[SP-F5] Its Everywhere <<The Traveler>>

[Oji 0]

Oji awoke to the sounds of birds in his abode on the 22nd floor. Probably the safest floor the frontliners have found in their travels to the top of the tower, he had bought a home and was enjoying the quiet serenity that came with it. He was within the main settlement of the floor, but the houses were few and far between, and he was one of the few shops on the floor, which would give him some decent business when he finally decided to open shop. He stretched and looked around his attic room. It was a bit bare, with only the basic necessities, but he liked it. He had plenty of room to add furniture when he found the col to do so.

After a quick brew of coffee and a light snack, he went out to his yard and walked over to his slime farm. After petting them and feeding them for the month, he went over and made sure everything was as it should be on the outside of his home. The slimes were happy and slurping around, and the pond he had built was gleaming brightly in the morning sun. He definitely needed to go and acquire the fishing skill as soon as he could. He opened his HUD and saw that Koga had sent him a quest that he could do solo, that didn't have any combat. Perfect, he could use that easily. But, he would have to be careful from what he read. He made sure to equip the potions he had stored up from when he started his adventures, and started to set out to the 5th floor.

Mega Slime Farm Used: 10% additional EXP from thread

Quest:

Spoiler

Floor 5
<<The Traveler>>
Party Limit: 2 | 20+ Posts
Repeatable for standard thread rewards.

Quest Rewards:

• 500 Experience Points
• 500 col
• Unlock <<Survival>> Extra Skill

Requirements:

• Roleplay speaking to <<Zamek>>.
• <<Zamek>> moves slowly, so it will take considerable time to travel the five miles through the desert.
• Encounter bandits at least once, and roleplay the interactions.
• Find protection from a sudden sandstorm.
• Safely escort <<Zamek>> to the hiding spot.

Summary:

"Are you an adventurer?" You turn to see a man with a long, white beard and a slight hunch to his back. Despite being wrapped in a heavy wool cloak, unusual given the floor's hot climate, his entire body shakes. "I am terribly sorry to bother you, but I need help. I-" the NPC, whose name appears to be Zamek, coughs violently for a moment. After a few long, shaky breaths, he continues. "I have a treasure chest of sorts, buried in the desert, at the base of some uniquely shaped rocks. The contents are incredibly important to me, but I am too ill to make the journey alone. Would you escort me there? Though I cannot offer you much col.  But, should you offer your assistance, I would be eternally grateful."

Outline: 

See 'Requirements' above, and 'Enemies' below.
 

---

NPCs:

<<Zamek>>
A bearded old man in a heavy wool cloak.
Illness and age have both taken their toll; he is often out of breath, and coughs frequently.

---

Enemies:


<<Bandits>>
You must encounter the bandits once during your quest. You may deal with them however you see fit.
Should you decide to use combat, the interaction will be strictly roleplay, and use no stats/rolls. There will be no additional loot.

<<Sandstorm>>
An environmental effect.
Once in the desert, you lose 20 points of health every time you roll a 1 on your crafting die due to the wind and the sand.
Due to the sandstorm, all out of combat healing has been reduced to zero. 
If you manage to survive this quest and find the cargo, you will be gifted with the <<Survival>> extra skill.

Stats:

Spoiler

Oji, The Uncle of Aincrad
Level: 10
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 200/200
EN: 38/38

Stats:
Damage: 1
Evasion: 3
Loot Dice: 3

Equipped Gear:
Weapon:
Armor:
Misc: Jigen kōtai [3 EVA]

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Searching R3

Active Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Addons:

Active Extra Skills:

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
(3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)
Housing Buffs:
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Oji 0]

Oji waved to a few NPC's as he made his way to the Floor 22 Teleporter in the center of town. He did a small stretch before getting onto the platform. He was still trying to get used to the "early morning" part of his new schedule he had given himself. Usually he spent the first hour of his day just relaxing and naturally waking up, reading the news and being caught up on some things. But now he was on his feet and moving a good ten minutes after he heard the early morning birds.

