[F27- PP] A Journey of a Thousand Miles... <<The Mysterious Divide, Part 1: Dagan>>

[Koga 0]

Though Koga could see just fine (aside from the near complete lack of color), the sounds of shuffling, gravel being moved in the attempt to climb out of the pit, and the sharp intakes of breath as those injured struggled, served as an even greater indicator of their progress.

Most indicative all was the distinctive pop of a healing crystal being used, the luminous glow flaring outwards and then to various points over the ledge that Koga could not see.

"Alright DAY, your turn." The Wolf stepped towards the construct, grabbing the woman by her slim waist from behind. Unlike the hardened bodies of the farmers, DAY's flesh gave so very slightly, warmth radiating from it. Koga hadn't never really thought about whether or not an AI gave off heat like a player, but he knew now, he supposed. The man lifted the woman up, let her grab the ledge before grabbing a thigh, lifting her higher. Koga had to shift his eyes from DAY for just a moment. Even though there was no way for him to see anything beneath DAY's cloak, it still felt...incorrect, if he just...stared...unnecessarily. He did what little he could to help it. A hand beneath the boot was the last thing necessary to ensure that DAY had made it all the way up onto the ledge.

Good thing NIGHT wasn't able to see any of that, or else she might've tried to kill him.

Koga was next, and thankfully, this ledge was no higher than the walls he used to climb when he was in high school. His Athletics would make it even easier now. The man took a step back, made a very short little run to build some momentum, planted his foot against the wall, leg parallel to the ground, and the man sprang upwards, higher than a normal jump would allow. He caught himself on the edge of the ledge, and with the rest of his momentum, pulled his chest up, and then swung a leg up. Easy enough.

[NIGHT 0]

A quick murmur from the entity was more than enough to indicate an acknowledgement. And NIGHT was busy trying to clear space for the construct upwards. When blue eyes peered over the ledge again, she pulled the woman upwards, close, the entity fighting to cling onto the player for support.

Almost like it was on purpose.

"You know," DAY whispered, and it was close enough that NIGHT could feel the heat in her ears as the other was breathing. "It would've been better if you'd been in his position to begin with." And the grip on her tracksuit tightened, right at her chest. The player barely had time to think.

"--But make way. He's coming up. We can get the farmers to safety."

With that same grip, DAY pulled herself up from pressing down on NIGHT, and subsequently dragged the player upwards. No sound complaints came from the woman, only a grunt from her unsteadiness, and they scampered towards the back of the ledge, right at where the gap through the walls should've been. Now recovered, some of the farmers had begun standing up, following where NIGHT had gestured, while others were aided with DAY stepping over to support them, the weight of her burden going unnoticed by Cardinal.

The construct turned back to Koga once he'd clambered onto their position and nodded towards the exit. "Can you get the other two? It'll be easier to make sure they get through unscathed if you can see." Her sights turned to NIGHT with a blink. "You still remember the way we came, right? You can lead us out."

"It's hard to see," the player muttered back, though followed through with the command issued.

[Koga 0]

A short nod as Koga turned to help the last two through the tight exit. The winding cavern did little to help the situation, but the group did as well as they could. "Well, I gotta admit," Koga said, "that wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it was gonna be. Beats drilling through meters of rock and hoping the place doesn't fall on us." Here's hoping he didn't jinx them.

"Hopefully, when we get them back to the camp we'll be able to get a better look at their injuries and see what we can do before we head back to Mr.Sunshine." And with any luck, he'd know something about that 'secret' phrase they were looking for.

Thankfully, the group was able to exit the confines of the earth without incident. As Koga exited with the last two NPCs, his eyes flickered before returning to their normal crimson shade, almost brown in the low-light of the floor. "That's everyone, right?" Koga asked, doing a quick mental head count. NIGHT, DAY, himself. Twelve farmers. Everything seemed in order.

[NIGHT 0]

"Seems about right."

NIGHT turned back to Koga to respond. A physical count returned the same number he did. As for their next step, she gave the crowd that they'd escorted out a sweep. "I don't think we can walk back with this many people."

And that statement wasn't for naught, either. In the light, it was much easier to see the injuries that the farmers had suffered. Red streaks were of least severity; those wounds had healed up over time. But bruising and signs of infection were starting to show. NIGHT was doing the best she could to hold in her concern.

