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

[Dracul 0]

"I must say, you really have taken a liking to her." I add bluntly, after listening to her estimation and witnessing her affection once more. The blonde simply nodded, not showing any signs of protest like after my previous statement. I would've liked to push on more on the subject but with one look at the blonde's face I could see it clear like reading from a book. She didn't knew the answer herself and was trying to figure it out herself. With a shrug I decide to end our little soiree, as I rise from my seated position. "We should take her example and rest for now, tomorrow morning we have a long day ahead between retrieving the cargo and bringing it back to the merchant, having to pass through the desert once more." seeing no more use in dwindling around I add a curt "Goodnight!" and head back to the men's tent. With the corner of my I see the blonde nod and gently pick Assassin up. The two taking refuge in their own tent. 

[Assassin 0]

A slow one to wake, Assassin was met with Ariel's face much more close than she expected. Her eyes were closed and she seemed relaxed enough to be a sleep. Assassin quickly scoot back a few inches to get some breathing room. Had Ariel pulled her close when she moved her into the tent, or did she move close to her during her sleep? She would never know, well unless Ariel told her when she woke up.

Seeing as how they ate before they went to bed, the Assassin couldn't really complain about her half empty stomach. She got up from her seat, letting the make shift sleeping bag fall into her lap quietly and stretched her back out. They weren't that far out of the location that she had marked on the map, so it wouldn't take them much longer to find the shipment. Luckily, they hadn't taken any damage throughout the night when they were sleeping, so that was lucky. However, they would need to get started soon so they could leave this hot desert already. The silver haired girl scoot over to Ariel again on her knees and gave her a gentle shake. "Nee-chan? Nee-chan? We need to get moving soon."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Mornings were always pretty much a standard routine for the blonde; despite not technically needing it, as it was the case in real life. She would wake up a little before the sun rose, train in the dojo until getting hungry, have a light breakfast then train some more until around noon. Here in SAO she tried to keep to the routine as much as she could, at least with the training part. Not so long ago, during her self imposed 'exile' on the 22nd floor she would meditate in solitude in the cave she called home or near the lake and waterfall. Slowly she integrated the meditation in her routine from before.

So it came as a big surprise to find Assassin wake her up, peeking outside she would notice that it was way later than she usually woke up. "I'm awake... good morning..." she sleepy muttered, realizing that the long walk they did yesterday took a larger toll on her than she predicted... or was it because of something else she overslept? She looked at Sin-chan while trying to come up with an answer, letting out a soft yawn.

[Dracul 0]

A couple of hours passed since the first light, Darius already being up by that time, preparing some light breakfast by himself at the campfire, lightly humming a song that I've heard from him many times before; unlike other times, he kept it in a lower tone so that it wouldn't disturb us. "Good morning milord!" came the crisp welcome, alongside the nice smell of eggs and beacon that he was cooking. "Lady Ariel and lady Assassin haven't got out from their tent since I woke up. I assume their still asleep so In tried not to wake any of you while making something for us to eat." he said with a smile as he finished dishing out another plate. 

With a nod of acknowledgement, I gaze towards the bedouin tent in question and shout: "How much longer are you two planning to sleep!? We're not here in vacation!" despite the harsh words, there was no malice in my tone just a sense of urgentness that seemed to have worked as I heard ruffling coming from inside: "Urusai!!! It's too early in the morning to be annoying...." came the reply from the blonde as I heard more shuffling.

ID# 155401  CD: 10

Edited June 25, 2020 by Dracul

[Assassin 0]

Assassin, who was still struggling to get up herself, jumped at Ariel's response to their other duo who had wanted to get a move on the same as her. Assassin wasn't very fond of spats like this, even if they were just a little more than light jabs between the two, she didn't like confrontation like this. The girl crawled back on to her sleeping bag, waiting for Ariel to wake up so that they could start getting dressed and ready. 