"Teleport, Floor 5" He spoke aloud, and soon he was transported to the desert lands of the lower floor. The first thing he felt hit him was the heat. a bit of sweat caught on his brow, and he wiped it away, taking off in the few moments of being there. This was not going to be an easy quest he realized, and things were about to get really uncomfortable. He opened his HUD, and set a marker for the quest starter. After adjusting his direction to where it pointed, he started to trek towards the edge of town, where the NPC was said to reside 

[Oji 0]

As he walked to the edge of town, Oji eventually found the elderly NPC that his marker was leading him toward. He waved politely to the elderly man, and his head picked up instantly "Are you an adventurer?" Oji nodded, "I guess you could call me that, yeah." he said with a chuckle. The NPC showed no sort of emotion, but Oji was a bit used to that with some of the earlier quests. "I am terribly sorry to bother you, but I need help. I-" the NPC, whose name appears to be Zamek, coughs violently for a moment. Oji held him up to make sure he didn't fall over. After a few long, shaky breaths, he continued. "I have a treasure chest of sorts, buried in the desert, at the base of some uniquely shaped rocks. The contents are incredibly important to me, but I am too ill to make the journey alone. Would you escort me there? Though I cannot offer you much col.  But, should you offer your assistance, I would be eternally grateful." Oji nodded happily

"Of course, just lead the way Zamek." He spoke gently, holding the man by the arm. He pointed forwards, and Oji followed him. He felt the wind start to pick up in front of him as sand started to blow in his face, and he grit his teeth. This was going to be a long afternoon.

[Oji 0]

The winds picked up quickly once Oji was out of the main settlement. The sands and winds bit at his face and arms, but he continued to march forward through the shifting dunes, almost like the tides of the ocean. Zamek continued to lead him slowly through the desert, every once in awhile he would stop and look over the horizon for a moment, checking where they were. Then, he would continue moving. If Oji got blustered by the winds and blown back, Zamek would wait for him, wherever he was standing at the time. Oji deduced that this was what the other kids in the game called an "escort mission." And he had to stay within a radius of the NPC.

After awhile Oji grew a little bored. He was starting to become numb to the winds at the current moment, and he tried calling out to Zamek "So, any family back at home?" He asked, trying to strike up a conversation. The NPC however, was apparently not programmed for responses, or he just didn't care to talk. Oji was a tad hurt either way, but he knew he had started now, and if he left he'd have to start this quest all over again.

ID: 203166 CD: 6 No Damage

Edited February 2, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji trudged through the sands, it started to seep into his shoes as the high winds of the desert started to bite at his face. The sands hurt a lot more than he had anticipated, and it threw him a bit off with the amount of pain that he was starting to feel. Sure it wasn't affecting his health at all, but still, he was being dealt a bit of physical damage, enough that he had to take his hat off to cover his face, only keeping a single eye out to watch the NPC in front of him trudge along only a foot or so away from him. He knew that Zamek must be taking a lot more "damage" than him, since he was blocking a bit of the sands with his tiny body. But Oji was a good four or five inches taller than he was, so the only thing he was blocking was the sands to the lower portion of his body.

"This might be harder than I anticipated..." He muttered to himself, and coughing as some sand got into his mouth, the grains getting stuck under his tongue and between his teeth. It tasted awful, and he wished he had brought some water to drink, but it was too late to turn back now, and he continued the march.

ID: 203169 CD:10 No Damage

Edited March 4, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji's shoes were partially filled with sand at this point, and it was irritating him more than he expected. The sands shifted between his toes and made it difficult to find good footing, and he knew it would only get worse from here. Gritting his teeth, he trudged, but in his own turmoil of the sands he almost trampled the old man in front of him, who had doubled over in a coughing fit. He moved around him to cover the sands from him, feeling the full force of the sands on his back. It was far more painful than anticipated, and he swore he could feel blisters forming down his spine. Soon Zamek recovered, and he nodded to Oji. As Oji looked behind them, he swore he could see shapes that looked like people, but he thought it was only a trick of the sands, trying to scare him into retreating back to the town.

