of Beginnings, an old man by the name of Zackariah, had asked for something that wouldn't take her any further than the grove at the edge of the hills.

"Just get to the grove and get the items. Piece of cake...I hope," she said to herself, unable to stop her knees from shaking or her voice from trembling. More thoughts of wild beasts running through the plains passed through her mind, but she forced herself to ignore them and concentrated more on what she stood to gain. "If we can get this out of the way, we'll be better off. Just gotta do it." 

The breeze picked up, flowing through her brunette hair and distracting her long enough to forget she wasn't alone at the gate, or in her quest.

[Bellum 0]

Skipping merrily alongside Kyoko on the stone path, Annabelle was like the polar opposite of her companion. From her vibrant hairstyle to her overall zeal at the prospect of absolute freedom that she'd been handed, Belle looked like she'd just won the lottery. They'd met a man in the Town of Beginnings named, uh, Zachariah? Yeah, that sounded right. She looked to her companion, who hadn't yet seemed to recover from the initial shock of the recent revelation.

"Hey, come on now, we're not even gonna see any monsters." She cooed, her tone suggesting that she was actually a little disappointed by this fact. "In fact, all we're doing is making stuff to keep ourselves from dying. That's important." She babbled, as she often did, in an effort to remove the tension. Kyoko's self-directed pep talk seemed to help cheer her up, or at least calm her down, which was a good thing.

Looking around now, she realized that she had no clue where they were going. A gentle breeze started to pick up, the pink of her hair flying into her eyes. Fixing her hair, she glanced at her companion. "So, uh, what were we doing here, again?" She asked. Truth be told, she was quite bored by the idea of going to make potions. Sure, it might be cool in real life, but there were monsters out there, just waiting to be killed! She wanted to try out the huge battleaxe that sat across her back, somewhat jarring given her small size. "I hope you know where we're going, because I most certainly don't."

[Kyoko 0]

Kyoko groaned upon remembering the girl she had picked up from the plaza but offered a polite smile. "Don't worry, I know where we're going. There's a grove just down the hills, not too far from here. We'll be there in no time." She began walking and took it on faith that Bellum was still following along. "Watch," Kyoko said and activated the menu. She flicked through the holographic pages until the map screen appeared and she looked to Bellum. "Every player has a map. You can use it to get to just about anywhere. Players appear on the map too, so you can track their positions. If you're ever not sure where to go, just look at your map."

The sun blasted her pale skin overhead and she huffed at Bellum's earlier comment. "And I know staying alive is important. Honestly, that's the only thing I'm worried about. If I have to live the rest of my life in here, I'm okay with that. Aincrad is beautiful; way better than the real world if you ask me. But, I don't want to die. Not now; I'm not ready to go." She looked back at Bellum with a crooked brow. "Does that make sense?"

 

Edited March 17, 2017 by Kyoko

[Bellum 0]

Bellum, seemingly oblivious to the discomfort of Kyoko, continued to skip along, not noticing when the gilr stopped to show her where they were going on a... They have maps? Retreating a few steps back to her companion, she watched, engrossed, as the other girl showed her how to open and use her map. She tried to do the same, fumbling through her menu and accidentally opening her inventory a few times, but eventually she figured it out. 

"Oooooh..." She muttered, her face quite close to the map as she attempted to read it. "So wait... That one's me, right?" She asked, pointing to her blip on the map. "And that's you?" She asked, pointing to Kyoko. "This is craaaazy." She admired, scrolling through her map. As the other girl continued walking, she merely stood there, messing with her newly discovered map.

Kyoko speaking once more jarred Belle and forced her to look up, away from her map, to see that the other girl was much farther ahead of her now. Skipping along frantically, she caught up, listening as the other girl spoke about her views on being trapped in the game. Surprisingly, well... They weren't all that different. Smiling warmly now, Bellum patted her friend on the back encouragingly. "Hey, that's the spirit. It's not so bad here." Came her voice reassuringly. "I think it'll be fun living here. Nothing but kicking butt and exploring, every single day. There isn't anything to distract from all the freedom we have now."

[Kyoko 0]

Bellum's cheerful attitude was still as mindblowing as ever. Back in the plaza, upon first meeting the pink-haired girl, Kyoko had been at least somewhat distraught by the loss of her earthly life...but Bellum showed no sign of sadness, nor regret. "This girl...she's not phased by any of this. How can she be so giddy right now?" Kyoko silently wondered and traced back to Bellum's comment regarding their new life.

"I had way too much freedom back in the real world. No parents, no family. Honestly, I don't have anything to go back to. But you? Don't you have a family you're going to miss? Someone you care about?" Kyoko asked. The grove came into view. They would reach it within moments, and their time in the valley was nearly half-way over. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm just curious."

