[F05 - PP] Setting up basics «The Traveler»

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

While she was moving forwards with her plan on acquiring a estate the blonde had to visit various sites and location to make sure she got the perfect place before settling down. She already had a place in mind but the blonde would always look for alternatives instead of jumping the gun at the first thing that seemed like what she wanted. It was during one such ' scouting expedition' that she found herself facing a old NPC acquaintance that she hasn't seen in a while. "Can you recover my cargo?" was the cloaked NPC's last question before a golden question mark appeared above her head. Having already done this quest on several occasions the blonde was about to decline when she recalled Assassin's desire to get stronger. Ariel knew one of the rewards was a extra skill that pretty much everyone would need going forward so she typed a small message for Sin-chan and a not so cute low level that probably didn't have it either.

"Do you have the Survival Skill? It's a basic one that we can easily get on the 5th floor. I'm there right now and bumped into the NPC that gives the quest for it." she added her current coordinates and pressed send. She noticed the NPC which still waited a reply and decided to let her wait a little more. Heading towards a nearby bench, Ariel tried to remember what was the specific location of the goods so that they don't stay in the sun for too long.

Edited May 30, 2020 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Assassin 0]

Run run run. That was all Assassin felt like she did in this world anymore. There wasn't much need to condition yourself physically, but Assassin was still getting used to the fact that she was almost as fast as a four-legged animal at her top speed. Being a dagger user was fun because it felt as though nothing in the world could ever catch her.

A beep lit up her menu as she got a message from someone. Likely Ariel or Snow. The girl skid to a stop and waved her arm down, the hum of her menu sounding as she did so. A smile came across her lips at the offer of more questing, and for a new skill she could have on all the time. It was a win-win. She worked on typing a message while she made her way back to the teleporter.

"I'll be right there." And in no time, the girl was on floor five, meeting up with Ariel at the coordinates she specified. "Hi Nee-chan!~"

Spoiler

General
Level: 10 | HP:  200/200 | Energy: 20/20

Stats
DMG: 7 | EVA: 2 |  ACC: 2 | MIT: 18

Skills
Dagger Rank III

Equipment(In use)
Dark Cloak(LA): MIT II; EVA I
Fastening Belts(Tri): ACC II; EVA I
Kami Sori(Dagger): DMG III

Equipment(Standby)
Ryuketsu no(Dagger): BLD II; PARA I
Antique Dagger(Tri): LD 3

Consumables
(5x)Starting Healing Potion[50 HP]

 

Edited May 30, 2020 by Assassin

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"I'll be right there." was the quick reply to her invitation. "We'll have to go through all the basic quests." muttered the blonde as she reached down to pet Kimba below her maw, earning the lioness' gratitude as she started purring. With her other hand, the blonde accessed her HUD and scrolled through her quest list. She started to sort out the low level ones that she could do with Sin-chan while waiting for her arrival. She didn't get to do much as she heard the girl call for her in relative short time since she got the message back.

"Hey, ready to go through the desert in search for loot?" she asked with a smile, her mood visibly improved after hearing the girl. She sat up and got close to the NPC with the golden question mark. "This is where we start from. She lost some cargo in the desert and we need to retrieve it." said the blonde while pointing at the cloaked figure with her thumb." It's supposedly a quest made to build you environmental immunity." she added matter-of-factly. She couldn't help but add her opinion as a tailor too: "That's why she wear this tasteless cloak and barely shows any skin." the last part earning herself a sharp gaze from the npc.. or so thought the blonde. "You have your cloak with you right?" she asked as she fumbled through her own inventory. 

Edited May 30, 2020 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Assassin 0]

The girl fixed the cape that had been made from her run back into it's normal appearance as a cloak. She wouldn't go anywhere outside the safe zone without the cloak she wore. Seeing Kimba again made her smile. "Hey Kimba! I think you'll be happy, 'cause I'm going to be getting a friend for you soon!" The girl addressed that thought before looking up to Ariel. Completely fount with energy over-bursting, Assassin would make quick work of this quest with her speed and keen eye.

"That sounds easy enough for such a nice skill. Sounds like something I'll need in the future, so yeah lets do it!" The girl walked over and talked with the NPC in her cloak, finding the general location where her stuff was lost and getting a location marker on her map to search in a massive general area. "Whoa, that does look like it will take some time to cover. I'm glad I'll have you to help me find it Aneki."