"That's strange." He spoke, and Zamek looked to him. "What's that?" the NPC asked, Oji rolled his eyes. "Oh now you talk." He muttered to himself, then turned to Zamek. "Oh nothing! I just thought I saw people behind us, just dunes though, my eyes aren't used to the desert." He chuckled, and Zamek nodded. "The sands always try to scare newcomers. Come, lets continue." And Oji nodded, letting the older man lead once more. But the thought of those figures still lingered in the back of his mind.

ID: 204693 CD: 7

Edited March 4, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji's shoes were now halfway filled, and it was driving him mad. It felt as if he had put a mound of silly putting into his shoes and left it there for two hours. It slushed as the sand became damp from the sweat that he was secreting. He hated this, he even despised this, wanting to stop and trudging and leave the man to die. But, he knew that he couldn't. It wasn't the right thing to do morally, and he would never gain the rewards from this quest.

"It's only a few more miles." He muttered to himself over and over, it becoming a mantra in his mind. Only a little longer, keep walking. Every once in awhile, Zamek would once again double over in pain, and Oji would cover his face so he could catch his breath without sand crawling in. It became almost like a dance in his mind. His body was starting to grow numb to the pain, which was also a blessing, but a curse. It caused him to stumble more, to trudge deeper through the sand and sometimes fall behind the man who kept at a steady pace. But, he kept moving, he continued to trudge.

ID: 204696 CD: 3

Edited March 4, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji's body had become totally numb to the sands, but he had also started to gain his sea-legs, or should he call them sand-legs, and had become a lot better at walking across the dunes of sand. He was not able to keep his pace with the older man a lot easily, and was now walking more to his side instead of directly behind him. The winds were dying down now, so the roaring was not as fierce, and he decided that maybe it would be a good time for conversation.

"So, care to tell me any stories you know about the desert?" He asked, a bit curious. There was so much desert that he was sure there was some lore that he could learn. Zamek nodded. "Only one good one that might interest you, one that we tell the children of our town." He spoke, and Oji brightened up. "Oh come, I'm sure all your stories are good." He said in a polite tone, and Zamek just chuckled. "I do alright. But, the story that I will tell you in the cause for these grand storms." He motioned to the sands above.

"We call it, Sutōmukōzā, or Storm Causer." he said. "A large creature made entirely of wind, it causes these storms every day, and drifts along the dunes, coming and going, looking for innocent people to consume in its winds." Oji's eyes widened. Part of him didn't want to believe such a thing exists. But this was a game, where multiple creatures that don't exist in real life and hunted and killed daily. Anything could exist here, and he decided to keep a closer eyes on the dunes.

ID: 204697 CD: 10

Edited March 4, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

As Oji continued to trudge, the thought of Sutōmukōzā still fresh in his mind, he realized that his shoes have been filled to the brim, and was seeping in and out like the crashing tides of the ocean. He had become used to it, but it was still irritating. But thanks to the story, the more he heard the roars of the wind, which had picked up again, the more he thought it sounded like an actual creature, which sent chills down his spine. It still made him uncomfortable, but they sounded far away. That thought made him feel a bit better as he went over the top of yet another dune, doing his best to not tumble and fall to the bottom.

"Why did you leave this thing out so far away?" He asked Zamek, but he got no answer from him, and he realized that maybe it's because of the winds carrying his voice away, that would make the most sense. He would have to wait to ask questions until the winds died down again, and he didn't think that would be too hard, as he only had a few questions to ask.

ID:204699 CD: 3

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

The winds howled in his ears as the sand streamed through his hair. The wind had picked up again, and the howling of the wind creature crept into his mind and bounced around like it was made of jelly. Was this giant creature real? Did it exist and could possibly kill him? He wasn't sure, but he really, really did not want to find out the actual answer. Apparently, he had wore the fear on his face like a mask, because as he blocked Zamek's face as he had yet another coughing fit, the older man looked up to him, and then smiled.