She tapped DAY on the shoulder just as the entity was laying a farmer down to rest. "I'll fetch the excavators," she announced to the party, though her sights didn't leave her doppel. "Look after them for me while I'm gone."

A quick jog over to the three men examining over the plans and a brief explanation was enough for them to gather their volunteers. Another escort was in order, but this time for the better.

"I'm back," she howled out to her companions, once NIGHT was drawing close to the cavern entrance. And the gasps, the shuffling that followed from the locals was more than enough for the player to know that their wounded were in good hands.

The construct quickly shifted away from the man she was aiding. It became clear soon after why she'd scurry -- the volunteer excavators rushed in without hesitation nor knowledge of her presence when they looked to help the farmer up, and left DAY shuffling towards NIGHT's side. The player winced at the sight, and in an unconscious movement, locked her picky with her other's when they were close.

"Thank you," one of the operation leads said to them, a friend clutching tight to his arm as they hobbled in movement. "For rescuing them. We're going to head back to the village now, and I'd assume you'd want to follow."

Turning to Koga, she nodded to him to fall into step with the duo, and together the troupe started to shuffle off.

[Koga 0]

The sickly green glow slowing spitting out floating sparks of the same color were the greatest cause of concern at the moment. NIGHT was right, there was no way they could get all twelve back to the town without aggravating their wounds. Koga wasn't a doctor, but he could tell from the pained look on the farmer's faces, moving without some form of support wasn't really an option. He gave a nod and grunt when NIGHT announced she would go get some help. Nothing to do but sit here and wait.

Koga passed the time going to each farmer and inspecting what wounds he could. Not that he could do much about it, but the more they knew, the better. Some were clearly better off than others, sporting no more than one of two nasty green gashes. It wasn't until the man took a closer look that he realized a yellow fluid pooling at the edges of some of the worst, pus.

"I'm back," came NIGHT's voice, louder than he'd heard in a good while.

"Still here," Koga reported back, standing and moving to the side to let the others assist their own. "Don't mention it," he'd reply for the party before they started to walk back towards the town.

"It's getting late," the man noted as the trio walked, trailing back from the larger group. "Should we turn the quest in and find a tavern to rest up? Head out first thing in the morning?"

[NIGHT 0]

Though the quest hadn't seemed to tire her out enough for a crash, NIGHT did realize how much time had passed since she'd been in the dark. And not to discount her friend's efforts, either; with Koga responsible for all the heavy lifting, it made sense that he'd find himself exhausted more so than the women did. She nodded with a hum.

"We're getting separate rooms, though," came the unexpected response from the entity. Knowing her other wasn't want for sleep, it didn't make sense for her opinion to matter to the ones who needed it -- not in this situation, at least. The player shot her a confused look, glancing back. DAY had a hand raised forward, the smug smile delicate on her face.

"That's implied."

"No," the construct added, a grin to her companion. "I want a separate room, too."

"I-- ... Huh?"

The player stopped pacing, turning back to DAY. No, she wasn't salty about the entity wanting to keep distant from the woman at all. Her mind was more 'focused' on the rationale behind her mirror's decision. After all, nothing that occured to day seemed to indicate frustrations between each other.

So, why...?

Her objection surfaced as another question.

"Isn't it weird for us to get three rooms when there are only two players?"

"Eh?" DAY naturally retracted her stance just as NIGHT pointed out the obvious. She hummed in pulling herself in to think, a thumb below her chin considering. "But it's not like the townsfolk would care about a numbers inequality, would they? It isn't as though this village is a hotspot for players, or anything. There shouldn't be a limitation on the number of rooms you rent out..."

NIGHT's figure sunk at the justification. Her dissatisfaction wasn't easily read on her expression, but rather her weariness was instead. With a shake of her head, she turned back to the road, sighed, and continued onwards. "Okay, okay, fine. We'll get you your own room too."

"Yessss."

[Koga 0]

The sound of the farmers ahead of them served as ample background noise for the party's own conversations. Just enough to distract Koga from the persistent ringing in his ears that seemed to have followed him from the real world, whilst not being distracting in any sense. If anything, it let him focus more on the words being said between players and entity.