[Bellum 0]

Kyoko continued to speak to her, she talked a bit about her life at home. Belle actually shut up and listened to this, which may have been quite surprising, given that she had been talking positively non stop since they first met. She listened to the other girl speak intently, almost fixedly, until the conversation was directed at Belle herself. Was there anyone she'd miss? Kyoko seemed to hesitate with the question, telling her that she didn't have to answer if the question made her uncomfortable. For the first time, Bellum seemed genuinely serious, as if lost in thought. "No, it's okay." Came her voice, softly for once.

"Someone I'd miss? Hmm..." She muttered, thinking aloud for a moment. She stopped walking and stood, deep in thought. Would she miss her home? Her mom, her dad, her siblings? She loved them all dearly, and she knew that they'd be worried sick about her. She wanted to let them know that she was safe, and that she was happy, but the thought of leaving this place was agony. She never wanted to leave. If she could bring them here with her... No, that wouldn't do. Her cravings for freedom stemmed from her own family, as sad as it was. Without them, she could be happy like she was now. With them? Things would be different. 

Though her mind was moving a million miles an hour, Bellum only remained silent for a few moments. Her face returned to its usual cheery smile, but for a brief moment, a glimmer of sanity flickered through her features. "Nope." She replied, singsong and cheerful once more. "I don't need anybody else." Said she.

By now, they'd reached the end of the valley, and had finally reached their destination. Looking around the grove expectantly, Belle placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "Okay, how do we do this, now?" She asked boredly. "Just... Go pick flowers?"

[Kyoko 0]

Belle's answer was astounding, to say the least. She had expected a girl with her disposition to hail from the most wonderful family in all of Japan, but apparently, there wasn't anyone for her to miss; no one to go back to. "I guess you and I are in the same boat then," She replied after Belle had finished talking about her family. "Just a couple of lone wolves. Oh well. Aincrad will be a good home for us, so long as we don't die."

The pair reached the end of the valley and found themselves standing in the grove: a gorgeous oasis of trees, vegetation, and golden sunlight that blew through the canopy like luminescent fire. Belle asked about their objective, inquiring into what exactly they were looking for. "We're not here for anything random, Belle. What we're looking for is big; about the size of your head, actually. It's got three pink leaves folding over a blossom and it smells like cinnamon. At least...that's what the quest description says in the menu," Kyoko explained and headed towards the center of the mangrove, where she found the plant in question.

It pulsed ever so slightly, shaking plant spores down onto the grove floor. Zackariah had explained that the plant was harmless, but he had failed to mention the weight of the object. Kyoko attempted to pull the plant out of the ground by its roots, but it was far too heavy for her to successfully obtain. Looking over at Belle, she gave an embarrassed smile. "Can you give me a hand?"

[Bellum 0]

Smiling sweetly, Bellum listened to Kyoko talk, skipping alongside her. The girl declared them to be not so different, which elicited a grin that threatened to split her face. She suddenly stopped skipping, wrapping an arm around the other girl's shoulder in an uncomfortably tight sort of side hug. 

"It's you and me against the world, Kyoko!" She shouted to the heavens, her face radiant in the beaming rays of the artificial sun. "We're a two girl wolf pack!" She declared. Tightening her grip on he companion, likely threatening to squeeze the artificial oxygen out of her lungs, she reared her head back and let out a howl, which echoed and carried over the hills for miles and miles. Her stentorian voice reverberated against the hills, which carried her wolf's song, and may have even been described as alive with the sound of music.

Finally letting her companion go, assuming she hadn't already escaped, she followed her cheerfully onward, a spring in her step as they reached their destination. She listened to Kyoko describe the size and shape of their target. About the size of... Of her head? While she was pondering this, Kyoko went right ahead and located one. Sure enough, the thing was huge. As she bent over to try and pull it out, Belle placed her own hands on her cheeks, a look of self consciousness reflected upon her features as she pulled the mirror out of her inventory once more. "Is my head really that big?" She asked, feeling her face as if it were a foreign object.

When Kyoko requested for help, Belle was excitation. "Right away, best buddy!" She proclaimed, hoping down and grabbing the thing by the leaves. Surprisingly strong for her size, Annabelle had little difficulty uprooting the huge plant. In fact, she had so little difficulty that she'd actually fly up into the air a small distance upon it being separated from the ground, sending her, and probably her companion, who might not have been ready for the sudden shift in weight, flying flat onto her back. In her lap, the huge plant would thud, and an audible yelp would escape her lps. "...Got it!'