"My dear boy, the story is nothing but a myth, nothing to fear." He said with a small chuckle, that then turned into another small fit of coughs. "It's just a story that we tell the children to keep them within the borders of the town. We don't want to lose our kids to the sands of the desert to never be found." Oji's shoulders slumped, then he smiled, a bit embarrassed by his child-like reaction to the story. "Right, of course. Sorry." he spoke, a small blush forming on his face. The elder NPC just chuckled. "Not to worry, it makes sense to fear such a creature, if it did exist."

ID: 204700 CD: 2

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji's eyes had started to get crusted by the sands, and it was becoming a lot harder to see through them, only trudging behind Zamek blindly. He did his best to scratch away any of the sand that got caught, but it would just come back in a few seconds, and at this point he was done fighting it. He forced himself to slog up another hill, and he was slowly making it, little by little, but as he crossed the horizon of the hill, he saw... something, to his left. He stopped walking and tried to look, but it only looked like a few small dunes. He shrugged his shoulders, but he realized something about those dunes as he took one last look

There was six of them, all beside each other. And they were getting bigger with each passing second.

Quickly, Oji realized that those were people, something coming towards them. He ran down the dune, almost stumbling and falling onto the elderly man. He got close and grabbed Zamek by his shoulder. "We have to hide, something is coming." He said, and he explained what he saw, while he also looked around frantically for a hiding place. Zamek's eyes widened in fear. "Bandits, those are the only people who dare tread through a storm like this." Oji's eyes met Zamek, and he knew if they were caught, this quest would be over, and he would die along with this NPC.

ID: 204706 CD: 9

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Out of options and not wanting to pass away, Oji decided that the only thing to do was to bury themselves. Oji soon fell to his knees. "Zamek, down here, I'll bury you." He said, and helped the elderly NPC to get onto his stomach, and he buried him with the shifting sands, making sure his arms were up above his head to keep a pocket of air for him to breathe. "Take shallow breaths so the sand doesn't fall off your back." He said, and Zamek only nodded, stifling a cough. After that, Oji buried himself a few feet away from him, taking extra caution to cover his legs, and shoved his hand into his back pocket so it wouldn't poke out through the sand.

"There, now just to.." He muttered, remembering to keep his mouth shut to keep the windy sand out of his throat, decided to not finish the sentence. He soon covered his torso, his legs then eventually shoved his head into the mound above it, and letting the sand fall down his face. It covered him enough that he was covered, but he could faintly see through the sands, and he saw the six mounds coming towards him growing larger, and starting to shine a bright light from the center two.

ID: 204797 CD: 8

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji's heart slowly rose into his throat the closer that the mounds got to him. He was confident that his sand disguises would work as he had put quite a bit of sand on top of them, to factor in the deafening winds that picked up and died down with each passing minute. Soon the mounds appeared from the billowing sands and he had counted exactly right, six men with masks and lanterns hanging from their horses so they could see, and to blind the people that were used to the dark. It was effective to say the least. He found himself squinting way more from the light, and it definitely would have made it hard to run away or to tell how many there were, had he not seen them before.

As they approached where they were, he could hear them talking. "They were right here! Two of them I swear!" He heard one of them say. Another one scoffed. "Yes, you saw two people in the middle of a sandstorm. Might as well say you saw Sutōmukōzā next to them!" he said, and a few of them laughed in their masks. "I swear boss, they were here." the first one repeated. The one in the middle of their group, who must have been the boss, moved forward on his horse. "Well, if there were any people here, they've gone west, probably are turning tail heading to town." Oji saw the horse come close, and he held his breath. The horse came steadily close, and soon he could see the belly of the beast above him.