Which was why Koga shook his head to try and free himself from an imagined buzzing in his head when he heard DAY's request. "Well, yeah," Koga chimed in after NIGHT, "obviously."

Sure, he and NIGHT might be close, but they weren't that close. DAY of all people would know that. Besides, Koga didn't want to risk having to listen to...noises...through out the night. He already got little sleep as it was.

The construct's request only seemed to get stranger though, as she requested a personal room. For herself. Without NIGHT.

"Huh?" Were they...fighting? Or something?

"Well whatever you guys want, we're almost back to town. We should go report to whats-his-face, and handle accommodations when we're done."

[NIGHT 0]

The walk back to town was uneventful otherwise.

So let's skip that.

The party re-entered the office at Town Hall. Most of the rioting seemed to have paused, the villagers distracted by the return of their beloved family members, and though they'd expected to see Tiberius once again, the man was surprisingly missing.

It was strange, but not unexpected, and the person they were seeking wasn't gone for long. Tiberius walked in, almost rushed, a voice hollering to him a vague reminder about instructions. With a knowing sweep of the room, he closed the door at his entrance.

"The farmers aren't in good shape, but we'll be able to patch up most of their minor wounds." His hands righted his coat, as he fumbled about, appearing almost excited. "Thank you very much for your cause. I have another request for you if you're about to head out of town."

Fingers searched the insides of his jacket, and their informant pulled out a scrap of paper. He gave it to Koga with a nod, the item locked in between middle and index. "Here. Your myth." The last word was in grit, absent of faith. "One of our believers actually held onto something. I figured for what you've done, you could have it. Not that I know of what to do with such a thing."

Turning back to the party in whole, he began on his explanation once again. "If you're heading towards Srona for you search--" Tiberius sneered at the thought, "--then send someone back our way. They have medical supplies from their outpost, so we'd appreciate a courier for the farmers."

With his objective complete, the man bowed to the players, before making his way out. "Thank you. Safe travels."

And with that, he was gone.

Good, because he seemed to be getting on NIGHT's nerves unconsciously, too. Her thumb was stuck circling the side of DAY's hand, and the entity motioned nothing except a shift of her head to understand her player was distracted.

"You did get all of that, didn't you?"

[Koga 0]

At first, Koga was both a little surprised and angry at the absent presence of...whatever the fuck his name was. Koga didn't like the guy. Sure, the guy was stressed (well, for an NPC), but he didn't have to be a dismissive dick. And now he couldn't even be bothered to be here when they got back?

Koga crossed his arm and leaned into the mayor's desk as they waited, a dour look on his face. Nothing else that they could do for now, he supposed.

When what's-his-bucket finally did arrive, he was like...well not a whirlwind...more like a dust devil. Slow, aggravating, ultimately useless. The last part would have held up for longer, if the man hadn't handed Koga a slip of paper. The man opened it, taking a peek at whatever was scribbled across it before stowing it away in his pocket. He could share the contents of it with NIGHT and DAY later.

And a moment later he was gone.

Koga exhaled slowly, venting all his frustration with the man as quickly as he could without risking himself blowing up.

"Well...we got what we needed, I guess," Koga finally said after a moment of silence. "And, I suppose that the request for help from Srona is a pointer to our next objective." A heavy sigh followed. "We should just grab a carriage and head out. Don't wanna risk those NPCs dying, even if they do respawn...I'll catch a wink or two on the cart anyways. Let's go."

---

Thread Summary:
 

Spoiler

Quest Rewards:

• 500 Experience Points
• 500 Col
• Care Package
  • Perfect  Cooking Consumable of your choice and tier.
  • -> Meat Bun | Meal | Tier 4, MIT 3.

Col per Player (1 page): 200

Koga's Col: 200 + 500 + (11000 * 0.15) = 2850
NIGHT's Col: 200 + 500 + (17000 * 0.15) = 3250

Koga's Bonuses: 

• Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread.

NIGHT's Bonuses:

• Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread.

Koga's Tier: 7
NIGHT's Tier: 11

Word Count: 9020
Koga's Exp: (9020 / 30 = 300 * 5 * 7) + 500 = 11000
NIGHT's Exp: (9020 / 30 = 300 * 5 * 11) + 500 = 17000