 

Rolls

ID#79875

Rolled a 15, yaaay

+1 Material

Edited March 19, 2017 by Bellum

[Kyoko 0]

Kyoko laughed at Belle's ridiculous maneuver. It was quite obnoxious, but in such a charming way that it painted Belle in a cartoonish light. "Careful, Belle!" she called out as the plant landed in her partner's lap. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself out of combat." Her voice carried through the grove, bouncing off of the splintered trees and suffocating the choir of insects chirping at their feet. "And you might wanna get off the ground! Who knows what kind of bugs are in this game."

She quickly located another plant and rubbed her hands together in preparation, igniting a warm pulse between her palms. A nippy breeze caressed her cheeks and she felt her ears grow numb. "You know, I meant it as a joke, but I never really thought about all of the dangers we might find outside of combat. Can we die of exposure? Or disease? How would we even find out?" she asked, looking to Belle in hopes that she might have some amount of insight into the issue.

Bending at the knees, Kyoko resolved to try and pull the plant herself again, hoping that this bulb would be easier to pluck from its place in the soil.

 

Rolls

ID# 79969

Loot: 19

+1 Material

 

The bulb launched from the soil, ripping out of Kyoko's grasp and flew high into the air. She scrambled to catch her prize but only succeeded in catching the bulb with her face. Frowning with embarrassment, she shook her head, but the frown quickly turned into a smile as she realised the absurdity of what had just happened. "Stupid things. They're supposed to be heavy..."

Edited March 20, 2017 by Kyoko

[Bellum 0]

Bellum held her plant triumphantly, giggling a little bit herself. As the plant landed in her lap, Kyoko warned her to be wary of hurting herself out of combat, to which Belle replied with understandable confusion.

”...I can do that?” She asked, suddenly worried. ”Does doing stuff like stubbing my toe actually take away from my health bar?” She asked. You see, Belle was an absolute noob to this game. She had signed on only an hour or so before all players had been locked in permanently, fortunately for her. Unfortunately was that she had no idea how to do most typical stuff in this game.

A rather chilly breeze sent shivers down Belle’s spine, and Kyoko seemed to notice this as well, for she wondered out loud if they could die of exposure. Shrugging, Belle continued searching, speaking as she looked around. ”I don’t think so. That’d be a pretty lame way to die, and I don’t think that’s what our hooded friend was going for.” She said, surprisingly rational. ”He wants a show, after all. If it was me making the game, though, I’d just have players take damage from the cold, or the warm, or the acid rain, or whatever environmental hazard they face!” She chattered, her voice picking up at the end of her sentence as her excitement grew. Thinking about this game excited her to no end.

As Kyoko lost hold of the plant she was trying to pick, in a maneuver surprisingly similar to the one she’d just pulled off, Bella would giggle. ”Careful, Kyoko!” She teased, picking up the bulb from the ground and presenting it to her. ”Don’t want the bugs getting it, do we?”

Rolls

Loot: 5

No go on materials

Edited March 20, 2017 by Bellum

[Kyoko 0]

Now that it was already out in the open, Kyoko began to question whether or not her warnings of non-combat hazards were justified. Belle's question had to be left unanswered, as Kyoko did not yet know the definite law regarding that aspect of SAO. "I'm not sure if stubbing your toe would do you any harm, but I wouldn't go jumping off of any balconies. We need to figure out what can and can't hurt you out of combat as soon as we can so that we don't end up tempting fate."

Belle then offered her opinion into the exposure concern, and she brought up an astoundingly good point. The hooded man back in the plaza was one for theatrics; that much was certain, as he had chosen to announce their imprisonment to every player at once and in person under a blood-red sky. Her desire to inflict natural hazards on players was unsettling, to say the least, and she looked at Belle with a crooked brow. "You mean, you would add those things without trapping players in VR under the threat of permadeath, right?"

Kyoko's successful, yet humiliating gain of the plant bulb left Belle in an adorable giggle and she smiled at the fact that she had been able to return the joy Belle offered back at the plaza. "Hey, I wanted to say 'thank you,' by the way. Back at the plaza, I was on the edge of losing my mind. I could feel it coming; like a car coming at you on the highway, about to run you over. If you hadn't come along and showed me how to chill out, I'd be catatonic right now instead of picking these stupid plant bulbs."

She found another bulb and bent down to grasp it by the roots.

 

Rolls:

ID# 80066

Loot: 20

+1 Material

 

The plant tore free of its patch of dirt and Kyoko had to scramble to avoid throwing it again. Bringing up the game menu, she placed the bulb in her inventory along with the one she had obtained only moments prior and closed the menu with a triumphant grin. "This is going well, so far. We'll be finished with this quest in no time."

Edited March 21, 2017 by Kyoko

[Bellum 0]

The lack of a straight answer as to what exactly could and couldn't hurt them was something that didn't trouble Belle all that much.