The horse almost moved past him, but the bandit stopped it. As the horse came to a stop, its front hoof went back and landed directly onto Oji's hand. It took him everything in his willpower to not scream out in pain, and he held himself very, very still. He felt tears welling in his eyes from pain, and he was thankful this was a game, else his hand would have been broken in multiple places. "We've lost them, probably no way to scout them either, the winds are picking up." And with a few grunts, the men started to retreat, and the horse let off of Oji's hand, in which he was thankful.

Then Zamek had another coughing fit

ID: 204798 CD: 2

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

"Well well well, it seems we have a worm in our sands boys." the Boss spoke, with a chorus of evil chuckles. The boss got off his horse and took some steps towards the elderly man as his coughing fit subsided. He reached a heavily-muscled arm down, and grabbed into the sand, Zamek emerging with a fist around his neck and lifting him. "Hello sir, I'm afraid this is a toll dune." the bandit boss said, trying to sound intimidating. "So I'm afraid you'll have to pay up." Oji mentally groaned as these terrible jokes, and Zamek struggled against his hand, grabbing his forearm and trying to drag himself away to no avail.

"Aww, sorry sir but I don't think that would work." the boss spoke. He set him down, and Zamek gasped for air. The wind had subsided enough for Oji to hear all of this, and he was doing his best to sit perfectly still. "Now, what are you doing all the way out here." the boss asked, and Zamek only muttered in response. The boss smacked Zamek upside the face, and knocked him onto his backside. "Speak up old man, or you might need to have a meeting with a good friend of mine." And Oji heard the sound of metal scraping something, a sheathe perhaps. Oji couldn't take it anymore, and he sat up.

"Wait!" He said, and the bandits all jumped in surprise, and swords were drawn and pointed to him. He held his hands up in surrender. "He's with me." He said, and the bandit boss laughed. "Well, two worms out here, looks like your eyes were right Rell." he spoke as he came over to Oji and lifted him by the scruff of his suit. Rell, the one that had spotted him, cackled. "I told ya boss, I told ya!" the boss turned and made a grunt sound to Rell, which shut him up, then he turned to Oji.

"Now, what the hell are you doing in the middle of a storm?"

ID: 204801 CD: 9

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji felt a bead of sweat roll down his head. This boss was not a good-looking man, that much he could tell from his mask and outfit. But, the scars along his arms and on his neck told him that he was no stranger to a fight, and he came out a winner. He knew that he couldn't win this if it came down to a brawl. He thought for a moment, then sighed in defeat.

"There's... something out here that this gentlemen was leading me to. I don't know what it is, but he said it had money there that I was going to get out of it." He said and the boss' eyes widened. "Well now, that sounds like the perfect toll for my toll dune." He said with a laugh, and Oji sighed. "Sir, if I may" and the boss stopped laughing. "That is not a good joke, I'm sorry but I heard it earlier, and even I didn't like it." the boss' eyes filled with rage, and he got close to Oji's face, to where he could smell the tobacco on his breath through the mask.

"Then, pray tell, let me know what you think would be better." he said, a tone in which sent a chill down Oji's spine. Oji did his best to not show it on his face. "Something along the lines of 'You have two options, either give me what you have, or I'll give you what I have, and all I have is a sword.'" Oji said. The boss looked at him for a bit, then backed off. "Okay, that's good I'll give you that." He sheathed his sword and turned to the old man. "Well, where are we going your royal highness? Lead the way to our loot." Zamek looked defeated, but he knew there was no other way out of this, and so he continued to trudge, Oji being forced to walk behind him, the six bandits circling their back so they had no escape.

ID: 204809 CD: 2

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji had started the long trudge once again, but this time he was not as excited to make it to their destination. He knew any items or col that he was going to get was now gone. He must have found the bad ending to this quest, and he dreaded the thought of doing this entire quest again. He felt himself slogging behind Zamek, but the point of a sword against his back brought his pace back up to normal. Zamek seemed to stumble more and more, and the bandits had made it his job to pick him back up, and Oji noticed that his skin had started to look a little paler.

