[F01-PP] <<The First Few Lessons are Free>>

[Snow 0]

Spoiler

ID# 149259: || BD: 3 || CD: 10 || LD: 7+2 || MD: 2 ||
No Materials Found!

4/5 Obtained

Snow sifted through the bush and hoped for her final ingredient. Alas, she came up empty and stood. She planted her fists on her hips and sighed.

"Yeah, Zachariah I think it was? Had to make the NPC names fancy for story purposes I guess?" Snow laughed. She turned to Galilea with a nod.

"Thank you. I'd appreciate the company back to town."

Galilea's next comment set her off balance.

A guild...

Snow broke eye contact. Her thoughts drifted to the KoB social she partook with Opal, Mack, and the others. She remembered the funeral they had for Azide where Snow placed a memorial marker for Last_Chance, Daire's user name. She let her status bar magnify from her peripheral vision and examined the lack of symbol next to her name. Once upon a time, a little white and red shield stood there. Her lonely name and health bar returned to the edges of her view.

"I... haven't." There was a brief pause. "A while ago, I used to be a part of one. They... they fell apart after they lost a few people. I've been solo since." 

@Galilea

Edited May 16, 2020 by Snow

[Galilea 0]

A sense of loss filled the air around them. The somber look on Snow's eyes as she revealed her past ties, was enough for Galilea to to not pry further. That makes three times I've managed to to bring up a topic that stripped her of her cheery demeanor. My social awareness is extremely out of sync today.

Berating herself internally, she let the comment melt away. But perhaps this is an opportunity... "You know Snow, you look like you could use a friend or two. You've gone through a lot in your time here and it wouldn't sit right with me knowing I didn't at least try to reach out. So here it is. Join Jacob's Ladder with me? The guild's members are headed by esteemed frontliners, although two are orange, their cursor is of no cause for alarm. You may have heard of or even met one of them. But Shield, Baldur, Mari and Oikawa are all good company from what I heard and the rest of the members are players like us. Mostly lower leveled or barely tier two."

She didn't want to say more for fear of scaring her off, but hopefully the names mentioned would spark some interest at the very least.

Gathering:

Spoiler

ID: 149271 LD: 4 (1+3)

[No Materials Found! Total Materials: 6]

@Snow

Edited May 17, 2020 by Galilea

[Snow 0]

Spoiler

ID# 149424: [] BD: 3 [] CD: 8 [] LD: 16 + 2 [] MD: 1 []

+1 Material

5/5 Obtained
Objective Complete

Snow heard Galilea. Silence served as the reply. She searched inside herself for an answer. Would she be useful? Would she only be a burden? Orange players like Opal, would someone kill them off too?

Snow knelt down and gripped a leaf between her fingers. She took a moment to feel its texture, its fragility. She thought of herself as the leaf. The blonde plucked the leaf from the bush and another appeared in its place, a mechanic preventing change to the background of the game. Except Snow would not be so fortunate. She looked to the bush at its entirety. The many leaves making up one solid plant. Its roots ran deep and unlike a leaf, it could not be so easily plucked from the earth. The young woman's chest raised and fell with a deep, brooding breath. She stood and faced Galilea with a courtesy smile.

"I appreciate the offer, Galilea. You are very kind. I just... don't think I'm ready," Snow admitted. The statement held some deep wounds and longing. She wanted family. She wanted friends. She also felt undeserving of them. She felt she needed to have the strength to protect them so she wouldn't lose any more of them. If she lost another guild...

A little prompt appeared between them. All the items for this phase of the quest had been obtained. The leaf she plucked earlier must have been the final step!

"Well look at that! Last one, finally!" Snow's voice switched gears entirely. Authentic enough, for she had plenty of practice. "How about we head back to the NPC and make that potion for him?"

There was another pause, a crack in the charade. 

"If I could have some time, I might be ready. I hope that's not too selfish..."

Edited May 17, 2020 by Snow

[Galilea 0]

Her answer was what Galilea expected. Especially from someone who held these hardships close to her heart. At the very least, she wanted to put the thought and option out there for her in case she ever changed her mind. Nodding, Galilea simply replied, "I understand." As with most things, the delayed response of the system caught them off-guard as Snow received the notification, she had completed the first of two objectives. With all the materials collected, all she had left to do was craft the potion with Zachariah. Though her tone changed, the feelings behind her words didn't. The twinge of sadness seeping through her hushed words. But Galilea would let it be for now.

"I shall follow you," responded the girl as Snow began to head back towards the town. Her words once again catching Galilea by surprise as they traversed.

"Take your time. You're comfort and feelings are what matter most. Don't pressure yourself if you don't need to. You're strong remember?" Grabbing one last material from the patch of plants she stood in, Galilea quickened her pace to catch up to Snow.

Gathering:

Spoiler

ID: 149467 LD: 22 (19+3)

[Materials Found! Total Materials: 7]

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Galilea

[Snow 0]

"Thanks, Galilea," Snow replied with a relieved smile.