Once everything was done, Assassin left the tent and sighed. That wasn't the most relieving sleep that she had ever gotten, but she could deal with it. "Morning," The child said to the rest of the group, stretching out her back and yawning. The smell of eggs caught her nose and now she was really starting to feel the hunger. She took a seat by the fire and watched the eggs intently, waiting for her share of them.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

She notice Assassin flinch at her reply to Dracul and felt bad for raising her voice, remembering bits of the discussions they had when the two first meet. "He knows I'm joking." she added in a lower tone, trying to reassure her. After freshening themselves up, the two left the tent and had the breakfast that Darius was kind enough to make for them. The smell of the universally traditional early day dish visibly improved the blonde's mood, as well as the taste. They packed up fast and continued their treek in the blazing sands afterwards. Wiping off sweat with the back of her hand, she check the map once more. Somehow it felt like a different area than when she'd done it the first times and the blonde unconsciously tugged at her red tarnished cloak, feeling a slight tinge of anxiety. Despite the desert looking all the same, this feeling of not being in the right place, or the one that she remembered, was having that effect on her.

[Dracul 0]

I gaze to my side only to see the blonde tailor smirking in my direction. They packed up their tent with as much ease as they installed it, while me and Darius had to dismount it before he could store it in her inventory. Luckily there wore no more snarky comment other than the joint agreement that we we're almost at the place where Assassin pinpointed the lost cargo's location. "So this quest gives us a extra skill. What does it do?" I decide to ask, not really interested in the answer but willing to bring up a topic of discussion to make the time pass easier. Having not heard about it from Darius or Claudia had me instantly dismiss it as a minor skill that I'd probably had no use for. Still, the fact that it was something extra did make it less of a nuisance as it didn't occupy one of the limited skill slot slots that i had. 

ID# 155446  CD: 12

Edited June 26, 2020 by Dracul

[Assassin 0]

Assassin piped up, trying not to eat sand flying sand. "The skill makes it so that you don't take damage from environmental effects like this sand storm and it increases your health regeneration while you're not fighting. It barely costs any skill points, and it takes up an extra slot instead of a regular skill slot."

Assassin was still waking up so she let a bit of her unbridled personality show. The facade of being an innocent child was natural to her, but even she let it skip sometimes. Soon, the view of a cart came through the cloud of sand ahead of them. The cargo was located. "Here it is!" She said running a head and diving through the contents of the cart to find something. The item she found was a package that was simply marked as 'Delivery'. "Well, since we have this stupid box now, can we get out of this sand. It's getting really annoying, and hot."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Before she could turn around and give Dracul a reply, she uncharacteristically heard Assassin give a pretty accurate description of what the Survival skill brought to a player's arsenal. She saw no reason to intervene and simply nodded as she listened to them. As predicted by her last night, they managed to find the cargo relatively fast after resuming its search. A package marked delivery, the blonde wondered if they could store it in inventory and just use a crystal to go back to the town to finish the quest. She didn't do it herself in the past as until now the possibility to do that hasn't even crossed her mind. 

"Try storing it!" she chimed, thinking that there should be enough inventory space to do it. Curious to put her theory to the text but she wanted to let one of the other three do it as she didn't know how it would affect the quest is she'd complete it; already having the extra skill.

[Dracul 0]

"I see..." I mutter, finding the information from the white haired girl more interesting that I imagined. I take a quick glance at my assistant and raise an eyebrow, mentally questioning him why weren't we made aware of the existence of such a skill. From the sound of it, it was an important skill to have yet I had to find out about it from a little kid despite having asked around people that gather information as they profession. As if reading my mind, Darius replies: "I think it was just an oversight, people must've thought that we already knew had the skill so they didn't bother giving us the info about it." The motive seemed viable but the reasoning wasn't the most solid. Either way I let it slide since we were about to add it to our skill list anyway.

 I watched as Assassin, successfully stored it, by the lioness' suggestion. A flash of genius then strikes me as I materialize several teleport crystals. From the blonde's reaction I take it she had similar thoughts. We end up teleporting back to the city and successfully ending the quest.

---

ID# 155448  CD: 7

Rewards: 

Assassin: 3 SP
Dracul 3 SP + 400 Col
Ariel: 2 SP

Assassin & Dracul unlocked Survival Skill:

Quote

►Survival
Cost: 3 SP
Passive
Effect: Increases out of combat health regeneration to (15 * Tier) per post. Grants immunity to most damage dealing environmental attacks/effects.
Description: After braving the harsh sands of the desert, harsh environmental hazards no longer affect you.

 

Edited June 26, 2020 by Dracul