"Are you okay Zamek?" He asked, and Zamek only nodded. "Yes, I just need to make it to my chest." He said weakly, and trudged past Oji, The wind in the NPC's sails were gone, and it was very noticeable. The bandits had small conversations behind them, but he wasn't make out the words through the storm, as they were carried away in different directions. He tried to listen in at first, but with everything else going on, he had decided to give up and try to enjoy the last remaining moments of life he would have.

Because if what was in this chest wasn't good, their lives would be what the Bandit Boss took.

ID: 204811 CD: 7

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji's ears started to ring as the roar of the storm only grew louder as they dove deeper into the storm. The bandits' horses were now starting to have a hard time traversing the sands, as the bandits got off of them and lead them from their leads. None of them were happy with this, and their disgruntled grunts and moans was all that Oji could hear now, their conversations abrupted to a halt for the time being.

"The storms gotten much worse." Oji said to Zamek, and he only coughed in response. Zamek was not doing well, and this might be a one-way trip for him if they did not get time to rest. However, he knew these bandits would not let them stop for any reasons. They were hating this, and just wanted their treasure and wanted to get out. But all of a sudden, Oji heard something in the wind that seemed a lot more like a cry than the wind. He looked over the horizon, and saw something coming over the dunes, a huge creature seemingly made of wind and sand, its hands raking against the dunes and causing tornadoes. It's eyes were black like coal and it's mouth was open, but all he could see was sand down it's throat. It wasn't a creature, it was a force of nature.

"S-Sutōmukōzā"

ID: 204812 CD: 11

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji was unable to say anything at first, he just stood still, staring at the giant ball of air and sand coming towards them, it's maw wide open and devouring the dunes in front of it. The bandits saw that he was standing still, and the boss grunted. "Come on Joker" He shouted over the winds. "We have a date with a treasure chest!" He shoved the tip of his sword against his back, but Oji didn't budge. All he was able to do was weakly lift his hand and point at the creature.

"Sutōmukōzā" He said, much louder than before. The bandits stopped and looked, and Oji could feel their menacing energy evaporate, as the stories from their childhood came back in a wave, and fear overtook their nerves. "SHIT, WE HAVE TO GO!" the boss shouted to his men. None of them argued with his order. The bandits hopped onto their horses, running in the opposite direction of Sutōmukōzā and leaving Oji and Zamek alone, abandoning them to die by the elements of the world. Oji looked at Zamek, who was shocked by the creature. "S-Sutōmukōzā is real..." is all the elderly man said, and Oji shook him. "Zamek! We need to find a cave, something to hide us from the storm!" He said. Zamek focused back on him, then pointed in a direction. "The cave with my chest is another fifty feet that way." he said, and Oji nodded.

"Then we need to move." With newfound energy, or the last reserves of what they had, the two of them picked up the pace to the cave, the thread of Sutōmukōzā looming closer to them as the wind picked up even higher than before. As they reached the mouth of the cave, Oji heard a gut-wrenching growl coming from the mound of wind, and he moved Zamek deep into the cave, diving in and landing next to the elderly man, safe from the outward storm.

At least, safe enough to survive.

ID: 204813 CD: 5

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

As Oji stumbled into the cave, he landed on his back with a large bang, only a small bit of sand within the cavern, mounds were around the corners but they were mostly cleaned out. Oji took deep breathes, a big ragged at first, but steadily clearing to his normal breathing routine. He had done it, he had made it to the cave. The adventure had felt like it took forever, but he had made it. A small smile formed on Oji's face, proud of his accomplishments. It wasn't until he heard the groans of Zamek that he realized that he had yet to finish the quest. He came over to check on the elderly man, who looked even weaker than before.

"Zamek, are you okay sir?" he asked. Zamek did not say a word, but he lifted his head, and looked and pointed at the back left part of the wall, at one of the few sand dunes. "Chest... there..." He spoke weakly. Oji looked and saw a small glint, the edge of something poking from the top of the dune. He nodded, and helped Zamek to the back corner of the room, and helped dig out his chest. Zamek put in the combination, and soon the chest was opened to the outside world.