[Dracul 0]

"So this is the little runaway girl you mentioned?" I said in a neutral tone, my eyebrow slightly upturned as I drew closer to the three women. It seemed that I did the right thing in bringing Darius with me. Having his sister come instead would've made me the only male in the party and while it wouldn't worry me much about that usually. Experience had taught me that evening out the ratio would be overall pleasant for all those involved. With a hand on my chin and the other supporting it, I look at her from different angles. "You could at least give her something better than these rags. And you proud yourself as one of the finest tailors in Aincrad?" a smirk accompanying my sharp comment. Except for the scars on her face, she looked unremarkably plain. I let out a shrug and introduce myself as proper etiquette dictates: "My name is Dracul, happy to make your Assassin. Ariel told me a bit about you." I then motion at the figure behind me that patiently awaited for my mark. 

He steps forward and makes a small bow, displacing some of his chestnut colored locks forward. "I'm called Darius." he said in a courteous tone. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance lady Assassin. I'm milord Dracul's servant, please let me know if there is anything I can do to be of assistance." his voice was calm but resonating, unusually mature sounding for a 19 y/o. He wore a butler's outfit that complemented his hair color and he emanated a pleasant welcoming aura that, as one time the blondie in front of us pointed out: 'was in total contrast with my black soul'. Darius then looked in Ariel's direction and I could see a small sparkle in his eyes and he greeted her. "A pleased to see you again, lady Ariel."

 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"I'm happy to see you too, Darius." came the trustful reply from the blonde. Then she continued, her tone clearly changed as she adressed Dracul "You didn't reply to my message, Drake. If you came a minute later, you wouldn't have found us here." She could see her rolling his eyes before Darius interjected. "Please excuse us, we were already in the main setlement next to the teleport plaza on floor 3. Milord simply thought that we would arrive faster if we didn't stop to write one." he said sincerely. The blonde wasn't about to get mad at him for that and was content with just saying "Well, just make sure to reply next time, its proper etiquette after all." Her eyes slightly squinted as she eyed Dracul. He got the message and let out a small 0tsk' before getting closer to the NPC to receive the quest. "So where to now?" she asked, squinting his eyes at the map before him. Like in other similar quests, the cargo's location wasn't really pinpointed and they would need to explore the desert for a bit it seemed. The blonde already had a general idea but didn't want to spoon feed them, instead she turned towards Assasin and asked with a smile. "Where you think we should we go first?"

[Assassin 0]

"M-Me?" Ariel was putting her on the spot as the parties leader. If she was alone, it would be much simpler of a choice. She would just run everywhere around the area that was marked until she found the thing, but would everyone be able to keep up with her... or would she be able to keep up with them. "Um... Well..." The hum of her menu sounded with the wave of an arm. Looking over the location that was covered in a massive circle around the inspection area, she thought momentarily.

"Um... We wont be able to find any tracks since the sandstorm will have shifted all the prints and stuff around. The best bet that we could hope for is that the stuff is just sitting near the roads here." The girl pointed to marked roads through the map and traced them with her finger as she continued. "If we can't find them there, maybe there's a clue we can go off of to find it."

[Dracul 0]

I squinted my eyes at the little brat as she didn't seem to Darius or mi presence and return the greet. I'll take pleasure on giving the blonde an earful about etiquette knowing full well who she was and having an idea on how she was raised. Nonetheless I decided to let it slide for now and blame it on the girl's overwhelming emotions. Honestly, what is she thinking with taking someone who's half her age under her care? then again, this wasn't my business and I didn't want to add something else to my list of concerns. I continued to watch Ariel who was dotting over Assassin like a mother hen. While they were setting our route, I glance at Darius: "Do you know anything about this quest? Other than what the NPC just told us?" while Claudia's talent for gathering information was unparalleled, the apple didn't fall far from the tree and her brother darius proved to be resourceful as well. Often helping his sister with the aforementioned business. The two made an impressive duo and I took pride in having them as my assistants. That's why I was seeking his council even now. But to my disappointment, he shook his head and added in a low tone to not disturb the other half of our party. "I'm afraid not, this is a pretty straightforward quest..."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ariel examined the map and nodded: "An excellent assumption!" she said with a smile. Then she turned towards the male half of their party, noticing that Dracul was paying more attention to their own conversation than to Assassin, Ariel loudly cleared her throat and asked on a rather annoyed tone: "Do you have anything to share with the rest of the class?" she asked in a teacher-like fashion when students talked during her class. She could see Dracul twitch and turn towards them with his plastic smile while darius seemed unfazed and was glad to continue his explanation for everyone to hear: "I was just telling milord that, as soon as we step into the desert we'll start suffering environmental damage from time until we retrieve the cargo." It was Ariel's turn to be surprised: "As expected of Claudia's brother, you're also well informed! But not as well prepared it seems."

[Assassin 0]

Assassin closed the map on her menu and looked back over to Ariel and the other two boys. The tailor seemed to be upset with their whispering to one on another like they were kids in class trying to pass a note between each other. They're demeanor screamed liar. It was difficult to lie to someone who was a great liar themselves. However, there wasn't much reason to bring up his misstep, even if it would be a little funny.