Despite her confident exterior, Snow found Galilea to be exceptionally considerate and kind. Snow didn't feel pressured or judged in her presence. If anything, she felt safe. With Galilea by her side, the walk to town flew by like a breeze. Lower level monsters ignored them entirely. When alone, Snow remembered the wolves and kobolds in the area to have red or pink markers above their heads. With her traveling companion, the markers showed yellow -- a sign that both would remain safe from combat so long as they kept distance and didn't engage.

When they got back to town, Snow approached the NPC.

"Ah! You've brought the ingredients?" the old man spoke at her arrival. "I was worried you might have forgotten!"

Snow pursed her lips in an apathetic response.

Listen, the fields were pretty busy, okay? she thought to say.

"Sorry, they were harder to find than I thought. What now?"

"Here, take this." Zacharia handed Snow a mortar and pestle. "Put the ingredients in there and grind them up. Do it right, and I'll have what I need for the potion. Go on, give it a try."

Snow took the tools and set them down on the counter which divided the three of them. She gave Galilea a quick glance and a shrug. Then, with a few presses of her menus, the herbs they gathered appeared in the mortar.

Spoiler

ID# 149529: Battle: 4 Craft: 10 Loot: 15 MOB: 5

+1 [Perfect Potion]

Quote

-Help Zakariah in his workshop by crafting a Healing Potion.
(Roll the CD by linking it to a post.)
1-3 = Fail, try again | 4-6 = Uncommon Quality - Success | 7-9 = Rare Quality - Success | 10-12 = Perfect Quality - Success)

 

Snow worked the pestle against the bottom of the rounded bowl. The course stone of both tools ground together and mashed the ingredients into a thick paste. Only a few seconds in, the goop started to emanate a glow. A prompt surprised Snow and notified her of her success. A perfect potion had been created.

"Oh ho! Impressive young lady!" Zachariah exclaimed. "You have a natural talent! Your first try and you created a potion as good as any I've made. Congratulations!"

Another notice appeared indicating quest completion. Several rewards along some col and experience were listed.

"Here, take those as a gesture of my appreciation." The old man took back his tools from her and set them beside an array of glass instruments and candles.

Snow accepted the prompt and another one took its place.

"Say, young lady. If you have some more time, would you be able to deliver this package to a blacksmith down the way? His name is Lyle Tealeaf." Zachariah reached beneath the counter and placed a package in front of her.

@Galilea

Edited May 17, 2020 by Snow

[Galilea 0]

Galilea simply nodded. She needed no thanks because everyone deserved compassion and understandment. At least that's what she chose to believe. But with the matter of materials resolved, that only left the crafting.

The town was moments away. The brisk walk back took little time as mobs continued to stay at bay and prying eyes kept their distance. Having already ran the trials of this quest, Galilea opted to wait outside for Snow as she completed the quest. From the sounds inside, she reasoned it went well because within minutes the Blonde stepped out holding the item she would need to deliver to Lyle; the chain quests NPC.

Giving her a thumbs up, Galilea rapped her finger against the friend request menu and sent one to Snow. With a reassuring smile, she turned to leave. "Don't hesitate to contact me if you need someone to talk to or another questing partner. Until we raise our ranks we'll always be seen as target-able. But we're stronger than that and have much more to offer."

Galilea began to stalk off before pausing once last time.

"Also, Jacob's Ladder awaits you when you're ready. Bye for now!" And with that she headed home.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Galilea

[Snow 0]

Snow nodded with a smile to Galilea. A notification popped up in front of Snow with her friend request.

"Thanks again, Galilea. Stay safe!" With that, they parted ways. 

Snow watched the purple haired woman disappear into the crowd. She hoisted the package under an arm to free her hand and accepted Galilea's request. Her name appeared just above Opal's which permanently remained lined out.

Maybe it is time to move on... Snow thought. Months passed and still she hadn't heard from any of her former guild mates. She hung onto the hopes they were still alive. Even if they wanted nothing to do with her, she hoped the others were still around. With a nod, the blonde continued on.

She made her way down the streets a fair distance before the sound of steel on iron rang out like tiny bells. The marker on her map and her player icon overlapped which meant she arrived at the final step of the quest. A large, burly man hammered away on an anvil. He paused mid strike and plunged a red hot billet of metal into an oil bath.

"Hey here, miss. That a package for me?"

Snow nodded and approached Lyle. 

Conclusion:

Snow:
+1 Thread SP
+2 Quest SP
+1 Quarantine SP
+1 Yui's Grace
+200 col
+5 [T1 Rare Healing Potions (+40HP)]
+1 [T1 Uncommon Damage Potion (+1DMG)]
+1 [T1 Special Over-Health Potion (+50HP)]

Galilea:
+1 Thread SP
+1 Quarantine SP
+200 col
+7 [T1 Materials]