There were only a few small things within the chest. A heart-shaped locket, a coin filled with what he guessed was the col promised to him, and a small vase. Zamek reached into the chest, his hands shaking from exhaustion as he lifted the locked from the chest, opening it with a click, and Oji peered to see what looked to be a photo of Zamek, a few years younger next to a young lady close to the same age.

"I've come back, my Lotus." He said as he brushed his fingers along her face. Oji realized what this 'treasure' was. This was the most important thing in Zamek's life, that was not a vase within the chest, it was an urn. Zamek closed the locket and put it around his neck, the silver necklace shining in the dim light of the rising sun, as Zamek positioned himself against the back of the cave. "Thank you, young man... You've made an old man, very happy." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. Oji, a tear in his eye, smiled and took the elderly man's hand. "I was more than happy to help you." He spoke, genuinely feeling a connection to this man, whom he didn't even know exist before today.

"I never... got your name..." He asked, and Oji smiled, lightly squeezing the gentleman's hand. "Many people call me 'Oji', but my friends call me Soda, Soda Kou." he said, and Zamek smiled. "Soda... such a nice name..." He said. Zamek's eyes started to gloss over, as he looked to the ceiling of the cave. Oji looked, but saw nothing but stone. Zamek saw something much different.

"I'm coming.... My.... Lotus..." He said, as his spirit left his body, his body staying still as the winds eventually died down outside. This was the first moment that Oji had heard the quiet. But this sound of peace was bittersweet. Oji let the tears fall for a few moments. This man, this NPC, had taken this trip to see his wife one last time. It was a romantic gesture, but he wished he could have helped more than he did. He wiped away his tears as he placed the urn onto Zamek's lap, the urn and the locket almost touching as Oji closed Zamek's eyes. He took the col from the chest, which completed the quest, and he spent an hour resting in silence, mourning the loss of his friend.

ID: 204814 CD: 10

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji

[Oji 0]

Oji eventually pulled himself together, and with the wind having let up a considerable bit, he decided it was best to head back to town. He quietly traversed the sands, hoping and praying that he was going in the right direction. He had lost the tracks that he and the bandits had caused, and he saw no sight of the bandits anywhere close, chased off my the fierce Sutōmukōzā. Eventually, he followed the rising sun, which he remembered was the opposite direction of where they had gone, and eventually found himself back to the desert village. Disheveled, weary, and his shoes still filled with sand. He stumbled into the town and fell to the ground of the gate, a few guards asking if he was okay. Oji just gave them a thumbs up, and rested on the ground for a few minutes. His adventure finally done.

"Now to go home... and sleep." He spoke to himself. He got up and brushed off the sand from his pants and shirt, and took off his shoes to let out the encased sand that had been there for what felt like an eternity. Once the sand was gone, he felt much better, but he knew he would need a shower to get rid of all the sand that he felt was still hidden within the nooks and crannies of his body. But, he saw something that choked him up.

Over next to the gate, he saw a young player talking to what looked like the air. But, he remembered that Zamek had been located there, when he had first come to do the quest. He watched as the player, a young woman, talk to the air, then start her own trek past him, out into the sand in the direction he had just come from. Zamek was still there, within the code of the game, but he was gone from his sight, he could no longer interact with him. In his eyes, Zamek was dead, happily next to his wife in the cave. But to others, no such tragedy happened.

He wanted to warn the player of the bandits, of the dreaded Sutōmukōzā, he wanted to tell her to not let Zamek die. But at the end of the day, he knew that what the player did was of her choice, and the outcome would always be the same. Zamek was meant to die, and nothing he could do would change that. With tears in his eyes, Oji solemly walked to the stairs of the fifth floor, deciding to walk all the way to his home on the 22nd floor.

He needed some time alone, some time to grieve.

ID: 204815 CD: 10

Edited March 5, 2022 by Oji