"Okay, let's not waste any time! I need to get the skill and get stronger! More quest means more experience and that means I get closer to being as stronger as Nee-chan!" Assassin led the way out into the desert, noticing the harsh conditions almost instantly. Readjusting her cloak to cover some of her face, the girl turned to ensure that the others were following her. Best not to split up too far in these conditions.

@Ariel - The Crowned Lion

Edited June 1, 2020 by Assassin

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Catching up with Assassin, Ariel now walked next to her unaware of what the two behind were talking. She could spot them with the corner of her eye as they equipped the items she gave them. "I hope it won't take as long as I remember." she chimed. "Last couple of time I went into the desert, we ended up camping overnight. Good thing is that it gets colder then." she then looks as Sin and smiles: "Or maybe I don't mind, since I'll get to camping in the wild with Sin-chan!"

She tried to think of some other quests around this area that they could do in the same time but came up drawing blanks, her brows furrowed as she unconsciously tugged on her crimson cape. She checked her map, making sure they didn't stray from the route that Assassin proposed. Momentarily, her eyes fell on the party's HP bars. While the damage was minimal on this quest compared to others, she wanted to keep a close eye on them.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

"What do you mean?" I ask the blonde. It was true that we didn't pack any consumables for combat but usually when partying with her I barely got any part in the action. Next to my, I could see that Darius also had a questioning expression. We got prompted by the blonde's new protege and before we started walking, I could see the lioness fiddle with her hud and materialize two large pieces of cloth. She threw a gray piece at me and a red one at Darius: "The sand out there gets everyone, literally. You better get out of that stuffy armor and put this on top of your casual attire, to cover yourself a bit. The wind is harsh out there." I watch her follow Assassin and tugging on her own cape.

I examine the item I received: a boring gray colored cloak with silver trims but what caught my eye were the five crossed out icons on it.None of them ringed any bell. I show them to my assistant that replies: "Ariel-dono's previous guilds, she once told me and sis this one. " He pointed towards the one on top, looking like a pair of wings: "The Guardians of Aincrad I think it was named, her first guild..." Before he would go into more details, I elbow him and bob my head forward seeing as the two girls already started making trails in front of us.

---

ID# 152088  CD: 10

Edited June 2, 2020 by Dracul

[Assassin 0]

The Assassin looked at the sand surrounding them. The harsh environment was eating away at her cheerful bravado pretty quickly. The child's hand lifted the cloak up to protect her eyes from the sand flying at her face. Her gaze crossed over to Ariel. "Man, it's a little worse out here than I thought it would be. Hopefully we don't take too long to find the stuff. The camping thing sounds fun, but maybe on a floor that isn't so harsh."

Thankfully, it wasn't draining her health yet, not that it would be a cause for alarm since she was already a pretty decent level, but the rogue's health points wouldn't regenerate out here.

Walking down the path, she looked out for anything that could be useful to help them track the shipment that went missing. Already the sun was starting to set on thier journey. Looks like they would be out here for the night.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Assassin

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Looking around at her companions, the blonde was once again reminded how important the extra skill was. She couldn't specifically recall but she was sure it served her well through the times in many different environments and fights where she would be put at a disadvantage without it, like her 'pupils' right now. A faint smile appeared on the blonde's lips at the thought of being in some sort of a traditional teaching position. An idea had been already seeded in her head, she would only need to act upon it in one way or another, sooner rather than later. "We can make it be fun! It's always better when you're doing it with others." she replied with a smile.

Dracul noticed the grin on her face and kept altering his gaze, from behind them, between Ariel and Assassin. " I didn't take you for a lolicon. I guess they come in all forms and shapes." he said plainly, showing no intention of being apologetic about the suggestion implied by his words. 

[Dracul 0]

I could feel a shiver down my spine as the blonde turned and watched be over her shoulder, for a spear user she was pretty skilled in throwing daggers from her eyes. I heard a cough by my side and notice how Darius slowly put some distance between the two of us. 'Et tu, Brute?' was my thought as I watched him inch away, emotionally wounded by the fact that the respect/fear/feelings? he had for the blonde outweighed his devotion to me in this moment. "You know it's not like that you perv." finally came the cold reply from the front liner. I involuntarily swallow a nod and make a mental note not to joke about that subject anymore. As Assassin did, I cling on the hood I was provided as a powerful gust of sandy winds pass by us. "Should we look for a place to set base?" came a inquiry from my side, to whom the blonde replied in a more happier tone. "Looks like it, We should look for a outcrop in a hiss or a cave... something to have our backs against and face the desert from only one way."

