Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 #1 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Calyx was glad that he was able to to basically move freely between floors in SAO. A small group of higher-level players came back down through the lower floors periodically, to help other players clear the bosses on each floor. These bosses would normally be highly dangerous for lesser-skilled players; but they were child's play for the higher-ups. You didn't gain hardly any experience or loot standing in the background, waiting for the others to kill the monsters; but at least you didn't have to risk dying doing something that had already been done before. Calyx had grown tired of wandering the streets of Starting City, and had heard that the next floor up had more of a medieval England theme to it; so he decided it was time to move along, and followed one of the frontliner groups up to the second floor. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #2 Share Posted July 25, 2014 The group had emerged on the second floor from the mouth of a small cave within sight of a large city, which Calyx had been informed was called Urbus. The main settlement of Floor 2 looked as magical as Calyx had hoped; small stone and straw huts surrounded the city, ever increasing in size and opulence until they culminated at the center in a grand medieval castle, with turrets and banners and everything. Back in the real world, Calyx had always loved games that were set in renaissance Europe. The castles, the knights, the kings, the dragons, the gold and princesses; all of it just resonated with him for some reason. It was a world where someone, anyone, with no special powers or abilities, could take up a quest, slay the dragon, and save the kingdom. The only two things a person needed were a sword and an iron will; and they could become a god. As he made his way toward the inner gates of the city, Calyx hoped he would find some of that magic here in SAO. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted July 25, 2014 As he wandered the streets of Urbus, Calyx was enjoying the new medieval aesthetic, but was mildly disappointed that he was seeing most of the same kinds of shops that had been in Starting City. Sure, the food vendors were selling different kinds of food items, but he knew they would have identical stats, and most of the other shops were selling items that didn't even bother to look any different than the ones from the floor below. The crystals were the same, the armor looked the same, the weapons did the same damage; there were a few niche trinket stalls here and there, but they were small and relatively infrequent. This town wasn't even as big as Starting City, and Calyx already felt like he had explored almost all of it when he came upon a strange, dark purple tent tucked away in the corner of an alley. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #4 Share Posted July 25, 2014 The tent had no visible markings on it, but the color alone was enough to make it stand out from its drab, destitute surroundings. The front flap was tied open a bit, and Calyx made his way over to it and walked inside. At the other end of the small tent sat an equally small gypsy woman, legs crossed in front of a large, cliche'd crystal ball perched on a pillow. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" "Come innn, Calyx.", the woman said in a high, raspy voice. Calyx stared suspiciously at the woman, feeling a little wary now. The game knew his player info, and if she was an AI, then she likely had access to that information too; but the fact that she had called him by name before he told her what it was still unnerved him all the same... Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #5 Share Posted July 25, 2014 "How did you-... Never mind." Calyx stopped himself as he thought better of asking a witchy, ominous NPC how she knew what she knew. "I know of what you seek...", the woman continued. "What I seek? What is it I seek?" Calyx wasn't even sure of the answer to that himself. He hadn't come here looking for anything in particular, and he didn't have any quest objectives yet... "You seek power, and a dominance over others." He supposed that was true. Although it was also true of just about every other player in SAO. Or any player of any game ever, really... But one did have to be general when writing MMO quests. "True.", Calyx answered. "And what is it you know about this power?" Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted July 25, 2014 The old woman cackled as if he had said something funny, and then suddenly became deadly calm. "The power you seek lies within your enemy. Know your enemy as you know yourself, and all will become clear..." Well that was... cryptic. Calyx wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a quest clue, or if the developers were just trying to bury a little nugget of their own pseudo-philosophical wisdom in an obscure corner of the game. Regardless, Calyx thanked the woman for her advice and pulled back the flap of the tent as he made his way out. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #7 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Still not sure what to make of the old woman's nonsense, Calyx was walking along one of the smaller dirt roads on the outskirts of the city, eating a piece of chicken, when a worried looking man ran up to him. The man was clearly a peasant, wearing sackcloth rags and an obligatory leather cap on his head. "Are you a knight of the realm, lad?", the man asked somewhat vacantly. He really didn't seem like the kind of person who was burdened with an overabundance of schooling. Although he wasn't far off; Calyx suddenly realized that with his new steel armor and the large blue and black greatsword he now carried on his back, he would have looked an awful lot like a knight to someone from a few hundred years ago. He stowed the chicken in his inventory and returned to address the man. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #8 Share Posted July 25, 2014 He decided it would be fun to play along this time. "Aye, serrah. And who are you calling lad?", Calyx said in the most deep, authoritative voice he could muster. "Oh, m-my apologies, m'lord...", the man stuttered. "I didn't mean to offend." The man hung his head in shame and intermittently glanced up to see if Calyx was furious or not. "Quite alright. What can I do you for?", Calyx said in a somewhat less harsh tone to make the man feel more at ease. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #9 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Relieved not to be on the chopping block, the man continued. "Well, you see, there be a dragon up in yonder hills, a ways up that mountain; there. He pointed to a small, nearby mountain off to the east. "The beast lives in a cave, about 'alf a' ways up the mountain. He keeps pretty well to himself, so long as we offer 'im 'is tribute every new moon." "Tribute?", Calyx asked, intrigued. "Yes, mi'lord. Each 'ousehold in the territory offers up one gold piece each new moon; an' the knights take it up to the dragon so'as he'll leave us alone. Only I was ill these past days, and I couldn't turn over my gold before the knights left for the mountain. If the dragon doesn't notice it missing, the knights will, and they'll 'ave me head. Only I was hopin' that you, bein' a knight an' all, might be able to take it up for me. I'm sore afraid to do it myself..." Just then, a box appeared in front of Calyx that said "Quest: Feeding the Enemy. Would you like to accept? [Yes] [No]" Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #10 Share Posted July 25, 2014 DRAGONS. This was exactly what Calyx had been hoping for when he came to Floor 2. He loved dragons even more than he loved medieval Europe, and he had been desperately hoping since the game had been announced that they would appear somewhere in SAO. He immediately pressed the [Yes] button on the box floating before him. "Sure, I'll take it up for you.", Calyx said almost gleefully. The man seemed genuinely surprised, but hastily handed over the coin and began bowing profusely. "Oh thank you, thank you m'lord!" Calyx smiled at the man as he began to walk toward the mountain. "Oh no, thank you..." Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #11 Share Posted July 25, 2014 As Calyx made the long and arduous ascent up the mountain, again lamenting his choice in skill placement, the thought occurred to him that maybe there was no dragon. Maybe the quest here was that the knights were corrupt and hoarding all the gold for themselves; controlling the townspeople with the made-up threat of a big scary monster. He hoped that wasn't the case; political espionage and doling out justice for the common man were far less epic than a one-on-one encounter with a dragon, even if he didn't get to fight it. So help him, if he got up to this cave and found nothing but a bunch of men in armor laughing and drinking beers.... But he was being negative again; he would cross that bridge when he got to it. And even if it was the knights he was up against, it was still a lot better than sitting in his plain, white room at home, probably having to do homework. Bleh. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #12 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Slowly climbing the final stretch of the mountain path (which was really more of a steep hill), Calyx finally saw the edge of the dragon's cave come into view. The cave wasn't anything spectacular; it didn't even go that deep into the mountain. It was shallow enough that he could see all the way to the back wall from the outside, and sure enough, nestled against the back wall laid a dragon curled up on top of a large pile of gold. Calyx finally stood up on the plateau in front of the cave and drew his sword, just in case. He pulled up his inventory and, constantly glancing back and forth between the dragon and the menu, retrieved the gold piece that the villager had given him. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #13 Share Posted July 25, 2014 As soon as the gold piece appeared in his hand, the dragon's eyes darted open. The creature looked straight at Calyx as if the coin was a homing beacon, and he had just turned it on. The dragon slowly stood atop his pile of treasures, and began to carefully walk over toward Calyx. Given that Calyx hadn't even been sure dragons were going to be in this game, he didn't know how big they were going to be; yet somehow the creature before him just didn't do its race justice. It was about the size of a horse, but the dragon didn't look as muscular and powerful as the dragons Calyx was used to seeing in movies and comic books. This one looked emaciated, as though it was on the verge of starving to death. When it was a few meters away, the dragon stopped and reared its head back; a glow beginning to brighten in its mouth. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #14 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Calyx knew perfectly well what was coming next. There wasn't any cover on the empty plateau where he and the dragon now stood, so he assumed a defensive stance and raised Kaeseras in front of him, hoping that the System would still take his block abilities into account when he was surrounded by fire... Only he didn't become surrounded by fire. Calyx heard the dragon from behind his sword as the beast started making choking sounds, and as he lowered his blade, he saw the dragon coughing out gasps of sooty smoke until it finally collapsed on the plateau, exhausted from the effort. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #15 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Calyx was puzzled as he looked at the deep orange dragon before him. This didn't seem like a creature to be feared; it seemed like it was by far more afraid of him than he was of it. The poor thing could hardly stand, let alone pillage a town; Calyx wasn't really sure why everyone was so terrified. Maybe the creature had been fearsome once, long ago, and the legend still lived on with the villagers. Or maybe the creature's mother had been the one who terrorized the town, and now this dragon was left stranded here, with nothing but a legacy of tributes and fear, unable to leave its cave or the villagers would riot. Whatever the case, any notions he had had of slaying a dragon were now firmly out of Calyx's mind. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #16 Share Posted July 25, 2014 The somber looking reptile made what sounded like a low, apathetic moan, laid its head down in the dirt, and closed its eyes. Overwhelmed with pity for the creature, Calyx was struck with an idea. He pulled open his inventory and replaced the coin in his hand with the chicken he had been eating when he encountered the peasant. He closed his inventory and slowly walked half the distance to the dragon, placed the food on the ground, and stepped back to where he had been. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #17 Share Posted July 25, 2014 The dragon sniffed at the air and lifted its head as it opened its eyes. It spotted the meat on the ground and glanced up at Calyx, then back to the meat. Shakily and skiddishly, the creature slowly made its way over to the chicken, ready to use its remaining energy to retreat at a moment's notice. When it was within range, the dragon struck out at the meager sustenance, and snapped it up with a vigor that it hadn't seemed capable of a moment ago. As it gobbled down the chicken, two notificaitons appeared in the air in front of Calyx in rapid succession: "Quest complete: Feeding the Enemy" and "New title acquired: Beast Tamer" Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #18 Share Posted July 25, 2014 "Beast Tamer?", Calyx said to himself. Just then, the dragon and its golden habitat exploded into the cloud of shimmering fragments that usually signified an object being destroyed. Worried that he had somehow accidentally poisoned the monster, as if dragons were allergic to chicken, Calyx tried to peer through the glittering dust to see if maybe it had been a mistake, or the creature had somehow used a distraction to escape. As the dust settled, Calyx noticed a small orange ball where the dragon had just been standing, which unfurled into what looked like a smaller, healthier version of the beast. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #19 Share Posted July 25, 2014 The deep orange, cat-sized dragon looked up at Calyx with a happy-looking expression on its face. Suddenly a deep voice resonated in his head, "Ahh... I needed that. Thank you, little one." Calyx jumped at the sensation."Woah!", he said out loud, "What was-... Was that you?", he asked, staring at the small reptile. "Who else would it be?", the voice said as the dragon tilted its head to the side. "But you're... Why are you tiny?" "ExCUSE me? Tiny? Why would you-?" The dragon looked down at his new, adorable form and froze. Link to post Share on other sites
Calyx 0 Posted July 25, 2014 Author #20 Share Posted July 25, 2014 "Oh. ....Oh my. This will not do... This will not do at all..." Calyx snorted and smiled, "I'm sorry, who's the little one?" The tiny dragon's slitted eyes became even more narrow. "It is not wise to taunt a dragon...", he grumbled. "Well if I weren't so preoccupied with not stepping on you, I might make a note of that.", Calyx sneered. "If you were starving before, I don't know how you're gonna manage now..." The dragon blinked, "I... I don't know. Perhaps I could....." His voice trailed off and he never finished the thought. Clearly he hadn't considered this strange eventuality. Link to post Share on other sites
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