"Have you ever seen The Hunger Games?" She asked, seemingly randomly. "Honestly, I think he wouldn't want us taking damage from stupid things. Watching people fall to their deaths probably gets old. I'd think he would want to watch us all kill each other" She elaborated, which would likely explain her reasoning for asking the original question. "He gave us all weapons and told us we have to fight our way out. I think he wants us to fight, not die. Honestly, I think he wants us to win in the end." She explained, once again surprisingly rational.

This would lead to the big question from Kyoko: She wouldn't have done this to anyone herself, would she? Belle had to think about it for a moment. While she didn't particularly desire to kill people for no reason, they wouldn't be allowed to stay here forever if they weren't risking their very lives. Still, she couldn't exactly say that to Kyoko. She knew how her friend felt about their situation. "Oh, yeah, of course." She lied. 

Her friend's thanks was not expected, and in fact, made her grin so big and bright that she feared her face would freeze that way. She actually felt emotions welling up inside her, a kind of joy she hadn't felt in a very long time. "Aww, Kyoko, you're making me blush." Belle chimed. At home, she didn't have many friends. In fact, she was rarely allowed to leave. That made for a difficult childhood. The notion of having friends was a fairly new one to Belle, who enjoyed the experience quite extensively. "I'm just glad you talked to me at all. People here seem not to trust me for some reason." She said, scratching her head at the notion.

Rolls

#80070

Loot: 16

+1 Materials

 

As she spoke, she haphazardly yanked another plant from the ground, this time managing not to fly up into the air. "You think we'll get to fight something after this?" She asked.

[Kyoko 0]

Belle's assertion that the hooded figure in the sky, the man keeping them trapped there, watching their lives unfold like a twisted survival show was infuriating. While she held no grievances against being in SAO permanently, Kyoko frowned at the thought of being put up as someone's plaything. She shook her head at the notion that he wanted them to win in the end and allowed her hatred towards their captor to burn like an immortal fire. "I know one thing. If he thinks he can kill me off, he's in for more than he bargained for."

Belle then provided her gratitude for having been so permissive during their first contact. A memory of the hysteria that had been forcing its way through her mind like a virus resurfaced and Kyoko's mouth broke into a giddy, unnatural smile. "I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to talk to you. The only thing they did was make things even more depressing. You, though. You showed me it was okay to be...happy. As far as I'm concerned, you're good people for that."

 

Rolls

ID# 80186

Loot: 20

+1 Material

 

Kyoko bent over and plucked another bulb out of the ground, making sure to grasp the roots with a death-grip so as not to send it flying again. She looked over to Belle and offered a more natural smile, void of any hint of contortion. "Any idea of what we'll do after this?" Kyoko asked simply and placed the bulb in her inventory.

[Bellum 0]

Belle's face faltered for a moment as her friend frowned. Though she hadn't spoken a word, Belle realized that she might have said too much. She tried to put the words together in her mind that would make Kyoko feel better, but before she could speak them, Kyoko took them right out of her mouth. The grin returned to Belle's face as though it had never left, and she continued her search for materials as they spoke, to no avail of course.

Kyoko's smile and words of encouragement actually did make Belle's face turn bright red. She actually had worried that she'd be out here alone, because as beautiful as this world was, it would really suck to be here all alone. Kyoko's words actually made Belle lose her composure. She'd hold her arms out and hug Kyoko, sniffling a bit. "What'd being sad ever do for anybody?" She chuckled. "Thank you for coming with me. This wouldn't be nearly as fun all alone." She grinned.

Rolls

80191

Loot: 2

Fail

 

Looking around to no avail, she sighed in frustration and looked up to answer Kyoko's question. "I hadn't thought of that. Maybe we'll make some weapons or something. Or we could go fight something!" She pondered aloud, excited by the concept. 

[Kyoko 0]

Kyoko froze in place after being released from the hug. Her eyes broke open in fear as she stared at Belle, as if she were a dinosaur walking through the North Pole. "Y-you...hugged me...," she mumbled, looking Belle over. "It's been so long since anyone did...that. I'm sorry, it's just, I'm not used to-"

She cut herself off and started looking around the grove, hoping to distract her now troubled mind. Belle's hug went against two years of self-imposed psychological conditioning, through which she had convinced herself she was not worth that level of affection. Travelling over to another bulb, she bent down and grasped the roots with her trembling hands.

 

Rolls

ID# 80336

Loot: 15

+1 Material

 

Despite her quivering hands, Kyoko managed to gain a firm enough grasp on the bulb to yank it out of the ground. Promptly placing it in her inventory, she sighed and looked over at Belle. "I was thinking after we finish up here, we can see if Zackariah has more work for us. It's probably smart to get as far into levels as we can get before we hit the mobs," Kyoko suggested, forcing herself to regain composure. "Afterwards, we can see about getting our professions. What do you think?"

Edited March 24, 2017 by Kyoko