---

ID# 154024  CD: 5

Edited June 18, 2020 by Dracul

[Assassin 0]

Assassin was distracted with finding the shipment that was lost on the way to the settlement. She almost missed the conversation that the others were having. It was starting to get darker already. Visibility was getting even worse and she was beginning to think that they really would be sleeping in the sand. Taking another quick look around, she finds a rocky outcropping in the sand that juts out taller than them. "Let's check that out." She says, pointing towards the structure. She quickly moves over to it, stepping on the rocks and looking at their jutting forms.

After a moment of walking around, she fails to see the dip that the rocks made, hiding a small rocky crag. The girl screams until she hits the ground just ten feet below her. The sand puffs out around her as she lands. "Oof- Oh, hey! There's a small cave down here! We could stay down here for the night so the sand doesn't bug us!"

No damage.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

After denying Dracul's blatant accusations and replying to Darius' concern, the blonde takes a moment to think about what let to the little vampire wannabe's opinion. Knowing him, it had to stem from something more than a random allegation to crack a joke on her expense. Though she couldn't deny that the last part was also added to his motives. What was Assassin for her? Thinking analytically, she denied any sexual attraction towards the kid; as she stated to the 'knight'. What was left? Did she help her out of a sense of duty? not really, that wouldn't completely explain the blonde's actions either. At this point Ariel closed her eyes and furrowed her brows, walking forward instinctively based on her last sight of the road ahead.

It was only after she had heard a scream followed by a soft thump, did she open her eyes and notice that Assassin wasn't beside her. She could feel her pulse acceleration, her eyes shooting at the four health bar in the corner of of her sight; full HP, she relaxed a little then let out a sigh as she peered down: "Are you alright?"

[Dracul 0]

Honestly, this girl was like a second Kimba! like the blonde's familiar this 'assassin' girl gravitated around the frontliner and now was even getting herself in troublesome situations due to her carelessness. But having learned from earlier, I decide to not voice my observation. "Looks like we found our camping spot!" I finally chime in, stopping next to to the two with Darius in tow. I look around a bit and sigh, this was barely a place suited for someone of my status to rest but I didn't have other options in the matter. The sun was setting and as mentioned before, I could feel the temperatures slightly dropping by the minute. Opening my inventory, I too let out a sigh, seeing that I didn't even have a sleeping bag in it, not to mention a tent.

I catch a glimpse of the blonde fidgeting with her HUD display and it hits me. She was a Tailor so she would have or could make tents for us. As if answering my expectations, I see her pulling out a compact item which she thrown on the sand nearby. It starts expanding and in mere seconds I see that it was something akin to a small bedouin tent sporting red and blue colors. I peer inside and see that two sleeping bags had also been provided.

Her eyes intersect with mine and I see her smirk for a second. "This one's for me and Sin-chan." she plainly states, setting her sights on Darius besides me. With fleeting hope, I follow her gaze to see him with a similar item in his hands. "I'm glad that at least you came prepared, darius. Your master should learn from you!" she chimed with glee. I ignore her and put a hand on my assistant's shoulder, his cheeks going slightly red after receiving the lioness' praise. "I'm thankful for everyday I get to have them by my side!" i sincerely admit, seeing Darius draw a quick gasp... visibly touched by my statement which extended to his sister Claudia. He returns a silent nod and starts unwrapping the tent, which we needed to assemble by hand as it was a basic merchant's one and not a custom made like the blonde's. He also had a couple of basic sleeping bags; shortly after the four of us start a campfire.

---

ID# 155134  CD: 7

Edited June 24, 2020 by Dracul

[Assassin 0]

As the evening falls into night, Assassin can feel her weariness catching up with her sooner than expected. She watched Ariel construct a tent for them in mere minutes with her master tailoring skill. She herself was thinking that it might be useful to get a skill like that of her own, but she had yet to commit. After the group had something to eat, Assassin herself was starting to fall into a lull of drowsiness. Several times she nearly nods off sitting up.

She let's out a loud yawn for the entire group to hear and crawled down to her side, almost falling asleep right there. The fire made it easy for her to feel warm enough to fall asleep right where she was. Sooner or later, she closed her her eyes right there and started falling asleep right where she was. Her cloak acting as her blanket, she laid there quietly with nothing to be heard but soft breaths.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

After everyone settled in the had a modest dinner and with nothing else to do, started chatting until late in the night, around the warmth of the campfire. "How far do you think we are from the lost cargo?" asked Darius, his eyes setting consecutively on each member of their group. Lastly he looked at the little girl who seemed half asleep and made a note to himself to tone down the intensity of his voice. Ariel, looking beside her, gently poked Sin's cheek to see if she had fallen asleep. Verifying that it was so, she replied in a lower voice: "If we would've kept walking for half an hour in that direction, we probably would've found it." Raising her right hand, she gestured towards the direction that Assassin mapped out for them. "This little one was almost spot on!" she added with a smile, gently dropping her hand and stroking Assassin's hair.